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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-11-18 CC MIN • ate TME II1TMOLACE Of ■I11EE1TA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 18, 2014 REGULAR MEETING 7:00 P.M. Vice Mayor Polehna called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Weidner, Kozlowski, Menikheim, Vice Mayor Polehna Staff present: City Administrator Hansen City Attorney Magnuson Community Development Director Turnblad Police Chief Gannaway Fire Chief Glaser Public Works Director Sanders City Clerk Ward PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilmember Menikheim led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. OTHER BUSINESS Acceptance of resignation letter of Mayor Harycki Motion by Councilmember Kozlowski, seconded by Councilmember Menikheim, to accept the resignation letter of Mayor Harycki. All in favor. Oath of Office for Mayor City Clerk Ward administered the Oath of Office to Mayor Polehna. Mayor Polehna assured the citizens of Stillwater that it will be business as usual. A wonderful staff is on duty to support the Council. He thanked his fellow councilmembers for selecting him as Vice Mayor for the past two years and acknowledged the support of his family and his mentor and friend, Gary Kriesel. Possible appointment of Vice Mayor for remainder of 2014 Councilmember Weidner nominated Councilmember Kozlowski to serve as Vice Mayor for the remainder of 2014. Motion by Councilmember Weidner, seconded by Mayor Polehna, to adopt Resolution 2014-185, designating Council vice mayor for remainder of 2014. Ayes: Councilmembers Weidner, Kozlowski, Menikheim, Mayor Polehna Nays: None City Council Meeting November 18, 2014 Discussion of Council appointment process City Clerk Ward stated that the Council seat of Ward 2 will be vacant effective the first meeting in January 2015. She explained the process used in 2006 when this last occurred. Mayor Polehna suggested taking applications until the end of December,doing interviews shortly after that, and limiting the number of interviews to five. Councilmember Menikheim asked if there is a way for people from Ward 2 to provide input on the process and the type of candidate they would like to see. He would like residents of Ward 2 to address the Council during an Open Forum if they wish to comment. Councilmember Kozlowski acknowledged that citizens prefer to vote rather than have their representatives appointed. The Council needs to be cautious to not turn this process into an election. He favors giving the citizens time to formulate their thoughts early in the process. Mayor Polehna stated he does not want the appointment to become a popularity contest. He feels Councilmember Kozlowski has a good feel for what people are looking for in a representative for Ward 2 and he is open to listening to what he says. Councilmember Kozlowski encouraged Ward 2 residents to consider what they feel the Council should know when selecting a candidate, and to contact him and the other councilmembers to express what they feel the process should look like. Councilmember Menikheim replied he would be comfortable as long as there is an avenue for input. City Clerk Ward outlined the process undertaken in 2006. City Attorney Magnuson explained how ranked voting works. The only constraint is that it be a public vote. It cannot be a secret ballot. Councilmember Kozlowski stated he feels the Council will get very strong applicants and he will have a hard time ranking them but does not know a better way to do it. He asked if the Council could do everything in the process except eliminate the ranking part of the process and leave it up to the Council at the time of the vote. Mayor Polehna responded that is essentially what was done the last time, when the vote went on as a tie, until a Councilmember broke the tie. Councilmember Weidner commented he is not interested in interviewing 10-20 people-he would prefer to rank the top five to cut down on the number of interviews. Councilmember Kozlowski agreed, the Council should only interview those who are most qualified from the resumes and questionnaire they submit. Mayor Polehna stated he would be comfortable limiting the number of interviews to five. There will have to be a special meeting to do the interviews. Motion by Councilmember Kozlowski,seconded by Councilmember Menikheim,to move ahead with the process as discussed and take applications through end of December. All in favor. Page 2 of 7 City Council Meeting November 18, 2014 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Councilmember Menikheim, seconded by Councilmember Weidner, to approve the October 28, 2014 regular and executive session meeting minutes and November 13, 2014 Record of Canvassing Board minutes. All in favor. PETITIONS, INDIVIDUALS, DELEGATIONS & COMMENDATIONS Proclamation: American Diabetes Month Mayor Polehna read the proclamation designating November 2014 as American Diabetes Month. Presentation on the Stillwater Police Reserves Officers Ryan Mitchell and Chyrisse LeMoine gave an overview of the work of the Police Reserve Unit. Police Chief Gannaway commended the Reserves as the unsung heroes of the Police Department. OPEN FORUM There were no public comments. STAFF REPORTS Fire Chief Glaser reported on a meeting held with Washington County and contract communities to discuss options for fire service. There are no action items right now; the ideas are in the very conceptual stage. Councilmember Weidner complimented Fire Chief Glaser on his continued efforts to improve service to the contract communities at no cost to the City. City Clerk Ward thanked the election judges and staff for their cooperative efforts on Election Day. Mayor Polehna remarked that City Clerk Ward's leadership is much appreciated. Community