City of St. Mary’s Point
City Council Meeting – July 8, 2008
St. Mary’s Point Web address:  http://stmaryspoint.org

PRESENT:  Mayor Jones, Councilmembers Farnham, Jacobson, Williams, and Theede
ABSENT:  None

CALL TO ORDER.
Mayor Jones called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  The City Clerk took roll call.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
The Pledge was recited by everyone in attendance.

APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA.
Motion by Councilmember Jacobson, seconded by Councilmember Williams to approve the Consent agenda , with the amended meeting minutes.  Motion passed 5-0.
    
Councilmember Jacobson requested an edit to item 4 in the June meeting minutes, stating that the wilted oak tree in front of her home is within the City right–of-way.

PUBLIC CONCERNS.
Kris Blake was present at the meeting to inquire if residents had received flyers in the mail pertaining to the upcoming Arts in the Park program.  Kris noted July 13th from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the City Park there will be two performing companies: Mongolian Family Circus & a Jazz Trio. Residents should bring their own seating, but there is no admission fee.  Kris Blake acknowledged the Councilmembers for their ongoing support of the program.  

Councilmember Farnham requested that Kris make an announcement that smoking will be prohibited during the event. Mayor Jones thanked Kris Blake for the program and encouraged Councilmembers to attend.

SHERIFF’S REPORT.
Deputy Garvey was present at the meeting to distribute the report.

Twelve calls of service had taken place, & one ticket had been issued.  Ticket was at City Beach, issued for a small amount of marijuana, and an arrest made for a warrant.  

Councilmember Williams inquired if complaints about fireworks were received on the 4th of July.  Deputy Garvey responded that five or six calls were received.  Councilmember Williams stated that the quantity seems to increase from year to year and reported that numerous boats had to move locations to avoid the fireworks.

A note was made for May/June 2009 to send letters to residents outlining the laws pertaining to fireworks.


PLANNING COMMISSION / PLANNING.

Lundquist Variance

Councilmember Farnham reported John Glomski, City Planner, could not attend the council meeting.  Cameron Kelly, City Attorney, presented the request in John’s absence.  Cameron gave a brief overview of the request and the location.  The variance request is to replace a deck.  

The recommendation of the Planning Commission is that the variance should be granted for the reason of allowing a “reasonable and safe deck.”  It would have no negative effect on the neighborhood and will not encroach any closer to the bluff line.

The provisions include the following.  The new deck must not encroach any closer to the bluff line.  Tear down existing deck and replace in exact position, exact size or – enlarge deck (subject to DNR approval) ONLY laterally, not any closer to the water.  If the option is chosen to enlarge the deck, DNR will require a landscape plan that will need to be approved by the City and the DNR.  If the plan is not approved, the DNR will note what else will need to be incorporated before a building permit is obtained.  

Motion by Councilmember Farnham, seconded by councilmember Jacobson, to approve approve the draft resolution 2008-07-01.  Motion Passed 5-0.

Holmer property

Councilmember Farnham reported that legitimate concerns regarding codes and development have been brought up pertaining to the property.  John Glomski, Mr & Mrs. Holmer, Councilmember Farnham, and Mayor Jones sat down and discussed the concerns- the meeting went well.  Sewage, safety and electricity were discussed during this meeting.  The Holmer’s apparently plan to move to St. Mary’s Point within a couple years and establish a permanent residency on this lot.  

Councilmember Farnham reported that the discussion was that no more structures will appear. Mr. Holmer may also have to apply for permits for current things including electricity, sewage, water.  All of which may need to be brought up to code.  Mr. Holmer submitted paperwork that processed in the 90’s pertaining to his property.  John Glomski is reviewing this paperwork.

Councilmember Williams reported that the seasonal structures on the Holmer property were built after 1983.  John Glomski is reviewing the codes and  the “Grandfathering in” rule. Mayor Jones concluded we are still in the fact finding and research phase of the project and more updates will follow.

Local Surface Water Management Plan

Mayor Jones reported a meeting was held in June with John Parotti, City Engineer.  John described the plan reviews by the oversight bodies, and the concerns are being addressed.  A final draft will be brought to a future council meeting for a final review.  

Councilmember Farnham inquired if any issues were perceived as a major problem, to which John answered no.  Does anything require re-writing the comp plan or ordinances? No, but ordinances will need to be brought up to date after the plans are completed. Updated drafts will be brought to the August meeting.

Councilmember Williams inquired if the report will address local levies.  John will look at options for incorporating this item somewhere in the plan.

Comp Plan

Mayor Jones reported he has not heard anything additionally from Lakeland Shores to excerpt the SMP plan.  

Other business

Councilmember Farnham reported Mayor Jones received a call from Stan Hubbard regarding a property issue.  Mayor Jones also contacted Councilmember Farnham to ask him to accompany him to the meeting.  A thirty-foot strip of his yard and fence appear to be on City property.  Stan inquired if he could “trade” his land to obtain this piece of land.  Stan received a description of this issue from his lawyer.  The documents received by Stan’s lawyer were given to Cameron Kelly for review.  Staff will handle the issue going forward.

Mayor Jones reported he received a draft comp plan from Lakeland Shores & Lakeland.  They were routed to SMP for comment.  These are the comp plans, not the surface water management plan.  Mayor Jones suggests the responsibility be allocated to the Mayor or another councilmember to review and draft a letter to send to Lakeland or Lakeland Shores to respond.  Councilmember Theede will review and draft a letter to send to these communities.  Mayor Jones volunteered to help draft a response.

STANDING COMMITTEES – UPDATES.
2009 City Budget

Tom Niedzwiecki, City Treasurer reviewed the proposed Lower St. Croix Valley Fire Protection District budget.  This item will be re-visited in August.  

Tom highlighted the additional comp plan expenses, which will be noted as unfavorable to the 2008 budget.  

The proposed 2009 levy for SMP increased by 6.1%.  Mayor Jones commented he’d like to see the percent go down to 5%.  This draft is a first version.  At the August meeting, Councilmember Farnham requested Tom revise to try to get to the goal of 5.0%.   

Fire District

Councilmember Williams reported on the proposed 4.99% increase.  This increase does not require any approval by the City.  Ambulance service is a large portion of the budget, representing about 20% of their losses.  There is no legislation planned for the near future pertaining to this issue.   

Cable Commission
Mayor Jones has attended the meetings.  Mayor Jones reported that Councilmember Jacobson purchased the new DVD equipment, which was the right approach.

Middle St. Croix WMO
Councilmember Jacobson attended but there were not enough attendees to hold a meeting.

LSCV Alliance
Mayor Jones did not attend last meeting.  He plans to attend the July meeting.

CITY STAFF REPORTS.
Building Inspector
Duane Stensland was not present.  A summary of projects was distributed.  

City Engineer
John Parotti provided the Council with an engineering report, which he briefly reviewed with the Council.  A map was distributed with locations of the upcoming road cutting & patching.  The estimate is currently $14,900.  Quotes are anticipated to be brought to the August meeting.

An overview of the process to receive a bid was reviewed.  John reviewed the process for receiving and reviewing the bids.

No parking signs yet at City Hall- work is scheduled for Monday.  

Striping on the street was confirmed by Washington County, the stop bar will be done by the city of Lakeland.  

Parcel maps with street addresses were also distributed to the Council prior to the meeting.

Councilmember Williams inquired about the future possibility of replacing roads as opposed to patching/fixing them each year.  

City Attorney

Cameron Kelly reviewed the draft ordinance amendment to section 1004.020.  This revision defines safety issues and allows the city to place permanent or temporary no parking signs. It was noted that roadway/boulevard language will be replaced with the word street.

Motion by councilmember Jacobson, seconded by Councilmember Farnham, to amend ordinance 1004.020.  Motion passed 5-0.

Cameron Kelly also reviewed the enforcement of nuisance ordinances and presented the draft of a letter to use to address these issues with residents. Councilmember Williams suggested having a standard letter to send to residents that are in violation of a zoning ordinance.  The council will determine when a letter needs to be sent out.  A resident has 10 days to come into compliance.  A letter was distributed for review and it was noted that this letter is a “working draft”.  

Conditional use permits were also reviewed.  Cameron Kelly reported the code calls for conditional use permits to expire after one year.  A “reasonable” fee can be assessed for this service.  Notices will need to be sent to residents so they are aware that SMP is reviewing any current conditional use permits.  

City Treasurer
Tom Niedzwiecki gave his financial report for the month of June, 2008.

Motion by Councilmember Williams, seconded by Councilmember to pay the bills with checks numbered 3104 through 3142, and the 7 electronic payments.  Motion passed 5-0.

E.)    City Clerk
        Preliminary plans for 2008 elections were presented.

COUNCIL REPORTS.
Mayor
Mayor Jones reported on a LMC report on the financial condition of Minnesota cities.

Councilmembers
Councilmember Farnham
He had nothing additional to report.

2.    Councilmember Jacobson
She reported on the compliments received on the property at SMP City Hall and thanked Louise for her hard work on this project.

Councilmember Williams
Reported that the election is September 9th and the Council meeting will need to re-scheduled.  The approach will be taken to meet on September 2nd as opposed to September 9th, with a focus on routine business. It was also noted the Council meeting in November will be November 11th.

He reported the vendor for the port-a-potty for the city park has changed.  It was Biff’s previously; now will be On Site Sanitation.

He reported City Hall needs to be cleaned up prior to the elections.  Mayor Jones reported he’d like to see this professionally done.


Councilmember Theede
Nothing additional to report.

ADJOURNMENT.
Motion by Councilmember Farnham to adjourn the Council meeting at 9:48p.m.  Motion passed.



Respectfully submitted,


                                
    Donald R. Jones, Mayor                Megan Rucker, City Clerk







St. Mary’s Point web address:  http://stmaryspoint.org