CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Brad Foss called to order a regular meeting of the City of St. Croix Falls Common Council on Monday, March 26, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. Roll call: Councilpersons Darrell Anderson, Lori Erickson, Jon Cermin and Arnie Carlson were present. Also present: Administrator Ed Emerson, Clerk Bonita Leggitt, Attorney Brian Nodolf, WWTP Operator Mike Bryant, Chris Strom of Cedar Corp, the public and the press. All Present joined in the salute to the flag.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Jon Cermin moved to approve the Minutes of the March 12, 2007 Council Meeting with correction of Lori Erickson seconding the motion approving mutual aid agreement with Village of Osceola, second by Arnie Carlson, voice vote, motion passed.

Jon Cermin moved to approve the Minutes of the March 12, 2007 Special and Closed Council Meetings, second by Darrell Anderson, voice vote, motion passed.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

Arnie Carlson: have been contacted by person from a Wi-Fi provider who wishes to attend Tech Meeting.

APPROVAL OF CLAIMS

General Fund $19,719.62, Debt Service $37,722.50, Park & Rec $4,336.50, Water $13,317.80, Sewer $10,183.67

Jon Cermin moved to approve claims, second by Lori Erickson, roll call vote, 4 ayes, passed.

Administrator Emerson presented the March Financial Report, noting that City finances are healthy and that we are in a position to pay off a $750,000 TIF loan.

OLD BUSINESS

Arnie Carlson: Dannette Olson of Festival Theatre suggested scheduling of regular forums at the Theatre, as people become used to the idea they are more likely to attend.

Ed Emerson: the Farmers Market meeting was held on March 23, George Meixner and his son are going to continue on with goal of getting a Farmers Market going.

NEW BUSINESS

Consider Authorization of Well #11 Design & Construction Oversight Task Order: Cedar Corp

Scott McCurdy, Cedar Corp: have received conditional approval from the DNR today to dig new will near the site of Well #8, there is concern that there could be a void at the bottom of the old well, will need to televise and if there is a void it will need to be filled with concrete. Digging of a test well can begin the middle of April. There are also concerns with proximity to sewer line, the line has been televised and can be lined. The DNR wants the Well Head Protection Plan updated and recommends adoption by ordinance; they also recommend installation of intrusion alarms in the well houses.

Mike Bryant recommended reviewing of well logs on water quality testing by staff to determine whether one test run is sufficient or if two test runs, one at test well stage and one at full well state, are needed. It was the consensus of the Council to let Mike Bryant and Scott McCurdy determine if two test cycles are needed.

Jon Cermin moved to authorize Task Order for Design and Construction Oversight of Well #11 for a cost not to exceed $10,750, second by Darrell Anderson, roll call vote, 4 ayes, motion passed.

Consider Award of BID for Louisiana St Reconstruction

Chris Strom: City received 4 bids for the Louisiana St Reconstruction Project, the lowest base bid was received from Pember Excavating. There were two alternative bid options, one for including a force main in the street and one for granting of an additional 30 days to project completion. The force main is only needed if the WWTP is going to be moved. August 31^st is the date for substantial completion of the project so that street is open for start of school, sidewalks and other details may not be done by that date. A pre-construction meeting will be scheduled, actual start date for project depends on weather.

Ed Emerson: Xcel has agreed to wire City or directly pay Pember for the duct work in the project, City’s share of project is about $1.5 million, bids came in about $200,000 less than anticipated.

Jon Cermin moved to award the bid to Pember for the base project in the amount of $2,461,540.58, plus authorize Cedar Corp’s oversight of project in the amount of $108,405, contingent upon Xcel Energy’s approval and acceptance of Duct work portion of bid and DNR approval, second by Arnie Carlson, roll call vote, 4 ayes, motion passed.

Consider Award of BID for Overlook Deck/Gaylord Nelson Riverwalk Improvements

Pember Excavating submitted the lowest bid at $176,876.70.

Ed Emerson noted that Ivan Bowan has agreed to donate rock for the retaining walls in the project. We are looking into Xcel Mitigation funds and TIF eligibility to pay for the project.

Warren White: donation of rock will save about $7,410, resulting in a new project total of $169,466.70. Erosion control is being emphasized with this project, I have been approached by a local company that wishes to experiment with a new silt fence up the hill from our project, they want to see if anything gets through their silt fence to reach ours. Work could begin in April and is scheduled to be completed by July 1^st.

