SUNFISH LAKE CITY COUNCIL MEETING – MAY 1, 2012

7:00 P.M. - ST. ANNE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Attendants:

Mayor:  Richard Williams

Councilmembers: Roger Conant, Mike Hovey and Paul Burke.

City Attorney:  Tim Kuntz

City Engineer:  Tom Voll

City Treasurer:  Mike Blair
Building Inspector: David Neameyer
City Forester: Jim Nayes
Police Chief:  Manila Shaver
City Clerk:  Cathy Iago
and Members of the General Public.

Councilmember Judy MacManus, City Planner Alan Brixius and City Engineer Don Sterna were absent.

1.   CALL TO ORDER:  Mayor Williams opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m.

2.   APPROVE AGENDA:       Mayor Williams asked if there were any additions or corrections to the agenda.

Councilmember Hovey moved approval of the Agenda, seconded by Councilmember Burke and carried. (4-0)

3.   CONSENT AGENDA:       The Mayor asked if there were any questions or comments relating to any items on the Consent Agenda.

Councilmember Burke asked that the following corrections be made to the April 3, 2012 Special Meeting minutes:

Page 1, paragraph 3, the second sentence should read as follows:  “He pointed out that the current plan is based on a review of City streets that is 5-years old. He questioned if it would be more beneficial to complete the review of the City streets prior to adopting the CIP.

Page 2, paragraph 3, the first sentence should read as follows:  “Councilmember Burke commented that it would be of assistance to show the assessment offset against total cost to isolate the City obligation as part of the document.”

Page 3, paragraph 5, the first sentence should read as follows: “Councilmember Burke commented that capital projects are the largest variable in the City budgets.

Page 3, paragraph 7, should read as follows:  “There was discussion relating to establishing an annual expense allocation for capital improvement projects.

Clerk Iago stated she would make the corrections as requested.

Mayor Williams asked if the Clerk had inserted the corrections he requested. Clerk Iago responded that the minutes sent to the Council with the agenda packet contained his corrections.

Mayor Williams asked if there were any further comments and there was no response.  

Councilmember Burke moved approval of the Consent Agenda with the amendments to the April 3 Special Meeting minutes as requested, seconded by Councilmember Hovey and carried. (4-0)

a. Special Council Meeting Minutes as amended, and Regular Council meeting minutes of April 3, 2012.

b. List of Bills

c. Monthly Financials

4.   COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC: Mayor Williams asked if there were any comments from the public.

Holly Divine invited everyone to attend the Arbor Day festivities on Saturday, May 5, at Harmon Park. She stated the event would be held between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. and encouraged Council to attend. She thanked the City Engineer for the recent improvements along Charlton Road and stated the roadway looks good.

Mayor Williams stated he would attend the Arbor Day celebration for a brief period of time. He asked if there were any further comments and there was no response.

5.   PUBLIC HEARING: None.     

6.   PLANNING COMMISSION/PLANNER’S REPORT: a.   Planning Report:  Mayor Williams explained that the Planner was absent this evening due to a conflict with another meeting. He read the Planner’s report dated April 26, 2012 and explained that there were development inquiries for two properties within the City; however, no applications have been filed at this time.

The Mayor advised that the April and May planning meetings were cancelled due to lack of development applications.

7.   INSPECTOR’S REPORTS:

a.   Building Inspector: Building Inspector David Neameyer informed Council that there was no building activity within the City during the month of April and therefore, he had nothing to report.

b. City Engineer: Engineer Tom Voll was present and advised that Engineer Sterna was unable to attend this evening due to a conflict with another meeting. He reviewed the Engineer’s report dated April 27, 2012.

Guard Rail Repair: Engineer Voll explained that guard rail along Charlton Road was repaired this month at a cost under the not-to-exceed amount of $515 that was approved by Council. He stated the invoice for this repair would be presented at the next meeting.

