Loading...
10-11-10 CC Reg MinCITY OF SHORE WOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2010 MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:00 P.M. Mayor Liz& called the meeting to order at 7:07 P.M. A. Roll Call Present. Mayor LizCe; Councilmembers Bailey, Turgeon, Woodruff and Zerby; Attorney Tietjen; City Administrator Heck; Finance Director DeJong; Director of Public Works Brown; and Engineer Landini Absent: Planning Director Nielsen. B. Review Agenda Turgeon moved, Zerby seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 510. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. City Council Work Session Minutes, September 27, 2010 Woodruff moved, Zerby seconded, Approving the City Council Work Session Minutes of September 27, 2010, as presented. Motion passed 510. B. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes, September 27, 2010 Turgeon moved, Woodruff seconded, Approving the City Council Regular Meeting Minutes of September 27, 2010, as presented. Motion passed 5/0. 3. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Lizee reviewed the items on the Consent Agenda. Turgeon moved, Zerby seconded, Approving the Motions Contained on the Consent Agenda and Adopting the Resolutions Therein. A. Approval of the Verified Claims List B. Setting the Date for the 2010 Appreciation Event C. Accept Amended Petition for Star Lane and Star Circle Road Improvement Project Motion passed 510. 4. MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR CITY OF SHOREWOOD I2EGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 11, 2010 Page 2 of 8 There were no matters from the floor presented this evening. 5. PUBLIC HEARING None. 6. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS None, 7. PARKS No report was given because there had not been a Park Commission meeting since the last Council meeting 8. PLANNING Chair Geng reported on matters considered and actions taken at the October 5, 20tO, Planning Commission meeting (as detailed in the minutes of that meeting). The Commission discussed amending the Comprehensive Plan to reflect improvements made by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to the intersection of Galpin Lake Road and State Highway 7. Staff is going to ask MnDOT if it has any other plans to try and relieve congestion at that intersection. He noted the Commission held a public forum during its September 21, 2010, meeting on the no right -turn restriction at the westerly entrance to the Shorewood Village Shopping Center. During that forum residents and some of the Commissioners discussed their concerns about traffic control at the intersection of Eureka Road and Highway 7. He stated the Commission discussed whether or not a stop light on Eureka Road and State Highway 7 is warranted during this October meeting. Staff provided the Commission with traffic information it had collected about that intersection from MnDOT. MnDOT has indicated it does not meet the warrants for justification. MnDOT stated the City could pursue installing a semaphore at a cost of around $250,000 to do so. In response to a question from Councihmember Turgeon, Chair Geng stated the traffic information provided for Eureka Road includes data from 2009. He reviewed the average daily traffic count information received from MnDOT. It is: 1,400 in 1999; 2050 in 2001; 2200 in 2005; and, 2,150 in 2009. Mayor Lizee stated she is somewhat surprised by the data because Shorewood Ponds was constructed after the 1999 study and the use of Freeman Park has increased since then. She noted that when the Highway 7 study was done MnDOT expressed it did not want any more traffic signals between Highway 7 and the City of Hutchinson to slow traffic down. She stated Church Road is a relatively new road and it is located in Chanhassen. She indicated she thought it could be beneficial to discuss making the intersection of Church Road and Highway 7 a controlled intersection with Chanhassen. She noted MnDOT is planning a large project on Highway 5 at the end of Minnewashta Parkway. Chair Geng related that Director Nielsen had indicated MnDOT's objective is to keep traffic moving. If the warrants don't justify a traffic signal MnDOT is not interested in having them installed. Councilmember Woodruff expanded on the meeting report. He stated Staff is going to talk to MnDOT about the timing of the traffic signal at the intersection of highway 7 and Highway 41. MnDOT had previously agreed to have gaps in the traffic flow to allow people to get onto Highway 7 from places such as Eureka Road and Church Road. Staff is also going to get some traffic counts for two other roads. CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 11, 2010 Page 3 of 8 9. ENGINEERING/PUBLIC WORKS A. Accept Low Quote and Award Contract for Lift Station 15 Rehabilitation Project Director Brown stated the meeting packet includes his staff reports about the Lift Stations 15 and 17 rehabilitation projects. He noted he will review the basic components of the projects at the same time because they are very similar. He stated the detailed quote tabulation sheets included in the meeting packet were incorrect and Council was been provided with corrected