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CITY OF NOWTHEN CITY COUNCIL MEETING

TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2018 @ 7:00 PM (Meeting is being taped for transcribing purposes only)

7:00 PM Allegiance 7:02 PM Clerk Reads the Meeting Policy 7:03 PM Approve/amend the meeting agenda

7:04 PM 1). Sheriff’s Report: 7:09 PM 2). Floor Items: Floor items are an opportunity for the public to address the City Council

regarding any issues or concerns they have. (You will have no more than 3 minutes to state your comment or concerns)

7:15 PM 3). Planning & Zoning: a). Josh Peterson and Eldon Farb – Request for a Zoning Map

Amendment for property owned at 5259 Viking Blvd for revision to the City’s Zoning Map to change 40 acres from C-1, Commercial to I-1, industrial. The amendment is desired to allow for development of a self-storage facility and other unknown business (industrial) uses.

b). Grant Radamacher – Bill’s Superette approval of Landscaping

amount for escrow. c). Recommended Appointment to the Planning Commission –

Robert Schiller d). Code Enforcement – Council direction e). Schedule Comp Plan Meeting/Workshop -

7:30 PM 4). Consent Agenda: 1.1 Approve the January 9th and February 13, 2018 City Council

Meeting Minutes and the February 8, 2018 CC Workshop Minutes

1.2 Financial Report 1.3 Approve All Audited Bills Claim # 613 through Claim # 669,

plus Net Distribution reports dated February 6th, 13th and 20th, and March 5th, 2018.

MARCH 2018 S M T W Th F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

APRIL 2018 S M T W Th F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

City of Nowthen City Council Meeting Agenda March 13, 2018

1.4 RCA – Request final purchase of Self Contained Breather Apparatus (SCBA’s) for the Nowthen Firefighters 1.5 RCA – Adopt Resolution 2018-07, A Resolution Authorizing Membership in the 4M Fund

7:40 PM 5). Council Items: a). Deputy Clerk Position Update

b). Day to Day operating expenditure authorization – Information was given at the February Council Meeting

7:55 PM 6). Introduction of New Items: -

8:00 PM Meeting Adjourn

MEMORANDUM TO: Nowthen Mayor and City Council Nowthen Park and Recreation Committee FROM: Elizabeth Stockman DATE: March 1, 2018 RE: Nowthen – Farb Property Rezoning FILE NO: 122.01 – 18.04 The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended by a vote of 6-0 to approve rezoning of the eastern 40 acres of the Farb property at their regular meeting on February 27, 2018. The associated findings have been attached along with two sets of City Council findings, one for approval and one for denial. The City Council can vote either way on the rezoning, even though the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve the request and the request meets all five rezoning criteria (page 4 of the TPC report) of the rezoning. Note that Item C on Page 4, requires adherence to performance standards in the Zoning Ordinance and our office indicated that the City Council may require architectural review of the proposed structures, overall development or fencing/screening (see Zoning Ordinance Section 11-4-17 subsections K and N). Generally speaking, however, rezoning to I-1 would only require that the property owner comply with standards specified for that district (see Building Type & Construction attached). Most importantly, the City cannot attach conditions to an approval and must list specific reasons for a denial. The policies for commercial and industrial development have also been attached for your reference, as taken from the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

c: Corrie LaDoucer, City Clerk

CITY OF NOWTHEN ANOKA COUNTY, MINNESOTA PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION

FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATION REZONING

APPLICANT: Eldon Farb, on behalf of August and Gladys Farb, and Josh Peterson APPLICATION: Request for approval to rezone +/-40 acres of the total 60 acres from C-1, Commercial to I-1, Industrial. PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING: February 26, 2018 FINDINGS: Based upon review of the application and evidence received, the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Nowthen now makes the following findings of fact:

Whereas, the legal description of the subject property is THAT PRT OF S1/2 OF SW1/4 & THAT PRT OF S1/2 OF SE1/4 OF SEC 24 TWP 33 RGE 25 DESC AS FOL: BEG AT A PT 495 FT S OF NE COR OF S1/2 OF SD SE1/4, TH W PRLL/W N LINE OF S1/2 OF SD SE1/4 TO W LINE THEREOF,TH CONT W IN A STRAIGHT LINE TO C/L OF CSAH NO 47, TH S ALG SD C/L TO S LINE OF SD SEC, TH E ALG SD S LINE TO E LINE THEREOF, TH N ALG SD E LINE TO POB, EX RDS, SUBJ TO EASE OF REC;

Whereas, the property identification number is 24-33-25-43-0002; Whereas, the +/-60-acre property at 5259 Viking Boulevard NW contains an existing

farmstead, including a residence, barns, silos and accessory buildings; Whereas, the majority of the 60-acre parcel is farmed at the present time and contains a

series of ditches and wetlands; Whereas, the applicants wish to subdivide the property into three +/-20 acre lots to be

sold and developed;

Whereas, the two easterly parcels totaling +/- 40 acres are desired as industrial to meet current market demand;

Whereas, all possible adverse effects of the proposed amendment have been

considered by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Their judgment shall be based upon (but not limited to) the following factors:

a. The proposed action's consistency with the specific policies and provisions of the

Comprehensive Plan. The 2030 Land Use Plan shows the Farb property as

Commercial/Light Manufacturing.

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b. The proposed use's compatibility with present and future land uses of the area.

c. The proposed use's conformity with all performance standards contained within

the Zoning Ordinance and other provisions of the City Code.

d. Traffic generation of the proposed use in relation to capabilities of streets

serving the property. Viking and St. Francis Boulevards are capable of

accommodating increased traffic, although direct lot access will be subject to

review and approval by Anoka County and MN Dept. of Transportation.

e. The proposed use can be accommodated by existing public services and facilities

and will not overburden the City's service capacity. All lots will have to meet

Nowthen’s Buildability requirements of Subdivision Ordinance Section 10-3-5.

Whereas, the co-applicant, Josh Peterson, wishes to develop a portion of the easterly-

most 20-acre parcel for use as a self-storage facility and develop the remaining acreage with other, presently undefined, industrial uses;

Whereas, additional applications for subdivision and site plan approval will be required;

Whereas, the Planning Report dated February 21, 2018, prepared by the City Planner,

The Planning Company LLC, is incorporated herein; Whereas, the Nowthen Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing,

preceded by a published and mailed notice, and considered the request at their regularly scheduled meeting.

RECOMMENDATION: Based on the foregoing information and applicable ordinances, the Planning & Zoning Commission APPROVES rezoning of the easterly 40 acres of the subject property from C-1, Commercial to I-1, Industrial subject to the following conditions: 1. The proposed uses conform with all performance standards contained within the Zoning

Ordinance and other provisions of the City Code.

2. All costs associated with the review of the application/plans and any other costs generated by the City or its representatives are the responsibility of the applicants, including legal, administrative, and professional costs incurred through consideration of the conditional use permit request.

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MOTION BY: Kristin Moan SECOND BY: Jason Alders ALL IN FAVOR: 6 THOSE OPPOSED: 0 ADOPTED by the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Nowthen this 26th day of February 2018. CITY OF NOWTHEN

By:_________________________________ Chair Dale Ames Attest: ______________________________

Corrie LaDoucer, City Clerk

CITY OF NOWTHEN ANOKA COUNTY, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL

FINDINGS & DECISION REZONING (Approval)

APPLICANT: Eldon Farb, on behalf of August and Gladys Farb, and Josh Peterson APPLICATION: Request for approval to rezone +/-40 acres of the total 60 acres from C-1, Commercial to I-1, Industrial. CITY COUNCIL MEETING: March 13, 2018 FINDINGS: Based upon review of the application and evidence received, the City Council of the City of Nowthen now makes the following findings of fact:





sold and developed;



considered by the City Council. Their judgment shall be based upon (but not limited to) the following factors:




2













Whereas, additional applications for subdivision and site plan approval will be required;

Whereas, the Planning Report dated February 21, 2018, prepared by the City Planner,

The Planning Company LLC, is incorporated herein; Whereas, the Nowthen Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing,

preceded by a published and mailed notice, and considered the request at their regularly scheduled meeting. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended APPROVAL of the rezoning by a 6-0 vote.

DECISION: Based on the foregoing information and applicable ordinances, the City Council hereby APPROVES rezoning of the easterly 40 acres of the subject property from C-1, Commercial to I-1, Industrial subject to the following conditions: 1. The proposed uses conform with all performance standards contained within the Zoning

Ordinance and other provisions of the City Code.

2. All costs associated with the review of the application/plans and any other costs generated by the City or its representatives are the responsibility of the applicants, including legal, administrative, and professional costs incurred through consideration of the conditional use permit request.

