HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-13-1974 Council Memo T0: City Council
FROM: James Cosby, City Admi.nistrator �
/Y
�-.'
DATE: May 10 , 19 7 4 ..__ '
SUBJECT: Agenda Items for Council Meeting of May ] 3 , 1974
INFORMIITION ITEMS
l. I had a telephone call this mvrning from Mr. Charles Kallestad and
he would like an opportunity to see the Counc:il at 6 : 30 P .M. on May 13 ,
1974 to discuss the Scott property as a possible new City �Iall. In the
meantime, he would like, if at all possible, for the Council to go and
take a look at the Scott property over the week-end so that everyone
will be familiar with it and will know the details then that Mr. Kallestad
will be referring to. It appears that the owners of the property are not
willing to give it to the City as a gif_t but at �� cost of around $350 , 000 .
It appears to be possible that if theCity of Orono is wi llinq to pay the
$350, 000 for the property, we might be able to purchasc� it under a contract
for deed. There is a copy of the report on the property from Mr. Scheller
which was of a general nature as the Counc.il so instructed the staff to do.
We must bear in mind the fact that what ever the cost is to purchase the
property initially, we will have additional cost in terms of painting,,, the
'�uilding . c�!'c a new parking lot, renavat�.ons , removinq of partitions from
�he smal"�er rooms so that we can have adequate office space , and some other
items I am sure we will discover upon a more detailed irispection of the
property.
2. You have an item of information which concerns the accident that our
police department had in one of our vehicles. The officer driving the
vehicle was not hurt, due to the fact that there was a rollbar in the car,
but the automobile itself was totaled. The insurance company has paid
the claim and we are in the process of purchasing a new vehicle and replacing
the damaged equipment as well. IF� appears at this time that the cost to
the City will be minimal for we do have a $250 . 00 deductible on our
insurance and I believe that will b� the�nly expense we will have zt this time .
3. Some of you may be aware in last weeks issue of the Sun, there was a
letter in the newspaper from Diane Dunlap stating a complaint regarding
the marinas and their operation in the City of_ Orono. In the same issue
of the paper, Mayor Searles responded to Mrs. Dunlap' s letter. A copy of
each is attached. I have also attached a letter from myself to you concerning
some additional information in regard to the marinas for I suspect that
Mrs. Dunlap will be at the Council meeting and we may have some confrontation
in regard to this particular issue.
4 . I think that it might be of interest for you to know that my name is
being put up for consideration as a member to the Board of Directors for
the Metropolitan League of Minnesota Municipalities . It would be quite an
onor to have this appointment and I would feel that the City of Orono would
r�enefit quite an extent to have me as a member of that particular Board.
r
Agenda Items - May 13, 1974
Page 2
I think that I would be in a position to obtain a qreat deal of information
and make contacts which would be beneficial to the City. This appointment
would be for a two-year period of time. The Board does meet once a month
and i feel that I can work that into my schedu]_e without any difficulty
at all and represent you on that Board as best I can.
AGENDA ITEMS
18. You have in your packet a report from F�ennepin County concerning the
improvement programs that the County is involved with for Lake Minnetonka.
They have as_ked f:�:- :.ry input :from us that �,vE may be willing to give and
I thought that due to the fact that the Mayor is on L.M.C.D. as well, that
Orono may like to have some specific comments to make in regard to Hennepin
County' s program.
19. In your packet, is a large collection of letters and correspondence
we have had t�at is concerried with the injury that Ernie Green suffered
in the Orono liquor store. He has injured himself and can no longer lift
or do any type of strenuous work and as such, is no lonqer able to
function as a liquor store employee. The doctor has determined that he has
a 20� permanent partial disability. The staff and the insurance companies
have worked to insure that Mr. Green receives al1 the compensation that is
^oming to him and at the present time, he i st�.11 takiny �nd receiving
.nedical treatments. At this time, it appea��;�whether his condition will
ever really improve in any degree. As a result of this ir�fortunate injury,
the City is no longer able to maintain him as a full-time employee. I
had effectivly terminated his status as a full-time emplayee in December
of last year after a long time of waiting to see just exactly what his
circumstances were. I have finally now gotten down to the point where we
are getting ready to close the books on this issue and I put the matter
before the Council to insure you that we have done all tha� we know to do
for Mr. Green to see that he has r_eceived all the benefits that are possible
for him under the law. As a result of the information being presented here ,
I would appreciate a resolution from the Council stating to the effect that
the situation with Mr. Green has been recognized and that the staff has
pursued the payment of the claims and have assisted Mr. Green in anyway
possible and that Mr. Green is no longer a full-time employee of the City
of Orono and that the books should be closed on the incident . I would point
out, however, at this time, that we will maintain contact with Ernie to
see how he is coming along and keep the Counci]_ abreast of any developments
that may occur for him.
20. There is a resolution and a letter in your packet explaining the
fact that Minnetonka Beach wishes to join the West FIennepin Assessing
District. The other three municipalities that are currently member.s of the
district have already passed similar resolutions stating that they had
no objections to Minnetonka Beach joining. I would recommend that the
City of Orono pass a similar resolution of intent and then the f_inal contract
nd legal papers can be arawn up at a later date. The assessing board would
nave to take the final action of bringing them in and establish a contractual
relationship. I have ask_ed Marty how this would affect his work load
.
�
Agenda Items - May 13 , 1974
Page 3
and while he agrees that it would increase it to some extent, he d�..d not
feel that it would be an undue burden to take on Minnetonka Beach and
primarily because the County has just recently done a complete assessing
reevaluation of the municipality and most of the properties are current
in their as^�_�...--��z�,���.f-r�,�,:s,.
21. There is a letter in your packet with corresponding let.te-�rs from the
staff regarding Big Island. As far as item #1 is concerned in the letter,
the City might want to take a look along wi.th the City of Wayzata about
the possibility of a mobile fire fighting appratus so that they would not
be without fire protection during those two awkard times of year when the
ice is going out and coming in. As far as items #2 & 3 are concerned, I
feel that both of those are private matters that the dwellers on the island
themselves can arrange with the trash haulers and they could arrange their
septic systems to be pumped out as well. I do not see at this time why
the City should get involved with either one of those particular operations.
The reason that I am bringing this letter to your attention, is that I
know Big Island has always been a special concern to the Council and you
may want to review other considerations on the island at this time and
instruct the staff to write an answer to this letter which would elaborate
a little more on the philosphy that the Council has towarci Big Island. It
has always been my impression that the City does not want to invest much
of anytinng in the island in the hope that eventually it will all become
� park or reserve of some sort and that building on the island is frowned
upon.
22. This is a proclamation that the Council should consider passing for
the recognition of Police Week. I'or your information, I am qoing to attend
a breakfast with Sergeant Daniels of the Orono Police Department, which is
being held in Minneapolis to kick-off Police Week and Senator Humphrey will
be the guest speaker.
23. This is just an item of information for you to put on your calendar
to let you know that on June 3, 1974 at. 7 : 30 P.M. the Council must meet
with the Assessor to have the Assessor' s Board of Revi.ew. The staff will
do all the necessary legal publications and see that the meeting is setup
and that the County representatives are here as well.
24. There is a resolution in your packet which would transfer the Park
dedication fees that have been paid for the various subdivisions that have
occurred in the past to the Park Fund, which was created by the Council in
1973 for the purpose of having a specific fund to put park monies in. The
purpose of this fund is really two-fold. It is to insure that a certain
amount oa= n.��ney as the Council desires will be set aside for park purposes;
and 2, no expenditures out of that fund can be made without Council approval.
25. Councilman Butler will be making a report to the Council in regard to
Orono and the Metropolitan Zransit Commission. The issue that she wants to
�ddress herself to is what is Orono' s need as the Council sees it, what do
�e want in terms of bus �ervice and what do we see our future needs being.
.•
Agenda Items - May 13, 1974
Page 4
26. I have asked Bernie Mittelsteadt our representative from Orr-Schelen-
Mayeron, to come to the Council meeting and report to the Council on their
understanding of the extent of the project in Hackberry area. The Council ' s
intent as best as I was able to record it, specifically stated that they
did not want the study being done north of Hackberry on Willow Drive that
was going to the railroad tracks nor did they want to consider the line that
would be running from the lift statio�� on :•7at:rtown Road down to the
Metropolitan interceptor sewer line. The study in Hackberry is to confine
itself to the pipe in the streets in the area itself and the pipe that will
cross the corner of the City of Long Lake to get to the lift station on
Watertown Road. The pipe that is going to go across the corner of Long
Lake to the lift station was to be an oversized pipe beca�e the Council
realized that perhaps �� sometime in the future �� would be a line
coming from the north down Willow Drive. It is obvious that it is not
going to be occurring in the near future but the Council did recognize it
as a possible expansion of the sewer system.
A NEW ITEM
While I was in the process of dictating my memos to you,a Mr. McCaffrey
came into the office with a variance request and while he is not on the
formal agenda, I have asked that he appear before the Council meeting a�d
present��,h}i-s variance request directly to the Council. 'i� _' ��r + ' ����.� . '=��;t-
�7c+`► �c�`/�.(�.G�c,:, t� .i-�.,.� -�:.. �. $" � ��
� ,
\