Loading...
06/28/2010 - 29309CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY JUNE 28, 2010 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund Councilmember-at-Large Barnette Councilmember Saefke Councilmember Varichak Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT: William Burns, City Manager Fritz Knaak, City Attorney Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Richard Pribyl, Finance Director/Treasurer Debra Skogen, City Clerk Don Abbott, Director of Public Safety Roger Fink, Trident Development PRESENTATION: Fridley K9 Program Don Abbott, Director of Public Safety, stated the Fridley Police Department is quite proud to welcome the police canines, Nitro and Kona, to the force. Fridley Police has long recognized the value of police canines but has had to rely on neighboring agencies for that source over the years. Using $33,000 in federal grant funds (from the JAG grant from 2009), the City purchased the two dogs, German Shepherds, from the Czech Republic in the fall of 2009. Kennels were installed at the handlers' homes and they purchased the required equipment to begin canine units. Basically the start-up costs of the two canine units were covered by the JAG grant funds from 2009. Chief Abbott stated the two teams began a mix of informal and formal training as soon as the dogs arrived from the Czech Republic. Formal training began in March of this year and concluded 13 weeks later on June 18. Training covered the skills necessary for Patrol Dog 1 Certification which includes tracking, apprehension, and drug and evidence location along with very advanced obedience training. The City congratulates Officer Chris McClish with Nitro and Officer Matt Noren with Kona on completing the 13 weeks of grueling training which culminated in a nine-hour certification testing process on June 17. The City commends the two officers and their canine partners for finishing in the No. l and No. 2 slots in their course of eight canines from around Minnesota. This brings the number of canine teams on patrol in Anoka FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 2 County to nine, making it highly likely that a canine team is on-duty somewhere in Anoka County twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Chief Abbott stated the Fridley Fire Department graciously provided space within the fenced area at their training facility for the creation of a canine training area. Also, Fridley Public Works staff took care of clearing the area and constructing the obstacles and the training aids used on a regular basis by the canine teams. Chief Abbott stated Top Dog honors for the class went to Officer Chris McClish and his canine, Nitro. They received that for finishing first in the class. In their certification score, they received 677.78 points out of a possible 700. Their instructor said that was one of the highest and believed it was the highest one he is aware of by a new dog and handler on that certification test. First apprehension honors goes to Officer Noren and Kona. Chief Abbott stated this is very unusual but on their first night on patrol which was last Monday night, Officer Noren and canine Kona were called to assist a Blaine officer when a suspect ran from a traffic stop in Spring Lake Park on June 21. Officer Noren and Kona tracked the person to his hiding place behind a woodpile in the backyard of a nearby home. Upon locating the suspect, Officer Noren announced the presence of the canine. The suspect gave up. The male was subsequently identified, and an outstanding warrant for felony criminal se�ual conduct was discovered. The officers reported that without the assistance of a canine, that would not have happened. The vehicle registered to Fridley so it absolutely benefited our community as well. Chief Abbott swore in the canines. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they had to recertify. Officer McClish said they have to recertify once a year. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if it was a long as the first time. Officer McClish said it was only for a couple of days. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council Meeting of June 14, 2010 APPROVED. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 3 OLD BUSINESS: 1. Second Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 30, Lawful Gambling, and Chapter 603, Intoxicating Liquor, of the City of Fridley City Code Defining Licensed Organizations to Conduct Lawful Gambling. William Burns, City Manager, stated the ordinance redefines organizations that are permitted to conduct lawful gambling in Fridley. One-third of its members must reside in Fridley or the organization must have its principal business in Fridley. Establishments that hold Fridley liquor licenses must seek qualifying organizations or attest to not being able to find one. Council may waive the qualifying organization requirement. As has been the case in existing law, these organizations must spend 50 percent of their proceeds within the City of Fridley trade area. Staff recommends Council's approval of the second and final reading of this ordinance. WAIVE THE READING OF THE ORDINANCE AND ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO. 1270 ON SECOND READING AND ORDERED PUBLICATION. NEW BUSINESS: 2. Receive the Minutes from the Planning Commission Meeting of June 16, 2010. RECEIVED. 3. Resolution Providing the Sale of $2,810,000 General Obligation Utility Revenue Bonds, Series 2010A. William Burns, City Manager, stated the resolution authorizes staff to work with our bond counsel, Ehlers & Associates to sell $2,810,000 in utility revenue bonds. The bond proceeds will be used to pay for water, sewer, and storm water improvements constructed in 2010 and 2011. Staff is recommending a two-year issue in order to save money on bond issuance costs. Staff will ask Council to award the bid for the sale of these bonds at Council's July 12 meeting. Staff recommends Council's authorization to seek bids. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2010-34. 4. Resolution Providing for the Sale of $1,270,000 General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 2010C. William Burns, City Manager, stated the proceeds will finance the special assessment portion of the 2009 and 2010 street projects. Council is issuing the bonds for a two-year period to save on issuance costs. Staff will ask Council to award the bid for the sale of these bonds at their July 12 meeting. Staff recommends Council's authorization to seek bids. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2010-35. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 4 5. Approve Agreement for the Administration of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program FY2010 Local Solicitation. Dr. Burns stated Anoka County, Coon Rapids, Columbia Heights, and Fridley have received $62,592 in JAG Grant funding. The agreement establishes that Coon Rapids will serve as the fiscal agent for the grant and as such will use 10 percent of the grant revenues to cover its administrative costs. Fridley's net share of grant proceeds is $15,106.50. The money will be used to purchase new pistols, holsters, magazine holders and ammunition. APPROVED. 6. Claims (146549 — 146748). APPROVED. 7. Licenses. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. 8. Estimates. APPROVED THE FOLLOWING ESTIMATES: G. L. Contracting 4300 Willow Drive Medina, MN 55340 45th Avenue Outfall Project No. 390 FINAL ESTIMATE ...................................................................$ 6,105.27 Penn Contracting 13025 Central Avenue Suite 200 Blaine, NIN 55434 2010 Watermain Rehabilitation Project No. 391 Estimate No. 2 ................................................................................$ 44,782.50 APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: Councilmember Bolkcom mentioned there are three e�tra zeros in the title of Item No. 3 on the agenda. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the consent agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 5 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve the agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM: Detective Travis Volk, Fridley Police Department, said he would like to share some concerns. He said there was some misinformation about four police positions. About a month ago the Fridley Police Department had 41 positions and now it is his understanding there are 37. Mayor Lund replied, he thought that was fairly accurate. He said he could not tell him what the actual numbers are. Some have left and the City does have a hiring freeze. William Burns, City Manager, stated his recollection is they had 39 positions, and there are now he thinks 36 positions. However, he could be wrong. Mayor Lund said they know we are not at full complement. Detective Volk asked if this was going to be permanent or until the budget straightens out? Mayor Lund replied, obviously there has been a push from our Police Chief. We would love to fill the positions, but we are in a hiring freeze. He cannot tell him how short or long that term will be. Detective Volk stated he understands. Mayor Lund stated he could not tell him now if they are going to freeze them for 2011. They have not finalized the 2011 budget. Councilmember Bolkcom stated they just had a budget meeting last Monday, and there was a fairly lengthy discussion about police officers and what we needed to do. The recommendation from the City Council was that the City Manager and staff should come back with a recommendation related to the police officers at the ne�t budget session in October. Detective Volk asked so they are not looking at any timeframe. He understands the budget is tight. He asked if the Police Department is considered an essential service to the City. He noticed that the City is also hiring Fire personnel currently. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 6 Mayor Lund said there has been a request for paid on-call, part-time firefighters. He does not recall having any full-time. Dr. Burns stated the positions they are filling right now are all paid on-call. It is the same number the Council has authorized for a long, long period of time. Detective Volk stated he knows that Parks hired many seasonal employees recently to keep up with the mowing of the parks and the common areas, etc. Mayor Lund stated actually they have cut way back on that, too. Detective Volk may notice that University Avenue again this year is not being mowed at a savings of roughly $24,000. Dr. Burns stated it was cut back 25 percent for 2010, it was cut back for 2009, and we will see a 20 percent cut back in part-time seasonals for the Street Division in 2011 and 2010 as well. Mayor Lund asked if Detective Volk's questions were because of the impending arbitration or mediation with the police officers. Detective Volk said he understands the question and it really has no bearing on that part. Dr. Burns stated it is really terribly inappropriate to bring arbitration issues or labor contract negotiation issues to the City Council meeting. Detective Volk said that is not what this is about. Councilmember Bolkcom asked him if he could state his reason. Normally at open forum, Council receives information and they actually do not report back until the ne�t meeting. She is a little concerned where this is all going. Mayor Lund asked him to tell them what his concerns are. Detective Volk stated his concerns are officer safety. Without those four positions, they have decreased patrol to 22 officers. That is a 15 percent decrease in patrol. They have 15 personnel designated as either SRO's, detectives, or administrative. They do not respond to 911 calls. He is a detective and people do not want to see him show up at their house when they call 911 because their house got broken into. The less patrol officers they have on the street, the more dangerous it is for the people who are actually working in the City. Mayor Lund stated because the discussion was so recent, he can tell him there is one patrol officer position that is vacant right now. Dr. Burns stated he is aware of three positions that are vacant. Detective Volk stated he thought there were either three or four spots. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 7 Dr. Burns stated there are three spots, and one has been vacant for three or four years. There are two recent vacancies that are temporarily on hold until the City finds a way out of the financial challenges it is in right now. We are seeing 2011 as much better at this time this year than we were seeing it last year, but it is still a situation where he thinks they are pretty smart to be very restrained in our spending pattern. We do not want to not fill police positions unnecessarily, but it makes sense at this point to do it. He would also point out that back in the early 90's, the City had seven less positions than it does now. It gained seven positions through the Clinton Cops Program. There is no other branch in the City that has gained that kind of employment. If you look around the City, you cannot find anywhere that gained seven positions in the last 15 or 20 years. Detective Volk stated he understands they have a very difficult job. However, these are legitimate concerns that most, if not all, of the Police Department personnel have. Mayor Lund said if Mr. Volk would like to submit his questions they could respond to him more fully. He is aware there is a safety priority not only for the officers but for our citizens. Dr. Burns stated part of the more immediate problem has been the presence of the two canine officers and their being in training and not on duty. He thinks now that they are back with the dogs, that will help somewhat. Detective Volk agreed. Dr. Burns stated to Detective Volk he is probably well aware they have two officers in two different drug task forces who are outside the normal roll call. Also, a third person has been dedicated entirely to bond detective work and is not available for the street. We tended to specialize, and that has somewhat exacerbated the manpower problem for the street. Detective Volk replied, he understands that and Dr. Burns is right. For at least the last five years, Fridley has ranked in the top five cities for the highest number of calls per officer in the metro area. Dr. Burns replied, that is true. The City has a lot of calls. Detective Volk said the reason they were curious was because it was unclear to them what the status was. Dr. Burns said he could tell him anything he wanted to know. He would be happy to talk with him. He said he does think it is a longer-term decision to make a commitment on when they are going to fill those vacancies. Mayor Lund stated they will not know what will happen for 2011 until their ne�t budget session in October. Dr. Burns stated one of the biggest unknowns is what the State comes up with. The City is looking at a 2011 legislative session where they are going to have to deal with a$5.8 billion FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 8 State deficit. While the City is supposed to get $1.8 million for local government aid, which is a large part of what goes to fund the Police Department, given the size of the deficit, there may be additional cuts to that amount or it may totally be cut. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 9. Consideration of Proposed Amendment to the Fridley City Charter, Chapter 7-12. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to open the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING OPENED AT 8:24 P.M. Debra A. Skogen, City Clerk, stated the Fridley Charter Commission meets eight times annually to review the Fridley City Charter. The Commission reviewed Chapters 7 through 12 for general housekeeping issues to make it consistent with State law. On May 24, 2010, the Commission recommended an amendment by ordinance to the City Council. Amendment by ordinance requires a public hearing, and a notice of the public hearing must be published containing the te�t of the proposed amendment. The public hearing notice was published with the te�t of the amendment in the Fridley Sun Focus on June 3 and 10. Ms. Skogen stated the proposed amendments are as follows: for Chapter 7, Section 7.02, there is a word change from the word "least" to "less." Ms. Skogen stated Chapter 8, Public Improvements, Section 8.01 changes a long sentence from one into two sentences. Ms. Skogen stated Section 8.05 changes the contract amount from $50,000 to "what is allowable under Minnesota state statutes." Ms. Skogen stated in Chapter 11, Public Ownership and Operation of Utilities, Section 11.04 changes one long sentence into two sentences and removes the words "reasonable charges" as it is in State statute. Ms. Skogen stated Section 11.08 would allow the City Council to establish the Public Utilities Commission. In Chapter 12, Miscellaneous Provisions, most of this is dealing with publication and getting information. Ms. Skogen stated in Section 12.01, the words that were added were "important city information including" which was put before the type of documents that need to be published. It also describes how it should be done and removing old language, such as "typewritten and mimeographed" and includes electronic means for publication. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 9 Ms. Skogen stated in Section 12.02 it removes language addressing how individuals may request records and replaces it with language referring it to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. Ms. Skogen stated based on this information, staff recommends holding the public hearing to allow public testimony on this amendment. Councilmember Varichak asked in Section 8.05, the third line from the bottom says it requires an affirmative vote of at least four members of the City Council. In Section 11.08 it mentions a majority vote of the City Council. She asked what the difference between the two was. Ms. Skogen said they did not change those sections. She believes four-fifths is needed because it is dealing with money. In relation to public utilities, that was written in the language currently. All they did was add the sentence allowing the City Council to establish a public utilities commission by a majority vote. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they took $50,000 out in Section 8.05 because the State statute changed. Ms. Skogen replied, correct. This is actually the third time they have changed it since she has been here. The recommendation was to change it to State law because it has gone from $10,000 to $50,000, to $100,000. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what "transportation lines" meant in Section 8.01. Ms. Skogen said the Charter was adopted in 1957, and this was language from that time. Part of what the Charter Commission does is look for language that might be obsolete. She does not have a definition for what it is. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if it should say "modes of transportation" or something like that. To her it means back to when there were streetcars. Ms. Skogen stated she thinks it is a good question. They could bring it to the Charter Commission and have them review it and discuss it. Councilmember Saefke stated when the Charter was written he can tell them for a fact we did not have bus service. So that might be one of them. Now we have bus shelters for the bus stops which we did not have before, and this is authorizing some input from the City on the development of those things. Plus, he thought it would include things like the commuter rail line. East River Road did have the streetcar down the pathway, many, many years ago that would head to Anoka. He suspects when this was written it was an all-encompassing term. Councilmember Bolkcom said if they are going to look at the different chapters, then maybe we should also look at what that means and define it in some way. Ms. Skogen said she thinks they should bring it to their attention. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 10 Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the Charter Commission vote on the changes was unanimous. Ms. Skogen replied, yes. Mayor Lund asked why they added a line about establishing a public utilities commission in Section 11.08. Ms. Skogen said she believed it had to do with the restrictions currently in place. It would give the City the ability to have someone else set the rates if Council did not want to. Mayor Lund asked why they included "important city information" to the language in Section 12.01. Ms. Skogen replied during the review of the chapter, individuals come in with different words or ideas. She said she did not recall the conversation, but she thinks they wanted to allow other City input, i.e., on the website. Councilmember Bolkcom stated so it could be something like the water quality report. Ms. Skogen replied, yes, or other things that are not necessarily required to be published but would be of interest to the public. Councilmember Bolkcom asked right after that sentence, "it shall be done." Is that saying it has to be done by mailing or posting? Could you just add, "it shall be done by mailing, posting, or electronic means" for publication? Otherwise it seems to her you have to do it. Could you put the electronic part in there so there are things that you would have to do electronically? Mayor Lund asked the City Attorney if it had to be printed. Fritz Knaak, City Attorney, replied ordinarily it would require that you have it printed. As he understands this language, you simply do what the law permits to the e�tent it would modify that number. If State law modifying publication or any kind of law regarding publication changed, you would be allowed to change it. Councilmember Bolkcom asked why it did not include "State statute" in some of the other sections. Councilmember Saefke stated he has a little bit different interpretation of it. Prior to "It shall be done" it is talking about publications required by the Charter or State statute. The way he is reading it is, "It shall be done either by mailing or posting" meaning printed copies in a public place and you can post it here at City Hall or other public buildings in some printed form. In either case, we are required to notify people of elections and any time we have meetings because of the open meeting law. So long if we are posting it, it is either going to be a general mailing to everyone or posting in a public place. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 11 Councilmember Bolkcom asked where we post public hearing notices. She knew we put them in our official newspaper but do we post them at City Hall? Dr. Burns said he believes the City posts them on the bulletin boards in the lobby. Councilmember Saefke stated he also sees schedules by the back door. Councilmember Bolkcom stated but that is not a notice of a public hearing. Ms. Skogen stated she is not sure whether Planning Commission posts their public hearings. Dr. Burns stated they post things on the website as well. Mr. Hickok stated, yes, they are on the calendar in the entryway. Councilmember Bolkcom stated, yes, but it does not actually say what the topic or anything is. It is not like the notice sent out to people and published in the newspaper. Ms. Skogen stated she does know, for example, notices of election for the filing and for the notice of election and the sample ballot, are posted in the three entry doors in its full form. Councilmember Saefke asked Attorney Knaak on these postings is it required that you have to have the agenda or the topic or just the time, date, and location of a meeting. Attorney Knaak replied normally it is the time, location, and the content or subject matter of the meeting. Councilmember Bolkcom stated maybe they should look at putting according to "State statute" in some other areas. Mayor Lund stated he thinks that is a good comment to take back to the Charter Commission. Other than that he does not see any problem with the additions and deletions. Councilmember Bolkcom asked whether this will go back to the Charter Commission because of comments and clarification questions. Ms. Skogen replied you could move it to its first reading at the ne�t meeting the way it is currently written or send it back to the Commission for their review. The Commission meets in September. Dr. Burns asked Council to review their concerns so the Charter Commission and the City staff understand what exactly they want. Mayor Lund stated he heard the clarification on transportation, his question about the establishment of a Public Utilities Commission and the thought process in changing some FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 12 language, important City information and a little redundancy of other such measures and matters. What was the other one? Councilmember Bolkcom stated the whole question about "it shall be done." Should they add "by mailing or posting or printed copies or as per State statute." MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to continue the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 10. Consideration of the Removal or Repair of a Hazardous Building Located at 6260 Alden Way N.E. (Ward 3). MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to open the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING OPENED AT 8:25. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, stated this is an action to consider a building hazardous in accordance with State Statute provisions. There has been some progress since the setting of this public hearing, but staff has determined it would like to continue and ask Council to consider the resolution that would have allow them to move forward with the hazardous building provisions. In spite of our concerns about the danger of people entering the home, we did not get a lot of response from the homeowners. Mr. Hickok stated since the hearing was set, the majority of the structure has been removed. What exists today is the foundation which is going to be reused for the new structure. Staff is asking Council adopt the resolution so that in the event the foundation sits for any length of time staff could continue with the removal without coming back to the Council and delaying this matter further. Mr. Hickok stated staff does think there is a contractor who has been hired to not only do the demolition work that has been done but to also rebuild. However, if there are any sort of delays, for the benefit of the City and those who may be in danger of an open excavation, staff asks that we have a resolution allowing us to proceed if necessary. Councilmember Barnette asked what would be a reasonable time for them to do the construction. Mr. Hickok replied the State statute spells out how long they have to either repair or to demolish. They would need to keep moving ahead. They have a very limited period (20 days) to move forward and take this to the ne�t step. If they do not do that then having a resolution and having the ability to remove the structure, would still be in play. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 13 Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they have used the State statute before for other hazardous buildings. Mr. Hickok replied, yes, this is the fifth one in the last 16 years. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if any building permits have been pulled. Mr. Hickok said a demolition permit has been required to get it to this point. Also, plans have been submitted for the structure. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if there has been a building permit. Mr. Hickok replied, he did not believe so. The plans are in but the building permit has not been issued. Mayor Lund said the resolution talks about demolishing the building but the building is basically gone. If they did not do anything about a building permit, would the ne�t step be that the basement has to be removed, filled in, etc.? Is that part of the resolution? Mr. Hickok replied, yes, they would eliminate the hazard. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to close the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED AT 8:32. NEW BUSINESS: 11. Resolution Ordering the Removal or Repair of a Hazardous Building Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 463, Located Within the City of Fridley, Minnesota (Ward 3). MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No. 2010-36. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 12. Resolution Approving a Master Plan Amendment, MP #10-02, Trident Development, LLC, for the Purpose of Constructing a Senior Living Facility, Generally Located at 6420 Central Avenue and 1282 Mississippi Street N.E. (Ward 2). Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, stated Town Center Development rezoned and replatted the property to S-2, Redevelopment District in 2004. Both land use actions were FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 14 approved by the City Council; however, the petitioner never filed the final plat for the property. Town Center Development proposed to plat the subject properties into two lots, one which would be updated by an updated and remodeled Sandee's Restaurant and the other would be occupied by a new 54-unit senior condominium project. Since 2004 and those approvals, the site has remained as it is today. Mr. Hickok stated the petitioner is proposing to construct a three-story, 72-unit, senior facility. It would include 8 independent living apartments, 50 assisted living apartments, and 14 memory care support studio units. The apartment units will include either a one or two-bedroom floor plan with a complete kitchen and appliances (washer and dryer) in each room. The apartment units range in size from 580 square feet to 880 square feet, and the memory support studios are approximately 380 square feet in size. Mr. Hickok stated the proposed building is designed in an "X" shape. It is a three-story building with a pitched roof. The "X" shape really helps to break up the building's volume. The exterior fa�ade will include a drive-under canopy, a covered porch, peaked roof forms, dormers, and bump out windows. The e�terior siding includes a complementary mix of cultured stone, maintenance free steel lap siding, and vinyl shingles. Mr. Hickok stated the subject property is configured currently into two lots, not the two that were proposed by Town Center Development, but the two that were originally there. One for the home that exists on the site, and one for the larger Sandee's site. Mr. Hickok stated in order for the development to occur over both of the lots, the petitioner will need to combine the lots which is a simple process through Anoka County. The total project area for both lots is 173,211 square feet or 3.98 acres. The footprint for the 72-unit building will cover 14 percent of the lot area. Our three zoning standards allow up to 20 percent. Just to put it in perspective with what an R-3 would allow, it would allow up to 20 percent of lot coverage for the main building and not more than 30 percent by the main building and its accessory structures. Therefore, this project complies with lot coverage even if it were an R-3 multi-family. Mr. Hickok stated City Code also requires 48 parking spaces for the proposed project. The petitioner is providing an e�ra stall, 49. There are 8 enclosed garage stalls and 41 surface parking stalls to meet the Code requirements. Mr. Hickok stated City Code requires a maximum of 45 feet in height when the building will be within 50 feet of a residential structure. The submitted plans show a 36-foot height when measured at the midspan. The Town Center Development project was approximately 41 feet at the midspan or three stories. That one started out as four stories, was reduced to three stories, and was approved at 41 feet in height at the midspan, which is the distance between the eve line and the ridgeline of the building. Mr. Hickok stated the proposed project meets all setback requirements. Mr. Hickok stated the petitioner hired Maxfield Research to conduct an independent pre- assessment for the market demand. The assessment report researched Fridley and Spring Lake FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 15 Park, Columbia Heights, New Brighton, and Mounds View. The research considered the population, demographics, the existing competitive supply, and proposed pending developments throughout the trade area. It also took into account the 59 units currently proposed by White Pines or Faulkner Construction. Maxfield's report did estimate that sufficient unmet demand exists in this trade area to support the feasibility of the proposed project as well as the 59 units proposed by White Pines. Mr. Hickok stated petitioner's narrative states, "The proposed development generates vehicular traffic from three distinct activities. (1) Residents: The resident population will be an average of 84 years old. Fourteen of the units are memory care residents who will not drive. Of the remaining 58 units, we estimate that 15 percent (or 9 residents) may still own and drive cars. Transportation for those who do not drive is provided by friends, family, or the private transport van operated by this facility. (2) Employees: The greatest amount of traffic activity would come from employees arriving and leaving the property. The facility is staffed 24 hours a day. The largest single shift generates approximately 12 cars, during business hours. A bus stop is conveniently located across the street from the property which we hope will provide transportation for many of the employees. Thus reducing the number of trips generated to and from the property. (3) Visitors and Deliveries: On average, 4 to 6 visitors per day arrive and leave during business hours throughout the week. Weekends and holidays may see higher activity. The kitchen and housekeeping receives scheduled deliveries, similar to a small