City Council

Minutes Woodbury City Council Wednesday, January 8, 2020 Pursuant to the due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting was duly held at the Woodbury City Hall, 8301 Valley Creek Road, on the 8th day of January 2020. Call to Order Mayor Anne Burt called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Pledge of the Flag Audience, staff, and Council pledged allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Roll Call Upon roll call the following were present: Mayor Anne Burt, Councilmembers: Andrea Date, Amy Scoggins, Steve Morris, and Jennifer Santini. Absent: None Others Present: Kimberlee K. Blaeser, City Clerk; Dwight Picha, Community Development Director; Christopher Hartzell, Engineering Director, Mary Tietjen, City Attorney; Clinton Gridley, City Administrator and Jim Westerman, Utilities Division Manager. Mayor Burt welcomed those watching at home to join the Council meetings and call City Hall if they need information. She also referred to the brochures that are located on the chairs entitled "Welcome to the Woodbury City Council Meeting" and noted there are Public Input Sign-Up Sheets, and invited audience members to sign them and give them to a staff member if they wished to comment during the meeting. Special Order of Business A. Report on December 11, 2019 closed session regarding litigation between various Minnesota Cities v Koppers, Inc., Beazer East, Inc., Ruetgers Canada, Inc., Rain Carbon Holdings, LLC., Rain Carbon, Inc., Stella-Jones Corp., Stella-Jones, Inc., Coopers Creek Chemical Corporation, Lone Star Specialty Products, LLC, Bonsal American, Inc., Specialty Technology and Research, Inc., Vance Brothers, Inc. and The Brewer Company, District Court of the United States for the District of Minnesota Case No. 19-cv-00119 City Attorney Mary Tietjen stated that on December 11, 2019 the City Council held a closed session to discuss whether or not the city wanted to become involved in a lawsuit in which several Minnesota cities are current a part of. This is a lawsuit against both refiners and manufacturers of coal tar. The manufacturers then use that coal tar to produce pavement sealant which, allegedly, has been contaminating stormwater ponds. That is the basis of the lawsuit. There are approximately ten cities in Minnesota who are a part of that. As a result of the closed session by City Council, the decision was made to go forward and join that litigation on behalf of the City of Woodbury. Open Forum The Open Forum is a portion of the Council meeting where a maximum of three persons will be allowed to address the Council on subjects, which are not a part of the meeting agenda. Persons wishing to speak must complete a sign-up sheet prior to the start of the meeting. Give the sign-up sheet to any staff person. Speakers are limited to two minutes each. The Council will listen attentively to comments but, in most instances, will not respond at the meeting. Typically, replies to the concerns expressed will be made via letter or phone call within a week. Consent Agenda All items listed under the consent agenda are considered to be routine by the City Council and will be enacted by one motion and an affirmative vote by roll call of a majority of the members present. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Councilmember or citizen so requests, in which event, the items will be removed from the consent agenda and considered a separate subject of discussion by the Council. Item A Approval of Council Minutes – December 11, 2019  City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, January 8, 2020 Item B To adopt the following resolution Resolution 20-01 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota authorizing the acceptance of gift sponsorship donations totaling $34,850 and $6,400 for memorial trees and benches from various Woodbury businesses and individuals as detailed on the attachment to the resolution. Item C To approve the Briarcroft, Final Plat, Project No. 26-2019-00383. Staff further recommends Council authorize the Mayor and City Administrator to execute the Development Agreement with all approvals subject to the following conditions as outlined in Council Letter 20-02. 1. All conditions of Planned Unit Development and Preliminary Plat approval shall remain in full force and effect. 2. The Final Plat shall include all necessary easements to match the utility plans being prepared by the City’s consultant engineer. 3. The final street names shall be reviewed and approved by the Chief Building Official. 4. This Final Plat approval shall be contingent on meeting all required findings of Section 21-16 of the Woodbury City Code. This includes participation for public infrastructure including storm sewer, water, sanitary and transportation infrastructure. 5. Pursuant to the Highcroft 1st Addition Development Agreement, the Developer and Landowner have agreed to fund improvements to Dale Road, Woodbury Drive and Bailey Road payable with each development phase. The Briarcroft Development Agreement shall identify an assessment for roadway improvements consistent with the Highcroft 1st Addition agreement. 6. The Developer shall be financially responsible for 100 percent of all storm sewer, sanitary sewer and water main area and connection charges applicable to the property. These charges are identified in a preliminary report prepared for the project and shall be in the Development Agreement. 7. All permanent easements and rights-of-way (ROW) necessary for existing and proposed street and utility improvements shall be granted to the City at no cost or paid for by the Developer. 