July 20, 2015, Council Minutes
CITY OF SPRING PARK
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
JULY 20, 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 – Pavot, Hughes, Bren, Horton, Williamson
3. INTRODUCTIONS – Williamson introduces the council and staff to the public. Administrator Tolsma, Clerk Lewin, Commissioner Mason
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
5. ADOPT AGENDA – Hughes makes a motion and Horton seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
6. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA – Hughes states he has a correction to the Council minutes and it’s a change to the meeting time for the LMCD meeting. Horton makes a motion to approve the consent agenda with the change and Hughes seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
a. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes from July 6, 2015
b. Administration Committee Meeting Minutes from July 14, 2015
7. PUBLIC FORUM – No one.
8. PRESENTATIONS & GUEST SPEAKERS – None.
9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS – None.
10. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS – None.
11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES –
Williamson suggests the city administrator report first in light of the storm that struck the city last Friday. Tolsma said regarding the storm, much of the city was without power after the storm until late Saturday evening. He said all lift stations remained functional. He said the only lift station without generator backup did not lose power so the portable generator wasn’t necessary. He said water service was uninterrupted and the backup generator started to provide power. He said Minnetonka Beach was temporarily on our water supply until they were back on service. He said two trees came down on city hall grounds but one was going to come down due to the water plant upgrade. He said numerous branches and debris remain on the streets but a scheduled street sweeping is for later this week. Tolsma said staff is wondering about a curbside pickup service for storm damage. Williamson asked how the city would be charged for the contract tree service to come to the city. Tolsma thought it would be hourly and responded a chipper would be brought to the city in order to assist with the cleanup. Williamson asked about informing residents of this potential tree service and thinks maybe a mailing be sent to residents. Tolsma said he thinks there are two options. He said a mailing could be done and might get out as soon as Wednesday. He said the other option is flyers can be placed on individual doors to alert them of this. He said he’s leaning towards that method of communication. Hughes likes that idea because it’s the opportunity to get out and see where the problem areas are. Bren and Hughes said they’d be willing to help. Pavot also volunteered to help. Williamson makes a motion for the city to engage R&D Associates to do a pick up and chipping of tree debris and the notification will be handled as best determined by city staff. Horton seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries. Williamson said his power went out for about nine hours and then there was a second outage of about two hours. Williamson said it seemed to be isolated and north of Shoreline Drive was out and south of Shoreline Drive was spared. Bren said she knows of several areas that were out of power and it seemed spotty. Williamson said information is important for decision making during the crisis.
Pavot has wondered about where large multi-housing units for residents gather for safety. Pavot said she has never needed to seek shelter until now. She said she sought safety in the sauna in her building even though she wasn’t sure that was a designated area. She said there were only four other people that were with her and they wondered where everyone else was. Hughes wonders about the building code and thinks there should be a designated area with the building process. Williamson thinks persuasion for identifying safety areas in multi housing units should be suggested. Tolsma said regarding the brush pick-up, Spring Park does also have the arrangement with The Mulch Store in Minnetrista for brush drop off. Hughes suggests to put that on the flyer as well. Williamson wants to make it clear that this is for strictly organic materials and no other materials will be collected.
Williamson asked Tolsma if he wanted to discuss anything that was discussed at the Admin Committee meeting. Tolsma said the retention pond fence has been fast tracked as of late due to the amount of standing water in the pond and discussion is taking place with the fence contractor. Pavot wondered about the material being used for the fencing. Tolsma said it’s basic chain link but it’s black. He said it will be softened with landscape plantings and two access gates on each side. Hughes asked about signage around the pond.
Tolsma said there was a theft from one of the large planters on Shoreline Drive. He said the suspect has been caught. He said it happened during the day in front of anyone driving by to witness it.
a. Mayor and Council –
• Williamson said a meeting of the LMCC dealt with turning off access channels to certain nodes. As a result, some member cities were inadvertently turned off. He said the funds are in good shape and they are in the process of working on their budget for 2016. Williamson also drove around the city this evening and noticed several people playing at the tennis courts, more than he has ever seen. He noticed some storm debris in the park.