restaurant, 2 to 3 times per week during business hours. Usually deliveries arrive in a straight truck or box van. Seldom do deliveries arrive in a semi-tractor trailer." Mr. Hickok stated City staff had an opportunity to tour the petitioner's facility in St. Michael. It is essentially the same building proposed to be constructed in Fridley. Staff was very impressed with the quality of the work done both on the exterior and interior of the property. There are several well-thought out amenities that are offered to the residents of the facility and to the overall construction and design of the project. Mr. Hickok stated petitioner held a neighborhood meeting on June 15, 2010. There were six people in attendance. The Planning Commission held a public hearing for this item on June 16, and unanimously recommended approval with 15 stipulations. Staff recommends the City Council concur with the Planning Commission. Councilmember Varichak asked if both parcels are S-2. Mr. Hickok said they were. Councilmember Varichak asked if it was okay to have a similar building so close to another one with the same use. Mr. Hickok said it is a market issue. A land use regulation would not say that it cannot happen. The Maxfield study indicated the demand is here for both the 59-unit unit and this proposed 72- unit building. We are not saturating the market, they can co-exist. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 16 Councilmember Varichak said someone came in a few months ago with a plan for a development across the street. She asked what was happening with that. Mr. Hickok replied, they let the options on the land go. That is what a developer will typically do is tie up the land, get in agreement with the property owners through an option, and then if their development is approved and they move forward, they advance that option into a purchase. There is a certain timeline but they typically pay for that option, and they need to operate within that timeline or they lose their earnest money or the money down on the properties. They let all of that happen. The land has gone through that time period. They no longer have the land under contract. They would need to come back and renegotiate that deal. City staff did talk to the developer and ask why it was not advancing. They had purchased property in Mounds View and were moving ahead at the time they were coming through this process in Fridley. The most recent discussion was they were still very interested and understand Fridley has a market. This happened before these two projects. They were not certain whether they would come back and evaluate that site or another site that Fridley has that they were interested in. Councilmember Varichak asked whether there is big enough water retention area. Mr. Hickok replied each building will be required to handle its own. This project is a bit different than the other project in that it is basically being designed to hold the water longer and on site with zero percent leaving the site. Retained and absorbed into the site. The City did receive the soil reports today which show as suspected it is sand down to a level of about 14 feet. It is varying degrees of sand that would allow the water be held in a storm pond situation and then the best situation for water to be filtered is to go back into the earth. It happens that way through sand. On the other site they are holding their water and they need to hold it through a 100-year storm event and they need to meet our engineering standards for the design. Each site has to develop their site in a pre-runoff condition. Even though they are putting added hard surface they cannot exceed what the absorption was in a pre-runoff condition. Councilmember Varichak asked about the truck traffic going in and out. She is worried about the school buses. What are the timeframes for when employees are going in and out? Are they at the same time? Mr. Hickok replied deliveries are generally by smaller vehicles. They are not talking about semi-trailers on either project, although there may be some exceptions. He can almost assure them that a conflict that would put them there during busiest of traffic hours probably would only happen once because then they could arrange deliveries in another fashion. On this particular project, the deliveries will come in off of Mississippi Street and be on the west side of the building. Councilmember Varichak asked if the street would need to be redesigned. Mr. Hickok replied they did receive a letter from Anoka County and essentially what they did is attach the letter from the Town Center Development. That includes distances from intersections for driveways, eliminating the number of driveways, and those things. Staff has passed that onto the developer to make certain those things are protected. One of the things in the original letter FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 17 about Town Center Development that relates to their question is that because Town Center Development was being platted it was needed to give up quite a bit of land dedication for public right-of-way in the event of future roadway expansion along Mississippi Street and Old Central. This project is not being platted. They are using all the land as one lot. It does not require a plat and when it does not require a plat, there is no dedication of roadway to the County. If the County wants to do those kinds of improvements in the future, they would need to actually acquire the land. The petitioner has considered that and positioned the building to that in the event the County wants to make that acquisition later, the building would not be in the way. Councilmember Varichak asked since this is fairly close to some residential areas has the fencing and lighting been taken into consideration. She knows they did have some issues before with fencing and proper lighting. Mr. Hickok replied there is quite an elaborate landscape plan being proposed for this project. It does not just have one long monotonous expansive fence running along the property line. Instead it has between the existing residential and this project landscape, landscape and fence sections. It is an interesting view from the neighbor's property and their property without just being one long fence. They believe the neighbors will be happier about having new trees in there and not having fence where there was nice natural open area. Councilmember Varichak asked regarding the age restriction. What would happen if a 55-year old person has a younger partner and they had a child. Councilmember Varichak said she is concerned about how big it is going to be. With the other project for this site that was before Council, there was a lot of discussion about what was going to go in there and how high it was going to be. From what she read in the Planning Commission meeting minutes, there was really no opposition to any of this. Mr. Hickok stated, yes, and reassure her about the size, the building is shorter than even the shortest version of Town Center that was approved. The footprint of this building is smaller than the approved Town Center Development master plan. It is more compact although it is 72 units. We are talking about a different type of unit than the 54 for sale condominiums and a restaurant. The unit numbers though higher also do not generate the vehicles on the site. Councilmember Bolkcom stated there will be a delivery entrance on Mississippi. She asked if there would be two right-ins and right-outs on Central. Mr. Hickok stated there is a right-in and right-out and also a full access intersection, right or left, on Central. The County indicated that at some point there may be a median along Mississippi and, if that happens, they just need to realize at that point it is a right-in and right out. They do have three access points. The County does not want the access points too close to the intersection nor too close to each other to cause a conflict. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if people could come in the entrance on Mississippi and go all the way around the building. Mr. Hickok replied, no. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 18 Councilmember Bolkcom asked whether the City has received anything back from the Rice Creek Watershed District. Mr. Hickok replied they have been working with the Rice Creek Watershed District and the City stipulates they need to meet the requirements of the Rice Creek Watershed District before they can move forward. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if this was compatible with what is in our Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Hickok said it was. Councilmember Bolkcom said because they are approving this mater plan amendment, if there is a major change this would come back to them. What would qualify as a major change? Mr. Hickok stated he would remove the word "major" and just say "a change would require master plan review." Councilmember Bolkcom asked what would qualify as a change. She is going back to the fence and lighting and what if, for instance, the money runs out. Would that be considered a change? Mr. Hickok said what they are approving is what is going to be built and any changes made would need to come back. There has been a landscape plan submitted and reviewed by staff. Also a civil plan reviewed and at least to this point approved by staff, excepting anything that the Rice Creek Watershed District may change. If it is not on the site plan and not in the stipulations, and there is a change that happens, Council will be seeing it again. Councilmember Bolkcom stated it is not a stipulation that if there is any change in the master plan it has to come before them. Is that just understood? Mr. Hickok replied, no. It is in the S-2 zoning which is predicated on a master plan that Council approves. Roger Fink, Trident Development, stated regarding the 55 and older question, he thinks they would be governed by the Fair Housing law in that case. They would be required to allow them to rent there. One of the couple/spouse would be at least 55 or older. If the other one was younger or there are children, he thinks they would be required to rent to them. Mayor Lund stated there are a lot of these cooperatives and associates with bylaws/covenants. Are there any here? Mr. Fink replied, there are no covenants recorded here with this property. Regarding the residency, there is a month-to-month lease offering housing with services. He thinks it would be e�tremely rare to have an individual who is 55 with a younger spouse choose this property. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 19 Councilmember Varichak apologized that she was not at the neighborhood meeting as she was not notified. Mr. Fink apologized as well as they received the mailing list from the City. They went through the list together and made sure they had an accurate representation and understood who the neighbors and landlords were. He thinks there was another person who felt they should have gotten an invitation also but he did not know if they were on the list. Councilmember Varichak asked Mr. Fink whether he was okay with the 15 stipulations. Mr. Fink replied they have read through the stipulations. He thinks the only caveat for those have to do with the Anoka County letter. There are four or five suggestions that come out of that letter. He thinks the requirement portion has to do with the required permits, the required plan review submittals, the required contact and so forth before you proceed with construction. However, the others he is interpreting them to be suggestions having to do with access drives and there were a number of other things in there. He just wants to make sure their application is not caught up saying you did not comply with the suggestion. He is relying on staff to guide him through that process. Mayor Lund stated if they approve this, the stipulations must be adhered to. Suggestions that have been talked about in this presentation or elsewhere are simply suggestions. He asked Mr. Hickok to respond for clarification. Mr. Hickok replied he understands the concern because the distinction needs to be drawn between what is a requirement of the County and what is being suggested by the County. They cannot require dedication of a public right-of-way, for example, because it is not a plat. The Town Center Development had a plat and, therefore, they were entitled to right-of-way. It made it a requirement. There is not a requirement for them here to dedicate land because they are not going through the platting process, and it would be wrong for us because our subdivision ordinance does not give us the authority to give or require dedication of land unless it goes through a platting process. There is a requirement by the County that any work in the right-of- way gets a permit prior to. The County's permit folks may have an issue with the access location. As it relates to Town Center Development, there was another development across the street and they were matching driveways with a development across the street. We do not have that same situation here. What the petitioner, his architect, and his engineering staff have done is be cognizant of distances from the intersection and took, what he would consider worst-case scenario, in giving themselves distance from the intersection so that they keep their driveway back Frankly he does not see any conflict with what the County would normally require here. By removing the Sandee's building, there were some impediments in the public right-of-way up at the corner of Mississippi and Central. Those are gone. They have left this open in their landscape plan so there is better visibility up at the corner. There are some things here that a template letter does not necessarily help us with or address, but we can go through and point out what would be required. We will hold them to the requirements, not the suggestions. Councilmember Varichak asked the petitioner if he gave out his number at the meeting so if anybody had any questions or concerns that they could call him. She also asked whether he received any calls after that meeting was held. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 20 Mr. Fink replied he displayed his business cards at the meeting. They presented the group with their site and landscape plans, talked about their timeline, and he invited information from them regarding the condition of the property line to the west. They were particularly trying to identify those homeowners who might be to the west and try to engage them in a brainstorming idea as to what their thoughts or wishes would be for that landscaping buffer. There was one neighbor who had property ne�t door, and they are in communication with him about some existing trees. That was the e�tent of it. The backyard properties on the western property line he thinks consistently along that entire property boundary all have four-foot chain link fencing and that is an important fence for them to have. He would also like to have some screening for their residents of the chain link fence. They really did not have much dialogue except for the neighbor on the very northern end near the driveway on Mississippi regarding existing trees. Councilmember Saefke stated he presumes the Fire Department has some input on the design. On the south side of the building is their landscaping or some type of hard surface for a ladder truck to get back there if necessary. Mr. Fink replied, he is not sure to what e�tent the Fire Department has reviewed this. He knows in their original introductory staff ineeting there was a representative of the Fire Department at the meeting. They talked about the placement of hydrants, access to the rear and the sides of the building, and they believe this plan is satisfactory to the Fire Department. Also, this building will be fully sprinkled. Councilmember Saefke stated the reason he brings this up is when Mr. Hickok was drawing the pathways from the various entrances, a Fire Department vehicle could get around three-quarters of the building without much trouble. However, on the south side he did not know if the ground would be hard enough if they had to put a ladder truck back there for access. If for whatever reason there was water main break there and it happened to be on their feed and they had a fire at the same time perhaps the sprinkler system would not work. Mr. Fink replied, in the event that they do not have the water pressure they needed to run the sprinkler system, there is a fire connection valve at the front of the building where a pumper truck connects the pump to the building and basically pressurizes the sprinkler heads throughout the building. Councilmember Saefke asked Mr. Fink whether they have two sources of water coming into the structure, such as one off of Mississippi and one off Old Central. Mr. Fink replied that is correct. Mr. Hickok stated staff did involve the Fire Marshall at the very earliest stages with the development