City Council Meetings

Watertown City Council Mayor Steve Washburn Lindsay Guetzkow Adam Pawelk Michael Walters Dan Schuette 4/27/2021 - Minutes 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 in the Council Chambers of City Hall at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 27, 2021 by Mayor Steve Washburn. Council Members present: Washburn, Mike Walters, Adam Pawelk, Lindsay Guetzkow, and Dan Schuette. City Staff present: City Administrator Shane Fineran, Administrative Services Director Lynn Tschudi, and City Engineer Andrew Budde. 2. Adopt Agenda GUETZKOW MOVED, PAWELK SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 3. Consent Agenda Discussion And Approval WALTERS MOVED, SCHUETTE SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 3.A. Approve City Council Special Meeting Minutes From April 8, 2021 3.B. Approve City Council Work Session Meeting Minutes From April 13, 2021 3.C. Consider Resolution #2021-50, Approving Use Of Streets For Liberty Triathlon 3.D. Adopt Resolution #2021-53, Approving Step Movement For Lynn Tschudi 4. Open Forum 5. New/Old Business 5.A. State Of The Library Presentation Heidi Hoks with the Carver County library addressed Council to share information about the State of the Library for 2020. Paul Ericsson, branch manager for Watertown, shared a slide show with the Council. He shared how the library adapted to the challenges of COVID-19. Council member Pawelk asked what the future looks like for libraries and opening to 100%. Hoks said they have a quarterly plan with hopefully increasing indoor programming by the end of 2021. 5.B. Approve Resolution #2021-51, Use Of Streets, Lot, And Outdoor Concert  Library for 2020. Paul Ericsson, branch manager for Watertown, shared a slide show with the Council. He shared how the library adapted to the challenges of COVID-19. Council member Pawelk asked what the future looks like for libraries and opening to 100%. Hoks said they have a quarterly plan with hopefully increasing indoor programming by the end of 2021. 5.B. Approve Resolution #2021-51, Use Of Streets, Lot, And Outdoor Concert City Administrator Fineran said there has been a request for use of streets for an outdoor event and concert on August 14, 2021. Fineran said the applicant is looking to use the municipal parking lot adjacent to City Hall as well as the parking lot across the street. The event is from 4 pm – 12 am with the music ending at 10:30 pm. Fineran stated the insurance and liquor license requirements for the event. The applicant has provided a COVID-19 response plan as well as a plan for the maximum number of attendees. Liz Gerards with Operation Thank an Officer addressed council to explain that the event will be ticketed with no sales occurring the day of. Private security has been hired for the event. Gerards explained that this event helps to fund scholarships for families of law enforcement. There will not be inflatables this year due to sanitation concerns with COVID-19. Guetzkow asked who the bands will be. Liz said that they will be local Minnesota country bands. Guetzkow and Walters gave Gerards feedback on the parking for the event. GUETZKOW MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2021-51, APPROVING USE OF STREETS, MUNICIPAL LOT AND AUTHORIZING OUTDOOR CONCERT. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 5.C. Adopt Resolution #2021-52, Approve Change Order No. 1 For 2021 Mill & Overlay City Engineer Andrew Budde said the Mill & Overlay project was awarded to Valley Paving in March. At that time, Council asked Budde to seek pricing for manhole casting adjustments being that the original Mill & Overlay quote was under engineer estimate by $125,000. Valley Paving submitted a quote of $43,749.50 for the change order with no duration added to the contract. Mayor Washburn asked if there is any risk to completing this portion of the project early. Budde said there is a risk that some of the manholes could be raised higher causing a rougher ride and possibly damaging a plow. WALTERS MOVED, PAWELK SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2021-52, APPROVING CHANGE ORDER #1 TO THE 2021 MILL AND OVERLAY PROJECT. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 5.D. Benchmark Cities List City Administrator Fineran said the Council approved the execution of a compensation study with David Drown & Associates at the last meeting. Fineran explained that DD&A compiles a list of cities to benchmark the city data to. The data used is tax capacity, population, location, and wastewater requirements. Fineran noted that he asked that Waconia be included due to their proximity to Watertown, even though they fall outside of the threshold. Fineran is asking for a motion to approve the list of benchmark cities. Guetzkow noted that Wayzata does not seem like a good comparable. Washburn agreed and instructed to pull Medina and Deephaven as well. PAWELK MOVED, WALTERS SECONDED A MOTION TO APPROVE THE BENCHMARK CITIES LIST AS MODIFIED WITH THE REMOVAL OF WAYZATA, MEDINA, AND DEEPHAVEN WITH THE POSSIBLE ADDITION OF THREE REPLACEMENTS ST. FRANCIS, ISANTI, AND WINSTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 6. Other Reports Fineran reported that the annual community clean-up was the largest ever in the history of the event with 275 vehicles. Guetzkow reported that the Lions sold 200 burgers on Community Clean-up day before noon. She also said the Community Education Advisory Council met. The playground was removed at the Community Learning Center and the new design was approved and will be installed by end of May.  Fineran reported that the annual community clean-up was the largest ever in the history of the event with 275 vehicles. Guetzkow reported that the Lions sold 200 burgers on Community Clean-up day before noon. She also said the Community Education Advisory Council met. The playground was removed at the Community Learning Center and the new design was approved and will be installed by end of May. Schuette updated on the Planning Commission meeting from April 22. Pawelk updated that he attended a neighborhood meeting at Kings Meadows Park on April 21. There is a proposal to replace some turf in the area with native grasses and mowed walking paths. Washburn said it is exciting to see the increase in growth in Watertown, but he is expecting staff to challenge the contract services in order to deliver high quality service. 7. Claims 7.A. Approve 4-27-2021 Claims Roster GUETZKOW MOVED, PAWELK SECONDED A MOTION TO ADOPT THE 2021 CLAIMS AS PRESENTED. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 8. Adjournment WALTERS MOVED, SCHUETTE SECONDED A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:38 PM. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 309 Lewis Avenue South; P.O. Box 279, Watertown, MN 55388