October 22, 2012 Work Session
Attendance: Reinhardt, Stone, Williamson, Widmer, Hughes. Staff, Tolsma, Lewin, Goman. Engineers Pearson and Karwacki, Attorney Beck, Council elect Shirley Bren. Various students from a Westonka government class.
1. BLACK LAKE 7:00 – 7:20
a. Included for review is a memo detailing the background and potential options dealing with the sediment removal request on Black Lake. Also included for reference are correspondence documents related to the project from the past year. I have been told by the watershed district that their final report will be sent to me on Monday after they do a final inspection Monday morning. I will have copies of that report for the council at the work session Monday night.
Tolsma said Bud Groth stopped by city hall today and stated that the “problem is solved” regarding his issues over his lakeshore. Tolsma explained that when questioned further Groth said because of the past weekend’s southeasterly winds, the silt and sediment moved away and he now feels the problem is solved. Tolsma said that Groth told staff the city would be very happy with this news. Beck said it might be worthwhile for Tolsma and Lewin to document what they heard Groth say but, regardless, the city wasn’t going to be doing anything further on this based upon the Watershed’s analysis.
2. COUNCIL COMPENSATION / MAYORAL TERM LENGTH AMENDMENT 7:20 – 7:40
a. Included is a breakdown of the cost estimates for the options discussed at the September work session. The council will need to take action, if desired, at the November 5th council meeting.
Tolsma said a few more cities were queried regarding their reimbursements to council. He said he set out some options prorated annually in order to see the differences. Widmer asked about option one with perhaps adding the internet at a later time. Hughes thinks option two could add up to a lot plus additional work for staff to verify attendance at meetings. Reinhardt said she is not a fan of option two but she could potentially go for option one. She said she is also okay with option three but doesn’t think it needs to be rushed. Williamson said it’s been since 1998 that council pay has been updated. He said staff and contractors have received rate increases. He said option one makes sense because of the issues the city deals with. Stone said she doesn’t have strong feelings either way. Reinhardt said the other issue is the length of the mayor’s term. She said she leans toward the two year term. She thinks the residents would have piece peace of mind knowing they are not stuck with a bad group for four years. Stone said she agrees that four years might be too long. Reinhardt said she would be open to changing to a four year position but it wouldn’t happen until the next election in 2014. Williamson wonders if this needs to be decided fairly soon. Beck said she’ll look it up but doesn’t think it’s tied to this election cycle.
3. STREET LIGHTS 7:40 – 8:00
a. A short powerpoint presentation will be shown detailing the final design options determined by staff after taking into consideration the desires of the council along with the situational realities noted by consulted lighting experts. As always, there is always the ability to modify the options presented within the limits of practical applicability.
Tolsma said this is the same presentation they’ve already seen with some expanded screens. He said 25 feet is okay with LED’s. He said price comparisons between LED and high pressure sodium shows cost savings over time with LED. Tolsma said a flat bottom fixture is illustrated and the photometric study is done using this fixture. He said it’s a pendant style so it would need to be attached at the top. He said the arm has limited designs. Tolsma said the illustrations are taken from Millerbernd and there are decorative options for the arm designs. He said pole materials were discussed and what it comes down to is everything else versus stainless steel. Tolsma was told that stainless steel is the best pole for the money, its maintenance is limited, it’s highly resistance to salt and damage. Reinhardt asked what the poles are by The Mist. Goman said they are aluminum. Reinhardt asked about concrete and Tolsma explained concrete is extremely prohibitive cost wise. Hughes asked about breakability in terms of accidents. Tolsma said they are all standardized to be break-away compliant. Tolsma said if stainless steel is used, Millerbernd is the manufacturer. They offer the best price and they are located in the area. Williamson asked about the access panel and questions the reasons for. Goman explained it is to gain access to change fuses or trace outages. Hughes thinks it might be wise to pick the base first. Goman said all the emphasis doesn’t need to be on the base. He would like the largest access possible but design and lighting should be the focus. Hughes asked about Orono’s potential involvement. Tolsma said he was contacted by Jessie from Orono public works and he stated their eligibility for grant funding is not a reality. Tolsma said he thinks Orono will be following suit with Spring Park if they choose similar or the same. Williamson wonders if Orono is at the point where they can meet Spring Park’s timeline and wonders if they could be brought in tandem if this goes out with specs for bids. Williamson is interested in where these poles are manufactured as he wants to support made in America. Hughes would like a representation of a pole with a bracket and someone walking next to it so there is a perspective. Tolsma recapped if stainless steel is the option considered, options for the fixture and the design arm needs to be considered as well as the lights associated with the semaphores.
4. WATER TOWER CLEANING & MAINTENANCE 8:00 – 8:20
a. Staff and the city engineer will be facilitating a short discussion on the cleaning and recommended maintenance of the water tower.
Tolsma said there are a few items for discussion. He said there was a meeting tonight before the meeting and an inspection of the water tower was discussed to make sure it’s in good shape. He said it’s been four years since the last inspection. Williamson wonders about what the inspection entails. Goman said the interior is a wet inspection with a remote camera inspecting the inner shell, similar to what was done in 2008. They check for structural defects, the side railing, the overall paint condition. He said the 2008 inspection notes some paint failure. Hughes asked about 2008 paint failure and where it was at. Goman said on the low end, somewhat typical for the age but it varies according to the location. Goman said the southwest and west side are slightly worse. The price estimate for the inspection is $2800. Reinhardt thinks that sounds reasonable. Williamson said if something is identified that needs corrections, not esthetically, he wonders if there’s an advantage to have further authorization. Williamson would just as soon impact 2012 budget line items for this versus 2013.
5. SPECIAL MEETING TO CANVASS RESULTS 8:20 – 8:30 - The council will need to meet sometime between November 9th and 16th to canvass the general election results. Staff would like to get an idea of the council availability during that period so a date and time can be officially selected at the November 5th council meeting. Williamson wonders if they canvassed on the Monday following the election and made it a mini work session. Suggestion is Friday the 9th at 1 p.m.
6. INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTS
a. September Police Report –
Hughes asked about a couple of properties that were asterisked as they were outside of the Spring Park area. Williamson said previously there was a request from residents at Shoreline Place to do some turf restoration and landscaping and the council decided not to pursue this. The observation was there was storage of dock materials and it is on the City’s right-of-way. He said the materials are placed right where the turf degradation is taking place. Reinhardt suggested a photo be taken for documentation. Williamson said he is concerned because they pursued the city covering the cost of restoring the area. Hughes asked about real estate signs. Goman explained there was a call received about a campaign sign placed in a park. There is an ordinance that states no signage is allowed in a road right-of-way. Goman said a sweep was done and all signs were removed. He said the county also has a 30 foot site triangle where signage isn’t allowed. Reinhardt was concerned about signage at the park growing with a multitude of signs being placed at the park.
7. MISCELLANEOUS –
Study session was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
1. BLACK LAKE 7:00 – 7:20
a. Included for review is a memo detailing the background and potential options dealing with the sediment removal request on Black Lake. Also included for reference are correspondence documents related to the project from the past year. I have been told by the watershed district that their final report will be sent to me on Monday after they do a final inspection Monday morning. I will have copies of that report for the council at the work session Monday night.
Tolsma said Bud Groth stopped by city hall today and stated that the “problem is solved” regarding his issues over his lakeshore. Tolsma explained that when questioned further Groth said because of the past weekend’s southeasterly winds, the silt and sediment moved away and he now feels the problem is solved. Tolsma said that Groth told staff the city would be very happy with this news. Beck said it might be worthwhile for Tolsma and Lewin to document what they heard Groth say but, regardless, the city wasn’t going to be doing anything further on this based upon the Watershed’s analysis.
2. COUNCIL COMPENSATION / MAYORAL TERM LENGTH AMENDMENT 7:20 – 7:40
a. Included is a breakdown of the cost estimates for the options discussed at the September work session. The council will need to take action, if desired, at the November 5th council meeting.
Tolsma said a few more cities were queried regarding their reimbursements to council. He said he set out some options prorated annually in order to see the differences. Widmer asked about option one with perhaps adding the internet at a later time. Hughes thinks option two could add up to a lot plus additional work for staff to verify attendance at meetings. Reinhardt said she is not a fan of option two but she could potentially go for option one. She said she is also okay with option three but doesn’t think it needs to be rushed. Williamson said it’s been since 1998 that council pay has been updated. He said staff and contractors have received rate increases. He said option one makes sense because of the issues the city deals with. Stone said she doesn’t have strong feelings either way. Reinhardt said the other issue is the length of the mayor’s term. She said she leans toward the two year term. She thinks the residents would have piece peace of mind knowing they are not stuck with a bad group for four years. Stone said she agrees that four years might be too long. Reinhardt said she would be open to changing to a four year position but it wouldn’t happen until the next election in 2014. Williamson wonders if this needs to be decided fairly soon. Beck said she’ll look it up but doesn’t think it’s tied to this election cycle.
