2017-11-28 CC Meeting MinutesThe City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in regular
session on Tuesday, November 28, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the
Centennial Building.
Members present: Mayor Mark Wegscheid, Council Members Kelli Gillispie, Jeff
Bergquist, and Jennifer Peterson. Council Member Ray Salazar arrived at 7:49 p.m.
Members absent: none
Others present: City Manager and Director of Public Works Eric Hoversten,
Administrative Assistant Mary Mackres, Director of Community Development Sarah
Smith, Field Officer Stewart Simon, Director of Finance and Administrative Services
Catherine Pausche, Kathy Rice, Sue Henning, Joe Bruns, Barb Miller, Melody Olsen,
Patty Anthony, Jack Latour, Torsten Lee, Keith Roiger, Debbie Falk, Dave Falk, Doug
McGregor, Ed Matheson, Sandra Messer, Jane Cox, Barbara Holmes, Brooks
Chandler, Andrew Wolf, Sam Moe, Parker Reinert, Joleen Stadslkev, Joe Harrison,
Crystal Johnson, Nancy Paulson, Logan Jones, Joseph Ostlund, Kristyn Hewitt, Pat
Swensen, Traci Mallonee, Nick Wernimont, Peter Meyer, Linda Cordie, Lisa Batchelor,
Cory Jensen, and Sam Adams
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 Council Member or citizen so requests, in which event it will be removed from
the Consent Agenda and considered in normal sequence.
1. Open meeting
Mayor Wegscheid called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
3. Approve agenda
MOTION by Bergquist, seconded by Peterson, to approve the agenda. Bergquist,
Peterson, Gillispie, and Wegscheid voted in favor. Motion carried.
4. Consent agenda Upon
MOTION by Gillispie, seconded by Bergquist, to approve the consent agenda.
roll call vote, Gillispie, Bergquist, Peterson, and Wegscheid voted in favor. Motion
carried.
A. Approve payment of claims in the amount of $943,122.69
B. Approve Pay Request #1 in the amount of $102,006.99 to Schneider Excavating
for work on the 2016 Storm Drainage Improvement Project; PW -16-09
Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
C. Approve Pay Request #1 and Final in the amount of $5,858.90 to Precision Seal
Coating for Work on the 2017 Crack Seal Project; PW -17-07
5. Comments and suggestions from citizens present on any item not on the
agenda.
Jane Cox, 5710 Village Trail, said she is representing the group Moms Demand
Action. Cox stated this group is trying to prevent any more mass shootings and
gathers at libraries and has a few speakers at each meeting. Cox invited members
of the community to attend the next meeting which is Dec. 6, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00
p.m. at the Mound Westonka Library. Cox mentioned that after the two most recent
mass shootings, 23,000 people joined the group and there are also many
opportunities to volunteer and interested parties can volunteer at home or come out
into the community. Cox says their organization supports the Be Smart Program
which encourages gun safety and they contact Minnesota and federal legislators and
encourage them to have gun sense laws and not laws that are more dangerous.
Patty Anthony, 1732 Bluebird Lane, asked about the progress of the proposed
animal ordinance. Mayor Wegscheid informed Anthony the Council would be
bringing back the ordinance at the Dec. 12 meeting.
Debbie Falk, 1713 Canary Lane, shared photos of her husband's injury after he was
attacked by the hybrid wolf dogs adding she has major concerns with these dogs.
Falk said she can't have her granddaughters visit her home due to the danger
presented by the animals and Falk added she believes the owner of the wolves were
planning on breeding them.
Joseph Ostlund, 3121 Drury Lane, asked if the City needs an ordinance to remove
dogs or can they just be removed because they are a public danger. Wegscheid
said this has been discussed and the ordinances are in place and have to follow
state laws.