8. All standard front, rear and side yard lot easements shall be shown on the plat. Standard front and rear yard easements are 10 feet and side yard easements are five (5) feet. Where public utilities are adjacent to side or rear lot lines, easements shall be a minimum of 10 feet wide on each side of the lot line. If the utilities are deeper than 10 feet, the easement width for each lot is calculated at a 1:1 depth-to-width ratio from the centerline of the utility. The easement width must then be adjusted to the nearest five-foot increment. If additional easements are not provided, then the layout of the watermain shall be adjusted. 9. The Developer shall receive written approval that all obligations have been completed prior to dedicating all outlots. Any and all future tax obligations shall be paid by the Developer. 10. The Final Plat shall be recorded prior to issuance of a building permit. Item D To adopt the following resolution Resolution 20-02 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota authorizing acceptance of Amendment #1 to Contract #12302 between Washington County and the City of Woodbury. Item E To adopt the following resolutions Resolution 20-03 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota approving the purchase of one new truck cab chassis, Mack Granite 42BR SA vehicle from Nuss Truck & Equipment, Inc. for an amount not to exceed $108,925 through the State of Minnesota Cooperative Purchasing Venture and a total expenditure amount not to exceed $111,000 and budget amendment; and Resolution 20-04 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota approving the up-fitting of truck cab chassis to include the purchase and installation of one dump system and one snow/ice control system from Towmaster, LLC Monroe for an amount not to exceed $129,000 through the State of Minnesota Cooperative Purchasing Venture Item F To adopt the following resolutions Resolution 20-05 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota approving the purchase of one new truck cab chassis, Mack AF Granite 64FR T (TA) vehicle from Nuss Truck & Equipment, Inc. for an amount not to exceed $140,304 through the State of Minnesota Cooperative Purchasing Venture and a total expenditure amount not to exceed $141,800 and a 2020 budget amendment; and Page 2 of 8  City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, January 8, 2020 Resolution 20-06 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota approving the up-fitting of one truck cab chassis to include the purchase and installation of one log loader system, Serco 8500 articulating hydraulic loader with 22’ Body from Aspen Equipment Company for an amount not to exceed $118,000 through the State of Minnesota Cooperative Purchasing Venture. Item G To adopt a motion designating CorTrust Bank as the City’s depository of public funds for the year 2020 Item H To adopt the following resolution Resolution 20-07 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota approving the Joint Powers Agreement between Washington County and the City of Woodbury for the purpose of managing the City’s elections and authorizing the Mayor and City Administrator to sign the agreement. Item I To adopt the following resolution Resolution 20-08 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota appointing Jamie Thoen to the position of full-time Administrative Assistant effective January 17, 2020. Item J The abstract of bills includes payments made from the operating or project budgets for expenses of the city. The expenditures are from all funds of the city. Any purchased contracts requiring signature of the mayor and City Administrator is hereby approved. Staff recommends approval of the abstract of bills for December 6, 2019 in the amount of $1,839,744.44, December 13, 2019 in the amount of $2,070,663.95, December 20, 2019 in the amount of $1,134,231.55 and December 27, 2019 in the amount of $209,945.60. Councilmember Scoggins moved, seconded by Councilmember Santini, to approve the Consent Agenda items. Voting via voice: Andrea Date – aye Amy Scoggins – aye Steve Morris – aye Jennifer Santini – aye Anne Burt – aye Public Hearings No items scheduled Transportation Report (2nd meeting of the month, May-October) No items scheduled Administrative Report Mr. Clinton Gridley, City Administrator gave a verbal update of upcoming City meetings. Neighborhood Meeting 1. No Items Scheduled Planning Commission Meeting, January 13, 2020 1. Heartland Dental, Rezoning, Planned Unit Development, Conditional Use Permit, Preliminary Plat, Site and Building Plan, Project No. 29-2019-00373 2. Beyond Apartments, Rezoning, Amended Planned Unit Development, Conditional Use Permit, Preliminary Plat, Site and Building Plan, Project No. 02-2019-00379 Council Workshop Meeting, January 15, 2020 1. Joint Planning Commission / City Council Workshop Meeting 2. Training Session 3. Metro Gold Line Area Master Plan Kickoff 4. Phase II Update, Area C Page 3 of 8  City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, January 8, 2020 5. City Council and Advisory Commission Council Directive - Met Council Water Efficiency Grant Council Meeting, January 22, 2020 1. One Lodging Management LLC dba Courtyard Woodbury, On Sale Intoxicating Liquor License including Sunday and Patio Sales 2. Heartland Dental, Rezoning, Planned Unit Development, Conditional Use Permit, Preliminary Plat, Site and Building Plan, Project No. 29-2019-00373 3. Beyond Apartments, Rezoning, Amended Planned Unit Development, Conditional Use Permit, Preliminary Plat, Site and Building Plan, Project No. 02-2019-00379 Other Meetings 1. Community Meeting: 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan Funding Priorities, January 13, 2 p.m., Ash Conference Room 2. HERO Center Grand Opening Celebration, January 14, 5 pm., 10125 85th Street South, Cottage Grove (Public is Welcome) 3. Economic Development Authority, January 22, 7 p.m., Council Chambers 4. Housing and Redevelopment