Anoka City Council

May 6, 2019 (Regular) Page 1 of 8 REGULAR MEETING OF THE ANOKA CITY COUNCIL ANOKA CITY HALL CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS MAY 6, 2019 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Rice called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. ROLL CALL Present at roll call: Mayor Rice, Councilmembers Barnett, Freeburg, Skogquist, and Wesp. Staff present: City Manager Greg Lee; Police Chief Eric Peterson; Community Development Director Doug Borglund; Public Services Director Mark Anderson; Communications Manager Pam Bowman; Golf Manager Larry Norland; and City Attorney Scott Baumgartner. Absent at roll call: None. 3. COUNCIL MINUTES 3.1 Minutes of the April 15, 2019, Regular Meeting. Minutes of the April 22, 2019, Worksession (not yet completed). Minutes of the April 22, 2019, Board of Appeals and Equalization. Motion by Councilmember Skogquist, seconded by Councilmember Barnett, to waive the reading and approve the April 15, 2019, Regular Meeting minutes and April 22, 2019, Board of Appeals and Equalization meeting as presented. Vote taken. All ayes. Motion carried. 4. OPEN FORUM 4.1 Tavern at Green Haven Owners; Jason and Sherry Tollette. Jason and Sherry Tollette spoke about the success of the first full year at Green Haven with their restaurant The Tavern. They shared about their successful brunch, being open more consistently, upcoming promotions and events and thanked the City for their support. Councilmember Freeburg inquired about their decision to add bingo. Mr. Tollette said they have partnered with Anoka Ramsey Youth Athletic Association for charitable gambling and are currently transitioning to hosting bingo on Sundays May 6, 2019 (Regular) Page 2 of 8 so they do not compete so much with golfers then spoke about their seasonal menu and weekend specials. Golf Manager Larry Norland shared what a pleasure it has been to work with the Tollettes and commented how their event calendar has been as busy as ever. Mayor Rice said he was pleased to hear how well the business was growing. 4.2 Proclamation; American Legion Auxiliary, Poppy Days, May 17 and 18, 2019. Sue Nunnelee, President of the Anoka American Legion Auxiliary, Post 102, requested the City declare May 17 and 18, 2019 as Poppy Days in the City of Anoka. She said these will be the days that the Anoka American Legion Family (Legion, Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion) will be distributing poppies with National Poppy Day held on May 24, 2019. Councilmember Wesp spoke about the author of the Flanders Field poem and how Poppy Days came to be. Ms. Nunnellee shared that Lt. John McCray was the author of the poem, shared comments on the importance of honoring our nation’s veterans, then presented the Council with poppies. Councilmember Skogquist inquired about the upcoming Memorial Day celebration. Commander Doug Hookum shared the event will begin at 10AM on May 27 and will be the first ceremony held at the new location. He thanked the City for their support. Mayor Rice read the Proclamation into the record. 4.3 Proclamation; National Public Works Week, May 19-25, 2019. Public Services Director Mark Anderson said National Public Works Week (NPWW) is a celebration of the tens of thousands of men and women in North America who provide and maintain the infrastructure and services collectively known as Public Works. Instituted as a public education campaign by the American Public Works Association (APWA) in 1960, NPWW calls attention to the importance of public works in community life. The Week seeks to enhance the prestige of the often – unsung heroes of our society – the professionals who serve the public every day with quiet dedication. Mr. Anderson shared photos of Anoka’s Public Works staff completing the many tasks they do on a daily basis and thanked them staff for their work. Councilmember Wesp agreed how hard Anoka’s Public Works staff works, especially this past winter with the many winter snow events. Councilmember Freeburg commented on the department’s camaraderie and leadership under Mr. Anderson. Councilmember Barnett shared her May 6, 2019 (Regular) Page 3 of 8 overwhelming pride about living in Anoka and said Public Works staff is always present and responds swiftly to any concerns. Councilmember Skogquist outlined the many other duties Public Works completes include cemetery maintenance, creation of duck blinds in the nature preserve, and multiple special events and shared his appreciation for their efforts. Mr. Anderson said their work is a result of much team effort and said Anoka is lucky to have such a strong staff. Councilmember Freeburg agreed, stating staff does a lot of work with very few people. Mayor Rice said a strong Public Works team is key to health and safety of the community then read the Proclamation into the record. 