1989 11 20CHANHASSEN CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
NOVEMBER 20, 1989
Mayor CTm~iel called the ~m=eting to order at 7:30 p.m., .The meeting was opened
with the Pledge to the Flag. ~ ~
COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Clm~iel, Councilman Boyt, Councilman Workman,
Councilwoman Dimler and CounciL,~an Johnson
STAFF PRESENT: Don Ashworth, Roger Knutson, Gary Warren, Todd Gerhardt, Paul
Krauss, J~ Chaffee and Jo Ann Olsen
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: CounciL-~an Johnson moved, Councilman Boyt seconded to
approve the agenda with the following additions: Councilman Bovt wanted to
disc~]ss t%]blic Safety Co~ission Minutes, Councilman Workman ~a~ted to move item
4 before item 3 and to discuss the Police Contract, Mayor Chmiel wanted to
discuss Cities Fight Back Against Drug Week, and Councilwoman Dimler wanted to
discuss Chanhassen Tobacco Free Youth Project. All voted in favor of the
agenda as amended and the motion carried.
RECYCLING PRIZE DRAWING: Mayor Chmiel drew the na, e for the Recycling Prize.
CONSENT AGENDA: Councilwoman Dimler ~)ved, Councilman Johnson seconded to
approve the following Consent Agenda item,s pursuant to the City Manager's
recc~m~endati OhS:
a. Resolution #89-121: Accept Utility and Roadway I~rovements in Creek ~]n.
b. Resolution #89-122: Consider Na~e Change for 184th Avenue.
c. Resolution #89-123: Authorize Preparation of Plans and sPecifications for
Construction of City Wells Nos. 5 and 6.
e. Approve Contract for Financial Advisor Services.
f. Resolution #89-124: Resolution Setting Hearing Date for the Sale of Bonds
of 1989.
g. Approval of Accounts.
h. City Council Minutes dated November 6, 1989
Planning Co~m~ission Minutes dated November 1, 1989
t~.%blic Safety Co, m~ission Minutes dated October 12, 1989
i. Resolution #89-125: Accept Utility and Roadway I~rovem~ents in Stratford
Ridge.
j. Resolution #89-126: Approve Change Order No. 1 and Certificate of
S,%bstantial Completion, Chanhassen Clock Tower, Entry Mon~nent and Dinner
Theatre Stage Sign.
Ail voted in favor and the motion carried.
City Council Meeting - November 20, 1989
D. RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING "CITIES FIGHT BACK AGAINST DRUGS WEEK"
Councilman Johnson: 11his is Cities Fight Back Against Drugs and we have here
resolution where the City of Chanhassen gets firmly behind the war against drugs
that this nation has to fight. I think it's a most worth while effort. I don't
know if we need to read this page long resolution. I don't think so.
Mayor Chmiel: I don't think it's necessary.
Councilman Johnson: But the bottom line on this is the City is pledging to
fight drugs in all aspects and we are by this resolution declaring the City of
Chanhassen as a dr~ free area and we're going to work towards that goal.
Mayor Chmiel: I guess I've seen this go through the process over in the City of
St. Paul and it was bro~]ght to my attention and this is one of the items that I
feel is very close to all of us and something that we have to take a position
on. Even though this is just basically paper, what we're trying to do is make
people fully aware that we' re not going to allow people coming into this
co~unity, selling drugs, using drugs. We're having within a lot of the
business establishments posters that are posted making those people aware of the
fact that this is a drug free city. I know it sounds a little hard to accept
beca~]se of just saying it that way but the full intent and the full Council
I know feels that way and I for one am fully supportive of this and want to see
drugs eliminated from this co~'~unity. So with that I guess we can look for a
motion for item l(d) .
Resolution #89-127: Councilman Johnson moved, Councilwoman Dimler seconded to
declare Dece~er 3-9, 1989 as Cities Fight Back Against Drugs Week in the City
of Chanhassen and further resolving that the City of Chanhassen will sponsor
Drug Awareness Programs, literature drops, red ribbon distributions, media
attention, cc~unity involvement and go on record urging community groups,
schools, businesses, civic organizations to support and participate is special
activities during that week and to draw co~'~unity attention to this issue.
~_]rthermore, that the City declare our co~unity a drug free area, making this a
goal that all the City's resources will be co~itted to. All voted in favor
and the motion carried.
