City Council Meetings

MINUTES OF THE Mayor Steve Washburn WATERTOWN CITY COUNCIL Deborah Everson Regular Meeting Tuesday, September 24, 2019 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, September 24, 2019 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, and Clerk/Treasurer Lynn Tschudi. Guests present: Diane Langenbach and Curt Kobilarcsik from MNDOT. 2. Adopt Agenda Washburn noted the agenda has been modified to add items 3F on the consent agenda and 5E on the New/Old Business. PAWELK MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA AS MODIFIED. 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. GUETZKOW MOVED, EVERSON SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. A. Adopt a motion to approve City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes from September 10, 2019 B. Adopt a motion to approve City Council Regular MeetingMinutes from September 10, 2019 C. Consider Resolution #2019-128, Approving Use of Streets for Homecoming Parade D. Consider Resolution #2019-129, Approving Removal of Restricted Parking on State Street SW and the 200 Block of Westminster Ave NW E. Consider Resolution #2019-130, Approving Letter of Credit Reduction for Forest Hills Development LLC dba Loomis Homes F. Consider Resolution #2019-131, Approving Professional Services Proposal 4. Open Forum 5. New/Old Business Page 1 of 4 A. Highway 25 Reconstruction Project Municipal Consent City Administrator Fineran said staff is looking for municipal consent for the Highway 25 reconstruction project. Diane Langenbach from MNDOT approached council. Langenbach gave an overview of the project on Highway 25 from Mayer to Watertown. The reconstruction will start at High Street and continue to White Street with the addition of a trail. Langenbach said all sidewalks will be ADA compliant. MNDOT requires municipal consent prior to beginning a project. Langenbach noted there will be minor easements needed during this project. She reviewed the estimated project costs. The proposed trail will be adjacent to Highway 25 and will cost approximately $200,000. Langenbach reported on the progress being made for right of way as well as informing affected businesses. The schedule has the project starting in May of 2020. Curt Kobilarcsik with MNDOT explained how the trail location was determined to be best fitted adjacent to Highway 25. Washburn asked if curb and gutter would be present along the trail. Langenbach said yes. Washburn asked if curb and gutter would be present along the Hooked on classics property. Langenbach said yes. Budde asked what the width of the shoulder will be from the travel lane to the curb. Kobilarcsik said they will match what is currently there. Pawelk would like to see the newest design and have staff review it prior to project start. Kobilarcsik said MNDOT is in process of the 60% completion plans and will be submitting to the city next week. Everson said she is concerned for the businesses along Highway 25. Langenbach said they will do everything they can to make sure people know the businesses are open. Washburn said the Hooked on Classics owner is interested in trail continuation up to their property entrances. Langenbach said they can look into the costs. EVERSON MOVED, GUETZKOW SECONDED A MOTION TO OPEN A PUBLIC HEARING. NO WRITTEN OR VERBAL COMMENT WAS RECEIVED. GUETZKOW MOVED, EVERSON SECONDED A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. WALTERS MOVED, EVERSON SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2019-126, APPROVING LAYOUT FOR TRUNK HIGHWAY 25 PROJECT SP-1007-21. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. B. 2020 Preliminary Levy Adoption City Administrator Fineran said the levy is presented to council as the preliminary levy to be adopted before September 30, 2019. Market value is projected to increase in Watertown by 8.27%. The impact to the average valued home is 2%. Total levy is $2,560,000 with $460,000 being for debt service. Guetzkow reiterated that this preliminary levy is the maximum amount of tax the city would be assessing. GUETZKOW MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2019- 127, ADOPTING A PRELIMINARY 2019 TAX LEVY FOR THE CITY OF WATERTOWN FOR COLLECTION IN 2020. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Page 2 of 4 C. Business Subsidy Policy Amendments Fineran said the EDA is requesting concurrence on the Business Subsidy Policy amendments. The original policy was adopted in 2018 to meet state statute. Fineran said there have been areas needing clarity identified over the past year. The amendments provide direction on the use of TIF, how the city would apply utility trunk fee waivers, and affordable housing requirements. Fineran detailed the amendments for council. Everson reiterated that the policy is designed to provide clarity and transparency to new developers and new businesses that come to Watertown. Everson said there is a process for reporting after the subsidy is received. EVERSON MOVED, GUETZKOW SECONDED A MOTION TO GRANT CONCURRENCE TO THE EDA ON FOR THE BUSINESS SUBSIDY POLICY AMENDMENTS. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. D. Capital Project - Website Update City Administrator Fineran said that staff has evaluated a number of website vendors over the past few months. Common themes requested by council and staff were: A. Search ability B. ADA compliance C. Usability D. Better communication tools with residents E. Online payments F. Online forms G. Reservations and calendars H. Mobile compatible Two vendors were chosen as finalists: Municode and Civics Plus. After final web demos and evaluation of needs and wants, staff is recommending Civics Plus. Fineran reviewed each vendor offerings and prices. Civics Plus offers a more robust standard package rather than needing to purchase additional modules for each function. Washburn suggested viewing a presentation from the vendor. Everson asked about the implementation costs for each vendor. Fineran said both vendors offer a payment plan, but the entire project would be implemented in year one. Washburn would like to see community involvement in order to receive a quality product. Pawelk asked if the Civics Plus maintenance tracking application would replace the Dude Solutions Mobile 311. Fineran said the city does not pay an additional fee for using the Mobile 311. The key difference in the two applications is that the Mobile 311 is tied to the Watertown GIS system. The citizen request tracker is tied to Google and there is no integration with GIS. Fineran said the citizen request tracker allows for communication between the resident and the city using the platform. Fineran said the city would have the ability to turn certain features on and off. Walters asked about the minimum term of the contract. Fineran said both have a four year maintenance contract. Page 3 of 4  Guetzkow suggested incorporating all generations in the feedback session. Council provided direction to schedule a vendor presentation for council and community partners. E. Amended Use of Streets - Kevin Butcher/Edina Realty Event Fineran said Kevin Butcher/Edina Realty is requesting additional time for their Customer Appreciation event on September 28, 2019. The 200 block of Lewis Avenue South will be closed during the event. Kevin Butcher is requesting closure from 1 pm to 8 pm to allow for set-up and take down. Washburn pointed out that the original resolution was approved on May 14, 2019. Council expressed their support for the event and the temporary road closure. Washburn encouraged residents to voice their opinions to either the Chamber of Commerce or the City regarding the street closure. PAWELK MOVED, GUETZKOW SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2019- 132, APPROVING AMENDED USE OF MUNICIPAL STREET. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 6. Other Reports 7. Claims EVERSON MOVED, GUETZKOW SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CLAIMS ROSTER FOR THE 2019 BUDGET. 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. PAWELK MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:12 PM. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. Page 4 of 4