11/10/2008 - 29262CITY COUNCIL MEETING
CITY OF FRIDLEY
NOVEMBER 10, 2008
The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:30 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund
Councilmember-at-Large Barnette
Councilmember Saefke
Councilmember Varichak
Councilmember Bolkcom
OTHERS PRESENT: William Burns, City Manager
Scott Hickok, Community Development Director
James Kosluchar, Public Works Director
Richard D. Pribyl, Finance Director
Julie Jones, Planning Manager
Fritz Knaak, City Attorney
PROCLAMATION:
Homelessness Awareness Month — November, 2008
BOARD OF CANVASS
Receive and Certify the Statement of Canvass from the General Election of November 4,
2008.
Richard D. Pribyl, Finance Director, said Mayor and Councilmember-at-Large were the only
two local offices on the ballot. State law requires that the City Council must canvass the results
within seven days of the election. There were a total of 15,276 registered voters when the polls
opened. Another 2,972 registered on Election Day. We had 14,351 registered voters cast a
ballot in the City. The voter turnout in this election was 78.6 percent. In the general election in
2006, there was a 64 percent turnout. For mayor, Scott Lund had 7,955 and Pam Reynolds had
4,437. There were over votes of 1,886, 1 under vote, and 72 write-ins. For councilmember-at-
large, Bob Barnette had 6,541 and Rick Wolfe had 4,983. There were over votes of 2,752, 3
under votes and 72 write-ins.
Mr. Pribyl said staff recommends Council receive and certify the results of the election. Due to
the results of the senate race between Norm Coleman and A1 Franken, Anoka County will be
participating in a statewide recount. City staff will be involved with Anoka County in the
recount which is to be conducted on November 19, 20, and 21.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 2
Councilmember Saefke asked what an over vote and under vote were.
Mr. Pribyl replied an over vote is voting for both candidates for the same office, and an under
vote is not voting at all on that particular race.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to receive and certify the results of the general election
of November 4. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING
Abatement Appeal of Wayne and Kellie Liepke, 1634 Gardena Avenue N.E.
The hearing was not held as the petitioners were not present.
Mayor Lund asked City Attorney Knaak if the hearing should be postponed until the regular
agenda to see if the petitioners appeared.
Attorney Knaak said it would be the appropriate approach.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the petitioners were aware of the meeting and that their
hearing would be first on the agenda.
Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said petitioners were aware of the meeting,
and that it started at 7:30 p.m., and at that time the letter was sent, the agenda had not been set.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked whether they had any other communication with them.
Mr. Hickok replied, they have not.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
City Council Meeting of October 27, 2008
APPROVED.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 3
OLD BUSINESS:
1. Second Reading of an Ordinance Adding a New Chapter to the Fridley City Code:
Chapter 8. Criminal History Background Investigations for City Employment and
Licensing.
William Burns, City Manager, stated this item was requested by the Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension. It covers us for employment and licensing background investigations. The
ordinance establishes terms, conditions, and processes for these investigations. Staff
recommends Council's approval.
WAIVED THE READING OF THE ORDINANCE AND ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO.
1255 UPON SECOND READING AND ORDERED PUBLICATION.
NEW BUSINESS:
2. Resolution Regarding the Disposition of Certain Tax Forfeited Lands, Pursuant to
Minnesota Statutes, Section 282.01, Located Within the City of Fridley, Minnesota
(Ward 3).
William Burns, City Manager, stated staff recommends the City purchase two parcels from the
County's tax forfeit roll for the price of $100 each. Those parcels are part of Glencoe Park and
Riverview Heights.
THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON
THE REGULAR AGENDA.
3. Resolution Authorizing Changes in Appropriations for the 2008 Budget for August
Through October, 2008.
William Burns, City Manager, stated most of the $54,230 represents expenditures for the Police
Department reimbursement money. The amount of $20,000 has been transferred from the
General Fund to the Police Activity Fund to cover the cost of the officer we are going to loan to
the DEA Drug Task Force. Staff recommends Council's approval.
ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2008-52.
4. Resolution Appointing the City of Fridley Alternate to the Six Cities Watershed
Management Organization.
William Burns, City Manager, stated staff recommends the appointment of Jerold Bahls to this
position.
ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2008-53.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 4
5. Approve Change Order No. 1 for 2007 Street Improvement Project No. ST2007-3
(Quiet Zone Project).
William Burns, City Manager, stated the $1,438.55 change order was for a driveway adjustment
on 77th Way that was necessary to accommodate the eventual third rail for the Northstar
Commuter Rail. Staff recommends Council's approval.
APPROVED.
6. Approve Antenna Site Lease Agreement Between the City of Fridley and the
Metropolitan Council.
William Burns, City Manager, stated this agreement was drafted by Met Council and is
consistent with other lease agreements needed to serve the Northstar Commuter Rail. It allows
communication on the platform as well as to and from the security cameras. It provides for three
antennas, power supply, cabling, and control panels. These items will be installed at the
Commons Park elevated water storage tank This is for a public purpose. We are agreeing to
$500 a year and an agreement that expires in 2013. Staff recommends Council's approval.
THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON
THE REGULAR AGENDA.
7. Claims (139079-139290).
APPROVED.
8. Licenses
APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE.
9. Estimates
Standard Sidewalk
10841 Mankato Street N.E.
Blaine, NIN 55434
2008 Miscellaneous Concrete Project No. 375
Estimate No. 4 ............................................. $ 8,190.18
Midwest Asphalt
5929 Baker Road
Suite 420
Minnetonka, MN 55345
2008-1 Street Improvement Project
Estimate No. 6 ............................................. $396,492.91
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 5
Hardrives, Inc.
14475 Quiram Drive
Rogers, MN 55374
2008 Street Improvement Project No. 2007-3
Estimate No. 3 ............................................. $ 9,522.78
APPROVED.
APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA:
Councilmember Bolkcom asked that Item Nos. 2 and 6 be removed.
MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the consent agenda as presented with the
removal of Item Nos. 2 and 6. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA:
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve the agenda with the addition of Item Nos.
and 6 from the consent agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
OPEN FORUM:
Les Schimelpfenig, 6390 Ashton Avenue NE, said he was requesting a light at the end of
Ashton as it turns and becomes 64 '/z Way. There is a dark area that has no light. The street has
a 90-degree turn right at the corner where you do not expect one. There should be a street light
there. There is a post with power to it on the corner. They have lived there for four years, and
someone has taken out the street sign twice from turning too short.
Mayor Lund stated he will ask City staff to look at that intersection and make some
recommendations.
A1 Stahlberg, 8055 Riverview Terrace, said a while ago in the City paper, it mentioned that
there are so many garbage pickup companies driving on City streets, that staff thought maybe
they were tearing up the streets and reducing their life span. At the citizen forum, someone said
a survey was sent out and it indicated that some people really like their garbage hauler. If the
streets are getting damaged, they should divide the City up, put out bids, and have one company
in each section. He thought they could have about three different sections.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 6
Mr. Stahlberg stated he lives by Riverview Heights Park and noticed Chemlawn signs in the
park. He asked why they need to do that at the park It gets mowed all the time, and the weeds
do not have much of a chance. If the City can afford to fertilize it, why don't they have the
money to plow the paths in the winter?
Mr. Stahlberg stated the City is talking about possible tax increases. Considering the economic
situation, does the City really need to give employees a 3.5 percent raise. There are many people
that are losing their jobs or having their wages reduced, but we generously gave them a cost of
living raise of 3.5 percent. If we have to set budgets, maybe we should cut something there.
Payroll is generally one of the biggest items in the City budget.
Mayor Lund stated he will respond and staff can also send him a written letter in response. As
to Mr. Stahlberg's first point regarding garbage haulers, he was a little selective in some of that
response that was given at that citizens' forum. If we do go out for bids and start using a single
hauler and start charging people on their utility bills, we are now in the garbage collection
business. Some people do not pay their utility bills now to the City. They could probably save
money and the streets if they if they did have a single hauler. There are pros and cons, and he
brought up both sides of those points in the debate. The garbage hauling business has been
brought up on at least two occasions in the eight years he has been mayor. It has not gone
through for various reasons. At some time down the road it will probably be looked at again.
Mayor Lund said regarding fertilizing the parks and plowing the paths, it has been in the budget
on more than one occasion, but has always lost out when they prioritize. While it is great to have
recreational asphalt trails, we just do not have the ability right now to pay for plowing them.
Mayor Lund stated, regarding the cost of living raise, this is one of the many budget items
Council looks at every single year. He thinks it is justified. It is 3 percent, not 3.5 percent.
Councilmember Barnette said for social security, they are getting a 5.6 percent raise.
William Burns, City Manager, stated it appears from information from most of the school
districts that property taxes are actually going to be going down, not up.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Kosluchar to give Mr. Stahlberg a breakdown on how
much it costs to do the weed killing versus the snowplowing. She thought it was a pretty
significant difference.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
10. Consideration of the Assessment for Street Improvement Project No. ST. 2008 — 1
(Continued October 27, 2008).
MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to remove the item from the table. Seconded by
Councilmember Saefke.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 7
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
PUBLIC HEARING REMOVED FROM THE TABLE AT 7:55 P.M.
Richard Pribyl, Finance Director, stated the project assessment pertains to the concrete curb and
gutter portion of the 2008-1 project. There were 328 properties in this project, and the total
assessed cost of this project is $625,571.31. There is an assessment period of ten years, with an
interest rate of 6.5 percent.
James Kosluchar, Public Works Director, stated the 2008 project was in four different areas of
the community. The term they use is "leftovers" but they are areas that still have bituminous
curb and gutter and they needed to replace that. There are multiple assessment categories in this
project. There is R-1/R-2 frontage which is typically residential property. They are subject to a
curb or pavement assessment depending on whether new curb was installed or whether they had
existing concrete curb and just pavement installed. Then there is non R-1/R-2 frontage.