Jon Cermin moved to award the Bid for Overlook Park and Gaylord Nelson Riverwalk Improvements to Pember Excavating in the amount of $169,466.70 contingent upon the City confirming and obtaining to the City’s satisfaction, the clear title to the property in order to properly place and create the riverwalk, second by Arnie Carlson, roll call vote, 4 ayes, motion passed.

Consider an Update on Library Design Project

The City has received proposals for Library Design, the Library Steering Committee has reviewed the plans and are returning comments and concerns, such as parking, to the designers; one design proposed has a park-like access from the main street through an atrium to the library at an estimated cost of $1.2 mil and in addition proposes live/work units to the south end of the City property that they would build. It was noted that some Steering Committee members still favor the Holiday Foods building on main street. The Library Board will also be reviewing the proposals.

Consider Authorizing a Mountain Bike Ride Event as Part of National Trails Day, Saturday, 6/2/07

Mark Fisk: request is for authorization of a bike race event that would start at noon from the High School, go through the huff-it-trail, up Kentucky St, loop back to High School, take path across Blanding Woods Rd and up the Gandy Dancer Trail about 200 ft, then across to Dalles Auto along snowmobile trail and back to the school, about five miles. We have submitted proposal to the Police Dept, School, Ice Age Trail Foundation, Shepherd of the Valley Church and adjacent property owners. There would be two classes of racers, novice and competitive class. Any proceeds earned would go to the Ice Age Trail Foundation.

Lori Erickson moved to authorize the Bike Event, second by Jon Cermin, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider Plan Commission Recommendations on Alley Vacation and Deeding of City Parkland Under Certain Conditions to Accommodate the Olmstead Condominium Project

It has been discovered that there are Deed Restrictions on the alley property, Mr. Olmstead has been notified of the discovery and will not be seeking vacation of the alley. Mr. Olmstead has requested that the trail be placed as far to the west edge of the alley as possible. The 885 sq ft of Parkland that Mr. Olmstead has requested would still be open to the public on two levels and be improved his expense and create an access to the river. The Park & Rec Committee has submitted a written review of the use of parkland and recognizes the need for access and public restrooms.

Arnie Carlson recommended that the parkland be appraised to see how the value would balance against the proposed improvements.

Mark Olmstead, apply highest commercial value to 885 sq ft of parkland and compare to proposed public improvements of about $200,000.

Jon Cermin moved to deed transfer 885 sq ft of Over Look Park land to accommodate the Olmstead Condo Project, when and if final building construction plans are approved and details of the proposed “public” improvements and maintenance of such are satisfactory secured in an executed Developer’s Agreement, that the City Council pass a Resolution finding a public benefit for doing so, and conditioned upon an escrow account or letter of credit being established sufficient to pay the costs of all public improvements within the agreement and that no direct or indirect public funds be incurred for the deed transfer or public improvements, contingent upon the City obtaining, to the City’s satisfaction, clean title to the property in order to convey the property for it’s intended purpose, and review and approval of legal counsel, second by Darrell Anderson, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider Approval of Class B Beer and Class C Wine License for Pizza Planet

Darrell Anderson moved to approve a Class B Beer and Class C Wine License for Pizza Planet, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider a Resolution Authorizing Participation in a Cooperative Boundary Agreement

Updating Resolution to be in accord with the Resolution passed by the Town of St Croix Falls.

Jon Cermin moved to adopt Resolution #07-09, Authorizing Participation in the Preparation of a Cooperative Boundary Plan, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider Receipt of Community Survey Results

The Community Survey Results have been received and are posted on the UW River Falls website.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Warren White: we requested proposal for the wheel park and have received none. Due site restrictions we need to reduce the size of the wheel park to 60 ft by 80ft. Have heard from a supplier in California that makes re-enforced concrete forms for wheel parks and estimates the actual cost at about $170,000, we are trying to scale back to a more affordable option.

Jon Cermin noted the need to put a Public Comments section for agenda items back on at the beginning of the meeting.

ADJOURNMENT

Lori Erickson moved to adjourn the meeting, second by Jon Cermin, voice vote, motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 9:50pm.

Brad Foss, Mayor Bonita Leggitt, City Clerk