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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-12-2019 Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,August 12,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL The Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Dennis Walsh, City Council Members Richard Crosby, III, Matt Johnson, and Victoria Seals. Representing Staff were City Administrator Dustin Rief, Finance Director Ron Olson, Development Director Jeremy Barnhart, City Planner Laura Oakden, Public Works Director/City Engineer Adam Edwards, City Attorney Soren Mattick, and Recorder Jackie Young. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA CONSENT AGENDA 1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JULY 22, 2019 2. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF JULY 22,2019 3. CLAIMS/BILLS 4. ANNUAL SPORTSMEN'S GUN CLUB—LIMITED USE PERMIT 5. HOSTED SERVERS 6. BEDERWOOD SPORTS FIELD AWARD 7. EAST LONG LAKE TRAIL DESIGN AND ENGINEERING APPROVAL 8. SEWER PUMPS REPLACEMENT 9. APPOINTMENTS OF SEASONAL EMPLOYEES 10. LA19-000033 CHUCK ALCON ON BEHALF OF ERIC AND ANDREA LARSON, 690 BROWN ROAD, FINAL PLAT AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT APPROVAL This item was removed from the Agenda. 11. LA18-000038 JAMES AND MARY JUNDT, 1400 BRACKETS POINT ROAD, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT AMENDMENT APPROVAL 12. LA19-000050 PAUL VOGSTROM ON BEHALF OF ERIC VOGSTROM, 2710 PENCE LANE,VARIANCES—RESOLUTION NO. 7007 13. LA19-000051 DALE GUSTAFSON ON BEHALF OF JOHN AND TRUDY WILGERS, 1905 CONCORDIA STREET,VARIANCE—RESOLUTION NO. 7008 Crosby moved, Seals seconded, to approve the Consent Agenda as revised,with the deletion of Items No. 10 and 14 from the Consent Agenda, and with the deletion of Item 15 from the Regular Agenda. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. Page 1 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,August 12, 2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS None 14. CITY CLERK JOB DESCRIPTION REVISION Rief stated earlier this year he received a request to review the city clerk position. A few minor changes were made to the position, including some minor changes to employee supervision and election duties. Staff's recommendation is that the election responsibilities be moved from what is considered contributory to primary because the clerk has the sole authority around elections, which increased the score of the position and moved it from a Grade 10 to Grade 11 of the wage scale. Johnson asked from what position those new supervision responsibilities came from. Rief indicated in the past the front desk employees reported to the City Administrator and now they will report to the city clerk, who is considered an exempt employee. Those responsibilities were not reflected in the job description. The review also discovered some issues with the record site. Staff felt in the future hiring someone with more education for the position would be appropriate, such as a bachelor's degree, and that someone with a two-year degree would not be considered for a city of this size. Johnson asked whether there was a supervisor within the administrative staff that handled the supervision of the front desk. Rief indicated it originally went straight to him versus the city clerk, and since the city clerk has communication and supports all departments, it was deemed appropriate to realign that. Seals moved, Crosby seconded, to approve the change in the city clerk job description and to approve the change in pay grade from 10 to 11. Vote: Ayes 4,Nays 0. PRESENTATION 15. 2018 AUDIT PRESENTATION This item was removed from the agenda. PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT 16. LA19-000047 SCOTT GATES ON BEHALF OF KRUCKEBERG REAL ESTATES, 4400 DEERING ISLAND,COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT,AMEND MUSA BOUNDARY, RESOLUTION Scott Gates, Applicant, was present. Barnhart stated the applicant is requesting that Deering Island be incorporated into the City of Orono's Municipal Urban Service Area(MUSA). The designation would allow the property to connect to sanitary sewer service. The City of Mound would provide the connection and treatment of the sanitary sewer. Page 2 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,August 12,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. The Comprehensive Plan does contemplate the expansion of the MUSA boundary and contains six priorities that should be considered whenever expansion is being considered. The subject parcel appears to satisfy the first priority, as the island is completely surrounded by the lake. Expanding the MUSA to include the subject parcel does not suggest or imply an expansion or an increase in density. No changes to the land use or zoning are proposed with this application. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the application. Scott Gates, Kruckeberg Real Estate Holdings. Walsh asked who the individual is that owns Kruckeberg Real Estate Holdings and whether this property is going to be homesteaded. Gates indicated Craig is the owner of this parcel as well as the adjacent property and that it will not be homesteaded. Gates stated to his understanding the intent is to make it more of a family compound and that it is likely at some point in the future they will build a larger residence there instead of the existing cabin. Walsh asked whether there is any intent to rent out the island. Gates stated there could be some special events on the island, such as weddings and private parties, but there is no intent to do overnight rentals. Seals asked if any helicopters will be bringing people in. Gates stated not if they have anything to do with it. Walsh commented the City Council has received some interesting calls about the island and that it would be nice to speak with Craig. Gates indicated he did speak with Police Chief Farniok and that they will be having further discussions to make sure things are done properly in the future. Gates noted this was a last-minute situation by an individual that had done a birthday party ten years ago. The staff at his company was planning the event and Kruckeberg became aware at the last