Development Director Turnblad informed the Council that the next step for the Barge Terminal park plan will involve staff and consultants looking at costs, phasing and revenue sources. The goal is to bring the concepts to the Council on December 16. A final plan should be done some time in January. Councilmember Weidner thanked Community Development Director Turnblad and City Planner Wittman for running the meeting last night. Public Works Director Sanders reported that the change in weather halted completion of the parking lot and trail on the north end. The area will be closed for the winter and the paving will be done in the spring. The trail may be open for people to walk on in the interim. The Lowell Park bathroom project is continuing. Last Thursday, he met with state homeland security and emergency management representatives about the 2014 flood. It appears the City will receive no federal reimbursement but there is a very good chance of being reimbursed by the State at about 75% of the City's costs or$40-50,000 which would cover materials and overtime for the project. In regard to a recent request by the Middle St. Croix Water Management Organization for the City to help pay for water quality sampling on Lily Lake, the City asked the State to participate in some of those costs,but the State declined. So a different option is to ask Oak Park Heights to help fund the costs, since the study would involve the entire Lily Lake basin. The City's costs would be 85% or around $6,500 and hopefully Oak Park Heights would fund the remainder. He requested Council approval to provide the $6,500 contribution, to come from the Storm Water Utility Fund. Water sampling would take place in the coming spring and summer. Page3 of7 City Council Meeting November 18, 2014 Mayor Polehna explained that the goal of the project is to find the source of phosphorus entering Lily Lake. It was postponed from last summer. Councilmember Menikheim remarked its money well spent. Motion by Councilmember Menikheim, seconded by Councilmember Weidner, to allocate funding of$6,500 for water sampling on Lily Lake. All in favor. City Attorney Magnuson updated the Council on removal of the Zephyr engines from the depot property. The 45 day extension that was granted has passed,but action has been taken. Cars have been ordered to move the engines to Colorado. One reason it has taken the railroad so long to authorize the move is that the engines are moved in one piece, so they are oversized and have to be approved to go through the different sidings along the way. This is underway. STS, a heavy hauler out of Comfrey, Minnesota, appears to be unable to promise to move the engines until December 15 but this date appears firm. This is encouraging. The Council is advised to allow the extension until December 15. Councilmember Weidner stated he appreciates City Attorney Magnuson's efforts. He feels the City should engage the heavy hauler to come December 15 and if he does not haul the engines on the owners terms, he haul them on the City's terms. The City should find a location to put them if needed and charge the property owner for the cost of hauling and storing them. Motion by Councilmember Weidner, seconded by Councilmember Menikheim, to request the hauler to come December 15 to haul the engines, and if necessary,to charge the property owner for the cost of hauling and storage. All in favor. City Administrator Hansen provided a brief update on the administrator search. There have been 22 applicants so far. The search firm expects this number to double by the November 25 deadline. CONSENT AGENDA Resolution 2014-180, directing payment of bills Resolution 2014-181, approving 2015 liquor and tobacco licenses Resolution 2014-182, approving Lexipol LLC for Fire Department Resolution 2014-183, extending contracts for Annual Mowing, Snow Removal and Clean up Services Resolution 2014-184, adopting assessment for parking lot(Water Street Inn) Possible approval of Twinkle Parade Event—December 6, 2014 Possible approval of Change Order for Lowell Park Bathrooms Motion by Councilmember Weidner, seconded by Councilmember Kozlowski, to adopt the Consent Agenda. Ayes: Councilmembers Weidner, Kozlowski, Menikheim, Mayor Polehna Nays: None PUBLIC HEARINGS There were no public hearings. Page 4 of 7 City Council Meeting November 18, 2014 UNFINISHED BUSINESS Possible approval of recommendation for the naming of the park (Stillwater Barge property) Community Development Director Turnblad explained that "Bridgeview Park" is the top recommendation of the selection committee. Councilmember Menikheim stated he was concerned about the process by which the name Bridgeview was recommended. The committee came up with Bridgeview on the basis of rank ordering and felt there should have been discussion about other aspects. He feels there are issues with Bridgeview because the City is about to enter a post-lift-bridge era. The name should have lasting power and stated that today Bridgeview is a good name because there are two bridges in view, but felt that it was not supportable in 25 years if the Lift Bridge is gone. He felt that there will come a point when the State will no longer invest money into the bridge and if that happens the City will lose its icon. He also pointed out that Lift Bridge Park was eliminated as there are commercial businesses with that name and informed the Council that there are also commercial entities in the City that go by the name Bridgeview. Mayor Polehna reviewed the process. The Park Commission narrowed down all names submitted to six. Bridgeview Park was submitted by five citizens; it was the highest submitted name. The committee could not convene due to scheduling. The Committee Chair, Rob McGarry, worked with the City Planner to develop a scoring system through