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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.b Minutes of April 13, 2005 Work SessionSTEM to ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION APRIL 13, 2005 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof the City Council Work Session was held on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Mayor Droste and Council Members Sterner, Shoe Corrigan and Baxter were present. Council Member DeBettignies was absent. Also in attendance were City Administrator Verbrugge, Assistant City Administrator Weitzel, City Engineer Brotzler, Fire Chief Aker, Parks and Recreation Director Schultz, Communications Coordinator Cox and Recording Secretary Amy Domeier. FIRE STATION NO, 2 City Administrator Verbrugge added the Fire Station No 2 to the agenda for an update on the design and cost summary. Staff is looking for direction from the Council to begin the CAD drawings for preliminary construction The new design includes a reduction in the space for the meeting rooms, corridor and restrooms. Todd Christopherson and Mark Vetter were present at the meeting for questions. Mr. Christopherson handed out copies of the Cost Estimate Summary for Council's review. Mr. Verbrugge suggested returning the additional parking back into the plan for activities. The cost would be approximately $5,000.00. Council Member Sterner questioned if the there would be physical space to expand the building down the road. The general response was it would be a complex addition because the corridor area and the bathrooms would have to be bigger for code reasons. Fire Chief Aker stated he was fine with the new proposal. Mayor Droste felt the plans meet the needs for a satellite station Council Member Baxter wished it was being built better; however, he is happy to stay within the budget. Council Member Shoe Corrigan questioned how long it would be before the City would outgrow the building. City Administrator Verbrugge stated given where the growth of the City is at this time, there would probably be a third fire station added before any expansion on this station. Discussion was held regarding whether the meeting space should be made larger to accommodate all firefighters meetings, training and for use of Larger meetings held within the City. Fire Chief Aker noted that currently all the fire fighters can fit into the meeting room at the main fire hall Training is held three times a month and one meeting is held per month. Questions were also raised as to whether the parks could benefit from a larger meeting room or if any shelters are planned for the nearby parks Parks and Recreation Director Schultz stated that at this time, no shelters are planned. He further stated that the Community Center always has meeting space mailable if people plan and book ahead. Mayor Droste and Council Member Baxter agreed to stick with the program and move forward Council Members Shoe -Comgan and Sterner preferred to add additional space to the plan. The Council directed Staff to check with the code official to see how much space could be added without having to change the sizes of the bathroom and corridor. City Administrator Verbrugge stated he would check with the code official. 1 ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION APRIL 13, 2005 GAS UTILITY ORDINANCE AMENDMENT City Engineer Brotzler reviewed the background of the issue that emerged recently with the development of Harmony regarding the extension of gas utility services to the site. Council was asked to consider an ordinance amendment which would require gas utility companies to have in place a franchise agreement with the City to secure utility permits for the installation of new gas service lines. City Engineer Brotzler noted the most important reason for the amendment is public safety. This ordinance would mean the only provider that would currently be allowed would be Aquila because of the franchise agreement they have with the City. It is anticipated that other gas providers will approach the City for the development of a franchise agreement that will then allow for the establishment of service boundaries. City Engineer Brotzler explained that in the electric world, services are regulated by the State Public Utilities Commission. For gas, there is no defined boundary without a franchise agreement. Council Members Baxter, Droste and Shoe Corrigan favored the ordinance and the idea of doing franchise agreements. City Engineer Brotzler was asked to bring the ordinance back for a first reading in May. COUNTY ROAD 38 -TH 3 TO EAST TRACT LINE OF REFLECTIONS, CITY PROJECT #393 City Engineer Brotzler gave the Council a brief background on the project regarding the County Road 38 project and the properties proposed to be assessed for sanitary sewer and water services. In lieu of levying special assessments, the City could recover the cost when the properties connect to City sewer and water. Staff suggests making it a special distnct with the time period for connection extended between five and ten years with a provision that if an existing system fails, the property owner will be required to connect to the City system. City Engineer Brotzler also noted that the Rohr property could be subdivided into two lots and should have two hook- ups However, the Rohrs could record a deed restnction against the property so it could not be subdivided. Council Members were in agreement that this area should be a special district. Council Member Shoe Corrigan and Mayor Droste felt the Rohr property should have two stubs. It was decided that within 10 years they have to hook up to City services unless they sell or otherwise transfer the property or there is a failed system. Council Member Sterner asked City Engineer Brotzler to send out a follow -up letter to Fred Hanson to see if they are interested in the City services. ON STREET PARKING, 143 ST. WEST AND CHILI AVENUE AREA City Administrator Verbrugge addressed the parking issues at the Rosemount High School. There has been "Parking By Permit Only" signage on the streets east of Chili Avenue on 143` Upper 143 and 144 Streets for several years. Streets west of Chili Avenue have not had any parking restrictions Students are not willing to pay to park and will dnve to an area where there is free parking. 