Loading...
06-08-2004 CCM MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - HUTCHINSON CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY, JUNE 8,2004 1. CALL TO ORDER - 5:30 P.M. Mayor MarlIn Torgerson called the meeting to order. Members present were Kay Peterson, Jim Haugen, Bill Arndt and Casey Stotts. Others present were Gary Plotz, City Administrator, Marc Sebora, City Attorney and John Rodeberg, Director of EngineeringIPublic Works. 2. INVOCATION - Due to the absence of Rev. Jim Hall, Word of Life Church, the invocation was dIspensed. 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 4. MINUTES (a) REGULAR MEETING OF MAY 25,2004 (b) BID OPENING MINUTES OF JUNE 2, 2004 Minutes were approved as presented. 5. CONSENT AGENDA (a) REPORTS OF OFFICERS, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS 1. FIRE DEPARTMENT MONTHLY REPORT FOR MAY 2004 2. BUILDING DEPARTMENT MONTL Y REPORT FOR MAY 2004 3. HUTCHINSON UTILITIES COMMISSION FINANCIAL REPORT FOR APRIL 2004 (b) RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES 1. ORDINANCE NO. 04-376 - AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF A PORTION OF PUBLIC PROPERTY TO EARTHL YDELIGHTS, LTD. (STATE THEATRE PROJECT) (SECOND READING AND ADOPTION) 2. ORDINANCE NO. 04-377 - AN ORDINANCE VACATING LOUISIANA STREET AND THE 10 FOOT UTILITY AND DRAINAGE EASEMENT DIRECTLY TO THE WEST OF THE STREET REQUESTED BY LEO SAND, SAND PROPERTIES (SECOND READING AND ADOPTION) 3. ORDINANCE NO. 04-379 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION 8.01 REGULATING EXISTING TWO FAMILY HOMES IN THE SINGLE F AMIL Y RESIDENCE DISTRICT (SECOND READING AND ADOPTION) 4. RESOLUTION NO. 12441-RESOLUTIONESTABLISHING LOCATION FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES 5. RESOLUTION NO. 12442 -RESOLUTION FOR PURCHASE (c) CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL OF SHORT-TERM GAMBLING LICENSE FOR HUTCHINSON FIRE RELIEF ASSOCIATION FOR SEPTEMBER 11, 2004 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - JUNE 8, 2004 (d) CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL OF HUTCHINSON POLICE SERVICES MAKING AN EQUIPMENT DONATION (e) LETTING NO.6, PROJECT NO. 04-06 & 04-07 (ECHO DRIVE SE & ECHO CIRCLE SE) - DECLARING COST TO BE ASSESSED AND ORDERING PREPARATION OF PROPOSED ASSESSMENT - HEARING ON PROPOSED ASSESSMENT (t) LETTING NO.8, PROJECT NO. 04-09 (RA VENWOOD WEST) - DECLARING COST TO BE ASSESSED AND ORDERING PREPARATION OF PROPOSED ASSESSMENT - WAIVING HEARING ON PROPOSED ASSESSMENT - ADOPTING ASSESSMENT - ACCEPTING BID AND AWARDING CONTRACT (g) LETTING NO.9, PROJECT NO. 04-10 & 04-11 (ARCH STREET SE TRAIL AND BLOCK 7 DOWNTOWN ALLEY, SOUTH ~ CITY) - DECLARING COST TO BE ASSESSED AND ORDERING PREPARATION OF PROPOSED ASSESSMENT - HEARING ON PROPOSED ASSESSMENT (h) LETTING NO. 11, PROJECT NO. 04-13 (12TH AVENUE NW) - ORDERING PREPARATION OF REPORT ON IMPROVEMENT - RECEIVING REPORT AND CALLING HEARING ON IMPROVEMENT (i) CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL OF SELLING SURPLUS CITY PROPERTY 0) CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL OF CONSULTANT SELECTION FOR AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS Item 5(t) was pulled for further clarification. Motion by Arndt, second by Peterson, to approve consent agenda with exception of item 5(t). Motion carried unanimously. John Rodeberg explained that this project has the majority of issues agreed upon and that the appropriate signatures need to be obtained for various agreements. Motion by Arndt, second by Peterson to approve this project with the contingency that all signatures are obtained appropriately on required agreements. Motion carried unanimously. 6. PUBLIC HEARINGS - 6:00 P.M. (a) PUBLIC INPUT REGARDING LIQUOR STORE PROJECT Mayor Torgerson explained that much research has been done in the last six months on expansion to the current liquor store, whether it be one super store, or a second store located on the south end of town. The Council and staff is seeking public's input on the two options. Mayor Torgerson noted that citizen, Steve Cook, had written a letter to the Council, which had very 2 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - JUNE 8, 2004 good information and ideas. Mr. Cook's main idea is to build one super store in the downtown di stri ct. Gary Plotz, City Administrator, explained that later in the meeting he will be giving a presentation on staff s recommendation for a two-store option - remodel the current downtown store and build a second store on the south end of town. Woody Lamprecht, downtown business owner, presented before the Council. Mr. Lamprecht