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09/24/2007 - 29202COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley 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-at-large Barnette Councilmember Varichak Councilmember Saefke Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT: William Burns, City Manager Richard Pribyl, Finance Director/Treasurer Fritz Knaak, City Attorney Tom Myhra, 6360 Able Street N.E. PROCLAMATIONS: Student Foreign Exchange Week: September 24 — 30, 2007 Ho Man Lui from Hong Kong Giacomo Greco from Italy A representative from the Fridley VFW presented the students with an American flag and welcomed them to the community. PRESENTATION Jeff Jensen, Street Supervisor, shared photographs of equipment they use when they are working on the streets. The City purchased an asphalt power paver in 2006 and since then, they have used 3,100 tons of asphalt in the paver. The only other equipment that his department may need in the future is a larger roller because the current small roller does not perform the desired compaction. Mr. Jensen said his department repairs a lot of water main breaks. So far this year they have fixed 34. On average, they fix 25 to 35 per year. In the past, this was done by hand. With the new equipment the quality of the work is much better and the patches look great. Mr. Jensen said that they have completed in-house jobs that have saved the City some money. Some of these jobs include overlay on basketball courts for the Park Department, work on City FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 PAGE 2 parking lots (i.e. Fridley Liquor Store and Senior Center) and work on an area near the salt shed. The addition of the new power paver has allowed them to expand the jobs they can do. It saves the City money in the long run and puts out a better quality of product. Councilmember Bolkcom asked how much is saved by using the new paver. Mr. Jensen answered that the basketball court overlay would have cost $60,000 and their cost was $32,000 which was a substantial savings. Councilmember Saefke asked about doing patches in the winter and if there is problem with materials, etc. Mr. Jensen said there is a new material they use that costs more per ton but they do not have to go back and fix the area in the spring. Councilmember Saefke said that a lot of times the Public Works Department is overlooked and that department is something everyone uses every day. The department has improved in efficiency and excellent people work in that department. Mayor Lund thanked Mr. Jensen for his update. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council meeting of September 10, 2007. APPROVED. 1. Resolution Directing Preparation of the Assessment Roll for the 2007 Nuisance Abatement. William Burns, City Manager, stated that the roll includes thirty-one properties and costs of $122,754.70. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2007-46. 2. Resolution Directing Publication of Hearing on the Proposed Assessment Roll for the 2007 Nuisance Abatement. William Burns, City Manager, stated that the hearing will occur at the October 22 City Council meeting. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2007-47. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 PAGE 3 3. Resolution Declaring Cost to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation of Proposed Assessment for the Street Improvement Project No. ST. 2007 — 1. William Burns, City Manager, stated that the total estimated cost of the 2007 street improvement project is $2,604,084.85. The portion of this cost to be assessed to benefiting property owners is $647,116.75. The assessments will be charged over a period of ten years at the rate of 6.5% interest. There are 327 benefiting property owners. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2007-48. 4. Resolution Directing Publication of the Hearing on the Proposed Assessment for the Street Improvement Project No. ST. 2007-1. William Burns, City Manager, said that the Council hearing is set for October 22, 2007. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2007-49. 5. Resolution Declaring Cost to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation of Proposed Assessment for the Street Improvement Project No. ST. 2007 — 2. William Burns, City Manager, stated there are sixty-nine properties that will be included on the assessment roll. These properties will be assessed for $123,270.37 of the costs associated with the 2007 mill and overlay project. Assuming that the pro-rated amounts for each property are not paid up front, they will be assessed over ten years at a 6.5% interest rate. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTIION NO. 2007-50. 6. Resolution Directing Publication of the Hearing on the Proposed Assessment for the Street Improvement Project No. ST. 2007 — 2. William Burns, City Manager, stated that the hearing will be held on October 22, 2007. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2007-51. 7. Resolution in Support of Fridley Independent School District #14 Grant Application for Election Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities. William Burns, City Manager, stated that the School District will be applying for $20,454 in Help America Vote Act (HAVA) money for additional curb cuts, temporary disability parking signs, automatic door openers, and tables. The improvements are for Hayes and Stevenson Elementary Schools. Since the City benefits from this grant, we are being asked to provide a resolution of support. Staff recommends Council's approval. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 PAGE 4 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2007-52. 8. Resolution designating time and number of Council meetings for 2008. William Burns, City Manager, stated that the proposed calendar includes formal meetings, conference meetings, and budget work sessions. Staff recommends Council's approval. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2007-53. 9. Claims (133471-133664). APPROVED. 10. Licenses. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. 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 adopt tonight's agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY OPEN FORUM (VISITORS) Tom Myhra, 6360 Able Street N.E., stated his opinion regarding the water/sewer issue and that citizens would vote favorably on the issue if they could gain the trust of the City Council. At a recent Concerned Citizens meeting, the Comprehensive Plan was discussed. They think the citizens should have an opinion on the Comprehensive Plan. By the time the Comprehensive Plan was all decided, the citizens had no opportunity to voice their opinion. Councilmember Bolkcom said there have been several public meetings offered to discuss the Comprehensive Plan and the meeting dates have been listed on the website, mentioned at meetings and advertised on cable television and in the City newsletter. The meetings were well attended in some areas. There are also public hearings to be scheduled to discuss the draft version of the Comprehensive Plan once all chapters are complete. Any input from citizens that was gathered at the previous meetings is used for input in developing the chapters in the Comprehensive Plan. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 PAGE 5 Mr. Myhra said that everyone else sees the Comprehensive Plan before the public does. He asked how community input on housing forums would be used in the plan if people do not see the plan before it is written. He shared a time line that he received from a previous meeting and asked why the meetings were not held. Mayor Lund said that the time line was from the Community Development Director and the dates were not specific dates, but dates selected as goals to have certain things completed by. He added that there will be public hearings on the Comprehensive Plan for citizens to attend. Councilmember Bolkcom said that many of the scheduled meetings to discuss the plan had a poor turnout. Only 18 people were in attendance at one meeting, and that included staff and Council members. They have advertised the meetings, sent out invitations, etc. She asked what it would take to get people to come to the meetings. Mr. Myhra answered that people would show up if it was important to them. At the housing forum meetings there were people there because it is an important issue to the community. He did not think the Comprehensive Plan would include the concerns of the public. Councilmember Barnette said that at a corridor study meeting, which included discussion on housing, the attendance was very poor. He asked why people did not show up at these meetings if it is so important to them. Mayor Lund said Council is looking to the citizens for vision on the University Avenue Corridor and have had four meetings. An advisory committee has offered services free of charge to help come up with ideas on what to do with this area and all meetings were poorly attended. Councilmember Varichak said Council and staff are trying to look at ways to generate more income in Fridley and develop the land so it will be productive. Mayor Lund said if people want to be involved in the early process of the Comprehensive Plan, the opportunity is there. The public will get to read the draft chapters of the Comprehensive Plan the same time Council does. He added that the comments were premature for distrust on the Council as there are public hearings to come regarding the plan. This will give the public adequate time to voice their wants and needs. Mr. Myhra said that New Brighton has a way of working on their plan that better involves public input. Councilmember Bolkcom said that she works for a large company and the Comprehensive Plan is created much like complex plans in her office. Staff inembers who are knowledgeable in certain areas draft up policies and procedures, the draft plans are reviewed at meetings, and input is taken under consideration before the plan is finalized. City staff will write up draft chapters that relate to their departments. They will then submit them to Council/public for review and opinion. Any input will be taken into consideration and the chapters will be edited and finalized. The process is no different than other large companies. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 PAGE 6 Mr. Myhra said a housing maintenance section should be included in the plan. Councilmember Bolkcom said they have already been working on getting a housing maintenance code for the City. Council has given that direction to City staff. Councilmember Saefke said that the City Council did authorize staff to have two interns hired over the summer to perform surveys on housing maintenance and inspect homes that may be in violation of city code. This was a proactive way to try and resolve some of the housing issues. Mayor Lund added that the two summer interns built a case to start a maintenance code. It would be great to have staff who could oversee the maintenance code on a full time basis but currently this responsibility is shared between a number of staf£ He agreed that the maintenance code needs to be enforced but funding has not allowed this to happen. Mr. Myhra said that there is no new development for the city. Council needs to provide staff with a vision for the City. Councilmember Bolkcom took offence by the comment that Council has no vision. Mr. Myhra said that the City Council should direct staff rather than have staff direct Council. William Burns, City Manager, said that there have been two vision meetings. The results are on the web site and available to citizens. A lot of material has been collected. A citizen survey was completed and the results will be drafted in the Plan. There will be public hearings at several meetings for citizens to attend. Mayor Lund said that Mr. Eisenzimmer had attended the last Council Meeting and had four issues. He said that a letter in response to the questions was sent out to Mr. Eisenzimmer and staff has been to his property to discuss the flooding issues in his back yard. NEW BUSINESS: 11. Informal Status Report. Councilmember Bolkcom thanked staff and others involved with the corridor study. It was a good exchange of information and results will be available for review on the web site. William Burns, City Manager, said that the citizens survey results will be compiled and discussed at the October 8 City Council meeting. The results will also be posted on the web site. The October newsletter will be out the first week in October to residents. He introduced the new Public Works Director, Jim Kosluchar. Jim Kosluchar, Public Works Director, said he has been in the office for about a week and is getting to know staff and his way around the office. He is pleased with the operation of the City and glad to work with a great staff. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2007 PAGE 7 Mayor Lund announced that this Friday is homecoming at Fridley High School and extra activities are scheduled prior to the game. This is a fund raising event to benefit the Fridley School Foundation. Councilmember Saefke announced that on October 9 there will be a meeting at the Fridley Community Center at 7:00 p.m. by the League of Women's Voters to answer questions regarding the charter amendment. ADJOURN: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:35 P.M. Respectfully submitted by, Krista Monsrud Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor