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Home My WebLink About2021-12-21 CC MINti11water The Birthplace of Minnesota 216 4th Street N, Stillwater, MN 55082 651-430-8800 www.ci.stillwater.mn.us CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES December 21, 2021 REGULAR MEETING Mayor Kozlowski called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present: Mayor Kozlowski, Councilmembers Collins, Junker (via Zoom), Odebrecht, Polehna Absent: None Staff present: City Administrator McCarty City Clerk Wolf City Attorney Land Community Development Director Gladhill Finance Director Provos Police Chief Mueller Public Works Director Sanders PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Kozlowski led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. 7:00 P.M. RECOGNITIONS OR PRESENTATIONS Certificate of Appreciation Sherri Hopfeand Ryan Lettner (Downtown Parking Commission), Nike Dolphin and David Tomenes (Human Rights Commission). Mary Richie (Library Board of Trustees) Mayor Kozlowski recognized Sherri Hopfe for 11 1/2 years on the Downtown Parking Commission; Ryan Lettner for 7 1/2 years on the Downtown Parking Commission; Mike Dolphin for 2 years on the Human Rights Commission; David Tomenes for 1 1/2 years on the Human Rights Commission; and Mary Richie for 9 years on the Library Board of Trustees. Certificates of Appreciation - Stillwater's 2021 Tree Lighting Mayor Kozlowski recognized the following for assistance with the 2021 Tree Lighting: Cub Foods; Jeff & Missy Hause; the Polehna family; Water Street Inn; Mike & Anissa Raleigh; Miller Excavation; Action Rental; Leo's Malt Shop; Gartner Companies; Taylor Electric; Paul Larson, Quickfire Pizza and Alchemy Sound & Vision; Kevin Polski, Holiday Lighting and Design. Certificate of Appreciation - Retirement for Tim Moore, Public Works Superintendent - Streets Mayor Kozlowski honored Public Works Superintendent Tim Moore, retiring January 3 after 26 1/2 years. Motion by Councilmember Polehna, seconded by Councilmember Collins, to adopt Resolution 2021-176, Certificate of Appreciation - Retirement for Tim Moore, Public Works Superintendent - Streets. All in favor. City Council Meeting December 21, 2021 Bike Friendly City De,ignation Presentation — Dorian GriIley. Bike MN. & Rick Heirlick, Sustainable Stillwater Dorian Grilley, Executive Director of the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, on behalf of the League of American Bicyclists, commended the City for promoting bicycling. Rick Heidick, Sustainable Stillwater, presented the official Bike Friendly Community Certificate and called for continued enhancements to Stillwater's biking promotion efforts. OPEN FORUM Louise Hansen, Rivertown Commons, wished the Council and staff Merry Christmas. STAFF REPORTS Police Chief Mueller reminded the public of the proliferation of swindles, frauds and scams via phone and internet. Public safety staff are preparing for the snow sculpture event in January. There are officer and captain positions open. Finance Director Provos reported the water/sewer billing will be combined in January. Community Development Director Gladhill informed the Council that Zoning Administrator Tait is resigning. In the future the position may be split differently due to the increasing need for code enforcement. Councilmember Polehna thanked City Clerk Wolf and Administrative Assistant Manos for preparing all the Certificates of Appreciation over the years. City Administrator McCarty updated the Council on recruitment for the Administrator position. He stated the King Plant Reuse Advisory Group finished meeting and a report will be coming. An RFP for the Fire Department Wage Market Review has gone out. OSHA vaccination regulations are back and the City must have protocols in place in January. CONSENT AGENDA December 7, 2021 regular meeting minutes Payment of Bills Resolution 2021-177, Resolution Accepting Cash Donations 2021 Resolution 2021-178, Resolution Granting License to Patricia Wolf for the Operation of Multi -Person Cycle Tours on City Streets in 2022 and Rescinding Resolution 2021-003 Boards and Commission Appointments Resolution 2021-179, Adoption of City Council and Boards and Commissions 2022 Calendar Resolution 2021-180, Approving the Lumberjack Landing Public Water Access Cooperative Agreement with the State of Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources Emergency Pre-emptive Systems Project Final Payment Resolution 2021-181, Approving Solid Waste, Recycling and/or Roll -Off Hauler License Resolution 2021-182, Designating the Stillwater Gazette and St. Paul Pioneer Press as the City's 2022 Legal Publications and Approving their Respective Agreements Page 2 of 7 City Council Meeting December 21, 2021 Market Place Lift Station Improvement Project Final Payment Mutual Aid Agreement with St. Croix County, WI Sheriff's Office for Law Enforcement Services Denial of On -Street Parking Change at 224 Chestnut Street E Purchase Request for Front -End Loader with Snowplow Equipment and Barrier Lifts for Public Works Purchase Request for Portable Generator for Public Works Utilities Department Purchase Request for Replacement Generator at Aiple Lift Station St. Croix Valley Rec Center Purchase Request for New Dasher Board System St. Croix Valley Rec Center Purchase Request for New Sound System Temporary Liquor License Fire & Ice Pond Hockey Event at Lily Lake Waste Management Solid Waste Price Increase due to Net Disposal Cost Resolution 2021-183, Resolution Designating 2022 Election Polling Locations within the City of Stillwater, Minnesota Councilmember Junker requested that On Street Parking Change at 224 Chestnut St E be pulled from the Consent Agenda for discussion. He explained that the request to convert a three hour parking spot to a 30-minute parking spot was denied by the Downtown Parking Commission, so the Commission can study the overall scheme of short term parking spots in the larger context. Community Development Director Gladhill clarified that by approving the Consent Agenda, the request will be denied because of the way the Consent Agenda is written. Motion by Councilmember Polehna, seconded by Councilmember Odebrecht, to adopt the Consent Agenda. All in favor. PUBLIC HEARINGS There were no public hearings. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Resolution 2021-184, Selection of Lobbying Firm for Legislative Services City Administrator McCarty stated that four proposals (RFQ) for State legislative consulting services were received. The review team of the Mayor, Councilmember Odebrecht and the City Administrator recommends accepting the proposal from Lockridge Grindal Nauen, PLLP, in the amount of $40,000. Funds are included in the adopted 2022 City Council professional services and contractual accounts. Motion by Councilmember Odebrecht, seconded by Councilmember Collins, to adopt Resolution 2021-184, Resolution Accepting Proposal and Awarding Professional Services Agreement to Lockridge, Grindal Nauen, PLLP, for provision of State Legislative Consulting Services for the City of Stillwater. All in favor. NEW BUSINESS Fire & Ice Event at Lowell Park and Temporary Liquor License City Clerk Wolf explained that the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce applied for a special event permit to hold the 2022 Fire and Ice event at North Lowell Park January 28- Page 3 of 7 City Council Meeting December 21, 2021 30, 2022. The Parks Commission recommended approval of the event application and the Downtown Parking Commission recommended approval and charging parking related fees, which would total at least $3,470.50 plus Police staffing costs. The Chamber requests fees be waived. If Council wishes to approve the special event, they should pass a motion approving the 2022 Fire and Ice North Lowell Park Event Application and Temporary Liquor License, subject to coordination of the event with the City's Police Department, Fire, EMS and Public Works, and specifying which fees will be waived, if any. Mayor Kozlowski stated he would be OK waiving the base fee, costs for barricades and stage fee, but the event application fee and charges for portapotties should be paid by the event. He asked about police costs. Police Chief Mueller explained a law enforcement officer must be present at a beer tent and the cost would typically be charged to the event. There also will need to be an off duty officer at Lily Lake for pond hockey as beer will be sold. There may be a need for additional staffing separate from the event. Mayor Kozlowski stated because this is a public community event, he would support waiving the fees for reserving the parking lot and the additional police costs this year, but the event should still pay the application fee and portapotty costs. Councilmember Odebrecht countered that the event should pay the extra policing costs because otherwise the costs would come out of the police budget. Councilmember Polehna remarked that $33,000 forgiven by the City is lot of money, considering the next event on the agenda (World Snow Sculpting Championship). Mayor Kozlowski stated a community event by a nonprofit should be treated differently. Councilmember Polehna stated he would like to know the true cost of additional policing for events. Police Chief Mueller explained that the officer assigned to this event is specific to the beer tent. There are a number of other costs for overtime shifts, for instance, the snow sculpture event will need officers there as part of the liquor license, as well as significant costs for public safety services brought in from other agencies due to the number of people expected. That cost is not a burden to the Chamber, it is the City levy that pays for that. Mayor Kozlowski stated he would like to waive everything except the application fee and portapotty cost for this year. The Council is planning to review the event policy in 2022. Councilmember Odebrecht stated the officers are specific to the beer tent and there will be money made on the beer, so policing it should not be a huge burden for the event to pay. Mayor Kozlowski agreed, but added that the Chamber should know what those costs are ahead of time. Going forward, the City should make sure those costs are up front so event organizers can budget for them. City Clerk Wolf stated that per the fee schedule, the rate for an officer for an event is $65/hour with two hour minimum based on the hours of service provided (required for the alcohol license). After the event, the fee is adjusted to actual costs, based on which officer works that day, but it averages around $65. Page 4of7 City Council Meeting December 21, 2021 Motion by Councilmember Odebrecht to approve the 2022 Fire and Ice North Lowell Park Event Application and Temporary Liquor License and to waive the base fee, the application fee, and the cost of the barricades. Motion failed for lack of a second. Robin Anthony, Executive Director/President of the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, stated this event was started last year to bring the community together during the pandemic. Last year they had T-Mobile sponsorship which they do not have this year. The Chamber probably will not do this event separately next year, as there is now a three year contract for the World Snow Sculpting event and she does not want to overload staff two weekends in a row next year. This is a super low key, totally local event. Councilmember Odebrecht agreed it is a great event, but he feels the City must stop hitting the police budget for these