committee. The site plan has not changed but for an engineering modification that would shift the building down 33 feet. The site plan is the same plan with the same access around the southern end of the building, and the Fire Marshall's concerns were about the fire hydrants. He wanted to make certain that the hydrant locations were where they needed them to be. There was no comment about needing additional hard surface around the southern end. That FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 21 end has a contained area, a wander garden for memory care and is left to be more natural. That is where the holding pond will also be and will serve as an amenity. There has been no discussion about a hard service drive to get around that southern end of the building. Councilmember Bolkcom asked who will be managing this facility when it is done. Mr. Fink said they have engaged a firm from Bloomington, Minnesota, to act as the ongoing manager. A company now known as Tealwood, but they are undergoing a name change to call themselves "The Waters." Tealwood has e�tensive experience and an immaculate record in managing nursing homes and assisted living facilities. At last count he thinks they had 22 nursing homes under management and some 18 assisted livings throughout Minnesota and the upper Midwest states. He believes this would be their fifth property with them. They are not only in charge of marketing and pre-leasing, but also with final leasing, staffing, move-ins, the ongoing management, the food service management, reporting, etc. In addition to Trident owning this property indefinitely, Tealwood will also be a percentage partner in the ownership of this property. They will not be so easily fired or dismissed, but they also have the primary motivation to see that it is operated successfully and continues to be a good neighbor in the community. Councilmember Bolkcom asked where they were at with the Rice Creek Watershed District and all their permits. Mr. Fink said representatives from the Rice Creek Watershed District have been to the property to provide them with a wetland clearance letter. Also, Westwood Professional Services is designing their site. They have worked with Rice Creek Watershed District for many years and are highly confident the design they will submit to the Rice Creek Watershed District will be received favorably because of the size of the pond and the fact it is designed to accommodate back-to-back 100-year storm events and retain it all on site. There will not be any overflow or discharge. It will all be retained in an infiltration pond. One of the Planning Commission members quizzed him about the soil conditions, particularly related to the pond and if it will infiltrate at the time. At that time they did not have the soil borings results, but they have obtained them since. There is a couple of feet of topsoil on top and below that is pretty good sand material for infiltration purposes. They suspect that will be the same conditions into what he calls the Cottonwood forest. Mayor Lund asked if the house was on the historic register. Mr. Hickok replied no. Mayor Lund stated previously in the existing master plan and this is being amended tonight, it called for the house to be moved. That it had to be relocated and not destroyed. Is that true? Mr. Hickok replied, no. There was discussion but that was when there was concern there might be a historic significance. The developer was trying to find a new home for it so it could be moved again but, by the time it got to Council for final approval, they were unsuccessful in finding anyone who would move the house. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 22 Mayor Lund asked what type of fencing is being proposed. Mr. Fink replied after they viewed the property and met with the neighborhood and saw the existing chain link fence there it became obvious that placing another fence within five or six feet is not only redundant but might pose some maintenance issues and safety risks. The recent landscape plan has increased evergreen and coniferous plantings along that western boundary in place of what was a six-foot vinyl fence. The vinyl fence has now been replaced with spruce trees, arborvitae, and some deciduous trees along the western boundary to screen their parking lot and the chain link fence from their side as well. Mayor Lund asked whose existing chain link fence is it. Councilmember Bolkcom replied, the neighbors. Mayor Lund stated he does not recall a chain link fence being along the whole western border. Mr. Fink replied just about every property to the west. He cannot find one that does not have it. Mayor Lund confirmed they will just be adding natural buffer and screening to the chain link fence. Mr. Fink replied, correct. Mayor Lund asked if there were any people opposed at the neighborhood meeting. Mr. Fink replied, there were about six people in the audience and they included the landowner, a developer who owns a lot across Central, a gentleman who thought Mr. Fink was selling 55 and over condominiums, and two or three neighbors who were interested. They asked a lot of questions about who they are, what their timeline is, who the residents are, and what kinds of amenities, services, and furnishings there might be. There was never a time when any opposition was raised about the building itself, the e�terior architecture, or the height and size of the building. There was a question about traffic which they addressed at the meeting. Also, they talked about the western property line screening with the neighbor who is right there to the west. Mayor Lund stated he sees on the south end of the building there is a considerable amount of land there. He assumes the retention pond is probably utilizing half that land mass. On the western half of that end, it is quite heavily wooded. He asked if the trees would stay. Mr. Hickok stated this is where they are talking about significant trees versus non-significant trees. You actually get a bonus in your landscape plan for keeping some significant trees, but when they are Box Elder and Cottonwoods that may have already passed their life expectancy, the City is not asking them to save them. As a matter of fact, they encourage them to take those out and replace them with something more significant. Even if it means a smaller number of trees but higher quality trees. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 23 Mr. Fink replied the plan is to clear the Cottonwoods throughout the area necessary for the retention pond and similar landscaping. However, on the southwest quadrant of the site that stand of Cottonwood trees will largely stay there. Intermingled with the Cottonwoods there are probably eight or nine significant trees that they are keeping and preserving. Mayor Lund asked whether there is some future plan for preserving the undeveloped southwest quadrant of that property. Mr. Fink replied they have no future plans for that. Mayor Lund asked where the garages were. Mr. Fink replied this building incorporates he believes nine garage stalls which they refer to as tuck-under garages. They are on the first floor of the northwest wing. In that portion of the hallway there will be individual garage stalls with a private entrance off the hallway. Councilmember Varichak asked what their timeline was. Mr. Fink replied, they are still finalizing some of their due diligence and design development work for this property. They hope to have that completed by the end of July. They are also in the process of finalizing their financing which is a very key element to any project these days. They have a lender in the queue that is doing preliminary underwriting right now and taking it to their committee for preliminary approval. They expect to be able to have construction going in for building permit by the end of August and, if their financing continues on track, they hope to be able to start construction yet this fall. The timeline for construction would be about 11 to 12 months so maybe late ne�t summer they will have a grand opening. MOTION by Councilmember Varichak adopting Resolution No. 2010-37 with the following fifteen stipulations. 1. The property shall be developed in accordance with the architectural site plan and architectural elevations A1-A4 dated June 22, 2010. 2. The petitioner shall obtain all necessary permits prior to construction. 3. The petitioner shall meet all Building code, Fire code, and ADA requirements. 