minute of that and has since jumped in to make sure sound levels and everything were being addressed. Gates stated to his knowledge there were not any sound issues and that they will be developing a checklist for any future events that may occur in the future so there will be a process in place to deal with them. Gates indicated he personally visited a number of the neighbors on the lake and he was surprised that the comments on Facebook were generally pretty positive by people. Crosby asked what his relationship is to the property owner. Gates indicated he represents them and that he is a developer. Walsh stated he would like to see some more definite plans for the island prior to approving things, and given what has happened, this application is off to a poor start and took a lot of people by surprise in a couple different cities. Page 3 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,August 12,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Seals stated there was clearly a lot done out there and that she did not receive any positive phone calls about it. Seals stated it is a little concerning to expand the scope when what is currently going on has not been rectified. Crosby commented it would have been nice to see the owner this evening. Walsh stated a family compound and an event center are two different things. Gates stated it is not intended to be an event center and it is not intended to be an event island. Those would be considered an accessory use on an occasional basis. Gates stated he can ask the owner to appear, but most big companies have people to handle things like this. Gates indicated he personally has been proactive with it once he learned about it and that he has some experience with noise issues, such as being involved in consideration of some racetracks. Also know the owners of Fletcher's and have worked with them to develop some standards for noise. Gates stated he jumped in Wednesday night and did a noise propagation sound map. The noise levels were actually monitored along the shoreline in the afternoon as well as on the island. Communications were also had with the Police Chief and he was sent some snapshots of what the sound level was. Gates stated to the extent they could, they did attempt to address the situation. Walsh noted in the beginning of the application this was talked about as being a family compound and that the event stuff did not come out until later. Walsh indicated he would be in favor of tabling it tonight until all the issues have been sorted through and resolved since changing the MUSA is a touchy thing. Gates stated the extension of the sewer does not really relate to the events going on at the island and that it is the City's call on which way they would like to go. The MUSA expansion will enhance the island no matter what happens on the island. Crosby stated he has some concerns about the events and that it is not what the Council thought it was going to be. Walsh stated further discussion on expanding the MUSA is also warranted to determine its impact on the City's overall density. Johnson and Seals concurred with tabling the application. Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to table Application No. LA19-000047,Scott Gates on behalf of Kruckeberg Real Estates, 4400 Deering Island, Comprehensive Plan Amendment. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 0. 17. LA19-000048 PREMIUM CONSTRUCTION, LLC,2967 CASCO POINT ROAD, VARIANCE—RESOLUTION NO. 7009 Oakden stated the applicant is requesting average lakeshore setback, hardcover, lot area and lot width variances. The applicant is proposing to remove the existing home and detached garage and build a new home with an attached garage. The average lakeshore setback is unique for this property due to the Page 4 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,August 12,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. neighboring lot to the north. That lot is flag shaped with the buildable portion set much further back. Due to this configuration, the subject lot is not buildable without an average lakeshore setback variance. The current home is nonconforming due to this extreme setback and hardcover. The applicants are proposing to build a new home with more massing forward of the average lakeshore setback compared to what is there today. The hardcover will decrease from the current level of 30.5 percent to 29.5 percent with the proposed plan but will remain over the 25 percent maximum. The Planning Commission reviewed and discussed the request. The Commission voted 5-1 to recommend approval of the requested variances. Staff recommends approval, subject to the City Engineer's comments, for the lot area, lot width, and hardcover variances. Staff recommends approval of the requested average lakeshore setback. Johnson requested the GIS be displayed. Oakden displayed an aerial of the area and pointed out the neighboring home and the lot that was subdivided. That subdivision resulted in a principal structure on the property and the extreme average lakeshore setback. Crosby asked how far ahead of the current home they will be going. Oakden stated to her knowledge it is around 30 feet. Oakden noted the orange is the footprint of the proposed home. There will be a screen porch that will be approximately 30 by 15 feet, which is forward of the existing patio. Walsh asked where the 75-foot setback is. Oakden stated it is pretty far forward. Walsh asked if the setbacks are five feet and eight feet. Oakden indicated the 5-foot is the window well and that there are 8-foot setbacks on the setback. They are required to meet a 7.8-foot setback. On the other side there is 12 feet. Walsh commented it is really the average lakeshore setback that is the issue, which will not change the view for the adjoining property, and that the hardcover is being reduced slightly. Crosby asked where the average lakeshore setback line is to the neighboring home. Oakden pointed out the approximate location of the line. The applicants have tried to align the proposed house with the other residences in the area. The red line on the survey is the closest point to the lake, which creates the average lakeshore setback line. Johnson noted they used two different points of reference, the property to the south, which is not the furthermost point, and the property to the north, which is the furthermost point to the lake. Walsh stated one is 136 feet and the other one is 142 feet. Page 5 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,August 12,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Johnson asked which line the Council should use, the closest or the furthest. Oakden indicated it would be the closest point from the neighboring houses for the average lakeshore setback. Johnson commented it appears they are sneaking forward from where they would normally be allowed if it is assumed the one house does not exist. Oakden stated if they use the closest point, which should have been used, the red line would have been more extreme. The proposed house is farther back than the adjoining residence because one of the homes has a closer point to the lake. Johnson asked what the purple corner to the south is. Walsh noted that is not the correct corner. Seals stated the lot in between should be ignored. Johnson stated they are behind where they would be allowed to be because the surveyor put the line in the wrong spot. Walsh stated the average lakeshore setback cannot be met either way. Seals moved, Crosby seconded, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 7009, a Resolution Approving a Variance from Municipal Zoning Code Section 78-350, 78-1279, and 78-1700 for the property located at 2967 Casco Point Road. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Johnson stated he had nothing to report. Seals noted Long Lake had their Corn Days festival and that the parade and other activities were fun. Crosby stated Orono resident Carolyn Broghammer passed away on August 1 and left behind her husband, children, and grandson. Crosby stated he knew this lady through Orono volleyball and that his heart goes out to the family. Carolyn was an awesome woman, always positive, her kids' biggest fan, and was a great citizen in the City of Orono. Walsh concurred that it was a great Corn Days festival and that they rode on the City Council float and threw out a lot of candy. Tuesday, August 6, was National Night Out. Walsh stated he attended a number of great parties with Council Member Crosby and City Administrator Rief, including one in the Orono Woods development. They had a great country band there and some awards were presented to the police. Crosby noted Xerces was on Channel 11 at the Orono Woods get-together. Walsh noted the Minnesota State Fair is coming up soon as well as the first day of school. Page 6 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,August 12,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT 18. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL—PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES Rief noted the City Council a few years ago adopted Resolution 6585 to establish a schedule for the RFP process for all professional services contracted by the City. Staff reviews the document annually for any scheduled RFPs. The civil attorney schedule is for 2019. Staff recommends approval of the Professional Legal Services RFP and to establish an ad-hoc Professional Legal Services RFP review committee. Walsh stated he would be on that committee and that he will appoint Aaron Printup as well. Seals moved, Crosby seconded, to approve the request for proposals for professional legal services and to establish an ad-hoc Professional Legal Services RFP Review Committee by appointing Mayor Dennis Walsh, Council Member Aaron Printup, and City Administrator Dustin Rief to the adhoc review committee. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. 19. APTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF SOLICITORS Rief reported in May Staff had administratively approved the City's solicitor licenses for a group of applicants outlined in Staff memo for pest control services. Aptive Environmental has requested an extension. Staff is not allowed to administratively approve an extension. Solicitors are only allowed 10 days per calendar year. The City did receive one complaint about this solicitor from a resident. The contact happened outside of their allotted time frame, which should be taken into consideration when discussing whether an extension should be given. Johnson indicated he is not in favor of an extension. Johnson noted there might be a typo because it says the permit date was May of 2018. Rief stated that was a typo. Johnson noted there was a complaint received in June or July. Rief stated they also approached a house that had a no solicitor sign. Johnson moved, Crosby seconded, to deny an extension of the Solicitor's License for Aptive Environmental. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT,Continued Rief stated National Night Out was a good success and that there were a number of nice parties going on throughout Orono. Rief stated earlier that same day he spent some time with Channel 5 on Big Island. The interview went well and it should be positive coverage of Big Island. Page 7 of 8 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,August 12,2019 7:00 o'clock p.m. Rief reported the Fire Advisory Board has agreed to review the personnel proposals as part of a subcommittee and that he is looking for a council member to be a part of that committee. Crosby volunteered to be on the committee. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT CLOSED SESSION Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to enter into closed session at 7:42 p.m., as permitted by Section 13D.03 to discuss the City's labor negotiation strategy related to the City's negotiations with LELS, Patrol, and LELS, Sergeants. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. (The City Council was in closed session from 7:42 p.m. to 8:09 p.m.) Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to reopen the Orono City Council meeting at 8:09 p.m. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. ADJOURNMENT Walsh moved, Crosby seconded, to adjourn the Orono City Council meeting at 8:10 p.m. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. ATT ,. S)Li. A a Carlson, City Clerk Dennis Walsh, Mayor Page 8 of 8