expressed that one of the sites proposed earlier, north of the Dairy Queen, would be an ideal location. Mr. Lamprecht expressed his reasons for disagreeing with the two-store option. Mr. Lamprecht feels that the downtown may die if the liquor store is not located on Main Street. Mary Lynn Cox, Dairy Queen owner, presented before the Council. Ms. Cox expressed to the Council that she is in no way opposed to a liquor store being located across the street from the Dairy Queen. Ms. Cox also stated that she would like to see the corner across from the Dairy Queen cleaned up, whether it be a liquor store located there or any other business. John Miller, citizen, presented before the Council. Mr. Miller expressed that he does not think strongly of consultants as they are not aware of needs of the City. Mr. Miller stated that he feels the Council does have the downtown at heart and want to keep it vibrant. He feels that by building one new large store downtown, it would aid in doing that. Virgil Voigt, citizen, presented before the Council. Dr. Voigt stated that for several years he has been all about promoting downtown. He stated that to keep downtown Hutchinson viable, the liquor store needs to remain there. Dr. Voigt stated that he feels that having a second store will cost the City more money and not necessarily bring in additional substantial profits. Skip Quade, downtown property owner, presented before the Council. Mr. Quade stated that he feels the liquor store needs to remain downtown and that a second store would not necessarily generate a large amount of profits. Bill Corby, downtown property owner, presented before the Council. Mr. Corby explained that he feels the liquor store should stay where it is, but not build a second store on the south end of town. Matt McMillan, downtown businessman, presented before the Council. Mr. McMillan shared figures on the cost to build a second store on the south end of town, and the fact that these numbers are approximately 40% of building one brand new store. Mr. McMillan stated that based on the last analysis done by the consultant, it was anticipated that the south store would be making more money than the downtown store the first year of operation. Motion by Peterson, second by Stotts, to close public hearing. Motion carried unanimously. 7. COMMUNICATIONS, REQUESTS AND PETITIONS (a) PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL RESULTS OF CREEKSIDE COMPOST FACILITY THROUGH APRIL 30, 2004 Ken Merrill, Finance Director, presented the financial picture for the city-owned compost facility up through April 30, 2004. Overall the compost site is approaching a break-even or better situation by the end of the year. Gary Plotz reminded the Council that initially it was projected that the compost site would incur a $370,000 loss and this is much better than expected. Mr. Plotz also gave an update on equipment being used at the compost site. Discussion was also held in regard to storage of the compost product. (b) DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL CHANGES IN COLLECTION OF RECYCLING/COMPOST CONT AINERS IN ALLEYS 3 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - JUNE 8, 2004 Gary Plotz, City Administrator, explained to the Council that currently the blue recycling bins are scanned in to record activity. This process needs to be improved in some way. Additionally, the green compost bins are also going to begin to be scanned to record activity. The current hauler, Waste Management, will be putting larger stickers on the bins that will allow for a more accurate reading. In order to accomplish the best process, both the bins should be scanned at the same time by the same person. Currently, for those residents that live along an alley, the recycling bin is located on the street and the garbage bin and compost bin are located in the alley. Waste Management would like the bins together, either all in the alley or all along the street. Staff and Waste Management is recommending that all three bins be located in the alley. A letter will be sent out to residents requiring that they start doing this. Ken Merrill also mentioned that on the new sticker will be included the user's home address. 