Authority, January 22, 7:10 p.m., Council Chambers Discussion A. Proclamation of Local Emergency Declaring Need for Temporary Water Treatment Mr. Chris Hartzell, Engineering Director explained the item before the Council was a proclamation declaring the need for a temporary water treatment system. Mr. Hartzell had Mr. Jim Westerman, Utilities Division Manager with him. Mr. Hartzell reminded the public that the city water delivered to customers continues to meet all state and federal water quality standards. Background The 3M Company made per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at its Cottage Grove facility from the late 1940s until 2002. The waste from the products were disposed at various locations in Washington County, which has been identified as a source of PFAS in Woodbury’s groundwater and many other communities in the East Metro. The Minnesota Department of Health regulates the quality of the city’s drinking water and established the health-based standards across the state. The Department of Health has issued health advisories for six of the city’s 19 wells since 2017, with the most recent well advisory being issued in mid-October 2019. With these six wells off-line, it is critical the city implement a temporary treatment system in an expedited manner to meet the peak water demand use for this summer. Funding, Timing, and Complexity Working with the state and 3M, the city was able to obtain early commitments from the state for $825,000 to start the design and 3M has committed to procuring the granular activated carbon treatment vessels at a total cost of $2.1M, which helped the city expedite the improvements. Just this afternoon, the state has also provided a letter committing an additional $4.9M to complete the project, to be considered by the Council at a later date. Funding for this project comes from the 2007 Consent Order between the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and 3M. It has very specific criteria for what activities can be qualified and covered under the short-term temporary drinking water needs. Because of these requirements and the configuration of the city’s system, the only viable location for the temporary treatment facility is near wells 4, 6, and 7, which is just west of the Tamarack Nature Preserve and north of Valley Creek Road. Despite the quick timeline, staff is committed to having a review process with the public through the Planning Commission, being environmentally sensitive in terms of stormwater, the nature preserve, existing uses in the park, along with preserving the aesthetics of the area to the extent practical. Unfortunately, the timing of this project and the complexity of the schedule to deliver this project really requires a truncated process then what the city and its residents might usually see. Mr. Hartzell shared images of two buildings recently constructed in Cottage Grove and St. Paul Park in the last several years as part of their temporary solutions. The City of Woodbury does not currently know the aesthetics for the building being proposed nor the layout of the building. These details and recommendations will be shared with the Council as they become available. Goals The ultimate goal of this endeavor is to provide clean and safe water in sufficient quantities for a temporary short-term solution. There is no shortcut to providing high quality water. The state and 3M are currently working towards a long-term solution. If a temporary treatment system cannot be implemented by the summer of 2020, increased water restrictions may be needed to ensure the water system has enough pressure to meet the demand of the residents. The recommended actions by the City Council are part of the processes needed to expedite the construction schedule to meet the summer demand. Page 4 of 8  City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, January 8, 2020 Those recommended actions are as follows: 1. Proclaim a local emergency to expedite the construction of a temporary treatment facility 2. Authorize a letter of engagement with the city’s consulting engineering firm to start the design 3. Authorize acceptance of the state grant to accept the $825,000 for design reimbursement Next Steps 1. City staff to engage a construction management firm for services 2. Council to consider authorizing a second agreement with the state for the remainder of the costs, which are anticipated to be approximately $4.9M 3. Several Council Workshops whereby staff would provide updates in mid-February and mid-March 4. Negotiate, quote, or bid construction and administration of services for various elements of the project 5. Construction to begin in the first quarter of 2020 with concurrent final design Reminder City water delivered to customers continues, and will continue, to meet all state and federal water quality standards. Communications As information becomes available the city will be as open and transparent as possible about this issue by actively communicating through public meetings. So far there have been 37 public meetings between the state and through Council discussions at workshops. The city also updated their website numerous times and updates are available through the InTouch system, the City Update newsletter, the city’s YouTube channel through South Washington County Telecommunications Commission, and a number of local media newspapers and outlets, including the Woodbury Bulletin, Pioneer Press, and Minnesota Public Radio. Public Comment Ms. Kim Wilson, 9146 Cambridge Alcove, expressed her appreciation for the action being taken on the water delivered to homes in the area; understanding that it is meeting the safe recommendations. She noted that there are six wells that are exceeding the levels and it sounds like there is more that have higher readings. She has been speaking with the Department of Health and others. It is hard to get straight answers on what exactly is a safe level. If someone is passing through town and they have a glass of water she was sure it would be find; however, the residents that have been born and raised in the area, and are now raising their children here, the question she had was how much water over what period time can they possibly drink before it becomes a health problem or a health hazard in the community. She has been unable to obtain an answer. It is her understanding from the Department of Health that when there is a well advisory, the well has had a high reading before that. It’s not like they go in and take a reading, see that it has a high reading, and they put the advisory out. There have been readings prior to that. Therefore, the city must know how many of the wells have higher levels than the recommendation. The next time they come in and read it there is a chance that more of these wells would be shut down. So, the city is looking at a $7M temporary fix and she wondered, out of all of these other wells that are being done – that is a lot of money for a temporary fix in a short period of time; understanding that the government works so fast. They have known about this problem since 2002 and the residents have been drinking the water. She was unsure if the levels at the wells have gone up or down; however, the advisory levels and the safety levels have gone down. It appears that over the summer, the city was granted approximately $96,000 to do some things; and one of those things was to evaluate the mixing process of the water – the dilution process. She did not know where those results were and did not know if it was a safe process. She questioned when the city was going to actually take this and do something about it. The Department of Health cannot answer any of her questions. She asked for a blood test and was told that it would be very expensive and no one could read those numbers; there is no help whatsoever in terms of getting questions answered (how much water does a person have to drink a day for 10+ years before these toxins start causing some health problems). She appreciates that the state is going to put $8M into this project; however, there is still a huge problem ahead that she was hoping would be alleviated. In an attempt to provide answers to some of Ms. Wilson’s concerns, Mr. Hartzell explained that the 2007 Consent Order between the MPCA and 3M; they knew about these problems in 2002 but they were not able to get a settlement agreement with the state until 2007. That is specifically just for temporary water treatment solutions. That is where the funding is coming from for this project. It does not include the long-term solutions, which was a later settlement for $850M, of which there is $720M available. From the city’s perspective Page 5 of 8  City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, January 8, 2020 they would have liked to have seen results from the state in a more expedited manner. However, there needs to be recognition that they have many, many stakeholders they are trying to satisfy. The city is going through a very in-depth detailed process. That being said, the city is hoping to get some sort of results from the state in February/March 2020 with perhaps an adoption by end of the first/second quarter that would identify the long-term solution for the City of Woodbury. Almost all of the city’s wells have some level of concentration of PFAS. The ones that have been issued well advisories are the ones that are above the health-based index. The city no longer operates those wells and that is the reason for this project. A long-term solution would have the ability to look at alternatives that go beyond the extent of the health-based index and the city is trying to address PFAS for the long-term. Ms. Wilson noted that there must be wells that have higher numbers but have not been issued advisories because they have not had more than one high reading. Mr. Hartzell confirmed. He continued by stating that the way the health-based indexes are set up is if they are below that index, the Department of Health does not consider that to be a concern over a person’s lifetime. Councilmember Morris also stated that the city has had wells that were above and then dropped below. It is not just the one reading; it must be a guarantee that it will continue to rise. Mr. Hartzell confirmed. Ms. Wilson asked for confirmation that the city could be pumping water from a well that has high level readings each quarter for 3-4 quarters before a well advisory is issued. Mr. Hartzell confirmed. Mr. Jim Westerman, Utilities Division Manager explained that one thing they have done as an organization is to be very proactive on that front. Some of the things being discussed – taking the six wells off-line – is a very proactive approach this organization has taken. There is one additional well that falls into this discussion where it has been above the standard and then it has dropped back below. As an organization they are working with the Minnesota Department of Health on that specific well and proactively have asked them, and they have responded, to an expedited sampling program on that well just to address the concern Ms. Wilson brought up. Part of the larger settlement agreement, the expedited program issued by the State of Minnesota releasing some of the funds for projects of more of an urgent nature – removing wells, private water supply wells that are impacted and moving them onto a municipal system – the City of Woodbury applied for multiple projects under that expedited process and were awarded one project (the hydraulic mixing analysis project). Again, as an organization, while the Department of Health