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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-13-2003 Council Minutes- o ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003 • ROLL The Council met on the above - mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Barbara Peterson, Council Members Bob Sansevere, Jim Murphy, and Jim White. Representing staff were Planning Director Mike Gaffron, City Attorney Tom Barrett, City Engineer Tom Kellogg, and Recorder Alissa Winternheimer. Public Services Director Greg Gappa was absent. Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. CONSENT AGENDA 1. Approve /Amend Items 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 were added to the Consent Agenda. Item 4 was removed from the Consent Agenda. Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to approve the consent agenda as amended. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. • APPROVAL OF MINUTES *2. Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of September 22, 2003 Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to approve the Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of September 22, 2003. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. PARK COMMISSION COMMENTS —RICK RICE, REPRESENTATIVE Rice arrived late in the meeting. See comments after the Mayor /Council report. PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS— JEANNE MABUSTH, REPRESENTATIVE Mabusth was absent. • ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003 FIRE SERVICE REPORT None. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. ZONING ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT *3. #03 -2936 Bruce Meese & Maureen Murphy, 3135 Casco Circle— Variance- Resolution No. 5058 Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 5058 granting a hardcover variance to Orono Municipal Zoning Code Section 78 -282 and 78- 1288(B) to allow an existing lakeside deck to remain in the 0 -75' setback zone. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. • 4. #03 -2948 WJM Properties, LLC, 2605 West Wayzata Boulevard — Conditional Use Permit Extension — Resolution No. 5059 Gaffron stated the item was removed from Consent Agenda to clarify wording in the is resolution. He stated that the applicants were asking for a 16 -month extension of the CUP because they had issues to work through with the Watershed District. Until all matters with the Watershed District are finalized, they cannot proceed with the required conditions of Resolution No. 4845, which include a screening fence, berms, and trees at the north end of the parking lot. The applicant expects resolution with the MCWD by the end of 2004. Gaffron stated that the applicant's attorney. Peter Johnson, wanted to be sure that the required temporary screening described in items 3 and 4 of Findings in the Resolution only apply to the 15 parking stalls on the northeast end of the parking lot. Murphy suggested that since the building would not progress for the next 16 months, the City could ask the applicant to put a coat of paint on the face of the building. Mayor Peterson, White, and Sansevere agreed that would be appropriate. Mayor Peterson stated they should request the applicant paint the front of the building in good faith. Mayor Peterson moved, and White seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 5059 approving a 16 -month extension of the effective period of Resolutions No. 4585 and' No. 4993 to December 31, 2004, due to delays as noted in the applicant's letter of request which is part of the public record of Application #03 -2948 and hereby approves an amendment to the Industrial Site Plan Approval granted via Resolution • 2 ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003 • 4. #03 -2948 WJM Properties, LLC, 2605 West Wayzata Boulevard — Conditional Use Permit Extension Resolution No. 5059— Continued No. 4845 to allow the interim use of a semi - opaque fence, five feet in height along the length of the northeast edge of the 15 visible parking spaces, and a distance of 30 -feet south from the northeast corner of said lot, instead of the previously approved landscape berms and plantings in the same designated area. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT *5. Crime Prevention Month — Proclamation Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to adopt the City Proclamation for October as Crime Prevention Month. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. Murphy stated that he, Ron Moorse, and Mayor Schaeffer of Long Lake, and other representatives of Orono and Long Lake had met with Senator Johnson to discuss the Highway 12 project. He stated that Senator Johnson was ahead of them with all of their concerns. They will meet with Mn/DOT, Ames Construction, and the senator next week. • They hope to develop a plan in common, and to find a responsible contact with authority to make decisions in Mn/DOT. Murphy stated they were pleased with how responsive Senator Johnson was. • White stated that Orono High School currently has 15 German exchange students in town for a few weeks, and that next spring Orono students would be going to Germany. Mayor Peterson thanked Sansevere for his work on the Police Department fundraiser, and also acknowledged Tim Gilbertson for his help. Moorse stated that work sessions would be held on Thursday, October 30th, and November 13th at 5:30 p.m. Moorse mentioned the development proposal for the corner of Willow and Highway 12 would be on the agenda of the October 30th work session. Gaffron stated that the building seems closer to the street than it is because while it sits 31' from the street, the trail running through there is only 9' from the building. Moorse handed out information from the City's Comprehensive Plan related to the development. 