Loading...
09-02-2015 Work SessionSeptember 2, 2015 The City Council held a Work Session on the above date. The following were present: Mayor Randall Simonson, Council members Bob Hegland, Dan Lee, Chris Ness, and Jim Schneider. Staff present: Administrator Kristina Handt, Public Works Director Dave Williams, City Engineer Ryan Goodman and Treasurer Colleen Firkus. Mayor Randall Simonson called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Ness, seconded by Lee, moved to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried 5-0. OLD MARINE TRAIL, 185TH STREET, AND OAKGREEN AVE. Engineer Goodman reported on gravel road surface treatments specifically related to the above streets. Issues with gravel roads, options for maintaining gravel roads, examples of a chip seal process with its pros and cons, a case study and repairs were presented. He further reported on test holes done on 185th Street, stressing the importance of having a good base in place before any paving options were implemented. Tests showed 12 to 16 inches of a class 5 gravel base on 1851 Street, with several areas of concern subject to frost boil due to poorer drainage. Cost estimates of both Chip & Seal ($281,740), and Shape & Pave ($613,600) options were presented. Goodman stated that estimates are conservative for budgeting purposes and costs will depend on bids and how much preparation work will be needed. Goodman further broke down the cost estimates to per square yard with Chip & Seal at $7.20/sy and Shape & Pave at $23.85/sy for surface type, and $14.95/sy versus $35.20/sy for overall project costs. Finally, Goodman pointed out the annual maintenance savings that would be realized on grading, additional gravel and dust control measures. After some Council discussion, the Mayor opened the floor to public comments. Mark Engstrom, 18625 Oakgreen, asked about the performance of the single versus double applications and maintenance time frame of each. Goodman responded that he did not have years of data on the test strips to answer that question, but most using this Chip & Seal approach are doing a double layer and recommends it. He also mentioned that there is curing time between applications. Paul Hand, 13961 185`h St., asked if leaving the road as gravel is still on the table as he would prefer it not to be paved. Hand also inquired the cost to him for surfacing it and is not prepared to pay it. He mentioned that the road had been paved in the past and it didn't work, and he has had no problems with dust this summer. Goodman responded that this meeting is for educational purposes in response to residents' concerns about cost of traditional paving. Administrator Handt responded to the cost issuing using the $225,000 surfacing estimate divided between 56 potential units would be $3,000 to $5,000 per unit, or buildable lot. Hand asked if the type of base was known on the example roads shown, but Goodman did not have that information. Larry Engstrom, 14040185`h St., highlighted that in the past there was four years of pavement, but the frost boil took it out. Bracht paved the road, but the township did not want to maintain it, so he is wondering what is going to happen now if paved again as the clay just boils up. Goodman reiterated that is why he is recommending the road be studied during the freeze/thaw cycle to identify those problem areas. Engstrom said there is no sense in paving the road without undercutting it and putting in a decent underlay. When asked by Councilmember Ness if he had an issue with leaving it gravel, Engstrom replied no and would like to see two sprays of calcium chloride each year. Steve Kronmiller, 15450188`h St., presented a core sample of an alternative September 2, 2015 City Council Work Session Page 2 of 4 road surface called Bound Aggregate which is a specialized mixture that includes calcium chloride thereby not requiring additional dust control measures and requires grading only twice a year. It is a low cost alternative for low volume roads with little or no erosion or leaching of the chloride. Kronmiller did not have any cost estimates as he did not know there was going to be an alternative road surfacing discussion. Mark Lillemoen, 15097 Old Marine Trail, noted that Old Marine Trail is a corridor to Marine with higher traffic than 185th Street. He believes that paving the road would improve the property values enough to make it worth the assessment cost. He recently had an experience of people not interested in purchasing his home as it was on a gravel road. Bill Jabas, 21850 Oldfield, expressed concern about the cost of paving and maintenance for a road that doesn't need fixing. Jabas said he would rather the Council leave room in the budget for public safety. Myron Lindgren, 15040 Old Marine Trail, has lived on a gravel road since he was born. He has seen frost boils on both gravel and tar and thinks it is worse on a paved road. Lindgren would like to see Old Marine Trail stay gravel. Joyce Engstrom has put up with a lot of dust from Bracht trucks and would be more than happy to have a surface other than gravel. Bruce Swenson, 22161 Oldfield, has had blacktop quite a while and loves it. He paid for 5 assessments units and believes it has increased his property values and saves wear and tear on his car. Bill Jabas added that he could not afford to pay an assessment if he lived on 185th Street and wouldn't gamble on the potential increase in property values as they are volatile. Administrator Handt pointed out that assessments are amortized over a period up to 10 years. The Mayor closed the public comment time and remarked that this discussion was as follow-up to a previous discussion for educational purposes only in response to residents' requests for more information on plans for their road. The road will continue to be maintained as in the past. Administrator Handt pointed out that if folks along those roads are interested in pursuing paving, the process is for 35% of property owners with road frontage petition the City and the City can then move forward with providing more specific information. Council decided to table further discussion until such a petition is received. 