4.4 Police Activity Update. Police Chief Eric Peterson shared statistics on their 21,500 calls for service in 2018, up 2% from 2017 and 19% from five years ago. He said Anoka accounts for 10% of all calls for service in Anoka County and is the fourth busiest department in the County. He stated while higher calls for service have increased Part I Crimes have decreased and are at a five-year low. Chief Peterson said they are still working to decrease all calls and have partnered with the Autotheft Grant Task Force and are working on decreasing forgery and fraud crimes which is a huge challenge today, especially with the elderly. He spoke about traffic accidents being at a five-year low and their partnership with the Towards Zero Death grant program, then shared about the results of bars closing earlier and how incidents have decreased from 42 at this time last year to 18 today which is much better. He encouraged everyone to attend the upcoming Heroes Walk for Women being held in Anoka on May 18. Councilmember Skogquist asked about the increase in narcotics calls over the past year. Chief Peterson said the increase from 97 last year to 135 this year is partly due to officers being more aggressive in trying to combat this important concern as it leads to other crimes as well as destroys lives. Mayor Rice asked about the impending distracted driving citations that will go into effective August 1 and the importance of getting ahead of that work. Chief Peterson agreed and shared about the importance of handsfree use of cell phones while driving. Rachel Madsen, 2921 Verndale Avenue, shared her concerns about large potholes on Brighton, Jerome and Verndale Avenues and how the opening of Green Haven Parkway would bring more traffic and more damage, particularly to her vehicle. Mr. Anderson explained the difficulty this year with potholes because of the repeated freeze/thaw weather patterns but said they would work on addressing the potholes in this area. May 6, 2019 (Regular) Page 4 of 8 Councilmember Skogquist thanked staff for the recent pothole repair on Garfield Street. 5. PUBLIC HEARING(S) None. 6. CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Councilmember Freeburg, seconded by Councilmember Wesp, to approve Consent Agenda 6.1 through 6.2. 6.1 Approve Verified Bills. 6.2 Revising and Setting Council Calendars. Vote taken. All ayes. Motion carried. 7. REPORTS OF OFFICERS, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS 7.1. Planning Items: None. 8. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATION None. 9. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS 9.1 ORD/Amending Salaries for Mayor and City Council. (1st Reading) City Manager Greg Lee shared a staff report with background information staff has held discussions regarding the annual salary for the Mayor and City Councilmembers the past several years and last year the Council directed the Charter Commission to review salaries and make a recommendation. The consensus of the Charter Commission at their Special Meeting in May 2018 was that an increase was warranted and necessary. They also voted on recommending an increase which is almost exactly the same as what staff has recommended in the past. The last time there was an adjustment to the Mayor and Councilmembers salary was 11 years ago in 2006. Mr. Lee stated the process outlined in City Charter and how Statute allowed any salary increase to be effective after the next municipal election. He stated the Charter Commission strongly opposed being responsible for setting or making future recommendations for the Mayor/Council salaries and felt it was the responsibility of the Council to May 6, 2019 (Regular) Page 5 of 8 set the salaries, adding at their October meeting they voted to recommend that Council review salaries every three years beginning in 2019. He said the Commission further discussed that in the future this review requirement could be added to the Charter which would include some sort of methodology as to how the increases are established but that such methodology should be determined by the City Council. Councilmember Barnett asked why the Charter Commission was opposed to setting salaries. Mr. Lee said the Commission did not feel they were the entity to decide salary amounts and noted that since no adjustment had occurred in the past 15 years that a process should be established for review every three years. Mayor Rice said any time this issue arises regarding an increase it does not become effective until after the next election and said he felt it would be wise to have some other body make this recommendation in the future. Mr. Lee suggested the Charter be amended for a mandatory review every three years with a recommendation. Councilmember Skogquist asked if the Commission felt establishing a methodology was the concern and if they did not feel that it was their role. Mr. Lee said the Commission was comfortable establishing the process just not the actual salary amounts. City Attorney Scott Baumgartner said the Commission was uncomfortable making actual recommendations for amounts but understand the importance of the process and just felt it should not be a direction from the Commission or based on parameters such as meeting attendance and the need to make the process as simple and fair as possible. Councilmember Skogquist asked if a Charter amendment would be needed if a process were to be established. Mr. Baumgartner replied an amendment