Loading...
2022-07-28 CC Meeting MinutesMOUND CITY COUNCIL MINUTES July 26, 2022 The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in regular session on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers in the Centennial Building. Members present: Mayor Ray Salazar; Council members, Paula Larson, Sherrie Pugh, Phil Velsor and Jason Holt Members absent: None Others present: City Manager Eric Hoversten, City Clerk Kevin Kelly, City Engineer Brian Simmons, Kim Blievernicht, Hennepin County District 6 Commissioner Chris LaTondresse, Jessica Oaxaca, Wayde Fleener. Consent agenda: All items listed under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine in nature by the Council. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless a Councilmember or citizen so requests, in which event it will be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered in normal sequence. 1. Open meeting Mayor Salazar called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Approve agenda Hoversten amended the consent agenda with amended verbiage to page 1682 of the July 12, 2022 meeting minutes. MOTION by Larson, seconded by Holt, to approve the amended agenda. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 4. Consent agenda MOTION by Larson, seconded by Velsor, to approve the consent agenda. Upon roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion carried. A. Approve payment of claims in the amount of $389,368.39. B. Approve minutes: 07-12-22 regular meeting C. RESOLUTION NO. 22-62: APPROVING PUBLIC GATHERING PERMIT AND MUSICAL CONCERT PERMIT FOR 2022 RUNNING OF THE BAYS HALD MARATHON AND OLL 5K ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 D. RESOLUTION 22-63: APPROVE SIGN VARIATION FOR COMMERCE PLACE SHOPPING CENTER E. RESOLUTION 22-64: APPOINTMENT OF ABSENTEE BALLOT BOARD F. Approve Pay Request #5 and Closeout in the amount of $15,373.66 to Widmer Construction for the 2021 Lift Station Improvement Project, PW20-05 Mound City Council Minutes — July 26, 2022 G. Approve Pay Request #3 and Closeout in the amount of $11,678.54 to Bituminous Roadways for the 2021 Pavements Improvement Project, PW21-09 5. Comments and suggestions from citizens present on any item not on the agenda. None were offered. 6. Hennepin County District 6 Commissioner Chris LaTondresse Update to Residents and Council LaTondresse addressed the Council with updates on the work of Hennepin County (HC) government. LaTondresse said he promises to continue the strong partnership the County has with Mound. LaTondresse said he would like to extend his gratitude for those living through the Covid-19 pandemic and to front line workers who worked through this time. LaTondresse said the community mourns the loss of over 2,648 Hennepin County residents among the over one million Americans who have died from Covid-19. LaTondresse said that over 74% of Hennepin County residents are fully vaccinated with Hennepin County Public Health having administered over 70,000 doses of the vaccines at events. LaTondresse said HC has used Federal investments of $246M in ARPA funds based on listening sessions with community members and survey responses in the attempt by HC to balance short-term emergency response with smart longer -term investments including housing stability, public safety and supporting small businesses. LaTondresse said HC is using ARPA funds to address the following priorities: Housing stability - crisis of affordable housing and homelessness made worse by the pandemic with over 73,0000 extremely low-income households at or below the poverty line with fewer than 14,192 affordable subsidized housing units available. Actions included: • $108K was provided to landlords to help 17+ Mound households in crisis. • Invest $91 M long-term to boost spending by 60% with goal to help 1,000 homeless people and add 2,000 affordable units. LaTondresse said this initiative is ahead of schedule and will add more than 2,000 units. • Transition hotels to long-term housing to fill gap for people exiting single residency • Provide $17.1 M in HC HRA grants to create 1,550 new family supportive housing units which includes projects in HC District 6 Public Safety — a top priority and in 2021 the HC Board approved 31 new HC Sherriff deputies and invested $8.2M to expand the North Metro Public Safety Training Center to increase capacity and improve curriculum. • Embedded Social Worker program is in place in eight HC Suburban police departments with goal to bring to 23 Police Departments serving 35 cities in Hennepin County Small business assistance — HC has provided $71 M in grants through the CARES Act which included 21 grants for a total of $221,000 sent to Mound businesses. Mound City Council Minutes — July 26, 2022 Longer -term the emergency grants started small business relationships and established the need