City Council Minutes

Pursuant to due call and posted notice thereof, the regular meeting of the Victoria City Council was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Hershberger Thun in the Council Chambers at 7951 Rose Street.

Members Present: Mayor: Mary Hershberger Thun; Councilmembers: Tim Amundsen, Tom O’Connor, Jim Paulsen and Kim Roden.

Absent:

Staff Present: Don Uram, City Administrator, Holly Kreft, Community Development Director, Cara Geheren, City Engineer and Mike Norton, City Attorney.

Others Present: Unsie Zuege, The Chanhassen Villager, and Sue Orsen, The Victoria Gazette.

A motion was made by Councilmember Roden, to adopt the Agenda. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.

(3) OPEN FORUM:

None.

(4) VISITORS PRESENTATION:

Jim Knutson, State Representative for the Government Finance Office Association, stated this certificate is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting a city can earn. He noted this is the first time the City of Victoria as earned this certificate. Mr. Knutson presented Jylan Johnson with the certificate for the year-ended 2007. Ms. Johnson said she hopes they continue to receive this award. Councilmember Roden commented on the reserves and said the Finance Department has achieved the 35% reserve requirement by the State Auditor. The City Council commended Ms. Johnson’s work.

Mario Cortolezzis, Program Director, said the S.A.F.E.R. program started in July. He showed the transmitters that are worn by kids with special needs or individuals with Alzheimer’s. He noted they currently have two senior citizens in the program. He talked about the programs being offered: individualized safety plan, swimming lessons for special needs children, free indoor pool time at local hotels, support groups for families, support groups for Dads of special needs children, friendship circle, gluten & dairy free cooking classes and the home launch which is an alarm that will sound when a user tries to open a door. Mr. Cortolezzis said he started the program for his son. He said it is a non profit corporation. He stated the S.A.F.E.R. program started in Carver County and other counties are showing interest. Three Rivers Park District just signed up and will offer rental transmitters to campers. Mr. Cortolezzis explained that the families are responsible for the $260 transmitter and many of the families have received grants. He stated they want to create awareness. Mayor Hershberger Thun clarified that it is a 501(c) 3 Corporation so contributions are tax deductible. The contact phone number is 952-486-3852 and the website is www.safermn.net.

Councilmember Amundsen removed item D.

A motion was made by Councilmember Roden, to adopt the Consent Agenda as amended. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.

Councilmember Amundsen asked about the items listed under the teachers discount catalog and what those items are going to be used for. Mr. Uram said he can’t answer that question, but in the summer there would be preschool activities. Councilmember Roden noted there are a number of rooms that they didn’t have before for a variety of activities. Councilmember Amundsen said there should be shared funding with other entities if they are going to be using the space.

Councilmember Amundsen questioned the Wii deluxe system. Mr. Uram said it is a combination system that includes the Wii, big screen TV and games. He noted the cost for Field House visitors to use the Wii is still being debated. Mayor Hershberger Thun commented on people being able to check the Wii system out and said there needs to be a substantial damage deposit. Mr. Uram said the goal is to attract kids to the Field House.

A motion was made by Councilmember Amundsen, to approve the purchase of equipment for the Field House. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.

-A- Approve the March 9, 2009 Claims Roster in the amount of $449,616.06

A motion was made by Councilmember Paulsen, to approve the Claims Roster in the amount of $449,616.06. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.

A motion was made by Councilmember Roden, to accept the donations. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.

None.

Ms. Geheren showed a map of the Lions Park area. She said there are two types of improvements; one is a complete street reconstruction which includes 81^st Street, 81-1/2 Street, 82^nd Street, Orchid, Petunia and Quamoclit. She stated they also looked at wider streets to accommodate the parking that occurred with the events at the park and found the added costs and added impacts weren’t a good use of money. She said staff’s recommendation is to put the streets in at 28-feet wide and monitor parking. Ms. Geheren said the other part of the project is the street reclamation and overlay with draintile installation of 81^st Street. She said they will also be removing a hydrant to realign the driveway by Community Living to have a standard four way intersection. She stated they did a complete assessment of the sanitary sewer line and determined that full replacement was necessary. Ms. Geheren talked about some improvements at Lions Park and the decision was made to proceed with getting alternate bids for construction of a city standard parking lot in the location of the existing gravel lot on the south side of 82^nd Street and the paving of three existing segments of existing trail within the park. She noted the cost of the inner parking lot was not included due to costs.

Ms. Geheren explained the Hartwood project area includes street reconstruction of Lilac, 79^th Street, Marigold and 79-1/2 Street. She stated the streets will be 24-feet wide and parking will be restricted to one side. She said a permanent easement will be required from one of the property owners for construction of a storm sewer outlet. Ms. Geheren noted the sewer system is in good condition and will not be replaced.

Ms. Geheren reviewed the schedule and said they are asking for authorization to advertise the project for bidding with the intent that the City Council would consider accepting the bids and awarding a contract on April 27^th or possibly May 11^th. The final assessment hearing would be in the fall of 2010. She noted there will be more neighborhood open houses in April to show the final design.

Councilmember Roden commented on the Hartwood neighborhood and the acquisition of right-of-way and asked what the opinion is with the second property owner that has not been reached. Ms. Geheren said it goes better if the property owner is benefiting and in this situation it is more of a benefit. She noted they do have a backup plan in place.

Mayor Hershberger Thun asked how many no parking signs there will be in the Hartwood neighborhood. Ms. Geheren said they are trying to put only four no parking signs in.

Councilmember Amundsen asked how many major trees they will be losing in the Hartwood area. Ms. Geheren said it was more than what was anticipated and they had the arborist visit the site. She said it is about 25 to 30 trees and showed where the trees would be coming down.

Councilmember O’Connor asked about the sequence of the work with the two separate projects. Ms. Geheren said they put in the contract that once the project starts they have to get it back up to a certain stage before they can start on another area.

Councilmember Amundsen stated it is important to know when minimal tree loss changes to significant tree loss and they shouldn’t hear about that from the residents.

Councilmember Roden asked for a ballpark number on the parking lot and trail improvements to the Lions Park area. Ms. Geheren said for the trail improvement the estimate is $47,000 and the parking lot improvements is about $105,000. Councilmember Paulsen noted they are trying to spend a third with other contributions. He said they also need to work out how to bond for the trails.

Councilmember Amundsen clarified that with the extension of the parking lot the large trees would be taken into consideration.

Councilmember Amundsen commented on the three trails being considered and said they need to decide if those are the three most important trails that should be paved. He said there are trails that go to nowhere and the money might be better spent somewhere else. Councilmember Paulsen said this is the center of town and talked about the usage. Mayor Hershberger Thun asked Ms. Geheren to talk with Ms. Kreft about the connectivity with Chaska. Mr. Uram clarified that this is an alternate to the bids. Councilmember Roden commented on coming up with a prioritization of trail connections.

Mayor Hershberger Thun commented on the drainage problem in the Lions Park area and asked if the improvements would take care of that. Ms. Geheren responded yes. She said they will be tying into the county storm sewer system on County Road 11 that goes down to Church Lake.

Councilmember Amundsen said there is a waste of useful space where the playground used to be and said that parking should be considered for that area. Ms. Geheren said that area was identified for a different park improvement.

Councilmember Roden commented on the drainage into Church Lake and asked what the impact would be with the residents around that area. Ms. Geheren said the county storm sewer system that was put in was sized to handle additional drainage.

Mayor Hershberger Thun clarified that the work on the downtown Quamoclit will be done by Volksfest. Ms. Geheren said yes.

A motion was made by Councilmember Roden, to Adopt Resolution No. 09-30, A Resolution approving construction plans and specifications and ordering advertisement for bids for the 2009 Street, Drainage and Utility Improvements. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.

None.

-A- E-Library

Mr. Uram reported an E-Library Grant is being proposed by Carver County in partnership with Washington County. He explained that this would be a kiosk system at the Field House. He said it would be a computer terminal, lockers and a book drop where people can order books online. The books would be put into the storage lockers and a code would be given to access the lockers. Mr. Uram stated a grant application has been submitted for $200,000 to cover the costs. He noted the only cost to the City is some space at the Field House and a telephone and internet line. He said it will be a Carver County grant. Councilmember Paulsen said they need to make sure the fiber optic goes by the Field House and all institutional buildings.

Ms. Geheren reported that the cities addressed the Watershed District Board directly. She said that an email was received setting the agenda for the technical advisory meeting and the results of the Board meeting were outlined. She said the Board agreed to develop a sub committee that would allow interactions more regularly. She noted they plan to take two months to gather additional information and then will bring it back to the Board. She stated that the Board made a strong point in saying that the deadline will not drive the process. Ms. Geheren stated the consulting engineer was directed to develop a list of potential abstraction options besides infiltration. She said the cities also wanted to see storm water management goals as a regional approach. She noted that this will be significant for the Lake Wasserman area.

Councilmember O’Connor asked if Victoria will be represented on the sub committee. Ms. Geheren said that will be discussed. Councilmember O’Connor said this is important. Councilmember Paulsen said they need to finish the job. Mr. Uram said with the staff perspective it was a concern about the amount of time and funds being spent on this and said he wanted to make sure they move ahead in the direction the City Council wants to. Mr. Uram noted they have spent less than $15,000 so far. Councilmember Roden commented on the cost of not being involved. Councilmember Paulsen said it is important that Victoria speak with one voice.

Mayor Hershberger Thun clarified the reason the City is taking such an active role is that this would affect road development in the future and other developments. She said she wants to make sure this will benefit the entire city in the future. Ms. Geheren said from the engineering perspective the benefit is to be able to continue the street reconstruction projects in a cost effective manner. She said on the new projects the concern is with the long term operating and maintenance costs. Ms. Kreft stated that from a planning perspective Victoria contains almost one third of the undeveloped area and they need to be competitive with other communities.

Mr. Uram said a preliminary draft report is included in the packet with the results of the meeting. He noted the next step is to develop specific action plans for each of the goals. He said he hopes to have a draft back by the first meeting in April. Councilmember O’Connor asked if this is the final report. Mr. Uram said this is a draft report and there is some work to be done for the final report. He noted he would like another meeting with the City Council on the action plans. Councilmember O’Connor asked if the draft report needs to be completed before they start on the goals. Mr. Uram said the first section didn’t have any changes; the second part is the subject of the discussion. He noted the final report would be more readable.

Mr. Norton said this is a proposed first reading of an ordinance amending the shared parking ordinance. He said the concept has not been changed but there were some changes in definitions.

Councilmember Paulsen stated he would like to comment in writing. He said he has not had enough time to review this. He suggested that this be tabled or postponed.

Mr. Norton explained that tabling this means it just stays on the table and doesn’t go anywhere and postponing it means it would be postponed to a date in the future at which time the first reading would be held. Mayor Hershberger Thun said they should postpone the first reading.

A motion was made by Councilmember Amundsen, to postpone the 1^st Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 30: Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements for the Central Business District. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.

Councilmember Paulsen expressed concern with the short amount of time they have from when they receive the information to the meeting. Councilmember Amundsen said if they don’t have adequate time to prepare they can postpone the item. Councilmember Roden noted the information should also be available electronically.

Mr. Norton talked about the ISD 112 Ground Lease and Joint Powers Agreement and said Ann Mahnke put together an operations plan. He noted that approach was redrafted and the District is still reviewing it. Mr. Norton said he is confident that it will be on the agenda in April.

Councilmember Amundsen commented on an email received on proposed legislation that will expand the Metropolitan Transit Taxing District to all metropolitan communities regardless if they have transit.

A motion was made by Mayor Hershberger Thun, to direct Mr. Uram and Mr. Norton to immediately send a letter to the Minnesota Senate saying that the City of Victoria does not have transit and for them to be included in a tax district is inappropriate. The motion was seconded.

Councilmember Paulsen noted they have not seen the entire context of the email.

With the majority of the members voting in favor the motion carried. Vote: 4 Ayes, 1 Nay (Paulsen).

Mayor Hershberger Thun reminded the next person attending the ACCEL meeting to check their emails because they may postpone the meeting.

Mayor Hershberger Thun read the following: the Carver County Assessors Office has designated the week of April 6^th – 10^th, 2009 for conducting open book meetings for residents who are interested in learning more about their property valuation or appealing that valuation. Appointments can be made by calling: 952-361-1960. Walk-ins are also welcome. The Carver County Assessors Office is located at 600 East 4th Street, Chaska.

Mayor Hershberger Thun reported that there is a group meeting on Highway 5 to talk about what is going to be developed around the corridor.

None.

None.

A motion was made by Councilmember Amundsen, to adjourn the meeting at 8:24 p.m. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.

Respectfully submitted,

Tanya Schmieg
TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.