• Hughes said there is a LMCD meeting and he thinks it will be worthwhile to at least watch the meeting on cable t.v. as it will deal with electric shock drowning.
b. City Administrator (see above for comments regarding storm damage)
a. Water Plant Update –
Tolsma said he prepared a memo for the council. He said about a year ago meetings began with the MPCA and MN Dept of Health to discuss upgrades to the water plant to remove TCE’s from the contaminated two wells. He said the final plans are being reviewed by the MDH and once they are approved, the State will advertise for bids, perhaps late July, early August. He said the final plan includes an addition to the north side of the water plant and it will house chemical rooms and treatment rooms with air strippers. He said it’s as simple as adding air to the water and vaporizing the TCE’s. Tolsma said State funding has been approved and a variance will have to be approved regarding a side-yard setback. Williamson wondered about the variance and holding a public hearing. Tolsma said this will be discussed at the upcoming staff meeting with the city planner and city attorney.
c. City Engineer
d. City Attorney
e. Public Works Superintendent
12. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
a. July 22 – LMCD – 7:00 PM
b. July 23 – Water Workshop – 5:00 PM – Bren, Pavot and Horton will be attending this event and it will be posted according to open meeting law.
c. July 27 – Work Session – 7:00 PM –
Williamson wonders about a preview of things to come up at the work session; he is looking for an update on Park Island, the upcoming fee ordinance and Minnetonka Motorsports update. He encourages council members to look at the site in order to pursue an effective strategy to enforce what is in place there now. Tolsma said there will also be an update on the sewer system. Hughes wonders about talking about the fire budget as that is coming up. Tolsma said there are budgetary things to talk about one being the bond payment and the other being the police and fire amounts.
d. July 29 – Fire Commission – 11:00 AM
e. August 3 – Regular Council Meeting – 7:30 PM
f. August 6 – LMCC – 7:00 PM – Special meeting for the budget.
13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – None.
14. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION -
a. Bills & Payroll – Bren makes a motion to pay the bills and Pavot seconds. Hughes wonders about the sales and use tax for $2. Tolsma said the city has to pay sales and use tax on their own water usage. All votes ayes, motion carries.
15. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only) -
a. Mound Fire Department June Report – Williamson said false alarms and lift assists seem to be in line.
16. ADJOURNMENT – Hughes makes a motion and Horton seconds to adjourn the meeting at 8:32 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.
__________________________
Wendy Lewin, City Clerk
____________________________________
Dan Tolsma, City Administrator
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
JULY 20, 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 – Pavot, Hughes, Bren, Horton, Williamson
3. INTRODUCTIONS – Williamson introduces the council and staff to the public. Administrator Tolsma, Clerk Lewin, Commissioner Mason
4. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
5. ADOPT AGENDA – Hughes makes a motion and Horton seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
6. ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA – Hughes states he has a correction to the Council minutes and it’s a change to the meeting time for the LMCD meeting. Horton makes a motion to approve the consent agenda with the change and Hughes seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries.
a. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes from July 6, 2015
b. Administration Committee Meeting Minutes from July 14, 2015
7. PUBLIC FORUM – No one.
8. PRESENTATIONS & GUEST SPEAKERS – None.
9. PETITIONS, REQUESTS & APPLICATIONS – None.
10. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS – None.
11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS & COMMITTEES –
Williamson suggests the city administrator report first in light of the storm that struck the city last Friday. Tolsma said regarding the storm, much of the city was without power after the storm until late Saturday evening. He said all lift stations remained functional. He said the only lift station without generator backup did not lose power so the portable generator wasn’t necessary. He said water service was uninterrupted and the backup generator started to provide power. He said Minnetonka Beach was temporarily on our water supply until they were back on service. He said two trees came down on city hall grounds but one was going to come down due to the water plant upgrade. He said numerous branches and debris remain on the streets but a scheduled street sweeping is for later this week. Tolsma said staff is wondering about a curbside pickup service for storm damage. Williamson asked how the city would be charged for the contract tree service to come to the city. Tolsma thought it would be hourly and responded a chipper would be brought to the city in order to assist with the cleanup. Williamson asked about informing residents of this potential tree service and thinks maybe a mailing be sent to residents. Tolsma said he thinks there are two options. He said a mailing could be done and might get out as soon as Wednesday. He said the other option is flyers can be placed on individual doors to alert them of this. He said he’s leaning towards that method of communication. Hughes likes that idea because it’s the opportunity to get out and see where the problem areas are. Bren and Hughes said they’d be willing to help. Pavot also volunteered to help. Williamson makes a motion for the city to engage R&D Associates to do a pick up and chipping of tree debris and the notification will be handled as best determined by city staff. Horton seconds. All votes ayes, motion carries. Williamson said his power went out for about nine hours and then there was a second outage of about two hours. Williamson said it seemed to be isolated and north of Shoreline Drive was out and south of Shoreline Drive was spared. Bren said she knows of several areas that were out of power and it seemed spotty. Williamson said information is important for decision making during the crisis.
