M I N U T E S CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 20, :30 PM Council Chambers

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1 M I N U T E S CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 20, :30 PM Council Chambers MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Mayor Stiehm. Council Members Jeff Austin, Brian McAlister, Steve King, Roger Boughton, Judy Enright and Marian Clennon. Council Member-at-Large Janet Anderson. None Tom Dankert, Jon Erichson, Craig Hoium, David Hoversten, Mickey Healey, Kim Underwood, and Brian Krueger. Post Bulletin, Austin Daily Herald. Custodio Serranno. Carl Heins & Jay Sauber, Fairway. Outdoor Advertising. Public. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 pm. The wording for Item No. 11 was amended to read Approving a command structure for the Fire Department of one chief and three commanders, and authorizing the Civil Service Commission to proceed with the process. Added to the consent agenda: A Massage Therapist license for Isaac Pettitt, Austin. Removed from the Claims: approval of credit card report. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member King, adopting the agenda as amended. Carried. Moved by Council Member Boughton, seconded by Council Member Clennon, approving the minutes of June 6, 2011 and June 13, Carried. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member Boughton, approving the consent agenda as follows: Licenses: 3.2 Beer Temporary: Austin Jaycees, Torge s July 1, Bandshell Community Park July 2-4, Paramount Theatre July 16, Fairgrounds July 26 Exempt Bingo: American Legion Post 91, Mower Co Fairgrounds, August 9-14 Food/Mobile: Javier Magana-Avalos dba Locheria Michoacana Mobile Unit Food: The Brickhouse, rd Avenue NE, Austin Massage Therapist: Isaac Pettitt, Austin Outside Liquor Sales: Bobee Jo s, th Street NE, June 25 Temporary Food: Accentra Credit Union, th Avenue NE Claims: a. Pre-list of bills b. Financial & Investments Reports. 1

2 c. Sharon Teigen, th Street NW. This claim was forwarded to the city attorney to protect the city s interest. Carried. Council awarded a bid for the reconstruction of North Main Street to Romsdahl Construction, Inc. The contractor has since rescinded his bid. Council should rescind the resolution. Moved by Council Member Boughton, seconded by Council Member Austin, rescinding Resolution Carried. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member Boughton, to file a claim against Romsdahl Construction, Inc Carried. Moved by Council Member Enright, seconded by Council Member Austin awarding the bid for North Main Street reconstruction to Pember Companies Carried. Bids were as follows: Pember Companies $ 616, Doyle Conner Company $ 634, Engineer s Estimate $ 682, CIP Budget $ 475, Fund 61 & 67 City Engineer Jon Erichson said due to the re-awarding of the bid, the project will be delayed about one week. Construction is expected to begin July 5. The City of Austin received bids June 10, 2011 for air conditioning for the senior center. Bids are as follows: Contractor Total Bid Amount Greenman Heating & Refrigeration Inc. $25, Harty Mechanical, Inc. $38, Moved by Council Member Boughton, seconded by Council Member King, awarding the bid for a/c for the Mower County Senior Center to Greenman Heating & Refrigeration Inc Carried. A public hearing was held for El Parral dba El Parral regarding violations of the liquor code. The violations are as follows: Finding violations of alcohol on tables 20 minutes after close, patrons in bar 30 minutes after close, and allowing the consumption of liquor on a closed day pursuant to Austin City Code 5.08, Subd 2&3 and 5.25, Subd. 4, and imposing penalties. City Attorney David Hoversten said the violations occurred on May 29, 2011, which is a Sunday and El Parral is not authorized to serve liquor on Sundays. Officer Matt Holten, one of the officers who discovered and reported the incident, delivered testimony. Officer Holten and another officer walked in the front door and there were about 100 people inside. Alcohol was visible and open beer cans were on the table. The officers spoke to Custodio Serrano (owner) and the security, who were under the impression that they were able to have a private party. Mr. Serrano has discussed this with the Mayor and Officer Holten. Mr. Serrano told them he was unaware of 2

