August 6, 2012 Council Meeting
1. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Reinhardt called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL – Williamson, Hughes, Widmer, Reinhardt, Stone excused.
3. INTRODUCTIONS – Mayor Reinhardt introduced the council to the viewing public. Administrator Tolsma, Clerk Lewin, Planner Brixius, Beck Attorney, Pres Homes Project Manager, Jim Brimeyer.
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 – Hughes makes a motion and Widmer seconds to adopt the consent agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
a. City Council Meeting Minutes from July 16, 2012
b. Work Session Minutes from July 23, 2012
7. PUBLIC FORUM – No One.
8. PRESENTATIONS AND & GUEST SPEAKERS
9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS
10. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS
a. Resolution 12-16: Easement Vacation – Brimeyer said he thought the project would be finished by now. He said the easements to be vacated were ready to go and the dedicated easements were on the plat but the legal descriptions weren’t done. He said the submitted as-builts were really just redline plans. Brimeyer said the escrow was fully funded and the easements were really for Pres Homes' benefit so they needed to finish this. Brimeyer said by June it was dragging on too long. He said the easement descriptions were finished and the as-builts were supposedly okay red-lined. Brimeyer said that was unacceptable for the City so they will be updated in the next couple of weeks. He said two things remain, the letters of credit were reduced in December, the landscape has two years left on the warranty and the other has one year and then the dredging issue. Brimeyer said he doesn’t believe this was part of the project but, because of the heavy rain fall a year ago in July, there was some runoff. Weiss builders claims they’ve done all they’re going to do. Reinhardt said it’s a shoreline clean-up issue and not a dredging issue. Williamson wants to be clear if Brimeyer is asking for action to relieve them of outstanding obligations. Brimeyer said no, just the resolution. Williamson said the status of the escrow remains unaffected at this time and Brimeyer said that is the case. Williamson moves adoption of the resolution and Hughes seconds. Williamson asked if Beck has had a chance to review and is satisfied with the accuracy and Beck said both she and the city engineer, Pearson, are satisfied. All votes ayes, motion carries.
b. Resolution 12-17: BCA Agreement (Chief Farniok or Sergeant Fischer Will Be Present To Discuss) – Sgt Fischer from Orono Police is present to discuss. He said by 2014 there will be a process called e-charging. He said it’s supposed to save the investigator a lot of time. He said right now, the prosecutor reviews the case and if it’s decided to charge it out, a complaint is generated and the judge signs the complaint. In the future the complaint is processed and it comes back to Orono PD for their signature. Hughes asked if this system is in place elsewhere. Fischer said they use this system now with DWI’s. Hughes wondered how much time is saved using the new system versus the old. Fischer said it saves drive time and court time waiting for a signing judge. Reinhardt asked about other cities in Hennepin County and Fischer said some other counties in Minnesota have been using this. Williamson said if this is approved tonight, he wonders when the implementation would be. Fischer said that’s up to the county. Williamson said the resolution is very unspecific, especially when it comes to dollar figures. He wonders if those costs will be distributed through the police contract formula or will there be a supplemental billing. Fischer said this will be incorporated into the police budget. Williamson is worried about a cost to sustain the system and doesn’t want to be blindsided by this. Fischer said this is state mandated. Reinhardt mentioned the option of termination of 30 days. They wonder how a mandate can be terminated. Fischer said he questioned that as well. Williamson said he thinks this sounds like a good idea and he doesn’t doubt that this will happen but he feels there are loose ends in terms of budgeting and he would like our prosecutor to weigh in on this. Williamson makes a motion to lay this over to offer this opportunity to Prosecutor Keller. Reinhardt seconds for discussion. Hughes wonders what’s the hesitation. Williamson said he wants to hear specifically from the prosecutor. Beck said she also recommends this be laid over as she questions the agreement that Spring Park is signing and there are various obligations for Spring Park. Reinhardt agrees that this should be researched a little more. She wonders if this agreement needs to be signed by Spring Park, at all. Fischer said he doesn’t see any future costs other than some small ones that are going to be absorbed by the police department. All votes ayes, motion carries.