Typically this is commercial or industrial property. They are assessed 100 percent of the project
cost to the center line of the roadway. There is also non-assessable frontage which is typically
areas that are adjacent to state or county right-of-ways or adjacent to community facilities that
are public access, such as wells, water towers, etc.
Mr. Kosluchar stated for the residential R-1/R-2 assessment on curb and gutter, calculations are
based on the length of the adjusted front footage, which is measured 35 feet from the front
property line for each benefiting property. Concrete curb assessment includes work associated
with the installation of concrete curb, including removal, excavation, installation, and restoration.
There is also indirect curb and gutter assessment. This is for areas that are adjacent to residential
property but not located along frontage, such as side lots of residential property. The quantities
for these are included in the total cost and shared by all the residential properties on the project.
Mr. Kosluchar stated the next category, residential assessment for pavement maintenance, is
pavement only if concrete curb and gutter has been installed on the property. The property is
assessed for pavement maintenance in accordance with the 2006 policy of the City Council. It
includes removal and replacement of asphalt. The assessments are based on a residential street
width, regardless of the width of the street, so they are limited.
Mr. Kosluchar stated there are non R-1/R-2 assessments. Everybody refers to these as
commercial. The terminology is not quite accurate but it is easier to say commercial. The
calculations again are based on the setback of 35 feet from the front of the property line, and the
assessment is for 100 percent of the actual cost including removal, excavation, installation, and
restoration during reconstruction.
Mr. Kosluchar stated for non-assessable work, there were some areas along Highway 65 and
East River Road that were not assessed. Also utility work, water, sewer, and park work is not
assessed under this project.
Mr. Kosluchar presented an example of how they break down the assessment type for a project
segment.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 8
Mr. Pribyl stated staff recommends that the public hearing be opened and testimony be taken
from any of the property owners wishing to speak on this topic, and then the hearing closed.
There is a resolution for Council's approval later in the agenda.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the project was finished.
Mr. Kosluchar stated the project is substantially complete. There are some items that need to be
taken care of for final completion, but Council has the prerogative to set the assessment based on
estimated final costs. Notices did go out with the higher per foot assessment for the curbing and
they were adjusted down. Part of the reason was because they had additional final quantities that
they were able to take into account.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked, so essentially other than the second coat on an area, every
street has been paved.
Mr. Kosluchar replied, that is correct.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked what the next step would be.
Mr. Pribyl replied after the resolution is adopted, they will send out a courtesy letter to each of
the individuals involved. They will have a 30-day prepayment period in which to make that
payment, interest free. After that, interest does accrue, and will be included on the property taxes
for next year.
Councilmember Bolkcom thanked Mr. Hughes for coming forward and meeting with
Mr. Kosluchar and Mr. Otteson and working on some of those figures. It is her understanding it
is right now at $17.46.
Mr. Kosluchar replied that is correct for the curb assessment.
Donna Grimm, 5422 Madison Street NE, stated she shares a residence with Carol Johnson.
They had their curb and the apron done. They had no sewer done and they had nothing done in
their yard that would indicate anything new was put in. The gas company did come and put a
line in, but the gas company would not charge them. They did not get nor could find any
notification before any of the work got done that they were even going to be in a position to have
to pay anything. They did not see much supervision with the contractors because they left
several times to go to other projects, leaving the streets in a mess. With not knowing where to
park at times, it was a struggle. She saw new curb being put in. She asked why they were not
notified the grass would be torn up. She asked why they put in the new apron. She thinks they
should have been notified as to how much they would have to pay for this, because it does make
a big difference financially. She said they are asking for relief if they are made to pay this. She
asked that an amendment be made for low-income people and people on social security, that
those residents be allowed to take the time to repay this without interest. They are already
unable to pay most of their bills and have to make arrangements. She watched what was going
on in front of her home, and did not see a lot really going on. It did not seem to be worth it.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 9
MOTION by Mayor Lund to receive a letter dated October 15, 2008, requesting relief from
Donna Grimm and Carol Johnson. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mayor Lund asked staff about notification and if there was a neighborhood meeting.
Mr. Kosluchar replied there was. There was also a preliminary assessment notice that would
have gone out in November of last year and there were some notifications during the project.
Ms. Grimm should have received several communications.
Ms. Grimm stated they did ask questions as the work was being done, and it seemed like it was
a private contractor who was also there talking to them about doing their whole driveway. She
thinks 6.5 percent over ten years is quite a bit. She asked for relief from the City Council and
that Council think about not having the 6.5 percent interest for people who are on social security
and fixed incomes.
Mayor Lund stated he wanted to make sure Ms. Grimm understands that they do receive
notification. They have had opportunities to come to the neighborhood meetings. The City tries
to minimize the inconveniences. Although they are public streets and it is a City project, they
hire private contractors. He asked when Council approved the project and let it out for bids.
Mr. Kosluchar said he believed they went out for bids at the end of February and awarded the
proj ect in early April.
Mayor Lund stated the water or sewer main coming to Ms. Grimm's house is her responsibility.
The part that she is being assessed for is the concrete curb. He asked if she got new concrete
curb.
Ms. Grimm replied, yes.
Mayor Lund stated excavation, getting rid of the old asphalt, some sod work adjacent to the
curb and other side and some granular and fill material are things related to the curb.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Ms. Grimm whether she received any of the letters.
Ms. Grimm stated they have had problems with their mail.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if she received the last letter relating to the assessment.
Ms. Grimm replied her understanding from her sister was that she did not receive anything.
Sometimes her sister throws things out without her being able to see what it is. So if that has
occurred she apologizes.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 10
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Ms. Grimm if at any time she called the City to ask to talk to
anyone from Public Works once she knew something was going on with the project.
Ms. Grimm replied no.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated in her past experience with all the street projects, they are very
good about putting notices in people's front door. She asked if she had spoken to anyone.
Ms. Grimm replied, they never talked to anybody from the City. They just talked to the workers.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Pribyl what the process was for disabled people, senior
citizens, or people on limited income.
Mr. Pribyl replied in 1995 the City Council addressed this issue by resolution. They do have a
process for a deferral of special assessments but it does have income qualifications and other
requirements, such as they need to be 65 years of age or older, owner is retired by virtue of
permanent or total disability, they have to make application, and the City has to review their
qualifications. Somebody who feels they qualify for something like this also has a 30-day period
in which to apply after the certification of the assessment roll.
Councilmember Bolkcom told Ms. Grimm she can contact Mr. Pribyl and discuss this matter
with him.
Mayor Lund stated this is just a deferral.
Mr. Pribyl stated it is a deferral, and it is interest bearing. At some point in time when there is a
transfer of this property, it will have to be paid off.
Ms. Grimm asked if this was the only way it could be resolved.
Mayor Lund replied, either that or the other opportunity is to spread it over the ten years.
Ms. Grimm asked if there was any other way.
Mayor Lund replied not unless they forgive that but if they granted her an exception, they
would have to do it for everyone else who asked. After the certification she has 30 days to make
an application.
Ms. Grimm asked where she would need to go to do that.
Mr. Pribyl asked her to give him a call.
Ms. Grimm asked if that was for forgiveness of the debt.
Mayor Lund replied that is for deferral. If she qualifies, it would be deferred payment until
such time the property was sold. At the time of the sale, the amount due would have to be paid.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 11
Mayor Lund said in her letter requesting relief she refers to the amount of $1,609.60. He asked
where she got the dollar amount.
Ms. Grimm said they received a notification for this meeting and the number was on it. They
got the letter with the mistake stating Gardena.
Mayor Lund said the certification is going to be $1,396.80 or about $213 less than what she
thought it would be.
Doug Becklin, 1405 Onondaga Street NE, asked for clarification of his standing in this matter.
Mr. Kosluchar stated it is his understanding that he is not on the assessment roll. He sent a
letter on Friday in response to Mr. Becklin's letter. If he would prefer to allow himself to be
under this assessment, then he would need to do the waiver. If he prefers to go through the
hearing process, they will initiate that separate from this hearing.
Mr. Becklin stated he had a number of communications from the City telling him that he should
be here but the second to the last communication had a waiver that if he signs the waiver to
participate in this assessment then he is barred from having his grievance heard.
Mayor Lund stated if he signs the waiver allowing for an assessment tonight, then he can
certainly discuss his assessment here.
Mr. Becklin stated it said he agrees to waive the right for a public hearing.
William Burns, City Manger, stated Mr. Becklin's property was not on the original assessment
roll sent out in November of last year. As they were designing the project, they noticed the
pavement on the street did not align correctly, and they needed to extend the project's expected
limits past a portion of Mr. Becklin's property. The street was resurfaced and the curb was laid
in front of a portion of his property, and he is liable at some point for assessment. However,
because he did not receive the pre-assessment notice in November of last year, he has the option
of waiting until next year to be assessed. If he would like to be assessed now, he can sign a
waiver and incorporate this assessment into this year's project. There is no interest penalty for
waiting.
Mr. Becklin asked why he was not informed at the time it was determined that he was going to
be liable for some of this work.
Mayor Lund asked when he got his first notification.
Mr. Becklin said it was the letter that was in error dated October 13. A couple of days later he
got a corrected letter with the new date. He wanted to know how the figure he got assessed was
calculated. He had issue with the measurements they took. He measured it, and then the City
some time later measured it and they found that his number was right and their measurement was
wrong. This whole process has been very unpleasant for him. He said he is still confused
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 12
because there was sewer work done at that intersection also. His original thought was the
portion that was repaved was dug up because of a sewer repair, not because of a pavement
proj ect limits.
