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07/09/1973 - 00016358. �f�:� THE MINUTES OF THE FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL PUBILIC HEARING MEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 � The Public Hearing Meeting of the Fridley City Council was called to order at 7.35 p.m. July 9, 1973, by Mayor Liebl. PLEDvE OF ALLEGIANCE• Mayor Liebl led the Council and the audience in saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the Fl�g. ROLL CALL. MEMB�RS PRESENT: Lzebl, Utter, Nee, Breider, Starwalt MEMBERS ABSENT• None ADOPTION OF AGENDA• MOTION by Councilman Breider to adopt the agenda as presented. Seconded by Councilman Utter. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Liebl declared the motion carried unanimously SPECIAL PRESENTATION FROM ANOKA COUNTY OFPICIALS ON THEIR PARK SYSTEM Mayor Liebl said this item would be delayed until later in the meeting when the officials from Anoka County would be present. � ORDINANCE #543 - AMENDED EUDGET ORD IIQAAICE FOR FISCAL YEAR 1973 - AMENDING ORDINANCE #521: The Finance Director, Mr. Marvin Brunsell, said this amendment would allow for the purchase of a Pire Truck and additional park acquisition. He said it would be utilizing the Revenue Sharing Funds for 1973. MOTION by Councilman Breider to waive the second reading and adopt Ordinance #543, amending budget ordinance for the Fiscal year 1973, amending Ordinance I�S21. Seconded by Councilman Utter. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Liebl declared the motion carried unani- mously and ordered the publication of the Ordinance. RESOLUTION #84-1973 - TRANSFERRING CERTAIN COSTS FROM STORM SEWER IMPROVEMENT PROJECT N0. 101 TO STORM SEWER INIPROVEMENT PROJECT N0. 102: The City Engineer said these yrojects would be combined for ease in record keepi�}g. He added, pro7ect 101 is the intercepter storm sewer north of Osborne Road and the other pro�ect was started in the area. He said this Resolution would combine the two pro�ects. He said the Resolution would transfer the money from pro�ect 101 to project 102. Councilman Starwalt asked if there were no other funds available in pro�ect 101, would zt be declared closed? The City Engineer said yes. � The Fj,nance Dixector said the pxoject was let under pro�ect 102, and the �ublic hearing �*as held and put down under 102 when the other work began. He said this would keep all of the expenses in the same place,. ti �.�? � PUBLIC HEARIAiG MEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 Mayor Liebl said the Resolution would be self explanatory. the Resolution aloud to the Council and audience. PAGE 2 He read MOTION by Councilman Utter to adopt Resolution #84-1973, for trans- ferring certain costs from storm sewer improvement project No. 101 to Storm Sewer Improvements Pro�ect No. 102. Seconded by Council- man Breider. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Liebl declared the motion carried unanimously. REPORT FROM PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ON VIET'S ADDITION: Mayor Liebl read the letter from the Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, Mr. Donald Blair, aloud to the Council and audience. Mr. Blair addressed the Council and said the Commission felt that because of the access to Stevenson School, this area is not a high priority area. He said the area children would be able to use the facilities at the school. Mr. Blair said the area with the highest priority was established as the Rice Creek Road area, and in five or six years, this area would be completely developed with no park at all. Mr. Blair said he received a letter £rom the Director of Parks and Recreation stating their area problems with ball parks in the area of homes in other portions o£ the City. He Said there are w�ndow problems when the one or two lot parks are used for baseball. He said it is now necessary to fence one one of the small parks with cyclone fencing. He said the original proposal was that the City pay for one half of the fencing, but they would probably end up paying for all oF the fencing. Mr. Blair repeated his recemmendation from the Commission to the Council that the Commission would prefer the City to reach some agree- ment for use of school property for a park. He said if there can be no agreement with the school, then, they would recommend the City buy the lots in the proposed Viet's Addition. Mayor Liebl asked the other members of the Parks and Recreation Commission if they concurred with the recommendation of the Chair- man. Their response was yes. Councilman Utter asked if the Comprehensive Park Plan had been pre- sented to the Parks and Recreation Commission? The City Engineer said there would be a meeting with the Commission the ne:ct week. Councilman Utter said according to the Comprehensive Park Plan, this area was considered void of a facility. He added, he felt some kind of agreement