Loading...
CCM 12/27/2016 CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY OF FRIDLEY DECEMBER 27, 2016 The City Council meeting for the City of Fridley was called to order by Mayor Lund at 7:04 p.m. ROLL CALL: 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 Shelly Peterson, Finance Director James Kosluchar, Public Works Director Scott Lepak, from Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd. Gerald Maeckelbergh, Chair, North Suburban Hospital Board PROCLAMATION: K9 Nitro Day – December 27, 2016. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: APPROVAL OF MINUTES: City Council Meeting of December 12, 2016. APPROVED. OLD BUSINESS: 1.Appointment to the Environmental Quality and Energy Commission (Continued December 12, 2016). APPOINTED NICHOLAS PATRICK OLBERDING AND HEIDI FERRIS TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND ENERGY COMMISSION. 2.Resolution Approving the 2016 Gifts, Donations and Sponsorships to the City of Fridley APPROVED RESOLUTION NO. 2016-75. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 27, 2016 PAGE 2 3.Resolution Certifying Final Tax Levy Requirements for 2017 to the County of Anoka. APPROVED RESOLUTION NO. 2016-76. 4.Resolution Adopting a Budget for the Year 2017 and a Revised Budget for the Year 2016. APPROVED RESOLUTION NO. 2016-77. 5.Approve a Joint Powers Agreement for the Construction and Maintenance of a Sidewalk Along Main Street NE for the Woodspring Hotels Project; and Approve Sidewalk Maintenance Agreement and Easement Agreement. APPROVED. 6.Claims (ACH PCard 1612; 17540-175196) APPROVED. ADOPTION OF PROPOSED CONSENT AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to approve the consent agenda as presented. Seconded by Councilmember Varichak. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. OPEN FORUM, VISITORS: No one from the audience spoke. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt the agenda with the addition of Item No. 11, A Resolution Amending Resolution No. 2016-74 Rescheduling hearing on Improvement for Street Rehabilitation Project No. ST. 2017-01. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 27, 2016 PAGE 3 PUBLIC HEARING: 7. Consider Draft Water Supply Plan for the City of Fridley MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to continue the public hearing to January 9, 2017. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. NEW BUSINESS: 8. Resolution of Petition for Dissolution of the North Suburban Hospital District. Scott Lepak with Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd., stated that the North Suburban Hospital District currently consists of 5 cities: Blaine, Spring Lake Park, Mounds View, Hilltop and Fridley. They would like to dissolve the Hospital Board and are visiting the cities to solicit input on how to dissolve the district. The Board requirement is for only one city to pass the resolution. Blaine has already passed an ordinance and Spring Lake Park followed. Most of the discussion has been about what should happen to the hospital district funds once the district is dissolved. Mayor Lund said at the last meeting, Allina presented information about this which put to rest some of the rumors and concerns that were out there. It is disconcerting for some homeowners not having a full service community hospital here any longer but there will be two good size hospitals in close proximity to each other. Collectively together there will be a full service hospital, even though each facility may not do everything. Change is always uncertain and the Unity Hospital has been an amenity to our community. He commented on the suggestion about splitting off using the population, market value and payment in lieu of taxes. He asked if that was what other cities have recommended. Mr. Lepak replied the initial discussion was how to distribute the remaining assets. There will be pretty significant assets to distribute and the Board must do so in an equitable fashion. It would be easy to distribute by population, but they are asking cities what they want to do. The cities’ input will be taken into consideration. There will probably be 5 different answers and the Board is interested in all of the answers. Mayor Lund hopes all cities would be fair and the Board will need to use several different factors to come up with a reasonable equitable distribution. Wally Wysopal, City Manager, said staff recommended a 70% population blend. The market value takes into account where the money came from and the City of Fridley also requested 3% payment in lieu of taxes. The hospital is considered a non-property tax parcel and the payment of taxes would represent public safety response services. Each city comes up with its own ideas. He appreciates that the Board is open to these ideas. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 27, 2016 PAGE 4 Councilmember Bolkcom asked what the urgency was to approve this tonight. There are two other presentations being done in other communities in January. Mr. Lepak replied the urgency for Fridley is the dissolution petition has already been passed by Blaine and the Board would like to give back to the community when the greatest opportunity is present. There isn't much the Board can do for the facility with the existing dollars. The Hospital District decided it was time to go and Blaine agreed and Spring Lake Park also weighed in. Councilmember Bolkcom noted that at the last meeting, there were people who were concerned. She asked how much money there was to be distributed. Mr. Lepak replied $1.2M plus property, and some property is rather unique. It’s an open question if it will get full market value. The property is across Osborne, the old Fridley Medical Center, the strip mall along Osborne and the holding pond and community garden space. Councilmember Bolkcom asked about the finding of fact on page 84. There does not seem to be a lot of detail about the finding of fact. Mr. Lepak replied that the finding of fact was originally taken from the hospital draft resolution. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if it was urgent, because Blaine already passed the resolution and no one else matters. Mr. Lepak replied that legally, only one city needs to pass the resolution to start the process. This is an appropriate time to return assets back to the community. Councilmember Bolkcom said she did not think much would change between now and January. Mr. Lepak replied no, and the other meetings are not set up yet. They have not talked to those cities yet. As a courtesy, they ask the City Manager when it should be on the agenda. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if there were any work sessions. Mr. Lepak replied that Blaine requested a work session and they made that accommodation but Spring Lake Park did not request one. Councilmember Bolkcom thought that a work session or some type of discussion would be held beforehand verses just getting the resolution. She said it does not feel right. There were people at the last meeting who should have received notice of this meeting. Fridley's public safety staff has been responding to the hospital for years and Blaine could make a huge haul on this. She asked if this would be on the 2017 tax statement; if residents would be levied in 2017. Mr. Lepak replied that there would be no levy for the Hospital District in 2017. Mayor Lund noted that this is not a debate with the Hospital District as to how they will dissolve their assets. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 27, 2016 PAGE 5 Councilmember Bolkcom said she was not debating that issue. She thought that people were not able to be at the meeting because they were not aware this was on the agenda. Mayor Lund said the issue before Council is to pass the resolution to move forward with the dissolution. Councilmember Bolkcom said people who spoke at the Open Forum at the last meeting should have been contacted. She said she did not think it would hurt to wait until the next meeting to adopt the resolution. Mayor Lund said he was not sure if anything would change between now and January 9. He asked if this was delayed, would it be necessary to notify people who live by hospital. Councilmember Bolkcom said people had concerns and questions. Gerald Maeckelbergh, North Suburban Hospital Board Chair,said this started in 2015. The Board knew they needed to do something with Mercy and Unity so they have been working on how to do this and when. This has been going on for a long time. The North Suburban Hospital District is the owner of the hospital today and Allina has an option to buy it. They have not exercised that option yet. The Board wanted to be prepared by asking cities what their input would be. Once the hospital is sold to Allina, they would no longer have the opportunity to tax the cities. After it is sold, what would the purpose of the North Suburban Hospital District be? At the Spring Lake Park meeting hospital staff said that 95% of hospital services would stay at Unity. The emergency room will stay as well as the pharmacy and surgery center. Some people have issues with Allina and it is Allina's position to try and answer those questions. The Hospital Board had two goals; to build a hospital and maintain the hospital and they have been maintaining the hospital for 53 years. Allina has said they can handle things from here on out. He encouraged Council to adopt the resolution so they can continue this process. They could just use the resolution from Blaine, but they wanted to hear from all the cities. This will be a process that is mathematically solvable. They hope to come up with an equitable solution. Mayor Lund noted the comments they have heard were basically about Allina. Mr. Maeckelbergh said people knew they would be here tonight. Their focus is not about the Hospital Board but against Allina because they are changing the way they are operating. Cities are approving what they are doing and want to do what's best for the Hospital District. The Board does not want to meet monthly when there is no investment in Allina. Councilmember Bolkcom said she has nothing against Allina or unions. Her decision is only based on the fact that there were some people at the last meeting. She did not find out about this until recently and with the holidays she would like to delay the resolution. Mayor Lund said hehopes the Hospital District Board will be able to work this out. He said he thought they were making the right decision tonight adopting the resolution. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 27, 2016 PAGE 6 Councilmember Barnette said people who attended the meeting had the feeling that Unity Hospital would be one type of hospital and that was not correct. There will be emergency and other services there. Neighbors were concerned that this would be a specific hospital that they did not want in their neighborhood. Councilmember Bolkcom said there were no neighborhood meetings letting them know what was going to happen. Councilmember Saefke said the Hospital District built the hospital, so they own the physical plant and Allina is kind of leasing it. Now they are making a business decision and this has nothing to do with the Board. They own the building but they do not own the business. The conversation was not about whether people agree or disagree. It was about the building and the Board. Why levy a tax if we cannot do anything with it; plus, it is a savings for the taxpayers. Mr. Maeckelbergh said he was pretty sure the hospital would buy the parking lot, holding pond and community garden. They will have to set a fair equitable market value on that property as they cannot just give it to them. This money would be added to the funds they plan to give back to the community. The hard property to sell will be the strip mall across the street. Also the Board has some obligations like having to keep records for 10 years and who will manage that? There will be some expenses but there will still be funds to give back to the communities. Councilmember Saefke asked where the Lyric Building fits in. Mr. Maeckelbergh said that building is part of the hospital but is not owned by the Hospital Board. He has no idea what Allina would like to do with that building, but they do have personnel in there. He thinks it will be around for a while. Councilmember Bolkcom asked how much money had been levied over the years per city. Mr. Maeckelbergh said maybe $200,000 or $300,000 per year or around $20M in the last few years. MOTION by Mayor Lund to adopt Resolution No. 2016-78. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, COUNCILMEMBER BARNETTE, COUNCILMEMBER VARICHAK, MAYOR LUND, AND COUNCILMEMBER SAEFKE VOTING AYE, AND COUNCILMEMBER BOLKCOM VOTING NAY, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED ON A 4 TO /1 VOTE 9. First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 11, General Provisions and Fees, of the Fridley City Code Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, said they reviewed Chapter113 refuse/recycling hauling license fees and telecommunications, small cell and right of way fees. Staff also analyzed other fees. Sign permit fees needed adjusting and the dog kennel license fee FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 27, 2016 PAGE 7 was outdated. Proposed changes related to Chapter 113 increased the annual refuse license fee to $100 for the first truck and $40 for each additional truck. The charge would be the same rate for an annual yard waste hauling license (new category) and charge the same rate for an annual organic (new category) or recycling hauling license. The new telecommunication fees are as follows: new DAS application fee of $500, new DAS application review fee of $1,500 and new DAS Abandonment Escrow Fee of $2,000. Right of Way permit fee changes increase evacuation permit fee to $300, clarify that delay penalty fee of $125 is per week, increase mapping fee to $50 and clean up terms/punctuation. Proposed fee changes for sign permits, reduce permanent sign permit application fees to $100 for wall signs, $200 for standing signs, and $50 for sign panel reface. It also creates a simplified single fee of $100 for temporary sign applications. Staff noticed that the dog kennel license fee had not been increased when the livestock license fee was increased to $100 annually. An amendment to Chapter 11 does not require a public hearing, just a first and second reading. Staff recommends the first reading of this ordinance. The second reading is proposed to be held at the next Council meeting on January 9, 2017. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if anything under the current rate that is gone should be under the proposed rate. She said she was not sure the table on page 89 was clear for people to understand. Mayor Lund replied the old amounts would carry over. Councilmember Bolkcom suggested that for the second reading the amounts be moved to the proposed rate. It would be easier to read; also change the $125/week to $125 per week. She also asked for clarification on the sign permit under Code 214. Mr. Hickok replied that currently the temporary sign permit requires a $200 deposit. This will continue to be paid. Staff did not think there should be a different amount for a different size of sign. They simplified it and now it is a $100 fee plus $200 deposit. If the temporary sign is taken down, they get the $200 deposit back. Councilmember Bolkcom asked about the kennel license section. Mr. Hickok noted that they are only asking to change the kennel license portion. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the dogs and kennel portion should be separated to make it clearer. Mr. Hickok replied staff is open to suggestions, but all of the items relate to dogs which is how staff thought it fit best. Councilmember Bolkcom asked if the kennel license was for someone who operates a kennel. Mr. Hickok replied if someone had 3 dogs they would need a kennel license. The idea has to do with the health, safety, welfare and the impact to the neighborhood with the dogs or cats. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 27, 2016 PAGE 8 Mayor Lund asked if the $2,000 deposit under telecommunications would cover staff time to remove equipment that is abandoned. Mr. Hickok noted that this is a wireless devise and $2,000 would cover the cost. Councilmember Varichak asked if these costs were comparable to other cities. Mr. Hickok replied yes but telecommunications has a broad spectrum and staff did an internal analysis on what they think the real costs would be. MOTION by Councilmember Saefke to waive the reading of the ordinance and adopt the ordinance on first reading. Seconded by Councilmember Bolkcom. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 10. Resolution Approving Final Plat, PS. #16-01, by Fridley Land LLC, to Allow Further Redevelopment of the Properties Generally Located at 41 Northern Stacks Drive and 4800 East River Road N.E. (Ward 3) Scott Hickok, Community Development Director, stated that the petitioner is requesting a third plat of the Northern Stacks development to allow for Phase III of the redevelopment of what was originally one large parcel addressed as 4800 East River Road. The proposed final plat for Northern Stacks 3 creates three additional warehouse buildings as approved in the master plan. Staff recommends approval of the final plat. It is consistent with the comprehensive plan. MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcomto adopt Resolution No. 2016.79. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 11.Reschedule a Public Hearing for 2017 Street Project ST 20-2017-01 MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom to adopt Resolution No. 2016-80 and reschedule the public hearing for the 2017 Street Project ST 20-2017-01 to January 23, 2017. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 12.Informal Status Reports. There were no informal status reports. FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 27, 2016 PAGE 9 ADJOURN. MOTION by Councilmember Barnette to adjourn. Seconded by Councilmember Saefke. UPON A VOCE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:09 P.M. Respectfully Submitted, Krista Peterson Scott J. Lund Recording Secretary Mayor