Mr. Kosluchar stated the plans were developed and finalized sometime in early February. At
that time they failed to recognize that Mr. Becklin would be subj ect to an assessment. It was
their error in not notifying him at that time. Mr. Becklin is only subject to the pavement
assessment. He is not subject to the curb assessment. They had actually more pavement in the
plans than they ended up constructing, and they cut that back a little. It was not due to any sewer
work Although they did some storm sewer improvements because the street was open, they did
not affect the project.
Mr. Becklin said there was also sanitary sewer work done there.
Mr. Kosluchar said there were some adjustments made to castings and manholes at the
intersection.
Mr. Becklin stated he assumed that was done so they could make it easier to pave.
Mr. Kosluchar replied correct.
Mr. Becklin stated, and it happens quite frequently.
Mr. Kosluchar responded, yes.
Mr. Becklin said a hole was dug down to the sanitary sewer in front of his house.
Mayor Lund stated, before they get any further into this discussion, that is one of the purposes
of the waiver, so that we can discuss this to see about how much or what is correct to certify for
his particular interest.
Mr. Becklin stated, but the waiver says he is not allowed to participate in the public hearing if he
signs it.
Mayor Lund stated, he is correct. Because he did not get the first notification early on in
November, that by waiving it, then we can discuss it. It is just the opposite. He asked attorney
Knaak at what point they could discuss this matter with Mr. Becklin. He thought the waiver was
so they could place him on the assessment roll so they could discuss his issues.
Attorney Knaak, City Attorney, replied, but as a practical matter he is allowing the City to
assess him early. Presumably you do not do that unless you have been fully informed as to what
is going on. That can happen at a public hearing although usually in a case like that, it happens
when you talk to City staff and determine whether you want to do it or not. The City cannot
assess you in this hearing because of compliance issues, etc., unless he agrees. The purpose is
not to make you ignorant. This would not be part of the usual and ordinary assessment process,
which in Mr. Becklin's case if there was one, it would have to occur next year at the earliest.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 13
Mr. Becklin replied, he is totally confused.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Attorney Knaak, if Mr. Becklin says he is fine with the
assessment but wanted to ask some questions, that is okay because he is here before them tonight
even though he was not on the original assessment roll.
Attorney Knaak replied, if he comes in right now and wants to talk about the assessment, has
not signed the waiver yet, they could certainly talk to him about it. He can get his questions
answered, sign the waiver, and it would be done.
Mr. Becklin said he got three letters saying he was supposed to be here. The fourth letter had
the waiver.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Becklin whether he was okay with giving expressing his
concerns.
Mr. Becklin replied, the biggest concern he has is the work on the sanitary sewer. He has
frequently watched City Council meetings, and it seems there are utility repairs and subsequent
street repaving or repair that the property owner is not responsible for. He thought the sanitary
sewer and the manhole work was just to make it easier to pave. However, the sanitary sewer was
also dug in front of his house and something was done there. Subsequently he was told it was to
repair some access for a neighbor or neighbors, but it was happening in front of his property. So
that is why he thought it was originally dug up.
Mayor Lund stated he understands. He asked Mr. Kosluchar what the distinction was.
Mr. Kosluchar replied the distinction is that the project is a street improvement project. There
was curb and gutter involved on Onondaga up to and very close to Mr. Becklin's property. He
was in the project limits. He was not in the project limits for any purpose of the utilities. As a
matter of fact, the project limits were reduced by about 18 feet in front of his property. So there
were other factors determining excavation there that dictated the limits of the project. He can
defer to Layne Otteson who is present at the meeting. Basically they wanted to cut it off at the
intersection. They wanted to tie in new pavement and the elevations matched very well by doing
that.
Layne Otteson, Assistant Public Works Director, stated Mr. Kosluchar is correct. When they
designed the project, they previously stopped short of the intersection but had to go into the
intersection to make things work They could have stopped short, but there would probably have
been a bump through there, and it would not flow well. They needed to go into the intersection
and it led to doing pavement replacement in front of his property. They already had the
preliminary assessment hearing, and at that time they could not add him to the preliminary
assessment roll without having a proper public hearing. He actually met with Mr. Becklin at his
home to discuss a rain garden, and they talked construction at that time. The property owner was
aware that the work was taking place because they discussed putting a rain garden in his property
and putting a curb cut in. What they did not discuss was any assessment, and the property owner
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 14
is correct on that. He did not want any misconceptions that the property owner was notified prior
to October 13.
Mr. Otteson stated if he remembered correctly they had sanitary sewer services dug for a
neighbor, and they had to have a service repair. This is typical throughout their project because
they send a letter out to all the residents finding out if they are having an issue with their sanitary
sewer. When they do a construction project, and take the pavement off, that is the time when
they want to dig down, make any repairs, or have the residents have the opportunity to hire their
own plumber and make a repair. This saves the resident several thousands of dollars on
pavement patching. There is a manhole and what is typical in our street projects is on top of a
sanitary or storm sewer manhole there are concrete rings. When we do our projects, they are
pretty much all deteriorating because of salt and 40-50 years of vehicles. They take them down
several feet, bring them back up with new concrete rings, and put the casting back on top. When
that happens there is excavation involved when the main is being excavated and cars cannot pass
through there at that time.
Councilmember Barnette asked when all the sewer work and everything is done, that is just
assessed back to the total project, is it not?
Mr. Otteson replied, correct.
Councilmember Barnette asked, not directly to the homeowner.
Mr. Otteson replied, correct.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked again the street in front of Mr. Becklin's property would have
been done anyway because of the bump and the fact that it would not flow right. The big issue
here is they did not catch it in November and that is why it was not on the assessment roll and
that is why he can either choose to do the assessment or they can do the assessment next year and
put it in next year's project.
Mr. Otteson replied correct. The idea behind the assessment waiver is he can sign it and be
added to this assessment roll. Later if Onondaga is milled and overlaid, that homeowner will get
credit for 42 feet in front of his property so he will not have to pay for the full 80. He will pay
38 in the future. That is the reason for signing the waiver.
Mayor Lund stated won't he still get that next year if he waits.
Mr. Otteson said they would be going through the public hearing process. Mr. Becklin had
indicated several weeks ago that he wanted to pay and be done with it. He even said he would
write a check out but he wanted the correct distance. He said they verified the measurement and
the customer measurement was correct.
Mr. Becklin stated he did get a letter offering to put in one of these rain gardens and Mr. Otteson
came and talked to them about it. One of the specific questions he asked him was, because this
was being offered to people who are in the project, why is he getting a letter and it is being
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 15
offered to him and he is not in the project. Mr. Otteson said he was close enough to the project
that he would squeeze him in.
Mayor Lund said Mr. Becklin did not get the required notice. He can certainly wait until next
year and get his public hearing at that time before the assessment.
Mr. Becklin asked, regarding the statement that the streets would not line up, how is it that the
curb and gutters line up and there was no change in elevation on his curb and gutter? Why is
there a street misalignment? He thought the comment does not make sense.
Mr. Kosluchar replied, sometimes it can be an adjustment of the crown. One possibility is your
street is highest at the centerline and the existing pavement had a greater crown or a higher slope.
They have to transition through that to make sure that things are flowing and smooth. Another is
that the surface was too rough, pitted, and could have been cracked. They may have looked at it
and said there was enough deterioration of the pavement where it would start to hold water or
water would get under the new pavement, and that is a little ways down the street from Mr.
Becklin's house.
Mr. Becklin said it appears that he cannot argue with them. He has done his best and he will
pay it.
Mayor Lund asked him what he wanted the City to do.
Mr. Becklin said he still maintains the pavement in front of his house was dug up because there
had to be repair or work done on the sanitary sewer. Why his neighbors are hooked up to the
sanitary sewer in front of his property is beyond him.
Mr. Kosluchar said he could not answer that question because he did not have the plans in front
him. He can tell him that there was 60 feet of pavement that was supposed to come out in front
of his property and that 42 feet was replaced. That leads him to believe that there was not excess
utility excavation that caused excess pavement removal.
Dr. Burns asked Mr. Becklin if he was content to be on next year's assessment with no interest.
Mr. Becklin stated he did not want to pay any of it because he felt it was a sanitary sewer repair.
Dr. Burns said he does have an option to contest the assessment next year and he can take it to
district court and contest it there.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to receive a letter from Mr. Kosluchar to Mr. Becklin
dated November 7, and a letter from Mr. Becklin received on November 7, relating to the
assessment appeal. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 16
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Attorney Knaak if Mr. Becklin does not sign the waiver if he
was included in the resolution.
Attorney Knaak replied, no.
Jim Kostick, 5744 Jackson Street NE, stated he was at the meeting on behalf of his father,
Donald Kostick, whose address is 588 54th Avenue NE. He was part of the assessment on 54tn
Avenue having the curb and gutter and street laid. This year they had numerous problems with
his property when they were laying the driveway, but they have been resolved. The front
sidewalk was laid but it is not the way it originally was. They laid the sod on Friday and with
two hard frosts he does not know how that is going to take. He asked if it does not come back in
the spring if the City would be out to replace the sod again. He said he wanted to have it on the
record because of all the problems they have had. The yard was not replaced the way it was
taken out.
Mayor Lund asked what he meant.
Mr. Kostick said they rolled the driveway too late and they had to tear it back out and re-lay it
again. Regarding the front sidewalk, they removed the bottom step of the sidewalk. When they
put it back in, it looks like they ran out of cement, put a seam in it, and put the rest of it down.
There are two slabs on the bottom step. There is no reason for the seam to be there because it is
not that big of a slab. Also, when they did the cutback of the dirt, because of how much lower
the curb went, it had actually tipped. The dirt sloped too much. His dad has a riding lawnmower,
and the lawnmower would have cut the dirt. They scaled it back to level it out. They only
sodded along the cement and last Friday they came and finished it. So there are two lanes of
grass now.
Mayor Lund asked if they cut it back further.
Mr. Kostick said they did cut it back further and leveled it out so it will accommodate a riding
lawnmower.
Councilmember Saefke asked Mr. Kosluchar if there is a one-year warranty on sodding, etc., on
these projects.
Mr. Kosluchar replied, he is not sure of the term of the warranty but he does know about 30
growing days, and then there is a review and inspection with the sod company. Those growing
days are not going to happen this year and will happen in the spring. At that time, there will be
an initial walkthrough prior to the warranty period even being established.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked what the resolution was on the sidewalk and steps.
Mr. Kostick stated his dad is not happy with how the sidewalk looks. It is not the way it was.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Kosluchar why the sidewalk was not replaced the way it
initially was.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 17
Mr. Kosluchar replied the resolution would be to remove and replace the panel.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if that sounded reasonable.
Mr. Kosluchar said he believed the contractor should have made it that way. He would like to
look at it. They have had their inspector look at it. He does not know whether it has been
discussed with the contractor at this point.
Councilmember Bolkcom said there should be a conversation with the contractor, and we
should make it the way it was before unless there is some good reason for it.
Mr. Otteson stated he will be going on Wednesday morning to look at it. He was not aware of
the concrete work If it is not right, it will get ripped out. The grade of the street changed a little
bit, but it should not be anything that we cannot resolve. They may have to take back maybe a
little more sidewalk. He will review it Wednesday morning and get back to the homeowner.
Les Schimelpfenig, 6390 Ashton NE, stated his son owns the property he lives in and paid the
assessment based on the original figure.
Richard Pribyl, Finance Director, said he would check to see if a payment was received.
Mr. Schimelpfenig stated his son's name is Paul. He thanked the Council for following up on
as many things as they have. The Fridley workers are really nice guys and really do good work.
Dick Berganini, 6596 Pierce Street, stated he has no issue with the amount of the assessment.
He has two problems, one of which he discussed with Layne Otteson which involved the curb
holding water. The water did not run down the street. They tore it out, but the new contractor
put the curb in the same way the old one was so they still have the water. The other issue is the
business of the crown on their street. There is a puddle there. He presented a picture of it and he
said he thought it should be fixed.
Mr. Otteson stated he was just recently told about the water in the middle of the road. It sounds
like there might be a little bit of a grade issue or settlement. They will monitor it this winter.
However, on brand new jobs they do not want to see that and it is unacceptable. They may end
up with a patch.
Mayor Lund stated they are talking about two issues, the puddle in the middle the street, and
also along the curb where it puddles and they actually replaced it once already.
Mr. Otteson said that is something they will review in the spring. They may be doing a little
work there, and there may be some street patch required.
MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to close the hearing. Seconded by Councilmember
Varichak.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 18
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED FROM THE TABLE AT 9:03 P.M.
11. Consideration of Public Comments on the City of Fridley's Draft Wellhead
Protection Plan (Phase 2).
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to open the public hearing. Seconded by
Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
PUBLIC HEARING OPENED AT 9:05 P.M.
James Kosluchar, Public Works Director, stated the Wellhead Protection Plan rule is related to
Minnesota Statutes administered by the Minnesota Department of Health and associated with the
Federal Drinking Water Act and the Minnesota Groundwater Protection Act. Fridley's process
has involved the Anoka Wellhead Planning Group. There was a Joint Powers Agreement with
Anoka County, and there were ten cities were working together to complete this plan. The City
completed Phase 1 some years ago.
Mr. Kosluchar stated the purpose of wellhead protection is to provide a method to provide
against well contamination and protect drinking water sources. It is designed to prevent rather
than remediate the contamination of groundwater and to educate the public about the connection
between surface and groundwater pollution and supply protection. This is a mandatory
requirement for a city of our size. This is not in response to any action that the City has taken in
the past. He presented a draft of the drinking water source monitoring area and its vulnerability.
Mr. Kosluchar said this is the second step. We have a draft and have submitted it for comment
to several agencies and the public. The vulnerability assessment is intended to determine the
degree of risk that land uses may have on the quality of groundwater, guide the amount of effort
needed to conduct an inventory of potential contaminant resources, and help define measures for
controlling potential contaminated sources. Part of our goal in this plan is education--to notify
property owners and residents of the location and make them aware of the drinking water supply
management area, and to educate residents and businesses regarding proper handling, use, and
storage of disposable hazardous material within this area. With Fridley having such a strong
industrial base, this is something that we need to pay particular attention to.
Mr. Kosluchar stated management of other wells is part of the goals, including cooperating with
the Minnesota Department of Health management program to seal all abandoned wells within the
City's drinking source management area. Due to Fridley's age and maybe the era and status of
utilities and available water at the time, the City of Fridley has an extended number of private
wells. One of the larger tasks that City staff has is to monitor and try to obtain closure of those
private wells over time. That is a long-term goal.
Mr. Kosluchar stated contaminant sources are regularly updated, and they try to keep an
inventory of what is going on in the area that could affect groundwater supply and determine the
extent of the potential contaminant sources located here. They want to integrate this plan with
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 19
their other plans, including the City's Comprehensive Plan and land use development decisions
over time.
Mr. Kosluchar stated they want to monitor the chemistry of aquifer and the quantity of available
water in our aquifer and the official used groundwater resources that are available to us. The
Wellhead Protection Plan, Phase 2, includes a plan of action. The goals are developed into
specific plans within timeframes to implement the goals of the plan. There is also an evaluation
program as part of that plan that will determine the progress of the City in implementing its plan
of action.
Mr. Kosluchar stated the next step after receiving comments is to finalize Phase 2 of the plan
and amend it to address the comments, and submit the plan for approval to the Minnesota
Department of Health. They have received two comments. Jeffrey Nash with the Ramsey
Conservation District wanted to know if the City currently had in place a conservation rate
structure. He thought our response would be that we are getting there at this point. The other
comment was regarding some kind of an overall street map showing the management area and
the boundaries of the City.
Mr. Kosluchar said he also received comments from Ed Persons with the Minnesota
Department of Health. Mr. Persons indicated the City needs to include a Chapter 7 in
accordance with the plan template or show reference to an approved DNR water conservation
plan in Chapter 7. As of last week, he said they submitted our DNR water conservation plan to
the DNR for approval. So they will be addressing this probably with a template until such time
as the water conservation plan is approved. We do have an old conservation plan, but that is not
satisfactory.
MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to close the hearing. Seconded by Councilmember
Varichak
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED AT 9:13 P.M.
12. Consideration of Special Use Permit SP #89-08 for Sam's Auto World, Generally
Located at 7570 Highway 65 N.E. (Ward 2).
MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to open the hearing. Seconded by Councilmember
Bolkcom.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
PUBLIC HEARING OPENED AT 9:13 P.M.
Mr. Hickok stated one of 14 stipulations is the owner must operate the garage in a law abiding
manner, and they will want to focus on that as he goes through this presentation. In 1994, the
owner, Sam Awaijane, was caught selling cars on the sight. He then bought 1990 Osborne Road
which was appropriately zoned for car sales. After selling the Osborne property, Mr. Awaijane
was caught selling cars from 7570 Highway 65 again. In 2006, Council held a public hearing to
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 20
consider revocation of SP #89-03. Council decided to maintain the special use permit, as the
owner agreed to discontinue selling after November 15, 2006. This past spring a temporary sign
appeared on the sight without a permit, causing staff to review the site again. That, in and of
itself, would not be law abiding.
Mr. Hickok said on reinspection, staff noticed other violations, like inoperable cars being parked
in the front lot, and a tow truck was often parked at the end of the street on the public right-of-
way. Staff witnessed the frequent delivery of damaged vehicles into the front lot and the
dismantling of cars in the front lot, which is a violation of one of the special use permit's
provisions. Staff received notification from the State Department of Public Safety that vehicles
were being sold under the address of 7570 Highway 65, but under a different business name.
They may recall as part of the conditions of saving the special use permit the last time, they
would give up any state licensing to buy cars. Previously, their practice was to buy cars in slow
times, fix them up in the body shop, and offer them for sale. Staff believes this is happening
again. Six cars were purchased prior to August 1 and licensed quickly, because the law was
changing August 1 relative to stamped vehicles and their titles. Those six vehicles were
registered to this property. It is staff's belief that they are not abiding by the law. This is a
violation. Another violation is the outdoor storage in the front yard. They have been using the
public right-of-way for storage and expansion of their property, and they have used at least one
illegal temporary sign on the site.
Mr. Hickok stated Fridley contains many auto body repair shops, none of which are allowed to
sell cars from their site. This gentleman has disregard for vehicle sales and other code
regulations and creates an unfair market for these other businesses who have actually gone
through the process and are operating with the law. Staff recommends that the City revoke
Special Use Permit, SP #89-08. No action will be taken tonight. It will be brought back for
action at Council's next meeting. Staff would prepare a resolution and would also be prepared to
describe a strategy for the discontinuance of the existing business as they have done in similar
cases.
Councilmember Barnette asked whether Mr. Awaijane was aware of the hearing tonight. He is
sure staff has talked to him over and over about this. What kind of answer does he give?
Mr. Hickok replied, he is in Florida and although it is their understanding that he comes back on
a regular basis, he has not responded to any notification they have given. He certainly
understood clearly because they have walked the site with the attorney and they understood the
importance and the danger of losing the special use permit two years ago when they went
through this process. At this point he thinks the lack of response should be noted.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Hickok when they last had contact with Mr. Awaijane.
Mr. Hickok stated there were a number of letters sent this summer regarding site issues on this
property. They have had conversations with other representatives from his site since 2006.
Councilmember Saefke stated what bothers him was that the sale of the automobiles was under
Rhino Auto Repair which was not the same name, although it is the same address, as Sam's Auto
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 21
World. To him it seems quite deceitful. He just wanted to note that in the minutes so people do
not think the City is anti-business or anything else. The City has tried working with this
gentleman for years. Also, when the Department of Public Safety has to notify us that illegal
transactions have been going on there, it is a pretty serious matter.
Mr. Hickok stated one might want to debate or argue that Rhino Auto is a tenant. This is a
multi-tenant auto repair operation and it is not Mr. Awaijane, but it is somebody else who is just
leasing space. The reality of it is the special use permit goes with the land, and the owner of the
property is responsible for the land. The tenant needs to comply with the law as well, and the
owner of the property needs to be responsible and stands to lose his permit if he is not. It may
just be that Rhino Auto is not connected to him. He still needs to be responsible for his property
and that has not been the case.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked who owns Rhino Auto.
Mr. Hickok replied, they have done an investigation and have checked with the Secretary of
State's office, but to date are still unclear as to who owns it.
Councilmember Varichak asked, so there has been no response as a result of the letters staff
sent.
Mr. Hickok replied, no response, and that is a bit puzzling to them. There was a time when it
would elicit a response. He does not know if it is the fact that the property is for sale right now
and there is a lack of interest in continuing with the special use permit.
MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to close the public hearing. Seconded by
Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED AT 9:29 P.M.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if another letter would be sent to the petitioner. Would it make
sense to send something registered.
Mr. Hickok replied, staff can if that is the direction given by Council. There is no obligation
under the law. The hearing has been closed. Staff could send another letter, but at this point, he
is not optimistic of getting a response.
Councilmember Varichak asked if he is not there to sign for the letter what happens.
Mr. Hickok replied it will go back to the Post Office after a couple of attempts unless someone
wants to sign for him. Standard mail would have better results than a registered letter.
Mayor Lund stated he does not think they should do that.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated they should send a letter.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 22
OLD BUSINESS:
13. Resolution Adopting Assessment for the 2008 Street Improvement Project No.
2008 — 1(Tabled October 27, 2008).
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to remove this item from the table. Seconded by
Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No. 2008-54. Seconded by
Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Mayor Lund said Mr. Becklin indicated he was going to pay the assessment as he walked out.
He asked if he had 30 days to sign the waiver before he was added to this assessment.
Mr. Pribyl said he is not on the assessment roll. He opted not to be on the assessment roll by
not signing the document. Accordingly, he will be included in next year's street project.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they should send him a letter.
Mr. Pribyl said it would be good to clarify that.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if staff could look at the sanitary sewer connection and get
back to Mr. Becklin.
NEW BUSINESS:
14. Resolution Approving the 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Fridley and
Authorizing Staff to Distribute the Plan to the Metropolitan Council.
Julie Jones, Planning Manager, stated this is the phase of the Comprehensive Plan process
where the City Council is asked to adopt the final draft we are going to send to the Metropolitan
Council. This is actually the fourth printed draft of the Comprehensive Plan. The first draft of
the plan was printed for the December 19 Planning Commission public hearing last year. After
changes were made from the public hearing they printed another draft for the City Council to
review at their February 11 Council meeting. Changes were made again to the plan after that
meeting, and staff printed a third draft to be sent to the 17 surrounding jurisdictions. Staff took
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 23
into account the comments made by surrounding jurisdictions and have printed this fourth draft.
In the memorandum for this item, she has enumerated the many changes that have been made
since the February 11 Council meeting to the Comprehensive Plan. She would like to highlight
the changes they have made in light of comments from the surrounding jurisdictions.
Ms. Jones stated Anoka County presented us with several pages of comments, a number of them
in regards to the Housing Chapter of the plan. They wanted to see more mention of some of the
County housing programs that they have. Staff accommodated their request and made changes
in the housing chapter of the plan. The County also commented about information about the
groundwater level trends, so Mr. Kosluchar created a table to accommodate that in Chapter 11 of
the plan. The County also suggested future source and groundwater activities, and those are
currently considered in this and in other plans. The County requested some minor updates to the
parks and trails data, which was completed in Chapter 7.
Ms. Jones stated in the transportation section, the County made several suggestions for some
minor adjustments to text, maps, and tables, and those have been completed as well. The County
did express concern about keeping bike routes off of County roads. The dilemma we had,
however, was that people wanted to have better bike access across and on County roads. So we
kept our comments as is in the plan related to that.
Ms. Jones stated MnDOT also provided some comments. The most noteworthy one was
regarding the redesign of the southbound exit off I-694 and University Avenue. We indicated in
the plan that we felt that exit could be better designed to prevent accidents at 53rd. Their
response was they did not find any evidence in accident data that there was a problem there.
Staff continues to disagree with MnDOT on that issue, so we have left that in the plan.
Ms. Jones stated they also had comments from a couple other jurisdictions. The City of Coon
Rapids commented that the proposal to extend Medtronic Parkway west to East River Road,
including a bridge over the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks, would benefit the community.
The Columbia Heights School District noted support for action steps related to the Safe Route to
School Program, sidewalks, bike lanes, trails and more gym space for youth.
Ms. Jones stated besides making changes in response to comments from surrounding
jurisdictions, staff also took advantage of the six-month review period and made some formatting
changes to the water chapters, Chapters 10, 11, and 12 to match up with new State requirements.
Staff did not want to submit the plan to Metropolitan Council and have to make those changes
later. The Met Council made some recommendations, and as a result, staff ended up
reorganizing Chapter 10 so it was similar in format to Chapter 11. Chapter 11 was modified to
match new State formatting requirements. Chapter 12 was reorganized to better match the
outline at the beginning of the chapter as well as new State guidelines. It is noted in Chapter 12,
the Local Service Water Management Plan, that it really is meant to be just an addendum to our
existing plan. The City is going to have to redo that plan once Rice Creek Watershed and Six
Cities Watershed Management Organization create their plan.
Ms. Jones stated as far as action step changes, the only part that has been changed is the
transportation section in Chapter 14. There had been an action step previously about
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 24
snowplowing trails and that has been removed as this seems to be a budgeting decision that is
made year to year.
Ms. Jones stated an action step related to studying a bike and pedestrian bridge possibility over
I-694 was also removed. Shortly after the Council meeting in February, staff inet with
representatives from the City of Columbia Heights. The interest seemed to be more in focusing
and directing bicycle and pedestrian traffic on Seventh Street where there is a safe access
underneath the freeway rather than on a bridge over the freeway. They added three action steps
in the transportation section related to comments from Anoka County. One relates to access
guidelines for county and state roadways. Another relates to coordinating with other agencies to
establish future transportation right-of-way needs. Another relates to considering needs of older
drivers in designing safety street improvements.
Ms. Jones stated the draft Comprehensive Plan has to be forwarded to the Metropolitan Council
by December 31. The original deadline had been September 8 but Met Council extended it
because so many communities were behind schedule. Staff recommends approval of this draft
Comprehensive Plan by resolution.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated on February 11, there were a lot of comments made by
Council members and the public. She asked if they were addressed. She just received a copy of
the minutes tonight and did not have a chance to go through them.
Ms. Jones replied, yes, she went through the City Council meeting minutes from February 11
and the Planning Commission hearing in December. The items that were discussed and
presented have been addressed in the plan.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked about Action Step 6 in the Transportation Chapter.
Ms. Jones replied the action step had been worded originally in the previous draft of the plan in
such a way that we could automatically get it by asking for it. The County's point was this is
something we need to work together and determine whether it is needed. So staff changed a
word in that action step to accommodate Council's request.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated she mentions the Rice Creek Watershed, do we have any idea
when they are going to be getting the information back to us? Did she understand that would be
put in the plan later?
Ms. Jones replied that our Chapter 12 is simply an addendum to the existing plan that was
approved, she believed, in 2001. We have to redo our plan but cannot until the Rice Creek
Watershed and Six Cities WMO do their plans. That plan will be a separate freestanding
document.
James Kosluchar, Public Works Director, stated he knows the administrator of the Rice Creek
Watershed District reviewed the plan and did not see any substantial interferences.
Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, stated the last time they submitted the
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 25
Comprehensive Plan to the Met Council, we were working with the State on a shoreland
ordinance. This would be very similar, where the comment back then from the Metropolitan
Council was please submit your shoreland ordinance once it has been reviewed by the State of
Minnesota and approved and you can put it in plan form.
Mayor Lund asked about the wording and changes made to Chapter 5, Housing, regarding the
S-1 Hyde Park zoning district.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated she is concerned about this getting inserted into the plan like it
is a thing that is going to happen. She thinks that a discussion really needs to go on with the
neighborhood related to changing. This has been a problem for many years.
Ms. Jones stated they did have that the City "needs" to amend S-1 zoning. At the February 11
meeting, Councilmember Bolkcom suggested that we change it to state that the City needs to
"consider" amending. Staff reworded it according to her suggestion.
Mayor Lund stated he certainly likes the wording better as an action step. He does not think
they should make an assumption before discussion.
Councilmember Bolkcom said she is concerned with the connection and the money that would
be spent. She does not want to see any redevelopment in that area stalled because this is in the
Comprehensive Plan.
William Burns, City Manager, asked if she was talking about the 57th Avenue connection.
Councilmember Bolkcom replied, yes.