should be reached to prov�de a facility �or the smaller children. He said the only area of concern would be the creation of a baseball dzamond. Mr, Blair said if the City was planning to acquire the property, he would urge them to obtain lots 3 and 4 as he believed lots 2 and 3 to be too small. ' � ' PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 PAGE 3 2�� , Councilman Utter said the Director of Parks and Recreation had some ideas which £avored the acquisitzon of lots 2 and 3. He said perhaps the Director had not advised the Commission of his thinking on th�se recommendations. Councilman Utter sa�d the school board may allow the City to use a portion of their property for one year and deny use the next, he questioned what would happen this following year? Mr. Blaxr saxd this would have to be a long term lease oi the property. Councilman Utter said when he had requested such a lease from Gardena School, he was promptly cut off. Mr. Blair said the school property is public property whether the Superintendent likes it or not. Mr. Ed Wilmes, 6350 Riverview Terrace, said he had been sitting and listening to the conversatinns taking place, and there are a lot of if's. He said the children of the area do not have a place to play. He said the children are not allowed to go to Stevenson School because of the distance. Mr. Gary Stimmler, 7841 Alden Way N.E., a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said in February of 1971, a number of people petitioned £or a park in the Mississippi, Rice Creek School, and Arthur area. He said the Commission requested that funds be provided for such a park. Commissioner Stimmler said the Council deleted the request as submitted in February of 1972. He said the Parks and Recreation � Commisslon met with the Council, and the two groups estaUlished prior- ities for park land at this time. He said the prior�ties were estab- lished as one, North Park, two, Ruth Circle, Hyde Park, and Rice Creek Road. He said there were also other areas established as high priorities for park acquisition. He said this area had never been mentioned as a priority. He said the City had obtained, North Park, Ruth Circle, and Hyde Park. The next step was the acquisition of park land in the area of Rice Creek Road. He stressed, the area of the proposed Viet's Addition was not listed as a high priority. Mr. Stimmler said the Commission would like to acquire as much land as it can get for park purposes, but they had better fulfill the needs of the people in the higher priority areas. Mayor Liebl asked if the plan would be �eopardized if the proposal of the acquisition of property in the Rice Creek area would be abandoned? Mr. Stimmler said the Council and the Commission had established priorities and the Commission knows there is a need. He added, the people in the Rice Creek School area have been waiting for the park since 1971. Mr. Stimmler said there are alternatives in the Viet's area, but the park is needed in the Rice Creek Road area now. Mayor Liebl said there are no parks in the area of the Miller property and there are a number of children in the area. I-Ie added, as more of the land is being developed, land can be put aside for parks. He said there will be a great demand. Mayor Liebl said he is aware of the � petition submitted by the People in the Rice Creek Road and Mississippi area. He said the Council had not acted on the petitlon. He said the money had been set aside in 1972 for this purpose. � �� �� PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 PAGE 4 Mr. Stimmler said the przorities had been established, and he would like to get down to the priorities. He saxd the Councilman in the Ward of the proposed acquisition has some enthusiasm for a park and the Councilman of the Ward in the Rice Creek area is not pushing his area as a priority. He said when the City does not provide the park, the Ward Councilman and the Council would have to tell the people why it is not being provided. He said this is the way it is. He said the Ward Councilman would have to show some enthu- siasm for parks before there would be any in this area. Councilman Breider said he did not interfer with matters out of his Ward. Councilman Utter said he had talked to Mr. Brown, the Director o£ Parks and Recreation about the Rice Creek area. He said there are problems in purchasing land in the Rice Creek area. He said the proposed site would force the youngsters to cut through peoples back yards to get to the park. He said other land is being looked at for the purposes of park acquisition in that area. He said there is also a need for a skating rink in the area and he was doing the best he could to not sell the peuple short. He said he is fortunate to have a big yard and someplace for his children to play. He added, he is a resident of this area. MOTION by Councilman Nee to concur with the City Manager and authorize the purchase