CCM 08/25/2014
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
CITY OF FRIDLEY
AUGUST 25, 2014
The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:05 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mayor Lund
Councilmember Barnette
Councilmember Saefke
Councilmember Varichak
Councilmember Bolkcom
OTHERS PRESENT:
Wally Wysopal, City Manager
Darcy Erickson, City Attorney
Scott Hickok, Community Development Director
James Kosluchar, Public Works Director
Darin Nelson, Finance Director/Treasurer
Kay Qualley, Environmental Planner
Debra A. Skogen, City Clerk
Miranda Zimmer, City Intern
Todd Olin, EQEC Chairperson
Paul Westby, EQEC Commissioner
APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
City Council Meeting of August 11, 2014.
APPROVED.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Resolution Approving Final Plat, P.S. #14-02, by Fridley Land LLC, the Property
owner of 4800 East River Road N.E., to Allow the Redevelopment of the Property.
Wally Wysopal,
City Manager, stated staff is requesting this item be removed and placed on the
regular agenda.
THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 2
2. Receive and Reject Bid for the Safe Routes to School Project No. ST2011-21.
RECEIVED AND REJECTED BID.
3. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 FOR MAIN STREET BIKE/WALK
PROJECT NO. ST2011-22.
APPROVED.
4. Approve Anoka County Law Enforcement Training Center Use Agreement.
APPROVED.
5. Appointments: City Employees
Mr. Wysopal
stated there are two new City employees to be appointed. The first is Jolene
Buberl as Permit Technician, effective August 28, 2014. The second is Shawn Murphy filling
the vacant Police Officer position, effective August 26, 2014.
APPROVED.
6. Claims: 1408 (ACH Picard), 165001-165198.
APPROVED.
7. Licenses.
APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE.
8. Estimate.
Blackstone Contractors, LLC
7775 Corcoran Trail East
Corcoran, MN 55340
Oak Glen Creek Erosion Control
Project No. 380
Estimate No. 5.........................................................$32,138.02
APPROVED.
APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA:
Councilmember Barnette
asked to remove Item No. 1 per the request of staff.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 3
MOTION
by Councilmember Barnette to approve the proposed consent agenda with the
removal of Item No. 1. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
OPEN FORUM:
No one from the audience spoke.
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA:
MOTION
by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the agenda with the addition of Item No. 1.
Seconded by Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
NEW BUSINESS:
9. Resolution Certifying Proposed Tax Levy Requirements for 2015 to the County of
Anoka.
Darin Nelson
, Finance Director, stated this item does comply with the City Charter
requirements. The total proposed 2015 levy equates to $11,734,607, which is about $258,807 or
1.94 percent more than the 2014 levy.
Mr. Nelson
stated the impact this will have on the average homeowner is difficult to determine
at this time because of the shift in property valuations and the fact that the County does not have
all the fiscal disparity information available to complete tax calculations at this time. That
information will come out later in September.
Mr. Nelson
stated there were significant changes in property valuations from 2013 to 2014. The
valuations on January 1, 2014, are what are used to pay the 2015 taxes. That is the levy the City
will impose at the end of this year for next year. After seeing several years of decline, the
residential market values have now rebounded and increased about 17 percent over last year.
Last year, residential property taxes went down about 6 or 7 percent, and commercial went down
about 4 or 5 percent. This year, commercial/industrial is going up 5.8 percent. This means that
this year, residential homeowners were not burdened as much with the tax increase as they were
the prior year. Next year, the proposed levy is set to increase by 1.94 percent, but the shift in
property valuations will go back to the residential property owners. Right now that ratio is at 59
percent residential and 41 percent commercial for next year. The residential property owners
will likely see a higher percentage increase compared to the total levy at 1.94 percent.
Mr. Nelson
stated a home valued at $135,000 last year will go up to $150,000 with the increase
of market value. Staff estimates a $35 to $40 increase in taxes, or about 5.5 percent.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 4
Mayor Lund
asked if that was the average value home in Fridley.
Mr. Nelson
stated he did not know what the average value home is. Last year they took three
price levels of homes. They took a higher valued home, a middle valued home, and a lowered
value home, and did the tax comparisons for each of those. For tonight's purposes he took the
middle-valued home. It was $150,000 last year and that is now going up to $175,000 this year.