4. The petitioner shall ensure that the proposed monument sign is 10 feet from the property line and driveway; meets vision safety regulations and shall obtain all necessary permits for signage erected on site. 5. Landscape plan to be reviewed and approved by City Staff prior to issuance of building permit. 6. The petitioner shall comply with any requirements set forth by the Anoka County Highway Department. 7. The petitioner shall receive Rice Creek Watershed District approvals prior to issuance of a building permit. 8. City engineering staff to review and approve grading, drainage and utility plans prior to issuance of building permits. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 24 9. Stormwater management maintenance agreement and easements shall be filed with the City prior to issuance of building permits. 10. The petitioner shall obtain any required NPDES Permits. 11. Property owner of record at time of building permit application, to pay all water and sewer connection fees prior to issuance of a building permit. 12. The petitioner shall dedicate utility easements for all City utilities 13. The petitioner shall combine the parcels at 6490 Central Avenue and 1282 Mississippi Street for tax purposes and to allow the proposed development to occur over both lots. 14. If the proposed development is modified to be used for units other than independent living, assisted living and memory care units, a master plan amendment will need to be obtained. 15. The petitioner shall make pedestrian connections from the proposed building to the existing sidewalk on Mississippi Street and trail on Central Avenue. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 13. Resolution Providing for the Sale of $575,000 Equipment Certificates, Series 2010B. Richard D. Pribyl, Finance Director/Treasurer, said as part of the 2011 budget discussion, staff introduced a new concept in regards to the acquisition of capital equipment for the General Fund. This recommendation was made because of a number of different concerns but basically the diminishing fund balance from the General Fund and the Close Bond Fund. The proposal is to fund the General Fund's capital needs through a form of debt that has been used by other cities for many years. We purchased our capital equipment through cash but, because these funds have been diminishing, staff brought this forward in the budgeting process. The debt is actually known as equipment certificates. They are basically a form of general obligation debt. Mr. Pribyl stated the bond proceeds will be used to pay for the General Fund capital needs for both 2010 and 2011, and is a two-year debt issuance. This resolution authorizes staff to work with bond counsel and the financial advisor to proceed with the sale of this debt. With the passage of the resolution, staff will be asking Council to award the bid for the sale of these bonds at the Council meeting on January 12. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the amount is $575,000 because there was a$65,000 invoice added to the amount. Mr. Pribyl replied that is correct. In the last couple days, staff actually added that in and had Ehlers & Associates rerun all the numbers to incorporate that into the debt. That is the large equipment invoice for the mechanics in the Public Works garage working on the very large trucks. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 25 Councilmember Bolkcom asked regarding the other two resolutions selling bonds, we are an Aal bond rating. Will there be a decrease in our bond rating related to this. Mr. Pribyl replied, at this point he does not anticipate any kind of a downgrade in the bond rating but will not know until they actually go through that process and see what they are looking for. There have been substantial changes in the rating industry in the last couple of years based on the economy. In the last 12 months there has been a significant change in the way they rate rental units because there has been more of an unfair disadvantage in the way they rate the private sector vs. the government sector. Through the re-rating process or those changes in the way they rate governmental units, we went from an Aa2 to an Aal. He would anticipate at this point in time, the City would seek maintenance of that Aal bond rating. Councilmember Bolkcom stated it might be a process just because of having our fund balances and actually we could downgrade our bond rating, correct? Mr. Pribyl replied in the current situation it does make a lot of sense for the City to proceed in this fashion. Councilmember Bolkcom stated and that is because we have a Charter limitation. Is that part of the reason? Mr. Pribyl replied that is one of the reasons. He said there are many reasons. There is the State levy limit and the economy. He said there is no interest on this out there anymore. There are a lot of different causes with the economy that we are in right now. Councilmember Bolkcom asked Dr. Burns what he could do to reassure the listening public and Council that just because we are now going to be selling bonds and the money is there that we are not going to just start buying equipment. Dr. Burns said it is a matter of judgment in a time of fairly serious financial constraint. The City has not been buying nearly as much equipment as it has in prior years. There will be some pieces of equipment that are larger. There is a fire truck coming to the City he believes in 2013. That will be a larger expenditure than what we see this year. It is a matter of strict budgeting and budgeting in a manner that will be approved by Council. Councilmember Bolkcom stated she did not mean that in a negative way. Dr. Burns prepares a DVD that they watch every year about what the equipment looks like. It is good to see the equipment and listen to the people who work with and repair the equipment every day. Dr. Burns stated he has had the input of the garage supervisor who is very serious about keeping costs down. He is very honest about what we need. He thinks they have a very thrifty process with the people they have. Councilmember Bolkcom said she thinks that of it is a lot of our employees have worked here a long time, and they feel an ownership. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 28, 2010 PAGE 26 Mayor Lund stated he thinks this is a prudent alternative. It is unique probably to Fridley but certainly not unique to many, many cities. The City of Fridley has for many years had strong reserves and so we could buy it and pay cash. The significant change here is now we are going to be borrowing for the equipment, and we are going to have to pay for the equipment and the interest rate. It is kind of unique and somewhat sad the City now has to go further in debt to continue to run the operations of the City. It is nice to hear that our rating has gone back up. Dr. Burn asked what this levy would cost the owner of an average valued home. Mr. Pribyl asked with the two-year issuance, the actual annual debt service would cost approximately $4 per year to the average homeowner. MOTION to adopt Resolution No. 2010-38. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 14. Informal Status Reports Ms. Skogen stated absentee balloting started on Friday, 46 days before the election. The state primary which is usually in September has been moved to August 10. If you are not going to be in town or if you are at home with an illness or disability, if you are an election judge, or find it is a religious holiday, you can contact the City and apply for an application for an absentee ballot so you can vote in the primary election. Councilmember Bolkcom stated it has changed so that you can actually go through the City of Fridley and not have to go through the process with Anoka County. Ms. Skogen said that is correct. Fridley is one of two cities in Anoka County that is doing all mail and in-person absentee ballot voting. You no longer have to go to Anoka County courthouse and apply for an absentee ballot. You can come to City Hall and do it right here. City Hall is open on Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on the Saturday before the election from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The last day to vote by absentee is August 9. ADJOURN. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette, seconded by Varichak, to adjourn. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 10:03 P.M. Respectfully submitted by, Denise M. Johnson Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor