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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997 11-10 CCM Regular Session MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION NOVEMBER 10, 1997 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER INFORMAL OPEN FORUM The Brooklyn Center City Council met in informal open forum and was called to order by Mayor Myrna Kragness at 6:45 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor Myrna Kragness, Councilmembers Kathleen Carmody, Debra Hilstrom, Kay Lasman, and Robert Peppe. Also present: City Manager Michael J. McCauley, Assistant City Manager Jane Chambers, City Attorney Charlie LeFevere, and Council Secretary LeAnn Larson. INFORMAL OPEN FORUM No one appeared for informal open forum. ADJOURN INFORMAL OPEN FORUM A motion by Councilmember Lasman and seconded by Councilmember Peppe to adjourn informal open forum at 6:54 p.m. passed unanimously. CALL TO ORDER REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING The Brooklyn Center City Council met in regular session and was called to order by Mayor Myrna Kragness at 7 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor Myrna Kragness, Councilmembers Kathleen Carmody, Debra Hilstrom, Kay Lasman, and Robert Peppe. Also present: City Manager Michael J. McCauley, Assistant City Manager Jane Chambers, Public Services Director Diane Spector, Finance Director Charlie Hansen, City Attorney Charlie LeFevere, and Council Secretary LeAnn Larson. 11/10/97 -1- i INVOCATION A moment of silence was observed. COUNCIL REPORTS No Council reports were offered. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA A motion by Councilmember Carmody and seconded by Councilmember Lasman to approve the agenda and consent agenda as printed passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion by Councilmember Carmody and seconded by Councilmember Lasman to approve minutes of the October 14, 1997 -- Regular Session, October 27, 1997 -- Regular Session, and November 5, 1997 -- Special Session as printed passed unanimously. RESOLUTION ACCEPTING WORK PERFORMED AND AUTHORIZING FINAL PAYMENT. IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO. 1995-04. CONTRACT 96 -I. REPLACEMENT OF LIFT STATION NO. 1 AND FORCE MAIN RESOLUTION NO. 97-196 Member Carmody introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION ACCEPTING WORK PERFORMED AND AUTHORIZING FINAL PAYMENT, IMPROVEMENT PROJECT NO.1995 -04, CONTRACT 96 -I, REPLACEMENT OF LIFT STATION NO. 1 AND FORCE MAIN The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Lasman and passed unanimously. RESOLUTION DECLARING A PUBLIC NUISANCE AND ORDERING THE REMOVAL, OF DISEASED TREES RESOLUTION NO. 97 -197 Member Carmody introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: 11/1 0/97 -2- i RESOLUTION DECLARING A PUBLIC NUISANCE AND ORDERING THE REMOVAL OF DISEASED TREES The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Lasman and passed unanimously. RESOLUTION EXPRESSING RE COGNITION AND APPRECIATION FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING IN BROOKLYN CENTER'S ADOPT - A -PARK. ADOPT -A- TRAIL. AND ADOPT -A.- STREET PROGRAMS RESOLUTION NO. 97-198 Member Carmody introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION EXPRESSING RECOGNITION AND APPRECIATION FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING IN BROOKLYN CENTER'S ADOPT - A -PARK, ADOPT -A- TRAIL, AND ADOPT -A- STREET PROGRAMS The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Lasman and passed unanimously. REMOVE FROM COUNCIL TABLE AND AFFIRM THE DECISION OF THE CITY MANAGER TO DENY A PRIVATE KENNEL LI CENSE SUBMITTED BY DANIEL KITCHIN. 5601 LOGAN AVENUE NORTH A motion was made by Councilmember Carmody to remove from council table and affirm the decision of the City Manager to deny a private kennel license submitted by Daniel Kitchin, 5601 Logan Avenue North. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Lasman and passed unanimously. PROCLAMATION DECLARING NOVEMBER, 23 TO 30.1997. TO BE NATIONAL BIBLE WEEK A motion was made by Councilmember Carmody to declare November 23 to 30, 1997, to be National Bible Week. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Lasman and passed unanimously. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ADDENDUM TO EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT WITH CITY MANAGER RESOLUTION NO. 97-199 Member Carmody introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: 11/10/97 -3- RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ADDENDUM TO EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT WITH CITY MANAGER The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Lasman and passed unanimously. LICENSES Christmas Tree Sales Lots Malmborg's Inc. 5120 Lilac Drive North Mechanical Contractors Total Air, Inc. 1923 West Burnsville Parkway, Burnsville Rental Dwellings Renewal: Patti R. Zoerb 5900 Camden Avenue North Sian Hanizer Equity Construction Company 561 3rd Street, Excelsior Taxicab Northstar Taxi, Inc. 809 Berry Street, St. Paul PUBLIC HEARING AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO REGUTT.ATION OF PUBLIC RIGHT -OF -WAY: ADDING NEW SECTIONS 25 -1000 THROUGH 25 -1032 TO THE BROOKLYN CENTER. CODE OF ORDINANCES This item was first read on October 14, 1997, published in the official newspaper, and is offered this evening fora second reading and public hearing. City Manager McCauley explained that Minnegasco has made several comments to the proposed ordinance, and they have requested some technical changes to the wording. Also, NSP has expressed some objections to this model ordinance. Mr. McCauley suggested that the hearing be continued until the first meeting in December in order to work out the issues with the utilities. 11/10/97 -4- A motion was made by Councilmember Hilstrom to continue the public hearing to the first meeting in December. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Carmody and passed unanimously. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION ITEMS RESOLUTION EXPRESSING APPRECIATION FOR THE GIFT OF THE LIONS CLUB IN SUPPORT OF THE ANNUAL HOLLY SUNDAY ACTIVITIES Councilmember Carmody noted the generous donation of $1,740 from the Lions Club in support of the annual Holly Sunday activities at the Community Center, to be held on December 7, 1997. RESOLUTION NO. 97 -200 Member Carmody introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION EXPRESSING APPRECIATION FOR THE GIFT OF THE LIONS CLUB IN SUPPORT OF THE ANNUAL HOLLY SUNDAY ACTIVITIES The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Hilstrom and passed unanimously. RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF $7.900.000 GENERAL OBLIGATION POLICE AND FIRE BUILDING BONDS. SERIES 1997B City Manager McCauley explained that this bond issue was for the General Obligation Building Bonds, Series 1997B, in the amount of $7,900,000, for the construction of the Police and Fire Facilities Project. Specifically, the Project will include a new police station, demolition of Fire Station No. 1, reconstruction of Fire Station No. 1, and renovation of Fire Station No. 2. This bond issue was authorized by a voter referendum on November 4, 1997, and the principal and interest on the bonds will be repaid by the general property taxes of the City. RESOLUTION NO. 97 -201 Member Lasman introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF $7,900,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION POLICE AND FIRE BUILDING BONDS, SERIES 1997B The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Carmody and passed unanimously. 11/10/97 -5- RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF $1.075.000 GENERAL OBLIGATION IMPROVEMENT BONDS. SERIES 1997A City Manager McCauley explained that this bond issue was for the General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 1997A, in the amount of $1,075,000. This bond issue would cover 1996 and 1997 street reconstruction and storm sewer construction. Special assessments will be collected over the next ten years and will be used to make principal and interest payments on the bonds. RESOLUTION NO. 97 -202 Member Lasman introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF $1,075,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION IMPROVEMENT BONDS, SERIES 1997A The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Carmody and passed unanimously. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ENGAGEMENT OF ARCHITECTS FOR POLICE AND FIRE BUILDING PROJECTS City Manager McCauley asked that the Council engage the services of Mjorud Architecture to provide architectural, engineering, and landscape design for the fire station construction and remodeling project, and to engage the services of Boarman, Kroos, Pfister, Vogel & Associates to provide those services for the police station project. MJorud Architecture has experience in fire station construction and has prepared the preliminary designs for the new station and the remodeling. The maximum fee, unless additional services were requested beyond the scope of the proposal, would be $189,500. Boarman, Kroos, Pfister, Vogel & Associates was selected to do the conceptual design work and has substantial experience in police building design and construction. The maximum fee, unless additional services were requested beyond the scope of the proposal, would be $285,000. RESOLUTION NO. 97 -203 Member Peppe introduced the following resolution and moved its. adoption: RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ENGAGEMENT OF ARCHITECTS FOR POLICE AND FIRE BUILDING PROJECTS 11/10/97 -6- The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member Carmody and passed unanimously. DISCUSSION REGARDING COUNCIL INVOCATION City Manager McCauley explained that the City Attorney has had correspondence with an attorney for the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union (MCLU) regarding the Council invocation at the beginning of each Council meeting. City Attorney Charlie LeFevere said that while the invocation appears to be legally defensible, the Council could consider two changes to the policy which could make the policy more defensible from a legal perspective. These changes could also help to satisfy the concerns of the MCLU and might avoid a lawsuit entirely. Mr. LeFevere reported that one of the objections of the MCLU is that the invocation occurs after the Council meeting is convened by the Mayor so that it is actually apart of the Council meeting. The argument of the MCLU could be taken away by simply reversing the order of the call to order and invocation so that the Council meeting would begin with an invocation at 7:00, then call the meeting to order and have a roll call. A second objection to the MCLU is that the City policy appears to mandate that the invocation be addressed to "God." A minor change to the policy would