City Council

MANTORVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019 6:30 PM 1. Call to Order – Mayor Bradford called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Members Present: Chuck Bradford, Henry Blair, Ryan Christensen, Don Hofstad and Sharon Davern. Others Present: DCSO – Deputy Matt Wohlenhaus, John Buckingham, Gretta Becay, Tim Hruska, Scott Larsen, Joe Adams, Patti Chilson and Cami Reber. 2. Pledge of Allegiance - Done 3. Additions/Deletions to Agenda - None 4. Consent Agenda – Motion made by Member Christensen, second by Member Blair to approve the consent agenda as follows: a) City Council Meeting Minute’s January 28, 2019 b) Warrant List February 11, 2019 c) EDA Meeting Minutes January 8, 2019 d) Rental License Renewals 2019 e) Notice of Dodge County Comprehensive Plan Public Information Meeting f) DCSO Activity Report January 2019 Motion passed unanimously. 5. Public Concerns - None 6. Public Hearing - None 7. Old Business/New Business a) 3RD Street Loop Plans Approval City Engineer, Tim Hruska, presented the 2019 Street Improvement project known as the 3rd Street Loop project which includes Clay and Walnut. There have been several water main breaks in the past along with the road being in very poor shape. This is a full road and utility reconstruct project. They are planning for a rural section going back in there as it exists with curb and gutter only along the East side of the park to allow for better drainage. Everything will be torn up from right of way to right of way. Due to the timing and with a completion date of August 16, 2019, they are proposing for sodding instead of seeding for lawn restoration. They should be able to get sod established before Marigold days. There are a couple of ped ramps being replaced and will tie in to the sidewalks along 4th Street also the addition of some sidewalk along the East side of 4th with a small sidewalk to the pavilion. The cost estimate for the project is $600,000 with bid opening to take place on March 21 and presentation to Council at the March 25 meeting. Member Blair noted one of the improvements is dropping of the water mane to a lower depth due to the frost depth. Tim explained that there is some rock excavation included in here and the water mane currently sits at 4’ deep and they are planning to go a little deeper. The sewer will go back into the same trench. They are planning an 8” line for both water and sewer. Motion made by Member Blair, second by Member Hofstad to approve the plans and send the project out for bid. Motion passed unanimously. b) Highway 57 PSA Tim explained the Professional Service Agreement (PSA) for the Highway 57 project. This is to begin the engineering for the project. MN Dot approached the City about reconstructing Highway 57 in 2022. Even though the project is a ways away, there are a lot of hoops and hurdles to get through over the next couple years. The work will be spread out over the next  few years. The first step will be to start walking through drafting of the letter of intent with Mn Dot and putting together a cost participation list. They are planning for a lot of public involvement on this project. The work being done is in the Historic District so all of those folks will get involved early in the process. There is discussion on doing lighting improvements along this corridor so we plan to engage with Excel Energy and get those conversations going. Mn Dot previously approached the City on this project. There is a cost participation which will be part of the agreement they will be drafting up. They pay for 100% of certain items, 90% of certain items, etc. Some costs are based on footage. They are anticipating July or August of 2021 to have plans done. The City will lead the design of the project, as the Council previously approved. The City will cover the design cost of the project and MN Dot covers the construction observation part, except for City utilities. The other part is that there is going to be a large impact to our downtown. We will start early conversations on construction access and navigating traffic in and around town which will take a couple of years to get this worked out. This a full reconstruct from right of way to right of way minus the block with the retaining walls. Member Davern asked if things like this go out for RFP. Member Blair noted that we did not. Member Davern asked when would you go out for RFP for something of this size. Member Blair noted that predominantly, this is our City Engineer and we would stick with them. Mayor Bradford noted that we appoint these at the beginning of the year. There is a learning curve to be brought up to speed on what the City needs, the personality of the City, etc. Why would we have designations if we were just going to put every project out for bid. Member Davern noted that if they’re big enough, she doesn’t know that this is wrong. RFP’s are there to make sure we are doing the appropriate amount of bidding for the tax payers services. Member Davern noted that in the future she would like to see us discuss this instead of giving it to one specific company. Member Blair asked how you would bid this out because part of the whole project is coming up with the items to bid it out; who is going to design it for bid. Member Davern asked that we just consider it in the future when these types of projects come up. It’s a way to be responsible. Council Members discussed and explained the process that the City takes when it comes to these projects. Member Davern noted that other cities do RFP’s for projects and utilize different firms. She noted that she wants to make sure that the appropriate amount of bidding is being done for the tax payers’ money. Motion made by Member Blair, second by Member Christensen to approve the PSA with WHKS on the Trunk Highway 57 Improvements. Motion passed with Mayor Bradford and Members Blair, Christensen and Hofstad voting for and Member Davern abstaining. c) Connection Fees for Cemetery Road Project Tim explained the public information meeting held last week. Total project costs are $236,900. Based on past practice, the City covers 40% and the 10 parcels paying 60%. The City set a connection fee ordinance and this would go through that process. There was a question from one of the residents asking if they can install their own grinder pump. Typically, as part of the connection fee, the City would waive any other connections and SAC fee. If you’re going to utilize the existing mane, we would charge the SAC fee and sewer connection charge plus they would pay the service line and check valve cost which all three charges