Mr. Nelson
stated Truth in Taxation notices will be mailed to all property owners in mid-
November, as that is when they pass the preliminary levy. The County will be able to do tax
calculations and send out notices in mid-November so people can see what the impact is then.
Mr. Nelson
stated this is the proposed levy and is required to be sent to the County Auditor by
September 30 this year. This is the maximum levy that can be certified to the County Auditor.
The City does have the opportunity to reduce the levy but cannot increase it from this point on.
Mr. Nelson
said in keeping with state law regarding the budget meeting for 2015, they are
announcing tonight that the public meeting for the 2015 budget and tax levy will be held on
December 8 at 7 p.m. at the Fridley Municipal Center. At that meeting, the public will have an
opportunity to talk about the budget and the levy. There is also a budget work session scheduled
for October 20 in Meeting Rooms 1 and 2 at the Fridley Municipal Center.
Mr. Nelson
stated staff recommends Council’s approval.
MOTION
by Councilmember Varichak to adopt Resolution No. 2014-56. Seconded by
Councilmember Bolkcom.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
10. Resolution Adopting the 2015 Proposed Budget.
Darin Nelson,
Finance Director, stated the certification of the proposed budget must be to the
County Auditor by September 30 in accordance with state law regarding budget levies. The City
is following all the requirements laid out in Chapter 275 of the State Statutes. By having this
item on the agenda this evening, the City is complying with Section 7.05 of the City Charter
requiring that the proposed budget be a principal item of business at a regular meeting in August.
Mr. Nelson
stated the proposed total general fund expenditures are set to increase by about .7
percent. This does include a 1.5 percent COLA increase for Personnel Services. The increases
accounted for in the City's expenditures are anticipated to go up about .7 percent. The City has
had additional allocations of direct costs this year that bring down the expenditures within the
General Fund.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 5
Mr. Nelson
said the City is expecting an increase in proposed General Fund revenue of about .5
percent. Therefore, the City is really having a balanced budget.
Mr. Nelson
stated the tax levy allocation has been adjusted a little bit, bringing more money into
the General Fund. Last year, the City had an allocation dedicated to the Capital Equipment
Fund. The LGA has increased from about $760,000 to about $1.3 million, which is money that
has been certified for next year but has not been collected yet.
Mr. Nelson
stated the revenues on the General Fund side are broken down between taxes,
licenses and permits, intergovernmental charges for services, fines and forfeits, special
assessments, miscellaneous, and other financing sources.
Mr. Nelson
stated as to the expenditure side of things, it is broken down between personnel
services, supplies or services and charges, capital outlays and other financing uses. Here again it
is the .7 percent increase in expenditures. That is comparing the 2015 to the 2014 budget.
Personnel services will only see a minor increase, mainly because some of the City's direct costs
have been allocated to different funds this year.
Mr. Nelson
said in comparing the 2014 budget to the 2015 proposed budget, the 2014 budget
had a minor surplus of about $33,000. For next year, the City is projecting a balanced budget at
this point in time. The fund balances are at appropriate levels, and the City is sitting fairly well
with the General Fund. The City is right where it needs to be.
Mr. Nelson
stated there are additional steps and meetings in the budget process. There will be
another Council budget work session on October 20. The public meeting on the budget is
scheduled for December 8, at which time the public will be given an opportunity to discuss the
budget and levy. An in-depth budget presentation will be presented that evening too. The first
meeting in December is the public meeting, and the second meeting in December is when
Council will approve final resolutions for both the tax levy and the budget.
Councilmember Barnette
stated when some people look at their tax statement, they
immediately blame the City. What they have to realize is that the County and the School District
are major factors in that tax statement. He is very proud of the way the City handles its finances.
Compared to many cities, Fridley is very, very responsible. He believes the School District levy
for this current year went down considerably.
Mr. Nelson
replied he believed they did have levies that went off the books for 2014. The City
usually makes up about 25 percent of the taxes.
MOTION
by Councilmember Saefke to adopt Resolution No. 2014-57. Seconded by
Councilmember Barnette.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 6
11. Resolution Adopting the 2015-2019 Capital Improvements Program.
Mr. Nelson
stated Council has had a couple of work sessions on the 2015-2019 Capital
Improvements Program. The CIP is the City's plan to provide and maintain facilities for citizens
and businesses of Fridley within the constraints of limited resources. Similar to an annual
operating budget, the CIP is a policy document. While it details capital expenditures in the City
over the next five years, changes in the City's priorities and available resources require the plan
be reevaluated on an annual basis. This is the second year of the new stand-alone CIP document.
