##VIDEO ID:hhwxcicZxLI## good evening and welcome to the regular city council meeting for the city of St Peter Minnesota it is Monday October 28th 2024 at 7 p.m. we are called to order would all please rise for the pledge I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right next up approval of the agenda everybody's received a copy of the agenda are there any revisions or Corrections hearing none is there a motion to approve the agenda as distributed so moved second all those in favor of approval say I I I any opposed the agenda is approved next up approval of the minutes the minutes are printed on pages 6 through 10 of the packet are there any revisions or Corrections hearing none is there a motion to approve the agenda as distributed so moved all those in favor of approval say I I any opposed the agenda is approved or sorry the minutes rather uh next up we have have time for visitors first up uh we have time for visitors who'd like to comment on agenda items I don't we have no visitors uh wishing to do that General visitor comments is there a visitor who'd like to address the Council on any matter whatsoever hearing none we will move on to the approval of the consent agenda the consent agenda begins with the memo on page 11 of the packet and concludes with the resolution on page 29 the resolution improves the following employee appointments Morgan Saro a building supervisor and Sonia Timberman a circulation clerk at the wages indicated in the packet uh the cancellation of the December 16th and 23rd workshop and meeting for the city council we declare the following Surplus items and authorize staff to dispose of the items listed there are four items attributed to Environmental Services two Foggers and a chainsaw uh to the parks there's a Ford F-150 a zero turn mower a sander and a speed whip the following licenses the St Peter American Legion Post 37 for um a Gambling License for October 29th 24 2024 beginning and uh temporary Gambling License last man club uh March 29th 2025 as well as the schedule of dispersements for October 10th through October 23rd 2024 is there any discussion on if any consent agenda item hearing none is there a motion to approve the resolution so moved second we have a motion and a second call the role please council member Wiis I council member sh I council member deos I mayor Noel I council member Johnson I council member Pettis I council member r i the resolution is approved we have no items of Unfinished Business tonight our first item of new business is the adoption of a resolution authorizing execution of an amended development agreement and Shannon Sween is here to talk to us about that uh good evening Madame mayor and members of the council uh the city has already entered into a form of development agreement with brm Holdings for the construction of 25 additional units adjacent to their capital Lofts project it would all be on one parcel property that they've platted into one parcel and ultimately they would uh they have requested tax increment financing assistance for the 25 additional units that they would be constructing what we've proposed is to amend the note to increase the amount of the note by $472,500 receive a shorter duration of subsidy than the original project because the note would still mature on the same date just the amount would be increased based on the additional tax that will be collected off the 25 new units as they are on the same parcel of property the developer would be required to meet income restrictions for 20% of all the units including the new 25 units that would be constructed and so if you choose to proceed in authorize execution of the note or of the development agreement or the tax increment financing agreement we'll call it free uh ultimately we'd enter into an agreement that upon completion of the additional 25 units a new note would be issued that would be increased by [Music] development likely won't hit the books until 2027 and so that's when the first reimbursement would occur so it's going to receive a couple years less of assistance under the current proposal happy to answer any questions questions for sham anything you'd like to add Todd no M mayor uh Brad um so for clarification developer is getting 90% of the available tax increments uh what happens to the other 10% we keep it for administration or we can use it for other qualified hous housing projects that meet the same same income requirements thank you additional questions we don't spend that much know just to be clear we have a few that was more for the listeners so for folks at home uh hearing no further Quest no further questions the resolution authorizing execution of an amended development agreement appears on page 58- 59 of the packet is there a motion to approve so move second we have a motion and a second to call the role please council member sh I council member d i mayor no I counc member Johnson I counc member p i counc i counc member Wiis I the resolution is approved thank you thanks Shannon uh next up adoption of a resolution accepting 2024 Washington Avenue and Broadway intersection control evaluation study and Pete is here to talk to us about that Madame mayor and city council U before you you have a report uh following the memo that I prepared um really what we're talking about is if you remember a couple years ago we talked about uh evaluating six major intersections in town where we have been experienced not only growth but opportunities for the city to develop in different ways um the first three on page 60 is a uh Highway 22 Corridor study that we completed with mindat where we took the lead uh Bolton and mink engineering completed that study uh we reported that to you back in 2023 um and we talked about where those intersections would improve and really what happens is when mot decides to redo that road um some of that will come into consideration at that time uh we will also be looking at Federal funding once we narrow down a timeline for some of those projects in there to cover our cost uh and again that would be in conjunction with mindat and nicholet county in some situations of the First Street the other two St Julian and old Minnesota and Broadway and sunrise as you're aware uh we did complete