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070907 CC Reg MinCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, JULY 9, 2007 MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:00 P.M. Mayor Lizee called the meeting to order at 7:07 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor Lizee; Councilmembers Callies, Turgeon, Wellens and Woodruff; Administrator Dawson; Associate Attorney Mayeron; Planning Director Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and Engineer Landini Absent: None B. Review Agenda Administrator Dawson stated at an earlier City Council work session Council asked that Item 9.B, Clarification of Part-Time Benefit Eligibility, be added to the agenda. Woodruff moved, Turgeon seconded, Approving the Agenda as Amended. Motion passed 5/0. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. City Council Work Session Minutes, June 25, 2007 Turgeon moved, Woodruff seconded, Approving the City Council Work Session Minutes of June 25, 2007, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. B. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes, June 25, 2007 Turgeon moved, Woodruff seconded, Approving the City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of June 25, 2007, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. 3. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Lizee reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda. Callies moved, Wellens seconded, Approving the Motions Contained on the Consent Agenda and Adopting the Resolutions Therein. A. Approval of the Verified Claims List B. Staffing -Approving the Regular Appointment of James Landini as City Engineer (This was moved to Item 10.B under Engineering/Public Works) SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING July 9, 2007 Page 2 of 9 C. Approving ORDINANCE NO. 437, "An Ordinance Titled "License, Permit, Service Charges and Miscellaneous Fees"." D. Spring Clean-up Progress Report (This was moved to Item 10.C under Engineering/Public Works) E. Authorize Expenditure of Funds for a Water Truck Tanker F. Extend Variance Deadline for Obtaining Building Permit Applicant: Tony Lund Location: 27695 Island View Road Motion passed 5/0. 4. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR There were no matters from the floor presented this evening. 5. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS None. 6. PUBLIC HEARING A. Vacate Public Right-of--Way -White Street Mayor Lizee opened the Public Hearing at 7:12 P.M. Director Nielsen stated Mike Seifert, who owned the properties located at 6085 Lake Linden Drive and 5990 Lake Linden Court, had requested a street vacation of a "paper street" known as White Street. White Street was an undeveloped right-of--way which was approximately 300 feet south of the Yellowstone Trail/Lake Linden Drive intersection. He explained the property had never been developed as a City street, but it did have sanitary sewer main in it that served Mr. Seifert's two properties. Nielsen stated that White Street would be combined with the 6085 Lake Linden Drive property. He went on to state that because the sewer main served the two Seifert properties, Staff recommended the City retain a utility easement over the sewer line. The City Engineer recommended that the easement be 20- feet wide, centered over the main. The easement would be recorded with the resolution vacating the street. Nielsen explained all the City's fire lanes extended to a body of water; the "paper streets" do not. He stated the there were a number of other "paper streets" in the City. Seeing no one present wishing to speak on this topic, Mayor Lizee opened and closed the public testimony portion of the Public Hearing at 7:16 P.M. Woodruff moved, Turgeon seconded, Approving RESOLUTION NO. 07-046, "A Resolution Vacating Part of White Street" subject to the City being granted an easement over White Street. SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING July 9, 2007 Page 3 of 9 Director Nielsen stated the existing driveway would remain where it was. Motion passed, 5/0. Mayor Lizee closed the Public Hearing at 7:18 P.M. B. Public Hearing regarding financing by the City of Deephaven for an Educational Facilities Revenue Note for Excelsior Covenant Church Mayor Lizee opened the Public Hearing at 7: l8 P.M. Administrator Dawson stated Deephaven, on behalf of Excelsior Covenant, had agreed to issue an Educational Facilities Revenue Note for up to $3.0 million for the renovation of an addition to the Church's education facilities. Based on federal and state laws and regulations, a public hearing must be held in the "host city" (the Church was located in Shorewood), and Council must take for-nal action to grant host approval for the project financing. Steve Fenton, on behalf of Excelsior Covenant Church, stated the Church approached Deephaven regarding financing because it was important the note be bank qualified. Klein Bank would hold the note and would offer better rates on the note if it was bank qualified. He stated the Deephaven City Council had approved the issuance of the note subject to Shorewood approving the financing. Mr. Fenton stated there was no risk to the City as the "host city"; the City would have no obligation to repay the bond should Excelsior Covenant Church not be able to repay it. He then stated the project was a $4.3 million project, and a successful $2.7 million capital campaign had been conducted. Seeing no one present wishing to speak on this topic, Mayor Lizee opened and closed the public testimony portion of the Public Hearing at 7:24 P.M. Turgeon moved, Callies seconded, Approving RESOLUTION NO. 07-047, "A Resolution Giving Host Approval to the Issuance of an Educational Facilities Revenue Note under Minnesota Statutes, Sections 469.152 through 469.1651 and (Excelsior Covenant School Project)." Motion passed, 5/0. Mayor Lizee closed the Public Hearing at 7:25 P.M. 7. PARKS Director Brown stated there had not been a Parks Commission meting since the last regular Council meeting. The next meeting was scheduled for July 10, 2007. 