would be necessary relative to any new methodology for salary review. Mayor Rice said this was an important issue based on salary increase processes throughout the organization which is based on a percentage typically and how the gap would continue to grow. Motion by Councilmember Freeburg, seconded by Councilmember Barnett, to hold first reading of an ordinance establishing salaries for Mayor and City Council pursuant to Section 2.07 of the Charter of the City of Anoka. Councilmember Wesp said he was opposed to giving ourselves a raise because elected officials should want to be here and that Anoka is actually in the middle to high range based on population and that any additional funding should be focused on items such as potholes instead. May 6, 2019 (Regular) Page 6 of 8 Councilmember Freeburg suggested that Councilmembers could donate their stipend back to the City for such items and said that the amount is not truly a salary and that any increase would be incremental and is not a dishonorable amount. Councilmember Barnett agreed that some amount provides a value-added proposition and encourages the most qualified people to become involved, adding the amount provides something to offset a member’s time and effort and shows that they have a value. Councilmember Skogquist said the methodology would need to be established going forward and needs to needs to stay in line with other cities and suggested review could occur every two years instead. Upon a roll call vote: Mayor Rice, Councilmembers Barnett, Freeburg and Skogquist, voted in favor. Councilmember Wesp voted nay. Motion carried. 9.2 RES/North Street Reconstruction Project; Approve Bids and Award Construction Contract. RESOLUTION Engineering Technician Ben Nelson shared a staff report with background information bidding and set the bid date for the North Street Reconstruction Project. The project will involve the resurfacing of North Street from Seventh Avenue to Ninth Avenue and the reconstruction of North Street from Ninth Avenue to the east City limits. He reviewed the scope of the base bid and that the City received a total of four bids ranging from $1,266,430.03 to $1,396,267.40. He reviewed the bid tabulation and said Kuechle Underground, Inc. was the lowest bidder at $1,266,430.00, adding they had previously completed several projects in the City of Anoka and has completed numerous municipal reconstruction projects throughout Minnesota. Kuechle Underground, Inc. also is the prime contractor for the City’s 2019 Combined Street Improvement Project (SRP Area). He shared Hakanson Anderson’s letter recommending the award of the construction contracts and said staff recommends that City Council accepts the base bid for a total construction cost of $1,266,430.03. Councilmember Skogquist referred to this section of road that was turned back from Anoka County with $1.1 million and the reconstruction was needed, including some upgrades. Councilmember Barnett asked more about the proposed contractor. Mr. Nelson said Kuechle has done many projects in the City throughout the years and will also be the lead contractor for the 2019 SRP in Anoka. May 6, 2019 (Regular) Page 7 of 8 Mayor Rice asked about the storm sewer work to drain water off the roads. Mr. Nelson said this work will be included to direct all water to the regional pond nearby. Mayor Rice noted 7th Avenue floods often during rain events and asked if this project will help address that concern. Mr. Nelson said the catch basin is in the southeast area of the project and will be reconstructed which should help with flooding concerns. Motion by Councilmember Skogquist, seconded by Councilmember Wesp, to adopt a resolution North Street reconstruction project; approve bids and award construction contract to Kuechle Underground, Inc. $1,266,430.03. Upon a roll call vote: Mayor Rice, Councilmembers Freeburg, and Wesp voted in favor. Motion carried. 10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. 11. NEW BUSINESS 12. UPDATES AND REPORTS 12.1 Tentative Agenda(s). The Council reviewed the tentative agendas of the upcoming Council meetings. 12.2 Staff and Council Input. Councilmember Wesp commented on the recent funding identification for the Anoka Solution for TH 10 and that construction work will include the Rum River bridge on Highway 10. He suggested staff work to identify a navigable height for this bridge as part of the project of high-water tables in the river. Mr. Lee updated the Council on the project timetable and how Bunker Lake Boulevard will be the main reliever for traffic and that a temporary signal may be added as time goes on to address traffic impacts during this project. Councilmember Barnett invited the public to attend the first Anoka Classic Car Show of the year on May 18. 13. ADJOURNMENT May 6, 2019 (Regular) Page 8 of 8 Councilmember Freeburg, made a motion to adjourn the Regular Council meeting. Councilmember Skogquist seconded the motion. Vote taken. All ayes. Motion carried. Time of adjournment: 8:17 p.m. Submitted by: Cathy Sorensen, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. Approval Attestation: Amy T. Oehlers, City Clerk