City Council

October 21, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting MINOT CITY COUNCIL – SCHEDULED MEETING – OCTOBER 21, 2019 AT 5:30 P.M. ROLL CALL Members Present: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky Members Absent: None PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Sipma presiding and led the City Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. RECYCLING PRESENTATION AND PUBLIC INPUT The Public Works Director presented information on recycling in the Assistant Public Works Director’s absence. He said, they have been exploring recycling since 2014. In 2016, an ad hoc committee was formed which made a recommendation to Council to implement automated garbage collection in July 2017, build a transfer facility in 2018 and implement recycling in 2019. A portion of the funding needed for the facility was acquired through the Community Facilities fund and $250,000 was set aside in the sanitation budget. The City Council then directed staff to hire an outside consultant to conduct a feasibility study on recycling and research options. The feasibility study looked at four options including, building a MRF to handle local recyclables, building a MRF to handle regional recyclables, collection and transfer of recyclables by the City and collection and transfer of recyclables by a private contractor. The results concluded there is not enough volume of recyclables to feasible build and operate a local Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). The most feasible option is collection and transfer utilizing City forces and the most expensive option was to contract a private company to haul and transfer materials. The study performed a comparison of similar communities such as Bismarck, Dickinson, Fargo, and Grand Forks. They all use different programs with variables including collection frequency, items collected, collection entity, and processing. The monthly fees for recycling range from $4.00 to $5.00 per resident per month and may include additional tipping fees at the landfill to subsidize the recycling program. If Minot were to implement a recycling program, the initial approximate break- even point would cost $4.50 per month per account, for City collection and transfer. The program would be mandatory for all existing garbage collection accounts and would be collected weekly. The City would continue twice per week collection but one day would be for garbage and the other day for recyclables. He then discussed potential collaboration with Kalix. There could be drop sites with delivery to Kalix or collection with delivery to Kalix but there are notable challenges with either option. Only certain materials would be accepted as limited materials can be processed by Kalix. There would be collection equipment and manpower needed and there would be a high risk of contamination. Mr. Jonasson stated, every recycling operation has a fee and although recycling does not pay for itself, there are other tangible benefits. It helps extend the life of the landfill and is an environmentally conscious program. He then listed the options to be considered; No change, do not implement recycling, collection and transfer by the City, or collection and collaboration with Kalix. Alderman Jantzer asked if the estimated rate of $4.50 is from the feasibility study done earlier this year or if it has been updated. Mr. Jonasson responded by saying, it was calculated after the change in value of recyclables. The fee would cover the cost of the transfer facility, containers, and operations. He said it is a pretty accurate estimate and would be in addition to the current garbage collection fee. Mayor Sipma asked about subsidizing using tipping fees for waste brought into our regional landfill. Mr. Jonasson said, this fee does not include additional tipping fees and he believes for every dollar increase in tipping fee for MSW, there would be a reduction in the $4.50 fee of about $0.38 per month. Alderman Wolsky confirmed with Mr. Jonasson that there are about 12,000 garbage collection accounts. He then summarized the funding by saying, there is about $1 million in cash saved from Community Facilities and reserves, in addition to the $4.50 fee that would be paid by customers.  October 21, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting Alderman Podrygula asked if the fee could be reduced in the future if the containers were paid off. Mr. Jonasson said, that could potentially happen but they also need to consider operational costs like increased fuel and labor costs. He continued by saying, the fee covers the cost to transfer the material to the MRF in Minneapolis. The estimated cost to transfer materials to the MRF is about $115 per ton. Alderman Podrygula then commented that if the price of recycled materials increases, then the cost could decrease. Alderman Straight asked about the quantity of recycled materials that could be diverted from the landfill. The Public Works Director said, he believes it is estimated that about 2,900 tons per year could be recycled. Alderman Straight wondered if over one to five years, the life of the landfill could be extended through recycling, saving money on expansion and building new cells. Mr. Jonasson said, he believes we take in about 65,000 tons of MSW per year and 15,000 comes from Minot. Estimating about 3,000 tons of recyclables would take about 1/20 out of the landfill. Alderman Straight asked if commercial haulers would participate in a recycling program. Mr. Jonasson said, it is unknown right now but they would encourage anyone who deposits into the landfill to consider a recycling program. Alderman Pitner asked what a transfer facility would