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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-26-2012 Council Minutes 0 � MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday,March 26,2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL CALL T11e Orono City Council met on the above-mentioned date with the following members present: Mayor Lili Tod McMillan, and Council Members Cynthia Bremer, Aaron Printup, and David Rahn. Representing Staff were City Administrator Jessica Loftus, City Clerk Lin Vee, Finance Director Ron Olson, Assistant City Administrator of Lona-Term Strategic Planning Michael Gaffron, Consulting City Engineer David Martini, City Engineer/Public Works Director Jesse Struve, City Attorney Soren Mattick, and Recorder Jackie Young. Mayor McMillan called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Item Nos. 4 through 9 were added to the Consent Agenda. Item No. 13 was removed from the Consent Agenda. Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 0. APPROVAL OF MINUTES *2. REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF MARCH 12,2012 Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to approve the minutes of the Orono City Council meeting of March 12,2012, as submitted. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. PLANNING COMMISSION COMMENTS- LIZZ LEVANG,REPRESENTATIVE Levang stated there were approximately 12 people in attendance for the March public hearing regarding the rental of docks. Most people in attendance were in favor of allowing family members to be able to use their dock and the vast majority of them were opposed to friends using their dock. Marina owners expressed concern about allowin�residential dock rentals. The text amendment will be brought back to the Planning Commission after Staff and the City Attorney have had time to draft some preliminary language. PUBLIC COMMENTS Allan Engleman, 315 Old Crystal Bay Road North, stated he had previously asked about some city-owned land that is landlocked and never received a reply back. Engleman stated he has a concern that if there is a fire on the property, the emergency squads will not be able to access it. McMillan asked if the property is gated. _ ____ ____ ____ __--____-----___ Page 1 of 7 MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday,March 26,2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. (PUBLIC COMMENTS, Continued) Engleman stated the state erected the gate. Engleman noted there are council members who are unaware of where this land is located. Gaffron stated it is the parcel that was donated by Alan Carlson and is the old Panuska farm. The land consists mainly of woods. A portion of the land was purchased by MN/DOT for a storm water pond and the portion to the south that is still owned by MN/DOT is a potential access to the land. This is one of the City properties that has been designated as open space. The City has no specific use or plans far the land at this time. Engleman asked how the property would be accessed if something happens there. Engleman stated his understanding is that when the new road went in,the City should have gotten a 12-foot easement on top of the berm to allow them access to it. There have now been trees planted in that easement. Gaffron asked if MN/DOT planted those trees. Engleman indicated they did. McMillan stated Staff will look into it and that she may have neglected to respond to his previous email after discussing his concerns with the City Administrator. Engleman stated he would like an answer because his property abuts the city property. McMillan requested Staff check into this situation and contact Mr. Engleman in the near future. Loftus indicated she will speak with the police chief about access to the property and then contact Mr. Engleman. Engleman commented he cut some brush and made a road on his property to the adjoining city property in the event that something happens and access would be needed. PLANNING DEPARTMENT REPORT 3. #12-3542 CITY OF ORONO, CODE AMENDMENT FOR LOTS OF RECORD IN SHORELAND AREAS-ORDINANCE NO. 92, THIRD SERIES Gaffron stated in 2009,the Minnesota Legislature adopted new laws regarding the use of nonconforming lots of record in shareland areas. The proposed ardinance amendments are intended to bring the Orono Zoning Code into conformity with the provisions of state statutes. In addition, because the law changes require a number of revisions to the city codes reaarding Record Lots on Big Island, the proposed ordinance updates the RS district Record Lot Inventory tables and adopts a new Official Record Lot Map and Listing. The City of Orono has a number of small lots on Shoreland areas that were created prior to current zoning standards and which, under our current codes, would be considered as substandard in area and/or width. ___ ____ _- __ - Page 2 of 7 � MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday,March 26,2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. (3. #12-3542 CITY OF ORONO, CODE AMENDMENT FOR LOTS OF RECORD IN SHORELAND AREAS, Continued) The 2009 Statute revisions require that cities allow property owners to build on such lots when they meet certain minimum criteria. These minimum criteria are generally not consistent with Orono's minimum standards and would allow building on lots which would not be considered buildable without substantial variances under Orono code. The City no longer has the option of denying buildability of such lots when they meet the minimum criteria established by the new statute. The primary intent of the proposed ordinance is to make Orono Code consistent with state law. An example of this is the application for a development on Maple Place. The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed ordinance at a public hearing held on February 21st and voted 6-0 to recommend approvaL There were no comments from the public. Staff recommends approval of the ordinance and summary ordinance attached to the Staff inemo. Gaffron noted there are some small lots that would not be buildable with the statute in place. Gaffron indicated he is not concerned about the impact on Big Island but that he does have a concern with small lots located in Navarre. McMillan asked about the list of record lots and if any are located on the mainland. Gaffron indicated the list is only for the RS District and includes Big Island and Deering Island properties, adding that the record lots were created specifically for Big lsland back in 1983 and that the list has not beei� updated since that time. McMillan noted Item 3 on Page 3 states, in part,that the total amount of hardcover that may be placed, located or constructed in areas where hardcover is not prohibited shall not exceed 25 percent of the entire lot. McMillan asked if the entire]ot area is included in that calculation. Gaffron indicated it is. Mattick indicated it relates solely to the need for a lot area variance. If you wanted to construct in the 75-250 foot zone,you would still be constrained to 25 percent hardcover in that zone and you would not get to apply the?5 percent used for the entire lot as an exemption for the lot area variance. Gaffron stated that may clarify what was discussed during the work session earlier this evening. Gaffron noted there was a concern raised during the work session that the City would not have the ability to deny a variance if the property was more than 25 percent hardcover in the 75-250 foot zone. This language clarifies that the City would have the ability to approve ar deny a hardcover variance. Mattick stated the idea behind the legislation was that as lakeshore valuation increased, higher density becomes more desirable. People felt that if you have three lots, you should be allowed to construct on all three lots; whereas befare the legislation was adopted,they would have had to combine those lots to reach the two acre minimum. Rahn moved,Printup seconded,to adopt ORDINANCE NO. 92,THIRD SERIES,an Ordinance Amending Chapter 78 of the Orono City Code Regarding Lots of Record in Shoreland Areas, and to adopt the Summary Ordinance for publication. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. __ _ ___ _-- --_____---_ __ __ Page 3 of 7 _ __ MINUTES OF THE � ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday,March 26,2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. *4. JOINT USE DOCK LICENSE RENEWALS- RESOLUTION NOS. 6121 -6129 Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to adopt the following resolutions to issue Joint Use Dock Licenses for the Period of January 1,2012 to December 31,2012: Resotution No. 6121 —Bohns Point Lane Homeowners Resolution No. 6122—Forest Arms Country Club Addition Homeowners Association, Inc. Resolution No. 6123—Foxhill Homeowners Association Resolution No. 6124—Kelly Cove Homeowners Association of Orono Resolution No. 6125—Minnetonka Power Squadron Resolution No. 6126—Pheasant Lawn Homeowners Association Resolution No. 6127—Owners of Property Located at 460,500 and 550 Tonkawa Road Resolution No. 6128—Victoria Estates Homeowners Association Resolution No. 6129—Walter's Port Maintenance& Improvement Association VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. CITY ENGINEER'S REPORT *5. APPROVE PAYMENT NO. 1 FOR IVY PLACE SEWER MAIN REHABILITATION Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to approve Payment Number 1 and final payment to Veit& Company, Inc., Rogers,Minnesota,in the amount of$44,392.11 for Ivy Place sewer main rehabilitation. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. *6. AMEND 2012 FEE SCHEDULE REGARDING GOLF COURSE FEES -RESOLUTION NO. 6130 Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 6130,a Resolution Amending the 2012 Fee Schedule. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. *7. APPOINTMENT OF 2012 GOLF COURSE EMPLOYEES Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to approve a seasonal employee pay range of�8.40 to $9.95 until June 30,2012,and $8.50 to �10.05 from July 2,2012,through December 31,2012, for the 2012 season and to hire the seasonal employees as indicated in the staff inemo under the applicable provisions of the PERA rules. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT Rahn noted he was in attendance at the Planning Commission meeting when the dock rental application was discussed and that in his opinion it is really a dock ownership issue rather than a dock rental issue. The Planning Commission and City Council are pretty much all on the same page as it relates to dock rental and that the overall discussion related more to dock ownership. Rahn stated in his view the immediate family component along with ownership is something that could be added and should be fairly easy to regulate. Rahn commented there may be some method of requiring a - __ _...- --__._--.__ Page 4 of 7 � MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday, March 26,2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. (MAYOR/COUNCIL REPORT, Continued) special use permit for a specified amount of time to deal with that situation. Rahn noted the enforcement component of the ordinance will be difficult. Rahn stated the larger issue far him is the ownership component of it. Rahn indicated there was a representative from Big Island at the Planning Commission meeting that spoke about his neighbor that has a new tenant every week. There were also a couple of homeowners that lived in the Crystal Bay area and had parking issues. Rahn noted they are not talking about illegally parked cars in that situation. That home has since been sold and the issue has gone away. Ralln commented if the overall population was aware that they would not be allowed to have a family member keep their boat at their dock,they would have had more people in attendance. The issue comes back to how the City will be able to police it. Loftus reported that