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MOTION BY: SECOND BY: ALL IN FAVOR: THOSE OPPOSED: ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Nowthen this 13th day of March 2018. CITY OF NOWTHEN

By:_________________________________ Mayor Jeff Pilon Attest: ______________________________


CITY OF NOWTHEN ANOKA COUNTY, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL

FINDINGS & DECISION REZONING (Denial)

APPLICANT: Eldon Farb, on behalf of August and Gladys Farb, and Josh Peterson APPLICATION: Request for approval to rezone +/-40 acres of the total 60 acres from C-1, Commercial to I-1, Industrial. CITY COUNCIL MEETING: March 13, 2018 FINDINGS: Based upon review of the application and evidence received, the City Council of the City of Nowthen now makes the following findings of fact:





sold and developed;



considered by the City Council. Their judgment shall be based upon (but not limited to) the following factors:




2













Whereas, additional applications for subdivision and site plan approval will be required; Whereas, all costs associated with the review of the application/plans and any other

costs generated by the City or its representatives are the responsibility of the applicants, including legal, administrative, and professional costs incurred through consideration of the conditional use permit request.

Whereas, the Planning Report dated February 21, 2018, prepared by the City Planner, The Planning Company LLC, is incorporated herein;

Whereas, the Nowthen Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing,

preceded by a published and mailed notice, and considered the request at their regularly scheduled meeting. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended APPROVAL of the rezoning by a 6-0 vote.

DECISION: Based on the foregoing information and applicable ordinances, the City Council hereby DENIES rezoning of the easterly 40 acres of the subject property from C-1, Commercial to I-1, Industrial for the following reasons: 1. _______________________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________________

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MOTION BY: SECOND BY: ALL IN FAVOR: THOSE OPPOSED: ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Nowthen this 13th day of March 2018. CITY OF NOWTHEN

By:_________________________________ Mayor Jeff Pilon Attest: ______________________________



TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2018 @ 7:00 PM The Nowthen City Council met for the City Council Meeting on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at 7:00 PM, at the Nowthen City Hall, 19800 Nowthen Blvd NW, Nowthen, MN.

Present: Mayor Jeff Pilon Councilmember Dan Breyen Councilmember Mary Rainville Councilmember Randy Bettinger Councilmember Paul Reighard Others: Lt. Wayne Heath

Approve/amend the meeting agenda – Rainville made a motion to pull Consent Agenda item 4.1.3 and 4.1.5 for discussion; Breyen seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

1). Sheriff’s Report: - Lt. Wayne Heath provided a report of Sheriff Services for

the month of December 2017. He reminded the public of the safety issues with the use of space heaters and carbon monoxide issues

2). Floor Items: - No Floor items were presented. 3). Planning & Zoning:

a). Brent Hedberg/Greg & Linda Lindgren - A request for a Lot split for land at 22851 Jarvis street NW; PID# 06-33-25-22-000. – Bettinger made a motion to approve the lot split with the conditions stated in the January 9, 2018 Findings and Decision and to include the dedication of the 33 ft. road easement; Rainville seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

b). Comp Plan Open House Info – Ten people signed the sign in sheet and

there were 5 surveys received. How long does the Council want to keep the survey deadline open? Rainville would like to keep it open until they make the final decision. Breyen said if we want to close this one off there will be other opportunities for comments at other open houses. Pilon said that with this particular open house, since it was specific to the property owners he thinks that a week is adequate time to get the surveys back. Reighard agrees because this open house was directed and affected by specific property owners.

City of Nowthen Regular City Council Meeting January 9, 2018 Page 2

Rainville asked, “if she lived in one of those areas and she doesn’t get a chance to get her input in, are we no longer going to accept her info”? Reighard said no, we will still collect any input.

Pilon made a motion to capture the information on the surveys with

a deadline date of January 16, 2018, to be included in a spreadsheet for the Council; Rainville seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

4). Consent Agenda: 1.1 Financial Report 1.2 Approve All Audited Bills Claim # 526 through Claim # 571, plus Net

Distribution reports dated December 11th and December 27th, 2017 1.3 Removed for discussion 1.4 Adopt Resolution 2018-02 – Appointing a City Responsible Authority 1.5 Removed for discussion

1.6 RCA – Nowthen Lions 9th Annual Fishing Contest Bettinger made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda items 1.1, 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6; Pilon seconded. All in favor; motion carried. Consent Agenda Item 1.3 (Resolution 2018-01, a Resolution making

appoints to certain office and positions) - Rainville made a motion to accept Resolution 2018-01 as presented, with the Mayor Pilon as the Planning Commission Liaison, Mary Rainville as the Park and Recreation Liaison, Dan Breyen as the Road and Bridge Liaison and Mary Rainville as the Recycling Coordinator; Breyen seconded.

Reighard said moving forward, he would like to get input from the committees if they have any thoughts or a preference on who they would like to see as the liaison. Rainville said that committee members always have the opportunity to provide input to Council. Reighard said last year that was done, but the Council didn’t abide by the recommendations that were made. Rainville said that it is the Council’s prerogative to vote how they want to. Bettinger would like to rotate the liaisons in the future so all the Council can get an idea of what is going on in the committees. Like on the Watershed Committee, a lot of the Council Members don’t know what really happens on that committee. Pilon agrees. He was on it until they changed the date of the meeting. With an opening, maybe we want to rotate members in until they find a full time replacement.


The meetings are typically the first (1st) Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM in Oak Grove unless there is a special meeting. Bettinger said each city has two (2) voting members on it. Pilon suggested maybe rotating the Council Members on the URRWMO. Bettinger stated that you probably cannot because there is liability insurance for the organization. Consent Agenda Item 1.6 (Resolution 2018-03, Resolution making official appointments to commission and committees) – Rainville made a motion to accept Resolution 2018-03 as presented, except she would like to remove Dan Williams as a Park and Rec. Committee Member; Pilon seconded. Rainville said as an observer and participant of the of the Park and Rec. Committee Meetings and Council Meeting, over the years she has found Mr. Williams to be argumentative, disrespectful and she doesn’t believe that he portrays a positive reflection on the City. He has publically stated information that is untruthful. She has seen him act in ways that is demeaning to other committee members. She just doesn’t think he is a good representative of the City. Rainville said that he has been vulgar at City Council Meetings. Reighard said they have not received any feedback from the committee saying this is going on. He said that Rainville and Williams don’t get along. Do they just vote him off just because of that? He doesn’t think that is right. Rainville said that it isn’t because she doesn’t like Williams. It is behaviors that he portrays. He is a representative of the City and in her opinion, based on what she has observed, he is disrespectful and untruthful. If you read some of the committee meeting minutes you will see that committee member have said that what he said is wrong. She doesn’t think that he is a good representative of the City.

Bettinger said that Williams has never been disrespectful to him. He has done a lot of good things for the City. He brings a different perspective to the committee and that is a good thing to have.

Rainville agrees that he does bring a different perspective, but it is his

behaviors that she thinks should not be reflective of the City. Reighard said that he served as a liaison for the Park and Rec. Committee for

many years and he didn’t feel that Mr. Williams was vulgar at meetings.

City of Nowthen Regular City Council Meeting January 9, 2018 Page 4 Breyen said currently the Park and Rec. Committee has three (3) members on

it. If one (1) more was removed that results in a temporary committee of only two (2) members. There are currently two (2) open seats on the committee. How much productivity would they be able to get out of that committee? He said there is a difference in communication styles. Having the third (3) person on the committee would allow them to do some work. He said that it’s a challenge with removing Williams from the committee when they are having a challenge with filling the two other vacant seats.

Pilon said to say that someone is better than nothing is not good logic. He does

think that it is imperative that the Park Committee understands the Park and Trail Plan and understands what is in the Comp Plan is a task moving forward. He thinks it is important for people on that committee to support that. We want the best professional representation of all of our committees. He can see some of what Rainville is saying. He said that Williams can be personable, but when representing the City, is this the best choice. What is critical at this point and what will fresh eyes bring to the City. He thinks it is important to fill the seats with the right people.

Rainville is looking at defined instances where he has been untruthful on the

Council floor and the Committee floor. She doesn’t think that reflects well on the City.

Rainville’s motion was to approve the Resolution of appointments, with

the exception of Dan Williams; two in favor. Breyen, Reighard and Bettinger opposed. Motion failed.

