Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP August 10, 1978 . - . . ~ 01 ANDOVER SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING - AUGUST 10, 1978 MINUTES A Special Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Jerry Windschitl on August 10, 1978, 7:30 p.m., at the Andover City Rall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, for the purpose of meeting with Ron Roth on the landfill operation and discussing several items from the August 1, 1978, Regular Meeting. Councilpersons present: Lachinski, MCClure, Orttel Councilperson absent: Vanderlaan Also present: City Engineers, D. R. Kasma and John Davidson; City Clerk, p. K. Lindquist; and others A~enda Approval MOTION by McClure, Seconded by Orttel, to accept the Agenda as published with the addition of Item 2a, Resident Forum. Motion carried unanimously. Resident Forum Mr. Lloyd Reimann, 2813 142nd Avenue NW - expressed concern over the Fire Department pamphlet which states the City's insurance rating will change to a 9 when a fire department is established, in that he had checked into insurance ratings with the ISO and with varioue insurance companies. He is presently rated at a 6, and it would cost him an additional SlOO a year in insurance premiums if his rating were changed to a 9. Mr. Reimann mentioned the insurance companies giving a 6 rating to some residents. in Andover and felt that it is going to cost the residents a lot of money to have their own Fire Department. He was also concerned about the quality of protection the Volunteer Fire Department would give because of their lack of experience in fighting fires, whether their response time would be better than that of Anoka, and the number of people giving day coverage. He staæd that the City would not be able to obtain Mutual Aid with surrounding communities because there are only two people for day protection. He also expressed concern that State Fire Marshalls have noted that quite a few volunteer fire departments do not make it past the first year. Councilperson Orttel stated he had spent the entire day gathering information on the insurance situation contacting 25 of the 86 companies that write policies in Minnesota, After the top 10 companies, the rest are writing less than two percent of the business in the State of Minnesota, There were four companies that would give oter than a class 10 rating with one exception which has done away with class ratings altogether and classifies all houses in the State the same. He stated it is highly unethical and illegal for insurance agents to classify other than ISO classifications for a City, although most companies do not regulate tleir agents very closely. One company will fire any agent found not classifying ISO classifications, Also, if an insurance company feels they can justify charging a fire class 6 rate in a fire class 10 area, they must file their reaSons for doing so with the State Insurance Department. If the Insurance Department agrees, they dan do it. The Insurance Department doesn't know of any companies given this exception. At this point, the agents are writing the lower policies, but the companies are not condoning it. The fire rating has nothing to do with distance from the fire department but with the fact that your address is Anoka. Also, of the top five insurance companies doing business in Minnesota, they do approximately 50 percent of the business in this area, and Councilperson O~ttel felt there would be very little dollar difference in premiums Mayor Windschitl also stateŒthat the Newsletter on the bond issue was checked out by the Council and the fiscal agent for its accuracy; the example given was anac:tual example in the City, and there has been no attempt to mislead anyone. Discussion was on the _0'''' Special City Council Meeting August 10, 1978 - ~utes Page 2 (Resident Forum, Continued) findings of Councilperson Orttel and Mr. Reimann as to the policies of the various companies, thatJlle fire department will be campaigning for volunteers, that they are looking to workers within the City of Andover to aid daytime coverage, that the City will carry the contract with the Anoka Fire Department for at least a year yet before fighting fires on their own, that those companies writing policies as class 6 require the home to be 6 road miles from the fire barn which is only a very small area of Andover, and that any questions about the Fire Department can be answered at Monday night's informational meeting at the City:.Hall. Landfill Discussion Mr. Ron Roth of Waste Disposal Engineering and his foreman David Aspinwall were present. Mayor Windschitl read the letters relative to the landfill situation of April 19, 1978, dealing with the proposed changes of the landfill and the letter of February 24, 1978, to Mr. Roth from Gerald Sunde, Consulting Engineer. Mr. Roth stated that at present the County