of lots 2 and 3 of the proposed Viet's Second Addition. Councilman Nee said he felt he should apologize to the members of the Parks and Recreation Commission about his opposing view on the matter of the acquisition of the property, but he felt quite stronbly about his view. He said he felt there is a definite need for a park in this area, and he woulcl identify with the parents of the area and could not see the small children using Stevenson School. Mr. Brunsell said the total amount of the property woiald be $10,509.07. Councilman Starwalt said the need should be considered vs. the ability to pay. He added, no one is against parks and certainly he was not against this. He said the park would provide a safe place for the children to play and he thought they should consider the purchase of the entire area. He said this would be a good solution if the people could afford the increase in taxation. Councilman Starwalt said this may take a closer look and he suggested tabling the matter for this additional input on the purchase of the entire proposal. He suggested the Parks and Recreation work on the matter and come up with another recommendation. Mayor Liebl said they had had six weeks to consider the proposal. He sa�,d they had evaluated the implications. He sai,d they would have problems with�ut a sti�ula�ion because tliere was not enough a,rea to play baseball. , � , � lJ �� � ,� � f� � PUBLIC HEARING M�ETING OF JULY 9, 1973 PAGE S SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN Utter. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Liebl declared the motion carried unanimously. Nlayor Lzebl said he and the City Manager had been authorized to obtain the property for park purposes. MOTION by Councilman Nee to authorize the ➢epartment of Parks and Recreation to install the equipment on the plan in Section II, page 3-B of the agenda as funding becomes available and that no baseball diamond be installed. Seconded by Councilman Utter. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Liebl declared the motion carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS: APPOINTMENT TO HUMAN RELATIONS CONIMISSION Mayor Liebl said his recommendation for the appointment to the Human Relatxons Commission is Mr. Gene Gustafson, 740 Pandora llrive, to replace the Ward One resignation on the Commission. He said the new appointees telephone number is 560-5685. A40TION by Councilman Breider to appoint Mr. Gene Gustafson as the new member of the Human Relations Commission. Seconded by Councilman Utter. U�on:a voa.ce vote, all voti.ng aye, Mayor Liebl declared the motion carrzed unanimously. Mayor Liebl instructed the City Manager to send a letter to the new member notifying him of his appointment. COMMUNICATIONS: WESTERN CASUALTX AND SURETY COMPANY: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT IN AN ACTION BY KARY BENNETT, NEXT OF KIN OF MOTION by Councilman Breider to receive the communication from the Westexn Casualty and Surety Company in acknowledgement of receipt of the summons and complaint in an action by Kary Bennett, next of kin of Kirk Kolski, dated July 2, 1973 and to autnorize the City Attorney to contact the attorney of the insurance company and also authorize the City Attorney to sit in on the trial. Seconded by Councilman Nee. Councilman Breider questaoned the Finance Director asking if the policy which allows coverage up to $50,000 would Ue adequate coverage and safe ground. The City Attorney said he thought it would be adequate ior this case. He suggested raising the amount when the policy is rewritten. The City Attorney said he would write to the attorney who would be handlzng the case for the insurance company and he would also sit in on the case. U�QN A'p'OICE VOTE, all voting aye, Mayor Liebl declared the motion caxried unanimously. ��� PUBLIC HEARING NIEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 PAGE 6 SPECIAL PRESENTATION FROM ANOKA COUNTY OFFICIALS ON THEIR PARK SYSTEM /�nnrmrTrlrcn irnnxrt crtnr i'Cn TTi TLT� ArtFFTTTT('_1 • Mayor Liebl read the letter of invitation to Mr. Bernard Steffan, from the City Manager, dated June 27, 1973 aloud to the Council and audience. Mr. Mike 0'Bannon, Anoka County Commissioner, addressed the Council and said he was in attendance at the request of the Council. Mr. 0'Bannon introduced T'Ir. A1 Kordiak, Anoka County Commissioner and said he is familiar with the activities of the Anoka County Park Board. He added, Mr. Kordiak had been on the Anoka County Board for 20 years and had been appointed by the Metro Council to serve on their Park Board. Mr. 0'Bannon introduced Mr. David Torkildson, Anoka County Park Department, and said he had been with the Depart- ment for 10 years and there are 12 employees in the department who take care of the Anoka County Parks. Mr. 0'Bannon next introduced Mr. Bernard Steffan, Anoka County Administrator. Mr. A1 Kordiak, addressed