City of St. Mary’s Point
St. Mary’s Point Web address: HYPERLINK
http://stmaryspoint.org
Special Meeting – June 5, 2007, 6pm
PRESENT: Mayor Jones, Councilmembers Jacobson and Theede
ABSENT: Councilmembers Farnham and Williams
Mayor Jones called the Special Meeting to order. The City Clerk
took roll call. The Mayor read the notice that was published in
the paper and posted outside City Hall.
Motion by Councilmember Theede, seconded by Councilmember Jacobson to
close the meeting and enter executive session. Motion passed 3-0.
Motion by Councilmember Jacobson, seconded by Councilmember Theede to
close the Special Meeting. Motion passed 5-0.
City
Council Meeting – June 5, 2007, 7:15 pm
PRESENT: Mayor Jones, Councilmembers Jacobson and Theede
ABSENT: Councilmembers Farnham and Williams
CALL TO ORDER.
Mayor Jones called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The City
Clerk took roll call. The City Attorney, Cameron Kelly, reported
that the Council did just hold a special closed session of the City
Council at 6pm. They went into executive session to receive
advice from Counsel on matters of pending litigation. There was
no formal action by the City during the meeting. There will be a
discussion on the item later in the meeting.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
The Pledge was recited by everyone in attendance.
APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA.
Motion by Councilmember Jacobson, seconded by Councilmember Theede to
approve the Consent agenda. Motion passed 3-0.
PUBLIC CONCERNS.
Larry Wang & Bonnie Wang, 16634 22nd Street South, appeared before
the Council. He reported that they use a vacated City street as
part of their driveway, and they are looking for permission to blacktop
the driveway. Councilmember Theede suggested they get the City
Planner, John Glomski, involved in the process. He would need to
determine if a variance is needed. The City Clerk will have Mr.
Glomski contact them.
SHERIFF’S REPORT.
Deputy Stoffel was at the meeting and reported there were 10 service
calls in the month of May.
PENDING LITIGATION.
Mayor Jones informed every one that pending litigation was the subject
of the closed meeting. Attorney Kelly reported that a motion was
prepared by Pete Regnier, as Attorney for the City on this specific
litigation.
Motion by Councilmember Theede, seconded by Councilmember Jacobson to
pass Resolution 2007-6-1 which authorizes the Mayor to sign on behalf
of the City a Settlement Agreement/Release whereby the City waives its
right to pursue a claim against David Nelson and Rosemary Feehan and
their attorney for reimbursement of costs, expenses and attorneys’ fees
incurred by the City in defending the lawsuit brought by Nelson and
Feehan in Federal Court. In exchange for such waiver, Nelson and
Feehan and their children are dismissing all claims against the City
and other named Defendants and their employees, officials, attorneys,
and representatives, and releasing the City and all other named
Defendants from any claims. The City and other Defendants
continue to deny any liability and are paying no money to Nelson or
Feehan. The City authorizes our attorney to sign a Stipulation of
Dismissal. Motion passed 3-0.
CITY CLEAN-UP SUMMARY.
Councilmember Theede reported that he is still waiting on the invoice
from Waste Management.
CITY HALL GROUNDS.
Louise Russell appeared before the Council regarding an estimate that
was received from St. Croix Tree Service to remove some trees on the
City Hall property. The estimate is $1,250 for 9 trees and $140
to remove the stumps. She informed the Council that Tim Williams
has offered to clean up the roots and the buckthorn as much as possible
and level it all off.
She also reported that the neighbor in back of City Hall wants to take
down the old fence between the properties. The Council suggested
it might be a good idea to determine where the property line is to
determine whom the fence belongs to. They will ask John Glomski,
the City Planner, to look into the issue. Louise, Mayor Jones,
and Councilmember Farnham will do a walk through of City Hall grounds
as a next step.
PLANNING COMMISSION / PLANNING.