8. PLANNING A. Zoning Violation Appeal -Catain Director Nielsen stated the City had received a resident complaint that Michael Catain, 4550 Enchanted Point, had installed a second dock on his properly. The City's Zoning Code restricted the number of docks on a residential properly to one. After inspecting the property and determining that situation was SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING July 9, 2007 Page 4 of 9 true, the City sent a violation letter dated June 18, 2007, to Mr. Catain directing him to correct the violation by July 2, 2007. The City also gave Mr. Catain the opportunity to file an appeal. His attorney, Jeffrey Lambert, filed an appeal on July 2, 2007. Staff responded to the points raised in Mr. Lambert's appeal. Director Nielsen then stated he had received a call froin Mr. Lambert today, July 9, requesting Mr. Catain be granted athirty-day extension to determine if it was feasible to bring the docks into compliance under the City's and the LMCD's ordinances. Nielsen noted Mr. Lambert was present this evening. Nielsen commented that he was skeptical the docks could be brought into compliance, but he was willing to consider a plan. Councilmember Callies stated that ordinarily she was not opposed to granting an extension of time to resolve a violation. Her concern. with this case was Mr. Catain would be allowed to continue to use the second dock during the extension and if the docks could not be brought into compliance he would have additional time to correct the violation; therefore, Mr. Catain would have had the advantage of the second dock for a large part of the summer. She was not in support of allowing Mr. Catain that much time to use a dock in violation of the City's Code. Councilmember Turgeon stated she would be willing to grant aten-day extension. Councilmember Woodruff stated there was another dock on Mr. Catain's property; therefore, removal of the second dock would not be a hardship. He stated he was not in favor of granting an extension. Callies moved, Woodruff seconded, to deny the appeal and to grant Mr. Catain until August 9, 2007, to bring his docks into compliance with City Code. Motion passed 5/0. 9. GENERAL/NEW BUSINESS A. 2007-2028 EFD Capital Improvement Program Administrator Dawson stated Council had continued this item from its June 1 I, 2007, regular meeting. There was no further action to be taken at this time. He explained that at an EFD Board work session on June 27, 2007, there had been discussion about the proposed 2008 Operating Budget and the proposed 2007-2028 CIP; other cities' elected representatives were also present at that meeting. At the end of the meeting the Board gave direction to its staff regarding revisions to both the CIP and Operating Budget. The Board planed to consider the CIP and Operating Budget at its July 25, 2007, Board meeting, and then forward them to the cities' councils for review in August 2007. B. Clarification of Part-Time Benefit Eligibility Administrator Dawson explained the policies in Section 1.05 and Section 7.01 in the employee Handbook Approved in 2006 were inconsistent regarding insurance eligibility for regular part-time employees. Section 1.05 stated part-time employees who worked an average of between 20 and 32 hours per week may be eligible to purchase from the City's health and life insurance on a pro-rata basis. Section 7.OI stated apart-time employee who averaged the same number of hours of work per week may purchase from the City's health and life insurance at their own cost. SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING July 9, 2007 Page 5 of 9 Callies moved, Wellens seconded, directing Staff to amend the Employee Handbook such that Section 1.05 and Section 7.01 both state apart-time employee whose work week averaged between twenty and thirty-two hours per week may be eligible to purchase from the City's health and life insurance on a pro-rata basis. Motion passed 5/0. 10. ENGINEERING/PUSLIC WORKS A. Xcel Undergrounding -County Road 19 Administrator Dawson stated the placement of utility lines underground was completed as part of the County Road 19 intersection project. Xcel Energy originally estimated cost for the undergrounding effort to be $84,200. Early in the construction process Xcel Energy revised the cost of the effort to be $169,000. After the City received the revised cost estimate, Council authorized the City to enter into an agreement with RW Beck Consulting to review the revised cost estimate for reasonableness. RW Beck Consulting thought the $169,000 estimate was reasonable. Dawson explained that according to the terms in the cooperative agreement for the County Road 19 project, Hennepin County would pay for one-half of the cost for an amount of $79,500. The amount the City would have to pay was $85,987 (which included carrying charges). Dawson stated it had been Council's intent to surcharge for undergrounding at the beginning of the project. The surcharge was determined to be $1.25 per month for residential rate payers for 22 months with approximately $0.1.5 due in the 23`d month. Administrator Dawson stated Council had been provided with a revised resolution that reflected the discussed surcharge time period of 22.11 months. Councilmember Wellens stated he was not in favor of a surcharge to the residents to cover this cost. He preferred to "keep taxation simple and clear". He thought burying the utility lines should be funded out of the project fund, rather than as "little taxes" which were "hidden" on rate payer's utility bills. He suggested the cost should be paid out of the General Fund reserves. Mayor Lizee stated the surcharge was not a "hidden tax". She stated the City had worked diligently with Tonka Bay, Xcel Energy, Hennepin County and the Minnesota Department of Transportation to move that project