roundabout work there after completing an ice study uh both of those areas did receive grant funding um and so we were able to accomplish that by completing the ice study the intersection control uh evaluation uh and so those two have been completed the final intersection is of course Broadway in Washington and again uh Bolton and mink did the study for us there um and what we found was the recommended Improvement would be a single Lane roundabout in that area to take care of existing and future operational demands that that intersection carries uh also we'd like to reduce the number of conflict points we do have a few right angle um crashes at that intersection and we'd really like to eliminate as many of those as we can in the future um uh we will use the findings from the ice study um to uh not only supplement our transportation plan but to include it in part of our comprehensive plan that we're undertaking here in the next 18 months and uh we'd like to uh have this study approved by the council so that we can also seek Federal fundings when the opportunity arises and or when comprehensive plan improvements uh are Justified I'm asking that you approve the resolution on page 120 and I'm open for questions thank you questions for Pete Brad so Pete um while we're approving this in it in the study show indicates a roundabout is best option there's a there is a concept on page 20 we're not obligated to actually follow that actual concept lat on page that's just to give you an idea of what could could happen from that point of view Council still has the authority to um do whatever they would like on that where the ice study helps us without an ice study we can't get Federal funding or grant funding thank you and that's very similar to the question I had for you earlier today in preparation I shared in that question as that moving forward we're accepting the study but the actual draw up of the intersection we have say in down the road right things could change by the time we actually do the work if it's through two to three or five years or eight years down the road you know circumstances will stay uh change but we do have information though that shows that a roundabout is probably the best fit for what we're looking at at that intersection with our traffic patterns and philosophically I agree with the roundabout I I just I have a problem with the layout that they came up with and the park and and where it's going to be and how it's going to affect parking in the area if I could mad M members we do try and be very careful with the language related to these and um the language that's included not only in the memo but in the resolution is that you're accepting the study so you're not approving or anything you're accepting you're receding the study so that as we have funding opportunities we can use the study as a basis for those applications and so we try and be careful about the utilization of that language um as youve both articulated I think very well um any project that would come forward whether it's federally funded or other would ultimately have to be approved by the city council and allow us to solicit bids and as a part of that bid solicitation process would be what we would call the 95 plus% design or 100% design and so that's the point of which parking or exactly how wide or how narrow or what plants are included in the media are things that then the council can weigh in on thank you additional questions for Pete or for Todd hearing none the resolution accepting the 2024 Washington Avenue and Broadway intersection control evaluation study appears on page 120 of the package is there a motion to approve so mov second we have a motion and a second to call the RO please I may ioun Johnson I ptis IC I IC I the resolution is approved next up adoption of a resolution authorizing renewal of safety contract with mmua Madame mayor city council um as we have annually brought back our mmua uh safety contract um authorization to the city council for approval uh this year our goal would be to spend about $28,000 on regular uh programs that we get uh delivered to us from mmua staff uh we also participate with um our lineman training and that cost would be about $4,095 um as you can see from the statistics in the memo uh we're very happy with what mmua has brought to the table in safety uh education to our staff um that's apparent by our numbers that show that we have less accidents and less less problems with our staff based on that education and experience um our staff is uh just starting to do a little bit of turnover from from an older crew to a younger crew uh so this really does show the importance of that right now uh a lot of our older and Senior uh workers have been through through this program for many many years and I really feel it's worthwhile to keep our crews very safe uh and it does result in a savings to us in the long run um my recommendation is that you approve the resolution on page 124 and that we have mmua provide Safety Services to us from January 1 2025 to December 31 2025 thank you any questions forat all right hearing nothing the res resolution authorizing renewal of safety contract with the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association is on page 124 of the packet is there a motion to approve so move second we have a motion and a second call the rooll please mayor no I council member Johnson I council member Pettis i ioun ioun i counc i motion is approved thank you Pete thank you uh next item of new business adoption of a resolution declaring unpaid charges to be assessed ordering proposed assessment of miscellaneous charges and calling for a public hearing and Sally is here to talk to us about that mayor no and city council um tonight we are here asking you to approve the resolution to prepare assessments for miscellaneous project and charges the memo is on pages 125 and 126 um the assessments are for the non-ri ofo work done for sidewalks private sewer lines driveway aprons and we do have signed waivers for all the work that has been complete um these charges are in addition to the curb gutter sidewalk and road construction and utility improvements done on Pine Street there are misenus charges for lawn mowing um private um