Three in favor to adopt Resolution 2018-03, as presented; Pilon and

Rainville opposed. Motion carried. 5). Council Items: a). Pay Equity Report – Approve for submittal – Bettinger made a motion to

approve the Pay Equity Report; Breyen seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

b). Adopt Resolution 2018-04 – Receiving feasibility report and calling for a public hearing on improvement for Pinnaker Lake Estates Road Project for the proposed improvement of Basalt Street, 214th Avenue, 215th Avenue, Dolomite Street, 214th Court and 215th Court. – Breyen made a motion have a joint meeting with Road and Bridge on January 16, 2018 at 7:00 PM to discuss the


Pinnaker Lake Estates and the Old Viking Road projects; Rainville seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

c). Old Viking Blvd – Feasibility report – Joint meeting with Road and Bridge scheduled above.

d). RCA – Funding for Capital Improvement Project – Breyen made a motion to

move this to the February 13, 2018 meeting so that staff has time to review for discussion ; Rainville seconded. All in favor motion carried.

e). RCA – Revision to the RCA requiring time and material expense reports for costs

associated with the Hockey Rink passed by the Council in July 2017. – Rainville made a motion that council directs internal staff to continue to prepare on-going quarterly (January-March, April-June, July-September and October–December) cumulative reports with an effective date of May 1, 2016 which will include all costs (time and material) associated with the Hockey Rink and Recreational Skating surface. And until directed differently by the council the cumulative report should be provided to the council under the Consent portion of the City Council meeting agenda at the January, April and October council meetings; Breyen seconded.

Reighard asked if we really need a quarterly report. Odds are there isn’t

anything being done to the rinks in the summer. Is it better to have a couple reports or a single report? He agrees that they need to gather the costs to figure what we are spending, but to have a quarter reports if there is nothing going on seems frugal.

Rainville believes that a quarterly report is consistent and they know

when it is expected. If there isn’t any activity in the summer, then it would be an easy report. This would allow them to look at the ongoing expenses. It is important to have this information for budget discussions. At this point they never budgeted anything for the Hockey Rink and the Pleasure Rink. They have never looked at it from a budget standpoint.

Bettinger said that originally this was asked for budgeting purposes. All

this stuff takes time and it is just another report that takes staff time. He doesn’t think it is necessary. When the budget is put together they will have the number of what was spent there.

City of Nowthen Regular City Council Meeting January 9, 2018 Page 6 To create four (4) reports just for the hockey rink is more than is needed.

One annual report should be enough. Rainville said this is a new thing for the City and they have spent an

incredible amount of money for this. They don’t know what they will have in labor. She thinks this is important.

Breyen said that it is a seasonal type amenity. He asked if Rainville

would be inclined to have a semi. Pilon doesn’t see it as anything more than providing two (2) more reports

each year. Three in favor or Rainville’s motion; Reighard and Bettinger

opposed. Motion carried. f). RCA – Charges form Emergency Response Fire Services – Reighard made a

motion to work with staff on putting together a draft Fire Call Ordinance for discussion; Bettinger seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

g). RCA – Annual COLA Increase – Reighard would like to make a motion to set

a fixed date each November to either review and/or if so choose to award a COLA increase for the staff. That would require staff to gather information for the Council prior to that meeting and have it to them at the October Council Meeting; Breyen seconded.

Breyen asked how this policy is different from the current Administrative

Policy. In Reighard’s opinion it actually forces the Council to act upon something. He said that they have not done it since he has been on the Council. In the past ten (10) years the staff has only received one (1) COLA increase. Bettinger said the reviews are done in November.

The question Rainville has is the time frame of October/November. The

Council is doing the budget meetings in June/July/August/September. Should that not be a part of those discussions? If they are going to be making a decision on COLA increases after discussions of the budget, is that the right way to do it.

Reighard said they can easily change the date to prior to the budget

meetings. Pilon thinks it make sense to do that within the budget cycle.

City of Nowthen Regular City Council Meeting January 9, 2018 Page 7 Pilon said they do have it in policy to do it in November. He thinks the

discussion around the budget cycle is to determine where it is in the budget. Let’s adhere to the policy we do have and add the evaluation to take place and staff to get us information as part of the budget cycle.

Reighard amended his motion to keep November as the dates for

the Employees Reviews and that staff provide the Council with research information about COLA increases, as part of the budget discussions in the summer; Breyen seconded.

Bettinger thought that last month when they talked about this whole thing

it was going to be an RCA to look at giving the employees a COLA increase this year and how we were going to pay for that. That was his understanding from last month’s meeting. He thinks we should be looking at that. Breyen had an RCA that showed some unused funds that could be used.

Pilon thinks that is a separate discussion. The challenge is, what is that

cost and to put it in an RCA. Reighard said there is no reason they cannot make a separate motion to direct staff to obtain information about COLA increases from other cities.

All in favor of Reighard’s motion; motion carried. Reighard made a motion to direct staff to get information for COLA

Rates and if there is any funds available for a COLA increase; Bettinger seconded.

Rainville would like to know what the parameters are of getting COLA

rates. Reighard said they would use the same criteria as before, from like cities and like size. Rainville doesn’t see any of those criteria in the RCA that was given to them by Reighard. She knows that it is hard to find, but it should be somewhat close to what we have.

Pilon said that it still seems incomplete. For the research aspect, he

would like to include the specifics of what we are asking staff to do. What it seems like what we are doing is looking for vague information.

Bettinger said a lot of the information has already been given to them. If

you look at all the cities, they are all consistently giving the same 2.5% or 3% COLA increases.

City of Nowthen Regular City Council Meeting January 9, 2018 Page 8 It doesn’t matter what size city it is. The Cost of Living is the Cost of

Living. What Bettinger is hearing is that they want to go another year without giving the employees a COLA.

Pilon would like to understand the cost to the City and he would like to

understand the comparison of base pay of the other cities and what they are doing.

Rainville thinks the Council did a disservice not to have a wage study

done. Bettinger said that was voted down because they didn’t budget for it. The amount to have the study done was probably more than to give the employees a wage increase.

Pilon said that every time they talk about budget items the discussion

never comes up. They need to prepare for it and justify for it. He thinks that we need to be fiscally responsible and it is a disservice for this.

Bettinger said that the motion is not to approve a wage tonight. It is just

to have staff gather some information on what other cities are giving for COLA increases and what it would cost the City to do that and if we have the funds to do that.

All in favor of Reighard motion; motion carried. h). Deputy Clerk Salary Range – Decide on pay range and approved

allowable offer amount. – Pilon said that it was discussed at the workshop to give latitude to the interview committee to recommend a candidate at a wage outside of the pay scale, if they feel necessary.

Bettinger made a motion to have Reighard, Pilon and LaDoucer be

the interview committee and to include Lori Streich if she is willing to and based on the findings from the interviews, come back with a recommendation of a hire and wage; Breyen seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

6). Introduction of New Items: - No new items were introduced. Rainville made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 PM; Breyen seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

City of Nowthen Regular City Council Meeting January 9, 2018 Page 9 Respectively submitted by: _________________________________ _______________________________ Corrie LaDoucer, City Clerk Mayor Jeff Pilon


TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018 @ 7:00 PM The Nowthen City Council met for the City Council Meeting on Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 7:00 PM, at the Nowthen City Hall, 19800 Nowthen Blvd NW, Nowthen, MN.

Present: Mayor Jeff Pilon Councilmember Dan Breyen Councilmember Mary Rainville Councilmember Randy Bettinger Councilmember Paul Reighard Others: Sgt. John Pilz Planner, Liz Stockman

Approve/amend the meeting agenda – Breyen would like to pull consent agenda item 4.1.9 (RCA – Funding for Capital Improvement Projects) and move it to item 5.f. Breyen made a motion to approve the amended agenda; Rainville seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

1). Sheriff’s Report: - Sgt. John Pilz provided a report of Sheriff Services for the City of Nowthen for the month of January, 2018.

2). Floor Items: - Justin Sundell of 9171 224th Ave, Elk River presented the City with an Intent to Purchase Lot 1, Block 2 Burns Town Center $78,400. The building they will build is strictly for office use. There will be no on site storage. They buy and sell equipment, but they will not have any equipment on the lot.

Dan Williams of 7967 191st Lane said he read the article in the Record, like

most of the citizens, and it painted a pretty morbid picture of our City. A lot of citizens are alarmed. They think that nobody knows what is going on in the City except for Pilon and Rainville. He said at the meeting the other night Rainville said she had nothing to do with it, but in his opinion it has her stench all over it. He sat in at quite a few meeting, and he can find excerpts in the archives on the audio/videos that echo what Rainville has said, in the paper. It didn’t do the City any good. He thinks the staff is doing a good job. Everybody has an idea of how the City should be run. Nobody is coming to the open mic saying that we need to get new staff. The only people speaking negative about the staff and really pushing that staff isn’t doing a good job is Rainville and Pilon. When they talk to staff, they talk to them like they are their servants, and they should jump when they say. These are smart people and they know their jobs. He knows they want to make them look bad so you can get a City Administrator in here.

City of Nowthen Regular City Council Meeting February 13, 2018 Page 2 They should just try to work with staff, which is impossible, so he thinks

Rainville and Pilon need to get voted out. William said that they are still ripping on the ice rink. He knows that Rainville

has been against it, but there are kids out there skating. In the article it also said that the warming house was placed there illegally. He thinks that is a slam to A&B Welding that donated a lot of labor to help put the rink up. They placed it there, and the paper is saying that it is illegal, which makes them look like criminals. He thinks that someone owes them an apology.

William said Rainville and Pilon are always saying that the Park and Rec.

Committee is just a recommending body, and they have no power. Yet they want to get rid of him. Rainville has said that Williams is dishonest, a liar and argumentative. Williams said he will always be argumentative. That is what politics are all about. He doesn’t appreciate her telling the whole city that he is dishonest and a liar. Pilon is supposed to be running the meetings, and he allows that. They might be good at pushing paper and figuring numbers out, but they are not good people people. He said Rainville is ugly. She is ugly on the outside and ugly on the inside, and her politics are ugly and she should be removed. He said Pilon just sat there at that meeting and let her talk about him. Then he tried to vote to get Williams off Park and Rec. Pilon is not a leader either. As far as Williams is concerned, Pilon couldn’t lead a whore into bed.

Pilon said generally they don’t comment and people are free to come up. It is

an open floor item and people are free to express themselves. He doesn’t even know where to start after something like that. It really puts an interesting turn on the meeting. They are doing what they can to work better as a Council and better with the Council and staff. The concern that was expressed at last month’s meeting was just exemplified by the level of professionalism, communication and lack of respect and integrity of what was being said. If Rainville said she had nothing to do with the article; if the guy is saying things that were quoted at meetings; yes, you can go back to meetings minutes and find those words; he could too. He believes her when she says she had nothing to do with the article. Pilon doesn’t know that other than listen to what was said and evaluate it for yourself. He thinks that it is comments that are meant to excite or to agitate/enrage, the lack of public decorum that was expressed, he thinks speaks for itself. The public certainly knows how to get ahold of the Council. If there are opinions that need to be expressed and want to see positive change, he thinks those things are best done first and foremost privately. This is an open floor item and people are certainly free to say what they want.

City of Nowthen Regular City Council Meeting February 13, 2018 Page 3 Pilon thinks that for a professional meeting like this, it is uncalled for. Rainville said that Williams proved her point. Again, she had nothing to do with

the newspaper article. If Williams can provide proof that said she did, then please provide that to the public. She had nothing to do with that article. He took excerpts of things that Rainville said at meetings, it is no different than what Williams does. She thinks that people are well aware that she can and does speak for herself. She doesn’t need anyone else to speak for her. If she is opposed to something, she will voice her opinion, which she had the right to do. She was just re-elected by the residents. Apparently a majority of the residents back her and feel she is doing a good job. Williams may not, and he has that right to not, but to accuse her of something that she did not do is wrong.

3). Planning & Zoning:

a). Gary Uhde - A request for a Conditional Use Permit to allow subdivision of a 20-acre lot into two parcels for property located at 6080 Gypsy Valley Road. – Rainville made a motion to table the request by Gary Uhde until the March 2018 meeting, given the email received today stating that Mr. Uhde is fine with tabling the project until the attorney has a chance to review the easement agreement; Pilon seconded. Stockman said that Uhde will need to apply for a Variance for this request, so he will have to start the process for that as well. That condition was also included in the Findings of Fact. He is not really getting approval of the lot split until he gets approved for the Variance. All in favor; motion carried.

b). Grant Rademacher - A request for a Conditional Use Permit for parking lot

setback and a Conditional Use Permit for expansion of the motor fuel facility by Bill’s Superette store/gas station by the Grant Rademacher Family at 8077 Viking Blvd (PIDs 20-33-25-44-0015, 20-33-25-44-0003, 20-33-25-44-0004, 20-33-25-44-0009, 20-33-25-44-0010). – Breyen made a motion to approve the CUP for the expansion of a Motor Fuel Facility in the C-1 District and a CUP to vary from the 5-foot parking lot setback; Bettinger seconded.

Stockman wonders if the Council wants a revised landscape plan and

what type of deadline date do they want that to be brought to the City. The other thing is who the landscaping plans are going to go to. Does the Council also want a deadline date of installation?

City of Nowthen Regular City Council Meeting February 13, 2018 Page 4

What Breyen understood from the other meetings is that Rademacher

would be paying for the trees, and it would not be set in a landscaping plan.

Stockman didn’t know if the Council wanted the Park and Rec. to see a

plan and make a recommendation. She thinks it really needs to be on paper what is recommended and what is approved.

Pilon’s understanding is that the City would be asking for an escrow

amount and that they were going to receive two quotes. Mr. Rademacher was going to get one from Rum River Nursery, and we were going to get another one from a local nursery so they can agree upon an escrow amount. Once that was settled upon, it was up to the Council to figure out what they want to do and when. The City’s obligation is to figure out what the final escrow amount would be. They can proceed with the motion if Rademacher is willing to negotiation the escrow amount.

Bettinger said that they can send the landscaping plan to the Park and

Rec. Committee for review. Pilon said that they can put the money into an escrow and then come up with the plan at a later date. He thinks that they can determine what a reasonable escrow amount is and then put that money away for a future plan.

Breyen amended his motion to include working with Rademacher

on a final escrow amount for replacement of the trees being removed; Bettinger seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

c). A Proposed Subdivision Ordinance Amendment - ( Ordinance 2018-01 -

Section 10 of the City Code) to clarify the application of park and trail dedication fees to only newly established lots, not inclusive of parcels with existing homes. – Rainville made a motion to adopt Ordinance 2018-01; Bettinger seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

d). A Proposed Amendment – ( Ordinance 2018-02 - Chapter 1, Section 5 of the

Nowthen City Code (Administrative Enforcement) to add language/procedural requirements regarding the issuance of a letter to be sent to properties with code violations or suspected code violations prior to issuance of an Administrative Notice or Citation. – Rainville made a motion to adopt Ordinance 2018-02; Breyen seconded. All in favor; motion carried.


e). Schedule Comp Plan Meeting/Workshop – No date has been

scheduled yet.

4). Consent Agenda: 1.1 Approve the December 7, 2017 and January 4, 2018

Workshop and December 12, 2017 City Council Meeting Minutes

1.2 Financial Report 1.3 Approve All Audited Bills Claim # 572 through Claim # 612, plus Net

Distribution reports dated January 8th and January 22nd, 2018 1.4 Adopt Resolution 2018-06 – Resolution designating the City’s official newspaper. (Anoka County Union/Herald) 1.5 RCA – Approve 2018 Safe Assure Contract 1.6 RCA – Use of Baseball Field at Nowthen Memorial Park 1.7 Offer to Purchase Lot 1, Block 2 in Burns Town Center for $78,400 – Justin Sundell of Newport Land Group LLC 1.8 RCA – Purchase of a used Pup-Trailer 1.9 Removed for discussion as item 5.f. Rainville made a motion to approve Consent Agenda items 1.1 to 1.8; Breyen seconded. All in favor; motion carried. Motion carried. 5). Council Items:

a). Resolution 2018-04 – Receiving feasibility report and calling for a public hearing on improvement for Pinnaker Lake Estates Road Project for the proposed improvement of Basalt Street, 214th Avenue, 215th Avenue, Dolomite Street, 214th Court and 215th Court. – Breyen made a motion to adopt Resolution 2018-04 and to schedule the Public Improvement Hearing for March 20, 2018 at 7:00 PM; Bettinger seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

b). Resolution 2018-05 – Receiving feasibility report and calling for a public hearing

on improvement for Old Viking Blvd Road Project. – Breyen made a motion to adopt Resolution 2018-05 and to schedule the Public Improvement Hearing for March 20, 2018 at 8:00 PM; Bettinger seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

c). RCA – Annual COLA Increase – Bettinger made a motion to approve

giving the full time City staff a 3% COLA increase; Reighard seconded.


