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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-11-2022 City Council Meeting MinutesCITY COUNCIL MEETING City Hall —Council Chambers, 590 40th Ave NE Monday, July 11, 2022 7:00 PM MINUTES Mayor Amada Marquez Simula Councilmembers John Murzyn, Jr. Connie Buesgens Nick Novitsky Kt Jacobs City Manager Kelli Bourgeois The following are the minutes for the Meeting of the City Council held at 7:00 pm on Monday, July 11, 2022, in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 590 401h Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this hybrid meeting was held both virtually and in -person. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Mayor Marquez Simula called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Present: Mayor Marquez Simula; Councilmember Buesgens; Councilmember Jacobs; Councilmember Murzyn, Jr.; Councilmember Novitsky Also Present: Bourgeois, City Manager; Kevin Hansen, Public Works Director; Jim Hoeft, City Attorney; Sara Ion, City Clerk; Dan O'Brien, Assistant Fire Chief; Steven Johnson, Midwest Property Management Representative; Cliff Johnson, City Resident; Rachel James, City Resident PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion by Councilmember Murzyn Jr., seconded by Councilmember Novitsky, to approve the Agenda as presented. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Councilmember Buesgens, seconded by Councilmember Murzyn Jr., to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. 1. Approve June 27, 2022 City Council Meeting Minutes MOTION: Move to approve the City Council Meeting minutes of June 27, 2022. 2. Approve June 27, 2022 Special City Council Meeting Minutes MOTION: Move to approve the Special City Council Meeting minutes of June 27, 2022. 3. Approve Regular EDA Meeting Minutes of May 2, 2022 MOTION: Move to approve the regular EDA Meeting Minutes of May 2, 2022. 4. Approve Special EDA Meeting Minutes of May 9, 2022 MOTION: Move to approve Special EDA Meeting Minutes of May 9, 2022. 5. Accept June 1, 2022 Library Board Minutes MOTION: Move to Accept the Library Board Minutes from June 1, 2022. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES July 11, 2022 City Council Meeting Page 2 6. Adopt Resolution 2022-65, Designating Election Judges and Election Judge Salaries for the 2022 State Primary and General Elections MOTION: Move to Waive the reading of Resolution 2022-65, there being ample copies to the public. MOTION: Move to adopt Resolution 2022-65, being a resolution designating election judges and salaries for the 2022 State Primary and General Elections. 7. Authorization to Enter into a JPA With the City of Fridley for 53rd Avenue Trail, Sidewalk and Street Improvements from Main Street to Central Avenue MOTION: Move to approve a Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Fridley to provide cost -share for Engineering Design and Construction Administrative Services for Trail, Sidewalk and Street Improvements on 53rd Avenue from Main Street to Central Avenue, City Project 2305. 8. Rental Occupancy Licenses for Approval MOTION: Move to approve the items listed for rental housing license applications for July 11, 2022, in that they have met the requirements of the Property Maintenance Code. 9. License Agenda MOTION: Move to approve the items as listed on the business license agenda for July 11, 2022, as presented. 10. Review of Bills MOTION: Move that in accordance with Minnesota Statute 412.271, subd. 8 the City Council has reviewed the enclosed list to claims paid by check and by electronic funds transfer in the amount of $1,735,969.06. PUBLIC HEARINGS 11. Further Consideration of Resolution 2022-063, Revocation of the License to Operate Rental Units Within the City of Columbia Heights Against the Rental Property at 950 39th Avenue NE for Failure to Meet the Requirements of the Residential Maintenance Codes. Assistant Fire Chief O'Brien provided the Council with an update on the outstanding items and stated that the resolution had also been updated since the last meeting. He said that the diseased tree has been removed and the licensee has closed out the open permits, pending the glass for the bathroom window that has been ordered; this completes all of the items on the list. Mayor Marquez Simula opened the continued public hearing. Steven Johnson, Midwest Property Management Representative, stated that all of the orders were completed as requested. He said that they put the stack cap on 950 391n Avenue NE, and had a plumber check that the water heater tank was put in correctly, and found that there were repairs that were needed from prior to their ownership. Johnson added that they also found that the stack cap for 940 391" Avenue NE was the same, have pulled a permit, placed the order to replace that cap, and serviced the water heater tank. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES July 11, 2022 City Council Meeting Page 3 Councilmember Jacobs thanked Johnson for completing the items and that they complied but stated she didn't vote in favor to table the item to this meeting to do them a favor, it was for the residents. Johnson thanked Councilmember Jacobs and stated they will not be back in front of the Council regarding these properties. Mayor Marquez Simula thanked Johnson and Assistant Chief O'Brien for working with the landlords and tenants to make sure rentals are safe for the community. Motion by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Buesgens to close the public hearing and waive the reading of Resolution 2022-063, there being ample copies available to the public. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. Motion by Councilmember Jacobs, seconded by Councilmember Buesgens., to adopt Resolution 2022-063, being a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Columbia Heights, approving revocation pursuant to City Code of the rental license listed. A roll call vote was taken. All Nays, Motion Failed 5-0. ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION Ordinances and Resolutions 12. Resolution 2022-66, Authorizing and Directing the Condemnation of Certain Property for Public Purposes, City Project 2110 Director Hansen reported that the City has received funding for the 37th Avenue reconstruction in the amount of $7,000,000 through Regional Solicitation Funds. The 30 percent plans have detailed that temporary easements will be required on both sides of the roadway to facilitate the work, such as retaining wall installation and establishing mowable slopes. As the project lead, the City of Minneapolis hired the professional firm of Henning Professional Services (HPS) for the easement acquisition process. A prescriptive road easement is also included in the acquisition. Work on the easement acquisition began in March 2022 with information being sent to the property owners informing them of the Federal process and providing them with information regarding their rights in acquisitions. Appraisals were performed (this also must meet established Federal and State rules) and offer letters were sent out. Out of 15 original parcels identified for easements, only four remain. Timing is critical for agency approvals necessary to meet Federal and State requirements. With the Federal process, a minimum of 120 days to acquire is estimated, which represents an accelerated process. The right-of-way acquisition process follows Federal and State requirements, with work completed through the appraisal and review appraisal process. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES July 11, 2022 City Council Meeting Page 4 Staff will continue to work and negotiate with property owners and meet with HPS and the engineer in an effort to successfully obtain the easements and avoid the condemnation process., however, due to Federal and State required timelines, the authorization to begin condemnation needs to be initiated now. Staff recommends approval of Resolution 2022-66, authorizing condemnation for easements for City Project 2110. Motion by Councilmember Novitsky, seconded by Councilmember Murzyn Jr., to waive the reading of Resolution 2022-66, as there are ample copies available to the public. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. Motion by Councilmember Novitsky, seconded by Councilmember Murzyn Jr., to adopt Resolution 2022-66, authorizing and directing the condemnation of certain property for public purpose, City Project 2110 (S.A.P. 113-101-013), under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act and the current State -Aid Manual. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. CITY COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS Report of the City Council Councilmember Buesgens stated she continues to volunteer at the Blooming Sunshine Garden at Lomianki Park; residents can come harvest mint, dill, edible flowers, strawberry, and spinach. She said she is part of the committee that formed "Central Avenue, Bring Back Our Main Street"; the Regional Manager from MNDOT, Melissa Barns, met with the committee and was very open to some of the ideas of preserving Central Avenue for the community rather than commuters. Buesgens invited anyone to attend the meeting at the high school on July 20, 2022, from 3:00 pm- 6:00 pm, where MNDOT is looking for the vision of the community and any suggested changes for Central Avenue; they will come back in the fall or winter with the ideas shared and then in 2023 they will start to work on the design. Buesgens stated her husband helped her clean the seven storm drains they adopted, and the HeightsNext storm drains they adopted, for a total of 15 storm drains. She encouraged those who have adopted a storm drain to get out and clean it or adopt one if they haven't already; she said that if half of the households within the City adopted one storm drain, they would all be covered and that would prevent unwanted debris from getting into the Mississippi River, which drains into the Gulf of Mexico and into the ocean. Councilmember Jacobs stated she attended the Traffic Commission meeting and the Multicultural Advisory Board; attended Music in the Park, where she reconnected with Chuck and his family. She also made seven resident reach outs. Mayor Marquez Simula stated she can't believe summer is half over and that Jamboree has passed; she was recently sick but able to attend Music in the Park last week and did some gardening with Blooming Sunshine Garden; she accepted signatures for the petition to make sure that MNDOT is paying attention to the community. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES July 11, 2022 City Council Meeting Page 5 Report of the City Manager Manager Bourgeois stated that InvoiceCloud is the City's online payment credit card processing system, and they have a nationwide sweepstakes right now; if you sign up for utility billing to be paid online, you can qualify. Bourgeois stated that National Night Out is coming up in August, if you have an event scheduled in your neighborhood to let Officer Monberg know to get on the list for a visit from Staff. She said there is a charter commission seat open, applications are being accepted until July 31, 2022; she stated that the district judge makes those appointments, but applications can be sent to the City Clerk. COMMUNITY FORUM Mayor Marquez Simula opened the community forum. Cliff Johnson, City resident, spoke regarding the discussion at the work session the week prior of the moratorium on rentals, specifically single-family residences. He stated he believed it was a good idea and strongly encouraged the Council to consider it. He said that Staff talked about doing the percentage cap on street blocks, and stated it sounded like it was going to take a long time to get it finalized. Johnson said he would like to see a 12-month moratorium to get things in order before it gets out of hand; he said several houses are being sold and turned into rentals, and the time would allow them to get the rules updated, as many things have changed from years ago and created new issues. He also asked what work was being done on Central Avenue. Manager Bourgeois stated that the sanitary sewer lining project along Central Avenue has started; it will be a single lane for rest of the season and go down Gould Avenue. She said additionally there is a gas line being replaced on 401" Avenue that was not planned. Rachel James, City resident, stated she wanted to address the work session regarding the rental density. She said she appreciated the presentation from Staff on how to continue to have excellent safe housing and that the new affordable housing that is coming should be celebrated. She urged the Council to adopt the ordinance to limit the number of new single-family rentals and that she hoped there would be public hearings and education on how it could impact neighborhoods. James again stated she is in support of this ordinance. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Murzyn Jr., seconded by Councilmember Jacobs, to adjourn. All Ayes, Motion Carried 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:22 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Sara Ion, City Clerk/Council Secretary