would amount to about $6,000. Member Davern asked why we aren’t doing water and the road at the same time that we are doing the sewer. Tim explained there is no water on the south side, you would have long dead-end lines and you would have to have your own water infrastructure on that side to be able to service it. He continued to explain how this project came about. There was further discussion on why they aren’t looking at extending water over there at this time or do road  improvements. The road isn’t in as bad of shape as others in the City that we looking at currently. She requested a breakdown of costs. Tim will send her the bid tabulation list. Discussion on the connection fee and stipulations; allow deferment of the connection fee for 2 years as long as a licensed septic system installer proves compliance of the current system, charge will increase by 4% each year, allow certification to property taxes if petitioned, allow to be spread over 15 years. Motion made by Member Davern, second by Member Blair to move forward with plans to set the public hearing date at the next available meeting and set the connection fees following past practice as described. Motion passed unanimously. d) Bids – Bath House Project The Council reviewed the bids received for the bath house project. The bids came in much higher than originally anticipated. Member Davern noted some other options she has found which would be much cheaper than the $147,000 we received for a bid. Discussion on the reason we are doing this project. Member Blair explained it is an added amenity but he isn’t aware if we are losing business by not having one. Member Hofstad noted that the Park Board was looking at utilizing the empty building we have there. There was previous discussion on a fall out shelter/storm shelter or additional public bathrooms. A brief discussion on the online reservations option. Motion made by Member Blair, second by Member Hofstad to reject all bids for this project. Motion passed unanimously. Take the idea back to Park Board to figure out. e) Set Council Retreat Workshop Meeting The City Council set the Retreat Workshop meeting during the Monday March 25. 2019 regular City Council Meeting. They will do their normal business but focus on the large infrastructure projects. Mike Bubany will be asked to attend the meeting. f) Resolution 2019-05 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CERTIFICATION OF A WATER CONNECTION CHARGE TO PID 25.427.0161 Cami explained this is the previous approval of the Brannan water line connection and all of the information that the Council previously set. Motion made by Member Blair, second by Member Christensen to approve RESOLUTION 2019-05 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING CERTIFICATION OF A WATER CONNECTION CHARGE TO PID 25.427.0161. Motion passed unanimously. g) ReneSola Solar Power City Council discussed the updated information submitted. Member Davern commented on her learning that there were a number of cities that had previously entered into these kinds of agreements and when the companies went under, they had to pay a large amount of money to dismantle and dispose of the panels. Mayor Bradford feels this is a stronger proposal than what has been seen in the past but still has reservations. He thinks he heard that Xcel can vary the discount rate but our fixed fees are flat. He could see that as more gardens come online, the smaller ones have less value and the rate of return could go down. Member Hofstad not too sold on this. Member Blair noted the risk versus reward. Member Davern asked if we would be responsible for the dismantle of the panels if the company goes under. Member Christensen noted this is a great opportunity but still has some questions. What is our plan for not moving forward and the justification for why we walk away from it. He wants to make sure we have considered everything before we just walk away from $300,000 over the next 20 years. Let’s ask for input from other cities that are currently working with this company and ask how things are going. Are they going as planned, has there been weather items, etc. John Buckingham has a client that has some information that he will have sent to the City. Consensus of Council to have Cami outline the bullet points on things they discussed tonight, send to ReneSola to get answered, get input from other cities working with them, and send contract to Attorney to review. Discussion will continue on this.  8. TBD a) Public Works Report – Scott noted the following: They have everything ready for dogs, he touched base with the Township to get some extra sand on 5th Street East where there is a problem down in that valley, sand and fuel expense will be up a little, and they spent $800 on the Jefferson lift station heater that will keep the battery pack warm and keep from freezing up. b) City Clerk Report – Cami noted the following: She hasn’t touched base on the legal team on the bridge sidewalk and will bring to next meeting, Chamber planning meeting is rescheduled for next Thursday February 21. c) Consultant Report – None d) Committee Report • Chamber – Member Davern noted a snag on the City Face Book page discussion. Discussion on a new page being created which will be the official City FB page. • EDA – Member Bradford talked with Abby Wright today on several items in regards to grants, EDA projects, walking tours, trails, etc. He is going to get her some additional information. • Fire Department – Member Davern reported that there was no quorum but they had discussion on training. Member Hofstad noted air pack discussion going on. • Township- Member Davern attended. They mostly had discussion on plowing and they are interested in the Highway 57 project and would like to stay updated on this. e) Council Member Report • Member Davern – Noted her committees start next Monday. • Member Christensen – Noted a personal item he pushes – “Quick to listen, slow to speak”. He feels this is very important. • Member Hofstad – a reminder to help clean the hydrants and give a hand to the elderly. Member Davern asked if the KM group that offers assistance could come out and help to shovel hydrants. She is going to contact them. f) Mayor Report – Mayor Bradford asked about any parking issues with the snow removal and Scott noted it has been a lot better this year. 9. Executive Session - None 10. Adjourn – Motion made by Member Hofstad, second by Member Davern to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 pm. Motion passed unanimously. ________________________________________________________ Cami Reber, City Clerk Treasurer