to create Elevate Business Hennepin County in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce which will include pro bono support for up to 25 hours of consultation to support HC businesses. Salazar thanked LaTondresse for his hard work and noted how helpful LaTondresse has been with the Dakota Trail Crossing on County Road 15 and his assistance to moving the program forward. Salazar said the Council passed a resolution regarding the Eli Hart tragedy and there has been a groundswell of interest of people who have signed a petition to name the bridge over Seton Channel. Salazar asked for assistance from LaTondresse on this initiative. LaTondresse said he hopes to see a positive resolution from the HC public works on the Dakota Trail Crossing and the Eli Hart initiative has a groundswell of support and pledged his office work on both the bridge and park initiative. LaTondresse said he is unsure of the HC policy on naming HC property. Hoversten said he sent the naming resolution to the Assistant HC Public Works Director. Velsor asked LaTondresse about Mutual Aid agreements and said the Mound Fire Department (MFD) get called to assist other local fire departments in surrounding communities and Mound doesn't receive reciprocation from these communities. Velsor said the County could set up a policy or amend the County Mutual Aid agreements and would like to see what can be done to equal the playing field. Velsor said the City of Minnetonka Beach went with a cheaper option for fire services by contracting with Long Lake but Mound still responds to Minnetonka Beach's issues and is often the first Fire Department to respond even though they aren't primary. Velsor said he wants Mound to continue be a good fire department and it would be great if the County find a way to compensate the City for these services. LaTondresse said HC EMS rules and regulations are governed by Public Health Ordinance Nine regarding first responder services and the HC EMS Council has identified that Ordinance Nine is in need of and is recommending an overhaul. LaTondresse said paramedic response times are also being looked at and the Council is doing research to study how to alleviate pressure on cities and provide fair compensation for public safety services. LaTondresse said public safety mutual aid is not in the county's responsibility as it is not directly funded by Hennepin County. Velsor again noted Minnetonka Beach is one of the highest income communities and Mound is responding to their city faster than Long Lake and is not being compensated which isn't right. Hoversten and the Mound Fire Department Chief is not complaining about mutual aid noting this problem is in the policy realm and not operations. Hoversten said Hennepin County has a mutual aid compact and its design doesn't meet the realties of the response situation today. Hoversten said the fire response is less balanced in the Mound area which makes communities like Mound the bill payer for surrounding cities. Hoversten said this occurs in other areas of HC and some communities are taking resources from the City of Mound to assist with on -going assistance without compensating for the services. Hoversten said there is a HC agreement with cities and LaTondresse said his policy staff will look into the fire response situation. Hoversten said there is a HC Logistics Support apparatus which is supposed to help even out the funding for this response inequality through mutual aid. Velsor agreed with Hoversten noting Mound doesn't require the same mutual aid it provides to the benefit of surrounding communities. Hoversten noted Minnetrista is in District 7 and have reached out to Kevin Anderson to maintain the level of service which Mound provides to Minnetrista. Mound City Council Minutes — July 26, 2022 Pugh asked if HC will allow the Mound Historical Society to put a sign on County Road 15 to help people find the Museum. Holt said he echoes the Mayor's previous comments about the Dakota Trail Crossing and said government is moving too slow and wanted to know what can be done temporarily at the crossing. LaTondresse said this issue is working through the HC processes. Salazar said the Trail Crossing issue fell on deaf ears with previous HC Commissioners and commended LaTondresse for his attention to the Trail Crossing and also HC Commissioner Kevin Anderson. Hoversten said the Metropolitan Council (MC) is driving the pace of the mill and overlay schedule of County Road 15. Hoversten said many entities have done work in the County 15 roadway and the MC is moving forward with lining the sewer infrastructure before the project starts. Hoversten said this work has delayed the mill and overlay of County Road 15 until 2024. Hoversten said there is a meeting on Thursday to continue the progress on the mill and overlay project. Hoversten said the City will close Auditors Road sooner which will offer safety enhancements to Shoreline Drive. Holt said the Artessa ground breaking has been pushed back to November 1 It and could be pushed back to February. Hoversten said if the Council wanted Auditors Road to close they could make it happen. Holt said the Council has been talking about the Dakota Trail for a long time and now it won't happen until 2024. Holt said there could be a crosswalk put in with flashing lights and Hoversten said there is coordination with HC and Artessa which has to take place which will be discussed at the meeting on Thursday. Holt said he thinks it takes forever to get these projects done. Hoversten said the Hennepin County Library is requesting survey responses regarding library services and shaping the future of the library system. Pugh mentioned the Velsor idea about having a part-time Hennepin County Service Center in the Westonka Library. Salazar said he had to get a passport for his daughter and it was a really difficult and drawn out process and in the end he had to contact Congressman Dean Phillips office to make it happen in time. Salazar said these services were offered in Mound in the past. LaTondresse said the library survey is part of HC library strategic planning and the survey is extremely important and he strongly encouraged participation in the survey. 7. City Engineers presenting 2022 Sewer Televising Contract for award. Approve Resolution No 22 Awarding Contract for 2022 Sewer Televising Proiect (PW 22-04) Simmons addressed the Council with the award of the televising contract for work which will done in 2022. Simmons said Pipe Services is the low bidder at $28K and is a local company who has done work for Mound and Bolton and Menk and Simmons recommended approval of the contract with Pipe Services. MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Larson, to approve the following resolution. All voted in favor. Motion carried. RESOLUTION NO. 22-65: RESOLUTION AWARDING CONTRACT FOR 2022 SEWER TELEVISING PROJECT (PW 22-04) 8 City Engineer Brian Simmons presenting Tuxedo crosswalk feasibility and configuration Mound City Council Minutes — July 26, 2022 Simmons presented the Tuxedo Blvd crosswalk configuration and a few options for the proposed crosswalk at Brighton and Tuxedo Boulevard's. Simmons said both are city streets, noting Tuxedo was rebuilt in 2015-2017 and is classified as a collector road for which the City receives state funding. Simmons said there are pedestrian ramps, an extended sidewalk and truncated domes in the intersection but there is no striping of the crosswalk. Simmons showed a map of the area and street view photos of the area. Simmons said there were natural obstructions to sight lines which were removed during the 2015-2017 reconstruction. Simmons presented possible solutions to the crosswalk intersection. • RRFB — overhead flashing beacon • Hawk — similar beacon with push button system activated by pedestrians • Traffic Control Change with a three-way stop signage • Stripe and stop sign with a crosswalk Simmons added that there are challenges to the area as this intersection is technically mid -block and drivers are not anticipating pedestrians crossing due to curvature of the road. Simmons said additional signage ahead of the intersection would be recommended to warn of the crosswalk. Simmons presented a cost breakdown for each solution: • RRFB 40-60K • Hawk 35-50K • 3-way stop $8K • Stripe and sign crosswalk $5K Salazar said he has walked the area many times and it is one of multiple precarious situations on Tuxedo for pedestrians or bicyclists. Salazar asked if there have been complaints about the intersection and Simmons said there haven't been many. Salazar said pedestrians can get tunnel vision when at a crosswalk and have a false sense of security. Pugh said people are encouraged to drive fast through town and there are lots of kids living on the Island. Salazar said pedestrians can bolt out in front of vehicles and a car cannot stop on a dime. Velsor said during summer his fear is Al and Alma's traffic and drivers who are not knowledgeable of the area and the intersection right now has no signage and he would like to see a crosswalk sign to warn drivers as they approach and not a three way stop. Velsor said there isn't a need for flashing lights and Simmons noted flashing lights do get the drivers' attention. Velsor wants a crosswalk symbol to warn drivers they have to stop. Simmons said the sidewalk changes to the other side of Tuxedo which forces pedestrians to cross Tuxedo as the sidewalk shifts to each side of the road. Velsor said the sightlines have improved with removal of the vegetation. Holt said his friend lives in the area and he would like to see a stop sign and Holt thinks the crosswalk is better than nothing. Holt said his