City Council Meetings

MINUTES OF THE WATERTOWN CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 27, 2018 1. Call to Order and Roll Call Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the regular meeting of the Watertown City Council was called to order at 6:31 p.m. Tuesday, February 27, 2018 in the Council Chambers of City Hall by Mayor Steve Washburn. Council Members present: Washburn, Michael Walters, Deborah Everson, Lindsay Guetzkow and Adam Pawelk. City Staff present: City Administrator Shane Fineran, City Engineer Andrew Budde, Utilities Superintendent Doug Kammerer, and City Clerk-Treasurer Lynn Tschudi. Those who signed in were: Erin DeMonico, Lacey Muhlenhardt, Samantha Dalluge, Linus Truniger, and Liz Truniger. 2. Adopt Agenda GUETZKOW MOVED, EVERSON SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 3. Consent Agenda Discussion & Approval All items listed under the consent agenda are considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion on an affirmative vote by roll call of a majority of the members present. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Council member or citizen so requests, in which event, the item(s) will be removed and discussed prior to the adoption of the consent agenda. PAWELK MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. A. Adopt a motion to approve City Council Work Shop Minutes from February 13, 2018 B. Adopt a motion to approve City Council Meeting Minutes from February 13, 2018 C. Consider Resolution #2018-31, Revocation of License to Sell Tobacco Products for Watertown Fuel & Food D. Consider Resolution #2018-32, Accepting Resignation of Fire Fighter Brenda Cropp E. Consider Resolution #2018-33, Approving Step Movement for Susan Hoese F. Consider Resolution #2018-34, Approving Acquisition of Standby Generator for the Sugarbush Lift Station G. Consider Resolution #2018-37, Authorizing Solicitation of Quotes for the 2018 Seal Coat Project 4. Open Forum Linus Trinager approached the podium with concerns about the agenda topic covering a possible Newton Avenue pedestrian trail. Trinager stated that the trail would run through the front of his property and would like to continue to be informed if it is in fact a project that moves forward. 5. New / Old Business Page 1 of 4 A. Waste Water Treatment Facility Plan Fineran explained that since the last time Council met on this topic in November of 2017, the City has received new permit requirement levels for their waste water treatment facility. Budde provided a slideshow discussing the need for a new wastewater treatment facility. One major need for a new facility is due to capacity which the City is nearing for the current facility. The condition of the facility is old, and therefore needing repair or replacement. He explained that some of the items in the facility are currently being replaced but others such as digesters, sand filters, office areas, all need replacing. Budde recapped the permitting requirements that Fineran spoke about. Phosphorus, nitrogen, chloride and others are all new limits that the new waste water facility will need to treat. Bolton & Menk has prepared a Facility Plan based on the capacity, condition, and permitting of the current facility. This will also get the City in the queue for potential funding and allow them to understand their future out of pocket responsibility for this project. Budde covered a rough estimate of preliminary costs for the facility. He then reviewed financing alternatives for the City. EVERSON MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR A PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS THE FACILITY PLAN. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. FINERAN SAID NO WRITTEN OR ORAL COMMUNICATION WAS RECEIVED. EVERSON MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING TO DISCUSS THE FACILITY PLAN. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Walters asked about permit levels of surrounding towns. Washburn replied that they are managing these levels through the whole system and that cities are able to sell some of your capacity to other cities. Everson asked for clarification on the slideshow on summary of recommended improvements. Kammerer explained that the condition column are items that will be rebuilt or repaired, capacity are items that will be added on, and compliance are items required because of permit requirements. Kammerer explained that the City’s waste water treatment facility will be reclassified as a class A major facility rather than a class B minor facility. He said the amount of testing will increase, the permit fees will increase, staff will need to be licensed appropriately, and other requirements. Fineran added that we won't be required to meet that classification until construction of the new facility, although the City likely could in its current footprint. Washburn talked about salty discharge and whether the city will ask for a variance or develop a compliance schedule. GUETZKOW MOVED, PAWELK SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2018-35 APPROVING THE WASTE WATER TREATMENT FACILITY MASTER PLAN. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. B. 2018 Mill and Overlay Project Budde introduced the 2018 Mill & Overlay project that was initially discussed on January 9th, 2018. He explained the project is budgeted for $322,000 for this year with 10% being engineering costs. If plans and specs are approved, bids could open on April 3, 2018. Budde explained that with the project this year, once the contractor starts, they have 28 calendar days to complete the project. Walters asked about ramifications if the contractors do not complete the project by the required deadline. Budde said it is $500 per day of non- completion. Everson asked if there is any cost for Page 2 of 4  residents. Fineran answered that this is not a project that we assess and it is a maintenance project that the City pays for with cash on hand. Guetzkow would like the dates of the 2018 Mill & Overlay communicated to the Rails to Trails committee for the 5K race. Fineran introduced the Newton Avenue Trail Concept for Council. He explained that with direction from Council, staff took a look at the Newtown Avenue corridor and married it up with the Mill & Overlay project to see how feasible a trail connection would be. Fineran shared a project life cycle with the Council to show that staff is simply just coming up with concepts for this possible trail based off of a question asked by Council. He said that Council is picking up a baton with the Newton trail idea from something that has been worked on by prior Councils dating back to 2004. Fineran noted that Newton Avenue is a collector road and in our comprehensive plan, we provide separate facilities for motor vehicles and pedestrians. He wanted to bring some of the figures to the meeting for long range planning. Fineran summarized that although this trail is desirable, it would make the most sense to complete when the entire road is reconstructed, whenever that may be. Budde showed on a map where a future trail concept could be on Newton Avenue. He added that the significant cost is due to obtaining trail easement and clearing current trees and landscaping. Washburn asked about the setbacks for trails per MNDOT bikes and trails guideline. Budde said it is suggested at ten feet, or five feet in an urbanized area. Pawelk asked about an interim solution such as striping to increase safety. Budde said he would need to research this, but the road is only 24 feet wide and that is the minimum for two way traffic. Walters suggested looking into the striping for pedestrians in addition to some reflectors. Washburn said this corridor has been identified for many, many years, but he is guessing there is little support for a $600,000 trail segment. He does believe that something will happen in the future due to it being a safety concern. Council discussed the safety concerns of Newton Avenue. Guetzkow would like to explore an option of adding a "shoulder" to the road for pedestrians. Washburn summarized that in due diligence we have to move forward and continue with the Mill & Overlay as is and know that these solutions do not fit at this time. He does not believe that the plan presented by staff works, but appreciates the work put forward in trying to find solutions for safe pedestrian roadways. EVERSON MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2018-36, APPROVING THE 2018 MILL AND OVERLAY PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS AND AUTHORIZES ITS PUBLIC BID. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 6. Other Reports Fineran reported that staff was busy completing snow removal. Some trail segments were not cleared due to equipment breakdown. March 20th, 2018 the Watertown FD will be hosting an information session for recruits at 7:00 p.m. Guetzkow reported that the Connect on the Crow Developer’s day put on by the EDA was well attended on February 15th. She noted Community Ed advisory council is discussing the facility plan for the movement of Kindergarten over to the elementary school. The school is pursuing infant and toddler care for 2019. There is hope for increased programming for seniors as well. Walters reported he attended the State of the City presentation at the Chamber of Commerce given by the Mayor and City Administrator. Page 3 of 4  Everson said she received a lot of positive feedback from the Developer’s Day in that people learned stuff they didn't know before. She thanked staff for their hard work to put the event together. Washburn also agreed that Developer’s Day was a success. He also thanked staff for all their help. He said Council has been doing well and they are making things better for people in Watertown. We spend wisely and ask a lot of questions, said Washburn. He likes having participation and communication from residents. 7. Claims GUETZKOW MOVED, EVERSON SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE 2018 & 2017 CLAIMS AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 8. Adjournment Members of the City Council and City staff may convene directly following the adjournment of the meeting at the Luce Line Lodge in a purely social event. Membes of the public are welcome to attend. EVERSON MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:25 P.M. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Page 4 of 4