2016 BUDGET and 2016-2020 CIP Administrator Handt noted only changes made since August 19 meeting was to increase the funding for the Local Road Improvement Fund to do portions of Oldfield near 236th/237th/Novak project that was previously discussed, which doesn't impact the levy, because it would be covered by additional fund balance projected to be available. Handt asked for direction from the Council to prepare the resolution for the preliminary levy. At the Mayor's request for information, Councilmember Hegland reported that he was still doing research and not in a position to make a recommendation on wiring the board room for audio. The Mayor stated his position in favor of keeping the police contract and opened the floor to public comment. Tom Remrick, Cedarcliff, believes the presence of a deputy is a deterrent and Scandia would become a target if it were common knowledge that Scandia no longer had a deputy. A deputy gets to know the residents in the community and knows where trouble spots are located. A deputy would be more responsive in non -emergency calls as well as emergencies. Remrick believes the cost is worth it to the community. Steve Kronmiller strongly supports a police presence which adds value and a sense of community. His children know a deputy through the DARE program. The essential services of the community are police and fire, and need to be protected as the city's number one priority. Mary Fransen, works at William O'Brien State Park, and has received camper comments that they love the visibility of the deputy of driving through the park. Her husband owns the liquor store in Scandia and he has seen the place cased, which is scary. She does not want to see the police presence gone. Adrian Fransen, Scandia Olde Towne Liquor, hears a lot of opinions in his store and doesn't hear any that don't want a police officer here. It is important September 2, 2015 City Council Work Session Page 3 of 4 to his business to have a local police presence that is more responsive than calling the sheriff's office. Bob Bernard, his dad owned a liquor store in a small South Dakota town that had no cops. The store was cased and regularly broken into. Liquor stores are especially vulnerable. Bill Jabas said we live in a relatively safe hamlet, but live in the midst of a crazy world, and feels more secure knowing there is a police presence. Jabas feels it is worth the cost. Bruce Swenson used to own the store during the period when Scandia did not have a deputy. He has experienced five break-ins, with one response time being over three hours. Swenson likened it to fire or auto insurance; we hope we don't use it, but want it there when we need it. Chris Majeski, former Scandia deputy and lives in Scandia, is passionate for the contract. He gave a personal example on how a resident called him to help deal with an issue of theft and how he was able to recover half of the items stolen. He said the residents will not get that personal relationship without a police contract. Travis Loeffler, Planning Commission member and city firefighter, expressed his disbelief that the city's safety and security is being sacrificed for a budget. Christine Maefsky, Planning Commission Chair, has had positive experiences in times of emergencies from the time of the city's earliest deputy to a recent incident. Administrator Handt conveyed a message from Pam Arnold asked to be put into the official record as in support of a police contract. The Mayor closed the public comment period and asked each for councilmembers thoughts on the police contract. Council was in consensus that it was a large budget item that needed to be considered, but to keep it in the budget. Council also directed staff to not put the question of a keeping a police contract in the fall newsletter. The Council proceeded to go over the Fire Department budget line items and make the following changes: Code Description Budget Change 200 Office Supplies 400 350 210 Operating Supplies 10,000 9,000 211 Cleaning Supplies 500 1,300 212 Fuel 5,250 4,500 221 Equipment Parts 5,000 4,000 223 Bldg Repair/Supplies 4,500 3,500 560 Furniture & Fixtures 6,600 1,000 570 Office Equipment 2,000 1,500 Mayor Simonson had inspected the carpet at the Fire Hall and found it to be dirty, but in good condition. Council recommended taking new carpet out of the budget item 560 and putting extra money in 211 for carpet cleaning. Administrator Handt said the difference would be allocated to the LRIF for the time being, but none of these changes would affect the levy, unless the Council wanted to reduce the preliminary levy. The resolution to set the preliminary levy at $2,257,871 will at the September 15 meeting. RESOLUTION 09-02-15-01 TO SUPPORT BROADBAND GRANT Handt reported that the grant for internet service will cover Wyldewood Acres' 27 homes. There is no cost to the city and MidContinent will be putting up the required match or more. A dozen letters letters have been received regarding the poor internet service in the area. The city should hear by the end of the year it the grant was awarded. Simonson, seconded by Hegland, made a motion to approve Resolution 09-02-15-01 in support of Border to Border Broadband Development Grant Application. The motion passed 5 to 0. September 2, 2015 City Council Work Session Page 4 of 4 196th STREET COMMUNITY SEPTIC Handt reported she received a call from a realtor representing a potential buyer for 12087 196th St. and asking if the City would be interested in purchasing some of the land for a community septic system. The 5.9 acre parcel runs along the road on the north east side of Big Marine Lake. The buyers have a cabin that is on the lake directly across from this property and need to replace their septic system. The buyer suggests that many of the homes/cabins along the lake are older and would probably benefit from a community septic system and it would help protect the lake. Another option is for residents to put in a private system. In response to Council's question, Engineer Goodman said there are too many unknown variables to know if this is feasible and it would cost a lot of money to get the needed data. The Council said it was not a logical extension of the current systems on Big Marine Lake and they were not interested in pursuing this. ADJOURNMENT Ness, seconded by Lee, moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:38 p.m. The motion carried 5-0. Next meetings are the regular council meeting September 15 and a work session October 7, which can be used to discuss applicants to the City Administrator position. Respectfully submitted, Colleen Firkus Treasurer