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02/10/2003 - 00025023MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL OF FEBRUARY 10, 2003 The Regular Meeting of the Fridley City Council was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:32 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Lund led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund, Councilmember Barnette, Councilmember Billings, Councilmember Wolfe and Councilmember Bolkcom MEMBERS ABSENT: None. OTHERS PRESENT: William W. Burns, City Manager Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Jon Haukaas, Public Works Director Frederic W. Knaak, City Attorney PROCLAMATION: PAULMCCARRONAPPRECIATIONDAY—FEBRUARYII, 2003 Mayor Lund read and presented a proclamation to Paul McCarron which proclaimed Tuesday, February 11, 2003, as "Paul McCarron Appreciation Day." Commissioner McCarron thanked Council for the proclamation. He said it was hard for him to retire. Someone recently told him he would be able to do what he really enjoyed doing. He replied that he had been doing what he enjoyed for 30 years, and that was serving the people. Mayor Lund thanked Mr. McCarron and his wife, Lois McCarron. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council Meeting of January 27, 2003. APPROVED. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2003 PAGE 2 NEW BUSINESS: 1. RECEIVE THE MINUTES OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING OF JANUARY 15, 2003. APPROVED. 2. RESOLUTION NO. 11-2003 RECEIVING THE FEASIBILITY REPORT AND CALLING FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON THE MATTER OF CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS: MARIAN HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. ST. 2003-1. Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated the 2003 neighborhood street reconstruction program included 52"d Avenue, Taylor Street, Fillmore Street, Pierce Street, Buchanan Street, Lincoln Street, Skywood Lane, and Skywood Court. The resolution before Council received the feasibility report and established March 3, 2003, as the public hearing date for this project. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 11-2003. 3. RESOLUTION NO. 12-2003 ENTERING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF MINNESOTA, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE TRUNK HIGHWAY 65 AND MISSISSIPPI STREET INTERSECTION. Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated the City's responsibilities were outlined by this agreement. They included paying the electric bill for the signals and paying to relamp them as necessary. The City was not being asked to participate in any construction costs. Staff recommended Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 12-2003. 4. RECEIVE BIDS AND AWARD CONTRACT FOR THE REPAIR OF WELL NO. 1 AND WELL NO. 11. Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated the low bidder for this work was Bergersen-Caswell of Maple Plain, Minnesota. Their bids were $38,880 for Well No. 1 and $34,130 for Well No. 11. While the total of the two bids was greater than the amount budgeted, they expected the actual cost to be well within the budget. Staff recommended the bids be received and the contract awarded to Bergersen-Caswell. RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING BIDS FOR THE REPAIR OF WELL NO. 1: BERGERSON-CASWELL, $38,880; KEYS WELL, $42,600; E.H. RENNER, $51,304; AND TRAUT WELL, $54,635. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2003 PAGE 3 RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING BIDS FOR THE REPAIR OF WELL NO. 11: BERGERSON-CASWELL, $34,130; KEYS WELL, $34,995; AND TRAUT WELL $51,995. AWARDED THE CONTRACT TO BERGERSON-CASWELL IN THE AMOUNT OF $38,880 FOR THE REPAIR OF WELL NO. 1 AND $34,130 FOR THE REPAIR OF WELL NO. 11. 5. APPROVE CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 FOR THE MUNICIPAL GARAGE OFFICE EXPANSION PROJECT. Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated there were three minor additions to the contract for the Municipal Garage expansion project for soil work, below-ground insulation, and ceiling construction. There was also a deduction for a window that was replaced between the office and the mechanics bay. The net new cost was $1,785. Staff recommended Council's approval. APPROVED. 6. APPOINTMENT: CITY EMPLOYEES. Dr. Burns, City Manager, asked that Council consider a motion to appoint two police officers. Dr. Burns said that Jeff Schoeberl was a youth worker with the Fridley Police Department. He had a B.A. in psychology and sociology from Hamline University and was a candidate for a Master's Degree in social work at Augsburg College. He completed his law enforcement skills course at Metro State University. In addition to working for Fridley, he was also an assistant probation officer for Anoka County. Dr. Burns said that Joseph Gerhardt had an Associate of Arts Degree from Century College. He completed his law enforcement skills course at Minneapolis Community College. He had been a Community Service Officer for both the Fridley and Blaine Police Departments. Staff recommended the appointments. APPOINTED JEFF SCHOEBERL AS PATROL OFFICER. APPOINTED JOSEPH GERHARDT AS PATROL OFFICER. 7. CLAIMS. AUTHORIZED PAYMENT OF CLAIM NOS. 109809 THROUGH 110052. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2003 PAGE 4 8. LICENSES. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. 