Loading...
031207 CC WS Min CITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2007 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:30 P.M. or Immediately following the Regular City Council meeting MINUTES 1. Mayor Lizee called the meeting to order at 8:14 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Lizee; Councilmembers Callies, Turgeon, Wellens, and Woodruff; Attorney Keane; Director of Public Works Brown; and Engineer Landini Absent: None B. Review Agenda Director Brown requested Item 3 be discussed before Item 2 because he had asked Attorney Keane to attend the discussion of Item 3. Wellens moved, Turgeon seconded, Approving the Agenda as amended. Motion passed 5/0. 2. ENGINEERING PROJECTS MATRIX This item was discussed after Item 3. Engineer Landini stated he had compiled all the infrastructure data that had been collected over the years and assembled it into an Infrastructure Matrix; the Matrix would be used to assist with prioritizing improvement projects. Director Brown stated the Matrix had evolved out of the annual roadway pavement assessment he had conducted using the P ASER (pavement surface evaluation and rating) system. He explained the P ASER system was used to rate roadway pavement; the 2006 and 2007 Analysis of Drainage Problem Areas for Storm Water were used to determine the storm water rating; and a numerical system was used to determine the water system and sanitary sewer system rating. The scoring system was based on a lower number being a higher priority (the PASER rating approach), and scoring ranged from one to ten. All sanitary sewer ratings were currently a ten because the sanitary sewers had not been evaluated for problems yet. With regard to the water system rating, Engineer Landini explained a rating of ten indicated City watermain existed, a seven indicated some portion of watermain was installed, a five indicated there was no watermain installed, and a one indicated there was a system demand. Councilmember Wellens questioned the correlation between the water system and sanitary sewer system ratings and the priority rating for repairing a roadway. Director Brown explained the storm sewer was connected to storm water management concerns, and there were sanitary sewer system issues that needed to be located and documented. The correlation would hopefully minimize the number of times the City would perform the roadway improvements only to tear up the roadway a few years later to make sanitary sewer system repairs. With regard to the water system rating, Brown stated Staff assigned a rate based on information it had received from the public with regard to watermain issues or desires; that rating was somewhat subjective. Brown then stated if Council was not comfortable factoring the water system rating CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING March 12,2007 Page 2 of 6 into calculating the Matrix score, then Staff would not include it. There was Council consensus to remove the water system rating from the calculation, but to keep it on the Matrix grid. In response to a question from Councilmember Wellens regarding the historical action chart, Engineer Landini explained an "0" action indicated the roadway had been overlaid with a new surface, an "S" action indicated the roadway had been seal coated (i.e., asphalt rocks and oil had been put down), and an "R" action indicated the roadway had been reconstructed. Landini stated he would add that clarification to the chart. In response to another question, Landini explained "current rating' on the chart was the street rating the roadway surface received in 2006. Director Brown noted that the Infrastructure Matrix and associated reports would be placed on the City's web site after the corrections were made. In response to a question from Councilmember Woodruff, Director Brown explained the original goal of developing the Infrastructure Matrix was to provide Council with a tool it could use to prioritize roadway improvement projects. In the past the City had attempted to keep all the roadways at a rating of three or higher; as a result of the more recent increases in asphalt costs and oil costs, it had not been possible to maintain the roadways to that rating. In response to a comment from Woodruff, Brown stated he had attempted to identifY what lower-rated roadways would be repaired based on the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funds. Director Brown commented that performing 1 - 2 major roadway improvements each year would not be sufficient to maintain the roadways in reasonable condition. He also commented that projects cannot take 2 - 2.5 years to complete the public information meetings. Councilmember Turgeon stated Staff should be responsible for determining most of the components of a roadway project; the residents should only have input regarding watermain installation and pedestrian corridors. Councilmember Wellens stated Staff should limit the options that residents can provide input on; residents should not be asked open- ended questions. In response to a comment from Councilmember Callies, Councilmember Turgeon stated that Council had not formally adopted a watermain installation policy. Mayor Lizee stated people expected the City to make decisions regarding the roadway system; and Council had discussed the possibility of installing watermain where none existed as part of major roadway reconstruction projects. She then stated the engineering staff was best equipped to recommend which roadways should be repaired and what the level of repair should be. Director Brown commented that at one time Hopkins had spent significant funds to conduct soil testing; unfortunately that testing had limited value after two years because of changes resulting from the freeze/thaw cycle. He stated that actual or concept costs for reconstruction of roadways with a rating of three were included in the packet. He explained Staff used a guideline of $1 million per mile for a 26- foot-wide roadway to estimate the cost of reconstruction; and there was approximately 1.8 million in the roadway fund. Brown also explained that consulting engineer Gurney had prepared a rough draft of an assessment policy with regard to construction, reconstruction and resurfacing of roadways; that draft policy was included in the meeting packet. Some cities were no longer assessing roadway improvement costs because they found it difficult to defend the benefits of the improvements assessed in a court of law. Some cities funded the roadway improvements out of the general fund or roadway utilities; other cities charge property owners 25% of the property owners' front footage. He questioned if Council had thoughts on how the City should deal with these improvements in the long-term. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING March 12, 2007 Page 3 of 6 Councilmember Callies stated she did not agree that benefits derived from assessed roadway improvements would not be defendable in court, as she had been successful in representing cities in those situations; although there may be instances when it could not be defendable. She then stated the cost to fund roadway improvements from the City's General Fund would be an issue. She stated assessing for roadway improvements was an established funding method, and she would not be in favor of not assessing for them. Councilmember Turgeon stated she would prefer the utility fund approach to funding roadway improvements. She would not want the City to use the assessment approach; there were too many exceptions and variables. Councilmember Woodruff stated he would prefer the utility fund approach for improvements. He would not want to use the assessment approach, or the General Fund approach. Mayor Lizee stated she would support a dedicated street fund approach. She also stated the City had not ever had a roadway improvement assessment policy. She thought it would be beneficial to review how neighboring communities were funding roadway improvements. She then stated in some instances roadway improvements were also assessed to properties that were not located adjacent to the roadway. Councilmember Wellens stated he would not support the assessment approach for roadway improvements. He would support assessments for storm water management improvement projects. Director Brown stated he would research what other cities do with regard to funding roadway improvements. 3. 5795 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD (CITY-OWNED HOUSE) This item was discussed before Item.2. Director Brown stated this item was placed on the agenda for this evenings meeting to discuss the rental agreement for the City-owned house as well as the condition of the house. Late in the evening of March 8,2007, Councilmember Turgeon had asked that a signed copy of the lease agreement, documents related to the purchase of the house and the loan arrangements, and the City's certificate of insurance be provided to Council prior to this work session; the documents were provided to Council as requested. Brown explained that he and Administrator Dawson had met with Pastor Linus Nyambu, who represented Ascending Praise Church (APC) the lessee of the house, twice in February 2007. Pastor Nyambu, on behalf of APC, had agreed to pay all claims due to the City regarding past due rent payments and utility payments through February 28, 2007, no later than March 17, 2007, as detailed in a signed understanding dated February 28, 2007. Pastor Nyambu also committed to removing items belonging to the renters from the house, and cleaning the house to the satisfaction of the City by March 17, 2007. Brown stated some items in the house may require professional cleaning and while others may require replacement. Councilmember Turgeon expressed concern with cigarette burns in the carpet and candle wax spills. She stated that from her perspective if APC had not started to remove items from the house and clean the house by now, one could assume those activities would not happen by the date promised. She commented that the condition of the house was "bad". CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING March 12,2007 Page 4 of6 Councilmember Callies stated the condition of the may well be "bad", but APC had until March 17, 2007, to remove the renters' contents and to have the house cleaned. Councilmember Turgeon stated she did not want Council to wait until its next regular Council meeting (March 26, 2007) to discuss pursuing legal action against APC; she did want Council to reach consensus to encourage Staff and Attorney Keane to determine what the next course of action should be if APC did not satisfY its obligations by March 17, 2007. She wanted to know what steps could be taken to recover the financial obligations due the City as well as damage costs which she estimated to be $15,000. Mayor Lizee stated she had walked through the property earlier today. She acknowledged that the property needed an intense cleaning. She stated that from her perspective some of the cleaning that would be necessary was a result of normal wear-and-tear. She commented that she did not see any damage to the walls. She then stated she was not sure how Council member Turgeon arrived at damage costs of $15,000. She suggested Staff continue to work with Pastor Nyambu to ensure the house was restored to a habitable condition. She also stated because she was not aware of any potential renters, she did not believe there would be a serious negative impact if APC were to have the house restored by the end of March. Councilmember Woodruff stated he did not think the City should give APC any indication that it would extend the agreed upon date of March 17,2007. The City should require APC to satisfY its obligations to the City by the agreed upon date