June 4, 2012 Council Meeting
1. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Reinhardt calls the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
3. INTRODUCTIONS
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
5. ADOPT AGENDA Hughes makes a motion and Widmer seconds to adopt the agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
6. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA With the changes, Hughes makes a motion and Widmer seconds to adopt the consent agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
Hughes has a correction to 6a. , item 11 a. where it says “ …fire pension change has been approved…” and add by the Mound City Council. Beck said there is a minor word change on page two under 2. a. and it should read “…brought up by…” not to.
a. City Council Meeting Minutes from May 21, 2012
7. City Council Work Session Minutes from May 28, 2012
8. PUBLIC FORUM – No one
9. PRESENTATIONS AND & GUEST SPEAKERS
10. Boe Carlson – Three Rivers Park District – Reinhardt said she assumes he will be talking about the parking plan in front of City Hall. Carlson said they appreciate the patience and said it’s been time consuming but they are hoping for the best type of project. He said there’s been some modifications. Six parking stalls for each community along the trail have been offered. Pervious pavement was suggested for water quality and a demonstration type project was discussed. Carlson said this went beyond budget allowances so modifications to the plan have come about. They are now suggesting rebuilding the parking lot using pervious pavement to deal with water quality and identify five or six stalls on the east side designated for trail users. They would have an ADA accessible spur for access to the trail. Carlson said the designated spots could be loaned back to the city for special events. He said this new plan has up to $22,000 that would be contributed and they are at about $40,000. He said half would come from the Watershed and half from Three Rivers as the contributors. Carlson said they would look for a three-way partnership, including the city, but it would be a park district project, they would bid it and supervise it. Carlson said there would be maintenance agreements. Williamson said he is concerned about the changes. He said the price and concept has changed. He said it originally was to be on the west end incorporating the established path and installed amenities. He’s wondering why the change happened and it being a three-way partnership yet the maintenance would be the City’s. He’s wondering what would be required. Carlson said this is really pavement, not pavers so it would be no different than any bituminous surface. He said there can be some sediment buildup so there might be some drainage directions required. Carlson said the west end allowed more space for additional six stalls but said there have been concerns about loss of trees and mailboxes. Carlson said the east end is more easily adaptable for ADA. Hughes said he is not in favor of giving up six stalls of city parking and he believes permeable pavement needs to be vacuumed, not swept. Hughes asked what happened to the six additional sites the Park District was going to provide to the city. Carlson said the six stalls could still be revisited. He said the limitation is to not be able to reconstruct the city hall’s parking lot. He said if the city feels this is too much of a compromise, losing six stalls, they can revisit providing six stalls to the west of the lot. Reinhardt said when the budget dropped and the additional stalls were taken out, she said it feels like the city is giving something up and not gaining anything in return. She feels the city values the additional six stalls more than giving up six designated stalls. Carlson said the good news is that plan has already been designed so it’s a matter of updating the costs.
11. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS – None.
12. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS – Administrator Tolsma wants to remove item 10a. He recommends not taking any action on this. Beck said this was revised last year and she would like to look at the changes.
a. Resolution 12-13: Establishing Limited Liability for Sewer/Water Damage
13. Resolution 12-14: Shoreline Drive Beautification Plan – Reinhardt said Planner Brixius brought this to the Council at the work session to prevent city trees from being removed without the city’s consent. She said the tree inventory was done about a year ago in response to the Emerald Ash Borer. Widmer said she was looking at the tree inventory and she questions the trees along the Bayview parking lot on Shoreline Drive. She wonders if they die will they be replaced again or do they acknowledge they don’t thrive there. Tolsma said an assessment would be done and they would look at other alternatives. He said there isn’t a requirement to replace trees that have died. Hughes said he likes the tree inventory but he thinks there are other trees that are not doing very well. Reinhardt said this was more of an inventory to set a benchmark for the boulevard landscape. Stone makes a motion to approve Resolution 12-14 and Williamson seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries. Reinhardt said there is also a draft ordinance amending the code that references the plan just adopted. Tolsma said this has not gone to Planning Commission yet but will at the June meeting.
14. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
15. Mayor and Council – Reinhardt said a letter has been drafted to the Cure de Cure that took place this last weekend. She felt that the list of conditions submitted to the organizer were not followed. She said there were no signs posted, no tour volunteers posted at the intersection. She said it is her recommendation that the city not approve this event in the future. Hughes asked how many non Tour de Cure users were out there. Reinhardt said not as many as usual as it was early. She is looking for confirmation from the council to send this letter. Council agrees to forward the draft letter to the organizer. Hughes said there is a safety meeting with the Water Patrol and the LMCD this coming Wednesday.
a. City Administrator
b. Lord Fletcher’s Music Permit Conditions – Reinhardt said in February the permit was approved but some decibel levels were left blank until a determination could be made. Tolsma said testing was conducted on Memorial Day weekend and at the stage the decibel meter was between 80-90 depending upon if it’s instrumental and vocal. Testing was conducted at a residence in Orono and the meter reading was between 55-65. It was likened to when sitting outside and the neighbor’s radio was on. Tolsma said 3801 Sunset Drive was tested and there was no detectible music. He said he has made a recommendation of an 85 limit at the stage, 75 at the island and 65 at the residential property. Reinhardt said she was present at the testing and said the volume at the stage did not seem to be to the level of a nuisance. She thinks staff’s recommendation of 85 at the stage is a good starting point. Hughes asked if there were any high wind factors and Reinhardt confirmed it was very windy that day and it was blowing to the northeast. Reinhardt said the road noise sometimes was louder. Tom Emer from Lord Fletcher’s said he was present at the testing and he wonders why the recommendation is 80-85. Emer wonders why 90 would not be acceptable. Tolsma said they felt it was a little bit of a compromise to the complainant. They felt 80 was too low and 85 was a good middle range. Reinhardt asked what the range was this past weekend and Emer said it was between 80 and 90. Williamson suggests a fair measurement is a persistent or consistent level. He doesn’t want to regulate the spikes. He said 85 is a strong standard of measure. Reinhardt said based upon the two complaints received this weekend and the reporting officer validated the loud music, to start, 85 seemed to be fair. Widmer asked how long the sound is measured. Tolsma said the decibel meter purchased by Fletcher’s can be set to measure over a long period of time or a short period of time and the maximum level reached can also be detected. Reinhardt said the sound technician has the control and the band members do not have the control. Stone asked if the police officers carry decibel meters. Tolsma said they have one but it is not sophisticated like the one Fletcher’s has. Reinhardt thinks spot checks by the outside consultant will also back up the sound levels. Williamson said the city is concerned and they take citizen reaction very seriously and a lot of staff time and consultant expense is borne but he doesn’t remember any other business having to jump through as many hoops as LF has with this. He said this will be watched and monitored but he believes Fletcher’s has gone above and beyond any other enterprise in this city. He feels this needs to move forward and expresses appreciation to Lord Fletcher’s to their response and willingness to work with the city and the resident complaint. Williamson makes a motion and Hughes seconds to approve the conditions with staff recommendations. All votes ayes, motion carries.
c. Port of Call Request – Tolsma said there is a request for Looneytunes boat. Williamson makes a motion to approve and Widmer seconds. Hughes has some major reservations. He said he is concerned about what the applicant has to meet in the ordinance requirements. Williamson said this is all provided for by higher levels. He said this is a courtesy to let a city know a watercraft will be stopping in the community from time to time at an appropriately designated port of call. Widmer thought it also had something to do with adequate parking for persons boarding the boat. Hughes wondered about requiring a liquor license. Williamson said the LMCD, who governs this process, is an agency established for statutory authority. Four to one vote, Hughes votes nay.
d. City Engineer – Tolsma said he will have an in depth update at the end of this week for the water plant. It is coming to a conclusion and test pumping is being conducted this week. He said they didn’t quite achieve what they hoped for in regards to sand removal.
e. City Attorney – Beck said there might be a brief discussion about the street lights agreed to at the work sessions. Reinhardt said there was action taken at the work session to take immediate action to remove seven faulty street lights and a plan is being developed to replace all the street lights. She said it is a high priority project for the city.
f. Utility Superintendent – nothing.
16. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
a. June 13, 2012 – Administration Committee – 11:00 AM
b. June 13, 2012 – Planning Commission – 7:00 PM
c. June 14, 2012 – Police Commission – 10:00 AM – Hughes would like the police department complimented on their seat belt enforcement. He wonders who gets the citation, the driver or the passenger. Daphne, the videographer said it’s the passenger as she experienced.
d. June 18, 2012 – Council Meeting – 7:30 PM
e. June 20-22, 2012 – LMC Annual Conference
17. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None
18. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
a. Bills & Payroll – Widmer asked about the flags and banners and she wonders when they’re coming down and Tolsma said they’re coming down after July 4th. Williamson makes a motion and Widmer seconds to approve the bills. All votes ayes, motion carries.
19. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only)
a. MNSPECT Minute
b. Metropolitan Council Population and Household Estimate – Williamson said housing total is over a thousand and households are 900. He said this matters because the voting strengths are by household when it comes to LMCC. He thinks this terminology should be explored to see how they arrive at their numbers.
c. Correspondence Regarding Lord Fletcher’s Live Music
20. ADJOURNMENT – Williamson makes a motion and Widmer seconds to adjourn at 8:38 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.
