CITY OF ST. CROIX FALLS

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR COMMON COUNCIL MEETING

JULY 31, 2006, 7:00 P.M.

CITY HALL, 710 HWY 35 SOUTH

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Brad Foss called to order a regular meeting of the City of St. Croix Falls Common Council on Monday, July 31, 2006 at 7:01 p.m. Roll call: Councilpersons Darrell Anderson, Jon Cermin, Lori Erickson and Arnie Carlson were present. Also present: Administrator Ed Emerson, Clerk Bonita Leggitt, Attorney Brian Nodolf, Fire Chief Dale Anderson, Charlie Jones, Wendy Sander and Chris Strom of Cedar Corp, the public and the press. All Present joined in the salute to the flag.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Arnie Carlson moved to approve the Minutes of the July 7, 2006 Council Meeting with the correction that the press was not present, and to approve the July 18, 2006 Closed Meeting, second by Darrell Anderson, voice vote, motion passed.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Rebecca Stenberg spoke in support of the Resolution for addressing the outstanding water bill for the Hockey Association.

APPROVAL OF CLAIMS

General Fund $62,782.99, Library $210.00, Park & Rec $9,920.00, Water $2,656.57, Sewer $4,486.04

Lampet’s had discussed donating their property off the end of Tower Rd to the City, the expectation being that they would then write off 50% of the value, but the appraisal came in lower than anticipated and they are re-thinking their options, the question is who is responsible for the cost of the appraisal.

Lori Erickson moved to approve claims with the removal of the Walker Appraial’s charge for appraisal of Lampert’s property, second by Arnie Carlson, roll call vote,4 ayes, motion passed.

NEW BUSINESS

Consider Public Works Presentation on City Water Ban and Drought

Scott Brust: the average water use over first six months was 375,000 gallons, on July 11^th it was 568,000 gallons, bringing water levels in the water towers to just three feet from going dry, and this with pumps running 24 hours a day, had to reduce usage so that water levels could recover. With watering restrictions in place water levels are holding their own. We will be adjusting the watering restrictions for residents to allow for watering in the evenings from 7 pm to 10 pm, with residents on the north side of Louisiana St permitted to water on odd numbered days and residents on the south side of Louisiana St permitted to water on even numbered days, businesses are still restricted to watering between midnight and 5 am.

Consider Mayoral Presentation of River Stewardship Award

Fire Chief Dale Anderson presented the 2006 River Stewardship Award to Brian Adams of the National Park Service in recognition of his service to the St Croix Branch of the National Park Service and for his efforts on behalf of the St Croix Falls Fire Department in obtaining grants for fire fighting equipment.

Consider Design for Hwy 8 Sign Promoting Downtown Business Dist and Tourism Info Center

Jim Shoop presented preliminary design ideas for a new Hwy 8 sign promoting the Tourist Information Center and our Historic Downtown utilizing natural rock for the base and internationally recognized symbols and colors. This is the first step in drawing traffic downtown.

Master Planning Update for City Owned Rousselow Property

Paul Anderson of Partners & Sirney and intern Shannon Sommer: researching eco development and sustainable design parameters for use in development planning for City owned property located on the east side of Lincoln St between the Industrial Park and Maple Leaf Court town homes. Goal is a community development that would be Leed Gold Rated.

Update to Community Visioning Internship

Al Krueger: have identified 8 to 10 different directions in the City, and it has become clear that not everyone in the City knows what is going on. So first step is to educate the community, one idea is to consolidate information in a power point presentation that can be presented around the community.

Consider Authorizing Formal Execution of Option to Purchase the Old Holiday Store, Downtown, City Library Task Force Recommendation

Attorney Brian Nodolf: Option Agreement would give the City the right to exercise purchase of the old Holiday Store without its being sold to another party for a specified time, allowing for the City to conduct survey and testing of the site before purchasing. Purchase price $400,000.

Sarah Adams: Library Steering Committee strongly urges City to enter into this agreement; the Holiday building would meet the space needs of the Library well into the future.

Ed Emerson: costs to refurbish Holiday building for the Library are estimated at $131 per sq ft, costs to refurbish the Cinema 5 building are estimated at $158 per sq ft, and costs to construct a new facility are estimated at $160 per sq ft. The City needs to determine what it can afford for a Library and commitment could be based upon the Library raising 40% of the costs before purchasing the property. Some projects costs are hoped to be funded through grants, building could be renovated in stages, improving portion needed by Library now, and leasing remaining space.

Darrell Anderson: citizens are concerned about the impact of new school, waste water facility on taxes and need for additional water, can’t afford to keep taking properties off the tax roll.

Jon Cermin moved to accept Purchase Options for $10.00 for the old Holiday Store with language recommended by Legal Counsel, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.

Jon Cermin moved to take a break, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.

Darrell Anderson moved to reconvene, second by Jon Cermin, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider Mayoral Presentation of Certificate of Appreciation to Peter Weber, Eagle Scout Project, Log Jam Marker, Gaylord Nelson Riverwalk

Mayor Brad Foss presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Peter Weber for his work in creating and placing a marker commemorating the history of logging and logjams in the St Croix River.

