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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-27-2025 Special City Council Meeting Minutes SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING - PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT HEARING Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula Councilmembers Connie Buesgens Rachel James Justice Spriggs Laurel Deneen City Manager Aaron Chirpich City Hall—Council Chambers, 3989 Central Ave NE Monday, January 27, 2025 6:00 PM MINUTES The following are the minutes for the Meeting of the City Council held at 6:00 pm on Monday, January 27, 2025, in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, 3989 Central Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, Minnesota. This meeting was held both virtually and in-person. WELCOME/CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Mayor Marquez Simula called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm. Present: Mayor Marquez Simula; Councilmember Buesgens; Councilmember James; Councilmember Deneen Absent: Councilmember Spriggs Also Present: Aaron Chirpich, City Manager; Kevin Hansen, Public Works Director/City Engineer; Sulmaan Khan, Assistant City Engineer; Barb Thomas, Public Works PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Public Hearing: Improvements For 2025 Concrete Alley Construction, Project 2506. Assistant Engineer Khan presented information regarding the proposed 2025 concrete alley reconstruction project. There are a total of six alleys proposed to be reconstructed throughout the City. The alleys will be reconstructed from bituminous to concrete. The proposed alleys were selected based on both visual assessments by Engineering staff as well as by considering feedback and information from the City’s streets maintenance crew to understand which alleys the crews are spending a considerable amount of time for patching and other maintenance activities. The alley reconstruction project is proposed to be assessed to benefiting properties. According to the City’s special assessment policy, the City assesses actual construction costs plus 10% for engineering and administration. The City subsidizes the assessment for single family and duplexes. There is no subsidy for commercial, industrial, and multi-family properties. There was an informational meeting held on January 23rd by Engineering staff. This meeting was to provide information on the City’s street rehabilitation program, the scope of the City of Columbia Heights MINUTES January 27, 2025 Special City Council Meeting - Public Improvement Hearing Page 2 alley reconstruction project, the City’s assessment methodology, the anticipated project schedule, and to answer questions that were brought up by those in attendance. Assistant Engineer Khan opened the floor to the Council for any questions about the project. Councilmember James asked about four corner properties by the alley from Tyler to Polk, from 41st to 42nd which do not abut the alley and if they are a part of the alley assessment. Assistant Engineer Khan clarified that those properties are not a part of the proposed assessment roll. Director Hansen provided information about the City’s street rehabilitation program and how alley rehabilitation fits into this. Alleys have typically been worked on during off years off the street rehabilitation program. When the street rehabilitation program was adopted by the City back in 1996, what was also adopted was the construction type for alleys which was reconstruction of bituminous alleys to concrete. 2025 is the second year of a two year program that the Council is considering for alley rehab. Because the City’s rehabilitation program does not include alleys in 2026 and because alleys are not currently in the CIP yet for the next time they will be reconstructed, we don’t know when we will be able to come back to do them if the 2025 alley project does not move forward. Councilmember Buesgens mentioned that the City was initially planning to reconstruct 10 alleys in 2024 and 2025 and we are now proposing to do 11 alleys in total. Is this because of savings or because of how bids came out? Director Hansen responded that there was a little bit of savings the way bids came out for the previous year’s alley project that we are able to apply to get an additional alley done this year. Councilmember Buesgens then asked about the lifecycle of a concrete alley compared to a bituminous alley. Director Hansen mentioned that if alleys have regular maintenance done, they can last 60-80 years but maintenance costs for a bituminous alley are more than for a concrete alley over the life of the pavement. Mayor Marquez Simula asked how Public Works interacts with these alleys. Director Hansen mentioned that Public Works maintains all alleys and the maintenance becomes more difficult over time. Mayor Marquez Simula opened the public hearing. Andrew Myers addressed his concerns about the high cost per household for the assessment, the short timeline that was provided by the City to allow for property owners and businesses to prepare financially for the assessment, and the unequitable approach to only assess abutting properties instead of having a