8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS (a) CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL OF PEDDLER'S LICENSE AND FEE ADmSTMENT FOR GERALD JOHNSON TO SELL NOVELTIES AT THE JAYCEE WATER CARNIVAL ON JUNE 20, 2004 Marc Sebora, City Attorney, explained that staff had obtained fees of other cities for transient merchant licenses. Hutchinson's fees are higher than other cities. However, the increase in Hutchinson's fees is due to concerns of local business owners of unwanted transients selling in Hutchinson. The Chamber of Commerce's opinion is that to adjust a fee on a one time basis for an event such as this would be appropriate, however they are asking that Hutchinson's daily and annual fees remain the same. Bill Corby stated that the Chamber's main reason for the fee change was to keep business within Hutchinson, disruption to local businesses, and product safety issues. The main focus was to deter the transients that were coming into town. Due to the increased restrictions, the activity of these transient merchants has reduced. Discussion was held on the process of obtaining a transient merchant license. Motion by Stotts, second by Peterson, to set a separate permit for parade peddlers at $25.00/day and to charge Mr. Johnson $25.00 to sell novelties at the Water Carnival parade on June 20, 2004. Motion carried unanimously. (b) CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL OF HUTCHINSON CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU 2004 BUDGET Dolf Moon, Director of PRCE, explained that at a previous Council meeting in December 2003, direction was given to the HCVB to review their 2004 budget. Various meetings have been held and identified issues have been resolved. Motion by Haugen, second by Stotts, to approve Hutchinson Convention and Visitors Bureau 2004 Budget. Motion carried unanimously. 9. NEW BUSINESS (a) PRESENTATION ON LIQUOR STORE PROJECT Gary Plotz, City Administrator, presented before the Council. Mr. Plotz explained that the City Council directed staff to research various options related to the liquor store, specifically one super store versus two stores - one located downtown and one located on the south end of town. Mr. Plotz gave background history on the proj ect. Research on the liquor store began back in 1999. In 2001, Ideas researched were to expand the current store. The owner of the grocery store connected to the liquor store would not allow expansion to the north, the vacant area to the east would make the store 4 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - JUNE 8, 2004 too long and adding on to the south was somewhat expensive. Today, in researching expansion of the current store, the owner of the grocery store will allow expansion to the north, however the cost is approximately over $500,000, which is only to move a wall and purchase the property. Mr. Plotz stated that two consultants that conducted studies on liquor store projections recommended that a second store be located on the south end. Current buildings were considered, however the cost was just too high. Vacant lots were researched to build a new store on. A development company has purchased land on the south end of town and has drawn up a plan for a liquor store. Mr. Plotz explained the idea for the development, which includes a liquor store, filling station, retail store, and a restaurant. The development company has offered this property for $300,000. A resolution has been prepared approving remodeling the current liquor store and building a second liquor store site on the south end of town. Jim Haugen questioned the value of remodeling the store without adding onto the store. Candice Woods explained that remodeling the store would improve customer traffic flow and an immediate spike in sales. Ken Merrill explained that $1.7 million was estimated to obtain the land and construct the store on the south end of town. It was asked whether or not that $1.7 million could be used to remodel and expand the current store. Ms. Woods explained that the analysis shows that by doing this, it would not Increase market share. However, a second store grabs a new market from regional shoppers. Buzz Burich, President of Citizens Bank, explained that the bank opened a second office on the south end of town because of competition, however they have not gained anything by it. The market just changes somewhat. Mr. Burich expressed that the downtown should really be the location for the liquor store. Mr. Miller stated that he disagreed with the projections of9% in sales ofa liquor store located on the south end of town. Mayor Torgerson stated that several reasons were given for researching a second location, one of which is competition coming within closer boundaries to the city limits. John Miller suggested putting the liquor store in the recently-vacated Hennen's building. Bill Corby stated that he would be more concerned with why the current liquor store is losing customers. If the second store would be built on the south side, he suggested that the south store