entail to which Mr. Jonasson replied by saying, it would probably be a 50’ x 100’ building with a concrete floor including a pit where a truck could back into to dump recycling. It would then be pushed into a baling facility or compacter and shipped off by truck. Alderman Olson asked, on a national scale how many products are actually recycled and what is thrown out. Mr. Jonasson said, the facility in Minneapolis utilizes all recyclables deposited unless there is serious contamination that would prevent it. The Mayor invited Borgi Beeler, President & CEO of Kalix, to share some information about recycling. Several members of City Council, including the Mayor, attended a tour of the Kalix facility the previous week. Ms. Beeler read a prepared letter that she provided to the Council: “Today, I’d like to reinforce the message that I delivered last week and answer a couple questions that were raised at that meeting. 1. The City of Minot should not rely on the Kalix Recycling Center to continue offering recycling services for the community. 2. Kalix supports any and all efforts by the City of Minot to expand recycling, but is not interested in participating in a single-stream recycling program. 3. If the City of Minot wishes to pursue curbside collection of sorted recyclables, Kalix has the ability and resources to collaborate and is interested in further discussions. First Point: The City of Minot should not rely on the Kalix Recycling Center to continue offering recycling services for the community. Kalix opened the Recycling Center in 1994. At the time, prices were high and we had the naïve expectation that it would be a money-making project. Or at least self-sustaining. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to learn that commodities markets are extremely volatile. Over the last twenty-five years, we have seen high and low prices. A few years, we made money. Most years, we lost money — but at least sales were high enough to pay employees and fund purchases of needed supplies and repairs. We subsidized the cost of the building and utilities because we valued the employment opportunities and the service to the community. When China quit purchasing recycled commodities from the US in 2018, it didn’t immediately impact us. We don’t sell to China, and we never have. But eventually the US markets were saturated enough that the prices didn’t just drop — they plummeted. Since spring 2019, we have seen significantly reduced revenues. Currently, our losses are at a level that we cannot continue to subsidize, and the Kalix Board is considering what our next steps will be. Second Point: Kalix supports any and all efforts by the City of Minot to expand recycling, but we are not interested in participating in a single-stream recycling program where all items are mixed together. The City originally proposed a single-stream curbside recycling program with automated pickup. From the beginning, Kalix has supported the effort but also indicated that we are not interested in participating in single-stream recycling. It is not practical or cost- effective to sort mixed recyclables manually. Automated facilities require a huge capital investment and must process much greater volume than would be produced by the entire state of North Dakota in order to break even. Third Point: If the City of Minot wishes to pursue curbside collection of sorted recyclables, Kalix has the capacity, skills, and resources to collaborate and is interested in further discussions. We have 25 years of experience in collecting and processing sorted recyclables. We have relationships with buyers and a reputation for providing a clean, quality product. A sorted recycling program would require compartmentalized trucks, employees to pick up items from the curb, and a coordinated effort from the entire city to identify, prepare, and correctly place items on the curb for pickup. That is a huge project — but it’s possible if the citizens of Minot want to do it. If people choose to participate and the City collects the sorted recyclables, Kalix can do the rest — we have the ability to accept, bale, sell, and ship the recyclables to end markets. I’m not an environmental expert or even a  October 21, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting recycling expert. I just read the trade journals and I know what we do at Kalix. I’ve read reports that recycling enterprises don’t always recycle as promised — I don’t know how much that happens. But I can tell you that commodities brought to Kalix get recycled. All commodities are segregated, baled, and shipped out in full truckloads directly to mills that use the materials to create new products. [Ms. Beeler identified where each commodity is shipped and what the end product is] Commodity Mill Location End product Corrugated Cardboard Becker, MN or St Paul Center of corrugated cardboard Newspaper Loretto, MN Cellulose insulation Magazines Loretto, MN Cellulose insulation Mixed Paper Clearwater, MN Toilet paper; paper plates, paper towels Plastic PET #1 Minneapolis, MN Carpet, fiber fill for jackets Plastic HDPE #2 Sauk Rapids, MN Plastic Lumber, Drain-tile Aluminum Cans Muscle Schoals, AL Aluminum cans Tin Cans St. Paul, MN Tin cans Kalix currently processes 2000-2500 tons of recycling per year, but at times we processed close to 4000 tons/year (when prices were high). About 900 tons of current volume comes through the Redemption Center, and I estimate about 500 tons are from Minot residents. I can’t tell you how many Minot residents bring items to Kalix, but I can tell you that over 1500 vehicles come through Kalix Recycling each month. I would estimate that between 1500-3 000 different vehicles visit