Charlton Road Repairs: Mr. Voll stated that Charlton Road was re-graded this month and some aggregate material was added in some areas to re-establish a crown in the road. He thanked resident Holly Divine for her comments relating to the road condition. He noted that some of the ditch lines along the road were cleaned to improve the drainage prior to the grading operations. He noted the total cost of the ditch work, aggregate material and grading was $6,173.76, which was under the budgeted amount for this project. He explained that this cost also included the new stop sign on Windy Hill Road.  He advised that some additional work may be needed this fall and estimated the cost for this work at $1,000.

Engineer Voll explained that Class 5 aggregate was used along Charlton Road and that hydro mulch was added along the ditches. He noted that the hydro mulch was not installed in some areas and that he would ask Engineer Sterna to report on why these areas were not included at the next meeting.

Councilmember Conant asked for an explanation of Class 5 and hydro mulch. Mr. Voll explained that Class 5 aggregate is the material that was used for re-grading and that hydro mulch is sprayed to restore vegetation along the roadway. He noted that hydro mulch contains a sticky substance that is not easily blown away and is commonly used for restorative purposes. 

Windy Hill Stop Sign Repair:  Engineer Voll advised that the stop sign was replaced on Windy Hill Court this past month and the costs were included in the Charlton Road repair and grading.

Councilmember Burke stated that he noticed one or two driveways along Charlton Road that do not appear to have culverts and he asked if this would be an issue for drainage. He explained he was unsure of the address, but that the property was located near the church on the property formerly owned by the Woods.    


Holly Divine explained that she had raised this question to Engineer Hanson a few years ago during a meeting where residents walked the road with staff while discussing improvements to the road. She explained that Engineer Hanson advised it is the responsibility of the property owner to clean and maintain the culverts on their private property. She advised the address is 2165 Charlton for the property across from the church.

Mayor Williams commented that the City does not have easements in these areas to clean out the culverts.

Councilmember Burke suggested encouraging residents to clean the culverts or to provide easements to the City to do so to keep flowage running through the culverts.

Councilmember Conant commented that the City has no control over private property.

Mayor Williams suggested that the City may be able to obtain easements from residents by offering to maintain the culverts; he noted this should be kept in mind when discussing future maintenance of Charlton Road.

Engineer Voll agreed that driveways are privately owned, however; it may be worthwhile for the City to clean the culverts to maintain the life of the roadway.

Holly Divine pointed out that one property owner along the road paved over the culvert and the driveway area over the culvert collapsed.

Mr. Voll pointed out that staff would be performing the pavement and sign evaluation during the next month and he asked that properties with issues such as those discussed this evening be forwarded to the City Engineer.     

Sunfish Lake Water Quality Memorandum:    Mr. Voll explained that Engineer Sterna prepared a memorandum addressing options to lower phosphorous levels in Sunfish Lake for the Lake Association. He advised he would discuss this as a separate item.

Public Works Activities Undertaken in the Month of April: Crack Seal Quotes: Mr. Voll explained that seven (7) requests for quotes on the crack sealing project were sent out and five (5) quotes were received. He referred to the report dated April 27, 2012 from Engineer Sterna which outlined the tabulations from the quotes received and recommended that Precision Incorporated be awarded the contract as the lowest bidder. He noted that the quote came in lower than anticipated at $13,000; he advised that staff recommends doing more crack sealing if necessary as the budgeted amount for this project was $17,500.

Councilmember Conant asked if there is a standard form that was used for requesting quotes. Mr. Voll responded yes and advised that the form is normally used by his company for this purpose.

Councilmember Hovey questioned the $4,000 price differential with the next lowest quote. Mr. Voll advised that the project is bid by the price of the material and that would explain the largest difference in the quotes received.

Councilmember Conant asked if the City would pay the same price for any additional work.  Mr. Voll responded yes and explained that the company would be locked into that price once the contract is approved.