the Council and presented a map of the County's overall park plan. He said the County was not authorized to go into parks until 1960. He added, the land value in the County is soring and this was a late start. He referred to some of the areas being sought by the County stressing they plan to acquire properties adjacent to lakes and streams and also large parcels. He said this would mo�e into the Metro level of suburban park devel- opment. He said the parcels would be 2,000 to 3,000 acres in size in many cases. IIe explained the recent plan proposed had failed in the last legislative session. Commissioner Kordiak continued his presentation by pointing out the various areas which would be considered for acquisition by the County, and State of Minnesota. Mr. Kordiak said the chain �f lakes area was being sought by the County for park acquisit�on and the State has verbally approved allowing $90D,D00 for the County to acquire property in this area. He said there is funding available through the Department of Natural Resources from cigarette taxes. Councilman Breider asked Mr. Kordiak what kind of planned in the chain of lakes area. Mr. Kordiak dep�nd on the plans submitted to the County. development was said this would N1r. Torkildson said the original study of the area as done by the Metro Council in 1969 stated the area was best suited for a nature center. He said the 6,700 acre area is referred to as a nature center. He said this area is still intact. He added, 80a of this area would be used for wildlife andGVet lands, etc. He said the �dea would be to create a presexve of public property toLa7ing S,OQO acxes � � , [�Y � �l PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 PAGE 7 � Councilman Breider asked Mr. Kordiak if there would 6e funding from State and Federal sources for development of North Park as a nature center or golf course. Mr. Kordiak said most of the County's funding ls directed to land acquisition. He said all counties are interested in land acquisition r`ather than development at this time. He mentioned the Metro Park Plan had the support of all the municipalities and it was defeated. Mr. Kordiak said he did not know what the results would be if they were to ask for development funds. He said the areas closest to the Metro area are the priority areas. Councilman Breider asked if the bonding issue had been put to the people. Mr. Steffan said yes i.n 1973. He said the $3,OOD,000 would not be com- �letely usable at this tirae. Only about $1,80D,000 would be available after the limitations. He said the $1,800,00� is using todays valuation. Councilman Breider questioned the possibility of providing the City wrth aid in funding in the North Park area. He asked if So of the $90,D00 was used for this, what would the County loose. Mr. Kordiak said this would detract from the planned acquisitlon and planning development. He said the County considers development of areas as secondary. He said the stage of development could be done at any time, but the acquisition time may be limited. Mr. Kordiak said if the money were used by the districts involved equally, this would detract from any facility provided. He sited the ice arena as � an example stating it would be more feasible to provide one adequate arena than it would be to provide a smaller, inadequate facility for each district. Mr. Kordiak said each member of the Board represents his own district as first priority. He said if the matter of the devel- opment of a nature center was considered, the County would like to have some support in backing up the cost He said he would personally support a nature center, but he feels the area needs a good one. He said it would be a question of who is going to build the center and where it is going to be. Councilman Breider said if everyone asked for So, this plan would prob- ably not work out. Mr. Kordiak said that Fridley contributes 330 of the tax base, and ends up paying out more than it gets back. Mr. Kordiak added, many other municipalities in Anoka County are disap- pointed about the location of the arena in Fridley. He said the County Board had to make a decision that would enable the arena to pay for itself and locate it close to a freeway and also accessable to public transportation. Mr. Kordiak said the area in Fridley provided water, sewer, and proper soil for the construction. Mayor Liebl asked if the money had to be used for a County pro�ect, or could the County give the City money? Mr. Kordiak said he would see no reason why the County could not aid in the funding, but he reminded the members of the Council that they would have to get the necessary votes from the Board for approval. � Mayor Liebl asked if there would be a nature center in the County that would benefit the citizens of Fridley? Mr. Kordiak said the Board has never had a serious discussion concerning a nature center. He said he could not say if there would be any plans for a nature center in the future. 