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05-05-09 Council May 5, 2009 A regular meeting of the Scandia City Council was held on the above date. Mayor Seefeldt called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The following council members were present: Council members Connie Amos, Pete Crum, John Lindell, Dolores Peterson and Mayor Dennis Seefeldt. Staff present: Administrator Anne Hurlburt, City Attorney Dave Hebert, Building/Code Enforcement Official Steve Thorp, Deputy Clerk Brenda Eklund. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Peterson, seconded by Amos, moved to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed unanimously. AMMENDMENTS TO ORDINANCE NO. 115 ESTABLISHING RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR SCANDIA PARKS – ORDINANCE NO. 116 At the April 21 Council meeting, staff was directed to prepare ordinance amendments to address concerns about some of the provisions in Ordinance No. 115. Administrator Hurlburt introduced the following changes: 1) addition of language to exclude the Goose Lake and Log House boat launch landings and the undeveloped Bone Lake Park from the parks definition; 2) addition to subdivision 5 for the allowable use of motorized vehicles as required for maintenance or for police, fire or rescue purposes; 3) prohibit the discharge of weapons without a permit from the City Clerk and approval by the City Council in Subdivision 12, Item C. Crum, seconded by Peterson, moved to adopt Ordinance No. 116 Amending Ordinance No. 115 Establishing Rules and Regulations for the Use of Scandia Parks. The motion passed unanimously. APPOINTMENTS TO COMMITTEES Design Standards and TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) Study Committees Sue Rodsjo, Design Standards Committee Chair, has recommended the appointment of Sue Fitzgerald to the committee. Christine Maefsky has recommended the following appointments to the TDR Committee: Planning Commissioner Christine Maefsky (chair), Mayor Dennis Seefeldt, Council member John Lindell, Planning Commissioner Tom Krinke, Bill Clapp, Mark McGinley, Ross Brunfelt and City Administrator Anne Hurlburt. Peterson, seconded by Crum, moved to approve the recommended appointments to the Design Standards and Transfer of Development Rights Committees for the duration of the projects. The motion passed unanimously. Capital Improvements Committee The current committee roster was reviewed. At the January 20 meeting, Mayor Seefeldt was appointed to replace Donnette Yehle as chair of the committee. Former Fire Chief Steve Spence was a member of the committee and will be replaced with current Fire Chief Jim Finnegan. One application was received to replace resigned member Tom Boesel. Crum, seconded by Amos, moved to appoint Fire Chief Jim Finnegan and resident Michael Harnetty to the Capital Improvements Committee. The motion passed unanimously. May 5, 2009 Scandia City Council Page 2 of 4 2009 LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIES ANNUAL CONFERENCE Council discussed attendance at League’s Annual Conference, to be held in St. Paul on June 24 through 26. Council member Amos and Administrator Hurlburt will be attending. SET WORK SESSION ON 2008 AUDIT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Council set a date of July 14 to hold a work session for review for the 2008 audit and financial statements. Council also scheduled August 25 and September 8 as 2010 budget work sessions. PURCHASE OF POTHOLE PATCHING EQUIPMENT The 2009 budget and Capital Improvements Plan includes $10,000 for the purchase of pothole patching equipment. Public Works Supervisor John Morrison researched the specifications of this equipment and recommends the purchase of a unit manufactured by Stepp Manufacturing, North Branch, MN. This trailer-mounted unit will keep asphalt hot by use of a propane heater. The state purchasing contract price of $9,332.60 includes sales tax and one option, a door lift assist. Peterson, seconded by Amos, moved to approve the purchase of pothole patching equipment from Stepp Manufacturing at the total price of $9,332.60. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVE SALE OF RADIO GANG CHARGER The Fire Department acquired a charger for its new 800 MHz radios as part of the overall equipment purchase. The charger does not fit in the truck in which they had planned to use it. The Newport Fire Department is willing to purchase the charger for its valued price of $500. Peterson, seconded by Crum, moved to approve the sale of a radio gang charger to the Newport Fire Department for $500.00. The motion passed unanimously. PURCHASE OF SKATE PARK EQUIPMENT Staff has researched sources for the purchase of skate park equipment following the recent donation of $7,500 from the Scandia Marine Lions. This equipment will replace the old portable equipment which was removed from service last year for safety reasons. The Parks and Recreation Committee reviewed the proposals and recommended a purchase from Skateboard Ramps & Rails, as this company provided the most varied amount of equipment. The set includes quarter pipes, ramps and rails and is covered by a five-year warranty. Mayor Seefeldt asked about liability coverage for this new equipment. Administrator Hurlburt has checked with the League and as the equipment does not exceed 48”, the City’s current insurance coverage is sufficient. Peterson, seconded by Amos, moved to approve the purchase of skate park