c. Ordinance 12-03: Boulevard Landscape Ordinance – Brixius said early this year Planning Commission discussed this and they asked what the referred to plan was. They ended up on June 4th formalizing the plan and the inventory and maps were approved. He said there is now a formal beautification plan in place. He said the new ordinance is appropriate and this investment requires public and private approval. Brixius said it was brought to PC on July 11th for public hearing. He said it changes 42-64 pertaining to maintenance of landscaping. He said the PC asked for changes to planting season to be date specific. He said flexibility for property owners has been addressed in the ordinance regarding tree canopies and obstruction of site lines. Hughes has some concerns. He said he spent some time with Norlings about tree trimming. Hughes said Laura of Norling’s said they follow standard landscape practices based on the type of tree and size of tree. Hughes believes tree trimming should be done by a city contractor and property owners should not be allowed to trim without discussing with the city. Brixius said the contractor is working under the city’s approval. Hughes is opposed to having a number. He said it's seasonally based and disease can be spread at certain times. Brixius said he can reword this slightly to state trimming of trees installed as part of the shoreland beautification shall be subject to the approval of a city contract professional. Williamson makes a motion approve Ordinance 12-03 and Widmer seconds. Hughes moves to amend the motion on item #7f trimming of trees to add trimming of trees shall require city approval by city approved contractor. Reinhardt seconds the amendment. All votes ayes, amendment passes. Reinhardt asks for a vote on the motion to approve Ordinance 12-03. All votes ayes, motion carries.
11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
a. Mayor and Council – Reinhardt mentions the upcoming Orono Police Academy and encourages those who are interested to sign up. Reinhardt said she received a letter from Dick Osgood regarding lake associations and the aquatic invasive species plan. She said it’s a twenty page document and they are asking for cities’ response. She said it is Thursday night so it’s short notice. She said there could be future stakeholder participation so, it's important. Reinhardt said the Tour de Tonka was this past weekend and she felt the organizers did a nice job following the conditions of the special event approval. She said the only thing that wasn’t great was the behavior of the cyclists. She said it was much improved though. Hughes said for the Habitat for Humanity Event, he wanted to send a complimentary letter to the trail organizers as to the success of the event.
b. City Administrator – Nothing.
c. City Engineer – Nothing.
d. City Attorney – Nothing.
e. Utility Superintendent – Nothiing.
12. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
a. August 8, 2012 – Special Council Meeting – 1:00 PM – this is for budget purposes and a performance review for the administrator.
b. August 9, 2012 – Police Commission – 10:00 AM
c. August 20, 2012 – City Council – 7:30 PM
d. August 21, 2012 – LMCC – 5:30 PM
e. August 22, 2012 – LMCD – 7:00 PM
Reinhardt reminded the viewers of the Primary election to be held August 14th from 7 a.m. through 8 p.m.
13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
14. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
a. Bills & Payroll – Reinhardt said there are two extra claims, one for Bergeson Caswell for work done and the BP claim. Williamson said it says Well #1 and it’s really Well #1 and #2. Hughes wondered how those numbers came in compared to the estimate. Tolsma said they came in very close. He said there was a little more sand removed so there were a few extra costs there. Hughes makes a motion and Williamson seconds to approve the claims including the added items. All votes ayes, motion carries. Williamson asked about the Coffee Cove cleanup as it came in as $1750 and he wonders if that was the total cost. Tolsma said that was half; Lord Fletcher’s paid the other half. Tolsma said the goal is to do maintenance periodically so this stays controlled.
15. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only)
a. Three Rivers Park District Letter
b. Star Tribune Article – article about water use.
16. ADJOURNMENT – Widmer makes a motion and Hughes seconds to adjourn at 8:28 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.
2. ROLL CALL – Williamson, Hughes, Widmer, Reinhardt, Stone excused.
3. INTRODUCTIONS – Mayor Reinhardt introduced the council to the viewing public. Administrator Tolsma, Clerk Lewin, Planner Brixius, Beck Attorney, Pres Homes Project Manager, Jim Brimeyer.
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 – Hughes makes a motion and Widmer seconds to adopt the consent agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
a. City Council Meeting Minutes from July 16, 2012
b. Work Session Minutes from July 23, 2012
7. PUBLIC FORUM – No One.
8. PRESENTATIONS AND & GUEST SPEAKERS
9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS
10. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS
a. Resolution 12-16: Easement Vacation – Brimeyer said he thought the project would be finished by now. He said the easements to be vacated were ready to go and the dedicated easements were on the plat but the legal descriptions weren’t done. He said the submitted as-builts were really just redline plans. Brimeyer said the escrow was fully funded and the easements were really for Pres Homes' benefit so they needed to finish this. Brimeyer said by June it was dragging on too long. He said the easement descriptions were finished and the as-builts were supposedly okay red-lined. Brimeyer said that was unacceptable for the City so they will be updated in the next couple of weeks. He said two things remain, the letters of credit were reduced in December, the landscape has two years left on the warranty and the other has one year and then the dredging issue. Brimeyer said he doesn’t believe this was part of the project but, because of the heavy rain fall a year ago in July, there was some runoff. Weiss builders claims they’ve done all they’re going to do. Reinhardt said it’s a shoreline clean-up issue and not a dredging issue. Williamson wants to be clear if Brimeyer is asking for action to relieve them of outstanding obligations. Brimeyer said no, just the resolution. Williamson said the status of the escrow remains unaffected at this time and Brimeyer said that is the case. Williamson moves adoption of the resolution and Hughes seconds. Williamson asked if Beck has had a chance to review and is satisfied with the accuracy and Beck said both she and the city engineer, Pearson, are satisfied. All votes ayes, motion carries.
b. Resolution 12-17: BCA Agreement (Chief Farniok or Sergeant Fischer Will Be Present To Discuss) – Sgt Fischer from Orono Police is present to discuss. He said by 2014 there will be a process called e-charging. He said it’s supposed to save the investigator a lot of time. He said right now, the prosecutor reviews the case and if it’s decided to charge it out, a complaint is generated and the judge signs the complaint. In the future the complaint is processed and it comes back to Orono PD for their signature. Hughes asked if this system is in place elsewhere. Fischer said they use this system now with DWI’s. Hughes wondered how much time is saved using the new system versus the old. Fischer said it saves drive time and court time waiting for a signing judge. Reinhardt asked about other cities in Hennepin County and Fischer said some other counties in Minnesota have been using this. Williamson said if this is approved tonight, he wonders when the implementation would be. Fischer said that’s up to the county. Williamson said the resolution is very unspecific, especially when it comes to dollar figures. He wonders if those costs will be distributed through the police contract formula or will there be a supplemental billing. Fischer said this will be incorporated into the police budget. Williamson is worried about a cost to sustain the system and doesn’t want to be blindsided by this. Fischer said this is state mandated. Reinhardt mentioned the option of termination of 30 days. They wonder how a mandate can be terminated. Fischer said he questioned that as well. Williamson said he thinks this sounds like a good idea and he doesn’t doubt that this will happen but he feels there are loose ends in terms of budgeting and he would like our prosecutor to weigh in on this. Williamson makes a motion to lay this over to offer this opportunity to Prosecutor Keller. Reinhardt seconds for discussion. Hughes wonders what’s the hesitation. Williamson said he wants to hear specifically from the prosecutor. Beck said she also recommends this be laid over as she questions the agreement that Spring Park is signing and there are various obligations for Spring Park. Reinhardt agrees that this should be researched a little more. She wonders if this agreement needs to be signed by Spring Park, at all. Fischer said he doesn’t see any future costs other than some small ones that are going to be absorbed by the police department. All votes ayes, motion carries.
