City Council Meetings

MINUTES OF THE Mayor Steve Washburn WATERTOWN CITY COUNCIL Deborah Everson Regular Meeting Tuesday, June 26, 2018 Lindsay Guetzkow Adam Pawelk Michael Walters 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 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, 2018 in the Council Chambers of City Hall by Mayor Steve Washburn. Council Members present: Washburn, Mike Walters, Deb Everson, Lindsay Guetzkow and Adam Pawelk. City Staff present: City Administrator Shane Fineran and Public Works Superintendent Mike Dressel Those who signed in were: Dave and Laurie Trende, Deb Traen, Rand and Mari Harding, and Mark Annen. 2. Adopt Agenda GUETZKOW MOVED, EVERSON SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 3. Consent Agenda Discussion and 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. WALTERS MOVED, PAWELK SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. A. Adopt a motion to approve City Council Meeting Minutes from May 22, 2018 B. Adopt a motion to approve City Council Work Session Minutes from May 22, 2018 C. Consider Resolution #2018-92, Approving Step Movement for Mike Loehrs D. Consider Resolution #2018-95, Approving Out of State Travel for Shane Fineran E. Adopt a Motion Approving Pay Application to Valley Paving for the 2018 Mill & Overlay Project 4. Open Forum Dave Trende from Kings Meadows development approached Council. He is asking the City to work with hiim to improve the condition of the pond. He gave the Council pictures of the pond. Trende described the failing conditions of the pond. He asked if the City has a maintenance program for ponds. Washburn asked what improving the pond meant to Trende. Trende would like to see the pond without green water. Washburn explained the past discussions held on storm water ponds and what action would be taken to improve the structural integrity of the pond. He also said that any structures encroaching on the City easement will be removed from the ponds. Walters explained to Trende the process and costs for cleaning out a storm water pond. Calvin Pletsch from Forest Hills Development approached Council. He stated that there is an algae spray that can be applied to ponds which also eliminates mosquitos. Page 1 of 5  Dave Trende returned to the podium to express his concern about the safety of Newton Avenue. 5. New/Old Business A. Skate Park Design City Administrator Fineran presented the skate park design to Council. The design has been recommended by the Park Commission. The initial estimate for the skate park was $75,000 with concrete. The new design, which includes items added by the youth design group, with equipment and installation will cost $72,441.84 without concrete. Fineran said that the overall project cost will be under budget even with this increase. Pawelk said the Park Commission was unanimous in moving forward with the design. Washburn asked if the company is reputable that will be installing the equipment. Fineran replied yes. Walters asked about the completion date. Fineran said the project should be completed by the end of August or early September. GUETZKOW MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2018- 91, APPROVING SKATE PARK DESIGN AND QUOTE SUBMITTED BY AMERICAN RAMP COMPANY. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. B. Public Hearing for Delinquent Accounts and Order Shut-Off Fineran explained that the utility shut-off process is lengthy with many attempts to secure payment from residents prior to shut-off. If a resident agrees to a payment plan, they will avoid shut-off. The process for notifying residents began in May and continued with certified letters sent in June informing the resident of the public hearing date for shut offs. EVERSON MOVED, GUETZKOW SECONDED A MOTION TO OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Calvin Pletsch from Hickory Curve addressed Council regarding his delinquent water bills. EVERSON MOVED, GUETZKOW SECONDED A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Everson asked that if a payment plan is set up by a resident attending the public hearing, will his water will be shut off. Fineran said if he called at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 27th , and adheres to the plan, his water will not be shut off. EVERSON MOVED, GUETZKOW SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2018- 90 AUTHORIZING UTILITY SHUT-OFF FOR DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. C. Code Violation - 990 Hickory Curve Fineran said the City received a complaint about a code violation at 990 Hickory Curve. The complaint was for the keeping of ducks in a back yard accessory structure. Fineran drafted a letter and attempted a site visit at the resident’s home. Fineran included a copy of the zoning code as well as the farm animal ordinance and sent with the letter. Fineran discussed the code violation with the Page 2 of 5  resident and the resident feels ducks should be able to be kept as pets. They also discussed the accessory structure which is in violation of Forest Hills Zoning Code. Calvin Pletsch from 990 Hickory Curve approached the podium. He said the ducks are pets and their house is similar to a dog house. Pletsch said he thought Watertown was more of an agricultural community. He