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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20220705 - CC Minutes Hastings, Minnesota City Council Meeting Minutes July 5, 2022 The City Council of the City of Hastings, Minnesota met in a regular meeting on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 at 7:01 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Hastings City Hall, 101 East 4th Street, Hastings, Minnesota. Members Present: Mayor Fasbender, Councilmembers Braucks, Fox, Leifeld, Lund, and Vaughan. Members Absent: Councilmember Folch Staff Present: City Administrator Dan Wietecha Assistant City Administrator Kelly Murtaugh Attorney Pete Mikhail Community Development Director John Hinzman Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Ryan Stempski Highway 61 Corridor Study, Ryan Wilson Stempski reviewed the study efforts to date and introduced Ryan Wilson from MnDOT. Wilson provided an overview of the current TH 61 Corridor Study. Phase 1 is ongoing engagement. Wilson reviewed the survey demographics and including feedback they have received. Some of these themes include: pedestrian crossing, traffic speed/flow, reduced access points, traffic operations, and overall safety. Next steps include developing evaluation criteria and identifying a range of alternatives. Council discussion on outreach to individuals who travel through town to gain input for the project. Wilson shared that the best thing we can do is to drive the message to individuals to visit their website and attend meetings. Councilmember Vaughan shared the City will need to help drive the message to individuals as well. Leifeld shared their concern for reduced access to TH 61 and would like to hear from the business owners and residents from 4th Street to Hwy 316. Leifeld shared their excitement for the continuation of the study and the future outcome. Fox thanked Wilson for attending and listening to the concerns from the business community. Lund asked if there is consistency within their survey questions and results compared to other areas and shared that adding a bike lane or ability adds in a complex component to the design. Wilson responded that the goal is that driving is always an important means of travel and they look to find ways to accommodate and improve commuting and recreational means of travel. Wilson shared that each component could be considered a trade-off and they plan to strategically look at spots where certain components may work better than others. Mayor Fasbender asked if MnDOT has the City’s People Movement Plan. Stempski responded they want to apply a complete network to the corridor and the People Movement Plan is a key element. Stempski shared information presented will be on the website and provided to Council. Approval of Minutes Mayor Fasbender asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the regular City Council meeting on June 20, 2022. Minutes were approved as presented. Consent Agenda 1.Pay Bills as Audited 2.Resolution No. 07-01-22: Appointment of Election Judges for the 2022 Primary Election 3.Authorize Signature: 1st Amendment to Development Agreement – Villas at Pleasant 4.Approve Pay Estimate No. 1 for the Storage Building–Ebert Construction ($62,748.92) Sign up to receive automatic notification of Council agendas At ccagenda-subscribe@hastingsmn.gov or by calling 651-480-2350 City Council packets can be viewed in searchable format on the City’s website at http://www.hastingsmn.gov/city-government/city-council/city-council-agendas-and-minutes Sign up to receive automatic notification of Council agendas At ccagenda-subscribe@hastingsmn.gov or by calling 651-480-2350 City Council packets can be viewed in searchable format on the City’s website at http://www.hastingsmn.gov/city-government/city-council/city-council-agendas-and-minutes 5. Approve Pay Estimate No. 2 for the Storage Building–Ebert Construction ($194,565.79) 6. Authorize Purchase of Big Belly Garbage Units for the Downtown Area 7. Approve Signature of Donation Agreement Accepting 14.3 Acres from Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend, LLC Councilmember Leifeld motioned to approve as presented, seconded by Councilmember Fox. 6 Ayes, 0 Nays Parklet Application for RiverCity PopCorn and Candy Company Hinzman introduced the Parklet application for RiverCity PopCorn and Candy Company. City Staff reviewed the application and recommend approval. Council is requested to hold a public hearing to consider approval of the proposed Parklet. Property owners within 350 feet of the property requesting the Parklet were mailed a notice of the request and the scheduled public hearing. Mayor Fasbender opened the public hearing at: 7:38 PM and hearing no discussion, closed the public hearing at 7:39 PM Council discussion on the expansion of the Downtown Business Association’s Friday Night Music event. Vaughan questioned the need to discuss the big picture of the use of