Councilmember Hovey asked how the City would receive the additional work at the same price. Mr. Voll explained that the specifications sent with the quotes contain language that provides for increasing the scope of the work at the same price.

Councilmember Conant asked if staff would be likely to find more areas for work.

Mr. Voll explained that staff had based the original estimate for work on 15,000 lbs of sealant to be used for roads within the City, however, due to the anticipated price of materials, the quote was sent out for 13,000 lbs. of material.  He advised that because the quote came in lower than anticipated, it would be viable to increase the amount of work to be done. He asked that Council authorize an expenditure of up to $17,500 to complete the work.

There was discussion relating to the firm providing the lowest quote and if there work would be reliable.

Mr. Voll stated that the firm is based out of Wisconsin and has done work in the cities of Champlin and Andover over the past two years; he explained that Engineer Hanson has worked with the firm in both cities and highly recommended them.

Councilmember Burke questioned if there were any opportunities to time-test the work of this firm as they seem quite low compared to the other quotes.

Mr. Voll stated that in his opinion the firm has done an excellent job and he is comfortable recommending them to do the project.  He advised it is a small company and could have the project completed in 1-2 days. He indicated that the time-line for the project was to begin in June, with a deadline to complete the work by July 31.

Mayor Williams pointed out that a smaller company most likely has less overhead costs and therefore may be able to bid the project lower.  He asked the City Attorney if a motion is necessary to order the project and Mr. Kuntz responded yes.

Councilmember Hovey moved to award the project to Precision, Inc and to authorize the expenditure not-to-exceed $17,500 to complete the crack-sealing project, seconded by Councilmember Burke.

In discussion, Councilmember Conant questioned the administrative costs associated with the project.

Mr. Voll advised that he is unsure of the exact amount of the administrative costs, but estimates the staff time for inspections and documentation would be approximately $2,500. 

Mayor Williams asked if those costs are included in the $17,500 and Mr. Voll responded no.

Councilmember Burke suggested that in the future it would be more appropriate for the engineer to provide a break-out of all the project costs.

Councilmember Conant commented that Council should know all the costs associated with the project prior to its approval since they may consider some costs too high.

Councilmember Burke commented that the costs are consistent with the manner in which its budgeted.  

Councilmember Conant asked if Mr. Voll could assure Council the administrative costs would not exceed $2,500.  Mr. Voll stated he could not assure that figure and that it was merely an estimate. He explained that if Council wishes to delay action on this matter it would not jeopardize the project time-line.

Councilmember Burke suggested proceeding with approval of the project not to exceed $20,000 with inclusion of the administrative costs; with $17,500 for the project and $2,500 for administrative costs.

Councilmember Hovey asked the timeline for the bids. Mr. Voll advised the expiration date for the quotes is 60-days from the date received, which was last Friday.

Mayor Williams suggested delaying action until the June meeting and Council concurred.

Councilmembers Hovey and Burke withdrew the motion and second.

Attorney Kuntz asked Council what further information they would need for the June meeting.

Council asked that the Engineer provide a break-down of all costs associated with the project.

Councilmember Conant pointed out that the pavement assessment would be completed for June and Council would have a better insight into the crack sealing project.
Mayor Williams agreed and pointed out that if the City can extend the life of a road by crack sealing it should be done at this time.        

Anticipated Engineer/Public Works Activities’ for the Month of May:

-  Payment, Culvert and Street Sign Evaluation: Engineer Voll explained that all 3.76 miles of paved City
streets would be evaluated, along with the city-owned culverts and streets signs to determine their condition
and maintenance recommendations.  He noted this evaluation would assist staff with preparation of the CIP.

-  CIP Update: Mr. Voll advised that the draft of the 2012 CIP will be updated based on the results of the
pavement, culvert and sign evaluation report on the City’s infrastructure. The revised draft will be sent to
Council for review and comment at the June meeting. He stated that input received at the June meeting will be
used to finalize the report for approval at the July Council meeting and then the document will be used to set the
2013 engineering budgets. 