has provided direction on the operations of the wells, including applying the health advisories to those wells, they have worked with the Utilities Division on the mixing approach and have supported it. It was the Utilities Division’s proactive response that they wanted to look at it a little bit further to see what if they could define the amount of mixing that would take place within the system. Through that process – and the draft results that they are working with right now, - it has been suggested that mixing does take place. It has given them support to move forward with this temporary treatment and the proclamation under discussion. Those results, as they are finalized, will be shared with the public. They are not yet to that point in the analysis and wrapping up the report. Ms. Wilson asked if this meant that the mixing was not as effective as the city wanted it to be. Mr. Westerman replied that he would say the Minnesota Department of Health has concurred and given support to how the city has historically operated its wells – that they are being proactive and taking a closer look at it. This information suggests that the city is being proactive on the treatment as they go forward. Mayor Burt stated that the Council has been involved in this process for many, many months and have had lots of conversations and asked lots of questions and they fully understand this as well. She expressed the Council’s appreciation of staff, in cooperation of 3M and the state, on these projects. She clarified that what is being looked at is a temporary treatment system that is going to be paid for under this consent decree that was declared a long time ago, so it is not money coming from the city as they will be reimbursed by the state through this consent decree. This is a temporary system to get the city through until a longer-term treatment program is in place, which would occur through those settlement dollars. Councilmember Santini noted that on October 9, 2019 the city passed a resolution outlining their stance as a city and a Council of what they are trying to advocate for as a release of this settlement. Page 6 of 8  City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, January 8, 2020 Councilmember Scoggins moved, seconded by Councilmember Morris, To adopt the following resolution Resolution 20-09 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota for a Proclamation of Local Emergency Declaring Need for Temporary Water Treatment to expedite design, construction, and startup of a temporary treatment system. Voting via voice: Andrea Date – aye Amy Scoggins – aye Steve Morris – aye Jennifer Santini – aye Anne Burt – aye B. Authorizing Letter of Engagement with Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services for PFAS Temporary Well Treatment System Design Councilmember Scoggins moved, seconded by Councilmember Morris, To adopt the following resolution Resolution 20-10 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota authorizing the Mayor and City Administrator to execute a letter of engagement under the master services agreement with AE2S for the temporary well treatment system design for the City of Woodbury in the amount of $703,548. Voting via voice: Andrea Date – aye Amy Scoggins – aye Steve Morris – aye Jennifer Santini – aye Anne Burt – aye C. Authorizing Acceptance of City of Woodbury Temporary Well Treatment System Construction and Operation Project Grant from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Budget Amendment Councilmember Scoggins moved, seconded by Councilmember Morris, To adopt the following resolution Resolution 20-11 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota authorizing acceptance of City of Woodbury temporary Well Treatment System Construction and Operation Project Grant from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in the Amount of $825,000 and approving a Budget Amendment to the Water and Sewer Utility Fund. Voting via voice: Andrea Date – aye Amy Scoggins – aye Steve Morris – aye Jennifer Santini – aye Anne Burt – aye D. Closed Session to Discuss Labor Negotiation Issues Mayor Burt stated that pursuant to the provisions of Minnesota State Statute section 13(d).03 recommended that the City Council recess the present meeting and enter into and hold a closed City Council meeting to discuss Labor Negotiations with the Professional Firefighters of Woodbury IAFF Local 5178. Page 7 of 8  City Council Meeting Minutes Wednesday, January 8, 2020 Councilmember Date moved, seconded by Councilmember Scoggins, to recess the current City Council meeting and enter into and hold a closed City Council meeting for the purposes previously stated. Voting in Favor: Date, Scoggins, Morris, Santini, Burt Absent: None Mayor Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember Scoggins, to reconvene the regular City Council meeting. Voting in Favor: Date, Scoggins, Morris, Santini, Burt Absent: None Councilmember Date moved, seconded by Councilmember Scoggins, To adopt the following resolution Resolution 20-12 Resolution of the City of Woodbury, Washington County, Minnesota authorizing the Labor Agreement between the City of Woodbury and Professional Firefighters of Woodbury IAFF Local 5178 Voting via voice: Andrea Date – aye Amy Scoggins – aye Steve Morris – aye Jennifer Santini – aye Anne Burt – aye Adjournment Mayor Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember Morris, to adjourn the January 8, 2020 Regular City Council Meeting to a Council Workshop meeting. Voting in Favor: Date, Scoggins, Morris, Santini, Burt Absent: None Mayor Burt adjourned the meeting at 8:26 p.m. Respectfully submitted, __________________________________________ Kimberlee K. Blaeser, City Clerk Approved by the Woodbury City Council on January 22, 2020 Page 8 of 8