friend said they want a stop sign and a crosswalk. Salazar agrees with the crosswalk and stop sign idea because drivers will breeze through the intersection without the stop sign. Mound City Council Minutes — July 26, 2022 Simmons said from an engineering standpoint he doesn't support a stop sign but he would for pedestrian safety reasons. Pugh said she would support a flashing signal as people run stop signs all the time. Velsor said he didn't want this intersection to become a $35-50k cost but wants drivers to know this is a crosswalk and his goal is to get a crosswalk for the intersection. Pugh said she would support a stop sign. Holt said it would cost $8-10K and there isn't the need for more expensive options. Holt said he is in favor of a crosswalk and stop sign. Salazar said the best way to approach this is a stop sign and crosswalk and doesn't think the City should go to the HAWK and RRFB right now but could add it in the future. Larson said the crossing by Bethel Church is scary because pedestrians don't even look when crossing and the problem is also the drivers. Larson said one of the Council's top responsibilities is safety. Larson said she fears the cars will not stop coming down the hill on Tuxedo and is worried about kids crossing. Larson said she would like to see all types of warning lights at the crossing. Larson said to do nothing is scary but kids will assume they can cross safely if there is just a crosswalk without warning to drivers. Larson said drivers need to be warned of the crosswalk and is concerned about the general safety of the pedestrians. Velsor said he wants LED flashers around the stop sign which are sensor activated. Simmons said this is a sensor activated system and costs close to the HAWK system. Simmons said the cost was why he didn't include the sensor system in the solutions list. Velsor said he would like to see the stop sign and crosswalk striping. Simmons mentioned the HAWK in place in Navarre at the crossing of County Road 15. MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Holt, to start the process of building a stop sign and crosswalk across the eastern edge of the intersection of Tuxedo Blvd. and Brighton Blvd. Velsor, Holt, Pugh and Salazar voted yes and Larson abstained. Motion carried. 9 Discussion and instructions to Staff regarding Intoxicating Cannabinoid Statute Changes and emerginq legal advice Hoversten said state legislation went into effect to put restrictions on labeling a type of cannabinoid called THC9 which is a hemp derived product and not from marijuana. Hoversten said this THC9 is in many products in the market. Hoversten said the statute was passed to restrict and prevent the sale of hemp derived products to be packaged and marketed to youth in general. Hoversten the legislation was intended to start a standard to define product limits which are acceptable to five milligram doses with no more than 10 items in a wrapped product. Hoversten said prior to the recent legislation there was no definition of doses or products and some of these products started to slip into the marketplace. Hoversten said this raised concern to enable legislation on allowing the distribution of THC products up to the five -milligram level per dose/serving. Hoversten said the League of Minnesota Cities and City Attorney Troy Gilchrist are reviewing the legislation and researching responses to the legislation. Hoversten said he has been discussing this issue with other City Administrators as well. Hoversten said Gilchrist has produced a resolution to create a limited moratorium to study the matter further. Hoversten said the Gilchrist memo looks at creating City licensure and ability to revoke the license and looking at zoning which allows use in areas outside a barrier around schools and parks. Mound City Council Minutes — July 26, 2022 Hoversten said staff, City Attorney and LMC are looking to create an ordinance to establish the moratorium subject to conditions in place on 6-30-2022 prior to the legislation coming into effect. Velsor said Chief Farniok recommended a moratorium to allow the City and State time to study the issue and respond. Salazar said if the City is required to allow the sale of these products then how would it be regulated. Pugh asked if businesses expressed an interest in selling these products. Hoversten said not specifically and mentioned the former CBD shop in town which was anticipating the state opening up recreational marijuana sales. Hoversten said this is a nightmare and no entity out there is pulling and testing products for THC. Hoversten said the beverage industry is looking to move into this market but Mound Harbor Liquor Store will not sell these products at this time. Pugh said is there an indication of an age limit for sales. Hoversten said it would be practical as far as enforcement