VISITOR PRESENTATIONS: PRESENTATION OF FRAMED COPY OF SCHOOL DISTRICT 112
STATEMENT OF VALUES, MARGIE KARJALAHTI.
Margie Ka~:jalahti: It is really a delight to be back here because I am so
excited, especially hearing about the Drug Awareness Week, the program. The
resolution the Council's just made. On behalf of the Values Co~ittee of our
Youth Development Task Force, would like to present the City of Chanhassen with
a framed copy of the Values which you have adopted for our city which can be
hung in a nice place for everyone to see. I also would like you to reme~oer
that the adoption of these means more than just paper too. We really would love
to work with you in making people aware of these values. Through the Drug
Awareness Program, that just hits on respect for others and integrity and
citizenship just real quick off the top of my head and we have already had some
leads in working with the city government on ways that we can help you. We have
co~ up with two program,s that we would like to present to somebody on your
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
staff and they maybe could figure out where it would fit in best that we'd be
able to work with making an awareness program work in Chanhassen. Tais being my
town I'm really excited about it so I'll give this to you.
M~yor Chmiel: Thank you. I appreciate it. We' 11 put it in a place where
everyone can see it. One other thing too in talking about the drug situation,
which also came to mind is w~'re trying ,to tie it in with a few of ~the other
cities in and adjacent to the City of Chanhassen. By doing~this we' figure we
can get everyone involved in it in making them aware on the things ~that are
really things that can take place ~and happen. If you-See something happening,
call our police department. Be involved. Don't sidestep it. I feel so strong
about this. I feel that it's something that we really, really have to grab by
the throat and just choke it out. But there are ~z3ny other things that we have
going with this as well this particular week. There will also be an evening
presentation of showing what the drugs are. What to look for. What they
consist of. That will be brought in by our Sheriff's Department and the
Southwest Metro Drug Task Force so there will be a lot of different things
happening during that particular week. Now I' 11 move on. Is there anyone else
wishing to make any visitor's presentations?
PUBLIC HEARING: CONSIDER ORDINANCE AMENDMENT PROHIBITING CIGARETTE SALES VIA
VENDING MACHINES.
~blic Present:
Name Address
Dr. Jean Forester
Norm Perzinski
Nancy Lang
John Carlson
Matt Kelso
Melissa Mensdel
Ted Korzonowsky
Tom Briant
~]ss Pauly
University of Minnesota
Chaska Police Departm~ent
American Lung Association of Minnesota
902 Penamint Court, America Cancer Society
President, Chaska High School Student Council
Vice Pres.,.Chaska High School Student Council
Prairie HOuse Restaurant
Coalition for Responsible Vending Sales
Pauly's
Jim Chaffee: Although I wrote the m~o, clearly this movement has been started
by Tc~ Workman here and he just points to Councilme~er D~ler, but Tom Workman
has done a vast majority of the work on this and I would just let Tom take it
frc~ here.
councilman Work~n: How nice. I'll just say a couple words and then we can,
I know this would be a ~]blic hearing so we should open it up to the ~blic and
I know we have an awful lot of people that want to ~mke some cc~ents. I guess
~ only hope this evening is that the issue stays in fact on the issue which is
the marriage of cigarettes and vending machines. If we can accomplish that slim
goal, maybe we can get this taken care of but I don't anticipate that happening
but I would like to Mr. Mayor hear sc~ c~ments. I will have sc~e cc~nts
afterwards but I'd hear some comments from the ~]blic if I may.
City Council Meeting - Nove~oer 20, 1989
Mayor Chmiel: Okay. As I mentioned, this is a public hearing. As many of you
know, we're considering an ordinance amendment prohibiting the cigarette sales
in vending machines basically to eliminate children that are not the age of
being able to s~oke. Many of the things I've seen and many of the things I've
read and a lot of things I've hear. d,. it appears as though Chanhassen is a good
growing spot for kids within the school district to come here and acc~_~ire their
cigarettes from vending machines. So with that, anyone wishing to come forward
and let ne establish a possible rule. I'd like to try to keep this to maybe 5
minutes per person. If it might take a little longer, fine. We'll go along
with that. I'd like to hear the proponents for reproving these frc~ vending
machines first and those that are in opposition will then have the.~.r opportunity
right afterwards. So those of you who would like to co~ forth, please state
your na~e and your address or who you're actually representing.
Dr. Jean Forester: My name is Dr. Jean Forester. I'm on the faculty of the
School of t~.%blic Health at the University of Minnesota. Councilme~ers
and Mr_. Mayor. It's a pleasure to be here tonight to be able to talk to you
about this issue. I especially am excited to hear that you're considering this
ordinance in light of your previous action against drugs in Chanhassen. This is
especially appropriate to be considering the ordinance to ban the sale of
cigarettes through vending machines at the sa~e meeting as you passed your other
ordinance. I'm here to talk to you about cigarette addiction as a childhood
epidemic. More people start smoking at age 13 than at any other age. 60% of
smokers start by the age of 14. 90% begin s~oking by the age of 19 so the vast
majority of adult s~okers begin when they are truly children. Before they have
the opportunity, in my way of thinking, to make an informed decision on this
issue. Tobacco is also considered a gateway drug in that the research says that
young people who smoke are 15 times more likely than non-smokers to graduate to
narcotic drugs. This isn't to say that everybody who smokes or every child who
smokes is going to becc~e addicted to drugs but they have a much higher chance
than non-smokers to becc~e addicted. Now I became involved in this as a public
health issue as a researcher at the University of Minnesota. I did some
research that I'd like to just s~arize for you tonight. We were curious about
just how accessible cigarettes are to young people so we worked with three
co~unities in the northern suburbs, Hastings, Stillwater and White Bear Lake
and we took a variety of children, age 12 to 15 into all of the tobaCco license
holders in those three cc~unities. The res~]lts were that they were able to
purchase the cigarettes in about 60% of the time. This means that youngsters as
young as 12 were able to get cigarettes in a large nu~er of the occasions.
This includes 53% of their attempts in over the counter sales but 79% of the
attemps from vending machines. This included all kinds of outlets including
restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, drug stores,
lic~.]or stores, private cl~s and bars. Many people think that children either
can't go into bars, liquor stores or private clubs or don't. In fact, there's
nothing in the State law that says that children cannot go in there. They
simply cannot go into those places for the purposes of buying alcohol. We found
that our young people have no problem getting cigarettes in those places. We've
heard...information frc~ bar owners and people like that that they have young
people coming in there frec~]ently attempting to buy cigarettes from those
places. Especially frc~ vending machines in those places. Another aspect of
our research was to look at the ~pact of the increase penalty for sale before
and after. July 1 the State penalty for sale of cigarettes to minors increased
from a petty misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor. That means that the maxim[t,~
penalty is now $3,000.g0 fine or a year in jail. KIa had collected our earlier
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
data in April and May and cc~pared that to data we collected in July~ Three
weeks after, the incr.eased penalty went into effect. What we found out was that
the penalty did have an impact on over the counter sales. Over the counter
sales decr.eased from 52% to 38% comparing before and after the penalty. However,
vending machines there was no impact on vending machine sales so the law
apparently is not able to address the issue of access of kids through vending
machines. Another interesting point that we found from our. research is that
there's a big difference in boys and girls in their accessibility to cigarettes
over the counter. Young boys, for whatever reason, I don' t know what it is,
young boys have a much harder time buying cigarettes than young girls do. Young
girls 12 years look like 12 year olds can buy cigarettes over the counter quite
readily. What we found is that young boys, 13 and 14 years old, have a very
difficult time buying cigarettes over the counter. A pair of 14 year old boys
in April and May of 1989 were able to buy cigarettes only 22% of the time over
the counter. However, they were able to buy cigarettes 74% of the time frc~
vending machines. After the new penalty went into effect, these same young boys
were only able to buy cigarettes 9% of the time that they tried in over the
counter sales. However, they were still able to buy cigarettes 70% of the time
from vending machines so clearly vending machines don't have the ability to
distinc~]ish age of the buyer. They also can't be trained the way people who
sell over the counter can. Thank you.
No~.m Perzinski: Good evening Mayor and Councilm~ers. My name is Norm
Perzinski. I'm a police officer with the City of Chaska assigned as a police
school liason officer between the school district and the Chaska Police
Department. National survey data indicates that 57% of high school seniors who
report daily smoking, began when they were 14 years of age. Stopping a sale of
tobacco to minor.s is an important step in any effort to prevent tobacco use.