informally does not have any problem with the proposed plan as such except they want further information. He reviewed the proposed final contour map agreeing to restrict filling in that area in the northwest corner; and in order to replace that, they would reschedule the top of the elevations to that on the final contour map. The final contours call for 2 percent slopes and generally meet the codes now enforced by the Pollution Control Agency and the County. Mr. Roth stated he would agree to these things in writing. Mr. Roth also requested assistance from the City in getting some kind of identification program for residents. He stated there are a number Of different alternatives to this, some kind of pass or sticker, or address identification, or issuing something to the households -- as it is very difficult to make identification of Andover resident~and they have so many abuses of the free use. The dumping privileges would remain free of charge in Andover residents. In discussing the identification problem, the Council appreciated the problem and agreed that this could be discussed further. Mr. Roth is to send the City some of his suggestions. In discussing the final end use of the land, Mr. Roth stated the two percent slopes can enable a lot of different activities. He felt basically the land will remain an open space application for some type of small grain agricultural use, which is acceptable to the State and County. Mr. Roth also explained that during the winter, sludge, an inert-type lime, was placed on the south and a portion of the east slopes of the land- fill; ~nd because of the severity of the winter and the excess rainfall this spring and summer, it is not completely leveled over yet. Mr. Roth explained which areas have been leveled to final contours with dirt applied on top of the lime, and they are in the process of working the entire south side now. Most of the south slope, southwest tip and southeast area have been almost completely graded and are in a position to have terminal cover on it. Mr. Roth stated he has received his 1978-79 license with some final conditions being discussed with the Health Board at this time. The items listed in the July 24 letter (Certification of Insurance, bond, etc.) have been discussed with the Health Board, and they have had continual inspection since last week. Most of the items have been taken care of or negotiated. MOTION by Lachinski, Seconded by McClure, that the City Council, City of Andover, approve the Addendum to Waste Disposal Engineering Landfill presented by Mr. Ron Roth and shown by the map dated February 22, 1978, and presented at this meeting and described as follows : 1) That the setback distance from the highway be increased from 300 feet to approximately 950 feet. The limits of the site would conform to the line suggested during prior conference with the City Council; 2) That the height of the landfill - ... Special City Council Meeting August 10, 1978 - Minutes Page 3 (Landfill Discussion, Continued) be increased by about four feet over the contours shown on their originally prepared final contour plan dated January, 1977; approval contingent upon Mr. Roth agreeing to this in writing. Motion carried unanimously. Recess at 8:26; reconvene at 8:45 p.m. Prairie Road Discussion Mr. Davidson stated the contractor has been working on the road since last week. They met on site with Mr. Slyzuk and Mr. Holasek anà agree a ~na~ tne con~ractor would dredge out the main ditch downstream from Prairie Road to the railroad track, which should be complete within a week to 10 days. The items of cleanup work that the contractor did were blacktopping from the edge of the mat to the top of the rip rap on the large culvert to prevent erosion; resodded and staked around the main culvert; washouts that were filled with peat had additiona\ better-qualitY,material put in that would hold; another row of sod added along some of the driveways; culverts cleaned; seeding completed; and ditch bottoms cleaned. All clean-up and repair work is basically completed except for the dredging of the ditch. There was a complaint that the radius was too short going onto Andover Boulevard, which, after discussion in the office, has been widened. There was also a complaint on the northern end by the property owner at the first lowpoint south of Crosstown. Since the blacktop has been put in, he gets excessive drainage across his property. Mr. Davidson explained there is no other outlet, the drainage a~ hasn't been changed at all as that is a natural lowpoint, and the drainage area has not been disturbed. To alleviate the problem would mean a major ditching operation to which the property owner would be assessed, as it would benefit only one property. It was Mr. Davidson's opinion that it should not be changed. Mr. Davidson also reported there are some areas that need to be