In the past, the CIP was incorporated as part of the annual budget. The goal in creating the
stand-alone CIP is to focus on capital projects for both the upcoming year and the foreseeable
future and talk about policy decisions and overall view in the long-term.
Mr. Nelson
stated capital projects require planning well into the future to assure financing
implementations and procedures are all in alignment and the document assists with that process.
Mr. Nelson
said 100 percent of the City's anticipated Local Government Aid will be dedicated to
the capital projects. The City worked hard over the last several years to remove LGA from the
General Fund and dedicate it towards the capital projects. They did that on the sole notion that
LGA is never a 100 percent guaranteed. There can be a lot of cuts to LGA all the way up to the
very end of December, and being able to work with capital projects that are for the most part
one-time, non-recurring events makes it easier to plan. The LGA funding for 2015 is certified at
$1.3 million. The City gets the first part around July, and the last part in December.
Mr. Nelson
stated another highlight of the CIP which was also a goal of the Council was to
reduce and eventually eliminate the use of capital equipment certificates. With the addition of
LGA funding last year that goal is now realized. The City has been able to eliminate any
foreseeable need for capital equipment certificates, given the LGA levels are maintained and the
City receives those. That does include the purchase of a fire engine in the CIP for the upcoming
year. That is a great accomplishment.
Mr. Nelson
stated approval tonight of the CIP is not the last step in the budget process. The
capital items noted in the 2015 columns will all be included in the 2015 annual budget. At the
budget work session in October, they will see all the capital projects and there will be a
correlation between the CIP document and the budget. Council will review the entire budget at
the October work session. Approval is set for December.
Mr. Nelson
stated staff recommends Council’s approval.
MOTION
by Councilmember Bolkcom to receive the 2015-2019 Capital Improvements
Program plan dated August 25, 2014. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 7
Mayor Lund
said he liked the capital improvements projects being funded by LGA because the
City was discontinuing at this time to further debt through its bonding, which it had been doing
the last several years because of the shortfalls. Now that the City is once again receiving LGA,
he just wants the taxpayers to know they are discontinuing putting the City into further debt by
bonding for equipment that is needed. That is the biggest benefit he sees.
Councilmember Bolkcom
asked Mr. Nelson to explain why equipment ended up on the list, the
process that was used with the different department heads and the priorities, etc. Last year it was
started but was a lot more refined this year which she thought was very helpful.
Mr. Nelson
said with respect to the priority list, they came up with a standard of priorities—
rating it a one, two, or three. Level 1 was assigned to projects that provide protection to the
health, safety, welfare, and/or property and if they were legal mandates. Level 2 was assigned to
projects that provide efficiencies in operations or significant return (for example, increases to
operational efficiencies or pursuing other outside funding sources, ability to levy a grant or
something of that nature). Level 3 was assigned to things that may not provide immediate
significant benefit but do so over the long run. They do have a capital equipment replacement
program and Mr. Kosluchar has a schedule of all the equipment. They have been trying to keep
the equipment on a rotational basis so the City does not fall into a timeframe where things are
pushed off and they have three or four years worth of equipment that needs to be replaced that
year.
MOTION
by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No. 2014-58. Seconded by
Councilmember Saefke.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
12. Motion Recommending the Fridley City Charter Commission Review the City
Charter, Sections 7.04 and 7.05, Pertaining to the Date the Preliminary Budget and
Levy are Presented to the City Council.
Debra A. Skogen, City Clerk
, introduced Miranda Zimmer who is helping the City with
elections and other opportunities in the City Manager's office for six months. This was one of
the tasks she was assigned. Tonight they are asking Council to review Chapter 7.04 and 7.05 of
the City Charter regarding the preliminary budget and levy which are required to be presented to
the City Council. This spring, the Minnesota legislature extended the deadline for proposed
levies for counties and cities. In the past the City had to adopt their preliminary levy and send it
to the County by September. The new law, which was part of the Omnibus Tax Bill, now
extends that deadline to September 30.