be considered the satellite store and the downtown store be considered the flagship store. Skip Quade stated that building a new store downtown and a possible satellite store in the distant future would make the most business sense. Charlie Levis, Farr Develoment, presented before the Council. Mr. Levis explained the advantages of the site plan for the south store location. Kay Peterson voiced her opinion that she would like to see one liquor store located downtown as illustrated in the Downtown Master Plan. Bill Arndt stated that he would be in favor of remodeling the current store and enhancing the current location. Jim Haugen stated that the City can be thankful that the liquor store is doing well. He stated that he feels the downtown needs to be revitalized and that one main liquor store should remain downtown. Casey Stotts stated that he is very impressed with downtown business owners' support of a 5 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - JUNE 8, 2004 downtown liquor store. Mr. Stotts stated that he has concerns over parking spaces if the store would be located across from Dairy Queen, although he is in favor of one store location in downtown. Motion by Peterson, second by Haugen, to have one main downtown liquor store, whether it be a remodeled store or a new store and not build a second store on the south end of the city. A roll call vote was taken. Haugen - aye; Arndt - nay; Peterson - aye; Stotts - nay; Torgerson - aye. Motion carried 3 to 2. (b) CONSIDERATION OF 2005 BUDGET SCHEDULE Ken Merrill, Finance Director, proposed a budget schedule for 2005. This schedule would be an outline for staff and Council to follow to complete the budget in a timely manner. No action required. (c) CONSIDERATION FOR APPROVAL OF ADJUSTING CERTAIN CEMETERY FEES John Rodeberg explained that use of the cemetery has gone up over the last year. Due to the increase, staff IS requesting that some fees be increased due to offset the increased costs. Motion by Haugen, second by Arndt, to approve adjusting certain cemetery fees. Motion carried unanimously. 10. MISCELLANEOUS (a) COMMUNICATIONS Jim Haugen - Mr. Haugen reminded the Council that Water Carnival starts next week. Gary Plotz - Mr. Plotz requested of the Council what direction staff should take as far as locating property for the downtown liquor store. Mayor Torgerson stated that he feels the corner north of Dairy Queen is the most advantageous due to the semaphore signals and parking resources. In addition, it's a great opportunity to clean up a blighted area. Jim Haugen stated that an option to consider is the corner ofHwy 15 and Hwy 7 where the old powerhouse is located. The Council directed staff to negotiate a price on the property north of the Dairy Queen, as well as other properties located in the downtown area. John Rodeberg - Mr. Rodeberg informed the Council that staff will be budgeting for mosquito control in 2005. Mayor Torgerson asked the newspaper to run a survey on whether or not residents would be willing to pay a service charge on their utilIty bill to defray mosquito control costs. More public information will be forthcoming. Mr. Rodeberg also informed the Council that the bumps at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Lynn Road will be filled in so the road will be closed for a few days later this week. In addition, seal coating is being done on School Road and Roberts Road. Mr. Rodeberg also requested that two contracts be approved with SEH Engineering for a ~atermain crossing at the south fork of the Crow River and a trunk sanitary sewer construction on 4t Avenue South. The total of the contracts is approximately $85,000. Motion by Arndt, second by Stotts, to approve the two contracts with SEH Engineering. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Torgerson informed the group that a complaint had been received about tall weeds at the old filling station at the intersection ofHwy 7 and Hwy 22. Staff will take care of the issue. John Rodeberg gave an update on the Jefferson Street extension project. 6 CITY COUNCIL MINUTES - JUNE 8, 2004 Casey Stotts asked that crosswalks and turning lanes be painted. Mr. Rodeberg explained that this will be completed within the next three weeks. Casey Stotts also asked that cones be placed in the turning lane on Main Street during the Farmers Market so drivers are aware that the street is closed. 11. CLAIMS, APPROPRIATIONS AND CONTRACT PAYMENTS Motion by Peterson, second by Stotts, to approve claims, appropriations and contract payments. Motion carried unanimously. 12. ADJOURN With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. 7