make this more clear. The language could be changed to read, "will stringently adhere to the concept of what an invocation, by definition, is, which is, a etition for guidance, and lastly that an reference to P g Y the deity in any invocation shall use the inclusive term `God', which is the broad based spiritual term used in our nation's pledge of allegiance, `one nation under God', and as also used on our currency `IN GOD WE TRUST'." Councilmember Carmody stated the minor changes suggested by Mr. LeFevere were fine with her. Councilmember Lasman stated the suggested change of wording was better worded than the original and was also in favor of the minor changes. Councilmember Peppe suggested Mr. LeFevere find out how the Legislature conducts their invocation. Mr. LeFevere stated he will bring this issue back to the Council at a later date. SET DATE AND TIME FOR CITY COl TNCIL WORK SESSION A motion was made by Councilmember Carmody to set November 17, 1997, at 7 p.m., Conference Room B at City Hall, as a general Council work session. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Peppe and passed unanimously. 11/10/97 -7- DISCUSSION REGARDING PAWNSHOP ORDINANCE City Manager McCauley explained that a draft ordinance amendment regarding pawn shops and secondhand goods was being presented by the Police Department and City Attorney for discussion purposes. According to City Attorney LeFevere, many of the changes to the ordinance have been made to conform to recent changes in state law relating to the regulation of pawnshops. In addition to these "housekeeping" changes, changes have been made to the requirements of the ordinance for consignment sales. The proposed amendment defines "consignment house dealers ", and limits the record keeping requirement applicable to such dealers by exempting them from the requirement of maintaining a photographic record and the requirement of making daily reports to the police department. Additionally, the ordinance adds a number of categories of sale which are exempt from the ordinance. These include: sales of public markets such as a flea market; sales of furniture, excluding electronic devices; sales of clothing provided no new clothing is sold; sales of recycled motor oil; sales by charitable organizations selling donated goods; sales of bona fide antiques or collectibles; sales of used books and magazines; sales of sporting goods; resale of merchandise returned to the seller after an initial sale by the seller; sales of used toys; and, sales of musical instruments. Two other categories of sales were considered for exemption, the sale of CDs and sales of computer games. The police department felt strongly that these two categories of transactions should not be excluded from the ordinance because they are frequent subjects of theft, particularly in the case of CDs. Mr. LeFevere also noted that if the Council decides that the regulations relating to CDs, computer games, or any other types of businesses should not be subject to the ordinance, several options are available. These include exempting the business from the ordinance altogether, relaxing the record keeping requirements (as the proposed ordinance does for consignment sales), or exempting certain transactions from the ordinance (such as exempting purchases of CDs when the transaction involves less than a specified sum of money). Finally, several other changes to the proposed ordinance have been made at the suggestion of the police department. Those include the following: imposes the obligation for licensed pawn shops and secondhand goods dealers to submit daily computerized records of all transactions to the police department; prohibits the receipt of any, goods from which a serial number or other such identification number has been removed or altered; requires secondhand goods dealers to hold property for 30 days (90 days in the case of firearms), prior to sale. The holding period for pawned items is 120 days; and, allows payment to be made by cash for secondhand good transactions involving less than $100. 11/10/97 -8- i,� Councilmember Carmody noted that new clothing is sometimes sold by consignment dealers. Mr. LeFevere responded that the "relaxed" rules could be used for this situation, or the wording could be changed for clarification. After some discussion on whether the sale of CDs and computer games should be exempted from the proposed ordinance, Councilmember Hilstrom inquired how other cities handle this situation. Mr. LeFevere responded that most other cities didn't exempt CDs /computer games as they are easily stolen and difficult to trace. Councilmember Lasman noted that present record keeping measures for the ordinance would not be a cumbersome deterrent to doing business - -some record keeping was essential. The option of record keeping by a business for a certain number of CDs (i.e., five or more, ten or more) being sold was also discussed. Mr. LeFevere said he had direction from the Council to address the exemption of new clothes, exemption of CDs and computer games, possible distinctions per volume on CDs, and certain required record keeping. The proposed ordinance will be presented to the Council at a future date. ADJOURNMENT A motion by Councilmember Carmody and seconded by Councilmember Peppe to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 p.m. passed unanimously. City Clerk Xay: Recorded and transcribed by: LeAnn Larson 11/10/97 -9-