3 the law. Mayor Stiehm asked Mr. Hoversten if this would be considered one violation for the penalty. Mr. Hoversten said this could be viewed as one violation; the Council has the right to impose one penalty. This is considered one violation which is the second violation within a twoyear period for which the presumptive penalty is three days suspension and a $750 fine. Mr. Serrano (through an interpreter) stated that he was renting the bar so that he could pay to have the roof fixed, etc., but now he knows he cannot rent. Mayor Stiehm asked if Mr. Serrano could rent out the facility during normal hours. Mr. Hoversten said he did not know and would need to check on that, but the facility cannot be rented when it is supposed to be closed. Council Member Boughton confirmed with Mr. Hoversten that this also includes facilities such as the Holiday Inn. Mr. Hoversten noted that there are special license that allow for Sunday liquor sales but that the facility must be a restaurant-type operation with a certain amount of seating. Chief Brian Krueger said he and Captain McKichan spoke to Mr. Serrano for approximately two hours. In order to have a restaurant he would need to get a commercial kitchen. He does understand this now. Council Member Boughton questioned if he gets instructions in Spanish. Mr. Hoversten said that ignorance is not a defense and that the owner is bound by all restrictions of the law. If that were not the case, everyone could say they didn t know. This includes federal income tax law and criminal law. It is called constructive knowledge. Our obligation is to know the details of the law. Mr. Hoversten stated that Mr. Serrano could review the law more fully with the city clerk. Moved by Council Member King, seconded by Council Member Austin finding a violation of the liquor code and imposing one penalty consisting of a three-business-day suspension on consecutive days, and a penalty of $750 to be paid no later than ten business days from today and directing the city attorney to prepare Findings of Fact relating to the violation. Carried. Mr. Serrano, through the interpreter, stated that he has invested a lot of money into the business and doesn t have a lot of money right now. He stated he didn t know if he should put it up for sale or not. While stating that that business decision was his, Mayor Stiehm acknowledged that Mr. Serrano does have a business that benefits a segment of our population. He assured Mr. Serrano that it is not the case that he was singled out. Mayor Stiehm noted that he believes the business is well run but is not in compliance with the hours sometimes. Mr. Serrano questioned if there was a program where he could be trained. That would be a lot of help for me, he stated, like in this case. Mayor Stiehm noted there are English classes available at the college. Council Member-at-Large Anderson reiterated that a meeting with the city clerk could be arranged to help make the liquor laws clear. Mr. Serrano thanked Council for their time and apologized for what happened. Moved by Council Member Boughton, seconded by Council Member King, appointing Don Leathers to the Austin Public Library, term expiring 12/31/2012. Moved by Council Member-at-Large Anderson, seconded by Council Member King, authorizing the lease of one additional parking stall in municipal parking lot (at southeast intersection of 1 st Street & Fourth Avenue) to Randy Fett. Carried. Council is requested to approve a new command structure of one chief and three commanders. Council Member McAlister said he had asked to see an updated job description. Chief Healey said the civil service would need to approve the description and will work with Human Resources to provide that. The description should be ready the first part of July, he said. The requested action by Council is to continue the process. 3

4 Moved by Council Member Boughton, seconded by Council Member Austin, adopting a resolution approving a command structure for the Fire Department of one chief and three commanders, and authorizing the Civil Service Commission to proceed with the process Carried. Council was requested to set a city council policy that special project requests of staff be approved by the city council. Council Member Clennon said she knows this is being brought up after her requests of asking for a payroll register. She said she thought this was a simple request and for this to have taken ten hours she found it a little odd. She noted she would still like to see the listing of the payroll register even if is the net pay. Council Member Clennon said she knows this is done in other cities. It is important that the city council sees everything that is paid out. As for her requests to receive the bid packages, she noted that quite a while ago she offered to come in and scan the documents to a disc. She said she has made offers to accommodate but now after 2½ years, there is a problem. Mayor Stiehm said this is as a result of a series of requests, and this recent request of the payroll took Tom Dankert hours and cost the city $600-$700. After this, I thought we needed to take some action, he said. Moved by Council Member Boughton, seconded by Council Member King, setting a city council policy that special project requests of staff be approved by the city council Carried. Council Member Clennon voted nay. Mayor Stiehm said he knew we were going to get to this. Council Member Clennon asked not to have commentary. Mayor Stiehm said we would have comments: I make comments all the time on different things. He stated that the comment was not directed at her even though she felt like it was. It was not his desire to discuss the issue but I m not going to have it misrepresented now that we re on TV. Moved by Council Member-at-Large Anderson, seconded by Council Member Austin, approving requests of the Mower County Fair Board in exchange for services during the Mower County Fair August 9-14 and the National Barrow Show September Carried. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member McAlister, resolving the City Council into the Sign Board of Appeals. Carried. The City has received a sign appeal from Fairway Outdoor Advertising, Rochester, MN, for the replacement of a non-conforming billboard sign face located at the intersection of 12 th Street and 1 st Avenue SW. Community Development Director Craig Hoium said the company would remove the existing billboards which face south and west and replace them with a digital billboard that would face west only. The Planning Commission has reviewed this matter three times. The Commission took into consideration the surrounding area and the traffic counts. After review, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the sign appeal with the proposed site landscaping. The sign will be single-faced and face directly west. Messages shall be according to MnDOT requirements, which is one illustration for every eight seconds. Council Member Boughton asked Chief Krueger if he had any problems with the sign. Chief Krueger said the other two areas near digital signs were checked for accident counts prior to 4

