May 4, 2015, Council Minutes
1. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Williamson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL – Pavot, Hughes, Bren, Horton, Williamson
3. INTRODUCTIONS - Williamson introduced the council and staff to the public. Administrator Tolsma, Clerk Lewin, Attorney Beck, Planner Brixius, various members of the local pickle ball league.
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
5. ADOPT AGENDA – Williamson wants to add an item under new business, item c, Lord Fletcher’s Restaurant. Hughes moves to adopt, Pavot seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
6. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA – Horton makes a motion to adopt the consent agenda and Bren seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
a. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes from April 20, 2015
b. City Council Work Session Minutes from April 27, 2015
7. PUBLIC FORUM
8. PRESENTATIONS & GUEST SPEAKERS
a. Linda Hoffman – Pickleball Update –
Larry Gillette lives in Minnetrista. He said he’s a representative of a pickle ball league and he wants to thank Westonka Community Education for seeking out permission to use Thor Park for pickle ball. He said it's been the best place selected as it’s protected from the wind and there are nice trees so the court is shaded in the morning. He also said Spring Park has put down permanent lines and prior to that at the High School courts they had to tape the lines every time. Gillette said they've been able to accommodate everyone but it’s possible there will be more and more players as the word gets out. Gillette said he wonders if they could extend the number days they play or even add a pickle ball court for future. He said they played roughly 25 times last summer and there were a few displaced tennis players but not many. However, he said he isn’t sure how many didn’t show up because they knew pickle ball was in progress. Williamson asked about pickle ball and a designated day and wonders if it’s for a few hours. Gillette said it’s scheduled from 9-12. He said they rotate players and courts. Hughes said he’s happy the pickle ball court has been striped on both sides.
9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS
10. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS-
a. Ordinance 15-02: Business Use Certificate
Williamson introduces the city planner, Al Brixius. Brixius said this stems from a number of businesses starting up without notification to the city and not being properly zoned for the space. He said essentially this is a public safety, health and welfare issue. He said he modeled this after the City of New Hope’s business use certificate. Brixius said all business property owner’s were notified of this. He said a letter, an application form and draft ordinance was mailed along with notice of the public hearing. He said they received three responses as a result. The Yacht Club felt an annual inspection was more in line with their business plan. They are an office space and felt it would be too disruptive to have inspections when the lease changes. The ordinance was modified as a result. Brixius said the ordinance was also modified to state this was exclusive to buildings in a commercial zone. Brixius takes the council through the draft ordinance.
Williamson said he thinks it’s important to enact this new ordinance as soon as possible and building a business directory will come in time. Brixius thinks most businesses can be identified already. Williamson questions the zoning information and he said this city has always had nonconforming uses. He wonders if there is a way to get at commercial businesses operating in another zone, for instance in residential areas. He isn’t so concerned about small office-type business, he’s more concerned with traffic and excess parking generated as a result. Brixius said this probably won’t correct illegal, non conforming uses. Hughes asked about purchasing a business and whether the current business has non conforming parking, he wonders if this would continue. Brixus said yes, if the business is purchased and it’s going to be run the same, the legal non-conforming would remain. If the business use changes, they would have to meet the requirements. Hughes thinks sending out the cover sheet to existing businesses and ask for basic information and notify them of this change it could affect future buyers. Brixius agrees that this code, if drafted, should be sent out to the businesses as a form of notification. Hughes moves to adopt Ordinance 15-02. Pavot seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries. Williamson said since this was unanimous, he wonders if this needed a roll call vote and Beck stated it was not necessary. Tolsma wants to know the effective date and Williamson said standard upon publication.
11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
a. Mayor and Council –
• Williamson said there was a meeting regarding the fire district and several surrounding communities attended. He said nothing was decided but City Manager of Mound, Kandis Hanson, will work with Chief Greg Pederson to continue this. He said the difficulty of recruitment continues although Mound does have a waiting list. Williamson said Orono is served by Long Lake Fire and it presents some problems in terms of logistical issues. He said there were 21 participants at the meeting of which five were from St. Boni who have an acute problem in terms of daytime staffing. Williamson said the Gillespie Finance meeting was well done. He said there were representatives from Minnetrista, Mound, Spring Park and three members of Gillespie. He said Gillespie’s financial situation is good and strong. He said the contract allows a three year averaging and there was a one year that was slightly weaker than the other two strong years.
• Hughes said it’s important to know that the fire departments work cooperatively together and, if they are called out on mutual aid, they are familiar with equipment. He said box alarm systems put the calls to the appropriate responding department but other departments will be recommended in the dispatching function, in order, depending upon location and equipment.
• Horton said she was impressed with the Gillespie Center meeting and how grateful and humble they are. She said the senior population is changing due to thoughts of perpetual youth and volunteer hours might be compromised in the future. Horton said it will be 50 years on May 6 since the 1965 tornado passed through this area and there will be an upcoming presentation at the Old Log Theater. Hughes said lessons have been learned and drills and practice scenarios are now part of schools and daycares.
b. City Administrator – Tolsma said there is an update from Goman regarding upcoming events. He said there was a pre-con meeting for West Arm East and it’s scheduled to start late June. He said once it starts it should be quick. Tolsma said work on the water tower started today and will take a couple of weeks. Tolsma said there will be black-top patching done towards the end of this week. Tolsma said the contractor is working on the retention pond on Warren Avenue and should be finished in a couple of weeks.
c. City Engineer - nothing
d. City Attorney -
e. Public Works Superintendent - (see 11 b.)
12. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING – Williamson adds May 14, LMCC 7 p.m.
a. May 12 – Administration Committee – 12:00 PM
b. May 13 – LMCD – 7:00 PM
c. May 13 – Planning Commission – 7:00 PM
d. May 18 – Regular City Council Meeting – 7:30 PM
13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
14. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
a. Bills & Payroll –
Horton makes a motion to pay the claims and Bren seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
b. Part-Time Seasonal Employee Wage –
Tolsma said a returning part-time seasonal employee is returning for the third year. He said Lewin is a good worker, he is mechanical and is able to repair things and saves the city money by doing the repairs. Tolsma said in looking what Lewin performs and frees up in terms of Goman’s time, Tolsma thinks a fair compensation is in order. They are looking to increase this to $12 an hour and would be applicable to Lewin only due to his qualifications. He said it probably means a $600-800 total season increase and he doesn’t see any impact on the budget. Williamson thinks a motion should be made because it was established by motion previously. He said there was an issue because a previous employee filed for unemployment due to a layoff on a different job. As required by law, this unemployment compensation ended up partially impacting the City. For that reason he said they’ve been very careful going forward in who they hire. Hughes moves to increase the employees wage to $12 per hour. Horton seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
c. Lord Fletcher’s Restaurant.
Williamson said council members received an e-mail regarding an amplified event being conducted outdoors at Lord Fletcher’s and it’s not within the framework of the music permit. Williamson said there were several events held on Saturday, one being the Ron Schara Crappie Contest, Clean up the Lake event and the Minnesota Wild hockey promotional event. He said this is outside of allowable music concert permit and is in violation of the list of standards adopted with the music permit. Tolsma said staff examined the special events approved and nowhere did it say there was going to be a live music event this past weekend. Hughes requests Tolsma find out from Lord Fletcher’s if the sound technician was on site. Pavot wonders what needs to be done now. Williamson wants Tolsma to follow up with this and remind Lord Fletcher’s they are in violation of their concert series.
15. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only)
16. ADJOURNMENT – Bren makes a motion to adjourn/Horton seconds at 8:42 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.
____________________________
Wendy Lewin, City Clerk
___________________________________
Dan Tolsma, City Administrator
2. ROLL CALL – Pavot, Hughes, Bren, Horton, Williamson
3. INTRODUCTIONS - Williamson introduced the council and staff to the public. Administrator Tolsma, Clerk Lewin, Attorney Beck, Planner Brixius, various members of the local pickle ball league.
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
5. ADOPT AGENDA – Williamson wants to add an item under new business, item c, Lord Fletcher’s Restaurant. Hughes moves to adopt, Pavot seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
6. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA – Horton makes a motion to adopt the consent agenda and Bren seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
a. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes from April 20, 2015
b. City Council Work Session Minutes from April 27, 2015
7. PUBLIC FORUM
8. PRESENTATIONS & GUEST SPEAKERS
a. Linda Hoffman – Pickleball Update –
Larry Gillette lives in Minnetrista. He said he’s a representative of a pickle ball league and he wants to thank Westonka Community Education for seeking out permission to use Thor Park for pickle ball. He said it's been the best place selected as it’s protected from the wind and there are nice trees so the court is shaded in the morning. He also said Spring Park has put down permanent lines and prior to that at the High School courts they had to tape the lines every time. Gillette said they've been able to accommodate everyone but it’s possible there will be more and more players as the word gets out. Gillette said he wonders if they could extend the number days they play or even add a pickle ball court for future. He said they played roughly 25 times last summer and there were a few displaced tennis players but not many. However, he said he isn’t sure how many didn’t show up because they knew pickle ball was in progress. Williamson asked about pickle ball and a designated day and wonders if it’s for a few hours. Gillette said it’s scheduled from 9-12. He said they rotate players and courts. Hughes said he’s happy the pickle ball court has been striped on both sides.
9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS
10. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS-
a. Ordinance 15-02: Business Use Certificate
Williamson introduces the city planner, Al Brixius. Brixius said this stems from a number of businesses starting up without notification to the city and not being properly zoned for the space. He said essentially this is a public safety, health and welfare issue. He said he modeled this after the City of New Hope’s business use certificate. Brixius said all business property owner’s were notified of this. He said a letter, an application form and draft ordinance was mailed along with notice of the public hearing. He said they received three responses as a result. The Yacht Club felt an annual inspection was more in line with their business plan. They are an office space and felt it would be too disruptive to have inspections when the lease changes. The ordinance was modified as a result. Brixius said the ordinance was also modified to state this was exclusive to buildings in a commercial zone. Brixius takes the council through the draft ordinance.
Williamson said he thinks it’s important to enact this new ordinance as soon as possible and building a business directory will come in time. Brixius thinks most businesses can be identified already. Williamson questions the zoning information and he said this city has always had nonconforming uses. He wonders if there is a way to get at commercial businesses operating in another zone, for instance in residential areas. He isn’t so concerned about small office-type business, he’s more concerned with traffic and excess parking generated as a result. Brixius said this probably won’t correct illegal, non conforming uses. Hughes asked about purchasing a business and whether the current business has non conforming parking, he wonders if this would continue. Brixus said yes, if the business is purchased and it’s going to be run the same, the legal non-conforming would remain. If the business use changes, they would have to meet the requirements. Hughes thinks sending out the cover sheet to existing businesses and ask for basic information and notify them of this change it could affect future buyers. Brixius agrees that this code, if drafted, should be sent out to the businesses as a form of notification. Hughes moves to adopt Ordinance 15-02. Pavot seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries. Williamson said since this was unanimous, he wonders if this needed a roll call vote and Beck stated it was not necessary. Tolsma wants to know the effective date and Williamson said standard upon publication.
11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
a. Mayor and Council –
• Williamson said there was a meeting regarding the fire district and several surrounding communities attended. He said nothing was decided but City Manager of Mound, Kandis Hanson, will work with Chief Greg Pederson to continue this. He said the difficulty of recruitment continues although Mound does have a waiting list. Williamson said Orono is served by Long Lake Fire and it presents some problems in terms of logistical issues. He said there were 21 participants at the meeting of which five were from St. Boni who have an acute problem in terms of daytime staffing. Williamson said the Gillespie Finance meeting was well done. He said there were representatives from Minnetrista, Mound, Spring Park and three members of Gillespie. He said Gillespie’s financial situation is good and strong. He said the contract allows a three year averaging and there was a one year that was slightly weaker than the other two strong years.
• Hughes said it’s important to know that the fire departments work cooperatively together and, if they are called out on mutual aid, they are familiar with equipment. He said box alarm systems put the calls to the appropriate responding department but other departments will be recommended in the dispatching function, in order, depending upon location and equipment.
• Horton said she was impressed with the Gillespie Center meeting and how grateful and humble they are. She said the senior population is changing due to thoughts of perpetual youth and volunteer hours might be compromised in the future. Horton said it will be 50 years on May 6 since the 1965 tornado passed through this area and there will be an upcoming presentation at the Old Log Theater. Hughes said lessons have been learned and drills and practice scenarios are now part of schools and daycares.
b. City Administrator – Tolsma said there is an update from Goman regarding upcoming events. He said there was a pre-con meeting for West Arm East and it’s scheduled to start late June. He said once it starts it should be quick. Tolsma said work on the water tower started today and will take a couple of weeks. Tolsma said there will be black-top patching done towards the end of this week. Tolsma said the contractor is working on the retention pond on Warren Avenue and should be finished in a couple of weeks.
c. City Engineer - nothing
d. City Attorney -
e. Public Works Superintendent - (see 11 b.)
12. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING – Williamson adds May 14, LMCC 7 p.m.
a. May 12 – Administration Committee – 12:00 PM
b. May 13 – LMCD – 7:00 PM
c. May 13 – Planning Commission – 7:00 PM
d. May 18 – Regular City Council Meeting – 7:30 PM
13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
14. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
a. Bills & Payroll –
Horton makes a motion to pay the claims and Bren seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
b. Part-Time Seasonal Employee Wage –
Tolsma said a returning part-time seasonal employee is returning for the third year. He said Lewin is a good worker, he is mechanical and is able to repair things and saves the city money by doing the repairs. Tolsma said in looking what Lewin performs and frees up in terms of Goman’s time, Tolsma thinks a fair compensation is in order. They are looking to increase this to $12 an hour and would be applicable to Lewin only due to his qualifications. He said it probably means a $600-800 total season increase and he doesn’t see any impact on the budget. Williamson thinks a motion should be made because it was established by motion previously. He said there was an issue because a previous employee filed for unemployment due to a layoff on a different job. As required by law, this unemployment compensation ended up partially impacting the City. For that reason he said they’ve been very careful going forward in who they hire. Hughes moves to increase the employees wage to $12 per hour. Horton seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
c. Lord Fletcher’s Restaurant.
Williamson said council members received an e-mail regarding an amplified event being conducted outdoors at Lord Fletcher’s and it’s not within the framework of the music permit. Williamson said there were several events held on Saturday, one being the Ron Schara Crappie Contest, Clean up the Lake event and the Minnesota Wild hockey promotional event. He said this is outside of allowable music concert permit and is in violation of the list of standards adopted with the music permit. Tolsma said staff examined the special events approved and nowhere did it say there was going to be a live music event this past weekend. Hughes requests Tolsma find out from Lord Fletcher’s if the sound technician was on site. Pavot wonders what needs to be done now. Williamson wants Tolsma to follow up with this and remind Lord Fletcher’s they are in violation of their concert series.
15. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only)
16. ADJOURNMENT – Bren makes a motion to adjourn/Horton seconds at 8:42 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.
____________________________
Wendy Lewin, City Clerk
___________________________________
Dan Tolsma, City Administrator