6. Public Hearing
Per City Code Section 42-7 subd. 2(e), the City Council will conduct a hearing to
review the actions by the nuisance enforcement officer for the property at 4938
Wilshire Boulevard - Case File 17-0126
Catherine Pausche, City Clerk, received the request for appeal and wanted to give a
little background information on the incident. Pausche stated that on October 19,
the Orono Police Department issued two verbal warnings to Mr. Mihalow to remove
leaves from the public roadway. Pausche said Mr. Mihalow failed to act on the
verbal warning and services were contracted to abate the nuisance immediately and
invoiced the fees for the abatement to Mihalow. Pausche stated Mihalow filed an
appeal to the abatement action and charges.
Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
Pausche added the charges did not include Police or Public Works staff time and
reviewed the appeal process. Pausche said the fees totaled $703.28 which included
the vendor's time and material and two hours of the City Field Officer time.
Craig Mihalow, 4938 Wilshire Blvd. addressed the Council. Mihalow said there was
a seven months long road project on Wilshire and the Metropolitan Council did not
open the road until October 25th. Mihalow stated he twisted his knee and it was late
and he didn't have time to finish the job. He said he planned on going to the Doctor
in the morning to have the knee looked at. Mihalow said a Police officer demanded
that he clean up the leaves at 7:00 a.m. the next morning. Mihalow said Wilshire
was closed and the leaves in the street did not meet the criteria of an immediate
threat to the public health or safety because Wilshire was closed. Mihalow also said
it was unreasonable for the officer to demand he clean up the leaves before he had
time to go to the Doctor.
Wegscheid responded that cars were using the street during the road project on
Wilshire. Mihalow said seven properties were using the road at that time.
Wegscheid asked Mihalow if it was accurate that Mihalow wanted the fees to be
waived and Mihalow said that was correct.
Peterson asked how the City learned of the leaves being in the street. Office Simon
stated the Police Department received a complaint. Simon added the Police Officer
contacted the City Public Works Superintendent who then contacted Simon. Simon
stated the officer relayed to him that the Orono Police Department had informed
Mihalow many times to remove the leaves. Simon added the Metropolitan Council
was getting ready to reopen Wilshire the next morning and Wilshire was open to
residents to access their property with the Emerald Bridge being closed.
Mihalow responded to Simon's comments and said they were inaccurate and
repeated his assertion that Wilshire was closed. Wegscheid stated the road was
open to local traffic and road workers. Mihalow reiterated that he wasn't given
enough time to take care of the leaves and go to the Doctor.
Peterson wondered what amount of time Mihalow was given to clean up the leaves
and asked why the situation was treated as an emergency. Wegscheid and Gillispie
stated they would like the Police Department's account of the interaction with
Mihalow.
Mihalow again stated the leaves were not a serious threat to health and safety or a
public nuisance and the road was closed and it was ridiculous a Police Officer make
him clean up the leaves at 7:00 a.m. Mihalow agreed that he shouldn't have put the
leaves in the street.
Pausche stated the timeline of the event was in Simon's report and that time is
usually given but this is a public road and Wilshire was going to be open to all traffic
Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
that morning. Pausche stated this was an emergency abatement because of the
health and safety of the location being a public road.
Gillispie would like to hear from officer and their side of the story. Wegscheid would
also would like to speak with the Officer before making any decisions.
Pausche said staff did request the Police report but it wasn't made available
because it is still an open case. Pausche asked if the Council would want the Officer
to appear in person or to review the Police report.
Wegscheid closed the public hearing at 7:25. Wegscheid added another public
hearing at a future meeting will be held to continue this discussion.
7. Catherine Pausche, Director of Finance and Administrative Services,
requesting discussion on options for the 2018 utility rates
Pausche stated this discussion is a follow up to the October 17 Council Workshop
discussion of the structure of City utility rates.
Pausche said the previous discussion was to create a capital reserve fund to give
the City flexibility in funding future projects which was approved at the November 14
Council Meeting. Pausche listed the items already agreed to by the Council:
• The Council decided on a ten-year scenario for remaining CIP projects
rather than completing the projects in five years.
