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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft Sept 21, 2009 meeting minutesO~ PRj~,,~`°. City Council Meeting Minutes a ' ~~ September 21, 2009 ~\ ~ 4646 Dakota Street S.E. DR,4FT U x ~ Prior Lake, MN 55372-1714 _ _. - - e° - REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES ~`°~~V1VES~~P v~ CALL TO ORDER Present were Mayor Haugen, Councilors Erickson, Hedberg, LeMair and Millar, City Manager Boyles, Pub- lic Works Director/City Engineer Albrecht, Finance Director Erickson, Building and Transportation Services Director Kansier, Community Development and Natural Resources Director Parr, Police Chief O'Rourke and Police Lieutenant Hofstad, Communications Coordinator Peterson and Administrative Assistant Green. PUBLIC FORUM The Public Forum is intended to afford the public an opportunity to address concerns to the City Council. 11 will be no longer than 30 minutes in length and each presenter will have no more than ten (10) minutes to speak. Items to be considered on the agenda may be addressed at the Public Forum unless they have been or will be the subject of a public hearing or public information hearing at the City Council, the Eco- nomic Development Authority (EDA), the Planning Commission, or any other City Advisory Committee within the foreseeable future. Forum items are also restricted to City governmental topics rather than as a platform for private agendas. Matters that are the subject of pending litigation are not appropriate for the Public Forum. The City Council will not take formal action on Public Forum presentations. City Manager Boyles explained the concept of the public forum. Comments: No person stepped forward to speak. APPROVAL OF AGENDA City Manager Boyles stated that item 5K, Consider Approval of a Resolution Authorizing the Assignment of the Tower Lease Agreement from T-Mobile Central LLC to Mobilitie Investments LLC, should be re- moved from the Consent Agenda; and item 10A, Consider Approval of Temporary On-sale Intoxicating Liq- uor License for the Church of St. Michael, should be added to the agenda. MOTION BY MILLAR, SECONDED BY HEDBERG TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS MODIFIED. VOTE: Ayes by Haugen, Erickson, Hedberg, LeMair and Millar. The motion carried. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES MOTION BY LEMAIR, SECONDED BY MILLAR TO APPROVE THE SEPTEMBER 8, 2009, MEETING MINUTES AS PRESENTED. VOTE: Ayes by Haugen, Erickson, Hedberg, LeMair and Millar. The motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA City Manager Boyles reviewed the items on the consent agenda. A. Consider Approval of Invoices to be Paid. B. Consider Approval of Treasurer's Report. C. Consider Approval of Building Permit Report. D. Consider Approval of Animal Warden Report. E, Consider Approval of Fire Call Report. www. cityofpriorlake. com Phone 952.447.9800 /Fax 952.447.4245 City Council Meeting Minutes September 21, 2009 DRAFT F, Consider Approval of Resolution 09.126 Approving the Easement Agreements and Just Compen- sation for the CR 21 Watermain Replacement Project Parcel 3. G. Consider Approval of Resolution 09.127 Accepting Bids and Awarding the City's Standardized Construction Contract for the CR 21 Watermain Replacement Project. H. Consider Approval of Election Judge Appointments for the 2009 General Election. I. Consider Approval of Resolution 09.128 Declaring Cost to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation of an Assessment Roll for the 2009 Improvement Project and Establishing the Date of the Assess- ment Hearing for the 2009 Street Improvement Project (Project 09-11). J. Consider Approval of Resolution 09.129 Approving Full and Final Payment to Scott County for CR 82 Reconstruction Project, and Resolution 09.130 Approving Full and Final Payment to Scott County for CR 21 Reconstruction Project. K. Removed from the agenda. L. Consider Approval of Resolution 09.131 Approving the Plans and Specifications and Authorizing Advertisement for Bids for the McKenna Road / CR 42 Intersection Signal Construction. M. Consider Approval of Resolution 09.132 Approving Plans and Specifications and Authorizing Ad- vertisementfor Bids for the 2009 Water Quality Pond Maintenance Project (Project #09-013). City Manager Boyles advised the Council that the list of persons serving as elections judges in item 5H should be amended to remove John Murray, who is disqualified from serving as a judge due to a family member running for office. Councilor Hedberg requested that item 51, Consider Approval of Resolution 09.128 Declaring Cost to be Assessed and Ordering Preparation of an Assessment Roll for the 2009 Improvement Project and Estab- lishing the Date of the Assessment Hearing for the 2009 Street Improvement Project (Project 09-11), be removed from the Consent Agenda for comment. MOTION BY MILLAR, SECONDED BY LEMAIR TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS MODIFIED, VOTE: Ayes by Haugen, Erickson, Hedberg, LeMair and Millar. The motion carried. Councilor Hedberg commented that item 51 refers to the Brooksville Hills Phase II project and that the pro- posed assessment is approximately $450 less per parcel than estimated. MOTION BY HEDBERG, SECONDED BY MILLAR TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 09.128 DECLARING COST TO BE ASSESSED AND ORDERING PREPARATION OF AN ASSESSMENT ROLL FOR THE 2009 IMPROVEMENT PROJECT AND ESTABLISHING THE DATE OF THE ASSESSMENT HEARING FOR THE 2009 STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (PROJECT 09-11). VOTE: Ayes by Haugen, Erickson, Hedberg, LeMair and Millar. The motion carried. PRESENTATION 2008 Financial Gold Standards Finance Director Erickson provided the 2008 Financial Gold Standards report. Stated the standards serve the purposes of establishing best practices measures and communicating fiscal performance to resi- dents, facilitating policy setting, and providing financial direction. Described the benchmarks that are meas- ured and the status of each benchmark; property tax rate is the lowest in the County, bond rating of Aa3 since 2005, general fund balance at approximately 45%, investment level of 96% on 12/31/08, ratio of non- tax revenue at 41 %. Fire Relief Association Pension funded at 120% and a 92% budget outcome. Com- mented that a policy to be considered is what services should be funded by taxes and what services should 2 City Council Meeting Minutes September 2l, 2009 DRAFT be funded by fees. Noted the 2008 tax per capita was $424 and the City is ranked 58 of 117 metropolitan area communities for property taxes. Stated the 2008 Financial Gold Standards report will be distributed to residents with the fall Wavelength on October 3. Comments: Hedberg: Spoke of the report's comparison of property taxes on homes of Prior Lake's average value of $318,666 noting that the Citizen's League is comparing property taxes on the average home in each town in the County, which have various values. Believes the comparison of taxes using the same valued home across communities is most accurate. Stated that one of the issues the Council addresses is to assure that the affairs of the City are governed in a way to enhance property values and provide services that citizens want. Prior Lake home values have held better than the average across Minnesota during the recent eco- nomic downtown. Commented that Prior Lake has larger than average lots with more feet of street and infrastructure than some communities and the lake cuts through the City; both increase the costs of building infrastructure. Noted that number and acreage of parks adds open space and amenities to the community. All of those things add value to lives and homes in Prior Lake. Millar: Stated that the primary reason for distributing the Gold Standards is to create transparency so resi- dents can understand how taxes are being spent. It portrays that if considering same valued property, Prior Lake has the lowest tax rate in the County. Believes the reason Prior Lake has higher market values is due to the quality of life. W. Erickson: Reiterated that the larger lot sizes, parks, building around the lake, etc. does add to costs of infrastructure. Noted that the Gold Standards address only the City's portion of the taxes. The larger part of a resident's property taxes go to the County and School District. Queried the definition of the metropoli- tan community in the comparables offered in the report. J. Erickson: Replied it could mean the seven-county area, but wants to confirm that. W. Erickson; Asked what the non-property tax revenues include. J. Erickson: Replied that it includes revenues from licenses and permits, interest earnings, contributions and donations, lease agreements, etc. W. Erickson: Asked if that included the contributions from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. J. Erickson: Affirmed. LeMair: Replied that distributing the Goltl Standards is an opportunity for citizens to keep informed of the City's financial status. Noted that Prior Lake does not have the economic development opportunities of some areas as it does not have the space to bring in big commercial development. Believes the City has done a good job having the available property ready for businesses that want to come in; and that the City does a good job of providing services with a modest complement of staff members. Noted that the 2010 budget allows for an additional $200,000 over 2009 and that is for infrastructure. Services that are being provided any additional households are being provided for the same cost as in 2009. Haugen: Concurred that comparably based homes have a lower tax base in Prior Lake. Noted that during election seasons comparisons are made and it is important to compare properties of the same value on city property tax only as that is all the city can control. Commented that a better bond rating allows the City to pay lower interest rates on all bonding projects and expressed pride for the Aa3 bond rating which has im- proved from the A2 rating of eight years ago. Stated that part of the reason for the City's good bond rating and paying lower interest rates is a 45% fund balance as recommended by auditors. Believes the fund balance and bond rating should not be put at risk as that would be costly to the community. MOTION BY HEDBERG, SECONDED BY MILLAR TO APPROVE THE 2008 FINANCIAL GOLD STANDARDS REPORT. VOTE: Ayes by Haugen, Erickson, Hedberg, LeMair and Millar. The motion carried. 