Mr. Hickok stated there were a number of reasons why that was in the plan, one of which was
the emergency access to East River Road. We see it in the plan and have stated it in the plan as
being an east-west connection for the community. There is a huge population over on East River
Road that takes a circuitous route to get to the center part of the City. From a development
prospective, we heard a lot about trying to create more of a commercial center and to think
about, for example, the JLT site developing as its own island and to think about somebody who
lives, for example, just north of the City Hall. For them to go down, get on I-694, get off I-694,
and get back on that site, it makes the marketability of that site very, very different. This is not
only about the JLT site but it gives one example beyond emergency. The other is linking a part
of the community. This is meant to make a parkway from Highway 65 to East River Road and to
allow integration of a lot of business activity along the corridor. They think it will be a real plus
in terms of future development along that corridor.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated it goes through a residential area at some point and there are so
many people who rush through our community. To her it seems it is another avenue for people
to rush through our community and increase noise and pollution. She already thinks of East
River Road, University, and Central as three freeways through our community.
Mr. Hickok stated they hope people slow down in the community and actually enj oy their time
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 26
here and spend some money here. Right now there is a lot of traveling through and not a lot of
incentive to slow down. What is being suggested in the plan is the opportunity to slow down.
To have this corridor which is much more inviting. A place where you can actually get out and
walk from shop to shop if you wanted to, and a connection we never had before that we think
could be a very nice addition to our commercial environment.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated maybe we can apply for Federal funds in the new economic
stimulus pay in February.
Mr. Hickok said we will look at all sources. They are not pretending that it is a City project or
a City/County split project. This has a lot of different agency possibilities. They could not do it
without evaluating a lot of options.
Mayor Lund stated if Councilmember Bolkcom feels strongly about it, she could just simply
ask to have it removed. There have been other discussions about this, and one of our
commission members has voiced his opposition against it as well. He said it was okay to have a
vision. He also thinks this is probably a pie in the sky. There are many other things that have a
better likelihood of occurring, and this is something way out there as far as he is concerned.
However, he is not opposed to that. When you talk about parkway, in his vision it would be
more of a curved street so you are not racing down it. A parkway talks about landscaping, and
large trucks are not allowed on that. But then again, that depends on what would really be
developed, and he thinks it would be more commercial-type businesses if it ever became a
reality. With the cost of the bridge, even if they got something like that, it would be many years
down the road right now. Just putting it down on paper does not mean it is going to be reality.
Councilmember Barnette stated he thinks it is an idea. It is a project that you can look at that
might happen some day. He thinks what Mr. Holm sent them, gave the impression this is
probably 10-20 years down the pipe. He said they had some dreams some years ago. He thinks
back to coming to Fridley across 44th Avenue and going across the railroad tracks. They put a
bridge there. These are future ideas to him, but that is how things happen. The Comprehensive
Plan to him, as he reads it, especially on the housing is very, very good because it says these are
the things that are in there. These are the things the Met Council thinks we should maybe do.
Every community in the nine-county area has to do this, and they all have to come up with
proposals. The Met Council has good ideas for Fridley. Maple Grove, Andover and these other
communities are going to be hit with this housing idea a whole lot more than we are. So he does
not see anything wrong with these ideas. He would like to see it stay in as an idea.
Mr. Hickok stated he thinks it so important that they do consider it because within the next
couple of ineetings they are going to be hearing back from JLT on the development of their site.
If we do not preserve a right-of-way and an opportunity to put in the roadway, and a building
gets placed in the way, the dream of a 57th Avenue extension goes away. He said he thinks it
preserves our options even if the bridge does not happen. They can develop the site in a way that
has nice access from the East River Road side but could leave a bridge as an option for the
future.
Tom Myhra, 6360 Able Street NE, said he is representing the Concerned Citizens of Fridley.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 27
He has heard each of them saying they really want the public input on this thing. He asked what
kind of turnout would there have been if something had gone out to the public saying tonight we
are going to do something that will affect your livelihood in Fridley for the next eight years.
Mayor Lund stated they do have that ability. He just allowed him to speak. He asked if anyone
else wanted to.
Mr. Myhra stated he is talking about the other people who are not here.
Mayor Lund stated they certainly have the opportunity to come.
Mr. Myhra stated it is at the end of a long meeting. It is 10:00 p.m. We had four meetings run
by a woman from the Metropolitan Council at $7,000. The first two dealt with what the City
must do. The third one was more open. Finally, the fourth one they were able to rank and
housing maintenance was far, far higher than anything. There was a statement in one of the
drafts that really nothing was accomplished at those four meetings. Some errors that have crept
into it are still there. They saw a gross grammatical mistake, they quietly called it to the
attention of staff, nothing happened, and he does not know if they remember it. It had to do with
the public sediment. It should be public "sentiment" not sediment.
Mayor Lund asked if it is still there.
Ms. Jones replied, it has been corrected.
Mr. Myhra said another error is on Page 2 towards the bottom. It says in the planning
neighborhood committee range, there was a big crowd on the first one because of a private
interest group. First it is a"public" interest group. They say they handed out misleading
information. He was there handing it out. It was not misleading. What they said was that
people south of 694, west of the University, east of Main Street, were being looked at for
redevelopment. You wanted to change some areas there to S-2 and that means that now it will
be considered because they set it. It does not mean it will pass but they have rights to do that.
That should have been changed.
Mayor Lund asked where it was.
Mr. Myhra stated at the end of the page, next to the last paragraph on Page 2.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated Chapter 1, Page 2, second paragraph from the bottom. She
asked what he would like it to say.
Mr. Myhra replied, it should say participation has dropped off for the other meetings. We do
not know why. He brought it up and somebody said we will look at the map. Look at the map
and that is taken out of Project 3. He is guessing that Project 3 is still in the same thing. If we
pass the Comprehensive Plan, those people will not be in this.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Myhra what he was talking about when he mentioned
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 28
Proj ect 3 .
Mr. Myhra stated projects 1, 2, and 3. Project 3 was the area. It is still down there but the
residential areas are taken out. It is on Page 23 of the new one. South of 694 is now out of there.
That is good by the way. He is not complaining. If you look at the new map it sounds like that
but at that time this map was still in effect. That should be clarified. The other thing was the
bridge to nowhere on Page 2. This body has the authority to amend this any time they want,
right?
Mayor Lund replied he did not know. Did he mean once they adopted it?
Mr. Myhra asked why they did not do it that way.
Mayor Lund stated he thinks the argument was, and it is a valid argument, is if we do lose the
right-of-way access by the old Lemaur site, it cannot happen. Now would be the time to achieve
getting that right-of-way on East River Road where that connection might be.
Mr. Myhra stated Tony Pistilli met with us and raised that question. What if staff wanted a
planning grant? Will the Met Council okay it? Probably, if Council votes for it. Before you
know it, we are going to have to spend almost a million dollars to sell it. He is terribly
concerned between homeownership occupied and rental. When he was on the Planning
Commission in 1974, the idea was 70/30. Then it went down to 60/40. He said 50/50 is not far
away.
Councilmember Bolkcom replied, actually her concern as far as rental property is that it is not
actual multi-housing. We have a lot of foreclosed homes and a lot of homes that are being rented
that we are not even capturing.
Mr. Myhra stated his concern is more crime and more everything.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if he was talking about having big complexes of rental.
Mr. Myhra replied, he is talking about 50/50.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked how they could prevent it. It could happen by people renting
their homes, or by people buying homes that are foreclosed. Right now our Fire Department said
there are a lot.
Mayor Lund stated what he is hearing is that although they may be agreeing with you about
what is rental and what is home ownership, there are some limitations as to what we can do.
They are aggressively trying to maintain the existing housing stock, both homeowner occupied
and rental. It is in the comprehensive plan. He does not see fault with that. Maintain a mix of
ownership and rental that meets the demographic needs of the community. It does not mean they
are looking for more rental. Provide more housing diversity. Our population is becoming more
and more diverse. Make Fridley a place where the seniors can stay.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 29
Councilmember Bolkcom stated one of her concerns is that we have some older rental property.
One of our biggest issues is how can we bring some of these apartment complexes up to the
standard that they are in other communities. Unfortunately, we have some landlords who cannot
get the same rent in the properties here in Fridley that they can in other communities because
they are older apartment complexes. She believes seniors have moved from the community
because there is no place they can stay in.
Mr. Myhra asked why they were planning some kind of grand thing saying, it is a great place to
live. It has this, this and this.
Councilmember Barnette stated he thinks the three-bedroom rambler is a common thing in
Fridley and are real saleable for young families.
Mayor Lund asked Mr. Myhra about the Concerned Citizens Group. He says it is a public
group. He asked if they charged a membership fee.
Mr. Myhra replied, no, they have never charged. They take donations.
Mayor Lund asked and it is open to the public.
Mr. Myhra replied anybody can come. If they come once, they will put them on their list as a
member.
Mayor Lund stated he went to meetings a couple of times, but was asked not to come again. He
was told he was not welcome.
Mr. Myhra stated not him.
Mayor Lund asked again about where the Comprehensive Plan talked about the private interest
group. He stated although there may have been some misinformation, it would not bother him if
the statement was removed. He asked if there was any particular reason why it has to be in there.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated she wondered if you just took out the section about "the
turnout was a result of some misleading information, indicating that the neighborhood was slated
for redevelopment."
Mr. Myhra stated they told them they were in the development area. They never told anybody
that means that it is going to happen. They never said that. They said it is there.
Mayor Lund stated if he thinks that statement is incorrect, then why does he think the
participation went from 145 people in the first meeting down to 56. People arrived thinking that
zoning was going to be discussed.
Mr. Hickok stated he did not see anything wrong with suggesting that participation dropped to
56 participants in the second meeting and leave it at that.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 30
Councilmember Barnette stated they said that was something that could be taken out with no
problem and have no effect.