things especially for required staffing for sales of beer. Ms. Anthony reminded the Council that the Chamber is a not for profit 501(c)6. Motion by Councilmember Odebrecht, seconded by Councilmember Junker, to approve the 2022 Fire and Ice North Lowell Park Event Application and Temporary Liquor License, subject to coordination of the event with the City's Police Department, Fire, EMS and Public Works, and to require the event to pay for portapotties, the application fee and application late fee, and waiving all other City fees. All in favor. World Snow Sculpting Event Contract and Temporary Liquor License City Administrator McCarty stated that the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce applied for a special event permit to hold the 2022 World Snow Sculpting Championship (WSSC) at North Lowell Park on January 18-23, 2022. This event is new to Stillwater and features teams from around the world creating snow sculptures while competing for prize money and the title of World Champion. The Chamber of Commerce is asking to reserve parking lots 4 & 5 from January 13-24 (12 days). The entire parking Lot #9 would need to be reserved for snowmaking from January 4-17 (15 days). During the event, they are requesting to reserve only 8 spots in Lot #9 (7 days) and they would like to reserve Mulberry Circle for the week of the event for shuttle services (7 days). Additional handicapped parking would be available in Lot 9 during the event. The snow making process may require making snow into the overnight hours in parking lot #9 when temperatures are ideal for snow making. The equipment used for this process can reach sound levels of 83 to 116 decibels (dB). City Ordinance Sec. 38-3 prohibits noise between 10:00 pm and 8:00 am, however the event organizer is requesting a waiver for these hours during the duration of set up from January 4-17. Most likely they will not be making snow overnight on all of those dates, but only when temperatures are ideal for making snow. According to the current event fee schedule, City fees and costs would likely exceed $31,000. The Chamber of Commerce requests the waiver of fees associated with this event. If Council wishes to approve the special event, they should pass a motion approving the 2022 World Snow Sculpting Championship Event Application, Contract and Temporary Liquor License, subject to coordination of the event with the City's Police Department, Fire, EMS and Public Works. If the Council wishes to waive event fees, it should be specified which fees will be waived, if any. If the Council wishes to approve the noise ordinance waiver for January 4-18, 2022, they should pass a motion approving that request. Page 5 of 7 City Council Meeting December 21, 2021 Mayor Kozlowski suggested charging the event application fees and security deposit. Because this is a world championship event, all eyes will be on Stillwater and the City should do everything it can to support this event. With all the work that went into this, he does not want to give them a $30,000 bill. In year two, the City will have a different policy, possibly a workshop with community input going forward. Councilmember Polehna pointed out the City is a partner in this event and the City does not charge for parking in the winter, so why would parking fees be charged for this event? Ms. Anthony stated this event is a huge opportunity for the City of Stillwater. People have been working long hours to make this happen and the businesses are very engaged. Over $80,000 in in -kind donations have been received from local businesses. Doing this in a pandemic has been very challenging and any support is appreciated. Councilmember Polehna stated other communities should also be supporting this event. Ms. Anthony stated the sponsorships include many businesses from neighbor communities. Motion by Councilmember Polehna, seconded by Councilmember Junker, to approve the 2022 World Snow Sculpting Championship Event Application, Contract and Temporary Liquor License, subject to coordination of the event with the City's Police Department, Fire, EMS and Public Works to meet the City's requirements, approving the requested noise waiver, and waiving all City fees. Motion passed 4-1 with Councilmember Odebrecht voting nay. COUNCIL REQUEST ITEMS There were no Council request items. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Councilmember Collins, seconded by Councilmember Polehna, to adjourn. All in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:13 p.m. Ted Kozlowski, Mayor Resolution 2021-176, Certificate of Appreciation - Retirement for Tim Moore, Public Works Superintendent - Streets Resolution 2021-177, Resolution Accepting Cash Donations 2021 Resolution 2021-178, Resolution Granting License to Patricia Wolf for the Operation of Multi -Person Cycle Tours on City Streets in 2022 and Rescinding Resolution 2021-003 Resolution 2021-179, Adoption of City Council and Boards and Commissions 2022 Calendar Page 6 of 7 City Council Meeting December 21, 2021 Resolution 2021-180, Approving the Lumberjack Landing Public Water Access Cooperative Agreement with the State of Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources Resolution 2021-181, Approving Solid Waste, Recycling and/or Roll -Off Hauler License Resolution 2021-182, Designating the Stillwater Gazette and St. Paul Pioneer Press as the City's 2022 Legal Publications and Approving their Respective Agreements Resolution 2021-183, Resolution Designating 2022 Election Polling Locations within the City of Stillwater, Minnesota Resolution 2021-184, Resolution Accepting Proposal and Awarding Professional Services Agreement to Lockridge, Grindal Nauen, PLLP, for provision of State Legislative Consulting Services for the City of Stillwater Page 7 of 7