Pavot has wondered about where large multi-housing units for residents gather for safety. Pavot said she has never needed to seek shelter until now. She said she sought safety in the sauna in her building even though she wasn’t sure that was a designated area. She said there were only four other people that were with her and they wondered where everyone else was. Hughes wonders about the building code and thinks there should be a designated area with the building process. Williamson thinks persuasion for identifying safety areas in multi housing units should be suggested. Tolsma said regarding the brush pick-up, Spring Park does also have the arrangement with The Mulch Store in Minnetrista for brush drop off. Hughes suggests to put that on the flyer as well. Williamson wants to make it clear that this is for strictly organic materials and no other materials will be collected.
Williamson asked Tolsma if he wanted to discuss anything that was discussed at the Admin Committee meeting. Tolsma said the retention pond fence has been fast tracked as of late due to the amount of standing water in the pond and discussion is taking place with the fence contractor. Pavot wondered about the material being used for the fencing. Tolsma said it’s basic chain link but it’s black. He said it will be softened with landscape plantings and two access gates on each side. Hughes asked about signage around the pond.
Tolsma said there was a theft from one of the large planters on Shoreline Drive. He said the suspect has been caught. He said it happened during the day in front of anyone driving by to witness it.
a. Mayor and Council –
• Williamson said a meeting of the LMCC dealt with turning off access channels to certain nodes. As a result, some member cities were inadvertently turned off. He said the funds are in good shape and they are in the process of working on their budget for 2016. Williamson also drove around the city this evening and noticed several people playing at the tennis courts, more than he has ever seen. He noticed some storm debris in the park.
• Hughes said there is a LMCD meeting and he thinks it will be worthwhile to at least watch the meeting on cable t.v. as it will deal with electric shock drowning.
b. City Administrator (see above for comments regarding storm damage)
a. Water Plant Update –
Tolsma said he prepared a memo for the council. He said about a year ago meetings began with the MPCA and MN Dept of Health to discuss upgrades to the water plant to remove TCE’s from the contaminated two wells. He said the final plans are being reviewed by the MDH and once they are approved, the State will advertise for bids, perhaps late July, early August. He said the final plan includes an addition to the north side of the water plant and it will house chemical rooms and treatment rooms with air strippers. He said it’s as simple as adding air to the water and vaporizing the TCE’s. Tolsma said State funding has been approved and a variance will have to be approved regarding a side-yard setback. Williamson wondered about the variance and holding a public hearing. Tolsma said this will be discussed at the upcoming staff meeting with the city planner and city attorney.
c. City Engineer
d. City Attorney
e. Public Works Superintendent
12. UPCOMING MEETINGS & TRAINING
a. July 22 – LMCD – 7:00 PM
b. July 23 – Water Workshop – 5:00 PM – Bren, Pavot and Horton will be attending this event and it will be posted according to open meeting law.
c. July 27 – Work Session – 7:00 PM –
Williamson wonders about a preview of things to come up at the work session; he is looking for an update on Park Island, the upcoming fee ordinance and Minnetonka Motorsports update. He encourages council members to look at the site in order to pursue an effective strategy to enforce what is in place there now. Tolsma said there will also be an update on the sewer system. Hughes wonders about talking about the fire budget as that is coming up. Tolsma said there are budgetary things to talk about one being the bond payment and the other being the police and fire amounts.
d. July 29 – Fire Commission – 11:00 AM
e. August 3 – Regular Council Meeting – 7:30 PM
f. August 6 – LMCC – 7:00 PM – Special meeting for the budget.
13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – None.
14. NEW BUSINESS & COMMUNICATION -
a. Bills & Payroll – Bren makes a motion to pay the bills and Pavot seconds. Hughes wonders about the sales and use tax for $2. Tolsma said the city has to pay sales and use tax on their own water usage. All votes ayes, motion carries.
15. MISCELLANEOUS (Information Only) -
a. Mound Fire Department June Report – Williamson said false alarms and lift assists seem to be in line.
16. ADJOURNMENT – Hughes makes a motion and Horton seconds to adjourn the meeting at 8:32 p.m. All votes ayes, motion carries.
__________________________
Wendy Lewin, City Clerk
____________________________________
Dan Tolsma, City Administrator