January 7, 2019 Council Minutes
CITY OF SPRING PARK
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
JANUARY 7, 2019 – 7:00 PM
SPRING PARK CITY HALL
1. CALL TO ORDER - The meeting was called to order by Mayor Rockvam at 7:00 p.m.
Council Members Present: Jerome P. Rockvam, Mayor; Gary Hughes; Pamela Horton; and Catherine Kane Palen
Council Members Absent:Megan Pavot
Staff Present: Dan Tolsma, City Administrator; Bob Kirmis, Acting City Planner; and Theresa Schyma, City Clerk
a. Oaths of Office for Jerry Rockvam, Mayor; Pam Horton, Council; Gary Hughes, Council
City Clerk Schyma administered the oaths of office to Mayor Rockvam, Council Member Horton, and Council Member Hughes.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Mayor Rockvam led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
3. ADOPT MEETING AGENDA
M/Horton, S/Hughes to adopt the meeting agenda.
Motion carried 4-0.
4. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA
a. Work Session Meeting Minutes from December 17, 2018
b. Regular City Council Meeting Minutes from December 17, 2018
c. Staff Wages for 2019
d. Resolution 19-01: Naming Official Depositories
e. Resolution 19-02: Establishing Order of Business
f. Resolution 19-03: City Appointments
g. Resolution 19-04: Dates of Meetings, Holidays, & Office Hours
h. Resolution 19-05: Pre-authorization of Certain Payments
i. Resolution 19-06: City Credit Card Authorized Users
Mayor Rockvam removed Item #4a from the Consent Agenda for consideration at the next regular City Council meeting.
M/Hughes, S/Kane Palen to adopt the Consent Agenda as amended.
Motion carried 4-0.
5. PUBLIC FORUM – None.
6. PRESENTATIONS & GUEST SPEAKERS – None.
7. PUBLIC HEARINGS – None.
8. PETITIONS, REQUESTS, & APPLICATIONS
a. Variance Application for Head-In Parking on Warren Avenue (Resolution 19-07)
Acting City Planner Kirmis presented Resolution No. 19-07 regarding Land Use Application No. 18-04 VAR requesting a parking variance to allow parking stalls having direct access from a public street for the industrial property located along 4164 Shoreline Drive. He provided an overview of the previous discussions regarding this application and the conditions recommended by the Planning Commission in their approval. He further noted that the 60-day clock on the application will expire before the next City Council meeting; however, the property owner/applicant has agreed to a 60-day extension.
Joel Buttenhoff, property owner/applicant, was available for questions.
Council Member Horton stated her main concern was the additional eight parking spots on Interlachen Road due to traffic concerns and loss of greenspace.
Council Member Hughes agreed with Council Member Horton about safety concerns with the additional eight parking spots on Interlachen Road. He added that he is particularly concerned with the four spots designated for compact cars as the spots are only 15 feet deep. He restated his comments from the previous meeting that he is in support of the 12 spots on Warren Avenue.
Council Member Kane Palen stated she supports the 12 parking spots on Warren Avenue but has safety concerns regarding the eight parking spots on Interlachen Road. She added that she has concerns regarding snow removal and storage in the area as well.
City Administrator Tolsma responded that a condition of approval would be that the applicant has to provide a snow removal and snow storage plan to City staff to review and approve.
Mayor Rockvam asked Mr. Buttenhoff how critical the parking issue is to future tenants of the building.
Mr. Buttenhoff responded that marketing the site to prospective tenants has been challenging due to the lack of convenient and safe employee parking. He stated that he would be open to removing his request for the four compact car parking spots to make the area available for snow storage, adding a small sidewalk area, and minimizing the loss of greenspace.
Mayor Rockvam suggested Mr. Buttenhoff return to his architect with the main talking points from tonight’s discussion and revise the site plan and application for the Council to consider at a future meeting.
Mr. Buttenhoff responded that since the Council is responding favorably to the 12 spots on Warren Avenue, he would be agreeable to revising his application and site plan for only those 12 spots and remove the eight parking spots along Interlachen Road. He added that if a future tenant required more parking he would submit an additional application at a later date to address potential parking on Interlachen Road.
The City Council consensus was to direct staff to amend the language of the proposed resolution to remove the eight spots that were requested along Interlachen Road and include only the 12 parking spots along Warren Avenue so that this item could be considered at the next regular meeting.
9. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS – None.
10. REPORTS OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES
a. Mayor & Council – Mayor Rockvam asked staff how the Fire Department’s budget was impacted with the withdrawal of Minnetonka Beach from the contract.
City Administrator Tolsma responded that Fire Chief Pederson was able to crunch the numbers so that remaining member cities were affected as little as possible; Spring Park saw a minimal increase overall.
b. City Staff – None.
c. Contract Staff – None.
11. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATIONS – None.
12. CLAIMS FOR PAYMENT
a. January 7, 2019 Claims
M/Hughes, S/Horton to approve all claims for payment.
Motion carried 4-0.
13. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
a. January 9 – Planning Commission – 6:00 PM
b. January 9 – LMCD Work Session at 6:00 PM with Regular Meeting at 7:00 PM
c. January 15 – Administration Meeting – 12:00 PM
d. January 22 (Tuesday) – City Council Work Session – 6:00 PM
e. January 22 (Tuesday) – Regular City Council Meeting – 7:00 PM
14. MISCELLANEOUS (INFORMATION ONLY) – None.
15. ADJOURNMENT
M/Hughes, S/Kane Palen to adjourn the City Council Meeting at 7:53 p.m.
Motion carried 4-0.
Date Approved: January 22, 2019
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Dan Tolsma, City Administrator
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Theresa Schyma, City Clerk