Easy access to tobacco is obviously a prerequisite to maintaining a tobacco
addiction. In fact three quarters of smokers in high school still ~oke 7 to 9
years later.. In January of 1988 the City of Santa Clara, California conducted a
study into looking at reducing the illegal sale of cigarettes and tobacco
products to minors. In that study the city of Santa Clara had 18 minors aged 14
to 16 years of age go into 412 stores, including outlets that had 30 vending
machines. These minors went into these stores and also the outlets with vending
machines with the intent to purchase cigarettes or illegal tobacco products.
These minors were successful 74% of the time buying in stores over the counter
and successful 100% of the time buying from vending mach~ines. The City of Santa
Clar.a then conducted a 6 month campaign using cor, munity media, merchant
education, contact with CEO's of the chain stor.es and grass roots work with
co~unity organizations. After the 6 month period of education, they again sent
in the 18 minors to ~]rchase cigarettes in stores and outlets with vending
machines. The study found that the percentage of stores with the legal over the
counter, sales of cigarettes to minor.s was reduced to 39%. However, the 18
minors were still able to obtain cigarettes from vending machines 100% of the
time they atte~pted to buy from the vending machines. What this study showed
was that a good education campaign can greatly reduce sales in stores but the
inability to reduce vending machine sales suggests that elimination is the only
effective way to stop minors from buying cigarettes through vending machines.
Recently Chaska High School conducted a focus day on smoking. Each student who
went thr.ough this focus day filled out an anonymous survey form. The main thing
we asked for. from the smokers is where they purchased their cigarettes. Of
course the most resounding answer to this question was none of your business or
mind your own business. I'm not going to tell you because you'll just bust the
City Council Meeting - November 20, 1989
owners and I can't get my cigarettes. After this the most answers we heard were
from stores and vending machines followed by parents, friends or they had an
adult purchase them for them. Since September, or over the s~i~er, the Chaska
Police Department, Carver County Sheriff, I believe the Chanhassen Public Safety
Department, Juvenile Court Services and the court syste~ in Carver County met to
develop a policy for the unifok~ enforcement of not only the sale of tobacco to
minors but the use of tobacco. What we agreed is law enforcement organizations,
that's people under the age of 18 caught using tobacco would be issued a
citation. Would have to go to court and look at paying a $40.00 fine or
perfon~'J~ng 8 hours of co~unity work service. Since that time the Chaska Police
Department has issued 25 citations to juveniles. When these citations are
issued primarily by myself, I conducted a very informal, unscientific survey
just merely asking these st~]dents where they're obtaining their cigarettes. The
biggest 2 answers were stores and vending machines. This was about in
September. Last week I issued probably another 5 citations to students caught
s~oking asking them again where are you obtaining your cigarettes. The answer I
heard only was vending machines. Not you obtain vending machine cigarettes are
extre~ely expensive and I asked the students why are you buying ther~ from
vending machines and not stores and they said because we cannot get them from
stores and no one monitors the vending machines. Recently a Chaska resident,
male, juvenile who lives in the city of Chaska, I caught for smoking was issued
a citation. The ~portance of this was I asked him where are you buying your
cigarettes. He said I go to Chanhassen to buy them from vending machines
because you can't buy them in stores in Chaska. About a month ago the Chief of
Police in Chaska, Greg Skol, contacted every business that had a vending
~achineo Bars, restaurants, businesses asking them that instead of passing an
ordinance could we get some voluntary compliance, moving them to an area where
the vending machines could be monitored. Recently again within the week I
issued another citation to a male juvenile asking him where he got his
cigarettes and he said he got th~ fro~ a business establishment that is both a
bar and a resta~]rant. Chief of Police had contacted this bar and restaurant a
month ago. Was told that the machine ~ould be moved. In calling back this
owner, we had found that the machine had not been moved. I want to thank all of
you tonight for giving this opportunity for me to talk and I applaud your
efforts and courage to make this diffic~]lt decision on a very controversial
issue. Thank you very much.
Mayor Chmiel: Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to talk?