c. Ordinance 12-03: Boulevard Landscape Ordinance – Brixius said early this year Planning Commission discussed this and they asked what the referred to plan was. They ended up on June 4th formalizing the plan and the inventory and maps were approved. He said there is now a formal beautification plan in place. He said the new ordinance is appropriate and this investment requires public and private approval. Brixius said it was brought to PC on July 11th for public hearing. He said it changes 42-64 pertaining to maintenance of landscaping. He said the PC asked for changes to planting season to be date specific. He said flexibility for property owners has been addressed in the ordinance regarding tree canopies and obstruction of site lines. Hughes has some concerns. He said he spent some time with Norlings about tree trimming. Hughes said Laura of Norling’s said they follow standard landscape practices based on the type of tree and size of tree. Hughes believes tree trimming should be done by a city contractor and property owners should not be allowed to trim without discussing with the city. Brixius said the contractor is working under the city’s approval. Hughes is opposed to having a number. He said it's seasonally based and disease can be spread at certain times. Brixius said he can reword this slightly to state trimming of trees installed as part of the shoreland beautification shall be subject to the approval of a city contract professional. Williamson makes a motion approve Ordinance 12-03 and Widmer seconds. Hughes moves to amend the motion on item #7f trimming of trees to add trimming of trees shall require city approval by city approved contractor. Reinhardt seconds the amendment. All votes ayes, amendment passes. Reinhardt asks for a vote on the motion to approve Ordinance 12-03. All votes ayes, motion carries.
11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
a. Mayor and Council – Reinhardt mentions the upcoming Orono Police Academy and encourages those who are interested to sign up. Reinhardt said she received a letter from Dick Osgood regarding lake associations and the aquatic invasive species plan. She said it’s a twenty page document and they are asking for cities’ response. She said it is Thursday night so it’s short notice. She said there could be future stakeholder participation so, it's important. Reinhardt said the Tour de Tonka was this past weekend and she felt the organizers did a nice job following the conditions of the special event approval. She said the only thing that wasn’t great was the behavior of the cyclists. She said it was much improved though. Hughes said for the Habitat for Humanity Event, he wanted to send a complimentary letter to the trail organizers as to the success of the event.
b. City Administrator – Nothing.
c. City Engineer – Nothing.
d. City Attorney – Nothing.
e. Utility Superintendent – Nothiing.
12. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
a. August 8, 2012 – Special Council Meeting – 1:00 PM – this is for budget purposes and a performance review for the administrator.
b. August 9, 2012 – Police Commission – 10:00 AM
c. August 20, 2012 – City Council – 7:30 PM
d. August 21, 2012 – LMCC – 5:30 PM
e. August 22, 2012 – LMCD – 7:00 PM
Reinhardt reminded the viewers of the Primary election to be held August 14th from 7 a.m. through 8 p.m.
13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
14. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
a. Bills & Payroll – Reinhardt said there are two extra claims, one for Bergeson Caswell for work done and the BP claim. Williamson said it says Well #1 and it’s really Well #1 and #2. Hughes wondered how those numbers came in compared to the estimate. Tolsma said they came in very close. He said there was a little more sand removed so there were a few extra costs there. Hughes makes a motion and Williamson seconds to approve the claims including the added items. All votes ayes, motion carries. Williamson asked about the Coffee Cove cleanup as it came in as $1750 and he wonders if that was the total cost. Tolsma said that was half; Lord Fletcher’s paid the other half. Tolsma said the goal is to do maintenance periodically so this stays controlled.
15. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only)
a. Three Rivers Park District Letter
b. Star Tribune Article – article about water use.
16. ADJOURNMENT – Widmer makes a motion and Hughes seconds to adjourn at 8:28 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.