3 ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003 MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT — Continued • Sansevere asked if a bank and drug store would be objectionable as anchors. Moorse stated they would not serve the purpose of anchors at this location because the City does not want to draw retail to this area. Murphy stated they don't want to compete with Long Lake's downtown businesses. He questioned how many Long Lake businesses will survive the closing of Highway 12 when the new road is complete. He suggested not moving ahead with retail uses on the property in question until they see what happens with the highway. Moorse stated Landform was pushing to develop the property because of the carrying costs on the land. Sansevere asked what would be acceptable there. Moorse replied office use and retail as accessory to office would be allowed by the Comprehensive Plan. He stated that it would be difficult to get an office in there in the current market. Murphy stated that he heard Cliff Otten bought the Shaunessy property. White asked if Long Lake was keeping Orono informed of its projects. Moorse stated they are, but they don't have any developments in the works currently. Orono, Long Lake, and Otten would all need to meet to determine the best use of the Shaunessy property. They want to view Orono and Long Lake as though it's all one area regarding developments. • Mayor Peterson stated she sees no problem with competition. Sansevere stated that while they would consider Long Lake's interest, they had to put Orono's interest first. White stated that if a project came their way that they felt enthusiastic about, they would pursue it. Moorse stated that what the Comprehensive Plan would currently allow was not 30,000 s.f. of retail. If the developer presented a use that met the Comprehensive Plan, they could not refuse it. Sansevere stated that retail would make sense in the location because it could provide services to the residential, such as coffee, restaurant, and a drug store. Murphy stated they had previously agreed to locally owned businesses and that he would not want a Subway and Caribou in there. Moorse stated he would schedule a meeting with the developer. • 4 ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003 • PARK COMMISSION COMMENTS —RICK RICE, RESPRESENTATIVE Rice arrived and apologized for being held up by work. Rice stated that Pat Wolfe had followed up on White's suggestion for finding alternative funding for playing fields. They contacted the Wild regarding a hockey rink. The Wild do not have any funding in place for such projects, but would help with fund raising by sending a team member and some merchandise to fund raising events. The Twins do have a matching grant program in place, but the City would have to have their portion of the funds in place before applying for the Twins grant. He stated that on November 10th they would present the Friends of the Park award to Barb Wulf for her work at the Seven Nations Park. Sansevere asked Rice if he could help them understand what the Park Commission wants from the Council. Rice stated that they want to be on par with Wayzata regarding hockey rinks, parks, etc. Rice stated that the Commission was concerned that the fire department got over 50% of the property in Navarre that was purchased partially with Park Funds, and the park area will be difficult to develop, and it is currently being used as a construction dumping ground. • Murphy stated that in the current Commission minutes, it seemed there is a philosophical contest going on between the Park Commission and the Council. He asked how they could get on the same page. • Rice stated that the Park Commission is made up of talented people who want to be making a difference in the community. He felt they were frustrated because of an inability to act due to a lack of funds, which then created the current conflict. Murphy stated that parks were not the highest priority in the City; that safety came first. He felt the Park Commission didn't want to work until they received money, while the Council wouldn't grant funds until they saw a worthy plan of action. Rice stated there is an unwillingness to raise taxes to support the parks, which upsets the Commission. Sansevere asked if the Commission felt Orono's parks were inadequate. Rice stated they did not, but that they would like to develop a well -used trail system. Sansevere stated that they could not force people to use the City's trails, no matter how good they might be. Moorse stated there is a work session scheduled for November 13th that could be a joint work session with the Park Commission. 5 ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003 PARK COMMISSION COMMENTS —RICK RICE, RESPRESENTATIYE— • Continued White suggested they look into YWCA programs. The YWCA runs programs at no cost to cities in parks all over the metro. It draws the community into the parks and all the cities have to do is approve the YWCA's use of the park. He suggested the Park Commission review what other cities, besides Wayzata, do in their parks. Sansevere stated that the Council and Commission needed to agree on a philosophy so they could work together. Mayor Peterson stated she liked the idea of having Kevin Garnett fund a half -court and put his name on it, which had been reported in the Park Commission minutes as a suggestion made during the meeting. She stated that Wayzata has much more commercial area than Orono, and Orono has more rural property, so there is a disparity in the amount the cities can raise in taxes for things like parks. She stated that the Park Commission has a frustrating negativity toward the Council. Murphy stated that the Park Commission should forget about money for a while and develop a five -year plan, without regard to cost, then seek approval based on feasibility. Mayor Peterson stated that the Park Commission had done a spending plan, but now should do a plan to decide which projects should go where and when. Rice stated that one factor in Orono is that people use the lake as their major source of • recreation, have big yards, and/or leave town to vacation. Orono doesn't necessarily need a world -class park system. Moorse stated there are lots of resources in Orono. He suggested the Commission look at what is already here, whether it is City owned or not, then try to fill gaps. White stated that kids aged ten to twelve are ripe for gang recruitment and after- school programming for that age group could be a focus of the Park Commission. Murphy stated that the Park Commission has a victim mentality regarding the Council and that he resents it. He stated they should fight harder to accomplish the projects they believe in, and actively pursue other sources of funding. Rice raised the matter of public beach use. Mayor Peterson stated that small beaches are primarily for neighborhood use because they are too small to support public use. Larger beaches, like Summit Park, are more appropriate for public use. Rice stated that fencing off public beaches so there's no motor vehicle access seems • ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003 • PARK COMMISSION COMMENTS RICK RICE, RESPRESENTATIVE- Continued snobbish, and Orono looks standoffish. Murphy stated that the Park Commission should explore whether Orono beaches should be for neighborhood or public use. Mayor Peterson stated she has heard both sides of the argument. PUBLIC SERVICE DIRECTOR'S REPORT *6. Receive Feasibility Report and Schedule Public Hearing for Homestead Road Sewer Project — Resolution No. 5060 Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 5060 receiving report and calling hearing on Homestead Road Sewer Project. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. *7. Spring Road Pavement Project Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to approve a budget adjustment for the • 2003 PIR Fund in the amount of $123,100 for the Spring Hill Road Project. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. • CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT *8. Citizen Commendation Regarding House Fire — Resolution No. 5061 Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 5061 to commend Mark Gangelhoff for his efforts in relation to a fire in the City of Orono. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. *9. Request for Payment and Application and Certificate for Payment #12 -Long Lake Fire Station Sansevere moved, and White seconded, to approve the requests for payment to Kirk Program Management, Inc. in the amount of $4,895.00; and Rochon Corporation in the amount of $60,378.53, to be funded from the Joint Fire Account. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. 7 ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003 *10. Application and Certificate for Payment #4 -- Navarre Fire Station • Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to approve the Application and Certificate for Payment #4 in the amount of $175,138.00, to be funded from the Navarre Fire Station Construction Fund. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. *11. Request for Payment— Navarre Fire Station Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to approve the request for payment in the amount of $3,517.30 to the BKV Group, and $3,240.00 to Constructive Ideas, to be funded from the Navarre Fire Station Construction Fund. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. *12. Purchase of Fire Pumper for Navarre Fire Station Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to approve the purchase of the Pierce Contender Pumper, Demo #3943271, mounted on an IHC chassis, with related equipment, at a cost of $197,500.00, to be funded from the Navarre Fire Station and Equipment Bonds Construction Fund. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. *13. Police Department Acceptance of Metropolitan Radio Board Grant • Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to accept the Metropolitan Radio Board Grant and implement use of additional 800 MHz radios and equipment. Vote: Ayes, 4, Nays 0. *14. Police Department Purchase of Digital Recording Equipment Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to purchase 20 Olympus Systems DS -3000 digital recorders, 2 Olympus AS -3000 Transcription Software packages with headset and foot control, training and set up package for $6,709.50. Vote: Ayes, 4, Nays 0. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT None. *15. LICENSES None. • • 0 • ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2003 *16. BILLS Murphy moved, and Sansevere seconded, to approve payment of the All Funds Account. Vote: Ayes 4, Nays 0. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:16 p.m. ATTEST: Linda S. Vee, City Clerk Barbara Peterson, Mayor 9