versions prior to this meeting. Brown explained that on June 14, 2010, Council authorized TKDA and Associates to prepare the design and bid documents for the rehabilitation projects. TKDA completed the design portion of the projects and Staff directed TKDA to issue proposals using a quote process rather than a formal bid process. State Statute allows municipalities to use the quote method if the engineer's estimate of construction does not exceed $100,000. The estimates prepared by the City's engineering consultant, TKDA, were $78,021 for Lift Station 15 and $78,522 for Lift Station 17. He noted that using the quote process reduces the time to construction by six to eight weeks when compared to the formal bid process. Brown then explained plans were distributed to five reputable firms for quotes. Three firms provided quotes and they were received at City Hall at 10:00 A.M. on October 6, 2010. Minger Construction submitted the low quote in am amount of $118,088.80. Brown stated there has been a great deal of discussion about why the quotes came in so much higher than the engineer's estimate. He noted there were extreme variances between quotes for the dewatering portion of the project. He explained each contractor views items differently. Staff believes the close proximity of Lake Minnetonka adds significant challenges to the projects, but it's the contractor's responsibility to decide how it wants to do the project. Councilmember Zerby stated there are also extreme variances in the engineer's estimate and the three quotes for rehabilitation portion of the project. Director Brown stated contractors look at procedures differently for how they are going to use their equipment and labor hours. Also, contractors differ in how they spread out their profit margins. Although not applicable to this project, he explained that mobilization is one of the first things that get paid on a project. Sometimes contractors put their profit margin in an area that is paid earlier in the project. There is nothing that can be done to prohibit that. Therefore, unit costs are not always comparable. Councilmember Zerby asked if the request for proposal was specific enough. For example, is the proper size pump specified and are all the materials adequate. Director Brown responded yes. In response to a question from Councilmember Woodruff, Director Brown explained if Council accepts the low quote and awards the contract this evening the projects should be substantially complete this fall. All the pieces will be in place but the contractor may have to come back and do some touch up in the spring of 2011. Councilmember Woodruff asked if the residents will be notified of what the City plans on doing and how the sites will be restored. Director Brown responded that will be done. Turgeon moved, Woodruff seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 10 -047 "A Resolution Accepting Quotes and Awarding Contract for the Rehabilitation of Lift Stations No. 15, City Project No. 10 -16." Motion passed 5/0. B. Accept Low Quote and Award Contract for Lift Station 17 Rehabilitation Project CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 11, 2010 Page 4 of 8 Woodruff moved, Zerby seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 10 -048 "A Resolution Accepting Quotes and Awarding Contract for the Rehabilitation of Lift Stations No. 17, City Project No. 10- 17." Motion passed 510. C. Staff Report on the Stormwater Management Program Director Brown stated that during the September 27, 2010, City Council Meeting Councilmember Turgeon asked Staff to report back regarding the inspection and maintenance schedule for the stormwater management system. The meeting packet contains a report authored by him describing the components of the system. The components are ponds and dry impoundment areas; critical control structures; stormwater outfalls and ditches; and, catch basins, manholes and storm sewer pipes. He then stated he will entertain questions from Council about his report. Councilmember Woodruff stated a few years ago the City contracted with WSB and Associates to prepare a stormwater management plan for the City. The Plan was approved in 2008and identifies a number of things the City must do in order to comply with the Plan. One of the things identified was inspections and maintenance of the various facilities. When Council discussed the Plan a number of years ago WSB believed the Stormwater Management Utility Fund was going to have some trouble financing the Plan. Woodruff then stated after reading Director Brown's report he has concluded that there are activities going on with regard to the stormwater system, but there is no comprehensive approach for implementing the Plan, especially in the area of inspections. He expressed his concern about the statement "While there has been an increased effort at televising known issues of storm sewer pipes, this is an area that is not currently funded." in Brown's report. He stated during budget discussions he does not recollect there being any discussion about the lack of funding for these efforts. He also expressed concern that the Fund is pretty thin and he thought that in year five from