she, Doug Franchot, and Jesse Struve atteilded a meeting with the Long Lake utility study group. The group spent approximately an hour and a half with a representative from the Metropolitan Council. At a previous meeting Long Lake had requested a utility study group because they had concerns about specific neighborhoods. At this meeting the group talked almost exclusively about I&I. Loftus stated it sounds like Long Lake would be interested in pursuing a program to incentivize the residents to correct their I&I problems. Loftus indicated she is not sure if the City Council was anticipating that as being a topic of discussion for this study group. McMillan coinmented there have been a number of I&I issues that have come up over the years and that in the past the City has not really focused on the line from the house to the street. McMillan stated she is not sure how much time the group should spend on that and to what extent that is a problem in Orono. Loftus stated the cities that have dealt with it have passed some type of ordinance requiring private connections to be fixed at the time streets are repaired. Correction of an I&I problem is usually a pretty expensive endeavar far private residents and is a big policy decision on the part of the City. Loftus stated she is unsure whether the City Council feels this is an issue at this time and whether Orono should partner with Long Lake on this matter. Rahn stated it was always his assumption that because those lines are smaller and when they cracked, roots would infiltrate their system, that the homeowner would become aware of the problem and would replace the lines prior to it causing substantial I&I issues for a number of years. Jesse Struve stated there are studies that show the overall length of city-owned sanitary sewer pipe in the ground is anywhere from 40 to 50 percent of the total and that private sanitary sewer lines account for 50 or more percent of the sewer pipes in the ground. If the City has an I&I issue and they deal only with their portion of the pipe,they would only be tackling about 50 percent of the problem. There are significant I&I contributions from private sanitary lines and a large number of homeowners do not necessarily understand what I&I is about. If a resident has tree roots in the system,that means there is an I&I issue. Struve noted that many cities will undertake programs to address private I&I issues. McMillan commented there is another meeting scheduled in April and that she would like to get all of the service agreements worked out between the two cities for the short-term and then perhaps look at the I&I issue sometime down the road. _._.___. —.__.__ __._---_ _-----.__.._____. Page 5 of 7 MINUTES OF THE � ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday,March 26,2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT *8. RE-ESTABLISH VOTING PRECINCTS AND POLLING PLACE LOCATIONS- RESOLUTION NO. 6131 Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 6131,a Resolution for Reestablishing Precincts and Precinct Polling Place Locations for Precincts 1,2,3, and 4 in the City of Orono. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. *9. LIQUIDATION OF FORFEITED VEHICLES Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to dispose of two forfeited vehicles, both vehicles to be auctioned through Minneapolis Auto Auction (Adesa). VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. 10. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION FOR CITY ADMINISTRATOR Loftus noted this is her second year working for the City and that the City Council has the option of following the same format as last year or implement something different for this year's evaluation. Rahn asked if the same process would include setting goals and having a way to measure those goals. Loftus indicated it would. It was the consensus of the City Council to follow the same evaluation process as last year for the city administrator position. Loftus noted that Planner Melanie Curtis is now on maternity leave. The Public Works Department has been working with Ralph Kempf in Navarre in securing a bike rack donation. Loftus noted that MN/DOT has lifted road restrictions already. Due to the fact that some of the roads in Orono are still pretty wet and shady, Orono will keep their restrictions in place and review it on a week by week basis. Struve indicated he has spoken with the surrounding communities and that they are following the same protocol as Orono. The situation will be evaluated every Friday to see if it should be lifted for the following Monday. CITY ATTORNEY'S REPORT Mattick indicated he has nothing to report. __ _.__._._.__ ____._--- _..._.... __--. __----_- Page 6 of 7 __. MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL Monday,March 26,2012 7:00 o'clock p.m. *11. LICENSES & PERMITS Solicitor License-Extension Request 1. Applicant: Window Concepts of Minnesota, Inc. Activity: Home Improve�nents(windows, doors, bathliners, etc.) Date: To be determined upon Council approval Time: 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to approve the request for an extension to allow solicitation for an additional 50 days for Windows Concepts of Minnesota, Inc. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. *12. BILLS Bremer moved,Printup seconded,to approve payment of the All Funds Account. VOTE: Ayes 4, Nays 0. CLOSED MEETING 13. CLOSED MEETING FOR ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE Bremer moved,Rahn seconded,to close the Orono City Council meeting to discuss pending litigation. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. (The Orono City Council went into closed session from 7:36 p.m. to 8:0� p.m.) ADJOURNMENT Moved,seconded,to adjourn the Orono City Council meeting at 8:05 p.m. VOTE: Ayes 4,Nays 0. ATTEST: ���,��� �. .��c ���..... Linda S. Vee, City Clerk Lili Tod McMillan, Mayor __..__.._. __ ___ ___._ .._____..—,__ Page 7 of 7