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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC - February 3, 2009 C l T� i 1685 CROSSTOWN BOULEVARD N.W. • ANDOVER, MINNESOTA 55304 • (763) FAX (763) 755 -8923 • WWW.CI.ANDOVER.MN.US Regular City Council Meeting — Tuesday, February 3, 2009 Call to Order — 7:00 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance Resident Forum Agenda Approval 1. Approval of Minutes (1/20/09 Joint Workshop; 1 /22/09 Special Workshop; 1/20/09 Regular Meeting) Consent Items 2. Approve Payment of Claims — Finance 3. Accept Feasibility Report/Order Public Hearing/08- 37/157` Avenue Reconstruction (MSAS 102) — Engineering 4. Order Improvement/Order & Approve Plans & Specs /Order Advertisement for Bids /09- 4/2009 Seal Coating - Engineering 5. Order Improvement/Order Plans & Specs /09- 3/2009 Crack Sealing - Engineering 6. Reject Bid/09- 10/Diseased Tree Removal/Sanitation Enforcement — Engineering 7. Authorize Expenditure from Storm Water Utility Fund/09- 13/2009 Tree Sale - Engineering Discussion Items 8. Hold Public Hearing/09- 2/2009 Street Reconstruction - Engineering 9. NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) Presentation & Public Meeting/09 -1 — Engineering 10. Consider Sketch Plan for Revised Planned Unit Development of Woodland Crossings - Planning 11. Call for Sale of Bonds - Finance 12. Discuss Parameters Resolution for G.O. Open Space Bonds — Finance Staff Items 13. Schedule Local Board of Appeal & Equalization Meeting — Administration 14. Administrator's Report - Administration Mayor /Council Input Adjournment C I T Y ® F ^ REGULAR ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL MEETING — FEBRUARY3, 2009 MINUTES The Regular Bi- Monthly Meeting of the Andover City Council was called to order by Mayor Mike Gamache, February 3, 2009, 7:01 p.m., at the Andover City Hall, 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, Minnesota. Councilmembers present: Sheri Bukkila, Don Jacobson, Julie Trude Councilmember absent: Mike Knight Also present: City Attorney, Scott Baumgartner Director of Public Works /City Engineer, Dave Berkowitz City Administrator, Jim Dickinson Community Development Director, Will Neumeister Others PLEDGE OFALLEGIANCE RESIDENT FORUM No one wished to address the Council. AGENDA APPROVAL Add Item 12a, (Legal Non - Conforming Use). Motion by Trude, Seconded by Jacobson, to approve the Agenda as amended above. Motion carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES January 20, 2009, Regular Meeting: Correct as amended. Councilmember Trude stated on page one, line 23 the sentence should be "by -laws is... "; page three, the word in the title should be "Water Treatment Plant" and the title on page seven needs to get conformed which is important for their indexing. Motion by Trude, Seconded by Jacobson, approval of Minutes as indicated above. Motion carried unanimously. © Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2009 Page 2 January 22, 2009, Special Workshop Meeting: Correct as amended. Councilmember Jacobson indicated the fourth page, line six, it said "Mr. Howard left the meeting" and then after that it shows he asked Mr. Howard a question and thought line six should be moved down below that paragraph. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Trude, approval of Minutes as indicated above. Motion carried unanimously. January 20, 2009, Joint Workshop Meeting: Correct as written. Motion by Trude, Seconded by Jacobson, approval of Minutes as indicated above. Motion carried unanimously. CONSENT ITEMS Q Item 2 Approval of Claims Item 3 Accept Feasibility Report/Order Public Hearing/08- 37/157' Avenue Reconstruction (MSAS 102) (See Resolution R008 -09) Item 4 Order Improvement/Order & Approve Plans & Specs /Order Advertisement for Bids /09- 4/2009 Seal Coating (See Resolution R009 -09) Item 5 Order Improvement/Order Plans & Specs /09- 3/2009 Crack Sealing (See Resolution RO10 -09) Item 6 Reject Bid/09- 10/Diseased Tree Removal/Sanitation Enforcement Item 7 Authorize Expenditure from Storm Sewer Water Utility Fund/09- 13/2009 Tree Sale Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Trude, approval of the Consent Agenda as read. Motion carried unanimously. HOLD PUBLIC HEARING 109- 212009 STREET RECONSTRUCTION Mr. Berkowitz stated the City Council is requested to hold a public hearing for Project 09 -02, 2009 Street Reconstruction. Mr. Berkowitz reviewed the information with the Council. © Councilmember Jacobson asked if there was anything identified that was outside the right of way that would require any drainage corrections. Mr. Berkowitz stated in most cases they have identified those drainage areas and take care of them through the reconstruction. He explained the process they go through while evaluating the project. He stated they have not identified anything outside of the © Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2009 Page 3 right -of -way that poses a problem. Councilmember Trade asked if the engineer's estimates of costs are based on the current year estimates and if we would need to provide a little more based on the current economy. Mr. Berkowitz stated they have anticipated higher costs due to the oil price fluctuations experienced last year and are hoping since oil prices have dropped substantially they can see the benefits when they go into the bid. Councilmember Trade stated she has seen other communities' bids have come back favorably. She thought it would be a good idea to get an early bid and see what the prices are that come back. Councilmember Trade stated this is one of the larger road assessments and thought it would be a good idea to look at the assessments when the bid comes in to see if per unit assessments could be lowered. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Trade, to open the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously. © Mr. Mark Pitman, 2023 175 th Lane North, stated he did not have too many concerns regarding the merits of the program but he did request the Council table this item for a year. He stated the way the economy is he did not think it was necessary to burden the residents with a road reconstruction at this time. He stated he drives the roads daily and did not think they were that bad. He felt the timing of this project was lousy and could be better handled in a year. Mayor Gamache asked Mr. Berkowitz to talk about the road that was built in 1986 and why it is going bad. Mr. Berkowitz explained how the road standards have changed over the years and the reason why the road needed to be reconstructed. Mayor Gamache asked Mr. Dickinson to address the funds that are available for the road reconstruction and if they table the project how it will affect the funds. Mr. Dickinson explained they would most likely hold the funds but the main concern would be next year the costs may go up and cost the City and the residents to be assessed more to complete. Councilmember Trade stated her concern with tabling this would be there will probably be a federal stimulus package that will pass and move down to the States for road projects. They will be competing with all those projects for contractors and materials. Mr. Dickinson stated that would be very likely and certain supplies may become scarce if a number of road projects moved ahead. Mr. Tom Nielsen, 2275 175 th Lane, commended the engineer for the study that was done on the project. He stated he has noticed the roads have deteriorated significantly over the last couple of © years along with the deterioration of the drainage. He also felt the City has already invested a lot of time and money into this project and if they were to delay it they would probably lose some of the engineering, timing and financing plans they already have. Since the improvements to the road, the base and topping on the road, curb and gutter and drainage seems to be so well planned and other projects are not in process at this time, this would be the time to do the project. No reason to delay © Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes —February 3, 2009 Page 4 it. The money is there and he felt it would be a proper thing to do. Mr. Craig Secard, 17604 Partridge Street, agreed that the City should go ahead with the project. Timing is not great and financially everyone is hurting. He thought if they wanted to consider some way to lower the costs to the residents they could look at lowering the interest rate for them but at least get the project done since the streets are in bad repair. Councilmember Trude wondered if the eight year schedule is a good schedule or should they wait to get bids and come back for another review. Mr. Secard stated he would prefer they go ahead and get the project scheduled. He felt the improvements will help the neighborhood. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Trude, to close the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously. Councilmember Jacobson felt they should go ahead, order the plans and the specs, get the bids and see what the actual costs will be. He thought it will come in lower than what the engineer has estimated. He felt oil will be going up in another year and if the Federal Stimulus plan goes into effect it may be hard to get supplies and contractors. Councilmember Trude agreed. © Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Trude, to approve the Resolution ordering the improvement of Project 09 -02, 2009 Street Reconstruction. Motion carried unanimously. (Res. 011 -09) NPDES (NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM) PRESENTATION & PUBLIC MEETING 109 -1 Natural Resource Technician, Kameron Kytonen explained the City of Andover is required to comply with the latest NPDES regulations set forth by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). Mr. Kytonen made a presentation to the Council. Councilmember Trude thought this was a good program since it is teaching to be more green in the City and conserve water. She thought this was a benefit to the community. Mr. Mark Pitman, 2023 175"' Lane, asked what the cost of this program is. Councilmember Jacobson thought it was $6.35 per resident quarterly and shows up on the utility bill. Mayor Gamache stated a lot of what was mandated was to find ways to reduce storm discharge. Another part of the program is there needs to be education involved with the program such as a © website and other opportunities for people to learn about storm water and drainage. Mr. Kytonen and Mr. Berkowitz explained the program and what the Federal Government has mandated and the requirements. © Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2009 Page 5 Mr. Berkowitz explained how the City is putting the program into effect in the City and how they are making improvements. CONSIDER SKETCH PLAN FOR REVISED PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT OF WOODLAND CROSSINGS Mr. Neumeister stated Woodland Development is seeking to amend the Woodland Crossings plat. They are responding to feedback