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02-18-2025 MeetingFebruary 18, 2025 A regular meeting of the Scandia City Council was held on the above date in the Council Chambers. The meeting was conducted in -person and over an electronic platform. All participants who joined the meeting remotely could hear each other and contribute to discussions. Acting Mayor Mike Lubke called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, roll call was taken. The following were in attendance: Council members Jerry Cusick, Kirsten Libby, and Mike Lubke. Absent: Mayor Steve Kronmiller, Council member Jim Gribble. Staff present: City Administrator Kyle Morell, City Attorney Amanda Johnson, City Planner TJ Hofer, City Engineer Isiah Bubany, Fire Chief Mike Hinz, Public Works Director Charles Fischer, and City Clerk Brenda Eklund. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Libby, seconded by Cusick, moved to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 3-0. LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORT The January police activity report was in the meeting packet. PUBLIC FORUM There were no public comments. CONSENT AGENDA The following Consent Agenda was presented: a) Minutes 1) January 21, 2025 Regular Meeting 2) February 5, 2025 Work Session b) Treasurer's Report c) Payment of Vouchers d) Appointment of Planning Commission Chair and Vice -Chair e) Bank Signatory Change from Individual to Position Libby, seconded by Cusick, moved to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion carried 3-0. PARK & RECREATION COMMITTEE Park & Recreation Committee Chair Terry Gorham reported that the Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails have made progress on vegetation management at Liten Park, with many pollinator plants in place. The group will add native shrubs in the fall. A toy swap event will be held as an Earth Day activity during the Lions Easter breakfast on April 12th. Gorham reported on a successful Vinterfest; the unused prize money was donated to the City by Bolton & Menk. Button sales brought in over $460. Vice Chair Greg Zauner was thanked for all his work in coordinating the activities. Scandia City Council February 18, 2025 Page 2 of 6 PLANNING COMMISSION Variance regarding 18180 Manning Trail N and 10830180th Street N., to allow for the subdivision of property that does not meet dimensional standard requirements. Applicant Steven Martinez, Northern Natural Gas Company. Resolution No. 02-18-25-01 and Resolution No. 02-18-25-02 Planner Hofer summarized the request for a variance to allow two subdivisions that would result in nonconforming lots. Northern Natural Gas (NNG) is proposing to construct an odorizer station on the southern portion of property at 18180 Manning Trail, A subdivision of this property would result in the northern portion (Parcel A) no longer having road frontage, creating a nonconformity. NNG will purchase a small portion of 10830 180th Street where an access easement currently exists for Parcel A. The resulting subdivision to allow for an access also creates a nonconforming lot. The Planning Commission held a public hearing on February 4, 2025 and recommended approval with findings and conditions. An amendment was directed to the applicant to provide an updated survey with the required Washington County right-of-way dedication on Manning Trail of 75-feet. The applicant submitted the revised exhibits prior to this meeting showing the 75 feet of right-of-way. The resulting lot is 0.005 acres in size with 34.31 feet of lot frontage. Cusick, seconded by Libby, moved to adopt Resolution No. 02-18-25-01 and Resolution No. 02-18-25-02, Approving Variances to Allow Subdivisions that will result in nonconforming lots at 18180 Manning Trail North and 10830180th Street North. Motion carried 3-0. SCANDIA INTERNET ACTION COMMITTEE The Internet Action Committee did not meet in January. TOURISM COMMITTEE Tourism Committee Chair Sue Dickens reported on their January meeting. New member Renee Lee was welcomed to the Committee. New activities were discussed. The next Business Breakfast is being planned for April 9th, and the annual community wide garage sale preparation has begun. WASTEWATER COMMITTEE Administrator Morell reported that a public meeting with residents was held on February 10, 2025 to explain this year's sewer rates and proposed sewer ordinance changes. Service fee changes, proposed earlier by the Committee, will not be addressed this year. Staff explained the need for more accurate costs of infrastructure replacements for budgeting going forward. The City Engineer will gather capital improvement costs this summer; another public meeting will be held in the fall with updated budget costs for 2026. BUILDING OFFICIAL The January building activity report was in the meeting packet. In January, 11 building permits