now the Fund will enter into a deficit state. lIe asked Staff to comment on whether or not the Plan will be implemented, the comprehensive approach for doing what needs to be done, the cost to do it, and when the cost information will be made available to Council. Director Brown explained the Plan Councilmember Woodruff is referring to talks about meeting the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ( NPDES) requirements. That means inspecting 20 percent of the structures each year. Staff is doing that. Televising of storm sewer pipes is not included in the Plan. Staff has responded to a number of concerns about storm sewer pipes which results in televising the pipe. There appears to be a greater frequency of those types of issues and funding may have to be made available to deal with that. He noted that with regard to NPDES requirements, inspections, and maintenance of the structures Staff is completing those activities. Councilmember Woodruff stated he has asked Administrator Heck for a spreadsheet showing the structures, the items that need to be inspected, a schedule for when they will be inspected, and what has been inspected and when. He has not been provided with that information. He stated that is what is required to comply with the Plan and he asked if that type of document exists. Director Brown explained there is documentation for each inspection that has been performed, but there is not a spreadsheet document. The documentation includes when the structure was inspected, what was inspected, what maintenance needs to be done, and any follow up action required. Each year another 20 percent is added to that documentation. There is also a mapping on file that shows all of the structures. Councilmember Woodruff stated the culvert near Covington Road has not filled up over night; it's been happening over time. He asked when that culvert was to be inspected. Brown stated fixing that problem will be costly. In the past, before there were a number of regulations, it was common for the City to take a CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 11, 2010 Page 5 of 8 backhoe and clean out those types of structures. That structure is an outfall structure and ditch system, and it falls outside of what he calls a normal structure check. Dealing with that will take an extensive plan and approval from a number of agencies in order to complete the maintenance. Councilmember Woodruff asked when Council will be made aware of situations like that which will require significant funding and time to correct so Council can take some action to ensure funding is available when needed. He commented he was not aware of the issue with the culvert near Covington Road until late this summer. Director Brown stated that out of all of the infrastructure needs, and especially when it comes down to things such as ditch cleaning and outfall structures, these types of things end up being a lower priority because major projects are the focus. There isn't funding available to address all drainage problem areas identified in a drainage problem areas report. There are problems out there that can be resolved with ditch cleaning. Council may not be aware of all of them because the focus has been on the major projects. Councilmember Woodruff suggested Staff challenge Council to provide the funding needed to take care of such problems and to prioritize them. He stated if there are other problems consuming current staff time, then Council should have the opportunity to authorize getting contract resources to take care of the issues. Councilmember Zerby cautioned against quickly authorizing spending of a significant amount of money to address a particular resident's issue when there are larger issues to solve. Councilmember Woodruff stated he did not disagree with Zerby's comment, but he did not know how encompassing the stormwater management system issues are. Councilmember Bailey stated he thought it prudent to prepare a funding plan for addressing the maintenance of the stormwater management system. Councilmember Turgeon commented that the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) at one time had wanted the City to prepare a list of all of the Natural Urban Runoff Program (NURP) Ponds in the City. She stated it's her recollection that at one time the MWCD indicated it would partner with the City in the maintenance of such ponds, but she doesn't think that ever happened. She indicated she thought it would be prudent to look at developing a long -term, high -level plan for maintaining the ponds and the cost to do so. Mayor Liz& stated it would be beneficial to be provided with an overview of who the City's partners are in this area. She did not think a detailed report is necessary. Engineer Landini noted that the MCWD and the City have shared graphic information system data back and forth as well as information about the ponds and inspections. 