negotiated with the contractor regarding final payment. He noted the largest item to be negotiated is the extra money for the fill as the bid was for 1,500 cubic yards of fill and 22,000 cubic yards were used on the project, a substantial overrun. Winslow Holasek - stated he charged 40 cents a cubic yard on one piece for the fill and 50 cents on the other piece where his crops were disturbed. He had never changed the price but negotiated that the contractor restore the grade and put one foot of topsoil back on his field. Discussion was on the events which took place regarding the fill, and that TKDA's position is that they accepted the ads and the prices the way they are unless it is agreed to a change in writing ahead of time. TKDA's attorney has given his written opinion that according to specifications, the contractor has nothing additional coming; 'but from a practical standpint, because the overrun is so overwhelming, that they are going to appeal that. The State Aid Engineer felt that the contractor was entitled to the additional payment. t~. Davidson stated they will have a final estimate to be approved by the City Council as there are some verbal agreements made with the contractor on the project that must still be paid for. TKDA's position is also that it is the contractor's responsibility for ditches, etc., up until the time that we accept the project in writing, and it is not accepted until the Council has approved final paymmt. Because there have been srne allegations made regarding the adequacy of the plans for Prairie Road, Mr. Kasma stated that they were signed by a Professional Engineer, certified by the State Aid as being adequate, reviewed in detail by the State, and accepted by the contractor; and they will stand behind the plans. Should it be ruled that there was an omission in the plans that resulted in the extra costs for building the road, Mr. Kasma stated it is their responsibility. He also explained that the road being built in three sectias was one of the reasons for the problems involved with grade and fill. Also, they anticipated taking fill from the ditches in the roadway, but it could not be done because of the silty soil. Mr. Holasek also reviewed in depth what ... Special City Council Meeting August 10, 1978 - Minutes Page 4 (Prairie Road Discussion, Continued) had happened regarding the fill for the road, when it wasneeded, and the price negotiated; and he felt that not all the fill was needed for the middle of the road. They knew there would be an overrun before even doing the middle, and the contractor had originally expected to ··obtain the fill from N~rdeen, who later decided not to let them use it from his property. Discussion was also that if any more projects such as this are going to be done, that precautions be taken so such an overrun does not happen again; on the problems of road alignment with 148th in Barnes Addition; and on where the additional fill was needed. Mr. Ho1asek also stated that the cleaning of the ditch will be done only 3/4 of the way to the railroad and he didn't feel that that was unfair as the City has used the ditch free of charge since the original construction; his concern that the elevation be checked on the second culvert north of the ditch on the west side of Prairie Road as he felt the ditch was higher than that; that the weeds on the shoulder should be mowed or sprayed very soon before they go to seed; and that the seed was full of clover and questioned if it would affect his sod fields. Mr. Kasma stated they were aware of the sod fields so it should not affect them. Meadowcreek Fill Councilperson Lachinski reviewed the August 7, 1978, memo from the Road Improvement Committee to the City Council of the costs and alternates available to salvaging the gravel from Meadowcreek Estates. Also reference TKDA's letter of August 10, 1978, to the City Council. Discussion was on the savings to the City of salvaging this gravel and hauling it to various sites. Foret Lake Contracting is willing to pay the City 30 cents a yard for approximately 6,000 yards of excess material from Meadowcreek and haul it to the bridge site on South Coon Creek Drive. Mr. Kasma stated that some dirt is also needed in the Northwoods tennis court, some along Bunker Lake Boulevard, with about 6,000 yards estimated to go on South Coon Creek Drive. After discussion, it was determined that the $1,500 to remove the gravel and the $1,800 received for payment for the gravel will both be removed from the assessment rolls of Meadowcreek Estates so the residents in the project don't end up paying for that gravel. MOTION by Orttel, Seconded by McClure, that the Class 5 gravel presently in the Meadow_ creek streets in the amount of approximately 1,000 cubic yards be stripped from the streets prior to the new construction and hauled at no cost by the contractor of the project to the South