3. STREET LIGHTS 7:40 – 8:00
a. A short powerpoint presentation will be shown detailing the final design options determined by staff after taking into consideration the desires of the council along with the situational realities noted by consulted lighting experts. As always, there is always the ability to modify the options presented within the limits of practical applicability.
Tolsma said this is the same presentation they’ve already seen with some expanded screens. He said 25 feet is okay with LED’s. He said price comparisons between LED and high pressure sodium shows cost savings over time with LED. Tolsma said a flat bottom fixture is illustrated and the photometric study is done using this fixture. He said it’s a pendant style so it would need to be attached at the top. He said the arm has limited designs. Tolsma said the illustrations are taken from Millerbernd and there are decorative options for the arm designs. He said pole materials were discussed and what it comes down to is everything else versus stainless steel. Tolsma was told that stainless steel is the best pole for the money, its maintenance is limited, it’s highly resistance to salt and damage. Reinhardt asked what the poles are by The Mist. Goman said they are aluminum. Reinhardt asked about concrete and Tolsma explained concrete is extremely prohibitive cost wise. Hughes asked about breakability in terms of accidents. Tolsma said they are all standardized to be break-away compliant. Tolsma said if stainless steel is used, Millerbernd is the manufacturer. They offer the best price and they are located in the area. Williamson asked about the access panel and questions the reasons for. Goman explained it is to gain access to change fuses or trace outages. Hughes thinks it might be wise to pick the base first. Goman said all the emphasis doesn’t need to be on the base. He would like the largest access possible but design and lighting should be the focus. Hughes asked about Orono’s potential involvement. Tolsma said he was contacted by Jessie from Orono public works and he stated their eligibility for grant funding is not a reality. Tolsma said he thinks Orono will be following suit with Spring Park if they choose similar or the same. Williamson wonders if Orono is at the point where they can meet Spring Park’s timeline and wonders if they could be brought in tandem if this goes out with specs for bids. Williamson is interested in where these poles are manufactured as he wants to support made in America. Hughes would like a representation of a pole with a bracket and someone walking next to it so there is a perspective. Tolsma recapped if stainless steel is the option considered, options for the fixture and the design arm needs to be considered as well as the lights associated with the semaphores.
4. WATER TOWER CLEANING & MAINTENANCE 8:00 – 8:20
a. Staff and the city engineer will be facilitating a short discussion on the cleaning and recommended maintenance of the water tower.
Tolsma said there are a few items for discussion. He said there was a meeting tonight before the meeting and an inspection of the water tower was discussed to make sure it’s in good shape. He said it’s been four years since the last inspection. Williamson wonders about what the inspection entails. Goman said the interior is a wet inspection with a remote camera inspecting the inner shell, similar to what was done in 2008. They check for structural defects, the side railing, the overall paint condition. He said the 2008 inspection notes some paint failure. Hughes asked about 2008 paint failure and where it was at. Goman said on the low end, somewhat typical for the age but it varies according to the location. Goman said the southwest and west side are slightly worse. The price estimate for the inspection is $2800. Reinhardt thinks that sounds reasonable. Williamson said if something is identified that needs corrections, not esthetically, he wonders if there’s an advantage to have further authorization. Williamson would just as soon impact 2012 budget line items for this versus 2013.
5. SPECIAL MEETING TO CANVASS RESULTS 8:20 – 8:30 - The council will need to meet sometime between November 9th and 16th to canvass the general election results. Staff would like to get an idea of the council availability during that period so a date and time can be officially selected at the November 5th council meeting. Williamson wonders if they canvassed on the Monday following the election and made it a mini work session. Suggestion is Friday the 9th at 1 p.m.
6. INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTS
a. September Police Report –
Hughes asked about a couple of properties that were asterisked as they were outside of the Spring Park area. Williamson said previously there was a request from residents at Shoreline Place to do some turf restoration and landscaping and the council decided not to pursue this. The observation was there was storage of dock materials and it is on the City’s right-of-way. He said the materials are placed right where the turf degradation is taking place. Reinhardt suggested a photo be taken for documentation. Williamson said he is concerned because they pursued the city covering the cost of restoring the area. Hughes asked about real estate signs. Goman explained there was a call received about a campaign sign placed in a park. There is an ordinance that states no signage is allowed in a road right-of-way. Goman said a sweep was done and all signs were removed. He said the county also has a 30 foot site triangle where signage isn’t allowed. Reinhardt was concerned about signage at the park growing with a multitude of signs being placed at the park.
7. MISCELLANEOUS –
Study session was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.