8.g administrators report
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: October 17, 2017
To: City Council
From: Neil Soltis, Administrator
Re: Administrator’s report
Comprehensive Planning –An open house will be held on Tuesday, October 24 at 6:30 p.m. to
provide the public the opportunity to comment on the plan.
Wastewater Advisory Committee – The Committee will meet on Thursday October 19 to
review the 2018 budget with a focus on reviewing the rates for the Uptown system to better
balance the cost to the users and for the 201 system to begin to provide funding for future
major capital improvements.
Economic Development Authority – There was no EDA meeting in October. The EDA will be
holding a business breakfast on October 19. Invitations were sent to the Scandia business that
we have on record. Chris Eng of the Washington County CDA and Tyler Hilsbeck of the Open to
Business program will present information at the meeting.
Building permit activity – Through 9/30/17 552 permits have been issued with a total value of
$23,958,825 compared to 180 with a value of $7,791,236 for the same period in 2016. The
2017 permits include 15 new houses with a combined value of $5,019,000 and 3 community
solar gardens with a combined value of $10,359,000.
Broadband & Cable – Frontier has completed the upgrades scheduled for 2017 and is in the
process of transitioning customers onto the new network. Frontier is contacting the
households in the areas that directly benefit from the 2017 upgrades.
Fire Contract with May Township – The 3-year Fire contract with May Township extends
through 12/31/2017. The May Twp. Board has three fire contracts and each are calculated a bit
differently. They prefer the method they use with Stillwater, which is based on a
recommended formula from the League of Minnesota Cities and Minnesota Association of
Townships. They would like the City of Scandia to consider using this approach. Apparently,
they have discussed switching to this formula with Scandia in the past but nothing ever
materialized. Rather than just using population as the sole factor in allocating fire costs, this
formula uses the average share of population, value of property and number of service runs as.
Using value of property accounts for structures other than homes. Using the number of runs
accounts for variables like the age of the population of age of structures. I will be working with
Chief Hinz to assess the impacts of the proposed change for future discussion with the Council.
Solar Projects
Berkshire Hathaway Energies (Zavoral) – The developer is still working on obtaining a
dewatering permit to remove the stormwater that has accumulated during the site
restoration process. Construction has begun in other areas of the project.
Next Era Energy (Oldfield) A pre-construction meeting was held on October 3. Work has
begun on the project with a completion target of early December.
Veterans Memorial – The landscaping for the memorial has been installed. The likely date for
the installation of the granite monument is October 13th. Due to the uncertainty of the date,
the scheduling of the dedication ceremony has been delayed. The Veterans Committee is
seeking to install a stainless information stand with a top that lifts up to open next to the
sidewalk just before the patio. This has not been included in any of the plans that have been
submitted to the PRC or Council for review.
Lilleskogen Park – Now that the portion of landscaping by the Veterans Committee has been
completed, there is a need to address the remaining areas around the parking lot and the
extent to which the 2008 plan for the Park will be adhered to, particularly as it relate s to the
shelter which the plan locates inside the 75’ wetland setback. There has also been a meeting
scheduled on October 20 to discuss the future management and maintenance of the butterfly
garden.
Community Center projection screen – The new projection screen has been installed.
Nuisance dumping – 199th Debris from a roof replacement job has been dumped on the
railroad right-of-way on 199th St. There have been numerous complaints regarding the
situation. Deputy Yetter has contacted The Canadian National Railroad regarding the matter to
have the debris removed. As an alternate the City could issue a nuisance notice requiring the
Canadian National to remove the debris by a given date and then charge for the abatement.
The collection of any billing is uncertain since the railroad does not have a parcel number that
can be assessed with the charge.
197th culverts – The City has obtained a permit to replace the three deteriorated culverts on
197th St. and to lower the elevations based on the work being road maintenance with minimal
impacts to the adjacent wetlands. The Carnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District has also
applied for a permit to remove some of the material that washed down the ravine by 197th
where their stabilization project was completed in 2016.
Parks & Recreation Committee Recommendation – At the October PRC meeting the
Committee requested that adding paved shoulders to bike route roads under consideration for
improvement in accordance with the Capital Improvement Plan. Ryan Goodman has estimated
the additional cost for 4’ paved shoulders to be: Oak Hill, Meadowbrook, 228 th - $976,850,
Oxboro - $748,300,
Election equipment - The 2017 legislature authorized $7 Million in grant funding available to
counties, cities, towns, and school districts to assist with the purchase of voting equipment. The
legislature authorized use of these funds to offset up to 50% of optical scan pre cinct counters,
optical scan central counters, or assisted voting devices; or up to 75% of electronic rosters .
Washington County will be discussing the replacement of election equipment after the
November elections. At this point the timing and cost are uncertain; however, there may be a
need to provide funding for the equipment replacement in 2018.
IT update – The new server, switch and firewall appliance that were included in the 2017
Capital plan have been installed.
Small cell wireless ordinance - The League has provided a model ordinance regulating the
public rights of way and the issuance and regulation of right of way permits to address the small
cell wireless issue. The model ordinance also addresses excavation and obstruction permits.
City Attorney Andy Pratt and I will be reviewing the draft for future consideration by the
Council.
Minnesota Buffer Law - The Washington County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution
authorizing a public hearing for October 24, 2017, in order for the county to consider adoption
of a Buffer Ordinance in order to have their local control in place by November 1st.. The
Minnesota Buffer Law requires primarily agricultural landowners to implement vegetative
buffer strips along applicable public waters and public drainage systems, to protect or improve
water quality. The proposed buffer ordinance, which puts in place the required local controls to
implement enforcement actions, applies countywide to all waters, including public drainage
systems, shown on the buffer protection map prepared by the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR). The County is working closely with the Washington Conservation District on
implementation of the buffer law.
Washington County CIP - As part of its annual budget process, Washington County prepares a
five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The 2018-2022 CIP includes the county's tentative
plans for roads, bridges, parks, land, trails, and public facilities. The first year of this plan is
included in the county's proposed 2018 budget. The “out -years” of 2019-2022 reflect projected
needs and estimated costs, which may change based on future priorities and funding
opportunities. The CIP document is available online by visiting the county website at Capital
Improvement Plans | Washington County, MN - Official Website Comments on the proposed
projects can be sent to melinda.kirk@co.washington.mn.us or
wayne.sandberg@co.washington.mn.us .
White Bear Lake – At the last meeting Andy Pratt reference the District Court ruling regarding
White Bear Lake. I’ve attached a news release from MnDNR regarding their appeal of the ruling
with a map that shows the approximate 5 mile area surrounding the lake.