5 installation and after. Accidents had actually gone down in both locations. We have not seen an increase, he said. I don t see it being a problem. He noted there are more problems with people texting on cell phones. Carl Heins, representative from Fairway Outdoor Advertising in Rochester, said the signs were LED. Jay Sauber from Fairway said there are seven slots on the digital board. Six will be sold and the last one is designated for city events and happenings in the city. The Police Department will be trained and be able to take over the sign for possible amber alerts, fires, floods and other emergencies. Included with the contract are artists on staff who can create the designs for the city at no extra fee. Mayor Stiehm asked if Fairway would install more signs if this one proves successful. Mr. Sauber said the company would like to. They have nearly 60 signs now, eight in Minnesota. The first such sign was installed in 2007 and there have been no complaints. City Administrator Jim Hurm said if there were an emergency, the City would have a limit of a two-hour time unless the police chief decides that the sign should remain longer. After the city s time slot, the sign would go back to its regular cycle with the city s message included. Council Member Clennon asked if the sign had a generator for backup during a tornado, for example. Mr. Sauber said it did not. Council Member Enright confirmed with Mr. Sauber that Fairway would provide ongoing maintenance on the landscaping and lawns. In addition, he noted, a camera will face the sign and be monitored 24/7. If the board malfunctions, the sign can be re-set from Rochester. Moved by Council Member Enright, seconded by Council Member Boughton approving the sign appeal from Fairway Outdoor Advertising. Carried. The City received another sign appeal from Wyn Alexander, Farm Bureau Financial Services, th Street SW, for the placement of a wall sign which will not face a public road or alley. The location of the proposed sign is in a B-2 District and a similar request was approved at the location in The request is a tenant in the rear portion of the building. The sign appeal in 2008 was for Edward E. Jones, and that sign was illuminated and just over 16 square feet. Because the proposed sign would be larger, this current sign appeal must be submitted. Community Development Director Craig Hoium noted that there is a private garage to the south. The intent of the ordinance is for such signs to not face single family dwellings. The Planning Commission recommended approval of this sign appeal by a 9-0 vote. The sign will be 24 square feet and internally illuminated. Moved by Council Member Boughton, seconded by Council Member Enright, approving the sign appeal from Wyn Alexander, Farm Bureau Financial Services, th Street SW, for the placement of a wall sign which will not face a public road or alley. Carried. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member-at-Large Anderson, adjourning the Sign Board of Appeals and resolving back into the City Council. Carried. Council is requested to approve the sale of the check signer and video equipment. With the new finance software, the City and Austin Utilities checks are printed with the signatures already on 5