emails because no matter when they attempted to schedule a meeting, somebody was going to be absent. Councilmember Menikheim stated he felt the committee did not do its job by not having the discussion. Not all committee members agreed about doing a rank order. They did not talk about the possibility of a post lift bridge era which will apply not only to downtown but to the park as well. Councilmember Weidner felt that the process for selection was amenable and that he would be comfortable with any of the six. Councilmember Menikheim stated it bothers him that the selection committee was tasked with something and did not do it. Mayor Polehna reiterated that though the selection committee did not meet face to face,however it did interact as a committee. Councilmember Kozlowski asked Community Development Director Turnblad if the lift bridge will be removed in 25 years or less. Community Development Director Turnblad replied that it is not planned to be removed. The Memorandum of Understanding outlines a process to retain the bridge if there is the will to keep it. There is a process and monies in place to retain the bridge. Councilmember Weidner commented if one of the Councilmembers believes the process was not fair or complete, why not schedule a meeting and if someone on the committee cannot make it, the rest of the committee can decide. Community Development Director Turnblad asked the Council if they could then select an alternate for the committee, because previously, staff tried for two weeks to get people together unsuccessfully. Councilmember Kozlowski stated if the selection committee cannot meet before the next Council meeting, the Council should choose the name. Councilmembers were in agreement with this. Page 5of7 City Council Meeting November 18, 2014 Possible approval of resolution adopting assessments for 2014 Street Improvements (remaining 4 parcels) Public Works Director Sanders reported that at the assessment hearing for the 2014 Street Improvement Project, there were four property owners who objected to the assessments. These properties were removed from the assessment roll and Council asked staff to review the assessments. Staff hired an appraiser to determine if the proposed assessments were justified on all four properties. The appraiser estimated that benefit received from the improvement on all four properties was greater than the proposed assessment. Staff recommends that the assessments remain unchanged and that the Council adopt the assessments for these four properties for the 2014 Street Improvement Project as previously presented. He has informed the property owners by phone and provided them with copies of the appraisals. Motion by Councilmember Weidner, seconded by Councilmember Kozlowski, to adopt Resolution 2014-186, adopting assessment for 2014 street improvement project (Project 2014-02). Ayes: Councilmembers Weidner, Kozlowski, Menikheim, Mayor Polehna Nays: None Discussion on Parking Ban in the CBD Public Works Director Sanders stated that staff was asked to look into possible ways to decrease the buildup of snow and ice in the parking lanes in the downtown area. The outcome was to propose to eliminate the odd-even parking restriction downtown and instead implement an on- street parking restriction from the hours of 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. from November to March in the Central Business District. Persons such as downtown residents who previously used on-street parking during the winter months would be allowed to use nearby parking lots for overnight parking. Staff recommends approval of the winter parking regulation as proposed. Staff would notify downtown residents via signage and notices. Motion by Councilmember Kozlowski, seconded by Councilmember Menikheim, to approve the parking ban as proposed. Ayes: Councilmembers Weidner, Kozlowski, Menikheim, Mayor Polehna Nays: None NEW BUSINESS Possible approval of Metro Transit Letter of Support Community Development Director explained that Metro Transit(MT)is seeking letters of support for the future installation of a park and ride center to be located along the Highway 36 corridor in the Stillwater area. Letters of support are for MT's submission of a federal grant application for 2018 funding. Motion by Councilmember Kozlowski, seconded by Councilmember Menikheim,to authorize Mayor Polehna to sign the letter of support. All in favor. COUNCIL REQUEST ITEMS Mayor Polehna thanked Mayor Harycki for his leadership over the last 10 years which resulted in getting the bridge project underway and other projects such as the Browns Creek Trail,downtown Page 6 of 7 City Council Meeting November 18, 2014 flood protection, Lowell Park improvements, a fire station, and a new armory. The Council will recognize him at a future meeting. Mayor Polehna reported that Beyond the Yellow Ribbon held a Hunt for Troops two weeks ago with over 100 troops.Another hunt is set December 6 for 36 returning troops. He wished everyone in the community a wonderful Thanksgiving. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Councilmember Kozlowski, seconded by Councilmember Weidner, to adjourn the meeting at 8:31 p.m. All in favor. ,L._(_",,,t.„..},./6) Michael olehna, Mayor ATTEST: Asp....ece 0 2L &W Diane Ward, City Clerk Resolution 2014-180, directing payment of bills Resolution 2014-181, approving 2015 liquor and tobacco licenses Resolution 2014-182, approving Lexipol LLC for Fire Department Resolution 2014-183, extending contracts for Annual Mowing, Snow Removal and Clean up Services Resolution 2014-184, adopting assessment for parking lot(Water Street Inn) Resolution 2014-185, designating Council vice mayor for remainder of 2014 Resolution 2014-186, adopting assessment for 2014 street improvement project(Project 2014-02) Page 7 of 7