City Council Meetings

Watertown City Council T Regular Meeting Mayor Steve Washburn Lindsay Guetzkow Adam Pawelk F Michael Walters Dan Schuette A 11/29/2022 - 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 R order in the Council Chambers of City Hall at 6:37 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, by Acting Mayor Mike Walters. Councilmembers present: Mike Walters, Dan Schuette, and Adam Pawelk, D Councilmembers absent: Lindsay Guetzkow & Steve Washburn. City Staff present: City Administrator Jake Foster. Others Present: Kay Thul. 2. Adopt Agenda COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE REQUESTED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED 3-0. 3. Consent Agenda Discussion And Approval COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK MOVED TO ADOPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS PRESENTED. SCHUETTE SECONDED. MOTION CARRIED 3-0. 3.A. 3A - November 15, 2022 Workshop City Council Meeting Minutes 3.B. 3B - November 15, 2022 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes 3.C. 3C - Use Of Bank Points 3.D. 3D - 2023 Liquor License Renewals 3.E. 3E - Lions Donation_COA 3.F. 3F - Request For Optional 2 AM Liquor License  3.D. 3D - 2023 Liquor License Renewals 3.E. 3E - Lions Donation_COA 3.F. 3F - Request For Optional 2 AM Liquor License 3.G. 3G - 2023 Tobacco Licenses 3.H. 3H - 2023 Renewal Of Waste Hauler Licenses 3.I. 3I - 2023 Fire Contracts T 4. Open Forum 5. New/Old Business 5.A. 5A - 2023 Truth-In-Taxation F City Administrator, Foster, presented this item. He explained that intent of the Truth in Taxation hearing is to provide transparency in the budget process and allow the public to come in and ask questions on the budget and the process. A Foster also mentioned that as part of the process, the City Council also has the opportunity to ask more questions, and solicit more information before the final budget is presented to the City Council for approval at the December 15, 2022 meeting. Foster explained that the budget presented at the meeting is not significantly different than the R proposed preliminary budget that was adopted at the September 27, 2022 City Council meeting. He did provide budget updates on items that did change since the passing of the preliminary budget including final employee benefit numbers and a debt levy reduction. PUBLIC HEARING WAS REQUESTED TO BE OPENED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE AT 6:46 PM. MOTION PASSED 3-0 D There were no comments from the public. PUBLIC HEARING WAS REQUESTED TO BE CLOSED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE AT 6:47 PM. MOTION PASSED 3-0 Walters stressed the importance of transparency and asked that the city do more with communications to the public in 2023. 5.B. 5B - Certification Of Delinquent Charges For Payment With Taxes Foster introduced this item to the City Council. He informed that under Minnesota Law, the City has the authority to certify for payment with tax collection any unpaid utility balances on accounts or other charges for services. He stated that a public hearing is required to do so. He mentioned that property owners must be notified of both the assessment and the public hearing. Foster said that upon certification approval, staff will continue the process and work with Carver County to finalize the certification. Foster stated that staff is recommending doing a public hearing and then considering the adoption of Resolution 2022-89 that would approve the certification of delinquent charges for payment with taxes in 2023. PUBLIC HEARING WAS REQUESTED TO BE OPENED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE AT 6:53 PM. MOTION PASSED 3-0 There were no comments from the public. PUBLIC HEARING WAS REQUESTED TO BE CLOSED BY COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE AND SECONDED BT COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK AT 6:54 PM. MOTION PASSED 3-0  SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE AT 6:53 PM. MOTION PASSED 3-0 There were no comments from the public. PUBLIC HEARING WAS REQUESTED TO BE CLOSED BY COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE AND SECONDED BT COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK AT 6:54 PM. MOTION PASSED 3-0 COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK MOVED TO ADOPT RESOLUTION #2022-89 ADOPTING THE CERTIFICATION OF DELINQUENT UTILITIES AND OTHER CHARGES FOR SERVICES FOR PAYMENT WITH TAXES IN 2023. COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE SECONDED. MOTION PASSED 3-0 5.C. 5C - Winter Parking And Towing T Foster introduced this item to the City Council. He stated that at the March 22, 2022 City Council work session meeting, that the City Council discussed the City’s winter parking ordinance to determine if any changes needed to made to the towing/storage/release of vehicles who violate the ordinance. Foster stated that since that meeting, staff reached out to several towing and impound companies near F the city to gather information and determine if a contracted company would be able to provide towing/storage/release services for the city. Foster informed that Williams Towing of Minnetrista had the capacity to perform all of the mentioned in a timely manner. He added that Williams towing would be able to release impounded vehicles 24/7; A something that the city struggles with being able to do in the evenings and weekends. Foster said that staff is recommending that the City Council approve contracting with Williams Towing for towing and impound services and to approve a change to City Code (Ordinance 434) that would reflect the change in process for reclaiming towed vehicles and also removing the $10 administrative fee paid to the city. R Foster added that staff is also recommending that the “end time” for the winter parking restrictions change to state “when the snow is completely cleared from the roadways from curb to curb” instead of the strict time of 6:00 am. He said that the addition would allow for additional time for staff to remove snow safely and efficiently without parked vehicles on the roadway. D Schuette asked for clarification on liability