CITY OF
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR COMMON COUNCIL MEETING
OCTOBER 10, 2005, 7:00 P.M.
CITY HALL, 710 HWY 35 SOUTH
Mayor
Lee Uhrhammer called to order a regular meeting of the City of
Bill Kersch moved to approve the Minutes of the September 26, 2005 Regular Council Meeting, second by Darrell Anderson, voice vote, motion passed.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Clarence Nelson,
Meg Luhrs & Leif Bjornson: adjoining property owners to north, high end residential is good for down town and proposed development is attractive, but overall structure is too large. Would like to see project scaled down and moved away from north property line. Is alley being vacated? If so, would like to see alley to north vacated also. Majority of people aren’t aware of size of this proposed development, it would be the biggest building town other than the hospital, all residents and neighboring jurisdictions should be permitted to scrutinize the project. Project doesn’t meet spirit of Community Character Code and should wait for Plan Commission to complete their review. Was a Conditional Use Permit issued for residential use, did they get a Conditional Use Permit?
Tom & Dawn DeCasper: in process of purchasing house across the street, concern is how will construction be handled, noise, street blockage, debris clean up, what kind of rules and actions are in place and will they be enforced? It is a large project for the size of the property, how will it all fit?
Becky Olmstead: we have visited similar development and found it beautiful; would enhance City and allow more people to enjoy the beauty of our views. Architectural features have been incorporated into plan, it is a Commercial Zone and mixed Commercial and Residential use is good for down town.
Mark Olmstead: proposed development sits at apex of upper
and lower
Ed Emerson: issue at Plan Commission meeting where this was tabled is addressed in Developers Agreement, the project is a Planned Unit Development and is addressed as such in agreement.
The August 2005 Police Report was presented by Police Chief Paul Lindholm.
The August 2005 Fire Department Report was presented by Fire Chief Dale Anderson.
General
$35,988.20, Park & Rec. $68.05, Library $2,072.03, Debt Service $61,495.75,
Water $5,433.84, Sewer $5,108.58
Bill
Kersch moved to approve claims, second by
Consider Request for
Temporary Sign/Banners for Salvation Army
Duana Bremer, Chair of the Polk Co Branch of the Salvation Army requested permission to put up a banner across main street and a temporary sign in the open space in front of the old Wal-Mart, Bill Greene has given permission for the sign in the open space contingent upon City approval. The signs would be up from November 23 through the end of December and are to promote our kettle campaign.
It was questioned if the banner would interfere with
Christmas swags and who would put it up.
It could be placed along the railing near Indianhead Glass and
Duana Bremer requested the City’s assistance in putting up the banner.
Has that issue been cleared up? "Yes". How many feet are between the corner of Leif's building and the corner of Mark's proposed building? "66ft" Is Leif's building right to the edge of his property line? "Yes". Does our zoning code allow in the commercial district a building right to the lot line? "Yes"
Are there any height restrictions? "No" Are there any size requirements? "No" Has Mr. Olmstead met all the 19 stipulations put before him in this process? "Yes" Even though the Plan Commission tabled this issue for the above mentioned reason, does the Council now have the right to make a decision on this project? "Yes" John Schneider explained that because this had gone to Public Hearing, even though it was tabled, the Council as governing body now had it before them and rightfully so, to make a ruling. Have all the entities that need to be involved, been involved? "Yes" Was there DNR approval? "Yes" Was there National Park Service approval? "Yes" Is their an economic advantage to be gained for our downtown business district? "Yes" Can we possibly gain an anchor business that will support the health and vitality of the downtown in the event that we lose other anchors such as the Cinema or Festival Theatre? "Yes" Has Mark Olmstead and Blake and Assoc. met needs determined by the City such as parking issues? "Yes" As the Master Plan for the downtown has been in place for approx. 12 years and progressed, and now we're focusing on the River Walk and pathway to the National Park Service Headquarters, has Mark Olmstead agreed to put the path and improvements to public space in at his own expense for public use? "Yes".
THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WERE ESPECIALLY DIRECTED TO JOHN SCHNEIDER, CITY ATTY: Have we followed all our procedures or protocol properly? "Yes" Do we have any legal recourse to deny this project from moving forward? "No"
Mark Olmstead: plan is for an 8’ wide path that Xcel Energy has granted easement for, path would be gated off at night, site is primarily fill, alley is only being utilized as noted in Agreement, size of project is needed to off set cost of under ground parking and public improvements.
Chris Strom: Falls Orthodontics paid to have new sidewalks extended to their property along Washington St during Phase II, credit for sidewalk works out to 9.4% of the costs assessed, resulting in a reduction of $1.45 per foot of frontage.
Bill Kersch moved to approve amendment to assessments for
Consider an Agreement
with Life Link
Agreement spells out details of shared use with Life Link and City for a garage facility for ambulances and police vehicles, Life Link will be responsible for utilities and the City for snow removal.
Darrell Anderson moved to approve the Agreement with Life Link EMS, second by Bill Kersch, roll call vote, 3 ayes, 1 absent, motion passed.
Consider Liquor
License Application – Dalles House Restaurant
Sonya Fry was present to represent the new owners of the Dalles House Restaurant and their application for a Class B Liquor and Beer License, will be opening on October 22, 2005.
Bill Kersch moved to approve a Class B Liquor and Beer
License for
Consider Mowing
Contract Extension with Gunderson Lawn Care
Average cost of mowing of City properties over past 3 years was $16,000. There is a list of properties to be mowed that is updated each year as needed. It has been proposed to extend the current contract with a 10% increase in 2006 and 3% in 2007 and 2008.
Consider a Request
for No Parking on Louisiana St from
The Polk County Fair Society has requested that
Darrell Anderson moved to approve a request for No Parking on
Louisiana St from
Consider Mayoral
Appointment to Park & Recreation Committee
Consider Authorizing
Payment for
Warren White: door closures have been installed on the doors between the theatre lobby and library at the Library’s request, they have also been installed on doors to the stage floor, for a total cost of $1,850.00. A meeting is also being set up with a consultant to get Historic designation for the building; the City will be invited to the meeting. Festival Theatre is requesting the City’s aid.
Bill Kersch moved to utilize undesignated funds to pay for
the door closures, second by
COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
Mayor Uhrhammer attended the Eagle Scout Award ceremony for
Erin Bloomer earlier this afternoon.
Bonita Leggitt, City Clerk