Mayor Lund asked Mr. Myhra if he had any objection to that? No. It is not a problem.
Pam Reynolds, 1241 Norton Avenue N.E., said she was pleased to see in Chapter 5, in the draft
she has, on Page 62, at the bottom of the page, under housing policies, it says there is a continued
long-term four decades trend of a reduction in the percentage of owner-occupied housing. If we
eliminate the inclusion of manufactured homes in the table, owner-occupied is really down 63
percent and rental is up to 37. This trend does not match what Fridley residents reported that
future housing needs to be. Then the parts that Mayor Lund read, maintain a mix of ownership
that meets the demographic needs. It goes on to Page 65 to say, in summary, one of the things
we need to do is look at slowing or reversing the trend of more rental housing. Yet, on Page 23,
in Land Use, there is a chart that shows that single-family residential, the number of acres is
expected to drop. Then it shows that multi-family residential, the acreage dropped, and the only
place she can find that it went is into redevelopment.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated there was something there before.
Ms. Reynolds replied, no, it shows redevelopment as not applicable before that. Her concern is
it goes on in other parts of Chapter 5 to talk about changing zoning so we can increase densities.
The thing that concerns her there is nothing in the Chapter 14 implementation plan to talk about
how we are going to keep it at 63/37. It talks about changing zoning in Hyde Park but does not
talk about how we secure that zoning or that ratio. She thinks there should be something there.
In Chapter 14, Focus of the Plan, it says some members of the community feel the increased
density in population will be harmful to the community. Some feel that any growth or change in
the City will bring increased crime and the lowering of the economic stability of the community.
She was here once before and presented the Council with fact-based information and not
feelings. It was based on what researchers had found, not what other people felt. There was a
research study done, and the name of the study is, "Race, Sex, and Crime — Urban Violence."
Their finding is for robbery rates, the strongest predictor is the density of rental housing. The
whole book deals with what happens when you continue to increase density. So it is not a
feeling that this is going to happen, it is a fact.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated on Page 214, the action related to the City View
Redevelopment Concept, there was a fair amount earlier about some of those concepts, and it is a
mixed use, and it was addressed in there. It depends on how you perceive some of the action
plans because she thought that was one, and it is something that we continue to work on. It has
comments related to Hyde Park and whether there should be more density and whether it should
it looked at. With respect to the TIF district related to commuter rail, another opportunity that
we point out might not exactly say rental property. The housing maintenance code is another
one she thinks relates to whether you keep homes as actual owner-occupied. There is also the
remodeling advisor. These are all things that are keeping our housing conditions. They may not
exactly be related to owner occupied but are related to keeping them from becoming rental
properties.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 31
Ms. Reynolds stated the City center could increase owner-occupancies; but transit-oriented
development which is what the big area including Hyde Park is designated, typically is medium
to very high density. When you look at condos and townhomes, with anything that is multi-
family, a certain percentage of it is going to end up rental. You are just going to keep increasing
the rental at the same time you are reducing single-family.
Councilmember Bolkcom replied, depending on how you structure the condominiums and the
covenants and contracts with them. Sometimes only a certain percentage can be rental.
Ms. Reynolds stated so far in Fridley, the talk was always 5 percent that could still be rental.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated but 5 percent is pretty insignificant compared to the overall.
Ms. Jones stated in regards to the existing land use map as compared to the future land use map
and the drop in single family homes, the drop is due to the sections that end up being in those
redevelopment areas that they are referring to. It is not necessarily that they are planning on
changing certain areas of single family housing to something different. It is just that part of that
single-family number gets put into the redevelopment category.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked, but we really do not have any redevelopment in the existing
land use.
Ms. Jones replied, right, and when you look at the single-family usage on the existing land use
plan, 63.3, on Page 17, the acreage is 1,952, and in the future land use map, on Page 24, it drops
to 1,898. That is because part of that single-family acreage is in the redevelopment category.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated and the other redevelopment was not single-family homes.
Ms. Jones replied in the Hyde Park neighborhood, which is mostly single-family zoning it is
then put into that redevelopment category. It is taken out so it affects those numbers.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated, so we are only talking about 54 acres if you look at 1952 vs.
1986.
Ms. Jones said she just wanted to explain that it is not because we think that is not going to still
be single-family housing. It is very clearly stated in one of our policies that in projects that the
City has some control over, we would be focusing on owner-occupied housing to boost that
percentage of home ownership.
Mayor Lund stated he thinks her point also was, as a conclusion, action steps needed to be taken
to try and maintain that 65/35 split.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Ms. Jones how would she address it. The policies are there but
there are no action steps to connect with other policies.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 32
Ms. Jones replied a lot of the action steps that are in the housing section point towards
preserving that owner-occupied housing. There are certain things that are beyond the City's
limitations and we, unfortunately, need to face that reality.
Councilmember Bolkcom said on Page 64, there is an action step related to good conditions, it
probably should not say it should be adopted, but rather, we actually have adopted and are
enforcing a housing maintenance code.
Ms. Jones apologized and said she thought they had changed that.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated there are action steps related to maintaining owner-occupied
homes in the community.
A1 Stahlberg, stated Chapter 1, Page 4, Goal No. 2, it says "Redevelop eyesores like Columbia
Arena, salvage yards, Holly Shopping Center, Moon Plaza, East Moore Lake Shopping area,
Hyde Park apartments, Old Shorewood restaurant site." Somewhere else it talks about Hyde
Park Apartments with inadequate parking and garbage facilities or dumpster areas. He did not
think the Holly Shopping Center or Moon Plaza were eyesores.
Councilmember Bolkcom said they are deteriorated and aged. They are not maintained.
Mr. Stahlberg replied, thought that should come under code enforcement.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated she did not think it is the outside of the property. It is an old
property. They would be hard-pressed to find something wrong in the housing maintenance code
against the property. The businesses come and go from that area.
Mayor Lund stated the Holly Center put up a new fa�ade. He does not know if he would
classify it as an eyesore. Moon Plaza has actually done some redoing of their fa�ade, too, as
well, but he knows there are some issues. Code enforcement are pursuing code enforcement
issues all the time. Redevelopment is hopefully going to occur on some of the aging properties.
Mr. Stahlberg replied you do not have to knock down everything because it is 30 or 40 years
old. Styles change.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated it does not say they are going to knock them down.
Mr. Stahlberg said when you are calling something an eyesore, then you are calling something
blighted and all of a sudden the federal government can step in. Hyde Park Apartments are
mentioned a couple of times. Allow them to build a bigger parking lot or screen something.
Mayor Lund replied, they would probably allow them to build a bigger parking lot if they have
the space.
Mr. Stahlberg stated you may have to change how much green space they are allowed. They
are older buildings and more people have more cars now.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 33
Mayor Lund stated he thinks the objectives are pretty good. Something needs to happen at
Columbia Arena.
Councilmember Bolkcom suggested taking the word "eyesore" out.
Mr. Stahlberg replied it does not bother him. Under Goal No. 2 it also mentions more public
transportation to reduce congestion. If you go to the Met Council's desire for 116 units, the
more people you get in here, the more congestion, traffic, and air pollution.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated it says public transportation which has nothing to do with
single-family cars.
Mr. Stahlberg said after that it mentions reducing congestion and supporting the Northstar Rail.
If you are bringing more people in because of the Northstar and the Met Council says we have to
have 116 more people or housing units, that is not right there. People are going to drive to the
Northstar. More people than probably are there normally.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated she doubts very many people are going to drive to that station
and go somewhere. It is people from the north and that is who they are trying to get, people who
drive from way up north. It only goes six times a day. They will take a bus that goes much more
often.
Mr. Stahlberg asked why have it.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated it is not just for people from Fridley, it is for people coming
from up north who are coming to work in the City. There might be a bus that takes them over to
Onan or to Medtronic or something.
Mr. Stahlberg said he was talking about the increase in congestion. Spoke about the 57tn
Avenue bridge. He said if JLT or whoever buys that property, they cannot build the way they
want to because of the bridge. That might be a stumbling block for developing that piece of
property. Where is the parking lot, where is the building etc. All they could logically do is put a
parking lot where the potential bridge might go otherwise you would have too much cost.
Mayor Lund replied, that has been considered.
Mr. Stahlberg stated Chapter 5, Page 58, talks about livable communities. Where are they
going to get the money?
Mayor Lund stated the Livable Communities Act funds have leveraged additional dollars into
private and public investment which has provided new jobs and business growth on otherwise
contaminated sites. He does not have any issues with that statement.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated, if you read further down, it says meeting the Met Council's
requirements to remain a livable community has been increasingly difficult over the years for
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 34
Fridley. She thinks they are addressing that it might not be something they are doing. She thinks
it is pretty clear we are saying that we are unsure we can continue to be part of that.
Ms. Stahlberg asked so are they going to pull out of the LCA?
Mayor Lund stated he thinks they struggle trying to meet their requirements.
Councilmember Bolkcom said she did not think we have applied for any grants for a while.
Mr. Hickok replied we have not.
Mayor Lund asked if that is a federal program administered by the State?
Mr. Hickok replied, yes.
Mr. Stahlberg asked what the City is committing to when we sign up for it.
Mayor Lund stated we leave all our options open whether we use Livable Communities Act
money if we meet their criteria or not.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated it has been huge for some of our businesses. All of our
businesses are very important to our community in keeping our tax base the way it is.
Mr. Stahlberg asked but are those mostly TIF or LCA?
Councilmember Bolkcom replied some of them are TIF.
Mr. Stahlberg replied, he is just asking if we are committing ourselves to something we may not
want to be a part of.