equipment from Skateboard Ramps & Rails in the amount of $7,500.00. The motion passed unanimously. UTILITY PERMITS FOR CONNEXUS ENERGY Connexus Energy has applied for utility permits to replace failing underground electrical distribution lines at 12123 Mayberry Trail and 12740 Mayberry Trail. Crum, seconded by Peterson, moved to approve a Utility Permit for Connexus Energy at 12123 Mayberry Trail. The motion passed unanimously. Seefeldt, seconded by Peterson, moved to approve a Utility Permit for Connexus Energy at 12740 Mayberry Trail. The motion passed unanimously. May 5, 2009 Scandia City Council Page 3 of 4 The Planning Commission meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. The following were present: Commission Chair Chris Ness, Commissioners Tom Krinke, Christine Maefsky, Susan Rodsjo and Peter Schwarz. JAMES AND SANDRA CONTINENZA – VARIANCE FOR ACCESSORY STRUCTURE EXCEEDING THE ALLOWABLE SIZE AT 19423 OXBORO AVENUE James and Sandra Continenza have applied for a variance to allow an addition to an existing accessory structure which will exceed the allowable square footage at 19423 Oxboro Avenue. Administrator Hurlburt presented an overview of the application. The site is zoned Agriculture and is in the Shoreland Overlay District for Sand Lake. The applicant proposes to build an addition to an existing 1,200 square foot structure that would total 3,888 square feet. The property tax statement shows this parcel to be approximately 23 acres. At purchase, the applicant received a survey that showed the parcel to contain 20.004 acres above the estimated ordinary high water (OHW). At a later date, the MN DNR established the exact location for the OHW level of Sand Lake. Using this new OHW, the parcel now shows 19.946 acres of land above the OHW. With a parcel size less than 20 acres and greater than 10 acres, the zoning ordinance allows accessory buildings up to 3,500 square feet. With parcels greater than 20 acres, accessory buildings up to 4,500 square feet are allowed. A hardship exists due to circumstances unique to the property, not created by the landowner. Pictures of the site and current accessory building were shown by Building/Code Enforcement Official Thorp. The view of the addition from the lakeside would be minimal. The proposed building is in conformance with all other requirements of the zoning ordinance. Applicant Jim Continenza stated that he had recently purchased the property with the intent to grow a few acres of grapes and needed a larger building for storage of harvesting and wine- making equipment. Chairman Ness opened the hearing to the public. Bill Selb, Landmark Surveying: The area of the entire property is 23.244 acres, with approximately three acres lying within Sand Lake. As there was no fixed elevation yet established by the Minnesota DNR, the initial survey of the land area used the definition of the ordinary high water mark to be the point where the natural vegetation changes from aquatic to terrestrial. This survey indicated the area above the upland vegetation line to be 20.004 acres. In 2001, the DNR established the exact ordinary high water mark at a sea level elevation of 963.2 feet. Using this elevation, a new survey calculated the area of land above the OHW to be 19.946 acres. th Mike White, 13310 188 Street: Mr. White stated his support of approval of the variance request. Mr. White lives near the Continenza’s property on Big Marine Lake and has found them to be responsible neighbors. As there were no further public comments, Chairman Ness closed the hearing. May 5, 2009 Scandia City Council Page 4 of 4 Commissioner Rodsjo stated that this is a fair request and the addition is not easily visible from the road. This is the type of agricultural use that the Comprehensive Plan supports. Commissioner Schwarz pointed out that building requirements must be met, such as building style and materials. The Planning Commission recommended approval of Resolution 05-05-01-09, Approving a Variance Request for 19423 Oxboro Avenue. Crum, seconded by Amos, moved to accept the recommendation of the Planning Commission to approve Resolution 05-05-09-01. Council member Lindell voiced his concerns in evaluating the determining factors of approving this variance. He felt the request did not constitute undue hardship for the landowner. The DNR did not change the definition of the OHW, only established it by use of sea level data. He would not want to set a precedent of approving variances based on this type of situation. Council member Crum supported approval as the landowner relied on a legitimate survey. Two different techniques were used to calculate area of land above the OHW and the variance of 0.05 acres could be within the margin of error of the calculations. Council member Peterson was in agreement with this reasoning. Mayor Seefeldt voiced his support, as the landowner used information from a survey which followed the rules which were in effect at that time. Council member Lindell stated that he could support approving the resolution if the language in finding #7 were changed to read “The hardship was created when the DNR established changed its definition of the OHW for Sand Lake”. Council was in consensus with this language change. The motion on amended Resolution 05-05-09-01, Approving a Variance Request for 19423 Oxford Avenue, passed unanimously. Peterson, seconded by Crum, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Brenda Eklund Deputy Clerk