3 City Council Meeting Minutes September 2l, 2009 DRAFT PUBLIC HEARING No public hearing was scheduled. OLD BUSINESS Consider Approval of a Resolution Approving the SCALE Unified Economic Development, Land Use and Transportation Plan Charter Building and Transportation Services Kansier informed the Council that the Scott County Association for Leadership and Efficiency (SCALE) has identified several strategic initiatives, and transportation and economic development have emerged as high priority long-term goals. The unified plan developed by SCALE is intended to achieve employment of 50 percent of the County's labor force within the County by 2030. All SCALE members are encouraged to approve the proposed Charter which emphasizes collabora- tion between the member entities, but recognizes the autonomy of each local government. Comments: LeMair: Commented that economic development would result in Prior Lake also being a recipient of tax dollars from businesses that locate in Scott County. Supports SCALE and the approval of the proposed Charter. Erickson: Concurred that Prior Lake does not have the infrastructure for large businesses, but employees of the businesses that may locate somewhere in the County need a place to live and may choose Prior Lake. The Charter allows a unified plan to bring businesses to Scott County. Noted that the City is not giv- ing up any identity and this does not create an additional layer of government. Millar; Commented that the Charter emphasizes that our world is getting smaller and it is necessary to have cooperation between the entities in the County. This is one way to become more efficient and more financially responsible. Hedberg: Reiterated that a goal of this initiative is to have 50 percent of the County's labor force able to work in the County which would improve people's quality of life by allowing people to work close to home. This is not intended to reduce the City's authority or create situations where future Council's would not have autonomy to do what is right for the City, but rather to coordinate efforts. Haugen; Confirmed that the Charter would not mean that the City would give up autonomy or identity and it would provide opportunities for more development in Prior Lake. MOTION BY HEDBERG, SECONDED BY LEMAIR TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 09.133 APPROVING THE SCALE UNIFIED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, LAND USE, AND TRANSPORTATION PLAN CHARTER. VOTE: Ayes by Haugen, Erickson, Hedberg, LeMair and Millar. The motion carried. NEW BUSINESS Consider Approval of Temporary On-sale Intoxicating Liquor License for the Church of St. Michael City Manager Boyles stated that this temporary liquor license request was received on September 18 and the event is planned to occur before the next Council meeting thus it was added to this agenda. Described the event. Noted there is no record of any problem with this event which is scheduled for its fifth year. Comments: Millar: Clarified that this event has had no negative issues in the past. Erickson: Clarified that it is an indoor event. Haugen: Asked Police Chief O'Rourke to explain the process of compliance checks. 4 City Council Meeting Minutes September 21, 2009 DRAFT O'Rourke: Stated that the City is statutorily required to conduct compliance checks. Businesses with to- bacco and liquor licenses are checked twice per year and temporarily licensed events are checked periodi- cally. The process involves sending in an underage person to ask for the product. The underage person is accompanied by a police officer who observes the transaction, The underage person does not carry false identification and will present identification if asked. Added that a Minnesota driver's license clearly indi- cates if a person is less than 21 years of age, Stated that organizations have a serious obligation to the community to prevent abuse. Commented that the Community Safety Task Force identified drug and alco- hol abuse as its top priority and the City was a leader in Scott County for passing the social host ordinance as a tool for changing acceptable attitudes in our community. Stated that compliance checks are just an- otherway of trying to reinforce healthy behavior, Haugen: Stated his understanding that it is the Police Department's intention to do compliance checks with every licensed for-profit twice per year and to do as much as it can with regularity with non-profits. O'Rourke: Affirmed and added that compliance checks for non-profit events helps to provide a similar standard as that for licensed businesses. Haugen: Reiterated that it is part of the process to get at an underage abuse environment in the commu- nity. MOTION BY ERICKSON, SECONDED BY MILLAR TO APPROVE A TEMPORARY ON-SALE INTOXICATING LIQUOR LICENSE FOR THE CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL. VOTE: Ayes by Haugen, Erickson, Hedberg, LeMair and Millar, The motion carried. OTHER Community Events LeMair: Offered condolences to the Berens family for the loss of Gene Berens, adding that a pillar of the community has been lost, Erickson: Echoed the condolences and added that the funeral is Tuesday. Haugen: Stated he worked with Berens for eight years on orderly annexation and SCALE activities com- menting that Berens represented Spring Lake Township tremendously well, ADJOURNMENT With no further comments from Council members, a motion to adjourn was made by LeMair and seconded by Hedberg, With all in favor, the meeting adjourned at 9:16 p.m. Frank Boyles, City Manager Charlotte Green, Administrative Asst. 5