Consider a Resolution Authorizing Multi-Jurisdictional Planning for Hwy 8 Corridor, Pending Annexation Requests

The City received requests for annexation of properties along Hwy 8 the same week that low level water alarms went off. City had previously met with representatives from the DOT, Town of St Croix Falls, and property owners around the Menards site to discuss Hwy access, it was proposed that a Multi-Jurisdictional Planning Committee be established to review Hwy 8 planning and annexation issues.

Arnie Carlson moved to adopt Resolution #06-25, Authorizing Multi-Jurisdictional Planning for the Highway 8 Corridor, Pending Annexations Requests, second by Jon Cermin, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider Resolution Authorizing an Application for a Multi-Jurisdictional Grant for Development of a Comprehensive Plan – UW Extension

Polk Co proposes to apply for a Multi-Jurisdictional Comprehensive Planning Grant where the County would work with all interested Municipalities on Comprehensive Planning.

Mayor Foss: this Comprehensive Planning Grant for Phase II would provide an opportunity for the City to refresh its Comprehensive Plan. There would be no cost to the City in applying for the Grant.

Darrell Anderson moved to adopt Resolution #06-26, Authorizing an Application for a Multi-Jurisdictional Grant for Development of a Comprehensive Plan, second by Jon Cermin, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider Park & Recreation Committee Endorsement of ‘Old Salt Shed’ Site on Hwy 35 for Use as Wheel Park and Authorize Land Lease Discussions

Warren White: in 2006 the Park & Rec Committee included $75,000 for a Wheel Park in their budget request and although their request was approved they had no site. The D.O.T. is willing to donate the property on the west side of State Hwy 35, known as the Old Salt Shed, to the City for public recreation use, there is room for a Wheel Park and eleven parking spaces, with additional parking and restrooms available at the City Hall/Tourist Info Center. If the site is not used for public recreation ownership would revert back to the D.O.T.

Jon Cermin moved to adopt Resolution #06-27, Endorsing the Park & Rec Committees Use of the Old Salt Shed site on Hwy 35 for a Wheel Park and Authorizing Land Lease Discussions, with the amendment in Part C that if additional insurance costs are incurred for the facility that cost would be covered by Park and Rec funds, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.

Jon Cermin moved to take Agenda Item 8n next, second by Arnie Carlson, voice vote, motion passed.

Consider a Resolution Resolving River Hockey Association Water Bills

The Hockey Association requests that the City fund the outstanding water charges in the amount of $4,122.19 that were discovered to have not been billed from 2002 through 2005 and asked if there is a way to avoid the fixed fees in the future. It was noted that the former City Treasurer had informed the Council that charges for water usage and fixed fees cannot be forgiven and that the fixed fees were based upon the size of the meter, the Hockey Assoc uses a 2 inch meter for flooding the rink.

Jon Cermin moved to adopt Resolution #06-28, Resolving Outstanding Issues Relating to the River Valley Hockey Assoc Water Bills by authorizing the payment of the outstanding water bills pending legal review from the General Fund, second by Arnie Carlson, roll call vote, Jon Cermin and Arnie Carlson voted aye, Darrell Anderson and Lori Erickson voted nay, tie vote, Mayor Brad Foss voted aye to break the tie, motion passed.

Presentation on City Water Demand and Capacity Study

The study looked at water used in comparison to water pumped including fire protection flows, projected out to year 2030. Current system meets current need during normal rain falls, but is stressed by drought conditions. Additional supply is needed and additional storage will be needed to meet future demand. There are three options for adding supply, locating a new well, purchasing water from an outside source, or treating ground water. Locating a new well site has proven difficult and there are substantial costs involved with purchasing water from an outside source or treating ground water.

Consider Authorizing Impact Fee Final Report and Set Date for Public Hearing

Impact Fees can be established to fund public facilities that will be needed by new development, facilities such as water supply and wastewater treatment can be applied to all new users, facilities such as a library should only be applied to new residential construction as they are not used by industrial and commercial entities. Impact Fees must be used within seven years or be returned.

Jon Cermin questioned the impact that fees would have on affordable housing and entry levels buyers.

Wendy Sander: reductions could only be granted to low income program housing.

Consider Donation Requests of $1,000 for Wannigan Days Fireworks

In the past the City contributed funds to the Wannigan Days Fireworks display, this contribution was removed from the 2006 Budget when an annual $3,200 contribution to the Chamber of Commerce was secured from Menards for the next 10 years, the Chamber Coordinator was informed of this but the information was not forwarded to the Chamber Board and so they did not plan accordingly.

Darrell Anderson moved to contribute $1,000 for Wannigan Days Fireworks, second by Jon Cermin, roll call vote, 3 ayes, Arnie Carlson voted nay, motion passed.

Consider Authorizing Enforcement of City Noxious Weed Ordinance

The City has received complaints about weeds and brush growing over and obstructing sidewalks, there is a Noxious Weed Ordinance that hasn’t been well enforced over the past few years.

Jon Cermin moved to enforce the City’s Noxious Weed Ordinance, second by Lori Erickson, voice vote, motion passed.

ADJOURNMENT

Darrell Anderson moved to adjourn the meeting, second by Jon Cermin, voice vote, motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 11:20 pm.

Brad Foss, Mayor Bonita Leggitt, City Clerk