citywide fund that property owners pay into which has been an idea floated by the Mayor. Bethany Waldron shared her concerns with the high cost for the assessment which has the possibility of closing her business (Columbia Market). She would like the project to be City of Columbia Heights MINUTES January 27, 2025 Special City Council Meeting - Public Improvement Hearing Page 3 delayed to allow for more time to save up. Interest is forbidden in her religion so paying upfront before interest is applied is how she would like to make the assessment payment. Doing this will be difficult. She does not feel that delaying construction on the alley will be a concern since it is not a public street and most people do not have to drive down an alley and it is not a major necessity. Laura Brunes feels that more time is needed for property owners to prepare for paying an assessment considering they are dealing with property taxes and electric bills that have gone up. Laura asked questions about the warranty period for an alley after construction and also who will be paying to maintain the alley after it is constructed. Billie Kurek asked for clarification on who is responsible for repairing her water stop box that is located in the alley if it is damaged during construction. She also asked if residents will be notified who the contractor is if residents would like to get additional concrete work done on their private property. Lisa Mastel was curious if it means that her alley will not get repaired if the reconstruction is not done. Is the plan for the project to be all or nothing, or if one alley is not done then will all six alley not be done? Rick Bergquist asked how the cost sharing worked. He was under the impression that properties get assessed based on a per foot basis for the parcel instead of every residential property getting assessed the exact same amount per parcel. Bethany Waldron had additional comments on the multi-family properties having to pay the higher assessment rate. She mentions that this cost will have to passed onto the tenants and rents will be raised which will hurt the tenants. Director Hansen answered the questions asked. He mentioned that according to the City’s assessment policy, we no longer assess by front foot but instead by single family parcel. Director Hansen mentioned that the recommendation is to move forward with reconstructing all six alley and if one or all the alleys are pulled from the project, we do not know when the City will be back doing alleys again. For patching of the alleys, two of the alleys being discussed are being proposed for the project because of feedback from City patching crews about the repetitiveness of the patch work that is needed to maintain the alleys. For warranty, most construction projects have a one year warranty from the contractor after construction is done but the City then maintains the alley after that and addresses any defects that may arise. The City will notify residents of the concrete contractor if they would like to get any additional work done on their private property. For parking, all vehicles would need to be moved out to the street during alley construction. In regards to interest rates, the Council sets this at a later hearing during the assessment hearing. The basis of the interest rate is what the City would be bonding for. Construction costs do not get cheaper the longer it is delayed. Costs typically go up about 5% every year. Director Hansen explained options for paying assessments without interest and how it would work if assessment costs are applied to property taxes over a 10 year payoff period. City of Columbia Heights MINUTES January 27, 2025 Special City Council Meeting - Public Improvement Hearing Page 4 For curb stops, the City will go out and test it prior to construction to verify that it works. If it is working and is damaged during construction, it would be the City and contractor’s responsibility to repair. If the curb stop is not working prior to construction, the property owner is then responsible for any repairs. Motion by Councilmember Deneen, seconded by Councilmember Buesgens to close the public hearing. All Ayes, 1 Absent, Motion Carried 4-0. Mayor Marquez Simula requested to table the Council’s vote and continue discussion at the February work session. She would like to ensure that the missing Councilmember has the opportunity to review comments and feedback received and also be included in the Council’s vote for the project. City Attorney clarified that even though the public hearing has been closed, it does not need to be reopened to continue deliberation or to collect feedback from citizens that can be used in the decision making process. Motion by Councilmember James, seconded by Councilmember Deneen to move for continuation of the public hearing of the alley project to February 10th at 6:00pm in City Council Chambers. All Ayes, 1 Absent, Motion Carried 4-0. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Councilmember Deneen, seconded by Councilmember James to adjourn the meeting. All Ayes, 1 Absent, Motion Carried 4-0. Meeting adjourned at 6:56 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Sulmaan Khan, Assistant City Engineer