and when the city would be liable versus the towing company. Schutte asked about how the city would communicate the changes. Foster explained that information would be posted on the city website, social media and newsletters. Walters stated that the changes made sense for several reasons including reducing the city’s liability in storing vehicles and the staff time needed to manage stored vehicles. He also mentioned that it is difficult for people when they are not able to access their vehicles in a timely manner as well; citing a previous example of a vehicle getting towed on a Friday and not being accessible until the following Monday. COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE MOVED TO ADOPT ORDINANCE #434 AND APPROVE THE SUMMARY PUBLICATION AMENDING THE WINTER PARKING RESTRICTIONS AND PROCESS FOR RECLAIMING TOWED VEHICLES. COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK SECONDED. MOTION PASSED 3-0 5.D. 5E - GO Bond Resoultion 2022A For WWTF Foster introduced this item to the City Council. He explained that the city is currently in the process of a project to expand that Wastewater Treatment Facility since March of 2022. He explained that the financial process for funding the project has included grant applications and loans through the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority (MN PFA). Foster reviewed that the city was awarded a Point Source Implementation Grant (PSIG) in the amount of $7,000,000 and a loan from the Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund (CWRLF) in the amount of  a project to expand that Wastewater Treatment Facility since March of 2022. He explained that the financial process for funding the project has included grant applications and loans through the Minnesota Public Facilities Authority (MN PFA). Foster reviewed that the city was awarded a Point Source Implementation Grant (PSIG) in the amount of $7,000,000 and a loan from the Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund (CWRLF) in the amount of $16,723,450. Foster explained that the grant funds have already been approved and disbursed and that loan fund disbursements need to go through a final approval process. He continued that the city must approve a resolution that formally accepts the MN PFA offer to purchase the General Obligation Sewer Revenue Notes (2022A). He said that the approval would allow the city to issue the bonds and execute the final agreement. T Foster informed that staff is recommending the adopting of Resolution 2022-91 that would approve the issuance of the General Obligation Sewer Revenue Note (2022A) and authorize the execution of the bond purchase process and loan agreement. F COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK MOVED TO ADOPT RESOLUTION #2022-91 APPROVING THE GO SEWER REVENUE NOTE OF 2022A AND AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A BOND PURCHASE AND PROJECT LOAN AGREEMENT. COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE SECONDED. MOTION PASSED 3-0 5.E. 5D - 2023 CIP A Foster introduced this item to the City Council. He stated that the City Council has discussed the updated draft of the City’s Capital Improvement Plan at several meetings throughout the year. Foster explained that the document provides guidance and is meant to be a “working document”. He R stated that even though an item is located within and recommended to be in a specific year, it still needs to be brought to the City Council for discussion and approval to move into the bid solicitation process. He said that the items also come back after bids are solicited to determine whether to move forward or not. Foster reviewed significant changes to the CIP document since the 2021 version was adopted. D Foster recommended approval of the document version presented in the November 29, 2022 packet. Schuette thanked staff for their time and efforts on getting the document where it is. COUNCILMEMBER SCHUETTE MOVED TO ADOPT RESOLUTION #2022-90 APPROVING THE 2023 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN. COUNCILMEMBER PAWELK SECONDED. MOTION PASSED 3-0 6. Other Reports Foster informed that the City Engineer would be at the December City Council meeting to provide an update on the Wastewater Treatment Facility Project. Foster provided an updated on the Mullen property project related to the appraisal process for the project. Foster stated that City Hall would be closing at 2:00 pm on December 20, 2022 for a teambuilding event with staff. Pawelk informed that the Park Commission would be further reviewing some park capital needs. Pawelk mentioned that there was a fire advisory board meeting recently. Foster provided an update that the fire advisory board met to discuss the 2023 fire budget and significant budget changes. He mentioned that there was favorable discussion on hiring a full-time fire chief. He also mentioned that future fire advisory meetings would be prescheduled for the first Thursdays in March and November at 6:00 pm at the Fire Station. He said that other meetings would be scheduled as needed.  Pawelk mentioned that there was a fire advisory board meeting recently. Foster provided an update that the fire advisory board met to discuss the 2023 fire budget and significant budget changes. He mentioned that there was favorable discussion on hiring a full-time fire chief. He also mentioned that future fire advisory meetings would be prescheduled for the first Thursdays in March and November at 6:00 pm at the Fire Station. He said that other meetings would be scheduled as needed. Foster mentioned that he would like to schedule a goal setting meeting in January with City Council and staff. 7. Claims 7.A. 7A - Claims Packet 11.29.22 T PAWELK MOVED TO APPROVE THE NOVEMBER 29, 2022 CLAIMS PACKET. SCHUETTE SECONDED. MOTION PASSED 3-0. 8. Adjournment F SCHUETTE MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:27 PM, PAWELK SECONDED. MOTION PASSED 3-0. A 309 Lewis Avenue South; P.O. Box 279, Watertown, MN 55388 ________________________________________________________ Steve Washburn, Mayor R ATTEST:__________________________________________________ Margaret Reisdorf, Admin. Services Director D