9. ESTIMATES. APPROVED THE ESTIMATES AS FOLLOWS: Park Construction Company 7900 Beech Street N.E. Fridley, MN 55432 57th Avenue Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project No. 346 Estimate No. 6 .................................................................... $ 31,987.06 CM Construction Company, Inc. 12215 Nicollet Avenue South Burnsville, NIN 55337 Municipal Garage Expansion Project No. 343 Estimate No. 3 .................................................................. $126,175.20 Frederic W. Knaak, Esq. Knaak & Kantrud, P.A. 3500 Willow Lake Blvd. Suite 800 St. Paul, MN 55110 Legal Services Rendered as City Attorney for the Month of January, 2003 .................................................................. $ 5,450.00 Newquist & Ekstrum, Chartered 6401 University Avenue N.E. Suite 301 Fridley, MN 55432 Legal Services Rendered as City Prosecuting Attorney for the Month of December, 2002 ............................................................ $ 17,554.50 No persons in the audience spoke regarding the proposed consent agenda items. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2003 PAGE 5 MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the consent agenda items. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the agenda as submitted. Seconded by Councilmember Billings. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: There was no response from the audience under this item of business. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 10. CONSIDERATION OF AN INTOXICATING LIQUOR LICENSE FOR CRAB HOUSE MUSIC CAFE OF FRIDLEY, INC., LOCATED AT 6161 HIGHWAY 65 N.E. (WARD 2). MOTION by Councilmember Billings to open the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING OPENED AT 7:42 P.M. Dr. Burns, City Manager, stated this was an application for an on-sale intoxicating liquor license for the Fridley Crab House Music Cafe located at 6161 Highway 65. The restaurant was formerly known as the Shorewood Restaurant. With the change in ownership, it was required that the new owner apply for a new license. The business will operate as the Fridley Crab House and Music Cafe. The Public Safety Department reviewed the request and found no reason not to approve it. Staff recommended that Council hold the public hearing. He said the owner, Thomas Howard, was present at the meeting. He stated if there were no questions, the license would be on the agenda for approval on February 24 and would then be forwarded to the State of Minnesota for approval. Councilmember Billings asked if Mr. Howard would tell them a little bit about himself. Mr. Howard replied they currently had a location in downtown historic Stillwater called the St. Croix Music Cafe. He said they were proud to make Fridley their home for their second location. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2003 PAGE 6 Councilmember Billings asked what type of restaurant it would be. Mr. Howard stated it would not be a formal restaurant. He said the restaurant would be casual. There would be live music on Friday and Saturday with some special events throughout the year. He said they were not going to charge customers to come in and hear live music. The restaurant menu focused on steaks, seafood, and pasta. He said they would have a nice environment but yet people could still have fun. Mr. Howard stated he was born and raised in St. Paul. He graduated from the University of Minnesota and had been in the food service most of his life. This was the second restaurant he had opened. He said he had worked for a lot of different operators and had been a student of the industry for a long time. He said he enjoyed working with people. Councilmember Billings asked if staff had explained to Mr. Howard the food and liquor ratio requirements contained in the Fridley City Code. Mr. Howard replied that he was well aware of the requirements. Councilmember Billings stated that there were some potential plans for the improvement of Highway 65 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. He said he wanted to make sure Mr. Howard was aware of the plans. Mr. Howard replied that he was told that there could potentially be some changes made to Highway 65. Councilmember Billings agreed and stated he just wanted to make sure there were no surprises to him somewhere down the line. Mr. Howard said he was concerned about closures of Highway 65 as well as lane shifts. Councilmember Billings stated there might be some lane shifts during construction. He doubted if they would detour anything on the east side of Moore Lake. He said the City's Public Works Director would be able to answer that question. Mr. Haukaas, Public Works Director, stated plans for proposed construction for Highway 65 would be built under traffic a half at a time. There was no way to detour the road without some major impacts to the adjacent areas. Mr. Howard stated he appreciated the insight. Councilmember Billings stated it would be predicated on Minnesota Department of Transportation funding availability. It could happen in a year or two or even ten years. Councilmember Barnette asked if there was going to be dancing at the restaurant. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2003 PAGE 7 Mr. Howard said the dance floor was left out. For special events, they may use a portable dance floor. He said he did not think the Fridley location was set up properly to provide dancing. Councilmember Wolfe said he thought they would do well at that location. Mr. Howard stated he was excited and was looking forward to working with the City. Councilmember Bolkcom asked when he thought the restaurant would be open. Mr. Howard said he hoped they could open the first weekend of March. He said he had already booked bands for March 7 and 8. The Health Department needed to come in and give final approval. The building officials also needed to inspect the repairs made because of the fire. He thanked City staff and stated they had been very professional to work with. Mayor Lund welcomed him to Fridley and offered his best wishes for success. Councilmember Billings asked for their web site address. Mr. Howard stated it was: stcroixmusiccafe.com. Once it is ready, the web site address for Fridley would be: fridleymusiccafe.com. Mr. Howard introduced the general manager, Ms. Jessica Bertzyk. MOTION by Councilmember Billings to close the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED AT 7:58 P.M. NEW BUSINESS: 11. FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 214 OF THE FRIDLEY CITY CODE PERTAINING TO AUTOMATIC CHANGEABLE SIGNS. Mr. Hickok, Community Development Director, indicated Council talked about changing the regulation in Chapter 214 regarding changeable message signs. The current language said the message could not change more than once every 15 minutes except for a sign displaying time, temperature, and/or date. The Court determined the City was, in essence, regulating content by separating the message from time and temperature. Content-based regulations of signs had been ruled unconstitutional. The proposed amendment removed all content-based regulations. It removed the time exemption for time, temperature, and date and required that all messages not change more than once every 45 seconds. Signs permitted with the special use permit included automatic changeable signs that were permitted in all districts except residential districts, and then only after the issuance of a special use permit. The special use permit would be subject to the following minimum conditions: conformance of the sign requirements within that district and FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2003 PAGE 8 the message could not change more than once every 45 seconds. Staff recommended that Council hold the first reading of the ordinance. Councilmember Billings stated there were two changes. One change was from the message changing once every 15 minutes to once every 45 seconds. They discussed this at the public hearing at the last Council meeting. He said they were prepared to introduce this several months ago when one of the City's businesses was cited for violations of the sign code. At that time they had staff hold up on the matter until they had some preliminary hearings before the court. The court said that time and temperature were not subject to the time constraints, and therefore the City was controlling the content of signs. Staff's recommendation was to not only shorten the length of time from 15 minutes but to also remove the provision for displaying time, temperature and date. He said he thought the 45-second time limit might be too long for time and temperature to be displayed. He thought it should be dropped down to something in the neighborhood of every 10 or 15 seconds. Councilmember Wolfe stated he would like to start at 45 seconds and if it worked and there were no problems it could be changed. He thought it would be more difficult to add time than it would be to take it away. Councilmember Bolkcom stated her concern was similar to Councilmember Wolfe's. At this point she could not support a sign changing every 15 seconds. Councilmember Barnette stated he would be willing to agree with 45 seconds to start with. He said they were all worried about the flash and the distractions. Councilmember Wolfe asked about moving lights. Mr. Hickok replied that part of the ordinance stayed in tact and it was very clear about motion and about flashing and chasing lights. Councilmember Wolfe asked if they were going to do anything about illumination. Mr. Hickok replied, no. They have not, nor have their colleagues, figured out a way they can do that successfully. He said they may need to bring in a sign expert to help Mayor Lund stated he had heard that it was hard to regulate because there were no set standards in the industry. He said he thought 15 seconds was a considerable amount of time, but would go along with what they wanted to do. Councilmember Billings stated that there are also other ordinances that control such things as public nuisance. He said there might be enforceable qualities in other ordinances. Mr. Hickok agreed with Councilmember Billings. He said there are some other protective elements. For example, there was language about not causing a distraction from safety signal devices. Even though we could not tell them how bright or dim the lights were, we could clearly say it was a distraction from the signaled intersection. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2003 PAGE 9 MOTION by Councilmember Billings to waive the reading and approve the ordinance on first reading. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 12. INFORMAL STATUS REPORTS. Dr. Burns stated the latest edition of the newsletter should be mailed within the ne�t few days. Mayor Lund said it looked very good and they did a great job. Councilmember Wolfe stated that his gymnastics team won the tri-metro conference. Councilmember Bolkcom stated she would like to discuss the commission openings after the meeting. ADJOURN: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Wolfe. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE FEBRUARY 10, 2003, CITY COUNCIL MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:22 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Denise M. Letendre Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor