April 2, 2012 Council Meeting
1. CALL TO ORDER - Mayor Reinhardt called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL – Williamson, Widmer, Hughes, Reinhardt. Stone excused.
3. INTRODUCTIONS – Mayor Reinhardt introduced the council and staff to the viewing public. Administrator Tolsma, Clerk Lewin, Attorney Beck, Engineer Ellingson
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
5. ADOPT AGENDA – Williamson makes a motion and Hughes seconds to adopt the agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
6. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA – Widmer makes a motion and Williamson seconds to adopt the consent agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
a. City Council Meeting Minutes from March 19, 2012
b. Accept Administration Committee Minutes from March 21, 2012
c. Work Session Minutes from March 26, 2012
7. PUBLIC FORUM – No one.
8. PRESENTATIONS AND & GUEST SPEAKERS
a. Scott Qualle – MNSPECT Update – Qualle said he did a presentation in 2010 and this is a continuation of that. He said use and occupancy classifications will be discussed. (Handout given.) Williamson asked if the specifics are cited in the code. He said the city has adopted the state and international building code, as he recalls. Qualle said the International code is the model code used by the State. A city can’t adopt anything more or less restrictive than the state building code. Qualle said the code can be quite gray however. Williamson wondered if Spring Park was deficient and this led to the presentation. Hughes asked about the uniform fire code and the relationship. Qualle said three codes merged and they don’t always talk to each other.
9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS
a. Revised MNSPECT Contract – Reinhardt said the contract is being reviewed for some minor changes. Reinhardt said the contract is being changed from incorporated to limited liability. Hughes said with some of the lettered sections he finds some inconsistencies and thinks they are somewhat confusing. Such as, the responsibility of the inspector who performs the plumbing review and he thinks R-1 may have been left out. He said on page ten, electrical is not included and yet section B deals with electrical. Qualle said he doesn’t believe any of those things changed from the previous contract. He said residential plumbing review is an over-the-counter issue. Williamson asked about plan review and he wonders if a plan review ever involves review by the planner as well as the inspector. Qualle said the theory is the building fees are for the building review and planning costs are done outside of the planning review. Williamson asked about the due date of the inspection contract. He is concerned about the 90 days renewal and he is concerned about the reliability and continuity of the business. He said it’s speculative and he wonders if the city can have a better way to know where they stand with the contract. Williamson is just concerned that the 90 day option might have passed over. Hughes asked about the new code coming into effect in July of next year, he wonders if there would be a summary document available at that time noting the changes. Qualle said he can do that but it might be comprehensive. He can perhaps cull it out. Beck said if the contract is going to be approved tonight she has a couple of items. Beck points out a couple of boilerplate changes. Widmer makes a motion to approve the contract with the corrections pointed out by Beck. Hughes seconds. Motion carries. Qualle said he has a video that points to change of occupancy problems and he would be happy to share it at a work session.
b. Spirit of the Lakes Sponsorship Request – Reinhardt said they are a 501(3c) and she wanted to bring this to the council’s attention to consider some financial support. She said it’s a tri-city festival with Mound, Minnetrista and Spring Park. She said Mound bares bears a lot of the in-kind expenses such as extra policing. Williamson asks Beck about a state statute from forbidding cities to donate. He said there are a lot of cities hosting festivals and there are costs associated with these events, whether it be policing or public works. Beck said cities can only spend money for a public purpose. She said there are limitations on the kind of entities donated to. She said there is a chart with four questions when deciding whether this is a public purpose. She can do more specific research on this. Reinhardt said she feels the city is included in these festivals and she feels support would be welcome. Hughes said the sponsorship due date is today. Reinhardt said that’s for a high level sponsorship and the others are due in June.
c. Municipal Certifications – Watercraft for Hire Ports of Call – Reinhardt said this is more of an FYI. She said this is a standard approval as it comes up every year. Hughes moves to approve and Williamson seconds for Bayview Charter Cruises. All votes ayes, motion carries.
10. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTION
a. Ordinance 12-01: Special Events Amendment – There are some provisions that have been suggested for changes to the existing permit. Williamson moves adoption of the ordinance and Widmer seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
a. Mayor and Council – Reinhardt said the last League publication has information for the annual conference in Duluth in June. She said she’s hoping to attend and others should review if they’re interested. Williamson said a fire hydrant on the corner of Shoreline and Bayview Place has been covered with a black bag. He said it’s been about a month now. There is another fire hydrant that could serve in an emergency. He said he spoke to Goman Tolsma about this and there was a broken part and it’s scheduled to be installed and operational within the next week or so.
b. City Administrator – nothing.
c. City Engineer
i. Well Repair – Ellingson said at the work session a history of wells and repair options has been discussed. He said option one is to complete the repair with the packing glands. Option two is to full service the wells by pulling the pumps, motors, and do the sand removal – everything previously discussed. He said requests for quotes would be solicited. Ellingson said option two is the shortest time frame the wells would be taken out of service. Option three the contractor would take the wells out of service, an inspection would be performed and bids sought. He said it’s the more time consuming option. Reinhardt said option two was a shorter time frame and that’s the way they are leaning at the work session. Hughes wondered about option two and option three for getting back in service and he wonders about the difference in cost. Ellingson said it’s difficult to determine the difference in the down time. He said it could be two to three weeks but it’s difficult to determine. He said depending upon the timing of the event, it might be difficult to stage the initial examination of the equipment and then getting the repair accomplished. Ellingson said he’s been told they would get better pricing with option three but he suggests different pricing for sand removal. He thinks for zero to x amount of feet should be one price and so on. Williamson asked for Ellingson’s opinion on which way to go. Ellingson said he’s thought about this and he’s leaning towards option three. Hughes asked what the time frame would be once the repairs are identified. Ellingson said contractors are usually given three weeks. It could maybe be shortened to two weeks. Reinhardt feels a little uncomfortable with not having time to examine the choices and a special meeting might be necessary if there is going to be a cost savings. Hughes makes a motion for option three and then hold a special meeting to approve. Widmer seconds. Williamson said when the pumps are pulled, they are examined, everything is apart and the bids begin, he wonders if there would be a scenario wherein the city says no. He said once an option is picked, the city is going to approve it. Reinhardt wonders if there is a possibility where a contractor would walk away. Ellingson said no, they are parts. He said they’ll get replaced and it will be put back together. Williamson said this is a project that’s going to happen. He said if the council messes with it too much, it might not be the best way. He said the policy is the wells should be serviced every ten years and it’s now been twelve years. He thinks the best advice by the knowledgeable people should be followed. Understanding this is a one out of a ten year repair that won’t have that much of a budget impact. All votes ayes, motion carries.
ii. Utility Superintendent - nothing
iii. Attorney – nothing
12. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
a. April 11, 2012 – Administration Committee – 11:00 AM
b. April 11, 2012 – Planning Commission – 7:00 PM
c. April 12, 2012 – Police Commission – 10:00 AM
d. April 16, 2012 – Council Meeting – 7:30 PM
e. April 18, 2012 – Open Book Meeting (Attendance Not Required) – 6:00 PM – Reinhardt said this is an opportunity for property owners to talk with the county assessor. She recommends property owners call in advance and if there is a dispute, property owners must come to the meeting.
13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
14. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
a. Bills & Payroll – One additional claim has been added for the BP gas card. Williamson asks about Quality Flow bill for almost $9,000. Tolsma said that’s the valve that malfunctioned and overflowed into the street that caused us to go with the interconnect. He said it was an urgent matter and there weren’t a lot of choices. The part had to be expedited from Kentucky. Williamson makes a motion and Widmer seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
15. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only)
a. LCMD / DNR Draft Joint Powers Agreement – Hughes said this has been approved.
b. February Financial Report – Tolsma said the total will be broken out into the individual funds so there will be a better way of looking at this.
c. Minnesota Municipal Clerk Certificate for Sharon Farniok – completed three years for her certification.
d. WeCAN 2011 Statistics Report –
An additional document was added for the Pres Homes escrow account.
16. ADJOURNMENT – Widmer makes a motion and Hughes seconds to adjourn the meeting at 8:50 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.