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CCM 10/26/2015 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY OCTOBER 26, 2015 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:03 p.m. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Lund Councilmember Barnette Councilmember Saefke Councilmember Varichak Councilmember Bolkcom OTHERS PRESENT: Wally Wysopal, City Manager Darcy Erickson, City Attorney Scott Hickok, Community Development Director James Kosluchar, Public Works Director Darin Nelson, Finance Director Deb Skogen, City Clerk Martin Harstad, Eiche, Inc. Kirsten Sersland, CenturyLink PROCLAMATIONS: Community Planning Month - October APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council Meeting of October 12, 2015. APPROVED. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Second Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 214, Related to Definitions, and Electronic Message or Dynamic Signs. WAIVED THE READING OF THE ORDINANCE AND ADOPTED ORDINANCE NO. 1323 ON SECOND READING AND ORDERED PUBLICATION. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 2 NEW BUSINESS: 2. First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Fridley City Code Pertaining to the Approval and Issuance of Business, Rental and Contractor Licensing. Wally Wysopal, City Manager,stated staff is requesting this item be removed and placed on the regular agenda. THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. 3. Resolution Adopting Assessment for 2015 Utility Lateral Repair Project. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2015-52. 4. Resolution Certifying Certain Delinquent Utility Services to the County for Collection with the 2016 Property Taxes. ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2015-53. 5. Approve Engagement Agreement between the City of Fridley and Moss & Barnett for Legal Services Pertaining to CenturyLink Cable Franchise Request. Mr. Wysopal stated all costs will be reimbursed by the franchise petitioner. THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. 6. Approve Consent to Assignment of Consulting Services Agreement between Flat Rock Geographics, LLC, and Tri-City GIS Organization to RE/SPEC, Inc., and Assumption of Consulting Services Agreement between Flat Rock Geographics, LLC, and Tri-City GIS Organization by RE/SPEC, Inc. Mr. Wysopal stated this is a result of a sale and purchase of the firm. THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. 7. Approve Change Order No. 1 for 2015 Street Improvement Project No. ST2015-01. Mr. Wysopal stated this is for additional work directed by the City, which amounted to 2.7 percent of the total project cost. APPROVED. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 3 8. Approve Change Order No. 1 (Final) for Springbrook Nature Center Boardwalk Replacement Project No. 433. Mr. Wysopal stated this is for in-field adjustments amounting to 7.7 percent of the total cost, but it still remains under the budget. THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. 9. Approve Proposed 2016 Development Review Schedule for the Planning Commission and the Appeals Commission. APPROVED. 10. Appointments - City Employees. Mr. Wysopal stated in the Police Department, the City is appointing Ryan George and Steven Monsrud as Lieutenants. These appointments will be effective January 1, 2016. APPROVED. 11. Claims (170135 - 170301). THIS ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND PLACED ON THE REGULAR AGENDA. 12. Licenses. Mr. Wysopal stated these include rental licenses. APPROVED THE LICENSES AS SUBMITTED AND AS ON FILE. 13. Estimate O'Malley Construction, Inc. 35799 - 241st Avenue Le Center, MN 56057 Safe Routes to School Improvements Project No. ST2011-21 Estimate No. 1............................................................$ 3,253.73 APPROVED. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 4 ADOPTION OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to remove Item Nos. 2, 5, 6, 8, and 11 and place them on the regular agenda. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the proposed consent agenda with the removal of Item Nos. 2, 5, 6, 8, and 11. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: No one from the audience spoke. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve the agenda with the addition of Item Nos. 2, 5, 6, 8, and 11. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. PUBLIC HEARING: 14. Consideration of the Assessment for the 2015 Nuisance Abatement. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to waive the reading of the public hearing notice and open the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS OPENED AT 7:15 P.M. Darin Nelson, Finance Director, said this is the annual assessment for those properties in which continuing Code violations existed where the City expended resources to bring the properties into compliance. This year there are 29 properties involved for a total amount of $17,127.63. These assessments are levied for one year at 6.5 percent interest. He checked with the Planning Department and, as of today, the City has not received any correspondence contesting any of the proposed assessments. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 5 Mr. Nelson stated as with all special assessments, the City does have a deferral option available for retired and disabled property owners on homesteaded properties. In order to qualify, you have to be 65 years or older, and retired by virtue of permanent or total disability for which it is a hardship. Application for deferral must be made within the first 30 days after the final assessment rolls are approved by Council. There are some income guidelines as well, too. Residents need to contact his office, and he will work with them on an individual basis. Councilmember Bolkcom stated after the resolution is adopted, people would have an opportunity to pay this off. Also, they have been sent a letter saying that this is due. She asked if they would get a letter after tonight’s meeting. Mr. Nelson replied, they have all been sent several letters by the Planning Department up until the assessment process; and then they were sent individual letters telling them of the public hearing of the assessment and what the next actions were. The City does courtesy letters for the street project, and he assumes it would be the same since there are only 20 or so parties. They have had a couple property owners pay since this notice has been published. If the assessments are approved tonight, an additional fee goes on top of the assessment. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they have paid, does it need to be taken off the resolution. Ms. Nelson replied, they traditionally have not as the list changes. The City only certifies to the County the ones who have actually paid by late November or the first part of December. Councilmember Saefke asked whether the City has double-checked the locations of these places because in years past sometimes the property number was incorrect. Mr. Nelson replied, yes, with respect to the nuisance abatements, they worked with the Planning Department to make sure the numbers were accurate. They used the County system to double check those. Martin Harstad , 2195 Silver Lake Road, stated he owns property on Danube which has been assessed $400 plus for mowing. This particular property is a vacant lot. His accountant mistakenly took his file and, therefore, he does not have a whole lot of information with him but he has a pretty good memory. This particular lot has been kind of controversial and has been before this Council a number of times. His parents originally developed a lot in that particular area. This was a remnant. At one time it was two lots. The lots have never been built on. A number of years ago, maybe early 2000, his brother came in before the Council and talked about possibly building a home on one of the two lots. At that time the two lots were combined into one lot. The lot itself is completely covered with woods, brush, and it has a wetland in the back of it. It still is a buildable lot. It is on the tax rolls. Mr. Harstad stated about 2004 upon his mother’s death, his father retired and sold the remaining assets to his children. They are tough lots. He is not sure what to do with them. For this particular lot it is solid woods other than one little strip of grass that runs along the edge of the curb. Technically what they say needs to be mowed is the right of way--the boulevard. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 6 Mr. Harstad stated his brother, Paul, who used to work in a real estate business with him used to handle these things. In 2008, when the real estate bubble popped, his brother found a different job and in 2010 he did. He has been taking care of the lot as part of his duties. He runs the family operation. This spring he came home from being up at his lake place on a Monday, and there was a recorded call from his brother saying he received a call from somebody at the City of Fridley who told him that they needed to mow the lot on Danube or the City was going to send somebody out to it. He said he immediately called somebody about mowing the lawn and hired a person to do it. The same person who had done it the year before, but evidently he had to be called again. Mr. Harstad stated he called City staff and made mention of it. Interestingly enough, this is the same lot he had offered to donate to the City, so staff was very aware of it. They had a long talk about it, and he said that he had somebody hired, and they would be there by that Wednesday. A guy showed up on Wednesday and the lot was already mowed. He put it on the schedule. He mowed on a regular basis. The record here will show in City Hall that it was mowed on that first time, before he could get his guy to do it because he did not have 48 hours' notice to do it. Mr. Harstad stated a bill showed up in the mail. He paid the bill which was $150 for less than 10 minutes of mowing; one little strip of lawn going along the boulevard. The next month another bill came. He thought it was the same bill because they had someone mowing it. Mr. Harstad stated the next month another bill shows up. He called City staff and said, something is going on here. Staff replied, well, we are mowing it every week or it is on the regular shift going out. He asked them why it was on the schedule. He told them he was paying to have it mowed every two weeks. Staff said they did not know that. He did not know the City was mowing. He never got notice of it. Mr. Harstad stated he does not know why the $461 is being assessed, when it started or when it stopped. He just knows this is probably the most mowed lot in the City at this point, and it is the smallest lot that is mowed in the City he is sure of that. Mr. Harstad stated, first, he never received formal notice. His parents have owned it for probably 30 years. He is here to request that his $461 bill be removed. Mayor Lund stated normally the City sends the letters to the property owner. He asked Mr. Harstad whether the property is still legally in his parents’ name. Mr. Harstad replied it is legally in his name. It has been since 2004. Mayor Lund asked in his name. Mr. Harstad, replied, Eiche, Inc., 2195 Silver Lake Road. Mayor Lund asked that is him and not his parents. Mr. Harstad replied his father is a resident at White Pines and his mother passed away. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 7 Mayor Lund stated it seems to him this has been something that happened before. It gets on the rotation schedule and there is a lack of communication. The letter that Mr. Harstad's brother or somebody got, maybe it did not disclose the entire contents of the letter which says, once it gets started it gets into a rotation. Mr. Harstad stated his brother has not worked for the company since 2010. Five years ago. So he got the call even though he had spoken with Community Development and the City Manager, as well as the Mayor. Mayor Lund stated Mr. Harstad has talked with him before about wanting to donate the lot. Mr. Harstad had mentioned that the two lots were combined as one P.I.N. now, and it was a buildable lot. Mr. Harstad replied it is a buildable lot. Mayor Lund replied he heard that it is not a buildable lot. Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, replied, yes, he and Mr. Harstad did talk about this. The City closes out one season at a certain point so they can get the assessments out. The City closed out the 2015 season, for example, so that they will see some of those coming on in 2016 as assessments. The same thing here. You have a 2014 assessment that he and Mr. Harstad talked about. The City did notify Paul Harstad and, in response, the City did mow the property. He had told Mr. Harstad that the City would subtract all but $37.49 which was a fair deal Basically the City had to pay something to the contractor who was out there doing it. Mr. Hickok stated this is a property that goes back in the City's records to 2004. Every year they need notification. Every year there is a problem with mowing. It is a very visible area along what is being described as a single strip along the roadway. It is not. As with every other lot that goes back to a wooded area, the City expects the boulevard and the area back to the woodland to be mowed and kept neat and maintained. Mr. Hickok stated he had a very nice discussion with Mr. Harstad and they did square on that bill, basically reducing it to $37.49. Mayor Lund stated that was for 2014. Mr. Hickok replied, that was 2014. That was on the City's bill of September 29, 2014, with the understanding that, okay, now communication is clear, he understands he needs to be taking it over. Eiche was then notified at that address, 2195 Silver Lake Road; and no mowing was evident to the City's contractor. The City only mows when it is clear the property is not being mowed. The City's contractor is very good about pulling back if it is evident it is being mowed. He will not mow. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 8 Mr. Hickok stated it is not that the City is overburdening somebody with an assessment. This is a property that does not get maintained. This is an ongoing problem. This is an ongoing assessment. After they talked about it and the communication was clear, the property still did not get maintained properly. That means the City has to put it on the mowing list and has to maintain it. Mr. Hickok stated, also, there is a staff cost associated with this. It would be a lot cheaper to mow it yourself because there is a per-hour fee of $75 and staff time fee of $75 an hour. The contractor fee is actually $74.99. Staff fee is $75 for the time it takes to inspect and reinspect. Mr. Hickok stated if you want to build on it, come and talk to staff. They would be glad to talk to you about a buildable lot and an idea that you might want to build on. Mayor Lund asked if the $37 got paid in 2014 or if it was carried over to 2015. Mr. Hickok replied it is carried over. It was later in the year. Mayor Lund asked how many times the City mowed. Mr. Hickok replied, that was in 2014. All of those were sent this year, and billing invoices were dated June 23, July 8, July 21 and August 4. Mr. Harstad replied, there is some terrible confusion going on here. The conversation they had about that was six, seven, weeks ago. Not in 2014. Mr. Hickok stated the date of the adjustment was when they talked, and that was on a bill for September 25, 2014. Mayor Lund asked Mr. Harstad if it was not clear that they were discussing the assessments to the end of last year and then carried over to this year. Mr. Harstad stated, no, the billings were showing up on a monthly basis this year. He had hired someone from Ace Lawn Service to mow it on a bi-weekly basis this year. That is what he called Mr. Hickok about. He said to him, something is going on here. I am getting a bill every month and paid last month's bill. He did not get a letter this year. He would be shocked if the City had a letter in the file to him this year. Mayor Lund stated Mr. Hickok just read off about four different billings in 2015. Mr. Harstad stated he is not disputing he received the bills, but he did call Mr. Hickok to tell him it was being mowed and to ask why he was getting the bills. Mayor Lund stated six weeks ago was in mid-September or the first part of September. By that time Mr. Harstad had received a bill in June, July, and early August; and then was there a billing invoice later in August. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 9 Councilmember Bolkcom replied, no, the dates were June 23, July 8, July 21, and August 4. Mayor Lund stated there were already four of them before Mr. Harstad called about September. Mr. Harstad stated he has $280 worth of bills for mowing this lot from Ace Lawn Service this year. Mayor Lund replied, Ace is charging Mr. Harstad when he sees it is already done and he is not doing it. Mr. Harstad stated when he received the first bill from the City he paid it. He missed it. He had 48-hours' notice not in a letter but in a phone call from his brother. So then he hired Ace Lawn Service to mow it and they are there every two weeks. Ace even said to him as part of his bill, he said, Marty, I don't know why I'm mowing that thing it doesn't need to be mowed. Mayor Lund replied, because the City had been mowing it. Mr. Harstad stated he did not know that until he talked to Mr. Hickok about six weeks ago. He asked what is going on here, why does he keep getting bills for this. I have somebody that is mowing it and they said, well, once it is in the system. Mayor Lund stated Mr. Harstad agreed to pay the bill. When was that? Was this in the conversation they had six weeks ago? Mr. Harstad replied he paid the first bill. Mayor Lund asked which bill. Mr. Harstad replied he paid $149.99 on July 21 for the first mowing. Mr. Hickok stated their discussion was clearly late 2014. There is a note in the file that Mr. Harstad did call. He received an extension from Deb Biorn who gave him a 48-hour extension before the City had it mowed. This is truly the classic example of not paying attention to your property. You have a contractor going out there. Contractors will typically charge you for going out to a site. If they see it mowed, they are still going to charge you for their time. The City's contractor would do the same thing if they came out and they saw it mowed. The City's contractor would not mow it if it had been mowed. This is not the first year this property has had to be mowed. When the contractor goes out there and sees that it needs to be mowed, they will take care of it. That is a problem the City continues to have on this site. Mayor Lund stated he can see the misunderstanding but now when he hears this has been ongoing since 2004 and every year you have to re-tell your contractor to come back. Mr. Harstad asked please accept his appeal of it. It will be interesting to see Mr. Hickok's paperwork once they get to court on it. He is sorry to take up their time. He disagrees with what Mr. Hickok is saying. He thinks the record speaks for itself. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 10 Mayor Lund stated he can see the miscommunication, but then he hears that this has been a repetitive thing since 2004. Mr. Harstad stated for three years he mowed it himself. To say it has been going on since 2004 is just flat out wrong. In 2010, his brother quit. Mayor Lund asked Mr. Harstad when his brother quit in 2010, was he taking responsibility for the mowing. Mr. Harstad replied, he was in charge of handling those kinds of things as part of his job in the company. In 2010 when his brother was gone, Mr. Harstad mowed that lawn himself as well as the one up on Matterhorn. He mowed it in 2010, 2011, and 2012. In 2013 he hired Ace Lawn Service who mowed it in 2013 and 2014. Then he was supposed to mow it in 2015. Mr. Harstad stated he will admit he had a lot of things going on and he does not follow up every year and say to the lawn service. It is a problem lot. It is a problem for the City, it is a problem for him, and he does not know how to get rid of it. This year his brother got the phone call which waved the big flag that nobody was mowing the lawn. He immediately called and said, he would have somebody on it. The contractor went out there and told him someone had mowed it. He said he told them to put it on their schedule and mow it every two weeks. Mayor Lund stated it would have behooved him at that time to call the City and ask them to take it off the maintenance schedule. It sounds like the City has had him on the maintenance schedule in previous years. Mr. Harstad replied, once he got the second billing and he realized it was being billed on a regular monthly basis, that is when he called the City. He was told, well, once you are on the schedule, until you call the City and tell us to take you off the schedule they do not take you off. Mayor Lund asked if Mr. Harstad was taken off the schedule six weeks ago when he called. Mr. Hickok said he was taken off the schedule after the call on September 10, 2014, and he asked Rock Solid to stop mowing because of the call. The owner was willing to take over at that point. They did not bill after that point in 2014. Mr. Harstad stated they talked in 2015. Mr. Hickok stated by June 19, 2015, there was no record of the City doing any mowing, but there is Code Enforcement memoranda that indicates “long grass, mow site, the property has had history since 2004.” Because it was not mowed on June 19, the City began mowing at that point; and they can see from the invoices that they continued to mow because there was no evidence it had been mowed. Mayor Lund asked if they had any record of Mr. Harstad’s call six weeks ago. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 11 Mr. Hickok replied, there is a note from Deb Biorn that as a courtesy, he was given 48 hours and that was on June 19, 2015. Mayor Lund asked when the City stopped mowing this year. Mr. Hickok replied, he believed the City stopped mowing when the grass quit growing. The last bill of this year was August 4. That does not mean the City stopped mowing, but that would be the last date to get in this cycle of this assessment. Mayor Lund stated so there might be something after August 4, and that would go onto next year's assessment. Mr. Harstad stated, Mr. Hickok, we talked this year; we did not talk last year. He keeps saying 2014. They talked six weeks ago. Mr. Hickok replied, they talked right after there was a long-term consideration of whether the City had any interest because as Mr. Harstad stated, he had offered the land to the City because it is a trouble lot and he was not interested in it. They talked after that. That was a 2014 conversation. Mayor Lund asked Mr. Hickok, if he had a conversation with Mr. Harstad this year about six weeks ago. Mr. Hickok replied, no. Ms. Biorn has a note in the file that she granted an extension about that time. It was over six weeks ago. Councilmember Bolkcom asked Mr. Hickok, when he said that Ms. Biorn gave him 48-hours' notice on June 19, does that count over the weekend. She thought Mr. Harstad said it got mowed on the 22nd. Mr. Hickok replied, it was an extension. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if she gave it on the 19th, how long would Mr. Harstad have to mow it. Mr. Hickok replied, 48 hours. Councilmember Bolkcom asked, 48 hours business hours or just 48 hours counting Saturday and Sunday? Mr. Hickok replied, 48 hours. The best time to mow it probably was the weekend. He was given 48 hours from the date of that call to get it taken care of. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 12 Mr. Harstad said Mr. Hickok's dates and times make sense of what his recollection is but he thinks he has the wrong dates on this year's notes because the 48 hours that he is talking about was clearly given when he called. Mr. Hickok stated one thing he and Mr. Harstad will agree on is the record will speak for itself. Mayor Lund asked if there were charges from the City in 2010, 2011, and 2012. He asked if Mr. Harstad got any notifications. He asked if the City sent him any billings about those years, too. Mr. Hickok stated the record shows: June 16, 2004; June 4, 2007; June 9, 2008, August 4, 2009, and May 19, 2010. In 2011 and 2012, there was no need for notification. In 2013 again the City had an issue that picked up and that was on August 2, 2013. On September 10, 2014, Mr. Harstad called and wanted the City to take him off the mowing schedule, which they did. Mayor Lund asked, and if that was in 2014? Mr. Hickok replied correct. Mr. Harstad asked, in October 2014? Mr. Hickok on September 10. Mayor Lund stated but there was a conversation there where Mr. Harstad said, please take it off the mowing schedule so he knew there was a mowing schedule in 2014. Mr. Harstad stated how many years were they assessed? Obviously if the City mowed it, he was assessed for it. It was just noted by Mr. Hickok that of all the years he put on the public record here are the years that the City sent him a notice. He asked of those years, was he assessed for the City mowing it or did he ignore the City's notice and mow it. Mayor Lund asked if he meant he was assessed such as happening tonight or if he was asking if he was billed and paid in previous years. Mr. Harstad replied, either one. Mayor Lund asked if the City had ever assessed Mr. Harstad before this year. Mr. Hickok replied, it looks like in those years they took care of it. For example, for the notification dated June 16, 2004, by July 12, 2004, they closed the case. On June 4, 2007, they had the first inspection and closed the case on June 18, 2007. On June 9, 2008, it was open and they closed the case by June 24, 2008. A case was opened on August 4, 2009, and closed by August 21, 2009. So, yes, he would say that validates what he is saying that when notified, they took care of it. That was not the case, unfortunately, in 2014 and 2015. Mr. Harstad stated what Mr. Hickok just explained is that if they received a notice, they sent somebody out and had it mowed. He would dispute the facts of 2014 that the City mowed his FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 13 property on a regular basis. He asked if the assessment tonight for mowing for this summer or last summer. Mayor Lund replied $37 was carried over from 2014, and it was initiated again in June of this year and continued on. The last billing is early August of this year which does not mean that is the end of it because that is all the further they go for this year's assessments. There may be some carryover from 2015 into 2016. Mr. Harstad replied, he understands what the Mayor is saying but he would beg to differ that in 2015 the record is as it was stated. His conversations with staff and with Mr. Hickok were in 2015. He did not call last year and ask that anything be done with any billing in 2014 because there were no billings in 2014. They are talking about billings in 2015. What is going on is they have a date, it should be 2015 instead of 2014 because that is when those conversations happened and that is when he talked to staff. They talked about the lot for that matter this year as well. He talked with the City Manager, he talked with the Mayor, and he talked with Mr. Hickok about the lot this year. Last year this was not on his radar at all. This is all stuff that is going on this year. In fact the guy from Ace offered to come in here and say that he mowed that property every two weeks. Mayor Lund asked Mr. Harstad if he can look at his file. Mr. Harstad said the record shows that anytime staff has notified him to take care of it, he has taken care of it--including this year. Mayor Lund stated but it is repetitive in some manner. He can see this has happened before that they get on a rotation; they just keep doing it. Mr. Harstad stated they have never had to hire anybody on it. He has always taken care of it. End of story. He is painted here as a bad person. He is coming in here and telling them the truth. He even had someone mowing it this year. Mayor Lund stated to Mr. Harstad, he does not think he is a bad person. First of all, he thinks there still is some confusion. It really boils down to there was a phone conversation. It would be nice to have a record via e-mail, etc. The due dates do not jive. The City does not want to take more out of Mr. Harstad's pocket than it has coming. The City paid money out, and it is not fair to have the taxpayers pay for that mowing person it has hired. It is not cheap. There is no disputing that. Mr. Harstad replied he knows it is. They are asking him to pay for it twice. Mr. Harstad stated please accept his letter. Councilmember Bolkcom asked, back on June 19 when he called in and asked for a 48-hour extension, is it normal practice for someone from the City staff to go out and look at the property before someone goes there to mow. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 14 Mr. Hickok replied, yes, absolutely. Councilmember Bolkcom stated so someone probably went out on Monday and noticed it was not mowed. What was the date of the first mowing? Mr. Hickok replied it was invoiced on June 23. It was scheduled to be mowed on June 22. Mr. Harstad stated the 48-hour extension was not a conversation with him. Somebody called because they did not send a letter to say that they were doing it. They called his brother who was the contact that they had on the file. Mr. Harstad stated it was explained to him that once you are on the rotation, you cannot get off the rotation unless you request it. Mr. Hickok stated that is not true. You can get off the rotation by maintaining your property. He would be very glad to testify to this record and to the times and dates that they had those discussions. Mr. Harstad stated when he talked to Mr. Hickok, he gave him the name of the person that mows it for the City, and he called the person. He asked that person how someone got off the rotation. He was told they could not take him off the rotation. The City took people off. Mr. Harstad stated this is not a personal thing between him and Mr. Hickok. He does not know if there is some bad blood carried over from the Matterhorn lot or what it is, but there is something clearly wrong here. Mayor Lund stated he did not read that into tonight's discussion and argument. He did not take any of his conversation to be that there was something personally going on. Mr. Harstad replied he is. He has never been treated this way before. Mayor Lund replied he is sorry. They want to try and be fair. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to accept into the record a letter dated October 13, 2015, from Martin N. Harstad. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Councilmember Saefke stated this is what he understands. In 2014, they had a discussion about the possibility of the transfer of the lot. However, he did not have the one about mowing until 2015 which was six weeks ago. The only thing he thought was a little funny, and he is not accusing anybody of anything, but Mr. Harstad said that his guy went out there and it was already mowed and his guy told him it was mowed. Would that not trigger something that maybe you should call and cancel? FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 15 Councilmember Bolkcom stated other than maybe you would assume that you hired someone;. Maybe the first time he paid, but then he had his own guy mowing every two weeks and in the meantime, our contractor was mowing every other week. Mayor Lund stated he did not know how late in the summer this happened. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if it was on record that Mr. Harstad is the owner of the property. Mr. Hickok replied it is owned by Eiche, Inc. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if that was where the first letter was sent. Mr. Hickok replied they are very careful the City's letters go to the right place. His brother was the owner and was responsible for this property, and the County records did not change as fast as their ownership did. As soon as Eiche owned it then they would be contacted directly at that address. There was no overlap though where he was being billed or even mowing was taking place in between but for he called in late 2014 and said that his brother was not maintaining it anymore. He said he would be taking care of it. They had a very nice discussion. They took the staff time off and reduced the contractor cost to something the City thought was fair and reasonable. It seemed like he was going to now take over. They were excited about the fact that this lot was no longer going to be the City’s responsibility to keep clean. In 2015, they ended up having that same issue again. The City's contractor is very careful to not mow because they know the City may not get paid if they mow it after a contractor has mowed it. If it even slightly looks like it, they will call them and staff will run out and look at it. Mr. Wysopal stated he wanted to mention that he did have several conversations with Mr. Harstad about the property donation to the City, and it was last year in 2014 in the fall and then again mid-summer, July, of this year, where he brought it up again. In both instances, the City's position was that it was a property that did not make any sense for the City to own. It has no value to it. If it were a property that could somehow have a connection to the other rivers and streams, that the City would be able to use, it might be different. However, as it is, the City had no interest in it. That was the essence of their conversations. Mayor Lund stated he would concur with that. He remembered Mr. Harstad contacting him last year and he referred him to Mr. Wysopal. Tonight Mr. Harstad clearly stated that it was a buildable lot and they determined that it really was not. James Kosluchar stated Mr. Harstad owns multiple lots. There is one that has a concern about whether it is buildable or not just because of the elevation grade, although the neighboring lots have been built on. Mayor Lund stated but that is on Matterhorn. Is the Matterhorn lot buildable? Mr. Hickok replied, Matterhorn he would say, no. As to the East Danube location, there are two lots there. They did some filling that they needed to correct way back. They did get his own FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 16 concurrence with the DNR and appropriate agencies to say those lots are buildable. His brother, Forrest Harstad, came in with the intent to build on the site and could have built a house on the site. The neighbors were just absolutely against anything being built on this lot. Mr. Harstad stated he did not want a neighborhood relationship to begin this way and decided not to build. Mr. Hickok said the neighbors did not want a house there, and the Harstads did not want to battle with them. However, it has cost them. That does not mean that they should not continue to at least maintain the strip, and it is not very large. In his discussion with him, he talked about getting your own mower out because, honestly, there is not a lot of mowing to do. It makes the lot look good, and it is a lot cheaper to do it than have the City do it. They tried every approach. It is not for lack of trying they are here tonight. Mr. Barnette asked for the address of the lot. Mr. Hickok stated he can give him a P.I.N. If you drive off from Matterhorn and drive onto East Danube it is on the left side. You get down to the wetland marshy area with trees. That is the lot. Mr. Wysopal stated there have been a lot of peripheral discussions here tonight but what is really germane to the topic has to do with the lack of mowing. He wants to make clear with Mr. Hickok that the reasons for the City mowing and taking the action it did is because the property required mowing according to the City's records. Is that correct? Mr. Hickok replied, that is correct. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to close the public hearing. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE PUBLIC HEARING WAS CLOSED AT 8:08 P.M. 2. First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Fridley City Code Pertaining to the Approval and Issuance of Business, Rental and Contractor Licensing. Deb Skogen , City Clerk, stated this is a first reading of an ordinance amending the City Code pertaining to the approval and issuance of business, rental, animal control, and contractor licensing. It has been the practice of the City Council to approve all licenses on the consent agenda at each meeting. The current practice is inefficient and has sometimes delayed some businesses from opening in an orderly manner. The City would like to have a friendly business relationship with its business community. The current process does not always promote that. City Council and staff met in August to discuss the licensing process. Staff was directed to review the City Code to determine who would be responsible for the approval. Some sections were silent while other sections specified an individual or the City Council. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 17 Ms. Skogen stated Minnesota state law does require city council approval for a few licenses, such as the liquor license. The League of Minnesota Cities Handbook describes whether there is discretion used when granting a license. In the case where there is no discretion used and it is purely an administrative role, it is appropriate for the clerk or other administrative officer to approve the license. If there is a potential to cause problems and discretion is an essential part of the license, it would be impractical or perhaps illegal for someone other than the City Council to approve the license. Ms. Skogen stated staff contacted eight other communities about their approval process. Of those communities contacted, five of the cities use a mixture of approval while three require city council to approve all licenses. Based on all of the information, an ordinance was drafted proposing the following changes: Section 1, Chapter 11, General Provisions and Fees. Staff is creating a section allowing for the approval of the issuance of the license administratively unless it is otherwise provided for in the City Code. Section 2, Chapter 13, Gasoline Sales. Staff is recommending an amendment requiring the licensee to meet all applicable Zoning Code requirements. Repealing Section 13.06, requires City Council approval as the Zoning Code would regulate where they would be located and any conditions they may have Ms. Skogen stated with respect to Section 3, Chapter 17, Auctions. State law does not allow cities to license auctions but allows the cities to request proof of state licensure and bonds. Accordingly, they are amending Section 17.07, replacing Council approval for the proof of state licensure and they are repealing Sections 17.08 and 17.09 by removing the licensing and fee requirements because of the State law. Section 4, Chapter 18, Motor Vehicle Body Repair. Staff is amending Section 18.12, replacing City Council approval with the City Clerk and adding Community Development Director along with the Public Safety Director for recommendations. Ms. Skogen stated as to Chapter 22, Music Festivals, amending Section 22.09 by replacing Finance Director with City Clerk and replacing City Manager with Public Safety Director, and amending Section 22.14 directing City Clerk to issue the license after the review and approval process. Section 6, Chapter 23, Public Dances, amending Section 23.03, replacing City Council's approval with Public Safety Director approval. Section 7, Chapter 24, Junk Yards. Creating Section 24.04 which would provide a reviewal process by the Public Safety Director, Fire Marshall, and City Planner to ensure applicant has met all requirements. Ms. Skogen stated, Section 8, Animal Control. By amending Section 101.03.2.A requiring the applicant to file the license with the City Clerk and Section 101.03.2.B by replacing the City Council approval with Community Development Director, providing additional language regarding adverse affects and authorizing the City Clerk to issue the license. Section 9, Building Code, amending Section 206.07.3, Contractor License, by removing the requirements of City Council approval. Ms. Skogen stated staff recommends holding the first reading on the ordinance amending Fridley City Code Chapters 11, 13, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 101, and 206, pertaining to the license approval, and issuance process. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 18 Councilmember Bolkcom stated she disputed a paragraph of the staff report on page 12, "Besides the inefficiencies listed above, there is a concern that the City Council, or a future City Council, could decide to deny a license without having any findings as to why a denial would be requested." She said she takes offense to that. They all raise their hands and promise to uphold. They do not willy nilly decide not to do something or deny a license. Normally there is a staff report, and then it might come back to Council for questions. There is not anything related to contractors and some of those. She takes offense that is in their agenda packet. Councilmember Bolkcom stated they did have one conversation at a conference meeting and they went over this briefly and the City Manager sent it to them a week ago; however, she asked Ms. Skogen to go into a little more detail as to the five cities who do a mixture of approvals which were Anoka, Columbia Heights, Coon Rapids, New Brighton, and Maple Grove. She asked Ms. Skogen if she can tell her what mixture they use. The Council did not get any of that information back which they had asked for, as to who does what. Also, Blaine, Mounds View, and Spring Lake Park who are very close to Fridley approve all the licenses. She totally understands why staff is looking that up, for the contractors and tree trimmers, they do not need to come back to the Council. However, she does take issue with some of the other ones that are in here because some of these are things they hear back from their constituents, whether it be the gas licenses, music festivals, and the auto body repair. Ms. Skogen replied, for the cities that use an administrative process, Anoka uses a process administratively with the exception of a few licenses such as liquor licenses or special event licenses. They find it extremely beneficial to the licensee and staff. At Columbia Heights, staff approves and issues the licenses. They provide a list to the city council of approved licenses except where State law would require council approval, such as a liquor license. Councilmember Bolkcom stated Columbia Heights provides a list so it goes in the council's agenda so they do not approve it. Ms. Skogen replied, staff approves and issues the licenses and provides a list to the council of the licenses they issued. In Coon Rapids, there is a mixture of city council and administrative approvals. City Council approves liquor, pawn, massage therapy businesses, bowling centers, and amusement centers. Administrative approvals are used for tobacco, peddlers, solicitors, single massage therapists, carnival, dancing, and parades. Renewal lists are provided to council for the licenses the City Council approvals. Councilmember Bolkcom asked about the renewal list. Ms. Skogen replied, she did not say what it was. That was the information that she got in response. She is assuming anything that the council would approve the first time around, they would be renewed by the council the second time around. New Brighton’s council only approved licenses that have been sent to public safety for their approval. Those licenses include massage therapy, liquor, and gambling. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 19 Councilmember Bolkcom stated she sees a fair amount of these that do go to public safety. If they are going to go along that line of approval, then there would be more. Ms. Skogen stated at Maple Grove, the council approves liquor, tobacco, refuse and recycling, and the other licenses are approved administratively. The three cities that have council still approving their licenses are Blaine, Mounds View, and Spring Lake Park. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if she knew why they continued to do it that way. Ms. Skogen replied she did talk with the city clerk at Blaine. She previously worked at Coon Rapids. She did try and bring in their process, but council wanted to continue to maintain what they had. As far as the other two, she did not ask why. Mayor Lund said the licenses for liquor, gambling, and a few others are not listed in the ordinance as being changed. Ms. Skogen replied correct. They would continue to come to Council for approval. Councilmember Bolkcom stated Ms. Skogen said any licenses that the public safety department was involved in. There is a fair amount of these now that have public safety review. Mayor Lund stated so those would still come to Council if they were to approve what was suggested here. Ms. Skogen replied, no. Council would have something like a massage therapist where currently they have to provide to the City credentials that they are educated and are a member of a certain organization, and the only approval process they do currently would be through the City Clerk and the Public Safety Director. Then peddler, solicitor. That is where the City has its biggest problem especially when there are big storms. The City gets tree trimmers or solicitors requests in and they go through a police background search. The Police Department looks at the applicants’ criminal histories to ensure they are not a threat to the residents. Of the 22 solicitor licenses issued in July and August, staff had recommended denial on two applications. Staff gave the individuals a phone call and told them the Police Department recommended denial of their license. Those applicants withdrew their applications. Sometimes applicants have to wait for the approval process because of the timing of the City Council meeting. Sometimes they have to wait two weeks. This would be one of the licenses that would have the ability to be licensed administratively. Councilmember Bolkcom stated and, again, she is not disputing those. However, when Ms. Skogen mentioned New Brighton does licenses that are sent to public safety, so an example would be the motor vehicle auto body repair. That is with Community Development and the Public Safety Director for recommendation. That would be one. Music is another one that goes back to Public Safety. Also, the junk yard one would not change. She understands the contractor one and some of those. However, she is not sure she is ready to give up some of those other ones at this point. Some of these are things that affect where people live. There has to be FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 20 reasons why three of the other communities approve them all. Ms. Skogen mentioned some things as to why the others were mixed. Ms. Skogen replied, as to the music festival, all staff did was change the title of the individual receiving and reviewing the application. The Code did not require the City Council approval of the license. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what was changed. Ms. Skogen said they had to change some of the terminology because under Music Festival they do not have it as the City Manager at this time; and staff felt it better that the City Clerk receive the application versus the Finance Director. The ultimate approval is completed by the City Manager. Councilmember Bolkcom said this is one they would never see. Ms. Skogen replied, correct. They would on the license list. If there was an issue with the license and they needed to bring it to them, they certainly would. Councilmember Bolkcom stated so what she is saying is, in her packet, if staff approved a music festival in the old way, would she had seen it on the list? Ms. Skogen replied, yes. Councilmember Varichak said and in the future they would not see it. Ms. Skogen stated they can discuss ways of providing the information. Councilmember Bolkcom stated but at that point it would already be approved. So basically it would just be informational. Wally Wysopal, City Manager,stated that was one of the reasons they were taking this initiative in addition to the point of trying to be more efficient. They were not trying to take due process away from the public on the review of these. They were saying staff has to review these things based on certain requirements and, if the Statute limits what those requirements are, then it would be most efficient for staff to take care of that decision and move it forward. Therefore, it only makes the Council's decision-making ceremonial because if Council deviated from any of those other decisions, it would create new criteria for that license to be issued. The criteria are already there for staff to do its responsibility and review that license application and then move it forward. Mr. Wysopal stated, for some of these to come back to Council for review, what would be the basis of review. As Deb Skogen pointed in her report, the intent is there as to what type of acknowledgment goes publicly that this license has been approved. This is where staff would provide Council with a list. So if you take a rental inspection under this proposal, staff would FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 21 review administratively as they currently do, make the decision, issue the permit, and then advise Council of the permits that were issued. Councilmember Bolkcom stated in every section here there is something from State Statute that tells you exactly what you can approve. For example, for music festivals, is there something in the State Statute that says you can or cannot approve it? Mr. Wysopal stated, no, there are certain things here, for example, with gasoline sales that a license would be predicated upon the zoning. The license itself has to do with the gas pumps and that type of thing. For staff that is a regulated issue where they would have to apply, just like with the solicitor licenses, the background checks that the Police Department does as a standard course. They would then make that recommendation to the Council for approval. If the Police Department already did a background check based on those standards, then what would the Council base its denial on? Ms. Skogen stated after their discussion last time, there was a checklist which showed the approval process. After the meeting, she reviewed each chapter of the licensing Code to look for the license approvals process. Where sections of the code were silent, staff created a new section in Chapter 11. As to other sections, where there was an approval process, she reviewed it and recommended the change. Attorney Erickson reviewed it. They made several changes and it is here for the first reading. Staff would like to help Council and allow them to approve what they would like to approve, but also understand that for some of the licenses, there is no discretion needed and that it is just routine. Mayor Lund asked Councilmember Bolkcom if she had any further questions. He asked which ones she had issues with. He said he marked a couple of question marks by music festivals, public dances, and junk yards. The rest he thought were okay. Councilmember Bolkcom stated, well, the junk yard does say that it has to ensure an approval. She asked if it would come back to the City Council. She has a concern about music festivals, motor vehicle repair, and gasoline sales. Mr. Skogen stated as to music festivals, in the 17 years she has been here, there have been no music festivals outside of '49er Days. Some people do come in, they look at the fee, they look at all the arrangements that are needed, such as restrooms, garbage, etc., and decide not to do it. Mayor Lund stated there are a couple of restaurant liquor license establishments that would like to do an outdoor venue where a music festival would fit under that as well. They want to do an outdoor one, maybe put up a tent with alcohol outside. Ms. Skogen stated their liquor license is only for the building, not for the parking lot. Mayor Lund stated what if they kept the liquor sales indoor and kept the separation, would there be other things that would stop them from having an outside band? In what case would they be successful in doing that? One of the big things that has kept the Short Stop from doing something is because of its proximity to residential. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 22 Councilmember Bolkcom mentioned it is not just an ordinance for today. It is also for the future. Ms. Skogen said they could come in and meet with staff to address the conditions of the license to see whether or not they would qualify for a license. Councilmember Varichak stated what about the possibility of Springbrook Nature Center when they make that amphitheater. Could music festivals be held there? Mayor Lund stated under the proposal, it would still be staff looking at those things, too, rather than City Council. Councilmember Bolkcom stated she understands the urgency. Part of why staff was looking at it was because of the all the contractors, etc. However, most of the rest of them are not ones that someone just comes and says, I need it tomorrow. She does not feel that overworked by reading stuff. Mr. Wysopal asked Ms. Skogen as to Section 22.09 does it currently go in front of City Council for approval? Ms. Skogen replied, it would be listed on a list of licenses. Mr. Wysopal stated but according to the ordinance it does not require to be approved by City Council. Ms. Skogen replied correct. Mr. Wysopal stated so they are just changing titles within Section 22.09. Councilmember Bolkcom stated but, again, when you look at an ordinance and you are changing an ordinance, it does not mean you change everything that used to be that way. The whole idea behind an ordinance is to look at the whole ordinance and make changes and make clarifications. She asked Mr. Wysopal if he knew what she meant. Mr. Wysopal replied he did not. He is just saying that right now the music festivals can be approved without City Council approval. Councilmember Bolkcom stated of course. She understands that but it does not mean it could not be. Mr. Wysopal replied, right. Councilmember Bolkcom stated she has not read it all so she would not know whether it did or did not in the past. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 23 Mr. Wysopal stated that is the point he was trying to make is that not all of these are necessarily taking away City Council approval. Mayor Lund asked if Council would like to make a motion for the first reading and indicate if there are any issues that any councilmember would like answered before the Second Reading such as word changing. The only concern he has about the auto body repair business there is always the concern that they are legal. Again that would go through the Police Department. Ms. Skogen stated currently the City has a body repair shop that is trying to become licensed, and staff is working with Community Development, Building Inspections, and the Fire Marshall. They are supposed to put in a specific spray room for the spray, and staff is having issues with that. Mr. Wysopal stated they are not in any hurry to get this done. His question for the City Attorney is do they have any flexibility in the timing of the first and second reading. Darcy Erickson, City Attorney, replied the City is required to have the two readings. She would have to check the City's Charter to see if there is any time sensitive nature to it. What they could do is continue it to the next meeting for second reading, and they can verify any deadline requirements that, as with any continuance or layover, they always like to inform the public so that if there is interest they can appear and be heard. Councilmember Bolkcom asked attorney Erickson if they could move to continue the first reading to a date certain. Attorney Erickson replied, certainly if they want to continue and resume further discussion and they would like to have staff provide more background, that certainly would be appropriate. They could continue the first reading to a date certain. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to continue the First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Fridley City Code Pertaining to the Approval and Issuance of Business, Rental and Contractor Licensing to November 26, 2015. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Councilmember Bolkcom stated she will provide a list of questions to the City Manager and ask, too, about what the other cities are doing. Attorney Erickson stated she did check the Charter and it states they need to have a minimum of seven days between their hearings. No maximum. 5. Approve Engagement Agreement between the City of Fridley and Moss & Barnette for Legal Services Pertaining to CenturyLink Cable Franchise Request. Councilmember Bolkcom asked as to Section B under the Agreement, what does it mean FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 24 "CenturyLink will provide an application fee to the City as part of its application to the City to offset the fees and costs incurred by the City". Also, does staff have any idea what the cost would be to have this Agreement and what the City's legal services cost might be? Wally Wysopal, City Manager,replied this is very similar to what the City did back in the spring when Comcast was looking to transfer their cable franchise. They had a similar agreement if not the same agreement with Moss & Barnett with Brian Grogan because of his expertise in this particular area. Ms. Skogen referred to page 107, under the notice of the City of Fridley to compare an application for franchise, the application fee will be $25,000. If all of that is not used, some of it may be refunded and if there are additional costs then they would be billed additional costs. Councilmember Bolkcom stated in the last one they were doing, she thinks it said they would pay all the fees. This well could go beyond that $25,000, is that just the City's cost? Ms. Skogen replied, under (C) it says "Any unused portion of the application fee shall be returned to the Applicant and any additional fees required to process the application and franchise beyond the application fee shall be assessed to the Applicant". Mr. Wysopal stated, just to clarify, too, that (C) does not limit the City to attorneys’ fees. It is all expenses that the City incurs or its consultants. Councilmember Bolkcom asked but none of the staff fees. Mr. Wysopal replied, no. Councilmember Bolkcom asked do they anticipate using other consultants. Mr. Wysopal said he does not know. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve the Engagement Agreement between the City of Fridley and Moss & Barnette for Legal Services Pertaining to CenturyLink Cable Franchise Request. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, MAYOR LUND, COUNCILMEMBER BARNETTE, COUNCILMEMBER VARICHAK AND COUNCILMEMBER BOLKCOM VOTING AYE AND COUNCILMEMBER SAEFKE ABSTAINING, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY ON A 4-0 VOTE. 6. Approve Consent to Assignment of Consulting Services Agreement between Flat Rock Geographics, LLC, and Tri-City GIS Organization to RE/SPEC, Inc., and Assumption of Consulting Services Agreement between Flat Rock Geographics, LLC, and Tri-City GIS Organization by RE/SPEC, Inc. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 25 Councilmember Bolkcom asked, this agreement is from December of 2014 and is only good until the end of this year, and the only reason the City is doing this is because they changed their name? James Kosluchar , Public Works Director,stated the assignment agreement before them is effective October 1 and lasts until the end of this year. Flat Rock Geographics was purchased by another company. The City has to have a pass-through contract relationship with them. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to approve the Consent to Assignment of Consulting Services Agreement between Flat Rock Geographics, LLC, and Tri-City GIS Organization to RE/SPEC, Inc., and Assumption of Consulting Services Agreement between Flat Rock Geographics, LLC, and Tri-City GIS Organization by RE/SPEC, Inc. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 8. Approve Change Order No. 1 (Final) for Springbrook Nature Center Boardwalk Replacement Project No. 433. Councilmember Bolkcom said this change order is for City-expedited freight cost. She understands why they increased the length of it, but they did it so they would have it for Pumpkin Night, and how much more money was that? Mr. Kosluchar replied $1,687. Councilmember Bolkcom asked whether that was a normal routine to be looking at something from the air. Mr. Kosluchar stated City staff did that measurement, did that from an aerial, but they also recognized at the time that the approach ramps were going to be constructed by City staff. So there were two elements. They were going to intentionally leave the new boardwalk short. They had some discussions regarding the cost for the ramp pieces, and they could match the same price per square feet as they could for the dock piece. The ramps are very nice. They ended up with 28 feet on each end that they were intending on constructing ramps for, and the contractor provided the City a good price to make the connection fully. Councilmember Bolkcom stated she just wondered if it is normal doing things by aerial. Mr. Kosluchar replied, in this case, yes. Because plus or minus a foot or two is not going to matter. The contractor did a really nice job. They did it on time, and they did it quickly. Councilmember Bolkcom asked and what would have happened if he had not used the extra freight to get it here. What would have happened to Pumpkin Night? Mr. Kosluchar replied, he did not get the report on Pumpkin Night if folks were using it; but he FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 26 knew they wanted to get it opened, that was a commitment they made to the Recreation Department. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to Approve Change Order No. 1 (Final) for Springbrook Nature Center Boardwalk Replacement Project No. 433. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 11. Claims (170135 - 170301). Councilmember Bolkcom stated she thought the liquor store was all done. She referred to page 68, Furniture & Fixtures, Storefront Liquor, $33,575. She asked whether they were still doing things at the new Cub site. Darin Nelson, Finance Director, replied that is actually for a new sign at the Moore Lake location. The City is starting some renovations there on a limited basis. They will see a new sign there hopefully before Christmas. That will also include a dynamic sign on it, too. Councilmember Bolkcom referred to page 73, Pumpkin Night Performer, $700. That is actually paid back to the Foundation or does the City pay for it? Mayor Lund stated he did not think so. The Foundation does not take the income from all the visitors. Councilmember Bolkcom stated they just take the income from their food. She said they had one performer for $700? Mayor Lund replied, actually they had two so he is unsure. Councilmember Bolkcom referenced the description, "Embrace the Light." Mayor Lund stated that was just one vendor. There were alternating shows, Embrace the Light and then there was Elvis. Councilmember Bolkcom referred to page 85. The sixth line from the top, Parks/Dues & Subscriptions, the City pays $1,000 to the Department of Natural Resources. She asked if staff had any idea what that is for? Mr. Kosluchar replied that is for permitting of the Nature Center boardwalk. Councilmember Bolkcom stated so you just cannot see the rest of the printout of the line. That is a permitting process to do the boardwalk where the City has to pay a fee to the Department of Natural Resources because they have to come out and inspect it or review the plan? FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 27 Mr. Kosluchar replied, that is under the Public Waters Permit. It is a requirement. Basically because the City reoriented it and especially since there is the observation area. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to Approve Claims (170135 - 170301). Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. NEW BUSINESS: 15. Resolution Adopting Assessment for 2015 Nuisance Abatement. Darin Nelson, t Finance Director,his is related to the nuisance abatement they discussed earlier tonight. It is for 29 properties in the amount of $17,127.67. Councilmember Bolkcom stated what is the process after Council approves the assessment list? Mr. Nelson stated at this point in time if Council approves this, a 25 percent assessment fee goes on top of the amount due. It can be paid to the City before they certify it to the County towards the end of the year. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what Mr. Harstad’s process would be. What happens next for him, if Council approves the whole assessment roll tonight? Mr. Nelson stated he was going to defer to Attorney Erickson. He assumed that would be up to the courts. Attorney Erickson replied, that is correct. As a prerequisite to appealing to the courts, Mr. Harstad would have to file a notice with the City which he did here tonight. Then within 30 days of the adoption he would need to file with the District Court his appeal of the assessment and then within 10 days of that he has to provide notice to the City that he has filed with the District Court. Then it would proceed as a District Court case. She did not believe it is required, but a lot of cities will place an answer in response to the appeal. And then it plays out and there could be a trial. Councilmember Saefke asked if that would be a small claims court matter. Attorney Erickson replied, it will typically be filed in regular district court rather than conciliation court. Mayor Lund stated it was a little confusing with what happened in 2014 and 2015, but the overriding prevailing testimony seemed to be clear to him that there is a history there. It is not like the first or second time this has not been mowed. It goes back to 2004. Yes, it may have changed hands with his brother. Regardless, it seems they have been remiss in mowing it every two weeks or whatever is needed. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 28 Mayor Lund stated even saying that, Mr. Nelson said that if Council approves this tonight an automatic 25 percent is added to that. For him, and maybe he can defer to the City Attorney, the thought that crossed his mind is he is okay with approving the rest, but he does not know if it is permissible for the City to give Mr. Harstad until the next meeting to settle up this matter. Or if they cannot come to some mutual understanding, that Council votes on the assessment for that one in a couple of weeks. He did not know whether that meets the County’s timeline. Attorney Erickson replied they do need to meet the certification deadline. Mr. Nelson stated the one thing he noticed is that the City needs to provide 30 days' interest free. Usually the City approves these assessments the end of October and gets ready to send the assessments by December 1. There is that 30 or 40 day window where the City does not really charge interest from now until now until they have to have them certified. Mayor Lund asked, so they have to certify those by December 1? Mr. Nelson replied, right. That is when the City has to get the certifications to the County. Councilmember Bolkcom stated Mr. Harstad would still have 30 days to try and straighten it out. Mr. Nelson stated, right, without interest. He would still have the 25 percent administrative assessment fee. Mayor Lund stated Mr. Harstad has not produced any documentation or billing from his mower, Ace. Councilmember Bolkcom stated she can see both sides. That is why she asked the question, if she called in and got an extension on most everything else it is "business days." It is never a weekend. Granted that is the City's process but if she called on Friday she would think she would have until Tuesday to get it mowed. Mayor Lund stated there was already a letter sent, but it was going to his brother, Paul, who was of record and then it went to Martin Harstad. Mr. Wysopal asked Mr. Nelson, has the City already paid its contractor for mowing? Mr. Nelson replied, yes, the City would have paid the contractor already. They are paid monthly during the summer. Mr. Wysopal asked, so there would be no way to adjust their cost to the City? Mr. Nelson replied, not necessarily their cost. The only leeway the City would have, since Mr. Harstad was here tonight to talk about his assessment, there may be a way to waive his 25 percent assessment to get the rest of his story or figure out the staff time and just certify that amount to the $421 to the County. If it does not get settled before then. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 29 Mr. Wysopal stated the City paid the contractor already and it cannot get an adjustment on the bill to the contractor? The City cannot get the contractor to discount it. Mr. Nelson replied, he does not know. That contract is through the Community Development. Community Development probably has staff time embedded into that number as well. Councilmember Varichak stated also this went to August 4. He might have a couple of mowing bills that could be negotiated for next year. Mr. Nelson replied, he is not exactly sure but usually it goes through the end of August. There may be another mowing that they would have caught because usually they try to get as late as they can to try and pick up as many of those as possible before the end of the year. Mr. Wysopal asked Attorney Erickson, if they should they move forward and have this assessment made and if it turns out either through the courts or through some other evidentiary process and discussions with Mr. Harstad, that the City was wrong, does the City have the opportunity to reimburse him for the assessment? Attorney Erickson replied, Mr. Harstad probably will not pay if he is contesting it. First he will have to file and perfect his appeal. Mr. Wysopal stated, right but that would not be until next spring when he would make his first assessment payment. Attorney Erickson stated, correct; but he may not make any payment pending if he is going to perfect an appeal. The City still has options if he perfects an appeal and moves forward. It is probably cleaner to deal with it in that context rather than shifting this year or continuing it and moving it. That would be her recommendation. Councilmember Bolkcom asked, what is "perfect an appeal.” Attorney Erickson replied, that means Mr. Harstad has to go file with the district court and he has to serve the City with notice that he has filed with the district court before it becomes something the court can hear. There would still be time to try and sort out those evidentiary issues, etc. Mr. Wysopal stated had staff known there was a disagreement with regard to this assessment, they would have certainly had a lot more work and due diligence done to provide the City's case. Staff will personally contact Mr. Harstad, sit down, bring our paperwork together, and then bring back the findings of those meetings to Council in order to try and avoid his inconvenience of perfecting this and spending more legal fees on his side. If staff is wrong, they would be the first to come back and say, put it on disbursements or whatever to make it whole. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they should approve the whole assessment roll. Mr. Wysopal replied correct. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 30 Councilmember Bolkcom stated it seems to her if they start saying, take this person out because of this, they may be setting precedence. Mayor Lund asked that somebody reach out to Mr. Harstad and see if he is willing to come in. Councilmember Barnette stated it would be interesting to know if the fellow he hired to go out there and saw it had already been mowed, ultimately mowed it anyway and billed Mr. Harstad. Mayor Lund stated, well, apparently he did. Councilmember Barnette said but if it had already been mowed, why would he mow it. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke adopting Resolution No. 2015-54. Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 16. Motion Directing the City Clerk to Publish the Notice of Intent to Consider an Application for a Franchise and Notice of Public Hearing for December 28, 2015. Deb Skogen, City Clerk,stated this is a request to consider an additional cable communications franchise. On October 19, 2015, the City received a letter from CenturyLink. Minnesota State Statute § 238.081 describes the process to be used when considering a cable franchise. Staff met with CenturyLink and provided a draft outline of the process that the City uses. Because of the specialized and complex area of law, staff contacted Brian Grogan at Moss & Barnett who had represented the City in other franchise matters. Mr. Grogan agreed to represent the City. He met with staff to review the process, help set deadlines, and prepare the necessary documents for City Council consideration. Ms. Skogen stated there is a memo from Mr. Grogan outlining the process, a procedural timeline of the time that would be used during the intent to franchise and through negotiations; a request for proposals that the applicant would return to the City; and a public hearing notice. Ms. Skogen stated if authorized the following are key dates: November 6, the notice of intent and public hearing notice dates would be published in the Fridley Sun Focus. On December 2 would be the deadline for the franchise application to be submitted. December 3 through December 21 is the time period for the attorney to review the application and prepare a report regarding the applicant's qualification. On December 28, a public hearing would be held regarding the franchise applicant's qualifications. Ms. Skogen stated it is important to note that at this time, the City Council is only considering the implementation of the State's statutory franchising process. The City Council will hold a public hearing in December to determine the qualifications of the applicant. If the applicant is qualified, the City would begin franchise negotiations with the applicant at that time. Staff recommends a motion directing the City Clerk to publish the notice of intent to consider an FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 31 application for a cable franchise and notice of public hearing for December 28, 2015, in the Fridley Sun Focus, its legal newspaper, as required by state law. Kirsten Sersland is here tonight from CenturyLink if they have any questions for her. Councilmember Bolkcom asked whether there are any minutes that are kept from the staff meeting with the attorney to review the process. Is there anything to keep track of who was at that meeting. Ms. Skogen replied, she usually writes down who was at the meeting and when. She can provide that information to Councilmember Bolkcom if she would like it. Kirsten Sersland, Local Government Affairs Director for CenturyLink of Minnesota, stated she had met with Mr. Wysopal, Ms. Skogen, and Mr. Strand earlier this month. She wanted to compliment the City staff on what a wonderful job they did being prepared for their meeting. She has not seen the likes of that kind of organization and deliberation in their franchising to date. It has been 30 years since there has been any kind of competition in the marketplace with regards to wire line cable. They are very pleased and privileged to be potentially under consideration to submit their application to enter into franchising with the City of Fridley. Mayor Lund stated it will be interesting to see how this works out and how many people have an interest and will be at that public hearing. He pointed out that the proposal will not be finalized from CenturyLink's end, until after the public hearing. Ms. Sersland stated, yes, they estimate in their timeline, it will be late first quarter or into the second quarter of 2016 before everything is finalized, if it goes smoothly. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if they are pretty confident that they will actually have a first reading in January if this were to go through. Ms. Skogen replied Brian Grogan he said it could be a long process. Staff put that there preliminarily just in case they are moving very well. Attorney Grogan is in the process right now of working with several cities so he has everything down, but a lot will depend on the first agreement that is provided to the City. Councilmember Bolkcom stated thinking back to past agreements, it takes much longer than this. Ms. Skogen stated they can reassess the timeline after the public hearing. Mr. Wysopal stated just to reiterate, the first phase is to accept the applications from interested parties and then to review that application based on that applicant's ability to deliver a franchise. The next phase is to react to a proposal and negotiate an agreement. They cannot guarantee what that process will be, but staff is certainly willing to work at it and give it their best. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to direct the City Clerk to publish the Notice of Intent to Consider an Application for a Franchise and Notice of Public Hearing for December 28, 2015. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 32 Seconded by Councilmember Barnette. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 17. Approve Allocation for the Metropolitan Council Water Efficiency Grant Program. James Kosluchar , Public Works Director,stated the basis of this grant is formulated from the Council's recent regional source water plan. It just got approved last month. One of the things they are looking at is groundwater sustainability over the long-term. They are looking the next 100 years and beyond. There are some issues with sustainability over that long horizon, and they have secured some funding through the Legacy Amendment for community water suppliers in their conservation effort. Mr. Kosluchar stated under this grant program Met Council will provide a grant to establish a rebate program to select cities and encourage use of water-saving fixtures and appliances. The City of Fridley hits on all of the targeted priority qualifications for this. It is kind of like they used Fridley as its model to score. The grants would be awarded on a competitive basis based on those points, generally on the timeliness of the application. They opened the application periods the second week in October. The applications are open until the end of November. Mr. Kosluchar stated under the program, the Met Council will provide 75 percent of the program cost, and the municipality must match the remaining 25 percent. Mr. Kosluchar stated eligible items will be water-saving fixtures such as toilets, washing machines, irrigation systems components (such as rain sensors), and irrigation system audits. That is the one service item that is eligible that staff knows of. Staff is recommending if the City applies that we rebate just above the cost difference between the qualifying water-saving components and standard components with a maximum 50 percent of cost. A water audit or irrigation system audit would be a 50/50 match. Mr. Kosluchar stated staff would project a range from $200 to $250 per item for eligible rebates on qualifying expenditures. New purchases or components for new development are not eligible. Therefore, if somebody is adding a bathroom and they want to put in a low-flow toilet, they would not be eligible under this program. It is for retrofit only. Mr. Kosluchar stated they anticipate between 150 to 250 rebates over the next two years. If this is approved and the City applies for and is successful in securing funds, they would make outreach by some of the standard methods--the City newsletter, the website, and also through the HRA loan program. The Rental Inspections Division and Building Inspections would likely have contacts and some promotional material, and Fridley retail stores such as Menards and Home Depot, may advertise at their location. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 33 Mr. Kosluchar stated staff is proposing a $10,000 total match for this program that would be budgeted basically $5,000 a year (2016 and 2017), and that would make a total of $40,000 in rebates available to our community. The cost of this program, the $10,000 match, for the average residential water user would be about $0.93. Mr. Kosluchar stated they would put this in the operating budget for the Water Division for the Metropolitan Council Water Efficiency Grant Program. If it is approved, staff would make application for funding and if successful, staff would come back with a much more detailed presentation at that time and use the opportunity to promote the program. Councilmember Saefke stated it is just for retrofit because he believed for new plumbing in the Building Codes, the plumbing fixtures, etc. already have to be water saving. You have to have a low-flow toilet, showerheads, etc. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what it would cost the City staff timewise. She goes out and buys a water-saving toilet, she makes a copy of what she bought, and then she sends it to the City. Mr. Kosluchar replied, they actually have staff involved in this already. His guess is they get an application and if everything is there, it would take five minutes to process through Finance and would take some time to issue payment. Councilmember Bolkcom asked but do you have to make the application before you do the work? Mr. Kosluchar replied it is eligible for activities that started September 30. If you do have anybody out there that is retrofit and went with a low-use type of fixture, save your receipts because they may be eligible. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what a water audit for irrigation was. She asked how much that would cost. Mr. Kosluchar replied, they were interested in that. They had a list of four contractors that staff was contacting today to try and get that information. They did not get that information. His sense is that it might be $100 per property and maybe a little bit more. His guess is they would be looking at turning on the irrigation system, looking at how the heads work (do they provide ample coverage, do they over cover, do they spray out at the street, etc.), if there was a rain sensor, where it would be installed and how it would be hooked up. Councilmember Bolkcom stated the City of Fridley at 90 gallons per capita. It states that preference will be given to municipalities were total per capita water use is greater than 90 gallons per capita per day. Do we use more than other cities? Mr. Kosluchar replied, our residential is doing very well on managing their water. The City does have a lot of industrial commercial properties, however, so we do reach that kind of higher threshold on usage overall as a community. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 34 Councilmember Bolkcom stated and Mr. Kosluchar mentioned $5,000 so it would be $5,000 by the end of this year. Part of that would roll into next year's project. First of all we have to plan for it. Do we automatically plan we are going to get it. Mr. Kosluchar replied, he did not know. It is brand new. He would say the likelihood of the City's success maybe depends on how much the City asks for. The program has $500,000 allocated to it over two years. His sense is that you may have 20 grantees something like that so $30,000 for a community our size might be about right. Councilmember Bolkcom asked so if she buys a toilet for $100, she gets $50 of it back. Mr. Kosluchar replied, they have not set that exact price yet but will look at the price between the standard, i.e., a low-flow toilet is $180; and what they likely would look at rebating is about $85 or $90. They would make the low-flow toilet cheaper for somebody to purchase up to that limit of 50 percent. Councilmember Bolkcom asked on page 115 under 'Funding Process and Reporting Requirements", what is that last sentence where it says MCES, does it mean that some day they can decide they do not have any more money? Mr. Kosluchar replied, he thinks what they are saying is if you are not making profits, for example, you have two-quarters left of the two-year cycle that they can reallocate onto somebody that used up their allotment. Councilmember Bolkcom asked regarding the $0.93 is that per quarter or per year? Mr. Kosluchar replied, that is $0.93 for the entire program, the $10,000 match works out to about $0.93 per average resident. Councilmember Bolkcom asked what "average resident" meant. Mr. Kosluchar replied, that means the average water user. Councilmember Bolkcom stated so if you use more water it might cost you $1.50? Mr. Kosluchar replied, yes, exactly; and if you fulfill the requirements of this program you might see extra savings of that $0.93 back. Councilmember Bolkcom asked, would that not be a line item on the water bill? Mr. Kosluchar replied, no, it would not. He was just using that as kind of an idea, a vision of what this match cost the average resident and to kind of illustrate a point that it is in his mind not a very costly program and allows any of these residents basically that have older homes to take advantage of that. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 26, 2015 PAGE 35 MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to approve the Allocation for the Metropolitan Council Water Efficiency Grant Program. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 18. Informal Status Reports Mr. Wysopal stated he would like to discuss the lower interest and higher amounts for the Fridley HRA Home Loan Program. This is something the HRA just approved. The interest rate was lowered and is now at 4.5 percent. They have eliminated the income limits. They raised the maximum amount to $50,000 which is 115 percent loan to value ratio, and the City's goal is to fix up homes immediately after people buy them. Mayor Lund stated a Fridley resident had asked for some further detail on a CIP program that they talked about at a meeting. It is posted at the library and available at City Hall. It is a fairly lengthy document. Also as a suggestion, there should maybe be an article in the next City newsletter giving an overview of this program. He asked if the document was on the City’s website. Mr. Nelson replied, it is on the City's website and is probably the easiest way to access it. Councilmember Bolkcom noted in the minutes from the last Council meeting it states that Banfill-Locke is opened just Tuesdays and Saturdays. Actually, it is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10-4. 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 9:46 P.M . Respectfully submitted by, Denise M. Johnson Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor