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03/13/2006 - 00027447CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY MARCH 13, 2006 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:30 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Lund led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund Councilmember-at-Large Barnette Councilmember Billings Councilmember Wolfe Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT: William Burns, City Manager Fritz Knaak, City Attorney Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Jon Haukaas, Public Works Director PROCLAMATION: Mayor Lund read and issued a proclamation declaring the month of March, 2006, as Minnesota Food Share Month in Fridley. PRESENTATION: CITIZEN SURVEY RESULTS — DECISION RESOURCES LTD. Bill Morris, representing Decision Resources Limited, reviewed the results from the 2005 survey of Fridley residents. Residents over the age of 18 participated in the survey and the participation rate was very high. The survey took the majority of the residents about 30 minutes to complete. Mr. Morris distributed a packet displaying graphs and statistics from the survey. He focused on key areas and differences between Fridley and other Anoka County cities. Fridley residents overall are pleased with the way the city is managed and the City of Fridley ranked highest in many areas when compared to other Anoka County Cities. A full report of the survey can be found on the City of Fridley website. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 13, 2006 PAGE 2 Mayor Lund shared concerns in the area of empowerment and that the rate was only 54% which sounded pretty low. Mr. Morris replied that there are two groups of people who answer this question. The first group is comprised of residents who are not sure how to get involved and the other group is residents new to the City and mostly renters. A 54% satisfaction rate may sound low, but it is a solid majority of the residents especially when 10% of the residents do not want a say on how things are run, do not have time to get involved and trust the City will make the right decisions. Mayor Lund stated that he was surprised with the statistics regarding the quiet zone and residents not wanting to fund this area. The train traffic in Fridley is running all hours of the night and he thought it would be more of a concern with residents. He asked if the cost of the quiet zone played a part in the decision. Mr. Burns, City Manager, replied that a conservative cost figure was used in the survey for the quite zone. Mayor Lund added that when the North Star Rail is running, it may offset some of the quiet zone costs if it is as successful as anticipated. Councilmember Billings asked if the North Star Rail would pick up any the costs of the quiet zone. Mayor Lund answered that the North Star Rail would not pick up any of the costs. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the comments that residents wrote on the survey would be available for review. Mr. Morris replied that over 100 pages of narratives have been turned in to the City and are available for review at any time. Councilmember Bolkcom questioned why the City participates in this survey and what is done with the results. Mr. Burns replied that the survey is a performance measurement for the City departments in setting goals and objectives for the coming year. It establishes a citizen's point of view on major issues and gives the City an idea on residents' participation rates in different areas. The survey lets the City know how they can improve citizen communication and helps the City understand the community. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the narrative report is shared with the City's department managers. Mr. Burns said they were. He also thanked everyone for participating. The results can be accessed on the City of Fridley's website. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 13, 2006 PAGE 3 APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council Meeting February 27, 2006 APPROVED. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Second Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 505, Bicycle Regulations, of the Fridley City Code Pertaining to Licensing and Registration. William Burns, City Manager, stated that in order to be consistent with state law, we are eliminating references to bicycle licensing in Chapter 505 of the City Code. Council approved the first reading on February 27, 2006. Staff recommends approval of the second and final reading. WAIVED THE READING OF THE ORDINANCE AND ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO. 1228 ON THE SECOND READING AND ORDERED PUBLICATION. NEW BUSINESS: 2. Approve Comprehensive Sign Plan for Rice Creek business Center, Generally Located at 7120 University Avenue N.E. (Ward 3) William Burns, City Manager, stated that since the property has recently been rezoned from M-1 to C-2, the owner is requesting the City's approval of a new sign plan. The proposed sign plan meets all City requirements. Staff recommends Council's approval. APPROVED. 3. Receive Bids and Award Contract for the Repair of Well No. 4. and Well No. 7. William Burns, City Manager, stated that after receiving and considering bids, staff is recommending the award of the bid for repair of these two wells to Bergerson-Caswell for the base dollar amount of $10,655 for Well #4 and $18,395 for Well #7. The base dollar amount together with additional charges for necessary replacement parts should be well within the $60,000 budgeted for these repairs. RECEIVED BIDS AND AWARDED CONTRACT TO BERGERSON-CASWELL FOR THE REPAIR OF WELL NO. 4 AND WELL NO. 7 IN THE AMOUNT OF $10,655 FOR WELL NO. 4 AND $18,395 FOR WELL NO. 7. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 13, 2006 PAGE 4 4. Appointment — City Employee. William Burns, City Manager, stated staff is recommending the appointment of Tyson Jenkins to the position of Public Service Worker — Parks. APPOINTMENT APPROVED. 5. Claims. APPROVED. 6. Licenses. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. Motion by Councilmember Barnette to approve the proposed consent agenda as presented. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Motion by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the consent agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM (VISITORS): Joann Zmuda, 6051 NE 4th Street, said she was disappointed in how the City Council handled the meeting regarding the Vikings Stadium. The issue to raise property taxes to support the Springbrook Nature Center was voted for through a referendum. The stadium issue should be revisited based on information recently received. Councilmember Billings is still registered as Steve Novak's Campaign Chairman and Treasurer when Mr. Novak ran for State Senate. Mr. Novak is now Anoka County's main lobbyist for the proposed Vikings Stadium. It seems like there may be a conflict of interest. Councilmember Billings replied that when Steven Novak was a Senator representing the City of Fridley, Mr. Novak asked if Mr. Billings would manage his campaign and he agreed. There were strict campaign financial rules and regulations. The information is public information with the State of Minnesota. The Committee has only been raising enough funds to pay for existing debts. Mr. Novak has recently taken a job with Anoka County as a Division Manager. He said he does not have day-to-day contact with Mr. Novak. He said he represents the citizens of the City of Fridley as it pertains to City affairs. He said he is not currently raising funds for Mr. Novak. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 13, 2006 PAGE 5 Councilmember Billings said Mr. Novak was hired as a division manager for Anoka County and was appointed a spokesman for special projects such as the Vikings Stadium. The resolution that was introduced regarding the Vikings Stadium was created with no influence from Mr. Novak and received three other votes from Council. The resolution states that the City of Fridley is not going to impose a sales tax for a stadium in Blaine. The Anoka County Commissioners and the State legislature will make that decision and those are the people residents should be contacting if they do not want to raise taxes to pay for the stadium. The City Council is responsible for issues of the City. He said he did not see his past relationship with Mr. Novak a conflict of interest and was offended by the remark from Ms. Zmuda. Mayor Lund asked Mr. Knaak if this relationship should be considered a conflict of interest. Mr. Knaak, City Attorney, replied that Councilmember Billings' relationship with Mr. Novak was not a conflict of interest. Minnesota law defines a conflict of interest as one where, for example, a city councilmember has an economic interest in the outcome of any legislation or proposal before the council. When this happens, the councilmember can participate in the vote only if all the other councilmembers permit it. OLD BUSINESS: 7. Second Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 131, Fire Department Service Charges, as it Pertains to Invoicing Motor Vehicle Owners (Tabled February 27, 2006). Motion by Councilmember Wolfe to remove this item from the table. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. William Burns, City Manager, stated currently the fire department may invoice insurance companies or motor vehicle owners for Fire Department services received at the scene of a motor vehicle accident. The proposed amendment allows the Fire Department to bill the owners directly for the service and also clarifies that the $400 fee may be collected from the owner through the criminal court when a police citation has been issued. Staff is asking for this change due to difficulty in collecting insurance information from vehicle owners. While there are no guarantees that the change will enable the Fire Department to collect all billable revenues, it will give them additional tools to use with vehicle owners. In 2005, they were not able to collect $9,627 or about 32% of the total billable amount because of uncooperative vehicle owners. Staff recommends Councils approval of the second and final reading of this ordinance. Councilmember Bolkcom questioned the cost and estimated values and was concerned that a cost analysis was not completed in the estimated cost of $400. Mr. Burns replied that the actual cost is a minimum of $400 in most cases. We need to continue to evaluate the actual cost for this service. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 13, 2006 PAGE 6 Councilmember Bolkcom asked why we should come back to this issue in the future. If we had more accurate figures, we would not have to come back to this again. Mr. Burns replied there is enough information to pass this item regarding the dollar amount and to charge the individual owner of the vehicle. A study is needed regarding the actual costs and to take a look at how other cities are handling this matter. Councilmember Wolfe stated he contacted his insurance company. Insurance companies are not in favor of paying this fee. He said he is not in favor of this. This service has already been paid for through taxes. Councilmember Billings replied that many of the City's services are paid for but we charge a fee to residents who would like to use them such as recreation programs and after school programs. Councilmember Barnette stated that many of the accidents that happen do not involve City of Fridley residents and they should be charged. Motion by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading of the ordinance and adopt Ordinance No. 1228 on second reading and order publication. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, MAYOR LUND, COUNCILMEMEBER BARNETTE, COUNCILMEMBER BILLINGS AND COUNCILMEMBER BOLKCOM VOTING AYE, AND COUNCILMEMBER WOLFE VOTING NAY, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED ON A 4 TO 1 VOTE. 8. First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 4 of the Fridley City Charter Pertaining to Appointment of Election Judges. William Burns, City Manager, stated that when appointing election judges for this past year's special election, a question was asked on how an election judge was appointed. The City Charter requires that an election judge must be a registered voter and be appointed from and work in their own precinct. Minnesota state law requires that eligible voters may serve as election judges in any precinct in the state. As a result of a discussion with Council, staff reviewed this with the City attorney and this issue was forwarded to the Charter Commission for discussion and a recommendation. The major change being suggested is that election judges would be eligible voters instead of registered voters as allowed by statue and the language would require that the head election judge will be required to be a registered voter but could be from outside of the district. These changes would make it easier to find and maintain election judges. Staff recommends approval of the first reading of this ordinance.. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to waive the reading of this ordinance and adopt the ordinance on first reading. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 13, 2006 PAGE 7 9. Informal Status Report. None. ADJOURN: Motion by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:40 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Krista Monsrud Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor