HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-25-1974 Council Memo � i _- '
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TO: City Council
FROM: James Cosby, City 1ldrni_nistr��t�>r
DATE: February 21 , 1974
SUBJEC�': Agenda Items for Mec�t:inc� of l�cbr_ u<�ry 25 , 1974
Information items. For your inform��t ir�T� t_hc� Orc�nc> P:L�arir�inc� Commission
will be holding a public h�aring on M<irch i , ] 974 , ��t thE: Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church to discuss the IDS ��roposal it currc�nt.ly has before it.
I am sure that any Council members int.erestc�cl in attc�ndinq that public
hearing will be welcome at the meetinq . I�ls��, put ori your calendars
March 13 , 1974 at the Orono Hiqh School cafetc�ria for the Planninq
Commission public hearing concc>rninq the r��r��ni rlc� involvc�d wi.th the
Comprehensive Plan. Depending on how th�zt n�c��t i.nq c�oes , the Planning
Commission may or may not continuc that= publi.c hcarinq to March 20 , 1974 ,
that is a possibility, however. .
In your packets is a draft of � lettcr that T pro�>ose to send to three
law firms solicitinq their servic�s . I pre����red this letter on the
assumption that it was the Council_ ' s desirc to ��c3dress i t= to a law firm
and acquire those services as opposed to approachi.nq a single attorney.
I would appreciate the Council ' s comments in r_eqard to this ] etter at
the 6 : 30 P.M. work session.
I would also ask that at the 6 : 30 P.M. work session the Council again
consider who it would favor selecting as City engineer. I have not put
selecting a City engineer on the Council agenda for l do not know at this
time what the Council ' s desires are,
ACENn11
8. Wayside Kennels. Since the last Council meeting, the office has
received some additional letters and information concerning Wayside
Kennels. A copy of everything is in your packets . Please bring with
you to the Council meeting all the information from your last Council
packet concerning Wayside Kennels. Frank Child and myself will be
meeting with Mr. Lanier Thursday niqht to discuss dog ordinances. I do
not know at this time what the outcome of that meetinq will be, but I
will make a report to the Council on that at the F, : 30 P.M. work session
and if I feel that I am in a posi_t.ion to make r_ecommendat.ions for ordinance
changes at that time, then I will present those speci_fic change recommenda-
tions . I have received quite a few phone c��ll_s concerning Mr. Larson' s
operation as well as the qualifications and status of Frank Child. You
will notice in your information this week that I have received letters
from both the State and the County Humane Society concerninq Frank
Child' s status and the fact that he is a bonafide volunteer inspector and
is used in that capacity. Neither of these orqanizations have a complaint
against him and Mr. Child has rendered assistance on a voluntary basis
to us concerning Mr. Larson ' s operation. You w:ill note that Mr. Child has
also submitted a report, a copy of which is in your packet. Last week
at the 6 : 30 P.M, session I suggested to the Council that a condition on
Mr. Larson' s license , assuming that the Council will approve renewal , be
Agenda Items - February 25 , 1_974
Page 2
that he post a sign in his establishment th��t wi_11 be v:isible to the
' public which will state in the effect that doqs for whom homes cannot
be found, will be sold for medical. research ptzrposes . Mr. Child has
informed me that Mr. Larson is aqreeable to that and has already posted
that sign in his place of business . If it is the Council ' s desire to
approve the license for Mr. l�arson, I would suqgest that we make that
a part of the condition of approval that hc� kcep that si.gn up. Inspite
of all of the emotionalism which this issue h<-as raised, and the tenure
of the conversation that I have had with the pc�ople over the telephone,
both in the office and those who call me at home , the staff still feels
that after all is said and done , there is nc� lc�qal justifieation for the
cancellation of his license. Granted, however, that from time to time
the quality or standard of his work or the condi_tions in his kennels
may slip, he does however, seem to maintain an overall standard that
meets both health and safety requirements of the animals concerned. This
is a tough one.
9 . Mr. Ray Johnson will be at the Council meeting to discuss with the
Council the West Hennepin Human Services Planning Board. The City
Council of Orono in 1973 signed a joint powers agreement with seven
other municipalities to survey the health needs of the communities in
western Hennepin County. The study group and governing board of this
organization has been formed, they have started their work and are
currently gathering the data in order to perscr_ibe what they feel are
the present and future needs from the health point of view in this area .
Ray Johnson,along with Pat Partridge ,was appointed by the Orono Council
, to be our two community representatives in this organization. Ray would
like to come before the Council for two pur.poses : l. to explain in more
detail the purpose , intent and direction that the organization currently
is taking; 2 . to address the issue of what might be the final outcome
of their study. A question here that the Council may have to address
itself to is that, if the final study shows a need for a local health
facility of some type which would require some local funds to support,
would the Council of Orono be willing to make a financial commitment to it?
This is an issue which I would suggest that the Council cover with Mr.
Johnson in some detail because future financial commitments is something
we have to take a very close hard look at. We should also discuss with
Mr. Johnson whether or not they visualize local government as being a
referral agency ►Ur people who have a health or medical need. I think
that this will be an interesting report that Mr. Johnson will give and
perhaps we should discuss this some in our 6 : 30 P.M, meeting.