the Parklet. Private businesses are able to get revenue from a public space. Lund asked for clarification on the requirements for what type of business can qualify for a parklet. Hinzman shared anyone may apply for a parklet, but the City has generally seen applications for food related businesses. Leifeld asked for clarification on if the parklet would be in place on non-operational days. Councilmember Lund motioned to approve as presented, seconded by Councilmember Fox. 6 Ayes, 0 Nays. Budget Amendment: Hastings Civic Center Wietecha provided an overview of the proposed budget amendment for the Hastings Civic Center project in 2023. The legislature did not decide to support the $4M project through State bonding. Wietecha shared there may be other funding options if state bonding does not come through but would take time to initiate. Wietecha shared if there is interest in still moving forward on the project, the equipment needed has a significant lead time and should be ordered now to ensure the project would be completed in 2023. Wietecha proposed Council delay the project in favor of pursuing other financing options. Council discussion on the understanding of the difficulty of managing several large projects at a time. Fox supported the recommendation to delay the project. Vaughan shared his thoughts on the bigger picture and that a map is needed to plan out projects so we can better manage the City’s borrowing. Vaughan supports delaying it but looks forward to a large picture map for future projects. Council supported the option to delay. Resolution No. 07-02-22: Conditional Use Permit – Hubs Landing (6 Spiral View Loop) Hinzman presented the Conditional Use Permit request from Hubs Landing (6 Spiral View Loop). Hinzman shared history of the project for expansions. Hinzman reviewed the request to complete the improvements which includes finishing the last eleven boat slips that were not constructed after the original Sign up to receive automatic notification of Council agendas At ccagenda-subscribe@hastingsmn.gov or by calling 651-480-2350 City Council packets can be viewed in searchable format on the City’s website at http://www.hastingsmn.gov/city-government/city-council/city-council-agendas-and-minutes Approve First Reading of the Proposed Amendment to City Code Regarding Alcoholic Beverages Murtaugh presented an overview of the proposed ordinance amendment to City Code regarding alcoholic beverages. Council is requested to approve the first reading to consider amending City Code in several chapters to allow new liquor licenses as written in the Omnibus Liquor Bill signed by Governor Walz in May, 2022 which allows a municipality to expand liquor licensing. Councilmember Fox abstained from the discussion and vote. No additional Council discussion. Councilmember Vaughan motioned to approve as presented, seconded by Councilmember Leifeld. 5 Ayes, 0 Nays, 1 Abstain (Fox). approval. The location of the slips will change. Hinzman reviewed the topics of discussion and recommendations from the Planning Commission. Hinzman noted that condition #7 should be stricken from the conditions of approval. It is based on the 2009 permit and that would be a modification of the original permit. No Council discussion. Councilmember Lund motioned to approve as presented, seconded by Councilmember Leifeld. 6 Ayes, 0 Nays. Ballot Drop Box Discussion Murtaugh presented the request for Council to determine the acceptance of the 2022 Drop Box Grant Program and installation of a 24-hour Ballot Drop Box outside City Hall by authorizing signature on the grant program agreement. Murtaugh reviewed the reasons why Dakota County and surrounding cities have decided not to offer ballot drop boxes for the 2022 Election season. Murtaugh has been assured supplies would likely be available to order and install for the General Election. Council discussion on the process for receiving ballots for other jurisdictions in our drop box. Leifeld questioned the concerns regarding the ballot drop box, the benefits of a drop box, and who would be able to use the drop box. Murtaugh shared the challenges of a new drop box addition, ballot processing, and National conversation of the use of drop boxes. Murtaugh reassured we would be following all state laws and provided the benefits of the availability of the drop box outside of business hours. Braucks asked if surveillance video is required to be reviewed, or what would happen with the footage. Murtaugh responded with a possible scenario of why video surveillance would need to be reviewed. Mayor Fasbender asked about the absentee process. Murtaugh provided clarification on the process for absentee voting. Vaughan voiced their support of accepting the grant, but shared staff should be prepared with a process in place if video surveillance is requested for viewing. Councilmember Vaughan motioned to approve as presented, seconded by Councilmember Leifeld. 6 Ayes, 0 Nays.