forward. She stated Council had agreed at the project onset that burying the utility lines was a benefit to the City's residents. Councilmember Turgeon stated had she known at the onset of the project that undergrounding would have cost $200,000 or $300,000 she might have made a different decision whether to proceed. Callies moved, Woodruff seconded, Approving RESOLUTION NO. 07-048, "A Resolution Authorizing a Monthly Surcharge to Xcel Energy Ratepayers in Shorewood for the Placement of Its Facilities Underground for the County Road 19/Smithtown Road/Country Club Road Intersection Improvement Project." Councilmember Woodruff clarified that the amount City ratepayers would have to pay for the undergrounding efforts would be $85,987. He suggested for future projects the cost for undergrounding should be included in the cost of the project. SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING July 9, 2007 Page 6 of 9 Councilmember Callies stated that not all project costs should be considered taxes. Sl1e thought it was appropriate for ratepayers to pay for costs such as undergrounding. She stated she would prefer the law required Xcel Energy to pay for undergrounding, but it did not. She also stated Council tried to ensure that it was consistent in approving items that were not funded by the General Fund. Motion passed, 4/1 with Wellens dissenting. B. Regular Appointment of James Landini as City Engineer This item was removed from the consent agenda at Councilmember Turgeon's request. Councilmember Turgeon stated when Council discussed whether the City should have an in-house engineer or contract for those services, part of the discussion was about a need to offset the cost for an in- house engineer by a reduction in consulting engineering services fees. She stated based on the report provided to Council she did not think that objective had been met. She noted that was not a reflection of Engineer Landini's efforts. She stated she was not yet convinced that it was more cost effective to have an in-house engineer. Administrator Dawson explained that another key element of the proposal to hire an in-house engineer was to reduce the excessive work load of Director Brown; he had not only been performing engineering related activities and managing consulting contracts, he also performed his Director of Public Works responsibilities. He stated Director Brown's excessive work load had been reduced somewhat after Engineer Landini had been hired. He then stated that Brown had continued to work approximate 120 hours in a two-week period when the City used a consulting engineer. He explained that the in-house engineer was dedicated to engineering activities full-time; the consulting engineer (Steve Gurney) provided services 32 hours per week. Director Brown. related that Mr. Gurney had felt uncomfortable with the demands of providing the on-site consulting engineering services to the City on a weekly basis; Brown was quite confident that WSB would have chosen another associate to provide those services even if the City had not Hired an in-house engineer. Had Mr. Gurney left prior to the City hiring an in-house engineer, the City would have had to make a significant investment in training another consultant to perform those activities. The investment had instead been made in Engineer Landini. Some of the less tangible benefits of an in-house engineer were the consistency of service; the understanding of day-to-day issues within the City; and faster response to Staff, resident, and contractor questions. Brown stated he would not and could not again work the excessive hours he had done for a long time, nor would he be willing to forfeit 2 - 3 weeks of vacation annually as he had done. He noted that the cost to the City for afull-time in-house engineer was significantly less than it was to outsource for those services for 32 hours per week. In response to a question from Councilmember Wellens, Director Brown explained that the costs for 2005 and 2006 general engineering services identified in the report did. not include engineering services costs for the County Road 19 intersection project or the preparation of the City's Drainage Problem Areas report. Director Brown then explained that general engineering activities included items such as: working with and resolving ongoing drainage issues with residents; review of building permit grading and drainage plans; compilation of plans and specifications for maintenance programs such as seal coating and pavement markings; database management and record retention for all utility construction; National SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING July 9, 2007 Page 7 of 9 Pollutant Discharge Elimination System programming and permitting; survey information; MCES, MPCA permitting and documentation; preparation of ordinances and codes and administration of such; and, the administration of the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program. Director Brown also explained that the rates of $117 - $122 for the consulting engineering services were used in the comparison report. Callies moved, Lizee seconded, Adopting a Resolution Approving the Regular Appointment of James Landini as City Engineer. Motion failed, 2/3, with Turgeon, Wellens, and Woodruff dissenting. Councilmember Turgeon suggested that Engineer's Landini probationary period be extended to 2007 year-end. Councilmember Callies stated she did not think Councilmember Turgeon's suggestion was the appropriate approach for handling the situation. She thought it would be more appropriate to have approved the regular appointment of Engineer Landini as City Engineer as he had done his job more than satisfactorily. If Council wanted to eliminate the in-house engineering position at a future date it could do so. She stated she strongly objected to how this was handled, but she would not stand in the way of some formal action being taken. Callies moved, Woodruff seconded, Extending the Consideration of the Regular Appointment of James Landini as City Engineer to 2007 Year-End. Motion passed 5/0. C. Spring Clean-up Progress Report This item was removed from the consent agenda at Councilmember Turgeon's request. Councilmember Turgeon stated a spring clean-up progress report was not included in the meeting packet for approval. Director Brown stated the contractor had not submitted the necessary documentation the City required. He then stated the City had denied the contractor's invoice. This item was continued to a July 23, 2007, Council meeting. 