water service and those are to be assessed also the total amount of Assessments for non- rightaway signed waivers is 28,1 147.450 lawn mowing totals 1,350 for a total of 29,41 745 I'm also asking or staff is asking for approval for the following right off as bad accounts we have 17 fire calls from 2022 through May 31st of 2024 that um are uncollectible we've tried um in asking them to get insurance if they have insurance coverage to pay for them and um they don't have it and they've and some of them are like on 169 and we don't have good addresses to go get we can't we've got mail back trying to afford it to the addresses they gave us so that's 5,350 we have one rental rental registration that is uncollectible of 216 he sold the property and we can't find where he is so that those have come back and then there's seven Recreation programs of fees that are uncollectible um bad checks or whatever happens to be for 1,897 72 so we are asking you to approve the resolution to prepare assessments for projects and miscellaneous on and miscellaneous assessments on page 128 all right questions for Sally anything you'd like to add Todd no M all right we've got a first up on page 128 a resolution declaring unpaid charges to be assessed and ordering preparation of proposed assessment of miscellaneous charges is there a motion to approve so so move second all right we have a motion and a second call the RO please council member Johnson IC i i i i i the resolution is approved we have a second resolution calling for a public hearing on assessment of miscellaneous charges is the that's on 129 of the packet is there a motion to approve some second we have a motion and a second call the rooll please council member Pettis I counc IC ioun IC I may IC Johnson I the resolution is approved uh next up adoption of a resolution declaring unpaid charges for Municipal Utilities to be assessed ordering preparation of a proposed amendment assessment and calling for a public hearing mayor Noel and city council again we are asking you to approve a resolution for us to prepare assessments for delinquent utility accounts and as of May 31st 2024 the memo is on pages 130 to 131 and a list of the pass to accounts is on page 132 total amount of pass to accounts as of May 31st 2024 is $1,454 and9 of which 43743 is accessible to Property Owners the non-accessible portion of that is for electricity of tenants we can't do that if it's in the tenants name balances below $10 bankruptcy or death so we are asking you to approve the resolution to prepare assessments for past to utility accounts found on page 134 thank you Sally um Sally I noticed that the last couple of years uh the uh total charges that are delinquent are significantly lower than previous years uh do you know is there do you are there things that you put in place that have led to a lower amount not so we're doing the same process that that we've always done what makes those fluctuate is if a business goes out of that can make it go up or down so if we have a rest you know a business go out those are usually higher and those are usually what drives the costs up thank you darl um I would like to thank this is quite impressive these are very small amounts compared to some other cities you hear from your staff hasve done a very good job with this like thank you for that yes and they take pride in that and take some Flack with some of the work that we do do and with some of the things that we do to prevent it but thank you uh along the same lines of uh Brad's questions I'm I was wondering if having automatic payments has impacted um delinquency at all not I don't see so much on that we are getting more um automatic payments whether it's a or the credit cards um that's probably helped a little bit but I think it's more um the last not this year but previous years I think part of it is co dollars and some of the other ones that they have helped with water sewer Wastewater garbage portions it used to be just electric is what um mvic and some of the other assistances are so we might see that number go up for this year because they're basically limited to Electric only so that number could increase but we will keep trying to keep it down as low as we can as we continue to upgrade our electrical system anding system system it has become easier to do limiting and things like that with our staff um they have a process worked out and that seems like that's been very successful on people if they don't get too far behind them can limit meters and things like that and it makes a lot easier than it used to be would have to physically remove the meter and things so yeah last last week we did do limiting meters and there were 30 of them that we had to limit of which one Pete's crew had to go out the rest of them we did in our office we were able to do it so we didn't have to send people out so technology helps technology helps and it goes pretty quick so for the most part if uh Pete M do four of them it's that's a lot usually they are the Ami and they do it at the computer and are able to do that thank you and the and the return to power when they do pay is quicker also as you not and for the ones where you do send some them out physically then when they bring it when they get uh current on their account they install an Ami meter cor they do Stu y the public hearing is uh our next meeting November 12th it looks like from the resolution So does when this passes does the notice go out to the yes we have letters ready to go out if you approve them tomorrow that will go in the mail to the to all the customers on both lists so they will go out tomorrow thank you additional question all right hearing nothing further the resolution let's the resolution declaring unpaid charges for Municipal Utilities to be assessed and ordering preparation of proposed assessment is on page 134 of the packet oh did I miss oh sorry I tried to Jump Ahead we have one resolution before that the resolution calling for a public hearing declaring UNP unpaid charges for municip Municipal Utilities to be assessed is on page 133 of the packet is there a motion to approve that so moved second we have a motion and second second call the RO please counc hi counc HIC HIC hi May I I I the resolution