MINUTES – MORRIS CITY
COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – JUNE 23, 2009
The regular meeting of the
Morris City Council was called to order at 5:16 p.m. this 23rd day
of June, 2009, by Mayor Giese in the Council Chambers of the Morris Senior
Citizens/Community Center.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
ROLL CALL: Roll
call was taken with the following members present: Council member Webster,
Miller and Mayor Giese. Council member Storck was absent. Also present was
City Manager Hill, Finance Director Krosschell, Fleet Manager Searle and Police
Chief Beauregard. Council member Carrington arrived at 5:20 p.m.
CITIZEN’S COMMENTS:
Coalition of Greater MN Cities Presentation: Elizabeth Wefel from the
Coalition of Greater MN Cities visited the council meeting and reviewed the
main things the coalition has been working on which include land use reform
goals, annexation reform goals, labor & employee relations programs and
local government aid. Wefel stated it is important for cities to keep the
pressure on the LGA issue because greater Minnesota is seeing very big hits in
this area.
ADDITION TO AGENDA:
Mayor Giese added to the agenda a Resolution Authorizing Execution of MN DOT
Grant Agreement for Airport Improvement Excluding Land Acquisition.
Sunnyslope Road Width
Issue: City Manager Hill stated this issue came up within the past two
weeks because there was concern among residents about narrowing the width of Sunnyslope
road from 40 feet to 36 feet. Hill stated he and City Engineer Fier have had a
chance to talk to a number of residents and indicated it wouldn’t make a world
of difference to change it back to 40’ but recommended keeping it at 36’. Hill
noted this was the recommended width according to design standards and there was
no decision to change the road width for a cost savings or a safety issue. Hill
pointed out since the city picks up 100% of the pavement and gravel base for
the road it would not require an additional assessment to anyone. The city
would end up paying to widen it back out for about $8,000-$10,000.
Vicki Day, 19 Sunnyslope
Road, stated the neighborhood has serious concerns about the narrowing of the
road because it is not a standard residential street, as it gets a lot of
traffic from Key Row Apartments. Day stated residents feel they should have
been informed that they were loosing something and they want to keep what they
have. Day stated Sunnyslope is the most direct way in and out of Key Row and
feels a lot of residents would go faster down the middle if the road is
narrower. Day indicated they also spend a great deal of the winter dealing
with snow and ice and they would loose an inch or two more of the street
because of snow being piled there.
Day showed the council a
picture taken with pick up trucks parked along the street. The council also
received a similar picture from staff. Day pointed out Sunnyslope runs east
and west and the sun can be glaring and make it hard to see at various times of
day. There are also a lot of people and daycares that walk in that area. Day
does not believe narrowing the road would make it safer or make people slow
down. Day concluded by saying she hoped the council would vote in their favor
and leave what they have alone.
Jim Pew, 17 Sunnyslope,
stated one thing that needed to be addressed is the fact that there are no
sidewalks in the area and if the road is narrowed people will be in much more
serious danger.
David Day, 19 Sunnyslope
Road, pointed out that traffic may actually increase along Sunnyslope because
of the change in the curve along Sunnyslope and Scotts Avenue.
Dick Van Moorlehem, 6
Parkway Terrace, stated he lives in a cul de sac but turns onto Sunnyslope and
noted there is always traffic coming on that street. Van Moorlehem indicated
with snow it is even worse and feels the width is needed to see around the snow
piles.
Vicki Day stated she personally
doesn’t want sidewalks in the area, if the council is thinking of making that a
solution to the road width issue. Day noted the sidewalks would be right off
the curb and with the amount of snow in that area there is no way they could possibly
keep a sidewalk clean.
Mayor Giese read an e-mail
from Council member Storck who could not be at the meeting, but indicated his
support for keeping the road width at 40’.
Hill stated with regard to
traffic the city doesn’t necessarily design and build roads to eliminate speeding
or bad driving and there are other methods of trying to control traffic. The
city has talked about putting a stop sign on the corner of Scotts Avenue and maybe
on the corner of Sunnyslope and Park Lane. Hill explained staff is not sure
how the traffic patterns are going to change with these corners.
Police Chief Beauregard noted
part of the reason streets are narrowed in residential areas is that it slows
traffic down, but this is an exception to the rule. Beauregard indicated there
are new drivers from Key Row all the time and also a lot of truck traffic.
Visually there are larger trees on that street which also make a difference. Beauregard
stated they receive a large number of complaints about speeding in that area
and they can’t be there all the time. Beauregard stated from the department’s
perspective it would be beneficial to have that road remain at 40’ from a
safety standpoint. Beauregard stated he could not predict what routes traffic
would take after construction, but in the past most have come straight out of
Key Row and down Sunnyslope. Beauregard stated he is not opposed to other
streets being narrowed, it is just the number of factors involved in this
certain street.
Mayor Giese stated he
believes nothing was done on purpose to try and snow anybody or take anything
away; it was simply a design plan. Giese stated he agreed with Beauregard in
that this is not a typical residential street because of the units on the other
end.