• The 2018 Wilshire project with a sewer and water component cannot be
slowed down though the remaining projects will be extended out.
• The sewer fund rate increase of 3% is needed.
• The City will not delay the assessment of late fees but will try to
accommodate monthly payments in advance.
Pausche stated that Mound is a homogenous group which use between 6,000 to
20,000 gallons of water used per quarter.
Pausche said in 2009 Utility funds showed a $1,000,000 deficit which needed to be
addressed through rate increases and those funds have now been stabilized.
Pausche presented a rate comparison of City's of similar age to Mound that are fully
developed communities and noted Mound is not alone amongst these cities in
needing to address infrastructure improvements.
Pausche said in 2011, the DNR encouraged cities to use tiered rates to encourage
conservation and that the implementation of the tiers means that 50% of revenue
come from the base rate and the other 50% come from variable usage for water and
80% of sewer fees come from the base rate for the first 10,000 gallons. The
quarterly billing for utilities' has a minimum fee of $208.02 and this fee pays for
Water, Sewer, Storm Water, Recycling and street lighting services. Pausche added
the average use is 15,000 gallons of water a quarter.
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Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
Pausche listed the following three utility rate scenarios on how to reduce minimum
utility bills while allowing the City to meet its obligations, noting that people who use
more water will still pay more:
Scenario 1: Lower Sewer Base & Charge for All Use
Scenario 2: Lower Water & Sewer Base and add/raise tiers
Scenario 3: Reduce Street Light and Storm Water for Residential
Accounts only
Pausche said the first and second scenarios would be revenue neutral and would
cause 68% of utility payers to pay more and 32% would pay less, therefore limited
benefit and a recipe for continued frustration.
Pausche said the third scenario creates a shortfall of $500,000 that could be funded
by reserves/fund balance in the first year, but noted all households would receive a
14.5% reduction in their base fees. Pausche said the storm water and street light
fees are functions that are also often funded by the tax levy/General Fund as we
saw as storm sewers being a valid use of the Infrastructure Replacement Reserve
Fund.
Pausche suggested questions and comments be received from the public in
attendance. Wegscheid asked for residents to come forward.
Joleen Stadsklev, 4731 Manchester Road, asked if property taxes were considered
as a way to reduce utility bills. Wegscheid responded that property taxes were
considered but these scenarios were considered as the best options.
Pausche stated the tax levy for 2018 was set in August and cannot be raised.
Wegscheid said scenario three creates immediate relief and is spread evenly with all
users. Wegscheid said this is a start and the City will continue to move forward to
find a bigger solution and will evaluate options during 2018 to address needs and
provide relief.
Crystal Johnson, 5625 Grandview Blvd., stated her road was redone and still looks
terrible and has an awful sewer smell so it is frustrating to pay money for water she
can't drink and asked if we can get good quality water.
Wegscheid responded to Johnson and said fixing the problems Johnson noted is
why the City is doing these projects and the City needs to find a middle ground
between making needed improvements and managing rate increases. Wegscheid
said the alternative to construction projects is to allow current problems to get worse.
Hoversten stated the foul odors are coming from Minnetrista's sewer force main and
the City is continually reminding Minnetrista to put in deodorant packs to reduce the
odor.
Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
Peterson asked about Johnson's road concerns and Hoversten stated he will look
into her concerns. Johnson asked about e -billing and monthly payments and other
different payment methods.
Ed Mathison, 2162 Centerview Road, said he was concerned about people living on
the lake paying the same rates as those who do not live on the lake. Mathison
stated when he first moved to Mound in 1989 the City population was nearly 10,000
and now is nearly 9,000. Mathison quoted Adam Smith and he encouraged the
Council to think of lower income residents in a fair way and to think outside the box
to solve problems.
Wegscheid said everyone had the best intentions to solve problems and there was a
short-term project focus rather than a long-term measurement for these
improvements and their related impact on taxes and fees.
Wegscheid addressed Mathison's question regarding population. He said Mound
once had a great factory that left which changed the community which changed the
local economy. Wegscheid stated one long term approach to planned out capital
improvement will be the reserve fund which will keep everything steady and headed
in the right direction. Wegscheid added that when all of the street and utility projects
of the past few years were started there were no reserves to help fund them.
Pat Swenson, 3016 Highview Lane, said she didn't want the street lights cut and
said that part of the bill is minimal and the proposed changes to the utility bills didn't
do much. Swenson advocated the City not do any improvements until everything is
paid off, noting Mound has always had a bad reputation. Swenson stated the utility
bill scenarios presented earlier are meant to manipulate people.
Wegscheid responded by saying the utility scenarios are a short term fix and
improvements are ongoing. Wegscheid said the City can do the best we can and
the intention is a momentary adjustment to give some relief with the idea to go
forward and make necessary adjustments. Wegscheid the goal is to improve the
infrastructure and the image of Mound.
Swenson stated she doesn't trust the numbers being presented and Gillispie
responded to Swenson by saying information regarding utility rates is public
information and you can approach the City to ask questions.
Joseph Ostlund, 3121 Drury Lane, said the process of the utility rate discussion is
very concerning to him. Ostlund said he believes the Council thinks they are doing
the right thing but has not been sensitive to the needs of the lower middle class
residents by finding more creative solutions to the high base rates by raising taxes,
cutting the budget or raising dock fees.
Nick Wernimont, 4936 Island View Drive, asked how the City calculates individual
sewer usage per quarter and was it based on the water usage rate. Hoversten
responded that if home has two meters, sewer rate is determined by total usage on
Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
the primary meter and not the outside water supply which doesn't go down the drain
inside the home. Wernimont stated his understanding of the proposed new rates is
that his sewer bill portion will go up 3%.
Pausche responded by presenting the rate changes on the overhead. She showed
the sewer rate increase would increase the base utility charge from $208 to $211
and storm water and street lighting would be reduced. Pausche said residents will
experience a 8% tol 5% reduction on their bills and that storm and street lights were
chosen for a reduction because they can justifiably be paid through the levy and
general governmental funds.
Wernimont asked for a rationalization why the utility infrastructure projects were
decided to be paid through utility rates rather than through property taxes.
Wegscheid thought at the time those decisions were made, the belief was that all
taxes were high in the City at that time and the community wanted an alternative to
property taxes to pay for infrastructure needs.
Doug McGregor, 3035 Bluffs Lane, noted the City was in a $1,000,000 hole in 2009
and is now in the black and said thank you for that. McGregor stated that people
take for granted having water in homes as well as a sewer system the he believes is
worth the cost. McGregor stated any of the proposed scenarios will benefit him and
cautioned the Council to not be sort sighted and to be careful of putting system at
risk to appease the masses, adding it is important to have the systems and to
spread out costs and rates fairly.
Lisa Batchelor, 2933 Cambridge Lane, stated if the City freezes future projects after
2018 how much of the system is there left to do? Wegscheid responded that is a
good question and the Council is asking for an inventory of total infrastructure and
projected projects in order for the City to have a better understanding where are the
future projects in next 10 years in order to plan out these needs.
Peterson added that the City's contracted engineers, Bolton and Menk, have
identified these future projects. Hoversten stated this is true but the proposed work
has not been priced or extended out the costs in a long-term financial plan to
determine how it will pay for these projects.
Wegscheid stated the Council has reviewed the rate scenarios and needs to
provided direction to the Staff in order to finalize the budget.
Melody Olsen, 4873 Cumberland Road, said she has been a resident of the City
since 1960 and that the base rate was created because at the time no one wanted to
use the word tax and instead imposed the utility fees. Olsen added she thinks the
infrastructure costs should be spread out through property taxes and that the sewer
should be metered. Olsen also stated she thinks the City staff got raises.
Wegscheid stated staff numbers have been lowered over the years to reduce that
budget area and the City has to retain quality people. Wegscheid noted that using
Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
taxes to pay for current projects is not an option right now as the budget is set for
2018. Pausche added that the levy is set in September and cannot be raised at this
point.
Olsen stated she thinks the City needs to be audited and would like to have it put on
taxes. Wegscheid said the City is audited every year and going forward the Council
is going to look at all options and to do what is the best for the entire community.
Olsen added that some of the Council might not be back after the next election.
Wegscheid said voting is an absolute right and urged citizens to vote. Wegscheid
said he ran for Mayor to do his part to contribute to the community.
Wegscheid said each Council has to go and follow what has been put in place
previously and Olsen said the base rate is what is hurting people. Wegscheid said
the goal in 2018 is to look at all suggestions from the community and to plan to get
the long term structure in place. Olsen said some towns don't have base rates and it
is harder to live in Mound economically. Wegscheid said the hard thing is when
making decisions, the Council knows it can't please 100% of the population.
Peterson also added the Council doesn't switch out at same time which adds
continuity as peoples perspectives are different.
Joseph Ostlund, 3121 Drury Lane, said that Pausche used word "static" in keeping
the base rate which Ostlund said "that means the same". Wegscheid stated that
what is being proposed is temporary relief and the Council will continue to try to
reduce the impact of costs to residents.
Joe Bruns, 2630 Setter Circle, asked which Council members are seeking reelection
this fall and was told no decisions have been made at this time.
Wegscheid said the Council needs to direct staff to prepare one of the scenarios for
the final budget and supports scenario #3. Gillispie responded that she supports
scenario #3 as she believe it benefits majority of the people. Salazar stated he
agreed that #3 is best at the present time and is a bridge to where the City is going
to in the future. Bergstrom stated he agreed with scenario #3 as a stating point.
Peterson also agreed with scenario #3 and to keep future projects in mind and she
added that she appreciates the work which Pausche did on coming up with the
scenarios.
Wegscheid said this is only one step and the consensus of the Council is to direct
staff to go with scenario three.
Olsen approached the Council and asked about the cost of the deduct meter.
Pausche said the City offers them at cost to residents and every new house in the
City is required to be equipped with a deduct meter. Pausche said putting in a meter
might not get a resident much savings unless they use a lot of water outside.
Hoversten said the base rate covers use up to 10,000 gallons so a user has to use
Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
over that amount of water to make a deduct meter worthwhile so it doesn't make
sense for many people.
8. Catherine Pausche, Director of Finance and Administrative Service
requesting discussion and action on the following:
A. A resolution authorizing staff to submit an application to the LMCD to convert 10
Lost Lake transient slips to overnight slips
Pausche presented to the Council a proposal on the use of City owned slips at Lost
Lake. Pausche stated the City owns 37 overnight slips which were committed to the
Lost Lake Villas townhome development. Pausche stated the developers of the
community only built 27 units so there are an extra ten slips which go to Mound or
non -Mound residents and that the City is looking to build on the availability of
overnight slips by converting 7-10 of the 24 transient day slips which are also in the
Lost Lake harbor to overnight. Pausche said the City could use the ten extra Lost
Lake slips and ten of the transient slips to support future development in the Harbor
District as the transient slips are being underutilized and overnight slips could be
used to increase the value of a future town home development if slips are offered as
part of townhome ownership, similar to the Villas on Lost Lake.
Pausche said if the proposal is approved by the Council, the City will be required to
petition the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District to change the transient status to
overnight use. Pausche suggested this is a good move because the slips are
already in existence and will help promote the townhome concept for the Harbor,
thereby increasing tax increment and tax relief.
Gillispie asked if the overnight use is granted by the LMCD can the slips be used as
transient if they are not rented out. Hoversten responded that the change in use can
be altered to suit the rental conditions as long as the City designates which docks
are overnight and which are transient.