27 O PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 PAGE 8 Councilman Utter asked if the large nature area in the Lino Lake area , would be developed. Mr. Torkildson said they had been working with the environment and the County's plans had shown uses and boundaries. He said the plan had not been accepted by the Lino Lakes area. Councilman Nee askedwhat the time schedule on the development of the Chain of Lakes area would be. Mr. Torkildson said this would depend on the passage of the bill and how much of the $3,000,000 could be obtained for development of the area. He said there is no time table at the present time for development. He said this would depend on what is available. He said the state feels that roads are more important. Councilman Nee said it would not be developed all at once. Mr. Torkildson said none of the County parks are developed all at once. Councilman Nee questioned if the County had given Coon Rapids land for their go1F course. Mr. Kordiak said this was a part of the Bunker Prairie County Park. He said Coon Rapids approached the County and said they would develop the golf course on the property. He said the property had been leased to them with an agreement on conditions that all the people of Anoka County could use the facility on an equal basis. He said the County had obtained a golf course without building it. He said they had not used the entire amount of acreage they had planned at first and later requested the con- struction oF the nine hole course on the remaining portion. Mr. , Kordiak said the same type of agreement was instituted concerning this use. He added, the ma�ority of the Board felt the land was not needed by the County at this time. Mayor Liebl said Senator Schaaf had stated the $3,D00,000 would be available for acquisition and development of park facilities. He a�ked the way the bill is written, what is the prime ob�ective of the bill, acquisition or development? Mr. Kordiak said both. He said most of the capital improvements are on a cash basis and now it is possible to take advantage of the tax base of future years. He said the money can be utilized for both acquisition and development, but development is secondary. Councilman Breider said if the County would have a nature center there would have to be some experienced person in charge of the facility such as a naturalist. He said the municipalities could be responsible for the scheduling of such a naturalist. He added, there is a great demand for a nature center and a good schedule. Mr. Torkildson said according to recent studies a naturalist would cost approxlmately $SO,D00 to $100,000 for a small nature center and could run from $150,000 to $850,000 depending on what kind of staffing is desired. He said the naturalist or guide could be pro- vided for the lesser amount when the program is in its infancy and would increase and expand continually. He added, not one of those � studied were over flve years old. PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 zl� PAG� 9 � Counczlman Breider said another consideration would be the size of the nature center area. He said some areas could not accomodate all those from the school districis. He said the maintenance of the area in respect to preserving it would have to be considered. Mr. Torkildson said a statement by the Metro Council said that an adequate size is necessary to prevent the area from becoming over used. He added, it should be large enough so the trails could be changed. Mrs. Hughes questioned the total amount of resources needed by the County and said perhaps more than one natural area would be needed. Mr. Kordiak said he would be very cautious in this type of develop- ment. Rather than create many inferior facilities, he would like to create one first class facility. He said either the County could go ahead and build the facility and have it first class or allow each municipality develop their own. He said he could not say this would be a bad idea. Mr. 0'Bannon said before the County would consider the possibility of a nature center at the County level, each of the men on the Board would have to study the matter. Mr. Kordiak said when the County was going to build the Ice Arena, they considered first of all the need,secondly where any by who is the greatest need, thirdly, how many purposes would it serve, and fourth, what type of staff funding � would be needed. Mr. Dave Harris suggested the members of the Board establish an ad hoc committee to consider the nature center proposal according to the criterias listed by Mr Kordiak. He said the Board could report back to the City. , Councilman Breider said the need is already established. The City needs both a nature center and a golf course. He said at some time the Board would have to make a study on the County level. Councilman Breider said the City would still have