received from potential buyers during their marketing efforts. The proposal would convert five of the existing single family lots to six detached townhouse lots. The developer has indicated that these lots would be added to the existing homeowners association which would provide maintenance of the lots. Mr. Byron Westlund discussed with the Council the history of the project and what he is proposing to change in the development. © Councilmember Jacobson asked if the move is to build the model townhomes, why don't they put one on each of the single family lots rather than trying to squeeze another one in. Mr. Westlund stated they are looking for a price point and by adding one more it lowers the costs and will make it more attractive and hopefully sell quicker. Councilmember Trude stated it will help the end user by putting more money into the home and less into the land. Mr. John Squires, Woodland's Marketing Representative, made a presentation to the Council. Councilmember Jacobson stated he has been through some of the townhomes and they are exceptionally nice and he thought Woodland Development did a good job. Councilmember Bukkila asked when sitting at the intersection of Jay and 157 t ' looking at the empty lots and there is no formidable linear break in the block, where would the height difference be between the townhomes and the single family homes behind. Mr. Westlund stated they will be at the same height if not taller because of the roof pitch. They also have covenants and restrictions that are on the single family lots and the townhomes meet and exceed those covenants and restrictions that are existing for the single family. Councilmember Bukkila stated they indicate they would allow for exterior changes but all the existing towbhomes in that area currently are all the same color and monochromatic design. She d wondered if they would be willing to shift that to give some color variation to let it blend in with the other single family homes that are already existing in that area. Mr. Westlund stated they would and have already contacted their suppliers to see what other color choices they have for steel siding and they have done alternatives with cedar shake on the garage peaks. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2009 Page 6 Councilmember Bukkila stated she would support it if they could make it blend but the monotone color does not fit in with the existing homes. She asked if they talked to the homeowners in the area. Mr. Westlund stated they did have a neighborhood meeting before the Planning Commission meeting and only one resident showed up and was in favor of it. Councilmember Trude stated she had some concern since generally their townhomes are a little separated or there is a feeling of they belong together instead of being a part of a neighborhood. They do have higher end landscaping, they have different setbacks and she asked if there is something that could be done to help the townhomes to blend in. She liked Councilmember Bukkila's suggestion and stated when they come back she would like to see some exterior changes on how it can blend in. Councilmember Jacobson stated he could support a change in the PUD to allow this with two conditions. The first being that the change is tied to the existing plans they have with some reiteration so they can change the inside a little bit to meet what the buyer wants. He would also like to see the exterior colors change in writing so they can tie it to something. Councilmember Trude agreed. ® Councilmember Jacobson asked if the street was a full width street and not scaled down to allow parking on one side. Mr. Berkowitz stated that it is a thirty -three feet back to back with parking on both sides. Mayor Gamache asked when selling they are usually building to the specs of what the buyer wants so if they have someone who wants the same color as their neighbor what do they do. Mr. Westlund stated they would need to pick another lot or do some type of variation to the building to make it look different. Councilmember Trude stated when she looked at this initially some of her concerns were what will other developers want to do in trying to replicate this but Woodland Development had a PUD across the entire development which allows for some flexibility. She thought that the fact these townhomes are more costly than single family, most developers try to make the townhomes their low cost product and people do not want a low cost product next to single family and they are putting a higher cost product in. Mayor Gamache stated he would support this since it fits well with what is going on to the east and it is a kind of buffer to the existing single family homes and he thought this will look good. CALL FOR SALE OF BONDS ® Mr. Dickinson stated as part of the 2009 -2013 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) the City contemplated the issuance of bonds for various public improvements and equipment purchases. This item initiates that process. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2009 Page 7 Mr. Mark Ruff, Ehlers & Associates, made a presentation to the Council on each bond issuance, which includes a $1,030,000 water revenue bond, $380,000 equipment certificate and $970,000 crossover refunding bond. Motion by Trude, Seconded by Bukkila, to call for the sale of $2.38 million in general obligation bonds. Motion carried unanimously. (Res. 012 -09) Councilmember Jacobson asked if they were to sell bonds for road improvements right now what is the best guess for what an interest rate may be. Mr. Ruff thought for a ten year issuance he figured they would be in the 3.75 to 3.5 percent interest rate. Mr. Dickinson stated in their assessment policy it adds one percent so it would be 4.75 to 4.5 percent for the assessments. DISCUSS PARAMETERS RESOL UTION FOR G . OPEN SPACE BONDS Mr. Dickinson stated in November 2006, Andover residents approved the issuance of general obligation bonds to finance the acquisition of land from willing sellers for the preservation of natural areas, water and air quality and wildlife habitat. Since that time, the Open Space Advisory Commission has identified open space corridors that include areas wildlife frequent and move through, stands of mature trees, prairie land, water ways and native plants. The Commission has reviewed a number of properties and is currently negotiating to purchase a few parcels. Mr. Dickinson reviewed the information with the Council. Councilmember Bukkila asked in regard to the $2.1 million, she thought the voters understood it was a two million dollar referendum and they are pushing it up $100,000 to cover extra costs involved in this. Mr. Ruff stated State Law allows them to add certain costs of the financing on top of the referendum amount and the reason for that is they can get lower interest rates by increasing the amount, but if the Council wants the bond limited to $2 million that is not a problem. Councilmember Trude stated since they just had a meeting with the Open Space Commission and they are in negotiations it does not seem like they are in negotiations to spend the full amount so is this up to the two million if they had a couple of sellers suddenly decide to meet with them on prices. Mr. Dickinson stated that was correct and the parameters term would be six months so if they do not close on them within the six months they would need to come before the Council again to renew the parameters resolution. Councilmember Jacobson asked if they issued the full two million and one of the land sales falls through how long can they hold the money until something happens. Mr. Ruff stated the IRS says you have to have a reasonable expectation to spend the money within three years. He stated you do not lose the money at all. Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2009 Page 8 DISCUSS LEGAL NONCONFORMING USE Mr. Neumeister stated a resident called the other day indicating she is having trouble getting refinancing on her triplex home. The home they are talking about is a three unit home constructed in 1968. The City's Ordinance was adopted in 1970 so at this point in time they consider her property a non - conforming property in the R -4 Zoning District. The citizen has asked the City to provide a letter to certify that the three unit dwelling would be allowed to be rebuilt if there were circumstances where it was destroyed more than fifty percent. Mr. Neumeister stated in City Code Section 12 -10, prohibits non - conforming uses and structures from being rebuilt if they have more than fifty percent damage so this would be a contradiction and a non - conforming structure. She is having some difficulty getting her current financing company to refinance. He noted there are four options in the memo that the Council may want to consider. 1. Rezone the property to a district that allows multi - family dwellings Staff would not recommend this approach as it might be considered spot zoning and that may not be legally defensible. 2. Amend the Non - Conforming Uses and Structures Chapter to allow reconstruction of the structures that existed prior to the adoption of the original zoning code. This approach would satisfy the resident's request but would create the opportunity for other similar non - conforming structures to be reconstructed as well. 3. Approve a variance to allow the use of the property for a multi - family dwelling. This approach would not be recommended since it could also be considered spot zoning by allowing a use on one property that is not allowed on adjacent properties. 4. The City could choose not to write a letter that conflicts with City Code and do nothing. Staff thought this was the best answer since the resident could look elsewhere for financing like others in this situation. Councilmember Trude stated she has talked to this resident and staff has looked through this and she thought the resident could take their paperwork and start over with a different fmancer. She thought it would be difficult to make someone rebuild their home to a single family home if a tragedy were to occur since there are similar homes in the area. She thought it would be spot zoning the other way. She stated she cannot understand historically why those areas were zoned differently than they were built when they were modernized structures and maintained. She wondered if they would ever consider rezoning the neighborhood and what would cause it. Councilmember Jacobson thought they were looking at this the wrong way. The lender she has gone a Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2009 Page 9 to request the refinancing is looking at something that they should not be looking at. Staff has indicated that there are others in the same position that have been able to refinance without a problem, he suggested staff talk to the resident and give them different lenders names that may help solve the problem. Mr. Dickinson stated the organizations are looking at these situations a lot closer and trying to protect their interests but there are different programs out there for this type of situation. He noted he would be happy to talk to the resident and give them names of lenders but did not want to give legal advice or anything else because of potential conflicts of interest. SCHEDULE LOCAL BOARD OFAPPEAL & EQUALIZATIONMEETING City Administrator Dickinson stated the Council is requested to schedule the Local Board of Appeal & Equalization meeting. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Bukkila, to schedule a Local Board of Appeal & Equalization meeting for April 23, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. ADMINISTRATOR REPORT City Administrator Dickinson updated the Council on the administration and city department activities, meeting reminders, Local Board of Appeal and Equalization training reminder, Hanson Boulevard NW Project update and miscellaneous projects. City Engineer Berkowitz updated the Council on road improvements projects in the City. Community Development Director Neumeister updated the Council on development activity in the City. MAYOR/COUNCIL INPUT (Proposed PUD) - Councilmember Jacobson asked what is going on with the proposed PUD for Coon Creek and Round Lake Boulevard. Mr. Berkowitz updated the Council on the progress of this item. (Ongoing Projects on Website) - Councilmember Bukkila asked if they have anything on their © website for residents in regard to ongoing projects. Mr. Berkowitz stated one of their goals for this year is to provide that for the residents. They will do a continuing weekly updated that they will send out to the residents. (Post Office) - Councilmember Bukkila noted there is a contractual post office in Super America on © Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes —February 3, 2009 Page 10 the corner of Hanson and Bunker Lake Boulevard and she did not know if people knew that. Councilmember Trude stated they did request previously to get a real post office in Andover. Motion by Jacobson, Seconded by Bukkila, to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Osbeck, Recording Secretary Q Q Regular Andover City Council Meeting Minutes — February 3, 2009 Page 11 REGULAR ANDOVER CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — FEBRUARY 3, 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS PLEDGEOF ALLEGIANCE .......................................................................... ............................... 1 RESIDENTFORUM ....................................................................................... ............................... 1 AGENDAAPPROVAL ................................................................................... ............................... 1 APPROVALOF MINUTES ............................................................................ I.............................. 1 CONSENTITEMS .......................................................................................... ............................... 2 Item2 Approval of Claims ....................................................................... ............................... 2 Item 3 Accept Feasibility Report/Order Public Hearing /08- 37/157' Avenue Reconstruction (MSAS 102) R008- 09 ............................................................................. ............................... 2 Item 4 Resolution R009 -09 ordering Improvement/Order & Approve Plans & Specs /Order Advertisement for Bids /09- 4/2009 Seal Coating .................................... ............................... 2 Item 5 Order Improvement/Order Plans & Specs /09- 3/2009 Crack Sealing R010- 09............ 2 Item 6 Reject Bid/09 -10 /Diseased Tree Removal /Sanitation Enforcement ............................. 2 Item 7 Authorize Expenditure from Storm Sewer Water Utility Fund/09- 13/2009 Tree Sale 2 HOLD PUBLIC HEARING /09- 2/2009 STREET RECONSTRUCTION RO11 -09 ...................... 2 NPDES (NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM) PRESENTATION & PUBLIC MEETING /09 -1 ............................................. ............................... 4 CONSIDER SKETCH PLAN FOR REVISED PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT OF WOODLANDCROSSINGS ........................................................................... ............................... 5 CALLFOR SALE OF BONDS R012- 09 ........................................................ ............................... 6 DISCUSS PARAMETERS RESOLUTION FOR G.O.OPEN SPACE BONDS .......................... 7 DISCUSS LEGAL NONCONFORMING USE .............................................. ............................... 8 SCHEDULE LOCAL BOARD OF APPEAL & EQUALIZATION MEETING ........................... 9 ADMINISTRATORREPORT ........................................................................ ............................... 9 MAYOR/COUNCIL INPUT ........................................................................... ............................... 9 ProposedPUD .............................................................................................. ............................... 9 OngoingProjects on Website ....................................................................... ............................... 9 PostOffice ................................................................................................. ............................... 10 ADJOURNMENT.......................................................................................... ............................... 11