March 16, 2015 Council Minutes

 

 

CITY OF SPRING PARK

CITY COUNCIL MINUTES

MARCH 16, 2015 – 7:30 PM

SPRING PARK CITY HALL

 

  1. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Williamson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m.
  2. ROLL CALL – Hughes, Bren, Horton, Williamson.
  3. INTRODUCTIONS – Williamson introduced the council and staff to the public. Administrator Tolsma, Clerk Lewin, Attorney Beck.
  4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
  5. ADOPT AGENDA - Hughes makes a motion and Horton seconds to adopt the agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
  6. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA - Bren makes a motion and Horton seconds to adopt the consent agenda. All votes ayes, motion carries.
    1. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes from March 2, 2015
    2. Administration Committee Minutes from March 10, 2015
    3. Planning Commission Minutes (Unapproved) from March 11, 2015
    4. Port of Call Authorization - Escape
  7. PUBLIC FORUM - No one.
  8. PRESENTATIONS & GUEST SPEAKERS -
    1. Gillespie Center Annual Update -

Williamson said this is an annual update given by Donna Smith, Jeanne Brustad and Mindy Anderson of the Gillespie Center. Smith said the three city agreement with Mound, Spring Park and Minnetrista has completed its third year and she thanks the city for their ongoing support.  She said their membership is growing and there is increased interest in their programs. Brustad presents a slide show to the council outlining the ongoing programs and those involved.  She said there are 500 registered members.  Brustad said there is an upcoming financial meeting and they will confirm the date being March 19th.  Bren said she has attended the Country Jam and enjoyed it and their lunches.  Williamson said it's a wonderful program and he's grateful to the volunteers that makes this happen.  He said there is a positive attitude and everyone is so friendly.  He said there's been some challenges but everyone keeps working together.  Williamson said Spring Park's contribution is fairly small but proportionate.  

    1. Tony Brough – Water Patrol Improvements - No Show.
  1. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS -
    1. Lord Fletcher’s Live Music Application -

Williamson said the city has already dealt with the special event Oktoberfest application.  He said this can be difficult because it has evolved to a concert series from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  He said the difficulty is managing the noise generated at residents.  He said they've tried to address all concerns with a reasonable set of standards. Limiting the hours, the measured locations of the sound produced and decibel levels.  He's comfortable with this but is open for comments.  Tolsma said on condition 8, the first sentence, they recommend striking out "...on Saturday and Sunday."  He said the city wants a technician on premise at all times.  Horton wonders if the technician controls the sound above a level seven and Tolsma confirms.  Williamson said sometimes the problem is with the musicians who turn up the sound during performances.  Bren asked about the number of nights when performing and thinks it sounds like a lot of nights.  Hughes said he thinks these standards were prompted with a concert wherein dock load limits were exceeded.  Hughes wants to comment about number seven and said the technology is out there to produce a louder sound to the ear.  He said it's coming and when it does, they need to rethink this as there could come a time when these numbers don't work anymore.  Hughes moves approval with the request for a technician to be available at all concert times.  Horton Seconds.  All votes ayes, motion carries.

  1. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS - None.
  2. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES -
    1. Mayor and Council –

  • Williamson said the police commission met for their quarterly meeting and discussed an upcoming drill being held due to the recent discharge of a firearm at a local council meeting. He said Orono PD is planning an open house at their newly constructed garage facility and there will be demonstrations and child car safety seat installations. Hughes said the LMCC is going to do a video on cable tv promoting this service provided by Orono Police. Williamson said the finance report states they are running below budget and when calculating the cities’ contributions there is an overage at this time. He said the chief is asking to establish a reserve fund in order to even out the budgeting. Williamson said in reading the PC minutes there was a suggestion of a city tour. He said there are two new council members and an addition to the water plant. He thinks the new city council members should have a tour of the water plant now in order to benchmark what is existing.

  • Horton said March is food shelf month and she drove the bus for “Stuff the Bus” for WeCan. She said it was the week of March 9th. She wants to thank all the schools that participated and they stuffed a 77 passenger bus with food.

  • Hughes said the LMCD has a safety committee meeting dealing with the ordinance for high water declaration. He said the LMCD’s budget has to be approved by July 1st in order to pass to the cities.

    1. City Administrator – nothing.
    2. City Engineer – nothing.
    3. City Attorney – Nothing.
    4. Utility Superintendent – Hughes asked about an update on the recent gas leak on Black Lake Road. Tolsma said he will have something for the end of the meeting.
  1. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
    1. March 19 – LMCC – 7:00 PM
    2. March 23 – City Council Work Session – 7:00 PM – Williamson suggests they should try and reschedule Tony Brough, discuss early voting and potentially have Chief Farniok to discuss security of city hall.
    3. March 25 – LMCD – 7:00 PM
    4. April 6 – Regular City Council Meeting – 7:30 PM – Williamson said they hope to be swearing in a new council member. He said they interviewed three applicants and the council will discuss and arrive at a decision. Williamson said all three applicants were extremely well qualified. He said for the most part they are “over qualified” and they will be selecting the best of the best.       Hughes wonders about posting the meeting when making the decision. Beck recommends it’s added as an agenda item at the work session meeting. She said if the decision will be made at the work session, it should be posted as such.
  2. UNFINISHED BUSINESS -
  3. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION
    1. Bills & Payroll – Bren makes a motion to pay the bills and claims. Hughes seconds. Hughes wonders when the contracts will be reviewed for next year, such as snow removal. Tolsma said snow removal was renewed in December for three years. All votes ayes, motion carries.
  4. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only)
    1. Mound Fire Department February Report -
  5. ADJOURNMENT – Bren makes a motion and Horton seconds to adjourn the meeting at 8:26 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.

 

                                                                                                ____________________________

                                                                                                Wendy Lewin, City Clerk

 

 

____________________________________

Dan Tolsma, City Administrator