Ms. Skogen
stated some of the reasons for the change are fiscal disparities. The information is
not released until after September 1. The later date allows cities and counties the ability to
retrieve the information and get more accurate budget and levy information before submitting
their levies. It also makes it consistent with state agencies and school districts.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 8
Ms. Skogen
stated Fridley City Charter, Sections 7.04 and 7.05, require that the proposed budget
and tax levy be submitted at the last Council meeting in August. This date does not allow the
City to have any fiscal disparities information or any other information provided later by the
State. The later date of September 30 would allow the information to be considered in budget
and levies.
Ms. Skogen
stated staff recommends the City Council ask the City Charter Commission to
review Sections 7.04 and 7.05 of the City Charter to discuss changing the deadline from the end
of August to the end of September or whatever they determine would be best and appropriate.
You would not want a September 30 deadline as it has to be to the County by that date. If they
could meet and discuss that language and prepare an ordinance, Council would then have an
opportunity to review it and make any changes.
MOTION
by Councilmember Varichak recommending the Fridley Charter Commission
consider and discuss Sections 7.04 and 7.05 of the Charter pertaining to when the preliminary
budgets and levies should be submitted to and reviewed by the City Council. Seconded by
Bolkcom.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
13. Resolution Authorizing the City of Fridley to Participate in the Minnesota
GreenStep Cities Program.
Kay Qualley,
Environmental Planner, stated in addition to the Environmental Quality and
Energy Commission's review of GreenStep city processes, a similar presentation and question
and review has moved through the Planning Commission recently.
Todd Olin
, EQEC Chairperson, stated they are interested because it is a way of getting access to
a lot more resources at no cost to the City. The GreenStep Cities Program is a voluntary
program. Signing up for it does not require any action by the City. This is meant to simply
empower the City, especially staff, by giving them resources to achieve certain goals. It is
basically an amalgamation of Best Practices that have been accumulated over time at other cities.
Minnesota GreenStep Cities is a voluntary challenge assistance and recognition program to help
cities achieve sustainability and energy reduction goals. It is based upon 28 Best Management
Practices.
Mr. Olin
stated the organizations that have helped develop this program include the Minnesota
PCA, the League of Minnesota Cities, and the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Mr. Olin
stated Fridley would certainly not be the first or only city to participate in this
program. A lot of Fridley's neighbors participate, including Columbia Heights, Coon Rapids,
Elk River, Forest Lake, St. Anthony, and St. Louise Park.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 9
Mr. Olin
stated the program was developed in 2009 and 2010 in order to create a series of steps
that cities could follow to achieve goals in certain areas. The League of Minnesota Cities now
hosts a lot of seminars that are a part of this program, and Fridley has been able to participate in
them to see what full participation might be like. There have been seminars on better buildings,
efficiency on streets including lighting, sustainability as an economic engine and active living.
The EQEC has heard from several representatives of the program.
Mr. Olin
stated as far as the substance of the program, the 28 different goals fall into five
different areas: Energy and Building, Lighting, Economic and Community Development, Light
Use, Transportation, Streets, and Environmental Management. If Fridley does become a
GreenStep City, it will get credit for some things like improving lighting which has already been
done.
Mr. Olin
stated as to advantages of becoming a GreenStep City and participating, some of the
goals of the program align themselves well with the City's Comprehensive Plan and some of the
plans and goals the City has already decided to pursue. The program provides resources that
reference what has been successful elsewhere. It allows staff to look at what our neighbors have
done and the steps they have taken that have been most fruitful. It creates relationships with
other cities. It allows the City to look at what other cities have done to determine what has
worked well elsewhere. It would support an application for being a Resilient City.
Mr. Olin
stated the City has a TOD district that includes mixed uses which is something the
GreenStep Program lays out. The City has an Active Transportation Plan which will make
streets available for pedestrians and cyclists. Also the City has programs in waste reduction,
stormwater management, and recycling. These are things the City would get credit for in the
GreenStep Program.
Mr. Olin
stated there is no cost to join this program.
Mayor Lund
asked if there was some cost or requirements to do certain aspects of the 28 Best
Management Practices. He has not seen them. That is of concern to him, and it was brought to
his attention earlier today by a Fridley resident.
Mr. Olin
replied it was that concern specifically that really drove the development of this
program. The basis of the program is there is no cost to join and all steps are voluntary. There is
no mandatory component to this program.
Mayor Lund
stated the document said something about "required" which makes it sound
mandatory. He was told it was "encouraged." Certainly, the City is required to do some green
things, but he does not want to be forced.