Miller agreed with Beauregard
that there is a high volume of traffic, including traffic from visitors and
workers at West Wind Village. Miller indicated originally the focus for this
project was on the drainage issues, but in no way was it the city’s intent to
try and buffalo anyone. Miller agreed that is was justifiable to leave the
width as is or have a minimum of 38’.
Webster stated the only
issue he had was the cost, because the whole of Morris is being asked to
address an issue of safety in one neighborhood. Webster stated it is not a
whole lot of money but asked what to say to fellow citizens who ask why the
city is taking care of this stretch of road. Vicki Day indicated she would
tell them that the street would be safer for everyone, not just the houses on
Sunnyslope, because a lot of people use that road.
Jim Pew stated as far as
the cost, if everyone in the city had to pay $2 it would be worth it if it saved
someone’s life.
Miller indicated he would
like to see some sidewalks in that area and is something that should really be
added to all neighborhoods. Giese pointed out there are no proposed sidewalks
in the whole project area.
Hill stated this is an
issue of perception vs. reality. Hill explained city staff looks to the
professionals and road designs are not a new thing. Hill noted his biggest
concern is that he doesn’t want the city to set a standard that a 36’ road is
not safe. Hill stated he gave a recommendation based on all the information received
but there is a human aspect that the council has to put into their decision.
Hill noted a sum of $8,000 or $10,000 is not going to make or break this
project.
Having heard the citizens’
comments and reading the information presented by staff, Mayor Giese moved,
seconded by Webster, to keep the width of Sunnyslope Road at 40’. Upon a roll
call vote taken and all present voting in favor, motion carried.
Council member Carrington
left the meeting at this point, which was 6:04 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARINGS: Public
Hearing and 2nd Reading of Ordinance No. 85, An Ordinance Vacating
Certain Public Right of Way and a Portion of an Alley: Mayor Giese opened
the public hearing at 6:06 p.m. City Attorney Glasrud learned that the county
would like the city to have this ordinance become effective upon issuance of
the building permit for the remodeling and addition to the Stevens County
Courthouse.
Council member Miller
moved, seconded by Webster, to accept this as the second reading and adopt
Ordinance No. 85, An Ordinance Vacating Certain Public Right of Way and a
Portion of an Alley. Upon a roll call vote taken and all present voting in
favor, motion carried.
READING AND APPROVAL OF
MINUTES: 6/9/09 Regular Meeting Minutes: Council member Webster
moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to approve the 6/9/09 regular meeting minutes.
Motion carried.
6/9/09 Condensed
Version Minutes: Council member Miller moved, seconded by Webster, to
approve the 6/9/09 condensed version minutes. Motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Mayor Giese moved, seconded by Council member Miller, to approve the consent
agenda, which included the following items:
A.
Approval of the city bills
dated June 23, 2009.
B. Pay
Estimate #2 – Highland Homes
C. Pay Estimate #7 –
Oregon/College Avenue
D. SCMC Administrative
Report
E.
Gambling Reports
F.
Street Dance Permit Request
G. Application
for Exempt Permit – Ducks Unlimited
H. Appointment
of John Anderson to HRA Board
PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND
COMMUNICATIONS: Gambling Report – American Legion: Council member
Miller moved, seconded by Webster, to accept the gambling report from the
American Legion. Upon a roll call vote taken and all present voting in favor
and Mayor Giese abstaining as an officer of the Legion, motion carried.
ORDINANCES AND
RESOLUTIONS: Resolution Authorizing Execution of MN DOT Grant Agreement
for Airport Improvement Excluding Land Acquisition: Mayor Giese moved,
seconded by Council member Miller, to adopt Resolution #2876-6-09, Resolution
Authorizing Execution of MN DOT Grant Agreement for Airport Improvement
Excluding Land Acquisition. Upon a roll call vote taken and all present voting
in favor, motion carried.
CITY MANAGER’S REPORTS
& RECOMMENDATIONS: Request for Items from Old Elementary School:
Hill stated David Johnson is interested in salvaging various building
materials from the old elementary school. Hill stated when dealing with a
public building everyone has to have an equal chance at items. Glasrud stated
if anyone is allowed access to the building the city would definitely want them
to sign a waiver, because it is not necessarily safe in the building. Miller suggested
to be fair, items be sold on a bid basis. Giese stated it was nothing against
David Johnson but agreed it needed to be opened up to the public.
It was the consensus of
the council to leave the building as is for now, as there are too many
liabilities with people entering the building.
City Manager Report:
There were two items on the report that Hill pointed out 1)Staff has not made
a decision yet about whether or not to replace a public works position due to a
retirement. 2)Staff will begin meeting to prepare a plan for the replacement of
the liquor store manager and assistant manager.
Schedule Budget
Worksession: Council member Miller moved, seconded by Webster,
to schedule a budget worksession for July 9th at 5:15 p.m. in the
Council Chambers.
NEW BUSINESS: None
OLD BUSINESS: None
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:
None
ADJOURNMENT: There
being no further business, Mayor Giese adjourned the meeting at 6:31 p.m.
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