Breyen said based on current Administrative Policy those raises wouldn’t take place until January 1, 2019. Wouldn’t that be something they would want to just add to their budgeting process to plan for those funds in the next coming year? Reighard said the policy also states that the reviews were supposed to be done in November and that was never done. Basically we are playing catch up. Bettinger amended his motion for the COLA increase to take effect next week. Breyen said there was discussion at the workshop about whether we could use unused budget funds in the current year. It was suggested by the Attorney to get some information from the auditor if that is acceptable or not. Breyen is not aware of anything like that being received at this time. Rainville agrees with Breyen in regards to adhering to policy and two wrongs don’t make a right. She agrees to follow the policy that if raises are granted they would not take effect until January 1st of the year. This gives the Council the ability to look at these funds during the budget process and build those funds into the existing budget. She even went back through meeting minutes and things that were provided to them and she is not even sure what wages they are looking at. She doesn’t have a current wage schedule. Reighard said Rainville stresses that they need to follow policy. If they wanted to follow policy they should have done this in November. We either follow policy or we don’t. His point is if they are going to follow policy they are playing catch up because they should have done this in November. The information that was provided for this does show salaries and the impact it has on the budget based on percentages. This would only impact the three (3) full time employees. Rainville said they have deficiencies to how things get on the agenda. If things are in policy who’s responsibility is it to get it on the agenda. Who’s job was it to have it on the agenda so it got discussed last fall. It would have been too late because they already decided the budget for 2018. Going back and having the discussion in 2018 for 2019 budget is the appropriate place to look at that. The information that was provided to them doesn’t have the individual wages. Unless she is missing something, the RCA has dollars.


She doesn’t know what wage level she is giving a 3% COLA increase for. Two wrongs don’t make a right. They should have done it in November, but they didn’t, so let’s start doing it right. Bettinger said that the funds are there. This was brought up at budget time and nobody seemed to want to discuss it. It has been brought up multiple times. He said the staff has had one (1) raise in 10 ½ years. They have good employees that do a good job and deserve a raise. He heard at the workshop last week that they haven’t taken any benefits away from them. There have been some adjustments in their work schedules. They were made to work a ½ hour more a day. That is taking away benefits. There was an adjustment with their insurance benefits. That is a taking away from their benefits. They have lost benefits in the last ten (10) years and received one raise. Bettinger also said last month when they were discussing the Deputy Clerk position, Rainville brought up about wanting to hire an Administrator. We are now going to look at hiring an Administrator at $150,000 per year, but we can’t spend $6,000 to give the City employees a raise. She wants to spend up to $150,000 per year on something that wasn’t talked about during budget time. Rainville said the benefit to the employees that chose not to take health insurance through the City, but instead received a stipend, was motioned by Councilmember Leistico. What that did was just no longer pay for something they weren’t getting. They had the right to take insurance with the City and they chose not to, but they were compensated for choosing not to. She did bring up an Administrator, but she never once said a dollar amount. It is something that she believes they need to have a discussion on, so they are run more efficiently. A prime example is that this should have been on the agenda in November. Things that should be done aren’t. Things that have passed by Council are not being done and there is no one watching that. It is hard to say because it makes it look like she is picking on people. She is not, she is just trying to bring out the fact that they need to look at how they run as a City. If that means an Administrator or changing job functions, it needs to be done. If the policy said that COLA increases are provided January 1st, then that allows them to look at the 2019 budget in the 2018 process. Reighard said there is nothing in that policy that states they cannot give COLA increases after January.


Pilon said this is one of those topics that is easily inflammatory. Anyway that they deny this is going to be interpreted a certain way. It is not appropriate in this discussion to talk about an Administrator. In a previous meeting there was discussion about a 3% COLA increase and there was discussion about an opinion that they need an Administrator. There were no dollar amount expressed in that and the Council expressed no interest in that at the time. He expressed that it was inappropriate to have that discussion at that time. If they want to have discussion, they are free to do that. He thinks it is more constructive to speak with staff first. See what we can do internally and any Council members opinion needs to be in addition to that. That needs to be articulated in detail with a little more warning to the Council and a little more background. He doesn’t think that it is really germane to this discussion. Pilon doesn’t agree that the Council is bound to only November to adjust COLA or talk about COLA increases. By policy he thinks that when it is saying that they should budget for it, prior to the September submission to the County; then to note that decision in November. It isn’t a limiting factor; it is a guiding factor in his opinion. His concern with the request that they have, is it just lists the budget impacts for the different increases. This isn’t just a one-time purchase; they are talking about a permanent increase. This is not a bonus, it is a permanent increase. There’s a difference if you want to give a bonus and there are fund available for that. He can see something like that using fixed funds from previous years as a one-time payout. He thinks adjusting a scale for future years should be done a little more deliberate. Pilon said the other thing that was talked at the workshop is that they keep saying that it is just for the three (3) employees, but it would also impact the base pay for the Deputy Clerk that they are in the process of hiring. It does alter those numbers there. He personally thinks the discussion needs to continue, but he would like to see the specific numbers of where this came from. They did get some data from the League of Minnesota Cites for a variety of Cities. He thinks there needs to be more discussion. It is an emotional thing, and it doesn’t send the right message to the staff, It doesn’t send the right message to the residents that it was done emotionally just for the staff. He thinks it needs to be done more thoroughly, and the numbers to be put to that with the impact. To take a look at what individually it means and then the impact of the Deputy Clerk position being added to that.


Pilon would like to see this sent back to staff for more detail and specific impacts, including the Deputy Clerk. He would like to put it off until next month to get the specific detail.

Reighard said it was discussed at the workshop that this would not impact the Deputy Clerk position. We haven’t even picked a person yet and haven’t picked a rate to start that person out at. Pilon thought they were going to look at what they were paying and assuming a 3% on top of that. It could be that it’s way below, looking at the applicants and what they are getting paid.

That is not what Reighard recalls. He said instead of having this battle every year, the Council needs to have a wage study done. Then we know exactly where we are at. Going through the hiring process of the Deputy Clerk position they saw, based on resumes and applications and wages requested, City is well below what they are asking for. The only way they are actually going to resolve this is to actually have a wage study done. If you look at the economy over the last 5 years, things have been pretty good. He personally wouldn’t stick around if he hadn’t received a raise in that long. Knowing that they just transferred over $100,000 to other funds from 2016; there’s money available to give three (3) people a 3% increase. Bettinger said that there is enough money in the budget. Last year we had two (2) full time staff in the office. Right now we have one (1) full time staff in the office. Last year we spent money on buildings and stuff that wasn’t in the budget. It wasn’t because we over spent on staff. We keep putting this off. The reviews have been talked about for months now. He said that the reviews of the employees still haven’t all been put in. Part of the problem is right here with the City Council because they don’t get stuff done. They set deadlines that they don’t even follow. He also said on the health benefit he doesn’t care who made the motion, when you take money out of someone’s pocket, your taking benefits away. The 3 % is what they have received in the last 10 ½ years. That is a slap in the face. He is surprised that we have any employees left. We have lost a few good employees that he wishes were here today. That is part of it. Our pay is way under what it should be. The City doesn’t take care of their employees. Pilon said they talked about it at the workshop and it sounds good when you say 10 ½ years, but he thinks context is necessary.


Those were tough times in those 10 ½ years. People in the private sector were struggling quite a bit retaining jobs, getting benefit cuts and getting pay cuts. He thinks that context is important there. He also mentioned that last year they had some full-time and part-time people. The full-time person they had felt it was a part-time job. That was part of the lost opportunity there. Certainly there are other cities that are paying more and their taxes reflect that. They want to be competitive. It would be beneficial to have a wage study, and it would be favorable to the residents. It would put them all in a better position to make decisions rather than have it all be incomplete information. He thinks it is appropriate to see the specific details Two in favor of Bettinger’s motion; Pilon, Breyen and Rainville opposed. Motion failed.

d). RCA – 2018 Proposed Gravel Plan and Dust Control Plan – Bettinger made a

motion to approve the 2018 Proposed Gravel Plan and Dust Control Plan and to approve Glaze to get quotes and that the quotes be kept on file at the City offices and that Glaze can move forward with the graveling and dust control within in the budgeted amounts; Rainville seconded. Rainville asked if Bettinger would be willing to amend his motion to request closed quotes. That the City staff design a quote sheet and supply that to the vendors to request closed quotes. Then they can open them at the March or April meeting, based on when staff needs are or when the vendors are able to provide quotes. Bettinger doesn’t think the Council needs to open up the quotes; it can be handled by the staff. The staff can put a deadline of the date and time the quotes need to be in by and then whatever comes in the quotes can be opened. Bettinger is willing to amend his motion to that. Bettinger amended his motion to include that staff put a deadline date and time of when the quotes need to be brought to the City Offices. Then they will be opened by staff.

All in favor of Bettinger’s motion; motion carried. e). Deputy Clerk Position Opening – LaDoucer, Reighard and Pilon will

put together the list of applicants that they plan to interview.


f). Funding for Capital Improvements – Breyen made a motion to transfer, from the General Fund, $36,854.34 to the Road Improvement Fund; $36,854.34 to the Road Equipment Fund; $40,000 to the Building Capital Improvement Fund (which is approved to be created); and $12,500 to the Park Equipment Fund; Bettinger seconded.

Breyen wanted to transfer an addition $10,000 to the Building Capital

Improvement Fund in case the City had to do some improvements to the stormwater drainage in the Nowthen Memorial park or anything else that needs to be taken care of.