of March 17, 2007. If APC did not take action, he did not think APC had provided any reason for the City to think it would; therefore, legal action should be considered. Councilmember Turgeon stated she thought the poor condition of the house was a result of more than normal wear-and-tear. She also thought the bathtub, toilets, refrigerator, and ovens would need to be replaced. Attorney Keane stated the original lease expired on June 30, 2006. He stated Administrator Dawson referenced that Council had authorized an "open-end" lease extension in a memo he wrote to Council dated March 2,2007. Keane then stated that he had not reviewed any lease extension, but he did recollect Council discussion regarding extending the lease on a month-to-month basis. Mayor Lizee and Councilmember Callies both stated Council had formally approved an "open-end" lease extension. Keane then explained if the lease terms changed to month-to-month, then the underlying terms and obligations of the original lease carried forward to the month-to-month lease extension. Attorney Keane suggested that Staff request a professional cleaning company to come and assess the house and estimate what it would cost to restore the house to a habitable condition, if the City wanted to rent the house in the future. That would establish a baseline of what needed to be done to the house to make it habitable; it would also provide a third party's perspective of what needed to be done, and that could be used when dealing with the City's insurance company or during further negotiations with APC. Keane encouraged Staff to have the assessment done the next day if at all possible. He also recommended if APC were to come back to the property, he would limit its involvement to removing items belonging to the renters from the property until an assessment had been completed. Keane commented he was not sure what portion of the damages would be considered insurable vandalism and what would be considered criminal neglect. The City's insurance agent could direct the City as to whether it should file an insurance claim. Councilmember Woodruff questioned if the City was obligated to allow APC the opportunity to clean the house based on the agreement entered into by APC and the City on February 28, 2007. CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING March 12,2007 Page 5 of 6 In response to a comment from Councilmember Callies, Councilmember Turgeon stated Our Savior Lutheran Church was partnering with APC on this effort, but Our Savior Lutheran Church was not included in the lease agreement. In response to a question from Attorney Keane, Director Burton stated she would confirm with Administrator Dawson that the outstanding utility service charges listed in the agreement were accurate. In response to a question from Councilmember Callies, Attorney Keane stated APC had been given the opportunity to clean the house and to mitigate the damages. Callies stated the City could not be sure that APC had not already arranged for a professional cleaning service to clean the house, although she did not think that was very likely. In response to a question from Attorney Keane, Director Brown stated the locks on the house had been changed. Keane again stated he would limit APC's involvement to removing items left by the renters. Mayor Lizee stated Staff could notifY APC that it had contacted a professional cleaning service to assess the condition of the house, and to request APC to remove items and trash from the house. Director Brown stated he would contact Servicemaster and APC on March 13, 2007. In response to a question from Councilmember Turgeon, Attorney Keane stated there would not be a problem with the City's insurance because the property was vacant as there was a lease agreement in effect through February 28, 2007. Councilmember Wellens stated it was important to restore the house to habitable condition soon, as the rental market would be picking up. Attorney Keane stated the house was a desirable corporate rental property . Councilmember Wellens suggested that Staff put water in the toilets. Councilmember Woodruff commented that the discoloration of the toilets and damage to the water fixtures could be a result of hard well water. In response to a question from Councilmember Woodruff, Director Burton explained insurance for the house was included in the City's annual insurance policy. In response to another question, Burton explained a journal entry was done at year-end to repay the City's Sewer Fund from the General Fund for the loan to purchase the house. Councilmember Callies stated she would like the opportunity to consider alternatives for handling the situation with APe. She commented at the time the City made the decision to rent the property, it appeared to be a sound decision (the property would have remained vacant otherwise); she thought it would be appropriate for Council to have a future discussion as to whether or not it should rent the property again. Attorney Keane commented there were companies that managed rental properties for a fee. Councilmember Woodruff suggested the City have the property appraised, after it had been restored, and the appraisal amount could be used to help determine a rental fee. Councilmember Callies stated she did not think there was a benefit in having the property appraised unless the City was going to sell the property . Mayor Lizee asked that Staff obtain an estimate from Servicemaster for restoring the house to a habitable condition and present that to Council. CITY OF SHORE WOOD WORK SESSION MEETING March 12, 2007 Page 6 of 6 Attorney Keane left the meeting after this discussion. 4. OTHER There was no other business presented this evening. 5. ADJOURN Wellens moved, Turgeon seconded, Adjourning the City Council Work Session Meeting of March 12,2007, at 9:23 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder ~e~