January 5, 2015 Council Minutes

 

 

 

CITY OF SPRING PARK

CITY COUNCIL MINUTES

JANUARY 5, 2015 – 7:30 PM

SPRING PARK CITY HALL

 

  1. OATH OF OFFICE – Administrator Tolsma administers the Oath of Office to Mayor Williamson and Council members Gary Hughes and Pamela Horton.
  2. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Williamson calls the meeting to order.
  3. ROLL CALL – Horton, Bren, Hughes, Williamson, vacancy.
  4. INTRODUCTIONS – Williamson introduces the council and staff to the public. Administrator Tolsma and Planning Commissioner Mason and various members in the audience.
  5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE -
  6. ADOPT AGENDA – Hughes makes a motion and Bren seconds to adopt the agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
  7. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA – Bren makes a motion to adopt the consent agenda and Hughes seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
    1. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes from December 15, 2014
  8. PUBLIC FORUM – No one.
  9. PRESENTATIONS & GUEST SPEAKERS – None.
  10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS – None.
  11. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS – Williamson explained the following resolutions are pro-forma resolutions adopted at the beginning of each new year for the purposes of conducting business. He said they’re required by law.
    1. Resolution 15-01: Naming Official Depositories – Tolsma explained this is required every year and this year the resolution establishes the same depositories as in the past. Bren makes a motion and Horton seconds to adopt. All votes ayes, motion carries.
    2. Resolution 15-02: Establishing Order of Business and A Time For Regular Council Meetings and Monthly Study Sessions –Williamson adds there are some holidays on Mondays so the meeting is held the following Tuesday. Hughes makes a motion and Bren seconds to adopt.       All votes ayes, motion carries.
    3. Resolution 15-03: Council Appointments – Tolsma said this resolution sets council appointments. He said there are some vacancies that are highlighted and there is an open seat for council yet to be filled. Hughes asked Tolsma to notify the LMCD that he will be returning as the council representative for Spring Park. Tolsma said there is an official document that needs to be filled out and returned naming the representative which he will process.       Williamson said the weed inspector is the Mayor by tradition and state statute, especially for noxious weeds. He said the alternate is typically the newest member so he suggests Pam Horton but said that may be short-lived due to the expectancy of a newly appointed council member. Williamson also said there is a vacancy on the Cable Commission. He said there are two slots and one must be an elected official. He suggests the open availability be left open for a few weeks. Bren makes a motion and Horton seconds to adopt.       All votes ayes, motion carries.
    4. Resolution 15-04: Dates of Meetings, Holidays, and Office Hours – Tolsma said this establishes dates and times for various other meetings and business hours. Williamson said there is a change to business hours in the summer allowing for longer city hours during the week and a half day on Friday.       Hughes said fire commission meetings have changed to five meetings per year so it’s not really “quarterly” as stated. Bren makes a motion and Hughes seconds to adopt. All votes ayes, motion carries.
    5. Resolution 15-05: Adoption of The Hennepin County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan – Williamson said it seems complex but it’s a cooperation with Hennepin County to administer grants and funds from state and federal sources. Tolsma agreed it’s standard. Horton makes a motion and Bren seconds to adopt. All votes ayes, motion carries.
    6. Resolution 15-06: 2014 Fees For Licenses, Permits, and Services (Memo Attached) Williamson said Tolsma has attached a memo regarding standard fees and some anomalies. He said there are several pages and most have been held at the same rate for several years. He said the council has directed staff to examine costs associated with fees to make sure they are appropriately offsetting the expended costs. Tolsma reviewed three of the most costly and frequently used fees being variance, conditional use and sign permits. He said for the variance permit he found while the city has a $450 fee for residential, since 2011 the city has had five applications with the average spent $1400 to process the application. Tolsma said the conditional use permits are more complex as there are different fees for residential ($700) and commercial ($1300). He said since 2011 there have been three CUP applications, one being residential and two commercial. He said the commercial applications ended up being close to the anticipated costs of $1300 but with the residential CUP the city spent $2059, well over the $700 assigned fee. Tolsma said sign permits are a flat fee of $75.       He said the average spent was $230 to review sign applications. Tolsma said the difficulty is in determining what the city staff actually expends during the course of normal business and what goes beyond normal. Hughes asked about signs and wonders if the expenses associated as such are for the city planner and Tolsma confirmed.       Hughes wonders about negotiating a flat fee for signs rather than hourly. Tolsma said it can range from $85 to almost $700 depending upon the complications involved. Hughes wonders if it is due to lack of information initially and Tolsma disagreed. Tolsma said that happens more with variances but not signs. He said the sign application is clear and the applicant is encouraged to attend the PC meeting to answer questions. Williamson asked about the cost components factored into this. Tolsma said city staff doesn’t log time spent so it’s difficult to assign a cost to that. He said when looking through planning costs, the main source of expenditures, there can be attorney costs and engineer. Williamson wonders about a strategy to cut costs before raising fees. Tolsma said for example, a variance application that was most costly had a lot of variables and had to be researched and a lot of time was dedicated to working this out. Tolsma said Brixius is very thorough and provides a lot of information and options. He said the PC likes the information. Williamson said he thinks a conditional use for a residential application is rare, having had only one in four years but residential variance is more common and we seem to be consistently undercharging the applicant for the processing. He doesn’t want to see the public subsidizing variance applications. Tolsma said there was a broad range of costs expended but all of them were over the initial fee. He said there is an escrow fee collected too and he wonders if it doesn’t make more sense to raise the escrow, which is refundable if not used.