All in favor of Breyen’s motion; motion carried. 6). Introduction of New Items: - No new items were presented. Rainville made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:03 PM; Bettinger seconded. All in favor; motion carried

Respectfully submitted by: __________________________________ _______________________________ Corrie LaDoucer, City Clerk Mayor Jeff Pilon

CITY OF NOWTHEN CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018 @ 7:00 PM The Nowthen City Council met for the City Council Workshop on Thursday, February

8, 2018 at 7:00 PM, at the Nowthen City Hall, 19800 Nowthen Blvd NW, Nowthen, MN.

Present: Mayor Jeff Pilon Councilmember Randy Bettinger Councilmember Paul Reighard Councilmember Mary Rainville Councilmember Dan Breyen Others: Planner, Liz Stockman Attorney, Bob Ruppe Engineer, Shane Nelson

1). Planning & Zoning:

a). Gary Uhde - A request for a Conditional Use Permit to allow subdivision of a 20-acre lot into two parcels for property located at 6080 Gypsy Valley Road. – There are several different ways to look at it, but if you read the Ordinance under flag lot, he does not own property out to Gypsy Valley Road. At the same time, he is not creating another easement. When he bought the property the easement was there. He is offering up 66 ft. of right of way, if the Council desires. Engineer Nelson provided some road concepts on how the area may look in the future. The other big thing is determining, or not, if Uhde has practical difficulties that exist. The parcel is land locked. All the provisions of public street access are referenced in the Ordinance. If that means access all the way out to Gypsy Valley, then they may chose not to approve it, if provision of public access means granting right-of-way so he is not obstructing future street extensions. That may be an option as well.

Bettinger has a couple issues with the request. If they approve this lot

split there would be two non-conforming lots. He thinks that it is a pre-mature development and they should wait until the whole area develops in the future.

Rainville agrees with Bettinger that the property doesn’t go out to the

road as required. As far as future development, we don’t know when that will occur, but to deny this until that time, we don’t know when that will be. She thinks that is over reaching, but she does agree with the fact that there is not access onto Gypsy Valley.

City of Nowthen City Council Workshop February 8, 2018 Page 2

Stockman said that it is tough because it will have to be serviced by a

cul-de-sac from the east or you will have to service by a cul-de-sac from the west in the future. The property next door doesn’t have enough road frontage to split with access onto Verde Valley, so he would be required to provide something as well. She doesn’t think the situation is going to change. It doesn’t matter which way you are going to come, with a cul-de-sac or plan a through street there.

Pilon said that the easement that is there now, how was that granted?

Stockman said that it is over an across the neighboring property and it was there when Uhde purchased it.

Ruppe said that the City needs to see the easement, because it could

very broad or very limited, in the terms of the language used. His guess is it is for the benefit of that specific parcel that Uhde purchased. Ruppe has not reviewed that easement. If the City was willing to grant the applicants request, Ruppe would suggest that the City make a condition on the attorney reviewing the easement document to determine that it would provide access for both of the new lots. He would suggest also that if they grant the applicant’s request, he would need to apply for a Variance. The City does require a Variance for this request.

Breyen thinks that finding out about the easement would be beneficial to

the decision. He remembers some discussion about this at the Planning and Zoning Meeting. He would like to see that easement first.

Uhde said he can get the easement to Ruppe. He said an important

thing to remember is this isn’t a development, it is a subdivision. By the easement they have put into place, it will allow the City to connect the road from either way. Uhde said that this is just a temporary thing. Once the street is put through then both lots will have frontage. This isn’t a permanent thing, just 233 feet. He thinks they are going to put together a joint driveway easement. They would file that with the County, with the subdivision lots, and then it would be on record. At some point in time there will probably be a street going through there. They have met with both neighboring property owners and tried to buy 33 ft., but that has not been successful. At some point in time there will be a street going through there to serve the parcel to the west of them. He said that they have done everything they could to try to minimize the impact to the City of Nowthen.


b). Grant Rademacher - A request for a Conditional Use Permit for parking lot

setback and a Conditional Use Permit for expansion of the motor fuel facility by Bill’s Superette store/gas station by the Grant Rademacher Family at 8077 Viking Blvd (PIDs 20-33-25-44-0015, 20-33-25-44-0003, 20-33-25-44-0004, 20-33-25-44-0009, 20-33-25-44-0010). – Grant said that on page 3 of Exhibit A it states that there will be no perimeter lighting on the property. He said there was an error on that, and he is asking to put in 3 lights along the northern curb line, shining onto the driveway for the parking lot and the park entrance. The lights would be shining down so it wouldn’t impact anyone there

Pilon said that originally they talked about the drainage from the pond

going to the north to the catch basin, now the drainage will be going to the south into the County catch basin.

Ruppe said the Permanent Access Easement, Public Utility Easement

and the encroachment would be done as three (3) separate documents to keep it clean. As part of the CUP, it would have the construction of the new access to connect to the parking lot. Pilon said it was clarified at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting that closing off the south parking lot access and the turn lane with curbing is all part of Rademacher’s expected cost. Ruppe said there would be a temporary construction easement filed with the City while they are working onto our property. It would expire when the construction is complete. They wouldn’t record this easement and when the construction was complete it would be removed. Bettinger said that the parking lot only has a 2” mat on it, so they don’t want to have heavy equipment on it, because it will bust it up. Nelson said that the City has a very shallow storm sewer pipe running parallel with the property line. The pipe is likely to be crushed if the equipment drives over it. When he talked about it with the City before, the City indicated that they are not willing to take on the costs for that. He doesn’t have any costs or quotes, but it could be anywhere from $5,000 - $10,000. He thinks that there may be a better arrangement of the pipe network. With a slight realignment with the pipe, he thinks it would be easy to connect with the City’s stormwater and construct a new manhole and install concrete pipe under the driveway. That would cost around $1,000 - $1,500. That could be an acceptable alternative.


Without that in place, we will likely see standing water on the City’s property. Pilon said it makes sense to do it now while the construction is going on. Bettinger said there is going to be grading over the top of that whole pipe. It is just a plastic drain tile and there is a good chance it could collapse with the construction equipment running on top of it. There was a lot of discussion about the drain tile and a new manhole when the construction takes place. This would be the time to do it. Just replace the drain tile from the manhole to the road. Nelson will prepare some costs associated with this. Rademacher is willing to work with Nelson on a new configuration. Reighard would like to see some buffer put back between the park and the road. Pilon agrees that there should be some type of buffer as well. The consensus is that all trees can be removed. Pilon wonders if they want some type of buffer where the diesel lines shine into the park.

Rademacher can provide some competitive bids for the landscaping plan of replacing those trees.

Does the City want a firm landscape plan or do we want to place them

ourselves? Rainville thinks that we can look at an escrow amount for payment for the trees first, then deal with the location of the plantings at a later date.

c). A Proposed Subdivision Ordinance Amendment - (Section 10 of the City

Code) to clarify the application of park and trail dedication fees to only newly established lots, not inclusive of parcels with existing homes. – This is just changing the ordinance to what we are actually charging for park and trail dedication fees. It was suggested to change “may” to “shall” on page 2 item G.

d). A Proposed Amendment – to Chapter 1, Section 5 of the Nowthen City Code

(Administrative Enforcement) to add language/procedural requirements regarding the issuance of a letter to be sent to properties with code violations or suspected code violations prior to issuance of an Administrative Notice or Citation. – No changes.

e). Schedule Comp Plan Meeting/Workshop – We need to finalize the

Land Use Plan on the expansion of the commercial area.


Pilon and Bettinger agreed to work with Stockman and Met Council about the Diversified Rural Area. Stockman will check with Kurt Daudt to see his availability.

f). Code Enforcement Updates – Stockman read the Code Enforcement

Report.

2). Consent Agenda: 1.1 Approve the December 7, 2017 and January 4, 2018

Workshop and December 12, 2017 City Council Meeting Minutes – No Comments

1.2 Financial Report – No Comments

1.3 Approve All Audited Bills Claim # 572 through Claim # 615, plus Net Distribution reports dated January 8th and January 22nd, 2018 – No Comments

1.4 Adopt Resolution 2018-06 – Resolution designating the City’s

official newspaper. – Breyen asked if we need to have it in the contract that it has to be published at 6pt. font, and if it is published at a different font it would be at the expense of the paper. Rainville agrees. Bettinger asked if we have received any notification as to why they are not servicing us anymore. Pilon said that they are no longer in business. Bettinger said as a responsible business, shouldn’t they have notified their clients in writing that they are going out of business. That is really poor business. They didn’t service Nowthen very well at all; the lies and fake news that was put in the paper, was not true or factual. Bettinger thinks that John Kysylyczyn of the Anoka Record owes the Nowthen residents an apology for what he did. He thinks that the Council should have a letter sent to him saying that we didn’t appreciate how he served the citizens of Nowthen. That is why Bettinger never voted to have them as the official paper. He has seen what was in that paper.

