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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-08-2021 City Council Minutes MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,November 8,2021 6:00 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 Matt Johnson,Aaron Printup,Richard Crosby III, and Victoria Seals.Representing Staff were City Attorney Soren Mattick, City Administrator/Engineer Adam Edwards,Public Works Superintendent David Goman,Finance Director Ron Olson, Community Development Director Jeremy Barnhart,and City Planner Laura Oakden. Mayor Walsh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.,followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA CONSENT AGENDA 1. CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF OCTOBER 25,2021 2. COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES OF OCTOBER 25,2021 3. CLAIMS/BILLS 4. LA21-000067—CITY OF ORONO TEXT AMENDMENT—SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS —ORDINANCE 262,THIRD SERIES 5. LA21-000068—CITY OF ORONO,365 OLD CRYSTAL BAY ROAD NORTH—SIDE YARD SETBACK AND BUILDING HEIGHT VARIANCE—RESOLUTION NO. 7232 Crosby moved,Seals seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments. FINANCE DIRECTOR REPORT Finance Director Olson gave an update on plan check site-exam revenues which are at 114%, and noted they have surpassed the previous year's numbers. Building permit revenue is still trending much higher than the previous year and they are at 95%of budget. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REPORT 6. LA21-000065—CITY OF ORONO TEXT AMENDMENT—ANIMAL UNITS, HONEYBEES—ORDINANCE 263,THIRD SERIES Staff presented a summary packet of information. Oakden stated that the City regulates honeybees as farm animals.Farm animals other than horses require a minimum of two acres of land and the number of farm animals is based on animal units defined in the Code and the number of acres on a property. The animal unit equivalent for honeybees is not established in City Code and is the discussion this evening. Based on research by the University of Minnesota Bee Squad,their survey of beekeepers,and other cities' ordinances, Staff recommended to the Planning Commission that six hives be considered equal to one animal unit.Planning Commission discussed the topic and had a few points to clarify or change, noting Page 1 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,November 8,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REPORT—Continued honeybees have a symbiotic relationship to other animals and should not be counted towards the animal unit totals. The Planning Commission also noted wetlands need to be counted towards the total acreage for honeybees,they recommended removing honeybees from the definition of farm animals so it is not counted towards property animal units,and is only listed as a Conditional Use Permit(CUP)within the lakeshore districts. The Planning Commission suggested increasing the limit up to 12 hives per acre and voted 5-0 on a motion to amend City Code to remove honeybees from the listed defined farm animals and to list honeybees as a CUP in the lakeshore zoning districts allowing up to 12 hives.Ms. Oakden noted that Staff does not support the Planning Commission's recommendation in not listing honeybees as farm animals and regulating them as a conditional use in the lake district has an effect of prohibiting them in the rural district because they are no longer listed as a permitted animal. Staff has amended the recommendation to have six hives equal one animal unit but to also allow wetlands to count toward the total land area of honeybee calculations and to allow honeybee animals units to be exclusive and not count toward the animal unit totals of the property. Mayor Walsh asked why they are talking about the issue and what other communities are doing. Ms. Oakden noted Staff has been fielding more honeybee questions for beekeeping on properties. Staff does not have guidance within the Code except to say if they hit the minimum two acre land size and are in the right zoning district people can have them. They are listed as farm animals which are limited based on animal units. Mayor Walsh said people could always come in for a variance with less than two acres. Seals asked if the Councilmembers really consider a honeybee as a farm animal. The City Council discussed various options and opinions. Oakden showed a document with various other cities in the area and their regulations,noting some cities don't have anything in their code and others allow it in agricultural or rural districts. The Councilmembers agreed that it is reasonable to define an animal unit as 6 hives per acre to start with and if people need more the City Council can amend that number at a later time. Johnson clarified the bee units are a separate calculation than any other animal units and it was not as clear in writing. Oakden noted she will work with Attorney Mattick to add language to clarify that honeybees will standalone and not take away from any other animal unit on a property. Attorney Mattick noted they will draft the language and bring it before the City Council at their next meeting. Page 2 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,November 8,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. 7. NAVARRE PARKING LOT—AUTHORIZATION FOR PLANNING Staff presented a summary packet of information. Community Development Director Barnhart is asking for authorization to take the next step association with the Navarre Parking lot,noting the previous May the Council authorized Staff to do a community engagement project and get a feel for what the neighborhood wanted. He shared that they have those results and they are included in the summary of public input and outreach.Barnhart would like to authorize Bolton and Menk to put together two versions of a layout for the City Council's consideration,as with those two plans,the"do nothing"plan,and the one with the street project there will be four options to look at. The estimate from Bolton and Menk is about$9,700. Printup moved,Seals seconded,to approve Bolton and Menk to work on designing the Navarre Parking Lot.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. PUBLIC WORKS CIP DISCUSSION City Administrator/Engineer Edwards noted this is to draft the Capital Improvement Plan before it comes to the City Council for final approval in December.Tonight they are looking at those associated with Public Works and equipment. A. STREETS Edwards stated the funding stream for this item is the pavement levy which has been gradually growing and they are getting into a healthy position for how that fund would work. He share that the Met Council has a project in 2023 or 2024 to move their main interceptor pipe to the Dakota Trail right-of-way. This would affect three of Orono's lift stations.His proposal at this point is to pull Spates Avenue and Railroad Avenue from the project list for 2022 until there is more clarity regarding the project.Edwards walked the City Council through other streets and related utility projects slated for 2023. B. WATER Edwards shared the water fund balance overall remains in the black.He walked the Councilmembers through proposed plan to be included in 2022. Public Works Superintendent David Goman noted the first plan is the Navarre Water Plant Control Center that tells the wells and high service pumps to turn on and off.Panels inside houses are starting to show corrosion and the parts are becoming unavailable. He shared that the Navarre Softener Valve had a failure over the summer and due to the age of the components,replacement parts are also very limited. Edwards shared the final item is replacement of the water main that runs down County Road 18;it was put into service in the 1970's and there have been a number of water main breaks along that road.He explained that iron pipes placed in the 1970's create"hot soils"or chemical reaction between the chemicals in the soil and the pipe causing the iron pipe to deteriorate. Edwards moved on,noting water valve replacements are in the plan every year. Page 3 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,November 8,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. C. SEWER Edwards shared the Sewer Fund is paid for with utility bills and they have fairly healthy cash balances. Goman shared about projects they will be working on this year including Lift Station 11, Lift Station 3, Grinder stations 3,4,and 5,and sewer meter installations. Edwards noted there will also be forcemain replacements due to old iron pipe in the ground. D. STORMWATER Edwards shared this is funded through storm water fees that residents pay and there is a good cash balance projected out. Projects include storm water improvements coinciding with the streets being worked on in any given year including replacement of culverts,catch basins,and curb-and-gutter. When putting together the 10 year surface water management plan,the City is required to identify storm water issues and projects, of which they did many this year with the Casco Point Road project. Storm water projects include North Shore Drive Ravine stabilization, annual storm sewer improvements and replacements(allocated at$100,000/year), and the stormwater pollution prevention plan. E. EQUIPMENT Edwards shared an equipment replacement for the Line Tracing/GIS Data collection unit which is outdated. Goman noted the rest of the equipment is the rolling stock including the 1-ton dump truck with a plow, a utility service truck with hoist,and a 3/4 ton pickup truck. PUBLIC HEARING 9. PUBLIC HEARING FOR 2021 CIP BONDING—RESOLUTION NO.7233 Olson gave a presentation and noted they will talk about building a Public Works Building or purchasing a Fire Department and the funding source for those. This would be a specific CIP that would allow the City to sell bonds for those buildings. Edwards spoke about the need for the Public Works Building. Currently Public Works is housed next door in a building built in the 1990's and since that time the department has grown as responsibilities have grown over the years. The area around the current facility has also grown which does not allow for expansion. The previous year,the City Council instructed Staff to look for some property and put together a plan for a Public Works facility. They have procured a piece of land across the Highway on Old Crystal Bay Road,did an RFP for architects, and have done some preliminary design work. The estimated cost of the building and the site is just under$13,000,000.Edwards stated$16,000,000 is the proposed number with the remaining$3,000,000 going towards the fire facility. Nick Anhut from Ehlers and Associates spoke about options the City has to fund these projects. Under State statute, cities are limited as to