Pausche said the City determines prioritization of the Lost Lake slips via the City
Code and suggested this issue could be handled there.
Christine Hewitt, 4849 Island View Drive, asked why wouldn't a restaurant get first
priority for dock use. Hewitt said Wayzata and Excelsior have far greater restaurant
choices than Mound.
Gillispie responded that Excelsior and Wayzata don't face the challenges that
Mound faces such as there is no lunch crowd, Mound is not off a major highway and
the overhead for a restaurant is expensive and the City is trying to be creative on
how to make the Harbor District work for the City.
Hewitt asked if the City is breaking even on dock program fees. Pausche said the
dock program is breaking even. Pausche added the Lost Lake slips are not part of
the dock program and those slips are helping pay down the bonds on the Lost Lake
Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
development. Pausche added the City has tried to charge more for the Lost Lake
slips in the past and found there is a ceiling for what the market is willing to bear for
renting those slips.
Staff was directed to amend the proposed resolution for authorizing staff to submit
an application to the LMCD to convert 10 Lost Lake transient slips to overnight slips
to incorporate the change brought forward by Gillispie and bring it back to the
December 12 meeting for final approval.
RESOLUTION NO. 17 -XXX: RESOLUTION • STAFF SUBMIT
APPLICATION TO THE LMCD TO CONVERT 10 LOST LAKE TRANSIENT SLIPS T4
OVERNIGHT SLIPS
B. A resolution authorizing staff to issue a request for qualification and interest in a
townhome development in the Mound Harbor TIF District
Pausche offered a history of the Mound Harbor TIF district which started in 2001-2
based on a community visioning process during the 1990's.
Pausche presented a concept plan for the Mound Harbor development which includes
17-20 high-end townhomes and a potential restaurant site. Pausche stated this
development would play a role in supporting the existing commercial district in Mound
by adding residential and not more commercial space as originally contemplated.
Pausche stated that based on feedback to the Comprehensive Planning process, the
community is not in favor of a high density development in the Harbor District.
Pausche said the City has been approached by developers to do high density projects
in the Harbor District, but that it is more desirable to limit the intensity of use in order to
provide for continued public enjoyment of the area.
The Council meeting was paused to change the recording tape at 8:58pm. The
meeting re -opened at 9:04pm
Wegscheid said the proposal was already seen at Housing and Redevelopment
Authority meeting. Gillispie said the developer RFP will be given a two week extension
for the bidding process.
MOTION by Salazar, seconded by Gillispie, approving resolution. All voted in favor.
Motion carried.
• • A •
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MOTION by Salazar, seconded by Peterson, to approve minutes. Salazar, Peterson,
Gillispie, and Bergquist voted in favor, Wegscheid abstained. Motion carried.
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Mound City Council Minutes — November 28, 2017
10. Information/Miscellaneous
A. Comments/reports from Council Members
Hoversten thanked everyone for coming out for tree lighting event reminded all of
the following future events:
Dec. 12 — The Council will be considering the recommended budget for 2018 and is
the final meeting for 2017. The December 26th Council meeting is cancelled with the
next regular Council schedule resuming in 2018 on January 9th.
City Offices are closed on 12/22 & 12/25 for the Christmas Holiday and closed on
12/29 and 1/01 for the New Year Holiday.
There are Commission openings for an Abutter on the Docks Commission and an
opening on the Parks Commission. December 11th is the last day to apply for either
Commission
The Balsam Hill redevelopment Grand Opening and Open House is scheduled on
December 4th from 10am to Noon.
F0,1111111111111111V =0
C. Minutes:
Docks & Commons Commission 9-21-17
D. Correspondence: Aeon - Balsam Hill Apartments & Townhomes
Grand Opening Invite - December 4, 2017
11.Adiourn
MOTION by Bergquist seconded by Peterson, to adjourn at 9:09 p.m. All voted in
favor. Motion carried.
Attest: Catherine Pausche, Clerk
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MayorMarWegsbheid