Bettinger said the way Mr. Kysylyczyn treated the City employee was not

very nice and hopefully that information wasn’t served to him by any City Council Members. That is not the way the Council should be treating their employees. That creates a very hostile work environment.


Pilon certainly thinks that wouldn’t be fed from the Council to the paper. That is not the way they would treat the staff or the Council. That is why it is offered as a column or an opinion piece. He said that Reighard, LaDoucer and he spoke about it and didn’t feel they should make a bigger issue out of it then it is already. The important thing is this is not the opinion of the Council. There is no retribution in going back and putting in an editorial response in the paper, because it no longer exists.

Bettinger said that something can be put on the website that the article

didn’t come from the City Council; that the information is not factual. Rainville wanted to publically state that she had nothing to do with the

article. There are people that believe that she had something to do with it. She would like those people to contact her so she can explain to them that she did not have anything to do with it. It is an opinion piece by Mr. Kysylyczyn. Right or wrong, he has the right to his opinion, the same that they do. She had nothing to do with it, and she would like people who are stating to others that she did have something to do with it; cease that. It is not true. If they want to continue to do that, at least have the courtesy to contact her and ask her what she supposedly did. She has no trouble voicing her opinion and her thoughts. She doesn’t need anyone else to voice opinion for her. He was not voicing her opinion.

Reighard was disappointed in the fact that Mr. Kysylyczyn was here

when the Council voted for the official newspaper. He gave the Council no indication that he was closing the paper. He had to know that he was going to be writing one more article before going out of business. Why even submit in a bid. That speaks for itself. You can take the article however you want it. Moving forward they have two quotes from a couple other papers, and that is what they want to decide.

Breyen said the question is how many houses are getting the paper out

to them. There were questions about that with the Anoka Union because they didn’t have a whole lot of subscribers in Nowthen itself. That is part of the challenges when you are talking about the paper. When talking with the Star Tribune the 55303 zip code is a large area, so how much of that is actually Nowthen. He understands that the Anoka Union said that they are going to add in the Star News as part of that, so there would be some more coverage for the west side of the City. The east side would still be up in the air.


Rainville remembers when the Anoka Union came to the City Council about two years ago; they mentioned about 32 or 34 subscriptions are what they had in Nowthen. Breyen said since then they have added paying for the on-line. The question is if it would be better to have it in our own newsletter. Reighard said he has issues because some of the Council members chose to adopt the Anoka Record, solely based on cost. Not the amount of subscriptions and not the amount of households it goes to. Now they are talking about how many people get the paper. The whole argument before was solely based on the cost of what the Record was going to do for us. Breyen said the Record could be emailed to you at no cost so you could get it. Reighard said you can go online and see the Anoka Union or Star News as well. Breyen said how do we get the most coverage now and get it out to the most people. Reighard said that was his argument a year ago, but that wasn’t what was voted on. Plain and simple it was voted solely on the cost to the City. Pilon said we can have wider coverage with the Star Tribune with higher costs or less coverage with the Anoka Union with lower costs. It is a legal requirement that we have to do. Rainville said based on price, they should go with the Anoka Union/Herald at a 6pt. font, and they should be reminded to print it in that. Anything higher than a 6pt font will be at their expense. Going forward, if the Council wants to look at another method of getting information out to the residents, it is something that can be discussed at another date. Bettinger agrees and said that the Anoka Union/Herald serves our community as a whole. Reighard agrees as well. Pilon said that they will vote on Tuesday to go with the Anoka Union/Herald. Randy said that article was damaging to the City and the employees and he would like to see something on the webpage saying that was just the opinion of the Anoka County Record and that none of that information was given to them by the City Council of Nowthen. He wants something that says the information is just an opinion and not factual information. Ruppe would be happy to look at something if someone wanted to write it up and present it to him. Pilon will put something together and run it by Ruppe.


1.5 RCA – Approve 2018 Safe Assure Contract – No Comments 1.6 RCA – Use of Baseball Field at Nowthen Memorial Park – Terry Olson who

coaches the Nowthen Knights is asking for use of the baseball field in lieu of maintenance of the field. If someone wants to use the baseball field they can just take the tarps off.

1.7 Offer to Purchase Lot 1; Block 2 in Burns Town Center for $78,400 –

Justin Sundell, Newport Land Group LLC – We need to get a signed purchase agreement, not just an Offer to Purchase.

3). Council Items:

a). Resolution 2018-04 – Receiving feasibility report and calling for a public hearing on improvement for Pinnaker Lake Estates Road Project for the proposed improvement of Basalt Street, 214th Avenue, 215th Avenue, Dolomite Street, 214th Court and 215th Court. – Consensus is to schedule the Improvement Hearing March 20th at 7:00 PM and to invite the Road and Bridge Committee.

b). Resolution 2018-05 – Receiving feasibility report and calling for a public hearing

on improvement for Old Viking Blvd Road Project. – Consensus is to schedule the Improvement Hearing March 20th at 8:00 PM.

c). RCA – Purchase of a used Pup-Trailer – Rainville said that based on the

difference in bids to modify the trailer she wants to make sure that they are bidding the exact same thing. Glaze said they were provided the same information. Move to Consent Agenda

d). RCA – Funding for Capital Improvement Projects – Breyen is suggesting

transferring unused funds to other capital funds. This is a one-time transfer. Take out the technology fund. Move to Consent Agenda.

e). RCA – Annual COLA Increase – Reighard said staff provided a spreadsheet

of other Cities. It looks as though the average COLA increase was 2% to 3%. If the Council were to look at that and award that, would there be funds available. Based on Breyen’s RCA, there was roughly $98,000 in the General Fund from 2016 and $20,000 + from 2017. If they look at a 2% to 2.5% COLA increase, they definitely have the funds available. It would be in his opinion that the Council can and should give an increase of 2.5% COLA. They can take unused funds from 2016 or 2017.

Bettinger agrees with Reighard, except that since it has been so many

years since the last raise, he would like to go with a 3% COLA.


He said they deserve that after all these years and there plenty of funds available to do that. They all have done a good job and they deserve it.

Breyen asked how it would impact it if they did fill the position of the

Deputy Clerk. The other question he had is what a challenge it will be of spending the unused funds from an auditing prospective. It has come up before that if they go too far over budget, it could be an issue. Ruppe said that they can get an auditor’s comment.

After extensive Council discussion, Reighard stated that they should

have a wage study done. He also stated that the current RCA is for a COLA increase only. Bettinger agrees that they do need a wage study done and it should be included in the budget for next year.

f). RCA – 2018 Proposed Gravel Plan and Dust Control Plan – Rainville would like

to see the RCA to include closed bids for the dust control plan. Then they give all the vendors the same information and they are closed bids.

There is a plan for which roads will be dust controlled, they just don’t

have costs associated with the dust control yet. Breyen said if they did go out for Request for Bids, they don’t have to

accept any of them. He would be curious to see what is out there for prices.

Ruppe stated that given the law and the budgeted amount of dust

coating, the City would have to get quotes from at least two sources. You don’t have to give the contract to the lowest quote. You can give it to whoever you deem as the best person. If the City did go out for sealed bids, and they did want to award the contract, the City would have to give it to the lowest responsible bidder. If the City goes out for quotes they can pick the contractor that they want. If the City goes out for sealed bids, they have to choose the lowest responsible bidder. Ruppe said the City can put some Plans and Specs together and send them out to several contractors and ask that they send them back in a sealed envelope. Because we would still be getting quotes, we would not be obligated to give it to any specific person.

Bettinger said there are only a couple companies that do the dust

control. Glaze sends out the same information to all of them to get quotes.

City of Nowthen City Council Workshop February 8, 2018 Page 10 Ruppe said if you go down one path, you are committed to that path, if

you go with sealed bids. If the City goes the sealed bid route they have to go with the lowest bidder, unless they have a legally good reason otherwise.

Reighard questions why the quotes need to be sealed if they are all

getting the same information. Pilon thinks that it is the integrity of it. Reighard said if Glaze is getting the sealed quotes, why does it have to be up to the Council to open them. Why can’t Glaze do that? If they voted on a budget and Glaze stays within that budget, then why does the Council need to vote on which one gets used. Pilon is talking about the quotes coming in sealed and getting opened at the same time.

Bettinger said what they should be approving is the Grading Plan and the

Dust Control Plan. The budget is already established. This has bothered Rainville for years. When she asked for information in

the past about what was submitted to which companies all she got was website information. That made her leery about the process they were using and the contractors were leery of the process we were using.