 

Williamson suggests adopting the fee schedule provisionally and review these questionable fees at the earliest opportunity.  Hughes said under docks, there aren’t dock permits as the LMCD monitors docks.  Tolsma said those fees are in reference to the multiple dock permits issued.  Hughes thinks this is an LMCD function.  Williamson said this relates to non residents renting docks from multi-housing units.  Williamson is looking for a motion and Hughes so moves acknowledging further study needed on some fees.  Horton seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.

    1. Resolution 15-07: Public Utilities Rate Schedule – Tolsma said this sets the utility rate fees for 2015. He said these rates are the same as 2014. Williamson said the SAC charges are determined by the Met Council. He said the WAC charge, water access, is set annually by the city with the guidance of the city engineer. Tolsma said that has been adjusted based on inflation of construction costs. Williamson asked if this year’s number is adjusted and Tolsma confirmed. Bren makes a motion to accept and Hughes seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
    2. Resolution 15-08: Williamson said this resolution is an add-on resolution based upon his resignation as council member to assume his position as mayor and to declare a vacancy on the council. Williamson reads the resolution aloud.       Hughes moves approval and Horton seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
  1. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES
    1. Mayor and Council –

  • Williamson said as a result of Resolution 15-08, the city council will pursue filling the vacancy. He suggests soliciting interest within the community. He said it is in the newsletter, it’s on the website and there has been an article in the local newspaper. Williamson said there is a suggested deadline of January 16th. Williamson said the application is simple and he encourages those who are interested to apply. Tolsma said there have been no submitted applications thus far.

  • Hughes said regarding the Spring Park residents applying for quiet waters, the actual application was split in two and action on the east west boat traffic was denied. He said the north south traffic is still open and Water Patrol has some input. He said the code has to be modified if quiet water action is approved. Hughes said the LMCD has a workshop to review long-range planning. Williamson asked about Hennepin County Sheriff staffing and Hughes said there is an annual meeting with the sheriff coming up soon. Hughes said Save the Lake grants will be assigned and there is a proposal for a dynamic sign that he and Tolsma have been working on for quite a while depending upon criteria being met.

    1. City Administrator – nothing.
    2. City Engineer – nothing.
    3. City Attorney – nothing.
    4. Utility Superintendent – nothing.
  1. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
    1. January 8 – LMCC – 7:00 PM – Williamson said there has been a change and the next meeting is in February, not January.
    2. January 14 – Administration Committee – 1:00 PM – Hughes is now on the Admin Committee but he has a conflict with Wednesdays. It’s decided, tentatively, the meeting will be moved to Tuesday, January 13.      
    3. January 14 – Planning Commission – 7:00 PM
    4. January 14 – LMCD – 7:00 PM
    5. January 20 (Tuesday) – Regular City Council Meeting – 7:30 PM

Tolsma adds there is information handed out to newly elected council members.  He said there are dates in late January in Brooklyn Center. 

  1. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – nothing.
  2. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
    1. Bills & Payroll – Hughes moves to pay the bills and Horton seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
  3. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only) -
  4. ADJOURNMENT – Bren makes a motion to adjourn and Horton seconds at 8:20 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.

 

 

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Wendy Lewin, City Clerk

 

 

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Dan Tolsma, City Administrator