6 them. In addition, the old video system excepting some items such as the TVs that could be used in other departments could be sold once it is replaced with the new equipment in August. The action authorizes the items to be sold whether via police auction or some other venue. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member King, authorizing the sale of the check signer and video equipment. Carried. The Austin Public Library received $5035 in gifts in May Moved by Council Member King, seconded by Council Member McAlister, adopting a resolution accepting May 2011 gifts to the Austin Public Library Carried. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member-at-Large Anderson, adopting a resolution declaring a hazardous structure at th Street SE Carried. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member King, granting the Planning and Zoning Department the power to contract for the removal of junk and/or illegally stored vehicles at 2110 Oakland Avenue E., Jordan property. Carried. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member King, granting the Planning and Zoning Department the power to contract for the removal of junk and/or illegally stored vehicles at rd Avenue NW, Castillo/Reyes property. Carried. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member King, Granting the Planning and Zoning Department the power to contract for the removal of junk and/or illegally stored vehicles at th Avenue NE, Leichtnam. Carried. Waste Management leases and operates the Transfer Station. The lease expired on March 31, 2011, and Council has approved two separate extensions to that lease which will end June 30, City Engineer Jon Erichson said Council should consider the following with the extension: 1. It provides a revenue source for city staff time and the fall yard waste program. 2. Waste is disposed of at an environmentally safe landfill in Lake Mills, Iowa. 3. The lease provides for public use on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. 4. The lease provides for access to all haulers with guaranteed maximum rates. 5. The Transfer Station provides for the disposal of appliances and electronics. Changes to the lease are as follows: 1. Base lease revenue decreased by $10, in comparison to the three-year comparison of the previous lease or approximately $3,412/year. 2. Lease schedule is for three years. 3. Fuel Adjustment Clause is updated to 2011 pricing. 4. Lease payment is adjusted by $1.00 per month. This was previously only for tonnage in excess of 1200 tons. The new lease will decrease the base lease if the Transfer Station volume handless less than 1200 tons in any one month. 5. The lease adds wording which requires an appliance and electronics deposit site. 6. It establishes maximum pricing/ton for all waste deposited at the Transfer Station. 6

7 Cost of the Transfer Station operation as proposed would be $61,200 the first year, $63,000 the second year, and $64,800 the third year. City Engineer Jon Erichson said the City is responsible for certain capital costs. The current Capital Improvement Plan includes some upgrades; however, the 2011 upgrades have been delayed as there had been no (permanent) extension of the lease in place. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member Boughton, adopting a resolution approving the agreement with Waste Management for the Transfer Station lease Carried. REPORTS Council Member Clennon noted she was one of many Austin representatives at the Annual LMC Conference in Rochester. There was much more networking with other city council members and many more cities asking each other questions this year. The first night of the conference was the annual meeting for Minnesota Women in City Government, and she was elected secretary for the next two years. She will report more in the work session. Council Member Clennon asked Jon Erichson for an update on the Lansing Township sanitary sewer objection assessments. Mr. Erichson said the sanitary sewer is basically complete on the east side of the river, minus some minor landscaping. They are still putting in sewer main on the west side; approximately 1000 feet is left to install but it should be all installed in ten days. The project has taken longer than anticipated, he said. When it is all finalized, they will review the assessments but he expects no changes. Mr. Erichson said he thought approval of the appraisal services may be ready for council by July 18. Council Member Enright and Council Member-at-Large Anderson also stated they attended the LMC Conference and received a lot of valuable information and networking. Council Memberat-Large Anderson attended a special meeting of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities in which they discussed a possible state shutdown. Council Member McAlister attended the June 13 Library Board meeting. The Library Board is working on policies for their bulletin board and for the distribution of non-library print material such as IRS forms. The Board also approved the May gifts. A free swim is scheduled for Sunday 7:00 to 8:30 pm. The other free swims are scheduled for July 10, 17 & 24. These are provided via SHPP grants. City Engineer Jon Erichson reported that the 14 th Avenue NE project is scheduled for now but the project start will be delayed until more is known of the impending state shutdown. The shutdown will impact all flood mitigation projects also. Mr. Erichson explained that the 14 th Avenue NE project receives 50% of the funding from the federal government but MnDOT acts as the agent and they must provide certain services. MnDOT would not be able to provide these services during the shutdown. Mr. Erichson noted that contractors can file a claim if the project is shut down or if they do not start on schedule, and those costs are not reimbursable through federal and MnDOT grants. City Administrator Jim Hurm attended the LMC conference. He said the materials will be on the LMC website. He also introduced Samantha Barthels, the summer graduate intern. 7

8 Mayor Stiehm scheduled another Beyond the Yellow Ribbon meeting for June 21 at 7:00 pm for those people who missed the first meeting. They will be forming a steering committee. Mayor Stiehm attended the recent CRWD meeting in which Jon Erichson gave a presentation on the snow storage at Marcusen Park. The snow has a very insignificant impact. Mr. Erichson said the snow was found to have 14.4 ppm of suspended solids, an amount far below the allowable amount at the wastewater treatment plant. Mayor Stiehm said we are making a bid for the 2012 Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities summer conference. Moved by Council Member Austin, seconded by Council Member King, adjourning the meeting to July 5, Carried. Adjourned: 6:40 pm Approved: July 18, 2011 Mayor: City Recorder: 8