regularly. When we were discussing market prices last week, I gave figures for our two largest-volume items: corrugated cardboard and mixed paper. The sales price for cardboard was $60/ton in 2016 and over $100/ton in 2017 and early 2018. Today, we are selling cardboard for $19/ton (all prices are net of shipping charges). Mixed Paper has ranged from $121- 224/ton since 2016. Right now, we can sell it for $105/ton. A Council Member asked about plastic prices: Last time we sold plastics, we received $184/ton for PET (#1 beverage bottles) (April 2019) and $369/ton for HDPE (#2 milk and laundry jugs) (2016). Right now, we can sell for $76 and $350, respectively. Finally: one of the council members asked my opinion on what should happen. I’ve already said that I’m not an environmental expert, but I think we are all smart enough to understand that conservation and recycling are a huge issue and mostly beyond our control as a city of 50,000 in a country of 325 million people. Obviously, we need to focus on the available options and our limited resources and make a reasoned decision based on the facts, not what we wish or hope would happen. In my opinion, single stream recycling could be a great solution and it may be in the future — but right now it isn’t realistic or cost-effective for our population and location. Expansion of sorted recycling to curbside collection isn’t really a comprehensive solution, but it would accomplish significant diversion of waste from the landfill to re-use. However, it’s dependent on the will of the people. If people want to make it work — it will. If they don’t... you and I can’t make it happen.” Mayor Sipma then opened the floor for public comment. Mike Huff, of 1025 5th Street SW, said, he hopes the Council will take their time before making a decision. He hopes the City would prioritize Flood Control and NAWS and put any available dollars toward those projects. He also said, he believes the rate of $4.50 will increase when additional trucks are needed and the one day per week collection will increase the workload. He suggested putting the issue to a vote. Kaylin Dewitt-Vadell, of 1210 9th Street NW, shared some calculations she came up with regarding recycling. She said, if each person accumulates 400 pounds of waste per year and half of that waste is diverted from the landfill through recycling, then it would reduce the impact on the landfill by 35% and save about $250,000 per year. She said, if only 30% of Minot participated, it would still save about $100,000 per year. She pointed out that most residences use the mid-sized trash can for garbage collection but if the waste was recycled instead, many people could reduce the size of their bin and pay a lower fee for the receptacle. In that situation, the recycling fee would nearly cancel out. Ms. Dewitt-Vadell then read an email from a resident of 1515 20th Ave NW, who could not attend the meeting but is an advocate for curbside recycling. Emily Hickby, of Minot Air Force Base, said that she is a Wildlife Conservation major. She said, recycling programs are imperative for the future of our planet and she suggested a collaboration with Minot Air Force Base. She felt the program should not be about money but rather concern for the environment. She also shared that she has lived many places around the country but Minot is the first City where recycling or a plastic bag ban does not take place. Brad Magnus, Minot resident said that Minot should have recycling and suggested the City sell their interest in the parking structures to pay for it.  October 21, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting Joan Hawbaker, of 2124 8th Street NW, mentioned the quantities of materials that are currently going to Kalix and said to consider those materials when calculating the materials to be transferred. She also raised concerns about residents on a fixed income who cannot afford an increase in fee, as well as the elderly who cannot take their bin to the curb. She asked if the Valet service would apply to recycling too. Tim Baumann, of 1308 35th Avenue SW, said he supports recycling and would happily pay the fee because he believes in being responsible stewards for the earth. He currently recycles and the $4.50 fee is well worth it for him because he would no longer need to spend his time to sort and deliver recyclables to Kalix. The current facility has limited hours making recycling inaccessible to many residents. Recycling would give Minot a better image among families considering moving to Minot. He said, Minot deserves to be a leader a should not be left behind. Elizabeth Sund, of 1112 37th Street NW, agreed with many of the previous points. She said, Minot should be an attractive community to move to and recycling would help build appeal. She currently separates and recycles materials at Kalix but hates the idea of throwing away many of the products they cannot accept there. She aspires to teach her children to be responsible about recycling and said it is vital to the community to have a recycling program. Frank Schultz, of 917 2nd Street NE, spoke against a recycling program. He said, once per week pickup for garbage will not be enough and if recycling too place it could be collected once per month. He suggested the City use a mailer, flyer or ballot to find out how many residents are interested in a recycling program. Chris Baker, of 704 24th Avenue NW, said, she agrees that once per week garbage pickup is not enough. She believes that single stream collection is not efficient or effective and it will not solve the problem. She suggested a public/private partnership or challenging students to develop new equipment to improve