were issued at a valuation of $1,440,674. Scandia City Council February 18, 2025 Page 3 of 6 FIRE DEPARTMENT Fire Chief Hinz reported on the Fire Department's January activity. Last month the department responded to 28 calls; 6 fire related, and 22 medicals. The annual Fireball fundraiser will be held this Saturday. Fire Chief Annual Report Fire Chief Hinz reported a 10.9% increase in call volume in 2024, a trend over the past years. Data on types of calls, time of day, day of the week, and calls by the month were provided in his report. There were six structure fires in Scandia during 2024, with mutual aid calls to structure fires in surrounding communities as well. The department expenses came in 1.92% under budget. Staffing has the department down by three members, with spring recruiting in place for up to three more firefighters. MHealth 2024 Operational Report An M Health ambulance service report was provided in the meeting packet. CITY PLANNER Unified Development Code — Housekeeping Ordinance Planner Hofer presented a draft ordinance that would amend multiple sections of the Unified Development Code to address mistakes, errors, and clarity. Hofer asked for Council input for some of the proposed amendments to clarify intent. Hofer explained the discrepancy of an unclear reference in the current accessory structure ordinance, with no more than one permitted in the IP District, yet refers to standards for residential accessory structures. Hofer said many communities do not allow for accessory structures in commercial districts. But Scandia is more rural — should commercial districts allow accessory structures to match lot size as it does with residential districts. If so, remove this section and deal with it in the future with a more in-depth review. Planner Hofer explained that Agricultural/Rural Use structures was flagged in the table for accessory structure size standards. Hofer said rural use seems arbitrary to define and recommended striking this column. Council member Libby suggested making a definition for rural use. Planner Hofer explained the recommended amendments to Section 7 — Subdivision Standards, to remove the language regarding yield plan and density bonuses because they are not allowed per the Met Council. Hofer said removing these references cleans up the ordinance until a more thorough review of density can be assessed with the Met Council's new guiding document, and will head off any misunderstandings of the UDC with future developers. Council member Libby said she would be in favor of taking it out for now, saying the less conflict with the Comp Plan and the UDC the better. Planner Hofer noted that character area standards for fencing does not exist in Village Districts or Business Districts, and recommended a paragraph be added for the Village Districts. However, Hofer recommended the wording "visible from the right of way" can be seen as arbitrary and should be changed or clarified. Hofer also suggested the Council discuss if there are Scandia City Council February 18, 2025 Page 4 of 6 types of fences that can be allowed and be visible or abut the right-of-way, such as vinyl wrapped chain -link or decorative aluminum fencing. Because chain -link and plastic fencing that is visible is not allowed, should more cost-effective types of fences be allowed? What should the aesthetics be? Hofer said snow fences are being used on some properties that abut ROW, and staff is seeking clarification on fence standards for plastic fences — should they be temporary? Council directed staff to move the amendments forward to the Planning Commission to gather public feedback. Section 13 addressed when an administrative permit is needed for fencing, and Planner Hofer asked if a permit should be required for any fence proposed within 6 feet of a property line. Currently there is no setback requirement for fences. An administrative permit would require the applicant to identify the property line and ensure they know where the property line is. Council member Cusick said unless the City tells them where the property line is, they could still install it incorrectly even with a permit. How will this cure incorrect installation? Administrator Morell said it would make the applicant think twice about correctly installing a fence on their own property. Hofer said staff will come up with some alternatives for the public hearing and gather thoughts on this. Staff will prepare the UDC amendments for a public hearing at a future Planning Commission meeting. CITY ENGINEER Engineer Bubany reported that soil borings will be conducted for the wetland boardwalk trail portion on the Scandia Heritage Alliance site, with trail options available for Council review in March. As part of the LCCMR grant, final plans for the trail design must be completed by yearend. Bids for the 2025 Street Improvement Project will be opened tomorrow morning. Bubany reported that there are eight bidders so far. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS Public Works Director Fischer reported on department activities in a written staff report. There were no questions. CITY ATTORNEY Amanda Johnson, Eckberg Lammers law firm, has been assigned as City Attorney, replacing Eric Larson. CITY ADMINISTRATOR City Administrator Morell provided a written report. There were no questions from Council. TII GAVO SUBDIVISION - AMENDMENT TO CONSERVATION EASEMENT Planner Hofer described an issue with the Tii Gavo 2nd Addition final plat having a shared driveway on an Outlot B. Wetlands and easements prevent individual driveways to serve the two lots in Tii Gavo 2nd Addition. Outlot B is part of the Conservation Easement for the Tii Gavo subdivision, and prohibits land disturbance within these areas. As approved by the city in 2022 with Resolution 2022-35, the applicant was to update the current Development Agreement and Conservation Easement for Tii Gavo to include the proposed driveway improvements in Tii Scandia City Council February 18, 2025 Page 5 of 6 Gavo 2nd Addition. However, the documents were never amended to include the shared driveway. If not amended, the driveway is considered a violation. Staff is working with the developer to have the Conservation Easement amendment completed by March 18, 2025. Planner Hofer explained options for the Council to consider if approving the amendment. Staff recommended language that all costs to repair, maintain and replace the shared driveway is the responsibility of the property owner, as well as require a Shared Driveway Easement be approved by the City. Public Works Director Fischer questioned who will maintain the infiltration basins. Planner Hofer said the Developers Agreement should address this, and he will also check with the Watershed District about the basins; the city may not need additional oversight if they were constructed correctly. Council directed staff to draft the document amendments for approval at the March 18, 2025 Council meeting. DRAFT ORDINANCE NO.2025-01 AMENDING CHAPTER 50 UPTOWN WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM AND CHAPTER 51 BIG MARINE SEWER UTILITY Administrator Morell introduced proposed ordinance changes to the Uptown Wastewater Treatment System and the Big Marine Sewer Utility. Staff presented the amendments to the Wastewater Committee last fall and to residents at recent public meetings. Morell explained that some items needed clarification to clean up language, add definitions, reference users by address rather than business name, define public/private portions of the system, and refine quarterly billing. The Big Marine Sewer Utility needs more significant changes. Proposed amendments are adding definitions, clarifying private/public portions of the system, and adding clear specific language for connection requirements and maintenance responsibility. Morell noted that language will be added to the proposed ordinance to address seasonal user fees for the public hearing. 2025 SEWER BUDGETS Administrator Morell presented the 2025 Sewer budget for review. The budget had originally looked at service fees to alter the billing, but this idea has been done away with. Beginning in 2025, each system has its own budget. A chart of proposed 2025 fees was viewed, illustrating a 10.72% fee increase for the Bliss System and a 7.25% increase to the Anderson -Erickson System. Seasonal rates as introduced with the 2025 fee schedule adopted in December 2024 remain at $750. Morell said staff will be working on a long-term budgeting strategy, with the goal to grow the fund balance to an acceptable level to pay for the needed ongoing maintenance costs for each system. Council member Libby questioned if the users would support meters. Staff noted that they would have to pay for them and metering can be expensive, with initial and annual costs to factor in. Scandia City Council February 18, 2025 Page 6 of 6 Robert Myre, Larkspur Avenue, asked the Council if meters would read usage going in or out of the residence. Staff answered that this is not determined yet. Myre said that installing meters could be a potential problem but worth discussing with the users. Morell said a public meeting can have a larger discussion about who pays for what if metering would be something to consider. DRAFT ORDINANCE NO. 2025-02 AMENDING THE 2025 FEE SCHEDULE Administrator Morell presented a draft ordinance amending the 2025 fee schedule with new sewer rates. The Electrical Inspector had suggestions for the electrical permit fees on page 2-3. A public hearing on the amended fee schedule will be held on March 18, 2025. ADJOURNMENT Cusick, seconded by Libby, moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Brenda Eklund City Clerk