10. You have in your packet the letter of resi.gnation of our golf course
superintendent, Mr. Dave Streater. We have already advertised the position
in the newspaper and have begun to receive inquiries of interested
individuals. The golf course may be opening by mid-April and we are
moving as fast as possible to fill this position. I am requesting that
the City Council consider some organizational operation aspects of the
golf course and provide me with some guidance as to what your desire is .
Specifically, it seems to me we have several different ways to organize
the golf course. l. hiring the golf course superintendent to run and
� care for the physical golf course itself only; 2 , hiring the golf course
superintendent to not only handle the physical golf course but to manage
and run the golf clubhouse as well. 3 . not to hire a golf course
Acenda Items - February 25 , 1974
Page 3
superintendent as such, but to lease the golf cour.sc out to private
entrepreneurs who will then, for eithe.r_ a flat .f_ee that they will
pay the City or a precentage of the profit that they will anticipate,
we would then allow them to �perate the golf course in its entirety.
There is something to be said for each of these approaches and I have
some very specific ideas on them that I would like to share with the
Council. Now, as far as number one is concerned, we can perhaps most
easiest of all hire a superintendent just to run the physical outlay
of the golf course. We are pr_epared to man the golf clubhouse with
part-time personnel and run the same type of operation we ran there in
1973 . It worked very well and we used some cchool teachers who worked
for us and did an excellent job and we havE� made tentative plans to
follow that route again in 1974 . On the other hand, having one
individual as both superintendnet of the ��o�f ourse and supervisor of
the clubhouse also has something to be said�as�far as a unity of
supervision and control is concerned. My feeling at this time is that
whether or not we may want to do this wotzld depend upon the enterprise
capabilities of the superintendent we would hire . I think perhaps we
should leave this option open and should wc be fortunate enough to hire
an individual who could do both operations give him the opportunity to
do so. The third alternative of leasing thc qolf course to a private
entrepreneur has very definite possibilitics from my administrative point
of view. The golf course takes up a tremendous amount of staff time to
supervise, to order the supplies , to check the money in in the evening,
and check it out again in the morning, and keep the ser.ial number of
golf tickets in order and so on and so forth. I have always felt that
the amount of administrative time required as opposed to the amount of
money that it makes is har.dly worth the effort. I feel its probably
to late to begin approaching a private firm at this time and for this
type of arrangement but if the Council would like to explore that as a
possibility for 1975 , I would be glad to spend some time investigating
what this type of arrangement could mean for us . I would appreciate any
comments that the Council may have in reqard to this matter and any
direction that you wish to have undertaken at the golf course, I would
be most happy to try and do.
11. Per Council instruction at the last meeting, I have on the agenda
the sewer projects of 73-1. A written notice has been sent to all
individuals whose names were submitted to me that want to be notified
whenever the Council is going to consider future sanitary sewer projects
in the City. You will recall that this requestcame about primarily as
a result of a letter which you received in your packet last Council
meeting from Mr. Carl Burandt addressing himself to the problems of the
Metropolitan interceptor sewer line and the possibility that Orono may
want to consider some additional local projects to be put in at the same
time as the Metro interceptor line would come in. I have notified the
engineering firm of Orr-Schelen-Mayeron and they will be present at the
Council meeting to assist the Council in answering any questions they
may have in any of the other projects.
Agenda Items - February 25 , 1974
Page 4
12. This item is a resolution prepared for th� Council. which addresses
itself to declaring a portion of the Orono sani_t�ry sewer line as an
interceptor line due to Minnetonka Beach eventually emptyinq its
effluent into our system. If the Council will pass this resolution,
I will forward it to Mr. Carl Burandt at th<� Metr.opolitan Sewer Board
and we will begin working through the attorncy ' s off_ice and the
engineer' s office to get this line decl.ared ��s an interceptor.
13. In your packet is a resolution reaffirming the City of Orono' s
support for alternate number one of the Metr.c�politan interceptor
line for Orono and Wayzata.
14 . In your packet is a letter from Mr. Hasscrl concerning the Casco
Circle park deed. I have talked with Marc Whitehead and he is of the
opinion that Mr. Hassel now wants to sit down and discuss with the
City the possibility of eliminatinq somc� of the restrictions in the
deed. Mr. Whitehead will follow up in this matter.
15. At the last Council meeting, the City attorney passed out this
memo concerning the elections and terms of office for the Council and
the Council was going to give additi_onal consi.deration to this matter.
16 . Resolution I-394 Highway. The City attorney has proposed a resolution
in opposition to the I-394 Iliqhway. I have tal.ked with Wayzata and
I have gotten the impression from Larry 'Phompson that the City of
Wayzata would not be in opposition to I-394 ��nd feels that something
has to be done with Highway #12 between Wayzata and Minneapolis , if
for no other reason, than safety purposes . The attorncy will have
additional remarks to make on this issue at the Council meeting.
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