to make the decision on what to do with North Park. He said he was not going to ask the Gounty for the answer. He added, this would not affect his decision, it would only be a replay. Councilman Breider said the County is on the road to making a decision and if the City would like any support of their decision, they had better get going. He said the City would have to make some proposals to the County. He said he would like �o have tne Council polled so the County would have something to work with Mayor Liebl said the matter of setting a time table would have to be determined by what additional questions the Council members may have on matters of discussion concerning Legislation from the State and if there would be any funding available and also whether or not support could be obtained by the Metro Council. � 272 PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 PAGE 10 Councilman Breider said he would like to fznd out if the School Board � would cooperate by providing their naturalist. He said he would also like to get an indication from the Metropolitan Airport Commission to see what the status of the Janes Field would be. He said if they would give up the property, they would have something to talk about. Councilman Utter said he believed the Council would be throwing the $11,000 our the window by not doing what the Brauer Report recommended. He said he could not see paying the money and not using the information. Councilman Starwalt asked what was the necessary step in the pro- cess. Councilman Utter said once the report was made, the people should have been satisfied with it. Councilman Starwalt said he dld not believe the Council had all of the facts at the present time. He asked if the ad hoc committee was still in existance? Mayor Liebl said the committee had taken a vote which was tied and there was no longer any reason for the committee. Mayor Liebl said the City wanted an unbiased opinion on the study. He said they sought the services of a professional and had received a competent unbiased study. Mayor Liebl said he agreed with Councilman Utter. Brauer had given them two priorities. He said all of the ifs and buts would have to be cleared before they could make a decision or put the matter on a ballot. Councilman Starwalt said he had some learning to do. Mayor Liebl said he would like some input from the people of the Metro Council. He would lzke to see a nature center that was a Metro facility. He said he would not be interested in a Fridley Muni- cipal golf course in Blaine. He suggested contacting the Metro League. Mrs. Sporre said she had talked to the Mayor of Blaine about the matter of the golf course in Blaine and there had been no laughter. Mr. Harris said the Chamber had supported a golf course, but the members would not support such a course if it were to be in Blaine. He added, there would be no unanimity on this basis. Mayor Liebl said they would have to see if they would be willing to go along with this. Councilman Breider said they should also contact the school districts. Councilman Starwalt said they should contact all four. Councilman Breider asked if the first meeting in September would fit into the proposed time table for an intended date to make a decision? Mayor Liebl said he was not in a hurry, He added, he did not want to miss one possible source of information. LJ L� � PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF JULY 9, 1973 RECEIVING REPORT ON PROJECT 103: G�r• ,i u 1 �i PAGE 11 The City Engineer said Che Consulting Engineer had recommended the contract be issued on a three phase method with the total estimated cost to be about $22,000. He said he would recommend the Council authorize the Mayor and City Manager to sign the contract agreement. Mayor Liebl asked the City Attorney ii this agreement would be legally correct. MOTION by Councilman Utter to concur with the recommendation of the �ity Engineer and approve the contract and authorize the City Manager and Mayor to sign the contract agreement in the amount of $22,000. Seconded by Councilman Starwalt. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Liebl declared the motion carried unanimously MAYOR LIEBL'S REQUEST THAT COUNCILMAN NEE CHECK INTO CONDITIONS AT 61ST� Mayor Liebl asked Councilman Nee if he would check into the conditions of the �unk sitting on the property on 61st. He asked if he would take care of the matter because the people across the street in Ward One are becoming a little disturbed. ADJOURN�]ENT: � MOTION by Councilman Breider to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilman Utter. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Liebl declared the motion carried unanimously and the Public Itearing Meeting of July 9, 1973, adjourned at 11.30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, � ��' Ly.�,C`° Patricia Ellis Secretary to the City Council � ��C �LOC.� Frank G. Lieb , Mayor