the types of projects they can issue debt for; most items need to come before the public in the form of referendum for approval. However,essential purpose facilities(Fire Station,Public Works, City Hall)are exceptions.Mr.Anhut explained general obligation bonds and CIP Page 4 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,November 8,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC HEARING FOR 2021 CIP BONDING—RESOLUTION NO. 7233—Continued bond issuance; if the City Council should choose to move forward and adopt this plan it opens up a 30- day petition period or a"reverse referendum."Over the 30-days,the public can come forward with a petition(signed by an amount of voters to equal to or exceeding 5%of the votes cast in the last general election)to place the measure on a future ballot,subject to a special election within the community. Mr. Anhut spoke about rates, levy implications, and tax impacts. Mayor Walsh has seen some false information on social media and noted the levy will not go up at all. Crosby clarified Stifel Financial will not be part of this bond offering,it is not allowed as it would be a conflict of interest because he works for Stifel. Mayor Walsh opened the public hearing at 7:43 p.m. Sonja Lockman, 115 Luce Line Ridge, asked about the Fire Department,what will happen to the current Public Works Building if they build a new one,and what the justification is for having 100%ownership of the Fire Department within Orono when the 50/50 ownership with Long Lake has worked for so long. She also has concerns that if Orono takes over the fire department,and Long Lake and other cities that are currently served by the jointly-owned fire department are not happy with that,what does that do to the relationship between the cities and the appropriate number of fire fighters. Mayor Walsh closed the public hearing at 7:46 p.m. Mayor Walsh explained the fire department,noting Orono has a station and equipment in Navarre which they own 100%. Orono owns about 90%of the equipment in Long Lake and shares ownership 50/50 of the facility.The contract is coming to an end and Orono is in negotiations with Long Lake to clean things up and to purchase the remainder of the items.Basically Orono would take over the contract,and Long Lake would decide whether to contract with Orono or to contract with Wayzata; he noted they do not have control over what Long Lake would do. Mayor Walsh noted the cities are having good discussions about the facility,however if they cannot purchase the other 50%of the building in Long Lake,the Public Works facility could be reworked to serve as a Fire Station. The$3,000,000 will either go towards purchasing the existing facility or redoing the current Public Works building. He noted there are many options that have come up between turning the building into pickleball courts or a community center. Crosby noted the firefighters know that the City is committed to them and committed to the safety of the people. Johnson clarified that for Orono to be paying over 80%of the fire department bill it only makes sense and is fiscally responsible to also be in control of it.He noted this is not any dissatisfaction with the fire department and they are very grateful to them. Johnson shared that Orono wants to be Long Lake's Fire Department and Police because the City can offer those services to them. Printup stated that with Orono paying over 80%that is not a"shared"building or partnership.The City Council must look out for Orono taxpayers. He reiterated there is not any dissatisfaction with anything, they love their neighbors,and the City has a good relationship with surrounding cities. Page 5 of 6 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,November 8,2021 6:00 o'clock p.m. PUBLIC HEARING FOR 2021 CIP BONDING—RESOLUTION NO.7233—Continued Seals noted$16,000,000 is a massive number. What sometimes gets missed is that this City Council has tried to pay things off early because they knew that something like this issue was coming. She noted this is built into the budget to pay for the new bonding as they do not want to raise taxes. Seals clarified that Orono pays for 80-85%of the bill and she has no say in what is happening...she stated that is a really big check to write and to not have any control.The collaboration they could have with Police and Fire under one roof is amazing and that is what she is looking forward to. Printup moved,Seals seconded,to approve Resolution 7233,approving the supplemental Capital Improvement Plan(CIP)and confirming the City's intent to issue bonds to fund the plan.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT Mayor Walsh noted they would learn more in the Closed Meeting. CITY ADMINISTRATOR/ENGINEER REPORT Edwards had nothing additional to report. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Seals noted they celebrated the Orono boys' soccer team winning State. CLOSED MEETING—ATTORNEY/CLIENT PRIVILEGED DISCUSSION. Pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 13D.05, subdivision 3(b),the Council will close the meeting for a confidential discussion of strategy and settlement negotiation status in the following matter: a. Bonnett v. City of Orono. ADJOURNMENT Walsh moved,Johnson seconded,to adjourn the meeting at 8:10 p.m.VOTE: Ayes 5,Nays 0. ATTEST: / t �eAraillP ,_ .4= p, i Dennis Walsh,Mayor A //v �. .{.,4/N/}4.6g , c. / /fowl •sl/L ArC> Page 6 of 6