Ms. Qualley
stated not only is the program voluntary, but the direction the 28 Best Practices
takes may be investigated by staff with the EQEC and go through the Planning Commission with
recommendations on which things to pursue sent to Council. However, no one from the
Pollution Control Agency or the League of Minnesota Cities is going to state which things are
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 10
appropriate for our city. It may be that the City pursues an educational program for water use
reduction that at some point translates into, possibly, an HRA program where they have a small
subsidy on water reducing low flow shower heads or water reducing toilets. However, that
would be something that goes through a normal planning and budgeting process and totally what
the City wants to pursue.
Ms. Qualley
stated one of the presentations she saw was the payback period for conversion of
LED lights in the street lighting program. Different cities were discussing test blocks they ran,
presentations from vendors, and costs. If the City becomes a member, that kind of information
and sharing from the database is something that can then be provided to Public Works who may
not have that kind of research.
Mayor Lund
asked if a public hearing was required under Chapter 8 of the City Charter for this
type of approval.
Darcy Erickson
, City Attorney, replied she does not believe a public hearing is required under
Chapter 8 of the City Charter. That speaks to the Comprehensive Plan. If they are engaging in
this program or participating in it, it is really kind of best management practices and to the extent
that anything they would want to do under the GreenStep Program would require the City to
change its comprehensive plan, then it would be appropriate to amend the comprehensive plan.
She does not think in and of itself, participation in this program requires a public hearing under
Chapter 8 of the Charter.
Mayor Lund
stated his only other concern is the 28 Best Practices. Under each of the 28, he
thought there was a category for subsets and there were around 160. He just wants the assurance
these are not mandatory and they will not be forced into doing any of the steps.
Mr. Olin
stated becoming a GreenStep City does put Fridley at an advantageous position to go
after some of the grants and certainly to become a Resilient City and access the resources
provided through the University that go along with that.
Ms. Qualley
stated the steps that are involved in the 28 Best Management Practices are all borne
out of those five areas. If they come to a GreenStep Cities meeting on a specific topic or create
something the City would like to look into further, the City can construct its own steps. The City
can choose its own projects to work on that are still going to be useful for the community--not
somebody else's ideas of what the City should or should not work on.
Mayor Lund
stated, for instance, the City gets an unfunded mandate to replace every traffic sign
in the City. There were a lot of perfectly good signs they had to replace, and it was a waste of
taxpayer money. He asked if they have time to look at this program further.
Councilmember Bolkcom
said the second paragraph on page 62 reads “. . . based upon the 28
best practices which can be implemented by completing one or more actions at the 1, 2, or 3-star
level, . . ..” What do those levels mean? How much time will this take, because it does state to
direct the EQEC to conduct, with the appropriate City staff, an inventory of completed, planned,
and desired Best Practices of a Category "A" GreenStep City. She asked what a Category A
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 11
was. It also needs to be submitted to Council by March, 2015. She does not understand No. 3 in
the resolution. She asked if staff can provide some examples of what cities have done. She
asked if the City can pull out at any time.
Ms. Qualley
replied the benchmarking database is the database the City would have access to.
Councilmember Bolkcom
asked, there is Category A and then what else is there?
Ms. Qualley
replied there are the stars which are Step 1, 2, and 3.
Councilmember Bolkcom
asked how it was different from Category A.
Ms. Qualley
replied when a Category A GreenStep City is embarking on Step 1, any category
the City picks or best management practice it chooses to pursue is automatically Step 1. Because
the City's past 2030 comprehensive plan or Active Transportation Plan maybe put Fridley ahead
of other cities in some step categories, it can get credit for those things we have already done.
Councilmember Bolkcom
replied there are star levels, then there are categories, then there are
best practices, and something about Step 1.
Ms. Qualley
replied, in any given category the City chooses to work on, for example, water
conservation, there are steps. Maybe the first step is a more coordinated water policy or
placement of educational materials on the website in one consistent location. Maybe the
following year Step 2 would be the cost involved with low flow shower heads and find that
material out, what local suppliers to get the product from, and what impact and effect it would
have on water use. This benchmarking database would help the City track it.
Mr. Wysopal
stated having worked for a city that had adopted the GreenStep program, the
things they enjoyed about it was that flexibility--you do not have a mandate to do anything. This
does not require the City to adopt certain standards. However, it does have great opportunity for
promotional value to promote the City and what it has done and take advantage of that. Not all
cities are a part of it as it does take deliberation. You have to feel comfortable with it, after you
go through the list of the 28 areas, and if Council does not feel comfortable, they certainly can
table it and come back. There is no rush to get it done.
Councilmember Bolkcom
asked Mr. Wysopal what he saw as a benefit.
Mr. Wysopal
replied, one of the single greatest benefits was the opportunity to compete for the
Resilient Communities Program which is a separate program altogether. The second thing is it
gave them an opportunity to have discussions with other communities who were considering or
already implemented things and learn from those experiences. For example, there is a lot of
interest in putting in solar energy, and some communities are making advances in doing that.
You can get together with those communities and find out the disadvantages and advantages of
doing that. Even simple things such as moving forward with LED street light conversion. It
helps to be able to get together and find out what the benchmarks are, the cost of replacing the
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 12
bulbs, and the energy saved so you can communicate to the residents you are saving money on
the City's electrical bills. It is nice to have that support on how to do it right.
Mr. Wysopal
stated you are able to promote that you are doing something very well. For
example, in a totally separate program, you may drive through and see a city is a Tree City,
USA. Another city may be doing the same things as that city but, because it does not participate
in that program, the city loses out on some goodwill and promotion of what the city is doing.
Sometimes they do need to express to the community the positive things that are going on in
those areas, and this is one way to do that.
Ms. Qualley
stated under the category of environmental management, purchasing might be
something as simple as increasing the amount of recycled paper and the products we purchase at
the municipal center. Under "urban forests" the City has an inventory of urban forests but it does
not have an Urban Forestry Emerald Ash Borer plan at this time. We did not receive an intern
from one of the City's grant applications but were strongly encouraged to apply for it next year.
This could be a possible demonstration of the City's commitment, and it may enhance the City's
chances at receiving a grant.
MOTION
by Councilmember Saefke to adopt Resolution No. 2014-59. Seconded by
Councilmember Bolkcom.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
1. Resolution Approving Final Plat, P.S. #14-02, by Fridley Land LLC, the Property
owner of 4800 East River Road N.E., to Allow the Redevelopment of the Property.
Scott Hickok,
Community Development Director, stated this is about timing. The Hyde
Development at 4800 East River Road is moving along very, very well. They are to the point
tonight of having Council approve the final plat for that development, and staff is encouraging
Council to do so. He said he had a new resolution which he will be asking Council to accept into
the record. The new resolution further reiterates the importance of having certain agreements in
place. At the time of the preliminary plat, staff let the developer know the final plat could not be
filed without a proper development agreement. As a subset to the development agreement they
will see in the resolution there are a number of other documents that need to be approved
between the staff and the developer. Tonight Council is considering approval of a final plat and
this resolution is a part of it. In the resolution for the final plat, Council would be approving
staff's action to hold onto the plat and not have the developer file it until such time as they have
agreed on those items they see in the resolution. Staff has no fear the developer is not going to
do that. They have been very good and have cooperated. Right now, the documents are before
their attorney and will be coming to the City's attorney soon.
Councilmember Bolkcom
asked if there was anything different with this compared to the
preliminary plat.
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 25, 2014 PAGE 13
Mr. Hickok
replied no. The comments on the preliminary plat were the font they used and line
heights needed some adjustments between the preliminary plat and the final plat so the County
Surveyor asked them to adjust those things. Nothing had any bearing on the plat the Council
approved in its preliminary form.
MOTION
by Councilmember Bolkcom to receive the revised version of the Resolution
Approving Final Plat, P.S. #14-02, by Fridley Land LLC, the Property owner of 4800 East River
Road N.E., to Allow the Redevelopment of the Property. 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. 2014-55. Seconded by
Councilmember Varichak.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
14. Informal Status Report.
Councilmember Barnette
asked for an update on the Trident property.
Mr. Hickok
replied, the project is a beautiful one and rather expensive. Trident did receive
authorization by its bank to do its upgrades. They are all but ready to begin. They want to be in
the ground well ahead of the frost. They will see activity very, very shortly on the first building.
ADJOURN:
MOTION
by Councilmember Barnette, seconded by Councilmember Varichak, to adjourn.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:34
P.M.
Respectfully submitted by,
Denise M. Johnson Scott J. Lund
Recording Secretary Mayor