Mayor Lund stated he does not see anything here saying we are committed to it. He does not
see any negative side for those properties that Mr. Stahlberg specifically talked about.
Mr. Stahlberg stated it was just calling them an eyesore, when they are a big part of Fridley's
retail area and they are not as pretty as they used to be 20 years ago.
Mayor Lund stated he would not have any problem with using kinder terminology. As far as
the Livable Communities Act, he is going to leave it alone. He thinks it is fine.
Mr. Stahlberg stated he is still not sure about the word "urban." Are we urban or suburban? On
Chapter 3, Page 13, the City has also approved two different rezonings to allow two three-story
senior condominiums. He asked if they think the senior housing will happen.
Mayor Lund stated not the existing proposals that were there.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated she thinks the next statement says as the trend continues
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 35
Fridley will wrestle with the interface of the old with the new and should be prepared to
accommodate change and make plans in an orderly manner. She thinks that is very well put.
Mayor Lund stated if Mr. Stahlberg is asking if it is going to happen, no, not the two that were
proposed.
Mr. Stahlberg asked if they would be considered part of the Met Council's 116 housing units.
Mayor Lund replied, they are housing units.
Mr. Stahlberg stated on Page 40, on the bottom of the page, 4.5 Summary, members of the
community want exciting redevelopment projects in Fridley.
Mayor Lund stated it is on Page 41. Mr. Stahlberg is looking at an old draft.
Mr. Stahlberg stated members of the community want exciting redevelopment projects that they
see in other areas.
Mayor Lund asked what is wrong with the summary.
Mr. Stahlberg stated the summary is you have a contradiction in Chapter 5, Page 42, where it
says preserving the quality of the existing homes and neighborhood clearly receives the greatest
support in the goal evaluation process. On the contrary, the policy to provide more affordable
housing generally expanding the housing supply received little support.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if he was at the neighborhood planning meetings where they
did the block exercises. It was very clear those were some of the things that were brought up.
Mr. Stahlberg asked, but then how do you explain the section in Chapter 5, Page 42, in the
second paragraph from the bottom, preserving the quality of existing homes and neighborhoods
clearly received the greatest support in the process. On the contrary, policies providing
affordable housing and generally expanding the housing supply which the Met Council wants to
do, receives little support. We are back to the 116 units.
Councilmember Saefke stated the Anoka County definition of an affordable house is $200,000.
Right now a lot of people cannot even afford that and would go into foreclosure. When you
throw the term "affordable housing" out as if it is a bad thing, you have to know what your
definitions are on the federal, state, and metropolitan level. A$200,000 house will be a pretty
nice house.
Mr. Stahlberg asked how much of Fridley right now would be considered affordable. He would
say 75, 80, 90 percent. When they are talking about more affordable housing, maybe they have
not looked at what the class of most Fridley's housing is.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated she did not quite understand why he keeps bringing up the Met
Council and the 116 affordable homes. Where are we saying we are adopting what they want us
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 36
to do?
Mr. Stahlberg replied because they control so much of the money that comes out to us and to
the whole metro area. Chapter 5, Page 56.
Mayor Lund stated to Mr. Stahlberg, he talked about Chapter 4 and the summary and then he
said it was contradictory in Chapter 5 in Housing. We are talking about two different chapters.
He does not see any contradiction at all when going through this.
Mr. Stahlberg stated Chapter 5, Page 42, at the top says "Housing Plan."
Mayor Lund stated, exactly, and that is the distinction he is trying to tell them. They are talking
about a contradiction in Chapter 4 vs. Chapter 5 in housing. Chapter 4 is talking about economic
redevelopment. They are separate issues, separate chapters.
Mr. Stahlberg stated in the summary in Chapter 4, he cannot see that most people would have a
problem with more commercial or industrial as long as it is not infringing on their houses. When
people said they wanted things to stay the same, maybe they did not quite understand the
question.
Mr. Stahlberg stated regarding Chapter 5, Page 55, the bottom talks about in Fridley's case the
Met Council is forecasting that the City will experience growth of 1,000 new households
between 2000 and 2030. Our population is dropping right now, he does not know where they
come up with that. During 2011-2020, the need for affordable housing units in Fridley has been
set at 116 by the Met Council. So much of our housing stock is what is set at affordable.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Stahlberg to read the next sentence, stating that the City is
not required to construct and finance these 116 affordable housing units.
Mr. Stahlberg mentioned the net growth of 300 units they forecast Fridley to experience during
the upcoming decade.
Councilmember Barnette said he could envision something on the Columbia Arena site that
would maybe be a church, or building a senior center there, or maybe 50-60-70 units, with
another 55 over at Sandee's, all seniors, probably, "for sale" units. He does not think 116 is a
big figure at all.
Mr. Stahlberg said he objects to the Met Council deciding what we need or do not need.
Councilmember Barnette replied these are recommendations and are not cast in stone. Look at
cities like Andover and Maple Grove. They are being required to come up with 1,400 units.
Mayor Lund stated keep in mind the market drives by demand. These are projections.
Mr. Stahlberg stated he is talking about the inconsistencies.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 37
Mayor Lund stated he does not see them, but if there is something in error he wants to see it
changed. Mr. Stahlberg has brought up a number of issues and they have tried to deal with each
and every one of them. Met Council's numbers are their numbers and they have incorporated
their numbers into the plan to be consistent. It does not mean we are going to hit those numbers.
It tells us right in there that we are not required to.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated Mr. Stahlberg keeps bringing that up but if you look at Page
56, the second paragraph, while the City is not required to construct and finance these 116
affordable housing, they are only required to demonstrate in this plan that we do have land in our
community properly designated to accommodate it. It could be rental or owner occupied.
Councilmember Saefke stated on Page 55, Chapter 5, under affordable housing, in Fridley's
case, the Metropolitan Council is forecasting that the City will experience the growth of 1,000
households. They are estimating what it amounts to. Again, you can come up with 116 units
which we are not required to do, but on that guesstimate of Fridley's growth within the next 10
years, they are suggesting to take that extra 1,000 households and you will need another 116
units. He asked what the problem was.
Mr. Stahlberg replied, they are talking about 1,000 households, not 1,000 people.
Councilmember Saefke replied, he understands that, and they seem to think we have enough to
accommodate those households. They are guesstimating we are going to need 116 more units to
accommodate the extra households. And that would be some development on the arena property.
The Comprehensive Plan is talking about how our community is changing. You come up with
the term "rural" or "urban" or "suburban." Do you think that together with all the communities
surrounding Minneapolis and St. Paul, we are included in the metropolitan area? We have to
prepare for future needs of a metropolitan area.
Mayor Lund stated he would like to change the verbiage to replace "eyesore."
Ms. Jones stated that term actually came from the neighborhood planning meetings. That is not
something staff put in there.
Mayor Lund asked if it is okay with the Council if they would just remove "eyesore."
Ms. Jones stated it is in two different places because it comes from the original chapter, the first
chapter.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No. 2008-55. Seconded by
Councilmember Barnette.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 38
2. Resolution Regarding the Disposition of Certain Tax Forfeited Lands, Pursuant to
Minnesota Statutes, Section 282.01, Located Within the City of Fridley, Minnesota
(Ward 3).
Councilmember Bolkcom asked to see where the property was.
William Burns, City Manager, stated they are both in the middle of the park.
Councilmember Barnette asked about the third property.
Mr. Hickok replied said it is too small for a house. We do not see any reason for having it in
our inventory.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked so we should purchase 17 and 18 but this one has no purpose.
Mr. Hickok stated it is too small to redevelop. It is probably best utilized or best served as
being a parcel that is attached to one of the adjacent lots, increasing their square foot dimension.
Councilmember Bolkcom said the two we want make sense. Could they have the County offer
the lot to the other properties on either side of it? They could make a bid.
Mr. Hickok stated parcels like this sit for a long time unless someone really shows an interest.
The public would need to get an appraisal on it and they would be paying something around fair
market value for it. Frankly, he cannot see that being valuable unless you are an adjacent
property owner. The other two parcels have always been part of Glencoe Park but were privately
owned. We just learned through this process that they are not of the status we thought they once
were, and that makes it necessary for us to buy those two lots.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked so we buy these two lots and they are now private park If we
wanted to sell them down the line, we could not.
Mr. Hickok replied if you buy parcels that were tax forfeiture for purposes of park, they became
sacred as park.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No. 2008-51. Seconded by
Councilmember Barnette.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
6. Approve Antenna Site Lease Agreement Between the City of Fridley and the
Metropolitan Council.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked what would be the normal rate if we were to put someone else
on the Commons Park water tower.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10, 2008 PAGE 39
Mr. Kosluchar replied, $1,200 to $1,500 a month.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated she understands a portion of it is serving a public purpose.
Now that they are going to be on that tower, does it limit someone else from going on that tower?
Mr. Kosluchar replied we actually already have two. The equipment is small.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked how did we arrive at $500. Is that the normal rate?
Mr. Kosluchar stated that was their figure, and he thinks it was just a low figure they wanted to
include.
Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they have checked with our communities.
Mr. Kosluchar stated it is his understanding that other communities have dedicated this and
donated it as part of the system.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated it just seems like they are getting a really good deal.
Mr. Kosluchar replied, yes, but we in return are having our station monitored. This is how they
monitor the tunnel and the other things at the station.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve the Antenna Site Lease Agreement with the
Metropolitan Council. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
15. Informal Status Report.
Mayor Lund offered his congratulations to the three newest inductees to the Hall of Fame from
the Fridley Historical Society: Bob Barnette, Bob Cook and Ed Fitzpatrick.
ADJOURN.
MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 11:36 P.M.
Respectfully submitted by,
Denise M. Johnson Scott J. Lund
Recording Secretary Mayor