is approved now our second resolution declaring unpaid resolutions for Municipal Utilities to be assessed and ordering preparation of proposed assessment is on page 134 is there a motion to approve so move second we have a motion and a second call the RO please counc member hi counc sh hi counc member hi I council member Johnson i counc p hi counc member I the resolution is approved thank you so much s uh next up reports I have no report tonight are there any council members who'd like to make reports at this time Brad um I'd like talk uh a couple weeks a couple of weeks ago we went we was that last week that we just had the uh simpa annual uh the simpa annual board meeting um another great meeting um great speakers one speaker from the NSA on cyber security that will scare the heck out of you um but good news uh simpa they um the there are no rate increases planned their electric uh their electric cost adjustments in place are keeping revenues in a good position um finances are strong reserves are growing uh the one news is and it doesn't actually break my heart is they're not using the Shero coal plant as much because it doesn't cost as much so the coal reserves are growing because they have a contract to bring in a certain amount of coal so um but otherwise uh that one of the big things they're also now looking at is getting into the transmission line business or getting further into the transmission business there was a great chart showing how much wind energy is trapped in South Dakota and Western Minnesota because the transmission lines aren't there and how that is actually increasing cost for other areas such as ours because the and then decreasing the cost in South Dakota and Western Minnesota because they have a surplus there so um overall things are going well they're continuing to move forward with their renewable and their carbon free goals um and we shouldn't see any large rate increases in the future like we saw two years ago so and for folks what's simpa simpa is the southern Minnesota Municipal Power agency and they are they are the they are the uh organization that supplies power to St Peter while we are the power company in town we actually buy our power from simpa thank you thank you we we talk so we have so many abbreviations and shorthand and jargon it's nice to make sure Folks at home know what we're talking about uh any other council members who'd like to make a report at this time hearing nothing how about our city administrator well since Brad talked about simp I was going to ask council members if they wanted to but if I could put Pete on the spot um one of the things that we get lots of calls this time of year about is leaf pick up and so one of the questions that I get quite often Pete is you know I saw the truck already come by my house and all my leaves aren't down yet so are they coming back or what H what's going on yeah we're going to continue to come back um we do have a drop off site if people get impatient but um rest assured we'll be back multiple times uh the last week we've had quite a few leaves fall so we'll be busy for quite a while be patient with us we're going to continue to Circle town pick up leaves as we go usually we uh pick up leaves until about Thanksgiving so that'd be the last week in November this year if the weather holds out for us as you know last year was great and we were able to vac leaves right up until the 1 of December and so uh that would be our plan and crews are out there uh working daily so and usually there's a Facebook post when you're all done saying that's it folks no more leaf leaf collection yes so we try and put that information out and the other thing that we want to mention to folks is Pete help me out don't put your leaves on the street in the gutter Y and why why do we want people not to do that yeah because we can't pick them up as well when they're in the gutter and we what we do is we pick up the leaves off the Boulevard and a few leaves fall into the gutter which impact our storm sewer operations so if we get rain in November what it does is it causes major drainage issues and then uh we pick up the leaves that are in the gutter with our sweepers and so they can't pick up big volumes like that it just flies past so um please keep them on the boulevard keep them in nice lines and we can come through really quick and get things picked up and make sure you or your neighbors don't have your car in front of that kind of pile of leaves because then we can't get to it with the vacuum sure why you see um a track spraying and then sweeping sure so one of the things that we had uh the last couple weeks say we've been picking up piles that's very the leaves have been very dusty and so we can pick them up in the curb line with the sweeper when they're a little bit of moisture to them okay and so when they're really dry it causes us a problem as well so we're wetting those down so it doesn't make a cloud for one cause dust problems with homeowners uh yet they're easier to pick up force with a sweeper I see those leaves when it's so dry they just kind of disintegrate and the dust flows through from that so Pete when you refer to the boulevard you're referring to someone's essentially lawn that's beyond the curtain behind the curb behind the curb yep if you can keep it right behind the curb within about 4T 5T that would be perfect all right thanks for doing that residents sure appreciate it that's for sure yeah that's all I have Madam mayor except a request for a executive or Clos session for a potential real estate transaction at the North Industrial Park Subdivision number three um the plan would be is that if we go into Clos session I anticipate coming coming back into Open Session only to adjourn I do not anticipate action on this item tonight um but uh back into Open Session only to adjourn all right that resolution calling for a closed session is on page 135 of the packet is there a motion to approve so moved second we have a motion and a second and a third I think uh call the role please council member I council member BOS I mayor no I Johnson I counc ioun ioun I the resolution is approved and it is 730 p.m. we will uh move downstairs I believe yes we'll be in the Travers all right