-  Pavement and Shoulder Repair Work Evaluation: Mr. Voll advised there are a few areas where pavement
has failed and should be patched this year. Staff will review the paved City streets, as well as the shoulders
to see what repairs should be made. The Engineer will provide Council with an estimate of the repairs for
review at the June Council meeting.  

Mayor Williams reported that there was a power failure on Acorn Drive and Xcel Energy repaired a portion of the pavement near a driveway which has failed; he asked if Xcel would be responsible for replacing the pavement.

Mr. Voll responded yes and asked if a permit was authorized for the project. Mayor Williams explained he was unsure since it was an emergency situation.

Councilmember Burke commented that Council discussed the engineer researching easements at the special meeting in April; he questioned if the easement research should also identify areas where the City does not currently have easements, but should have them.

Mayor Williams agreed that if staff is going through to identify where there are easements, they should also identify where they are needed.

Councilmember Burke recalled discussing the fact that Council had determined the City would not pay for obtaining easements, but questioned if formal action was taken at the special meeting to adopt the policy.

Clerk Iago pointed out that Council cannot take formal action at a study meeting. 

Mayor Williams suggested asking the engineer to also identify areas where easements would be needed, such as culverts on private property that affect the maintenance of the road.   

Attorney Kuntz asked if Council wished to have staff draft a resolution that formalizes the policy that the City will not pay to obtain easements for their review at the next meeting.

Council agreed that would be appropriate and directed the Attorney to draft the resolution.

Councilmember Conant commented that future elected officials could override the policy.  

Councilmember Burke commented that in the absence of a written policy it would be the assumption that there is no policy.

Engineer Voll advised that the purpose of the research is to evaluate easements for drainage ways and that staff has been reviewing recorded plats and other documents to determine where easements are already granted.


Mayor Williams advised it would be helpful to also determine where easements would be needed.  Mr. Voll agreed and indicated that is the purpose of base mapping.

Councilmember Hovey asked if the engineer was aware of the work being done on Highway 110 and who was responsible for doing the work. 

Councilmember Conant commented that he has seen Xcel Energy trucks doing work in the area.

Mr. Voll stated he would check on this and report back to Council.

Sunfish Lake Water Quality Memorandum:  Mr. Voll explained that Engineer Sterna had prepared a memorandum outlining lake water quality treatments for Sunfish Lake. He stated that Sunfish Lake is a shallow lake that is landlocked and it is surrounded by private properties.  He reviewed items outlined in the report that may affect the water quality on the lake and also the most likely reasons that the lake is experiencing water quality issues. 

Engineer Voll explained there are two potential options for treatment of the lake: 1) In Lake Alum Treatment, and, 2) Portable Active Flocculation Treatment. He advised that the alum treatment only locks the phosphorus up to settle out to the bottom of the lake and that any agitation of the bottom sediments can re-suspend the phosphorus back in the lake water. This treatment is estimated to cost $50,000 to $80,000 and a permit is necessary.  The portable active flocculation treatment removes the phosphorus from the lake water and then the flocculent is discharged into the sanitary sewer and out of the lake’s water system. He stated this treatment is estimated to cost $70,000 - $100,000 and also requires additional costs for monitoring the lake water quality over a two-year period of time.  He advised that permits are also required for this option and that an additional permit from the City of Mendota Heights would be required to discharge the flocculent into the sanitary sewer system.  He advised that more information could be obtained from companies who do this type of work; he suggested that Lake Restoration, Inc.  

Mr. Voll noted there are less costly solutions, such as: continuing with the Best Management Practices (BMP’s) as outlined in the City’s MS4 permit, placement of aquatic plantings, reduction of shoreline erosion, checking septic systems, and repairing drainage ways.

Mayor Williams asked if the monitoring data required is the same as that obtained in the CAMP program. Mr. Voll advised the data is similar, but it must be obtained by a professional company for permitting purposes.