stated the ducks are now missing. Pawelk restated the violation of the code which prohibits ducks. He asked Fineran about the zoning code related to accessory structures. Fineran said the City code would allow for the duck house, however the Forest Hills Zoning Code has requirements of matching materials to the main home. Guetzkow said interpretation of City code is challenging. Walters said that a caged, non-farm bird is not a duck. He said this matter is very clear and the duck is not a domestic animal. Everson said the interpretation of the code is clear, as Walters stated. Pletsch addressed Council and said if the ducks do not have a voice, then he needs to speak for them. He claimed bird racism against ducks. He said the smell from the ducks is way better than cats. He also said there are ponds in Watertown that smell worse than his ducks. Washburn said it is difficult to balance property rights with property maintenance issues. PAWELK MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION AFFIRMING CODE VIOLATION AT 990 HICKORY CURVE. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. D. 2018 Budget Amendments and Balance Transfer Fineran said the final 2018 budget was approved in December 2017. During this first half of the year, Staff has identified items that need to be revised due to unexpected events. The first item is increasing sewer revenue and expenses due to a change in the invoicing method from a vendor. Second item is increasing expense in the fire department operating budget for equipment purchased using a grant. Last is the increase in general expense for the purchase of three speed signs. Washburn asked why the budget needs to be adjusted in 2018 rather than in 2019. Fineran said it is to avoid seeing large over or under budget items on the financials. Guetzkow asked if the changes to the budget were not made, what the negative implications are. Fineran said the changes make the budget cleaner and more transparent since they are known. Council agreed that they do not want to get into the habit of amending the budgets. WALTERS MOVED, PAWELK SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2018-93, APPROVING 2018 BUDGET AMENDMENTS. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Pawelk recalled the May 8th meeting in which speed signs were discussed along Newton Avenue. Guetzkow asked if speed limit signs could be installed on Arnica and Newton. Fineran said that the cost for the signs would include a speed limit sign above it. Everson asked about the durability of the Page 3 of 5  signs. Fineran said these will be permanently mounted signs and would include the GPS tracking system. GUETZKOW MOVED, WASHBURN SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF THREE SPEED SIGNS BEING THAT THERE IS SUFFICIENT FUND BALANCE IN THE GENERAL FUND FROM 2017. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Fineran explained that the excess fund balance transfers is a practice that is done annually after the audit. WALTERS MOVED, EVERSON SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2018-94, APPROVING TRANSFER OF UNRESERVED FUND BALANCES IN SEWER, WATER, GENERAL AND FIRE OPERATING FUNDS. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 6. Other Reports Fineran reported that letters will be sent to the homes affected by the seal coating. City offices will be closed on July 4th. He also said the Prairie Restoration will be out to river to maintain the plantings. Guetzkow asked that Staff contact the DNR regarding the Luce Line footbridge maintenance. Everson reported that she attended the League of MN Cities conference. She participated in an affordable housing round table discussion. Everson enjoyed hearing what other cities are doing to combat the affordable housing issue. Walters said the Chamber will be hosting Ladies Night October 11th. Ducks are on sale now for the duck races during Rails to Trails. Guetzkow also enjoyed attending the League of MN Cities conference. She reported on the branding for the Watertown Mayer Schools. Rails to Trails celebration will be July 20-21st. Pawelk thanked the youth who attended the park meetings and helped with the skate park design. The Park Commission cleaned Rick Johnson Park on June 20th. He stated that there are parks in Watertown that still need to be adopted if anyone is interested. Washburn encouraged residents to use the 30th Street trail. He said that in order to reach all of the goals of the City moving forward, partnerships will be important. A. Mike Dressel, Public Services Superintendent Public Works Superintendent Mike Dressel shared his park mowing book with the Council. He said it is easier to train the seasonal help with this tool. Dressel said a mowing log has also been started to analyze the amount of time spent on each area within the City. Asphalt maintenance has been completed and crack seal will be complete the week of July 2nd. Dressel said that the seasonal employees have been busy mowing, mulching, weeding and spraying. 7. Claims GUETZKOW MOVED, EVERSON SECONDEDA MOTION TO ADOPT THE 2018 CLAIMS AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Page 4 of 5 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 8:21 P.M. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Page 5 of 5