noting HC is not enforcing small amounts of marijuana possession. Velsor said there are bigger crimes to worry about and Pugh said this is happening nationally. Salazar said legalization isn't okay and the minimum is the moratorium. Hoversten said the idea is for the City to look to regulate the sale and not the possession and to do the moratorium to get guidance from the State and other entities Holt said he is worried about people driving while under the influence of THC products. Holt said he agrees on the moratorium and spoke to his circle of friends and he said they don't care and we should do right by the community. Holt was at the Spirit of the Lake Festival and there were sellers of THC products there. Holt added that Back Channel Brewery in Spring Park will be offering a drink with THC in it in the next couple of weeks. Holt said the tobacco shop in Mound could also sell the product. Discussion ensued about the length of the moratorium and if would take a year to complete the study. Hoversten said the moratorium will be posted and ready for an August meeting. Holt said his friends get gummies with THC infused in them and they are already in the marketplace. Hoversten said it is unknown how much of the hemp derived THC is in products because it has not been regulated. Hoversten said there are now restrictions in place regarding dose and marketing. Salazar said a moratorium will allow the City time to do due diligence and to reign in these sales. MOTION by Salazar, seconded by Holt, to direct staff to work with the City Attorney to establish a moratorium/interim ordinance on the sale of THC products within the City for 12 months. All voted in favor. Motion carried. 10. Information/Miscellaneous A. Comments/reports from Council members/City Manager: Salazar said the Tour de Tonka event is next weekend. Holt thanked the City staff working during the SOTL and thanked the committee for the event. Holt said staff did a great job and the Harbor beer tasting was fun. Holt reminded Hoversten about the workshop discussion about the newsletter update. Hoversten said staff are working with a consultant who works with the City of Wayzata and the winter newsletter will have a revised look. Mound City Council Minutes — July 26, 2022 Holt asked about the Williams Store and Hoversten said the abatement is in Court and Hoversten said he has inquired with the contractor to demonstrate they are a competent group and not worse than a DIY project. Pugh said the building is unacceptable. Velsor said it is a substrate and Hoversten said it will crumble under normal weather conditions. Hoversten said the City is working with the contractor and has the City Attorney working through the Court as well. Salazar said the City wants the building to get fixed up and inspected up to code and the City needs to keep the foot on the gas. Salazar said the building hasn't been occupied for 27 years and the City is going to stay the course. Holt praised Hoversten's interview with WCCO about the Park Memorial for Eli Hart and would like to see a link to the interview on the City website. Hoversten said the other media channels in the market are running the story and didn't want to pick a specific entity. Velsor mentioned the fire activity report noting there were 409 hours (Year to Date) of mutual aid compared to 253 hours in all of 2021 which shows the output to neighboring cities. Velsor noted the Fire Commission voted to improve the pay of fire fighters by $3.00 an hour and also to increase the pension allocation. Hoversten said the wage increase will be before the Council in a line item in the budget. Hoversten said the pension increase is a two-phase item as if requires an updated actuarial analysis. Hoversten said Andy Drilling will present this item to the Council and the long-term pension will be in the budget for the City and the contracted cities. Velsor said the contracted cities didn't have a problem with the pension increase proposal. Velsor asked about the SOTL crowd size and whether it would benefit the City to split the wake surfing competition and the SOTL event into two separate events. Hoversten said this idea could be addressed in the after -event meeting on August 10th. Hoversten said the Council must be mindful of disruption to the use of the park and whether the park is there for recreation or events. Hoversten said some activities could be moved off the lake if there is not a lake use related to the event. Holt noted the food trucks ran out of food at SOTL on Saturday night. B. Reports: Engineering — 2nd Quarter, 2022 Fire — June 2022 C. Minutes: D. Correspondence: LMCD June Update — 07-12-2022 Zero Gravity Skate '22 Thank You 11. Adjourn MOTION by Velsor, seconded by Holt, to adjourn at 9:08 p m. All voted i f vor. Motion carried. Mayor Raymond J. Salazar Attest: Kevin Kelly, Clerk