Engineer Voll advised that grants for this purposes would not be available since the lake has no public access. He indicated that residents surrounding the lake could petition the City to bond for the project and then repay the bond with assessments over a ten-year period. He noted there would be an additional cost of 3 - 4% of the project costs associated with bonding for the project.

Mr. Voll stated that there are companies that perform the in-lake alum treatment and again suggested Lake Restoration, Inc.

Councilmember Conant explained that in the past copper sulfate had been used by residents around the lake at a cost of less than $1,000. He questioned what additional benefit could be shown to property owners if they paid for the in-lake alum treatment.

Mr. Voll explained that the copper sulfate and the in-lake alum both merely trap the phosphorus, while the active flocculation treatment actually removes the phosphorus from the lake; it breaks the cycle of algae blooms and improves the water quality.

Lynette Olsen recalled that Engineer Sterna had previously discussed the option of dredging the lake.

Mr. Voll explained that dredging would significantly increase costs as the water level of the lake would have to be lowered. He further advised that there may be issues relating to sediment that is agitated and that could drive costs even higher.

Council thanked the Engineer for his report.

c. CITY FORESTER: Forester Nayes stated he issued two (2) burning permits in April and that Dakota County is not restricted for opening burning as of April 30, 2012.

The Forester reported that he met with the Tree Board on April 12 and the committee suggested creating informational/educational materials relating to managing private acreages within the City. He advised that the group suggested this topic is especially important for new residents in regards to managing woodlands and meadows. He stated that the committee suggested the Forester be responsible for delivering this information to new residents; however, he advised them that Council authorization would be required to add this to his duties. He commented that Council may be approached in the future by members of the committee to discuss this issue. 

The Forester stated he wrote an article for the newsletter and distributed a flyer that outlines the Arbor Day Green Fair activities to be held this Saturday, May 5, at Harmon Park. He further advised that he had discussions with a number of residents relating to appropriate species to use to help fill the void left by removal of buckthorn and honeysuckle. 

Mayor Williams asked if the Forester had any update on Emerald Ash Borer and the Forester responded that there is nothing new to report at this time.

Council thanked the Forester for his report.

d. PUBLIC SAFETY: Chief Shaver reviewed the public safety report and pointed out that there were no alarm calls this month. He thanked Councilmember Conant for bringing the weather radio to the meeting in lieu of the tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings this evening; he noted that this information may also be obtained from certain cell phones.

The Chief advised that two missing dogs were found and returned to their owners. He further stated that he had submitted an article relating to raccoons and the diseases they carry. He noted that there is a vaccine that may be obtained from veterinarians for dogs so that this disease is not transmitted from the raccoons.

Chief Shaver advised that there was a check stolen from a residential mailbox and urged everyone to mail bills at the post office and not to place them in their mailboxes.

The Chief reported on a weapon being discharged on Angell Road and advised that an officer had contacted the resident regarding this incident.   

Forester Nayes asked if the disease from raccoons could be transmitted to people. The Chief responded that he is unsure, and offered to forward the article on this subject to Council and staff.

The Mayor asked if the article could be placed on the City website. The Chief advised he would forward the information to the web site manager.

Council thanked the Chief for his report.

8.      NEW/OTHER BUSINESS:

a.       Other Business: The Mayor advised that he asked the City Clerk to contact Officer Muellner to ask if he was available to attend the June Council meeting to discuss the 2012 Deer Hunt.  Clerk Iago stated she sent an email to Officer Muellner, but he had not yet responded. She offered to contact him again.

The Mayor asked if there was any further business and there was no response.

9.   ADJOURN: Councilmember Burke moved for adjournment at 8:15 p.m., seconded by Councilmember Hovey and carried.  (4-0)

___________________________                                ___________________________

Richard A. Williams, Jr., Mayor                                        Catherine Iago, City Clerk