10. GENERAL/NEW BUSINESS A. Therapeutic Massage License Fees Administrator Heck stated LaVida Massage, a therapeutic massage business, opened in August 2010 in the Shorewood Village Shopping Center. Steven Gamm, owner of the business, asked if the City would consider changing the license fee structure for the business. Each individual massage therapist at LaVida Massage had to obtain an individual annual license for a fee of $150 and also pay a one -time investigation fee of $100. Mr. Gamm has asked if the license fee for 2010 could be prorated. Mr. Gamm has indicated that in some cities the owner has to get a license but the individual therapists either do not have pay a license fee or pay a lower fee CITY OF SHORE WOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 11, 2010 Page 6 of 8 Heck then stated Staff is asking Council to direct it to review the existing ordinance and fees and recommend revisions to Council during its October 25, 2010, meeting. Mayor Liz& stated Mr. Gamm's request seems reasonable. Councilmember Zerby asked what liability the City takes on by licensing the individual therapists. After a quick glance at what some other cities charge his first instinct is to continue to charge for an investigation but to eliminate the individual license fee. He asked Staff to provide Council with a recommendation during Council's next meeting. Councilmember Bailey agreed. Councilmember Turgeon stated the process for dealing with this type of thing was changed so Staff can handle it administratively. She noted the Planning Commission has always been involved with looking at licenses and fees for other in -home occupations. She wanted to be assured that this would not be handled differently than other types of occupational licenses and fees. Administrator Heck clarified this is different than an in -home business. LaVida Massage is a storefront business. Heck stated he doesn't know what the rational is for requiring an individual license fee for a storefront business. He explained when Council considers regulating something it should ask what the purpose is and how it will be enforced. The fee should cover the City's cost. He stated he will ask Director Nielsen if he thought the Planning Commission should be involved with this. Planning Chair Geog stated the Commission is not usually involved in this type of thing. Councilmember Turgeon stated she had no problem with Staff making a recommendation to Council on this topic. Councilmember Woodruff agreed. Councilmember Woodruff asked Administrator Heck to meet with Director Nielsen about this because the overall structure of licenses is in the City's ordinances. The ordinances are reviewed by the Planning Commission and it makes recommendations about changes. Council establishes the fee amounts. Administrator Heck stated Staff will evaluate the request and make a recommendation to Council. Mr. Gamm thanked Council for considering his request. B. Police Department Management Study Administrator Heck stated during its August 23, 2010, meeting Council considered the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department's (SLMPD) 2011 budget. During the discussion about that item Councilmember Bailey suggested the SLMPD undergo a management study. Bailey had asked that this item be placed on the agenda. Heck then stated he solicited information about management studies from other city administrators and managers throughout the county via the City /County Managers Association website. The meeting packet includes comments from Roderick Woods, the City Manager for Beverly Hills, California. He indicated he had informed SLMPD Chief Litsey that this item was going to be on the agenda. Litsey forwarded a copy of a letter to the editor from one of the SLMPD member city's council members in support of the SLMPD budget. Councilmember Woodruff stated he supported Councilmember Bailey's suggestion at the time it was made. He thought management studies are beneficial and he suggested one be done for the Excelsior Fire District (EFD) and other City departments as well. He thought that periodically organizations, especially organizations that are as thinly staffed from an administrative standpoint as the SLMPD and the LED are, CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 11, 2010 Page 7 of 8 can benefit from an outsider making as assessment of their operations and making recommendations for improvements. Councilmember Zerby expressed concern that the City is taking the lead role rather than working with the other member cities. He noted he did not want the City to be the one doing what he called an audit of the SLMPD organization. He wanted support of the other member cities. He stated suggestions to do things like this should come from a joint group. Councilmember Bailey stated his suggestion on this was to have Staff report back to Council during its November 8, 2010, meeting about what type of options are available for conducting a management study. He thought it may ultimately have to be adopted by the joint powers group. He stated City staff could do some research for them.. He stated that some type of review on a periodic basis is just common sense. He then stated that Administrator Heck has proposed the City contract with a firm to enroll the City in a Measurable Management program intended to improve operations. Councilmember Zerby stated he did not want the City to have to pay the full cost for a SLMPD management study. He