Reighard said moving forward as a Council that is something that they need to decide. How much does the Council need to be involved in the day to day activities. Does the Council give staff the direction they intend to move and then allow them to do what they need to do to accomplish that? Does staff need to get quotes or sealed quotes? As long as he is doing what he is saying in his approved plan, does the Council need to concern themselves with more than that. Bettinger said that they are required to obtain quotes if it is within a certain dollar amount. Reighard agrees, but they don’t need to approve the contractor that staff is going to use.

Rainville thinks it is the Council’s responsibility to make sure the $30,000

is spent wisely. By getting bids and looking at bids and quotes, they are doing that. Last year staff went over budget on street signs and the Council wasn’t told that. This is just something that they can be involved in what is happening.

Pilon thinks part of this is the way they have been functioning over the

last number years.

City of Nowthen City Council Workshop February 8, 2018 Page 11 Pilon thinks these things can be improved by giving the autonomy to

Glaze and LaDoucer to do some of these things. Then have them report back to Council with whom, what and why. Then the information will be kept on file. It would help to say, here’s your budget, get your quotes and feed that information back to the Council. If it is within the budget and records are kept, we can all sleep easier knowing that we got a good amount. There is accountability and recognizing the experience and responsibility that the staff has demonstrated.

Ruppe said there are two ways to handle that. Either the Council

authorizes the expenditure, or it needs to be very clearly in the minutes that the Council has delegated that authority to staff. Otherwise if staff hired someone and Council didn’t ratify that action, staff is on the hook for the money.

Rainville asked if just authorizing an overall budget is not sufficient for

that? Ruppe said that they can, but they need to have something in the minutes delegating authority. The Council can delegate authority within the budget.

Bettinger said that last week one of the maintenance trucks broke down

during plowing and Glaze hired a tow truck. The Council didn’t give that authority. Ruppe said that a lot of other cities have delegated authority to staff for up to a certain dollar amount for emergencies.

Pilon said that there is something in place right now where staff can

contact the Mayor in emergency situations, and he can give authorization.

LaDoucer will provide to Council a copy of the previously adopted

Resolution giving the Mayor emergency authorization. Staff and Ruppe can draft something to present to the Council for consideration.

g). Deputy Clerk Position Opening – They would like to interview the top

candidates along with the candidate that is currently filling in for the position. Then make a recommendation after that. They will have the top candidates to LaDoucer by Tuesday, February 13th and then set up interviews. Lori Streich will sit in on those interviews if she available.

4). Introduction of New Items: - No new items were introduced.

City of Nowthen City Council Workshop February 8, 2018 Page 12 Rainville made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:11 PM; Pilon seconded. All in favor; motion carried.

Respectively submitted by: ________________________________ _______________________________ Corrie LaDoucer, City Clerk Mayor Jeff Pilon

CITY OF NOWTHEN

REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Agenda Item #

Department: Treasurer

Requested Council Meeting Date: March 8th and March 13th, 2018

Submitted By: Corrie LaDoucer

TITLE OF ISSUE: Membership in the 4M Fund – MN Municipal Money Market Fund BACKGROUND AND SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:

The Minnesota Municipal Money Market Fund (the 4M Fund) is a customized cash management and investment program for Minnesota public funds.

Sponsored and governed by the League of Minnesota Cities, the 4M Fund is a unique investment alternative designed to address the daily and long-term investment needs of Minnesota cities and other municipal entities.

Managed in accordance with Minnesota Statutes and customized specifically for public entities, the 4M Fund provides safety, daily liquidity, and highly competitive yields.

The 4M Fund also provides a wide range of fixed term investments through a Fixed Rate Program, as well as term series investment pools that seek higher yields for short-term investments. With historically low checking interest rates (Nowthen is currently receiving .3%, up from .1%, at Pine River State Bank), the 4M Fund Liquid Asset Fund would be an additional option to secure more interest income. The 4M account would tie into our checking account making it fast and easy to liquidate assets and pay bills as needed. The 4M Fund also offers a Term Series Investment Pool, which is similar in nature to a Certificate of Deposit, but at a higher yield. There are no fees to join and there are no Administrator or Service Provider fees for any of the 4M products offered. There are no fees at all. SOURCE OF FUNDING: Transfer of some liquidable assets from the General Fund Reserves for higher interest rate income.

REQUESTED COUNCIL ACTION: Consider joining the 4M Fund and adopting Resolution 2018-07 to get started.

For Clerk’s Use: Motion By: ____________________________________ Second By: ____________________________________ Vote Record: Aye Nay _____ _____ Pilon _____ _____ Bettinger _____ _____ Breyen _____ _____ Rainville _____ _____ Reighard

SUPPORTED DOCUMENTS ATTACHED

Resolution Ordinance Contract Minutes Plan Map

X

Other (specify) ________Declaration of Trust, Other informational documentation. __________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

Administration Department Use:

Consent Regular

Refer to: _________________________________ Tabled Until: ______________________________ Other: ___________________________________

CITY OF NOWTHEN ANOKA COUNTY, MINNESOTA

RESOLUTION 2018-07

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING MEMBERSHIP IN THE 4M FUND

WHEREAS, Minnesota Statutes (the Joint Powers Act) provides that governmental units may jointly exercise any power common to the contracting parties; and WHEREAS, THE Minnesota Municipal Money Market Fund (the 4M Fund) was formed in 1987, pursuant to the Joint Powers Act and in accordance with Minnesota Investment Statutes, by the adoption of a joint powers agreement in the form of a Declaration of Trust; and WHEREAS, the Declaration of Trust, which has been presented to this Council, authorizes municipalities of the State of Minnesota to become Participants of the Fund and make use from time to time including the 4M Liquid Asset Fund, the 4M Plus Fund, the Term Series, the Fixed Rate Programs, and other Fund services offered by the Fund; and WHEREAS, this Council deems it to be in the best interest for the municipality to make use of, from time to time, the approved services provided by the 4M Fund’s service providers including the Investment Advisor (Prudent Man Advisors, Inc.) or Sub-Advisor (RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc.), the Administrator (PMA Financial Network, Inc.), the Distributor (PMA Securities, Inc.) and the Custodian, U.S. Bank National Association, (“Service Providers”) and/or their successors. WHEREAS, this Council deems it advisable for this municipality to enter into the Declaration of Trust and become a Participant of the Fund for the purpose of joint investment with other municipalities so as to enhance the investment earnings accruing to each; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. This municipality shall become a Participant of the Fund and adopt and enter into the Declaration of Trust, a copy of which shall be filed in the minutes of this meeting. The appropriate officials are hereby authorized to execute those documents necessary to effectuate entry into the Declaration of Trust and the participation of all Fund programs.

SECTION 2. This municipality is authorized to invest monies from time to time and to withdraw such monies from time to time in accordance with the provisions of the Declaration of Trust. The following officers of the municipality or their successors are designated as “Authorized Officials” with authority to effectuate investments and withdrawals in accordance with the Declaration of Trust: ____________________________________________________________ Print Name/Title Signature ____________________________________________________________ Print Name/Title Signature ____________________________________________________________ Print Name/Title Signature SECTION 3. The trustees of the Fund are designated as having official custody of those monies invested in accordance with the Declaration of Trust. SECTION 4. That the municipality may open depository and other accounts, enter into wire transfer agreements, safekeeping agreements, third party surety agreements securing deposits, collateral agreements, letters of credit, lockbox agreements, or other applicable or related documents with institutions participating in Fund programs including U.S. Bank National Association, or its successor, or programs of PMA Financial Network, Inc. or PMA Securities, Inc. for the purpose of transaction clearing and safekeeping, or the purchase of certificates of deposit (“CDs”) or other deposit products and that these institutions shall be deemed eligible depositories for the municipality. PMA Financial Network, Inc. and PMA Securities, Inc. and their successors are authorized to act on behalf of this municipality as its agent with respect to such accounts and agreements. Monies of this entity may be deposited in such depositories, from time to time in the discretion of the Authorized Officials, pursuant to the Fund’s Programs available through its Services Providers. It is hereby certified that the Council of the City of Nowthen adopted this Resolution at a duly convened meeting of the City Council on the _______ day of __________________, 2018, and that such Resolution is in full force and effect on this date, and that such Resolution has not been modified, amended, or rescinded since its adoption.

MOTION BY: _______________________________ SECONDED BY: _______________________________ ALL IN FAVOR: _______________________________ THOSE OPPOSED: _______________________________ ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Nowthen this ______ day of _____________, 2018. CITY OF NOWTHEN By: ________________________________ Jeffrey Pilon, Mayor Attest: _________________________ Corrie LaDoucer, City Clerk

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