collection. Travis Zablotney, said he is opposed to a recycling program. He stated, recycling is a noble cause but the problem is the result of the products we use. The products we’re consuming do not last and get thrown away. The world no longer has industries to use all of the waste that is produced. Other countries have been a dumping ground for the rich and now they have stopped allowing it because it is no longer profitable. There is no commodity market for recyclables. He said, it is a good idea but isn’t economically feasible. It would be better to make a conscious effort to avoid creating waste. Jean Schempp, a Minot business owner, said she supports recycling but does not have the flexibility to go to Kalix. She is aware they have a pickup service but it is cost prohibitive to participate. She suggested that if a recycling program starts in Minot, the City should include commercial properties since local businesses could increase the volume of materials. Donald Kinney of 907 4th Street SE, suggested different ways to repurpose everyday products. One resident, a recent transplant to Minot working as a consultant, said he chose to relocate to the Magic City. He has lived in New York, California, and Alaska and believes it is our duty as a community to recycle. He said it is disheartening there isn’t recycling in Minot and he encouraged mandatory participation as well as incentives to recycle. Tyron Langager, of 1112 9th Street SW, said his wife instructed him to say that we need curbside recycling. He believes the market for recyclables is irrelevant and that technology of today will be outdated in 50 years anyway. He said, we need a practical methodology for recycling because sorting materials for Kalix is frustrating. He does not believe $4.50 will make much difference but the community needs to understand what materials are acceptable. He concluded by saying, he hopes recycling moves forward. Bill Christen, of 116 36th Avenue SE, said the City of Minot is thirty years behind when it comes to recycling. A reasonable priced program would be a good start. He referred to comments made by former City Manager Lee Staab, who estimated, recycling would cost about $5 per month. Mr. Christen said it would be beneficial to save landfill space and he currently takes recyclables to Kalix, Devil’s Lake and Grand Forks. He said that Fargo has a goal for zero landfill usage by 2025. Public Works seems to be in favor of recycling so it is up to the Council to move forward. Despite the China market for recyclables, operations are continuing in Minneapolis. Cindy Sessions, of 800 Harmony Street NW, said she supports recycling because Minot is far behind other communities. We need to be stewards of the earth and it is embarrassing to see so much waste. She also said, it would be a great idea to include businesses in the recycling program.  October 21, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting Jean Bjork of 208 12th Avenue SE, said recycling is a good idea but we should utilize the current facilities first. If the money is not in the budget she would prefer to focus on flood control and construction of a new high school before spending money toward a recycling program. The Mayor concluded by saying, the Council would not be making a decision yet and will continue to collect input in person and via email. In addition to verbal statements made by residents attending the meeting, emails were also provided to the City Clerk. ORDINANCE NO. 5421 - EASTSIDE ESTATES, LOT 7, BLOCK 2 – SECOND READING – APPROVED Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council place ordinance no. 5421 on second reading to change the zone from R1 (Single- Family Residential District) to MH (Manufactured Home District) to locate a manufactured home on property located at 3465 47th Street, SE. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried unanimously. Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council pass ordinance no. 5421 on second reading. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVALS – APPROVED Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council ratify the following administratively approved requests. 1. Minotauros Booster Club to conduct raffles throughout the season at MAYSA Arena (2501 West Burdick Expy) 2. Souris River Brewing for a special event permit October 11, 2019 at the Clarion Hotel & Convention Center (2200 E Burdick Expy) 3. MSU Beaver Boosters, Inc amended their Site Authorization at The Spot (215 East Central) 4. Dakota College Bottineau Nursing to conduct a calendar raffle at 5th Avenue Medical Building (307 5th Ave SE) 5. Elevation for a special event permit October 11, 2019 through October 24, 2019 at The Depot (15 North Main Street) in accordance with the schedule provided to the Police Chief 6. The Spot for a special event permit October 12, 2019 at MSU Ann Nicole Nelson Hall (500 University Ave West) 7. Washington Elementary School to conduct raffles October 11, 2019 through June 30, 2020 at Washington Elementary School (600 17th Ave SE) 8. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit October 18, 2019 through October 31, 2019 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 9. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit November 1, 2019 through November 14, 2019 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 10. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit November 15, 2019 through November 28, 2019 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 11. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit November 29, 2019 through December 12, 2019 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 12. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit December 13, 2019 through December 26, 2019 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 13. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit December 27, 2019 through January 9, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 14. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit January 10, 2020 through January 23, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 15. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit January 24, 2020 through February 6, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 16. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit February 7, 2020 through February 20, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 17. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit February 21, 2020 through March 5, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 18. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit March 6, 2020 through March 19, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 19. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit March 20, 2020 through April 2, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 20. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit April 3, 2020 through April 16, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West)  October 21, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting 21. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit April 17, 2020 through April 30, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) 22. Minotauros Junior Hockey Club for a special event permit May 1, 2020 through May 14, 2020 at MAYSA Arena (2501 Burdick Expy West) Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. 2019 STREET SEAL DISTRICT – FINAL PAYMENT (4381) – APPROVED Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council approve the final payment of $82,416.41 to be paid to Asphalt Surface Technologies Corp. (ASTECH) for the 2019 Street Seal District. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. 2019 PAVEMENT MARKINGS - FINAL PAYMENT (4442) – APPROVED Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council approve the final payment of $55,815.99 to be paid to West River Striping Company for the 2019 Pavement markings. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. CARNEGIE CENTER STRUCTURAL REPAIRS FINAL PAYMENT (4291, ST2P33) – APPROVED Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council approve the final payment to Craft Builders in the amount of $4,903.00 for the Carnegie Center Structural Repairs. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. FY 2019 LOCAL EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT (PD0185) – APPROVED Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council grant authorization to apply for and, if awarded, accept the FY 2019 Local Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG); and authorize the Mayor to sign the Memorandum of Understanding Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. ORDINANCE NO. 5422 – AMEND THE 2019 ANNUAL BUDGET - FY 2019 LOCAL EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT (PD0185) – FIRST READING – APPROVED Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council place ordinance no. 5422 on first reading to amend the 2019 annual budget to increase the Police department operation supplies and capital revenues and expenditures for the FY2019 Edward Byrne JAG Grant. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried unanimously. Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council pass ordinance no. 5422 on first reading. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. BROADWAY CORRIDOR STUDY – ENGINEERING SELECTION (4443) – APPROVED Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council select KLJ to perform all consulting engineering for the Broadway Corridor Study, authorize the City Engineer to negotiate a scope and fee and authorize the Mayor to sign the contract. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES – APPROVED  October 21, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council approve the minutes of the September 16, 2019 regular City Council meeting, the September 23, 2019 special City Council meeting and the revised minutes from the special Council meeting from the July 31- August 1 City Council Executive Retreat, including additional notes. Motion seconded by Alderman Olson and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. RETAIL BEER & WINE LICENSE – DAKOTA BURGER COMPANY – APPROVED Alderman Wolsky moved the City Council approve the request from Dakota Burger Company dba Dakota Burger Company, for a Retail Beer & Wine License operating at 315 South Main Street #200. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner. Alderman Wolsky congratulated Mr. Lockrem and the growth of his business. He also emphasized the importance of investment in Minot. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. FIRST DISTRICT HEALTH UNIT SERVICES AGREEMENT – APPROVED Alderman Olson moved the City Council approve the Services Agreement between the City of Minot and First District Health Unit and authorize the Mayor to sign the Agreement on behalf of the City of Minot. Motion seconded by Alderman Jantzer and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. SOUTHWEST ELEVATED WATER TOWER ENGINEERING AGREEMENT (4405) – APPROVED Alderman Jantzer moved the City Council approve the contract in the amount of $468,000 with Houston Engineering for design and construction observation service on the SW Elevated Water Tower and authorize the Mayor to sign the contract. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. SEWER CONNECTION FEE – 7755 11TH AVE SE – APPROVED Alderman Podrygula moved the City Council revise the connection fee calculation for this lot using the comparative amount surrounding properties paid, resulting in a connection fee of $2,166. Motion seconded by Alderman Olson. Alderman Wolsky asked staff about a similar situation that recently occurred. The Public Works Director said, in that instance the Engineering Department looked at the developable property to calculate the rate. In this case, he provided several different methodologies the Council could consider to determine the calculation. Alderman Jantzer asked if the property could be subdivided in the future, to which the Public Works Director stated, it is unlikely based on the layout of the lot. Whereupon a vote was taken on the above motion by Alderman Podrygula, seconded by Alderman Olson and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. WAYFINDING SIGN LOCATION COMPLETED STUDY (NDR014) – APPROVED Alderman Straight moved the City Council Receive the Summary of Results of the Wayfinding Sign Location study. Motion seconded by Alderman Pitner. Mr. Zakian described the findings of the Wayfinding Sign Location Study. He said, it set the stage for the Council to consider what next steps should take place going forward. Ackerman Estvold analyzed some best practices for wayfinding and identified 92 sites at which to locate signs at entrances to the city, in key strategic areas around the city and within downtown. The study included estimated costs which can be controlled based on the funding sources and range from $160,000 up to  October 21, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting almost $1 million depending on the type of signage. All sign locations are within State and City code and the consultant interacted with stakeholders for input. He said, this study identified locations but other details are still to be determined. He summarized the decisions that need to take place moving forward; who will lead implementation of the project, where will funding for the project come from, and who will provide ongoing maintenance. He provided some suggestions for funding options including, a downtown BID District, non-profit 501c3 participation, City involvement, or Economic Development Corporation participation. Alderman Straight asked about the funding source for the IEDC study and whether that could be used for this project. Mr. Zakian explained that Planning funds were identified in the Action Plan but Planning funds cannot be used for signage. He also mentioned that the NDR Action Plan identified downtown as a critical economic sustainable growth area but if other funding sources are identified, the signs could point to other areas if they want. Alderman Straight then asked for account balances for the NDR activities and if Council could choose from which account to allocate funding. Mr. Zakian explained the restrictions on what the funds could be used for and said the planning activities must be connected to planning affected by the flood. Alderman Wolsky mentioned the OneBrand project and all of the activities taking place downtown, including the need for an Executive Director for the DBPA. He suggested the project be done in collaboration with the other groups like Souris Basin Planning Council, in a multi-year, phased approach. Alderman Straight said it would be an opportunity to revive the River Front and Center study and strategize moving forward. There are financial challenges and breaking this down into phases makes sense. Whereupon a vote was taken on the above motion by Alderman Straight, seconded by Alderman Pitner and carried by the following roll call vote: ayes: Jantzer, Olson, Pitner, Podrygula, Sipma, Straight, Wolsky; nays: none. PERSONAL APPEARANCES None LIAISON REPORTS Alderman Pitner spoke about the Library Board and their upcoming programs. He said, the Library is currently working on an exercise to determine Key Performance Indicators. Alderman Jantzer had no meetings to report. Alderman Wolsky said the Planning and Zoning Ordinance Committee is continuing to meet every two weeks. They recently discussed loosening restrictions for duplex, triplex, and four-plex buildings in R1 zones but ultimately recommended keeping the ordinance as-is. He mentioned that the committee was split on the decision and it would be worthy of discussion when it comes to Planning Commission and City Council. Alderman Straight mentioned the Souris Basin Planning Council and the growing interest in the buydown program. He also said he spoke with Scott Burlingame who provided an update about the Committee On Addiction. He said, the issue of vaping was brought to his attention and that First District Health Unit is working on programs to target youth. Alderman Olson talked about the Buy Local Task Force and their progress researching procurement rules. The Censes 2020 Committee has a good cross section from different groups in Minot. She said, if Minot reaches a population of 50,000 residents, the City could receive an additional $300,000-$400,000 annually. They are also motivated to learn about the composition of the community. She added, education and promotion should start in early 2020 and the count will span from March through July. Alderman Podrygula had no meetings to report. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Alderman Pitner moved the City Council meeting be adjourned. Motion seconded by Alderman Jantzer and carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:28 pm.  October 21, 2019 Regular City Council Meeting ATTEST: ______________________________ APPROVED: _______________________________ Kelly Matalka, City Clerk Shaun Sipma, Mayor