WMO- Checklist for new process
City Attorney Kelly reported that Councilmember Farnham was going to
meet with the City Planner to work on a checklist to incorporate the
WMO requirements.
Hasland variance update
City Attorney Kelly informed the Council that the Haslunds are engaged
in litigation with the DNR who refuse to certify variances issued by
the City for their property. Mr. Kelly attended the
administrative hearing that was held in the beginning of May. The
city is not a party, but he was at the hearing to monitor the
situation. The next hearing is July 25 at 1pm.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
Mayor Jones reported that Bob Mazenac of the Met Council, appeared at
the last Mayor’s Alliance Meeting to give an overview of the process
and the requirements for updating the Comprehensive Plan. The
Mayor will develop a preliminary plan for updating the Comprehensive
Plan for the Met Council.
CITY STAFF REPORTS.
Building Inspector
Duane Stensland reported on the status of the current projects in the
City.
City Engineer
John Parotti reported that the City’s street repairs project is nearly
complete. The patches at the west end of St. Mary’s Drive were to
be done by the County under their project, and the Council authorized
$1,200 to be spent to do those repairs. As recently as Friday the
County wasn’t sure if they should do it through their contractor and
suggested having their own County staff do the work. The Council
agreed to have Tower Asphalt do the work, as part of the City’s road
repair project.
Mr. Parotti gave an update on the County Road 18 overlay project.
He said the Contractor ground up the existing pavement and is currently
working on pavement reclamation. There are road closures in Lake
St. Croix Beach at 21st and Upper 22nd Streets South that are now in
effect.
Mr. Parotti informed the Council that the Tom Leonard project is
nearing completion. There is a June 30, 2007 deadline for meeting
all the conditions for final approval. Mr. Leonard will let them
know when he is ready for the final inspection.
Mayor Jones reported that there is a road sign at the intersection of
River Road and St. Mary’s Drive that is bent and needs to be
replaced. Mr. Parotti replied that he could contact a company to
get it fixed. Councilmember Theede said he would contact Gordy
Herman about getting it fixed.
City Attorney
Cameron Kelly, the City Attorney, had nothing additional to report.
City Treasurer
Tom Niedzwiecki gave his financial report for the month of May, 2007.
Motion by Councilmember Theede, seconded by Councilmember Jacobson to
pay the bills with checks numbered 2878 through 2894 (check 2892 is
void), and the 7 electronic payments for a total of $7,039.84.
Motion passed 3-0.
Mr. Niedzwiecki reported on the 2007 LMGIT insurance information.
He went through parts of the application with the Council.
Motion by Councilmember Theede, seconded by Councilmember Jacobson to
accept the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust liability
coverage waiver form indicating that the City accepts the liability
coverage limits, and does not waive the monetary limits on municipal
tort liability established by Minnesota Statutes 466.04. Motion
passed 3-0.
E.) City Clerk
The City Clerk reported that all 4 mooring permits were turned
in. Mayor Jones, Mark Holmes, Jerry Sorensen, and Paul Brown all
elected to renew their permits.
COUNCIL REPORTS.
Mayor
He reported that Kris Blake prepared a report about the Art in the Park
for the Council.
He reported that an email was received from Molly Shodeen at the
DNR. Councilmember Williams had asked her to look into the
dredging that is done at the nearby marinas. She reported that
they are using a safe approach. She also informed Mayor Jones
that she will let the Council know when the flood plain training is
scheduled.
Councilmembers
1. Councilmember Jacobson
She reported that she attended the recent WMO meeting.
She attended the cable meeting and the next one will be here tomorrow
night.
She will attend the watershed partners meeting. The will visit the
storm
Councilmember Theede
He had nothing additional to report.
ADJOURNMENT.
Motion by Councilmember Jacobson to adjourn the Council meeting at 8:47
p.m. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Donald R. Jones, Mayor
Holly A.
Morley, City Clerk
St. Mary’s Point web address: http://stmaryspoint.org