stated that ideally the SLMPD Coordinating Committee would do this as it directly oversees the SLMPD. He then stated he is willing to get more information on this and then discuss it further. Mayor LizBe stated management studies are a good idea for any organization. She stated if a study is going to be done for the SLMPD she recommended one be done for the EFD at the same time. She reminded Council that there have been studies, audits and reviews done of the SLMPD organization in the last few years. She noted the SLMPD member cities are required to review the funding formula for the SLMPD for the year 2012. She offered to bring this idea to the Coordinating Committee during its October 19, 2010, meeting. Councilmember Bailey stated he wanted City staff to report back with options in order to move the management study process forward. Councilmember Turgeon agreed. Councilmember Turgeon stated she thought it would be beneficial to have something from Mayor LizBe to present to the Coordinating Committee as an option. She then stated the City is not trying to tell anyone anything. The City is just trying to say there are always opportunities out there. She commented that Chief Litsey has stated that wearing his administrative hat takes him away from other duties he has. She stated if the study can find more efficient and effective ways to handle the SLMPD administrative duties, then it will save all of the member cities money. She then stated she did not think there would be any harm in getting additional information and then letting the Coordinating Committee have a discussion about a management study. She thought an outside set of ears and eyes is warranted. Mayor LizBe stated based on what she is hearing Council discuss it would involve looking at the joint powers agreement also. Councilmember Turgeon commented that is not necessarily true. Mayor LizBe then stated she will bring the idea of a management study up to the Coordinating Committee. It needs to be decided and discussed there first and then brought back to the member cities. And, at the same time it should include the EFD. Councilmember Turgeon stated she did not object to including the EFD. LizBe stated the SLMPD Coordinating Committee and the EFD Governing Board need to discuss this first. Lizee noted the 2011 budgets for those organizations have already been adopted. Councilmember Woodruff stated he was not talking about the SLMPD joint powers agreement, the 2011 SLMPD budget or the SLMPD funding formula. What are being talked about are SLMPD operations. He then stated he would like Council to direct Administrator Heck to draft a memorandum outlining the objectives for a management study, an overview of how it would be done, and the expected results. He commented that Mr. Woods could provide Heck with enough information so that Heck could draft a one CITY OF SHOREWOOD REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES October 11, 2010 Page 8 of 8 page memorandum for Mayor Lizee to take to the October 19` SLMPD Coordinating Committee meeting. He didn't think it would take Heck more than one hour or so to do that. Councilmember Zerby stated it would be good to get more information. Mayor Lizee stated she wanted the information copied to the EFD as well. 11. STAFF AND COUNCIL REPORTS A. Administrator and Staff Administrator Heck stated over 300 people attended the second annual Oktoberfest event held at the Southshore Community Center (SSCC) on October 8` Approximately $1,000 was donated toward a new sign. He encouraged people to make a contribution toward the purchase of a sign for the SSCC. He then stated the League of Minnesota Cities Regional Meeting and the Metro Cities Policy Adoption Meeting is scheduled for November 17` and it will be held in Brooklyn Park. He asked Councilmembers to let him know if they want to attend, noting that one has already expressed interest. He also stated several residents have called and expressed their desire to have the Osprey return to their nesting spot. Heck contacted the owner of the tower advising them of the resident's concerns. B. Mayor and City Council Councilmember Turgeon asked for an update on the results of the most recent deer removal efforts. She extended her thanks to Administrator Heck, SSCC Operations Manager Anderson and Twila Grout for their efforts regarding Oktoberfest. She commented she had challenged each elected official or potential elected official present at Oktoberfest, of which there weren't many, to match her $100 contribution to a sign for the SSCC. She noted Excelsior Mayor Ruehl contributed $251. g adults and about eight children there. Mayor Lizee invited the residents to attend the Manor Park open house scheduled for October 16` from 10 :00 A.M. — Noon. She stated the new boundless playground will be dedicated and the refurbished shelter looks rcat She commented when she was at Manor Park earlier in the day there were seven 12. ADJOURN Turgeon moved, Woodruff seconded, Adjourning the City Council Regular Meeting of October 11, 2010, at 8:02 P.M. Motion passed 510. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED Christine Freeman, Recorder ATTEST: Christine Lizee, Mayor