2. ROLL CALL
3. INTRODUCTIONS
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
5. ADOPT AGENDA Hughes makes a motion and Widmer seconds to adopt the agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
6. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA With the changes, Hughes makes a motion and Widmer seconds to adopt the consent agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
Hughes has a correction to 6a. , item 11 a. where it says “ …fire pension change has been approved…” and add by the Mound City Council. Beck said there is a minor word change on page two under 2. a. and it should read “…brought up by…” not to.
a. City Council Meeting Minutes from May 21, 2012
7. City Council Work Session Minutes from May 28, 2012
8. PUBLIC FORUM – No one
9. PRESENTATIONS AND & GUEST SPEAKERS
10. Boe Carlson – Three Rivers Park District – Reinhardt said she assumes he will be talking about the parking plan in front of City Hall. Carlson said they appreciate the patience and said it’s been time consuming but they are hoping for the best type of project. He said there’s been some modifications. Six parking stalls for each community along the trail have been offered. Pervious pavement was suggested for water quality and a demonstration type project was discussed. Carlson said this went beyond budget allowances so modifications to the plan have come about. They are now suggesting rebuilding the parking lot using pervious pavement to deal with water quality and identify five or six stalls on the east side designated for trail users. They would have an ADA accessible spur for access to the trail. Carlson said the designated spots could be loaned back to the city for special events. He said this new plan has up to $22,000 that would be contributed and they are at about $40,000. He said half would come from the Watershed and half from Three Rivers as the contributors. Carlson said they would look for a three-way partnership, including the city, but it would be a park district project, they would bid it and supervise it. Carlson said there would be maintenance agreements. Williamson said he is concerned about the changes. He said the price and concept has changed. He said it originally was to be on the west end incorporating the established path and installed amenities. He’s wondering why the change happened and it being a three-way partnership yet the maintenance would be the City’s. He’s wondering what would be required. Carlson said this is really pavement, not pavers so it would be no different than any bituminous surface. He said there can be some sediment buildup so there might be some drainage directions required. Carlson said the west end allowed more space for additional six stalls but said there have been concerns about loss of trees and mailboxes. Carlson said the east end is more easily adaptable for ADA. Hughes said he is not in favor of giving up six stalls of city parking and he believes permeable pavement needs to be vacuumed, not swept. Hughes asked what happened to the six additional sites the Park District was going to provide to the city. Carlson said the six stalls could still be revisited. He said the limitation is to not be able to reconstruct the city hall’s parking lot. He said if the city feels this is too much of a compromise, losing six stalls, they can revisit providing six stalls to the west of the lot. Reinhardt said when the budget dropped and the additional stalls were taken out, she said it feels like the city is giving something up and not gaining anything in return. She feels the city values the additional six stalls more than giving up six designated stalls. Carlson said the good news is that plan has already been designed so it’s a matter of updating the costs.
11. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS – None.
12. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS – Administrator Tolsma wants to remove item 10a. He recommends not taking any action on this. Beck said this was revised last year and she would like to look at the changes.
a. Resolution 12-13: Establishing Limited Liability for Sewer/Water Damage
13. Resolution 12-14: Shoreline Drive Beautification Plan – Reinhardt said Planner Brixius brought this to the Council at the work session to prevent city trees from being removed without the city’s consent. She said the tree inventory was done about a year ago in response to the Emerald Ash Borer. Widmer said she was looking at the tree inventory and she questions the trees along the Bayview parking lot on Shoreline Drive. She wonders if they die will they be replaced again or do they acknowledge they don’t thrive there. Tolsma said an assessment would be done and they would look at other alternatives. He said there isn’t a requirement to replace trees that have died. Hughes said he likes the tree inventory but he thinks there are other trees that are not doing very well. Reinhardt said this was more of an inventory to set a benchmark for the boulevard landscape. Stone makes a motion to approve Resolution 12-14 and Williamson seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries. Reinhardt said there is also a draft ordinance amending the code that references the plan just adopted. Tolsma said this has not gone to Planning Commission yet but will at the June meeting.
14. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
15. Mayor and Council – Reinhardt said a letter has been drafted to the Cure de Cure that took place this last weekend. She felt that the list of conditions submitted to the organizer were not followed. She said there were no signs posted, no tour volunteers posted at the intersection. She said it is her recommendation that the city not approve this event in the future. Hughes asked how many non Tour de Cure users were out there. Reinhardt said not as many as usual as it was early. She is looking for confirmation from the council to send this letter. Council agrees to forward the draft letter to the organizer. Hughes said there is a safety meeting with the Water Patrol and the LMCD this coming Wednesday.
a. City Administrator
b. Lord Fletcher’s Music Permit Conditions – Reinhardt said in February the permit was approved but some decibel levels were left blank until a determination could be made. Tolsma said testing was conducted on Memorial Day weekend and at the stage the decibel meter was between 80-90 depending upon if it’s instrumental and vocal. Testing was conducted at a residence in Orono and the meter reading was between 55-65. It was likened to when sitting outside and the neighbor’s radio was on. Tolsma said 3801 Sunset Drive was tested and there was no detectible music. He said he has made a recommendation of an 85 limit at the stage, 75 at the island and 65 at the residential property. Reinhardt said she was present at the testing and said the volume at the stage did not seem to be to the level of a nuisance. She thinks staff’s recommendation of 85 at the stage is a good starting point. Hughes asked if there were any high wind factors and Reinhardt confirmed it was very windy that day and it was blowing to the northeast. Reinhardt said the road noise sometimes was louder. Tom Emer from Lord Fletcher’s said he was present at the testing and he wonders why the recommendation is 80-85. Emer wonders why 90 would not be acceptable. Tolsma said they felt it was a little bit of a compromise to the complainant. They felt 80 was too low and 85 was a good middle range. Reinhardt asked what the range was this past weekend and Emer said it was between 80 and 90. Williamson suggests a fair measurement is a persistent or consistent level. He doesn’t want to regulate the spikes. He said 85 is a strong standard of measure. Reinhardt said based upon the two complaints received this weekend and the reporting officer validated the loud music, to start, 85 seemed to be fair. Widmer asked how long the sound is measured. Tolsma said the decibel meter purchased by Fletcher’s can be set to measure over a long period of time or a short period of time and the maximum level reached can also be detected. Reinhardt said the sound technician has the control and the band members do not have the control. Stone asked if the police officers carry decibel meters. Tolsma said they have one but it is not sophisticated like the one Fletcher’s has. Reinhardt thinks spot checks by the outside consultant will also back up the sound levels. Williamson said the city is concerned and they take citizen reaction very seriously and a lot of staff time and consultant expense is borne but he doesn’t remember any other business having to jump through as many hoops as LF has with this. He said this will be watched and monitored but he believes Fletcher’s has gone above and beyond any other enterprise in this city. He feels this needs to move forward and expresses appreciation to Lord Fletcher’s to their response and willingness to work with the city and the resident complaint. Williamson makes a motion and Hughes seconds to approve the conditions with staff recommendations. All votes ayes, motion carries.
c. Port of Call Request – Tolsma said there is a request for Looneytunes boat. Williamson makes a motion to approve and Widmer seconds. Hughes has some major reservations. He said he is concerned about what the applicant has to meet in the ordinance requirements. Williamson said this is all provided for by higher levels. He said this is a courtesy to let a city know a watercraft will be stopping in the community from time to time at an appropriately designated port of call. Widmer thought it also had something to do with adequate parking for persons boarding the boat. Hughes wondered about requiring a liquor license. Williamson said the LMCD, who governs this process, is an agency established for statutory authority. Four to one vote, Hughes votes nay.
d. City Engineer – Tolsma said he will have an in depth update at the end of this week for the water plant. It is coming to a conclusion and test pumping is being conducted this week. He said they didn’t quite achieve what they hoped for in regards to sand removal.
e. City Attorney – Beck said there might be a brief discussion about the street lights agreed to at the work sessions. Reinhardt said there was action taken at the work session to take immediate action to remove seven faulty street lights and a plan is being developed to replace all the street lights. She said it is a high priority project for the city.
f. Utility Superintendent – nothing.
16. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
a. June 13, 2012 – Administration Committee – 11:00 AM
b. June 13, 2012 – Planning Commission – 7:00 PM
c. June 14, 2012 – Police Commission – 10:00 AM – Hughes would like the police department complimented on their seat belt enforcement. He wonders who gets the citation, the driver or the passenger. Daphne, the videographer said it’s the passenger as she experienced.
d. June 18, 2012 – Council Meeting – 7:30 PM
e. June 20-22, 2012 – LMC Annual Conference
17. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None
18. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
a. Bills & Payroll – Widmer asked about the flags and banners and she wonders when they’re coming down and Tolsma said they’re coming down after July 4th. Williamson makes a motion and Widmer seconds to approve the bills. All votes ayes, motion carries.
19. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only)
a. MNSPECT Minute
b. Metropolitan Council Population and Household Estimate – Williamson said housing total is over a thousand and households are 900. He said this matters because the voting strengths are by household when it comes to LMCC. He thinks this terminology should be explored to see how they arrive at their numbers.
c. Correspondence Regarding Lord Fletcher’s Live Music
20. ADJOURNMENT – Williamson makes a motion and Widmer seconds to adjourn at 8:38 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.