11. STAFF AND COUNCIL REPORTS A. Administrator & Staff None. B. Mayor & City Council Mayor Lizee stated the Green Roof seminar Engineer Landini coordinated was attended by 38 people. She stated she had approached the Friends of the South Shore Center regarding its interest in constructing a green roof on its storage shed as part of a hands-on workshop. SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING July 9, 2007 Page 8 of 9 Administrator Dawson provided an update on a July 9, 2007, meeting of representatives from the Friends Board, city administrators and Senior Community Services (SCS). SCS's appeal to provide dial-a-ride transit services had been denied. He stated the SCS Board had agreed to provide services to the South Shore Center through October 31, 2007, and may consider extending that date to the end of 2007 provided that the cities and the Friends could come up with a plan prior to a September 2007 SCS Board meeting on how to move forward. Dawson stated at that meeting consensus appeared to have been reached that the five cities should collectively contribute $17,600 to the Friends (most likely for building related expenses) as had been agreed to for 2007; the City's portion would be $8,800 based on the funding formula. The Friends would raise $25,000 and the cities would match that same amount and give it to the Friends for building related purposes. This would be a one-time only funding. Discussions would continue to reach agreement on a new proposal on what the cities and Friends responsibilities should be going forward related to the building, staffing and programs; SCS would coordinate those discussions. There was strong agreement that the cities should shift their focus to maintaining their building asset, away from their focus on programs; the Friends Board would focus on the programs. He commented that the Friends would consider making a commitment to establish a $100,000 reserve over time for building related purposes. Dawson stated the next meeting of the group was scheduled for August 13, 2007. Dawson suggested it may be appropriate to discuss this item further at an August 6, 2007, Council work session. Councilmember Turgeon suggested the cities' representatives meet anal agree to what the collective contribution should be for 2008 before the larger group meets. Administrator Dawson stated at the meeting this morning the elected officials from the cities agreed to bring the proposal he just reviewed to their cities' councils for discussion. He stated a summary of the proposal would be prepared for each council to consider. Councilmember Woodruff stated there had to be a commitment by all five cities to some level of funding. Administrator Dawson stated the existing cooperative agreement would have to be amended so it was binding on all the parties. Councilmember Wellens questioned if the SLMPD Coordinating Committee had recently discussed the idea of opening the SLMPD firing range to organizations for private citizens. Mayor Lizee stated it had not. Administrator Dawson stated he understood it was scheduled for discussion at a July 18, 2007, meeting. Wellens questioned if it would be appropriate for Council to provide Lizee with its thoughts on how it would like to move forward with that item. Wellens stated he would be interested in allowing an organization to use the facility. Councilmember Turgeon agreed that it should be opened to the public for conceal-carry permitting classes. Mayor Lizee stated she would ask SLMPD Chief Litsey for his input on this matter. Councilmember Woodruff stated for the proper type of users he would support opening the firing range to the public. He thought Chief Litsey should be informed that three of the Councilmembers would support that. SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING July 9, 2007 Page 9 of 9 Councilmember Callies stated Chief Litsey had not been in favor of that in the past. She then stated the firing range and the public safety facility were not designed for that purpose. She was not in favor of opening the range to the public. With regard to Liquor Operations, Councilmember Wellens suggested the businesses could be put up for sale now if Council approved. Administrator Dawson stated at a previous work session Council decided to discuss this matter at an August 6, 2007, Council Special meeting which was after a July 30, 2007, Liquor Operations Committee meeting. Woodruff moved, Callies seconded Recessing the City Council Regular Meeting to an Executive Session at 8:21 P.M. 12. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Lizee convened the executive session at 8:28 P.M. The Councilmembers, the City Administrator, and the Associate City Attorney were present. Associate Attorney Mayeron provided an update on the situation regarding City-owned property at 5795 Country Club Road. Administrator Dawson and Associate Attorney Mayeron left the executive session at 8:31 P.M. A. City Administrator's Performance Appraisal The Councilmembers discussed the City Administrator's performance. The Executive Session was concluded at 9:02 P.M. 13. ADJOURN The City Council reconvened in regular session at 9:03 P.M. Turgeon moved, Wellens seconded, Adjourning the City Council Regular Meeting of July 9, 2007, at 9:03 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Christine Freeman, Recorder Christine Lizee, Mayor ATTEST: