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.

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

Absent: None.

Staff Present: Don Uram, City Administrator; Jylan Johnson, Finance Director; and Mike Norton, City Attorney.

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

A motion was made by Councilmember Paulsen, 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:

Councilmember Roden presented Mr. Simanton with a Service Award for outstanding and dedicated service on the Victoria Planning Commission. She said Mr. Simanton served on the Planning Commission from 1998 to 2009 and as the Chair from 2004 to 2009. She mentioned the various projects and developments he was involved in.

Gordy Simanton thanked everyone and said he enjoyed his time and it was a very rewarding experience.

Mary Flynn, Director of Volksfest, provided a handout that outlines the Volksfest inititatives. The 2010 Volksfest will be held on Saturday, August 28^th. Volksfest will begin at 10 a.m. with Artisans on the bicycle trail and streets will be used for local business vendors. The Community Band will start at 11 a.m. and there will be a neighborhood bike ride. Ms. Flynn said they will also be doing a battle of the bands for 20 year olds and under, kid's activities, singing challenge, Adirondack chair auction, bed races and a band. The big tent will be located next to the Gannon parking lot so the traffic into the downtown will be easier to enter and exit.

Ms. Flynn asked the city for some assistance for the labor.

Mayor Hershberger Thun clarified that other than the Adirondack chairs, the profits will go towards the promotion of businesses in Victoria.

Mr. Uram informed the City Council that TKDA offered to purchase one of the Adirondack chairs.

Mr. Norton said they are also always pleased to participate.

Fire Chief Walsh noted there is a substitute sheet for the second page. He said some of the information that was given at last years meeting was added to this document. He pointed out that on the bottom of page 8 are the training hours for 2007, 2008 and 2009 and he clarified that includes all the inside and outside training. Fire Chief Walsh noted that on page 10 is the 2010 initiatives and next year there will be explanations with the 2010 annual report.
 

A motion was made by Councilmember O'Connor, to Approve the Consent Agenda. The motion was seconded.

Councilmember Paulsen commented on the tennis court repairs and maintenance and said to be mindful of the soils.

With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.
 

Ms. Johnson said Paul Donna will present the final results.

Paul Donna said in the packet is the summary of the results for the refinancing of the general obligation water revenue bonds. The total threshold set was a 3% net present value and the net present value benefit was $221,007. He stated the future value savings was about $346,000 over the life of the existing bond.

A motion was made by Councilmember O'Connor, to Approve Resolution No. 10-61; Awarding the Sale of $7,480,000 General Obligation Water Revenue Crossover Refunding Bonds, Series 2010A and Refunding Statement Summary reflecting market conditions. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.

Councilmember Paulsen commented on the emerging media events. Mr. Donna said there was a recent telephone call regarding the Build America Bonds and on that call the IRS indicated it is their goal to audit at least 50%. He said the second item that got attention is related to the premium pricing on bonds and flipping. Councilmember Paulsen asked about the 50% audit. Mr. Donna said he believes what they will audit is to make sure it was a governmental purpose and proper procedures were followed. Councilmember Paulsen clarified offsets are now in the process and said that is nasty.

Councilmember O'Connor asked if there is any jeopardy to the city. Mr. Donna said there could be a potential audit. He noted the IRS randomly audits tax exempt bonds as well.

Councilmember Paulsen said what concerns him is the use of the reimbursement.

Councilmember Amundsen said it is concerning to see these questions come up.

A motion was made by Councilmember O'Connor, to Approve the May 24, 2010 Claims Roster in the amount of $188,196.59. The motion was seconded.

Councilmember Roden commented on the workers compensation said the claims seemed high. She questioned how much the difference is with the City Council being included. She asked if there are any options to shop the coverage to drive down the premiums. Ms. Johnson said the premium for the City Council is under $50 a year. She explained that they don't have options because the carriers will not carry an entity that has a volunteer fire department or police.

With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.
 

-A- Accept Donations

A motion was made by Councilmember O'Connor, to Approve Resolution No. 10-63, Accepting Donations. The motion was seconded.

Councilmember O'Connor commented on a letter from Mount Olivet that talked about the use of the funds and said it will be used wisely.

With all members voting in favor, the motion carried.
 

None.
 

None.
 

None.
 

Mr. Uram said included in the packet is an executed Purchase Agreement for the property adjacent to the city hall known as the Kirsch building. The City conveyed the $5,000 in earnest money. He stated the city is purchasing the property as is. The preliminary environmental tests were conducted which indicated there is a small amount of asbestos. The soil tests will be conducted this week and staff doesn't anticipate an issues. Mr. Uram said closing will be on or before August 2^nd.

Mr. Norton stated the abstract from Ms. Kirsch's lawyer has been received. He said they will get a title insurance commitment.

Councilmember Roden commented on spending $145,000 and asked that the intent be explained for the benefit of the public. Mr. Uram said the long term plan for the downtown area included this property for parking. He said the plan shows approximately 18 parking spaces. Councilmember Roden asked if the parking will be primarily for city staff. Mr. Uram said the expectation is that it becomes part of a bigger master parking plan which would include parking spaces for city staff and people who visit city hall. Councilmember Roden clarified that discussions would be continued with business owners that have been involved. Mr. Uram said they will have ongoing discussions. He stated they are always looking for partners to help facilitate the payment for providing parking downtown.

Mayor Hershberger Thun asked Mr. Uram to confirm that the property is un-inhabitable. Mr. Uram said 19 code related issues were found that needed to be corrected. He explained that based on the cost to bring the building up to code it is not financially feasible to make the building habitable.

Councilmember Paulsen asked about a survey. Mr. Norton said the survey was in the abstract. He stated the legal description is on the county's website.

A motion was made by Councilmember Paulsen, to Approve Resolution No. 10-64; A Resolution approving the Purchase Agreement for 7975 Rose Street in the amount of $145,000. The motion was seconded. With all members voting in favor, the motion carried. Vote: 5 Ayes, 0 Nays.
 

Mr. Uram reported on the bike race held on Saturday. He said it was attended by 114 cyclists. He said the Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission was present and did live footage of the racing. He noted the feedback he has received was the venue was the best they have ever participated in.

Councilmember O'Connor reported on a Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission fiber workshop and said if anyone is interested in viewing the workshop it will be on channel 12 on June 18^th at 7:00 p.m. and channel 21 on June 21^st and 28^th at 7:00 p.m.
 

Councilmember Amundsen said in light of the recent articles in the local newspapers he felt compelled to respond. He stated it is his personal belief that the local journalists do an exceptional job. He said it is impossible to get everything right all of the time. Councilmember Amundsen thanked the journalists.

Councilmember Amundsen stated the video records show more of the actual facts on the discussion of topics. He said in response to an article titled "Whose Town is this Anyway" it is his opinion that it is everyone's town. He stated the facts in the article that were correct make it clear that the process involved in the main topic is unsettling and a lot of the negative issues did not need to occur nor do they need to continue. Councilmember Amundsen said they are at a crossroad with the city's role in the action, while others may respectfully disagree, the city's actions are limited. He stated that action has been taken to make sure this doesn't happen again and they have appropriately controlled what they could. Unfortunately the insurance and legal process in this country is somewhat broken in his opinion. He said this will not be fixed by this council.

Councilmember Amundsen said he has some opinion on what they should or should not do. He stated he has visited the site and this happened at the time of accidents and during construction. He also received numerous reports from both parties and city staff detailing issues regarding the construction and some of the events. This included potential problems and repair needs. The actions were not enough so the council acted and made sure they improved the communication and documentation, while too late for phase I, they acted. After the crane fell he specifically remembers discussing the concerns being conveyed to the Metropolitan Council. Councilmember Amundsen said there are numerous staff reports of homeowners verbally abusing city staff, displacing construction items and confronting construction workers. He stated they did take action where they needed to. He said it is their job to get answers not to engage in discovery which is a legal term. He stated they should and could be emphasizing to the Metropolitan Council that it didn't need to get to this place and they should make it right; however the Metropolitan Council's legal staff and insurance companies believe there is a reason to fight or complicate the issue. Councilmember Amundsen said it should not be taking thousands of dollars and numerous years to get it right, but it doesn't matter what he thinks.

Councilmember Amundsen said there may be a different opinion on what the city council is charged to do. He stated there is a body of five not one. According to the League of Minnesota Cities the Mayor is the presiding officer at council meetings. He said the Mayor has allowed people to speak at meetings. Councilmember Amundsen said some have pursued ethics policy to a solution to the issue. He believes they act with the best of intent and focus on ethical behavior. Openly stating and accusing people of not caring in written and spoken word is definitely a personal violation for him. Councilmember Amundsen stated the guidelines are useful but they don't need a process to fine each other for these types of violations. He said they need a process to talk with and not at each other. He said he is disturbed by the tone of the action and interaction of this council. He appealed for a possible closed session to clear the air and to be up front to establish an opportunity to work more efficiently and set the stage for the future.

Councilmember Roden read some of the comments she has received from the public regarding the issue Councilmember Amundsen was referring to: This was from the insurance agent: Thank you for standing up for these homeowners. I know that Gary and his family have felt abandoned during this ordeal and if nothing else your support means a lot to him and his family. You summed up the situation very well. If it were my home I would certainly want my City Council to care about my fight. Thank you for caring and standing up for your constituents.

From a resident in the Lake Zumbra neighborhood: I was saddened to read the article in last months Victoria Gazette and it prompted me to write my first letter ever to both you and the paper. Thank you, Kim for doing what I feel is your main and responsible job of representing the people who elected you. Your manner may have been uncomfortable but your message was needed and expected from the average people in Victoria. We need other elected officials to follow your lead. Go Kim, go you are the only one speaking for us.

Another comment read: I respect ever so much your speaking out on behalf of the homeowners who are affected by phase I. You are an asset to the homeowners and renters who live in the wonderful community.

From a Victoria resident: It is inconceivable to me that your peers on the City Council apparently wish to proceed with phase II with so many phase I issues still alive, issues which could certainly be revisited in phase II. What disturbs me the most is the Metropolitan Council's apparent indifference to the homeowners who through no fault of their own happen to be in the way of the council's project. If anyone has leverage with the contractor they hired and by extension its insurance carrier it is the Metropolitan Council. Kim, with no one on the City Council in your corner it appears that you should insist that a special session be held if that is necessary to fully address the phase I issues raised in your article.

Councilmember Roden said she understands there is a difference of opinion. She stated she is not interested in going backwards and revisiting the past if there is a facilitated discussion.

Mayor Hershberger Thun stated it is time that some of the other side is told. She said the most unfortunate thing for her is to have to defend the Metropolitan Council. She said she has been down to the legislature three times this year to talk about how they can improve the Metropolitan Council representation. She said she is also very much aware of everything the Metropolitan Council has done for the City of Victoria and the seven county area. She noted that in the consent agenda they approved applying for a grant from the Metropolitan Council to do some planning in the 13.5 acres.

Mayor Hershberger Thun stated it is her job as Mayor to defend for City Council Members who have worked very diligently on so many issues. She said all five of them worked very hard to develop procedures and processes for the second phase. She noted that some of that came from one of the affected parties. She said she understands all the emails that were sent to Councilmember Roden and if she would have read that article without having any of the other background she probably would have sent an email too. Mayor Hershberger Thun stated there is another side to this story. She said there have been at least two affected homeowners from phase I. The Metropolitan Council has offered to repair driveways and other things affected by the crane falling in 2008 which was rejected by the party. She said last summer the Metropolitan Council was doing some work in the channel and bought a new boat cover for an affected party. She noted there were residents that questioned why the Metropolitan Council would use tax money to do that. The party affected has at least two different attorneys. She said at least twice the affected party has not responded to the Metropolitan Council or to their legal representation and therefore nothing could be followed up on because there was no response. Mayor Hershberger Thun said it took a long time for the Metropolitan Council to get a list from the affected party for all the things they felt were wrong. She said there have been some delays.

Mayor Hershberger Thun commented on getting through the channel and said the channel between Lake Virginia and Minnetonka has been a concern for many people over the years. She said the affected party has asked for dredging many times and the affected party believes it is the responsibility of the City of Victoria to dredge that channel. She noted the city has denied that many times. She said the water is flowing just as it was before it was rebuilt.

Mayor Hershberger Thun said Councilmember Roden brought up concerns with the harborage and said the Metropolitan Council has been working on it and they did provide a timeline which was provided to the reporters of both newspapers. She said the affected party says the timeline is wrong. Mayor Hershberger Thun said there are two different opinions. She also talked to the harborage and asked them if they were disappointed with the Metropolitan Council's work and the reply was no they received their payments for the easements and said they didn't understand why the DNR was making the Metropolitan Council do all that on their property.

Mayor Hershberger Thun stated just recently the affected party is now asking for mediation. In 2008 and 2009 the Metropolitan Council had offered to mediate this with the affected party and they were turned down. The Metropolitan Council said they are willing to mediate this but they are surprised it is coming up now.

Mayor Hershberger Thun reiterated there are two sides to the story. She stated that each and every one of them care very much about the land and what is happening but they do have limits on what they can do. She said they do not want the city to be part of a lawsuit because they don't want to end up in court using tax dollars. Mayor Hershberger Thun said they will continue to work with the affected party.

Mayor Hershberger Thun said regardless of what the issue is they need to treat each other with respect. She said she is always willing to let residents, council members and staff speak as long as they are respectful to each other. She stated if anyone doubts her commitment to the citizens to send her an email at: mlhthun@mchsi.com. She noted all five council members are willing to listen and speak for the citizens.

Councilmember O'Connor said he was a part of the preparation and the reaction to the problems of phase I and the preparation of a revised set of procedures and communication techniques with the Metropolitan Council to make sure the same problems didn't happen with phase II. He noted the Metropolitan Council didn't have to agree to some of the procedures and communication techniques. He stated they are not going to be able to undo what was done in the past. Councilmember O'Connor referred to the article and said that is one side of the story. He said the Metropolitan Council was made to look like they were heartless and the other four city council members were made to look like they are fools. He said the average citizen has no idea how much time and effort it takes to sit in this chair.

Councilmember Paulsen stated the city is not a party to the contract. The contract is between the Metropolitan Council and the contractor. He said they don't know who is right and who is wrong. They are not the judge and they are not the jury. Councilmember Paulsen said the city has no legal right to be part of the contract.
 

None.
 

A motion was made by Councilmember O'Connor, to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 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.