Coon Creek Drive and Auditor's Subdivision 82 after locations and timing are discussed with the City street contractor with the only cost to the City to be the cost of separating the gravel from the other soil in the area, and that cost is to be at $1.50 per yard. Also, the City agrees to sell excess fill from the Meadowcreek project to the contractor on the Meadowcreek Project approximately 6,000 cubic yards at 30 cents per yard. Motion carried unanimously. Sanitary Sewer Trunk Connection CharRes There was a very lengthy discussion regarding the City's policy on sanitary sewer trunk connection charges. Mr. Kasrns reviewed in detail his report of August 7, 1978, to the City Council on the Trunk Sanitary Sewer Financing Plan for the City relative to the current financing plan, modified plan, alternative plans available, and his recommenda~ tions to the Council. He also reported that a large area of land along Bunker Lake Boulevard and Round Lake Boulevard has recently been purchased with the intention of àeyeloping it. Council discussion was on Page Two of the August 7 letter relative to the current obligations of the City and how the annual connections were calculated; on the accuracy of the figure that the City has been averaging 9 new connections per year for the past two years; that the 9 connections are money actually received to date; with the Special City Council Meeting August 10, 1978 - Minutes Page 5 (Sanitary Sewer Trunk Connection Charges, Continued) Clerk explaining the bookkeeping of how the connection charges are handled in relation to the General Fund and paying off the bond, Mayor Windschit1 stated the figures arrived at by the fiscal agent is a very conservative way of doing it but it will make sure that the general public in Andover doesn't pay for a localized sewer, The General Fund supports the project during the first years; and as the funds come in, the General Fund is repaid back again, He suggested that money being set aside now be placed in a separate account until the end of the year; as there is going to be a pOint in time when the General Fund must be paid back; and if it is in the sewer fund, it cannot be taken out until the end of the 30 years when the bond is paid, The Clerk should check into this further. It was suggested that should a surplus come about as a result of an area assessment now or in the future, that some of that surplus must be paid back to the people who paid the charges previously -- that somehow payments must be equalized so all people are paying exactly the same charges. Mayor Winrlsqhit1 felt a per-acre assessment charge could and should be mathematically made to work out, possibly on a square foota-g3: basis, to equalize future and past assessments. If a credit is generated, thero must be some method of crediting past assessments back. Mr. Kasma also suggested that a revolving sewer fund be established for the surplus to be used fOr emergencies and maintenance, as it will save the people using the system the dollars. Or the fund could be used to reduce sewer charges to the people who have previously paid for the trunk. Discussion was that before talking about whether the old assessment was excessive, a surplus must be e%isting. The question is when is that determination made. It is extremely difficult to make that determination until all the trunk pipe is laid in the ground, Also, the financing policy is to keep from having a tax levy and that the City needs a guarantee that the trunk line will be paid for by the land it will service regardless of the development market, If a large development would come in, the only reasonable thing to do would be to have a blanket assesement; as the City cannot put up the entire amount of the cost of the trunk extension, Everything is based on the possibility of future development, which mayor may not occur, It was agreed that before a developer comes in, that a written policy be established, as it was felt that the Council could not assume the liability for extending the trunk line betting that the area will be developed, feeling that the City must demand some area assessment for new development, possibly writing an exception for existing development. Mr. Kasma was directed to work up an amendment to the Trunk Sanitary Sewer Financing Plan with the idea to have a policy established being that the City is going to area assess it over a period of years (to be determined by Mr, Kasma) at the time of construction. Mr. Kasma also reported that the potential developer to the west of Meadowcreek Estates is not ready to participate in any storm sewer costs at this time (See Minutes of August 1, 1978, County Road 9 Storm Sewer Discussion), MOTION by Lachinski, Seconded by Orttel, to adjourn, All in favor said aye, Meeting adjourned at 11:28 p,m. Respectfully submitted, ~~~c::~~~ Marc ¡la A, Peach Recording Secretary .'- -