HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-03-18 Joint Board MIN
Stillwater City and Town Joint Planning Board
Regular Meeting Minutes
March 18, 2015 – 7:00 pm
Present: Stillwater Town Board Members Dave Johnson and Linda Countryman;
City of Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski and Stillwater Council Member
Mike Polehna
Staff present: Stillwater Community Development Director Bill Turnblad
Chair Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Councilmember Polehna nominated Town Board Member Dave Johnson for Chairman
and Councilmember Weidner for Vice Chairman. No other nominations were
submitted. The Joint Board members unanimously approved the nominations.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Kozlowski moved to approve the agenda, which was seconded by Countryman. The
motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Since both Countryman and Polehna were serving as alternates and were not present at
the last Joint Board meeting, approval of the August 13, 2014 minutes was tabled until
the next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Rezoning for RICHLIND - Case No. 2014-39
Turnblad introduced the case by summarizing his report of February 10, 2015. The
landowner, Thad Rich, requested a rezoning of his property from AP – Agricultural
Preservation to RA – Single Family Residential for an 8 lot single family subdivision to
be known as Richlind.
Countryman moved to approve the rezoning, which was seconded by Kozlowski. The
motion passed on a 4-0 vote.
Joint Board Minutes
March 3, 2015
Page 2 of 3
STATUS OF JOINT PLANNING BOARD
Turnblad reviewed his memo of February 9, 2015 on the status of the Joint Board now
that the remainder of the Orderly Annexation Area parcels have been annexed.
Johnson asked if City Finance Director Harrison could provide the Town Board with a
memo on how she sees the real estate tax formula working now that all of the
remaining Township properties in the Orderly Annexation Area have been annexed.
He specifically asked if she could advise the Town Board on specific amounts of tax
revenue that will be passed through to the Township according to Section 7.03 of the
Orderly Annexation Agreement. According to the agreement the first year a property is
annexed, the City passes 100% of the local portion of the real estate taxes through to the
Township. Thereafter, the amount paid to the Township is reduced by 20% until the
amount reaches zero. The challenge for the Township is to understand the amount of
tax revenue they will be receiving over the next five years, so they can establish their
annual budgets.
Countryman noted that the property owners whose property was annexed in January of
this year naturally have had, and will continue to have, questions related to City
services, taxes, etc. Many of the questions have been fielded and answered by Town
Board members. But, she asked about additional Q&A opportunities. Opportunities
discussed included information in City newsletters, a City contact person for the
residents, website information. Turnblad suggested that the initial contact for such
questions of the City should be him. Dave Johnson mentioned that any questions for
the Township should be directed to him or to Sheila Marie Untied.
Countryman suggested that a newsletter message to the new residents related to the
location search for the new fire station would be helpful. There are a number of rumors
circulating about this topic. And most of what is circulating has nothing to do with
reducing response times to the Stillwater Fire Department service area.
Johnson talked about the positive impact of the Joint Planning Board over the years on
the relationship between the City and Town. The final annexation process created
friction, but community collaboration is important and being sensitive to sending
positive messages to community members is still important.
Another newsletter item to share with the new residents is the City Council decision to
honor all of the permits and licenses that have been issued by the Town.
Joint Board Minutes
March 3, 2015
Page 3 of 3
OTHER BUSINESS
The Joint Planning Board and staff discussed the status of the Palmer property on CR 15
and MN 96 and the Boom Site.
ADJOURNMENT
Polehna moved for adjournment, which was seconded by Kozlowski. The motion
passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:50 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Turnblad
Acting Recording Secretary