2 ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION APRIL 13, 2005 School Liaison Officer Erickson stated there was another lottery opened to the seniors for approximately 15 -20 extra permits. Ms. Erickson spoke with the Apple Valley and Eagan schools to find out their parking issues and found those schools have the same issues. Conversation ensued regarding the speed of the cars in the school area. Police Lieutenant Kuhns stated that although the district owns the streets, states statutes can be enforced and speeding tickets can be issued. The speed bumps were removed because of the homeowner's complaints regarding the vibration and noise. Discussion was held regarding parking on the 143 Street area. Mayor Droste offered a solution to the problem saying the Community Center parking lot is empty during the day. The City could allow a certain number of spaces for parking and when there is a big event, the students would not be able to park there. Also, the Dome is empty during the day and they could rent out their parking spaces. City Administrator Verbrugge's opinion was the City shouldn't have to solve the school's problems. Mayor Droste stated a fee should be added to the parking to keep the lot clean. Council- Member Shoe Corrigan also noted there is safety issues involved. City Administrator Verbrugge stated if the parking at the Community Center is allowed on a fee basis, the situation may be more manageable but there would be stipulations for when other events are being held at the Community Center. Council Member Baxter suggested going to the school district and offering 40 spots at the Community Center if they leased it and cleaned it up. If the school distract isn't interested, then close the Community Center parking lot and permit wherever we have to so parkmg stays in the neighborhood and the school can deal with the issue. Mayor Droste felt it was a fair solution to charge for a permit and the City to receive a nominal fee. The Council Members agreed to parking by permit to be consistent on both sides of' the street. They were also in agreement to work with the school on the capacity issues. City Administrator Verbrugge suggested using the signs for now and then to revisit the issue and monitor the situation. Mayor Droste added that parents and residents should be made aware that this is a school issue. Council Member Baxter felt residents should have the nght to have the signs put up as soon as possible. City Administrator Verbrugge stated a letter would be sent to the residents where the new signs will be installed. COMMUNITY FACILITIES Parks and Recreation Director Schultz updated the Council on the status of facilities reviewed by the Community Task Force and the athletic complex land search. There are three landowners east of Akron Avenue that staff continues to meet with regarding the land search for an athletic complex. Parks and Recreation Director reviewed the status of the Senior Center. The Community Center will have two rooms open for the seniors beginning April 25 However, the seniors are not 3 ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION APRIL 13, 2005 completely satisfied since they are unable to leave their furniture and items out as the area is leased to the guards. There is no charge to the seniors. The Aquatic Facility has not yet been discussed by Council. There is $20,000 in the Council budget to do a feasibility study to determine the expected operating costs of such facility. Mayor Droste suggested waiting to do the feasibility study to see if the City can partner with a hotel in the future for either an indoor or outdoor facility. Parks and Recreation Director Schultz stated the hockey association feels a second sheet of ice would need to be included in a multi purpose facility. According to the City survey, residents do not support a second sheet of ice. Mayor Droste felt it was not feasible to add another sheet of ice. Council Member Baxter added the school should be brought to the table since they are the user of the ice. Parks and Recreation Director reviewed the feasibility study for the Arts and Cultural Center. The estimated cost to bring the St. Joseph's building up to par for public use is approximately $429,000. The cost for the school would be approximately $1.3 million. City Administrator Verbrugge stated for a future session he would like to bring this back to discuss as a church/community based project and other possibilities of future use. Staff has been to round table meetings regarding teen center options. The goal is to figure out why some teen centers in the area are a success and why some are failing. UPDATES City Administrator Verbrugge informed the Council that Jeff Olsen would like to stay an additional year and still have the same payment. There would be a new lease -back for City possession in 2007. City Administrator Verbrugge's second update was the Planning Commission Work Session meeting on April 12 where a City employee was personally attacked on the 42/52 study group issues after the meeting. Councilmember Baxter suggested the Council put the 42/52 study on the April 19 Agenda as an update item. Council Member Shoe -Comgan suggested all comments of the sort should be put in wasting and brought to the Council. Mayor Droste handed out a DARTS brochure which gave an overview of what the organization provides to seniors in the community. Mayor Droste was approached by SKB a couple of weeks ago regarding Flint Hills Resources selling 120 acres. SKB questioned where the City would be if SKB expanded their waste management site. It is a long range plan and additional capacity is not needed today. Communications Coordinator Cox handed out the downtown business mailing that was sent out. Council Member Sterner asked for further discussion regarding the scheduling on Work Sessions. Council Member Baxter expressed his dislike of the water towers. 4 ROSEMOUNT CITY PROCEEDINGS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION APRIL 13, 2005 There being no further business, and upon unanimous decision, the work session was adjourned at 9:19 p.m. The City Council packet is Clerk's File 2005 -14. 5 Respectfully Submitted, Amy Domeier Recording Secretary