Nancy Lang: I'll just speak real briefly. I'm Nancy Lang with the Amercian
Lung Association of Minnesota. Obviously my interests here are pretty clear. I
don't have too many statistics. My er~phasis really is environmental health and
today I was asked to go and give a talk to a respiratory support group that's
called Huffers and ~]ffers on the effects of outdoor air pollution on lung
disease patients. I couldn't help thinking as I looked out at these people with
their oxygen tubes and paraphenalia that 30 and 40 years ago they had made scr~e
pretty critical decisions that we're talking about here so it's kind of funny
how things cc~ full circle. Anyway, my point is to obviously support the
intention of the City of Chanhassen. I realize it is a difficult situation and
to also encourage you to hold fitr~ as the ordinance is written right now in the
model of the White Bear Lake. I think the intent is not to criminalize youth. I
think a move that would say it's illegal for children to purchase cigarettes is
not the way to go in the City of Chanhassen or any other city. I think what's
important is that responsible sales of cigarettes is the priority because
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
children under the age of 18, we all assume they have sc~.~e naivete and I think
we have to take that into account but we assume that people who are selling
cigarettes for a profit need to act responsibly. I would also support the idea
that having so much ~phasis in the schools on tobacco education and yet having
vending machines available is a real mixed message to kids. It's like saying
well, don't smoke and don't think about tobacco and stay clean and all that kind
of stuff but yet when we give ths~ an easy port of entry for cigarettes, I think
that's one of the more blatant mixed ~ssages that we can pick out in terms of
health education for youth. So with those comments I' 11 complete my summary.
John Carlson: I'm John Carlson. I'm a resident of Chanhassen at 902 Penamint
Court, a hc~eowner. I'm also here as a representative of the American Cancer
Society. I'm their Vice President of Development. I too am here to speak in
favor of this proposal. I think it's reasonable. I think it will send a very
good symbol to the parents and to the children of our co~unity and I think it's
a step in the right direction. 2,000 people in Minnesota this year are going to
develop lung cancer. Over 80% of those cases are going to be fatal. If you did
a case study on each one of those 2,000 people you'd find that many of them
began their smoking habits when they were very young. Will this proposal change
that? No. But it will be a step in the right direction because it's going to
make it harder for youth to obtain those cigarettes and I agree with the
representative frc~ the Lung Association that by treating youth as criminals,
that's not the way to address this problem. We need to address this problem
with the adults in our c~unity. The owners of the establishments that have
these vending machines and to make it less accessible for the youth to obtain
th~. I found the co~ents frc~ the representative frc~ the Chaska Police
Department very insightful and I think his testimony in and of itself is I think
presents a really solid case for why the City Council should support and put in
place this type of amendment. Our organization recently, last Thursday at the D
Day celebration in downtown Minneapolis, applauded White Bear Lake's City
Council for what they did and hopefully we'll be able to applaud you tonight as
m~ers of the City Council if you would pass this legislation.
Matt Kelso: Councilmembers, Mr. Mayor, I 'm Matt Kelso. I 'm the President of
the Student Council at the High School and this is Melissa Mendsel, the Vice
President of the Student Council at the High School. Recently the Executive
Board of the Student Council passed a resolution that Melissa's handing to you.
It states, Whereas, cigarette smoking is a proven health hazard; Whereas, many
students beco~ addicted to cigarette smoking at young ages; Whereas, the
students in our area co~l~nities have complete access to each and every
c~ity; and Whereas, the Chaska School District #112 will legally become
Smoke Free as of January 1, 1990, ~nerefore, Be It Resolved that the Chaska
Senior High School Executive Board supports the prohibition of cigarette
dispensing machines and the sale of tobacco to persons under the age of 18 years
in our area co~unities. As you can see, we the Executive Board, through the
knowledge of the alarming statistics that have been brought up tonight and are
prevelent in our media today, support your efforts on this issue. Smoking not
only harms our peers who smoke, it harms everyone. ~nank you.
Mayor Chmiel: Is there anyone else? Those who wish to address the issue frc~
the other aspect?
Ted Korzonowsky: My name is Ted Korzonowsky, proprietor of the Prairie House
Restaurant. We do have a cigarette vending machine in there too. In principle
City Council Meeting - Novem~oer 20, 1989
I concur with the proposal that we want to stop some of this cigarette selling
but on the other hand, we as business people have an investment here. Now who's
going to take care of my investment if you outlaw the machine and who's going to
cover my profit that I'm making off that machine? I think your ordinance is
just black and white. I think the other gentleman said, now if we had them in a
an area that's controlled, just like we do over the counter, you can have that
machine by the register sc~eplace where we can control it. It's no different
than going to the drug store and buying over the counter. I don't know why
you're zeroing in on cigarettes. It seems to me there's a real problem with
alcoholism ~here b~]t I don't see you, you know concentrating on the lice]or store
and the bars. Any of these drug stores, not drug stores but gas stations have
vending machines for condoms. You know no one's putting, they're available to
anybody that wants them and Aids is spreading like crazy. Why are we only
looking at cigarettes? It seems to me you zeroed in on one subject because
White Bear did it and all of a sudden, cigarettes have been a problem here for
years and all of a sudden why are we so excited about it? People have been
dying of lung cancer and what not for years and years. How many people here
smoke? ~]ite a few. So you know, the children are going to get the cigarettes.
They can get adults to buy it for the~. They can go anywhere they want. If
they w-ant to get them, they're going to get them. Throwing out a few, what do
we got, 10 machines in town here? 157 You can't legislate morality as far as
I'm concerned. Those kids that smoke at that early age, they're going to get
cigarettes one way or the other. You're not going to stop them. Where you've
really got to start is educating at hc~e. The family. Start at the home. It's
the parent's responsibility to educate their children on the proper things in
life and that's where it really starts. Throwing out machines is a nice jesture
and it looks good in the paper but I don't think you're going to solve the
problem. The ones that come in our resta~]rant, we've been catching them. Those
children are going to get cigarettes sc~eplace and same with the liquor store. I
notice you have 3 or 4 armed, not armed guards but you have Sargeant at Arms
there because how many children try to buy lic~.]or over there? If they don't get
it there, they go somewhere else. If you give a guy $10.00, he'll go in and
buy it for you. So you're not going to really solve the problem that way. It's
education in the schools and in the homes as far as I'm concerned but I would
like to see this amended to read that if we've got them someplace where we can
control this. Why discriminate against us. The drug store's got tons of
cigarettes he's selling over the counter and your statistics showed that 70% of
them are still getting them,, even over the counter so why don't we take out the
cigarettes altogether? You're not going to really stop theme. The only way
you're going to do it is cut all cigarettes out in the town. Period. Which is
drug stores, the whole works. I don't think you're going to control it but I
like to see, like I said before, I've got $1,000.00 investment in the machine
and I supposed sc~e of the other people do too. I ~mke $70. 00-$80. 00-$90. 0~ a
month profit. The City comes, they raise our taxes. They raise this. They
raise the sewer. We' re trying to make a few bucks and all you' re doing is
digging into our pocket and I'm sure some of the other people feel the same way
that here's a chance. You know we can make good profit on that machine but let
us control it. Give us an opportunity to try to control it. Maybe give us a
year's time to see what we can do about it rather than just arbitrarily just
throw the thing out. But like I say, I agree that cigarette s~oking is bad.
None of my children s~oke. I don't smoke. My wife doesn't smoke but we've
educated our kids at home. The cause is good but I think the way we're going at
it is w~ong. That's all I've got to say.
City Co~cil M~eting - November 20~ 1989
Tom Briant: Mr. Mayor, CounciL,~ers. My name is Tom Briant. I'm an attorney
and I represent the Coalition for Responsible Vending Sales. That is a group of
5 state organizations that all have an interest in vending ~mchine sales. The
coalition certainly doesn't support the sale of cigarettes to minors nor minors
smoking cigarettes. In fact we wholeheartedly oppose such an idea. The
coalition does support a partial restriction of vending machines and I would ask
you to consider two things. First, legislation is currently being drafted that
will be introduced this winter session to control this issue on a statewide
basis. It will provide a uniform resolution to this proble~. When I spoke to
the Hastings City Council 2 weeks ago, much as I'm speaking to you here tonight,
they tabled the action on their individual ordinance because legislation is
being drafted. The legislation will take precedent over any city actions taken.
If that legislation passes, what will be done here tonight, if it is passed in
any form, will all be a ~ot question. Second, in terms of the actual partial
restriction that we are supporting. The language basically allows machines to
re~in in factories and businesses where minors can not generally gain access.
Locations where liquor is sold and locations that we have supervision over the
machine. As the restaurant owner said, if there can be an adult employee that
can supervise that ~chine to ~ke sure minors do not purchase cigarettes from
that machine, then the machine should be allowed to remain. I give you an
example of the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. They have a machine out in their
front lobby. That machine should not be there. Rather, the Chanhassen Dinner
Theatre should have the option to move that machine to one of it's two bars.
They've asked for that vending machine to provide a service to their custom,rs.
Now you'd be re~]iring them to remove that ~chine and the can no longer provide
that service. ~ ask that you allow them to remove that machine to the bar
locations where the minors are generally not allowed. Another part of the
legislation and sc~ething else that we ask you to consider tonight is a penalty
for minors who buy cigarettes through vending machines. Under State law it's
illegal to sell cigarettes to minors. It's illegal for minors to use cigarettes
or smoke them. It is not a crime or unlawful in this state for a minor to buy
cigarettes. I have proposed penalty language to give you tonight and I'll pass
it our shortly. What we ask you to do is consider that the minors be
responsible for their own actions and such a penalty we believe would deter
those actions. The penalty basically sets up a fine for a minor of $100.00 for
a first violation and $200.00 for a second violation. That is in conjunction
with State criminal juvenile codes. Also in this week the Chaska Herald had an
editorial. It supports the kind of partial ban that we are considering here and
I'm proposing to you and we suggest that that is a reasonable compromise and
should be seriously considered by this Council. At this time Mr. Mayor and
Councilm~ers, I'd like to pass out the penalty language and the editorial in
the Chaska Herald.
Counc i lman Boyt: We ' ve got i t.
Mayor Chmiel: Yeah, I already have the Chaska.
Tc~ Briant: But I don't believe you have the penalty language.
Councilman Boyt: No. We'd be happy to have it.
Tc~ Briant: One final cogent. We've shown you studies and we've provided you
the su~maries of the studies that show that more minors purchase cigarettes over
the co~ter than through vending machines and Dr. Forester presented her studies
City Council Meeting - Nove~oer 20; 1989
tonight. I ask yogi to eliminate the studies from your mind for a minute and
consider this. If you take away a vending machine, you're not going to curb
that minor's desire to smoke. There are other sources. Just as the policeman
said, they're going to get them from parents, friends or over the counter sales.
You need education. You need to teach the minors either not to smoke or to c~it
sm~oking. Removing vending ~mchines is not going to solve the problem. With
that I ask you to seriously consider an amendment to your ordinance or an
alternative ordinance that sets up a partial ban. Thank you.
Mayor Chmiel: Thank you Tc~. Is there anyone else?
~]ss Pauly: My name is Fha]ss Pauly. I'm President of Pauly's Bar and Restaurant
in Chanhassen and a couple of points I'd like to touch on. Ntm~er one, the
problem I have with any local goverrm~ent regulating something like cigarettes
is, what's the next thing? Is alcohol going to be the next thing that local
goverr~ent regulates? I think they're stepping into an area where they really
don't have any business. White Bear Lake set a precedent and now it seems to be
popular that everybody wants to j~m~p into it but I just don't think the local
government has any business being in there. I really think they have other
concerns that they could attend to and cigarettes isn't one of them. If you
want to go to convenience stores, then geez they better make the clerks all 18
years of age that work in these convenience stores in Chanhassen because you can
go in any one of the~ and there's very few people working from 4:~ until
that are 18 and older. I'm sure any kid can walk in there and buy cigarettes.
If you're going to regulate it, you're going to have to regulate it _~ore than
just vending machines. I just don't see where that fits in.
Mayor Chmiel: Thanks Russ. This is a public hearing. Anyone else wishing to
address the issue?
Counci]m~an Johnson moved, Councilman Workman seconded to close the public
hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried. The public hearing was
closed.
Counci]m~an Workman: Mr. Mayor, first I'd like to read one c~]ick piece of a
resolution. When I pointed out Ursula Dimler, Ursula has done also sc~e work
for this cause. Chris Burns and the Sailor stated that I rec~_]ested a resolution
from the Chaska School Board or District #112. In fact it was Ursula Dimler
that did that and I'd like to be acknowledged. The resolution reads, Whereas
School District #112 through policy promotes a tobacco free enviror~ent, and
Whereas, selling tobacco products to persons under the age of 18 is prohibited
by law, and Whereas it is very difficult to restrict vending machine sales to
legal buyers, Therefore Be it Resolved, that the District #112 School Board go
on record as supporting the passage of a Chanhassen City Ordinance which
prohibits the sale of tobacco products through vending machines and Be It
Further Resolved that the District #112 School Board forward a copy of the
Resolution to the Chanhassen City Council and Be It ~]rther Resolved that the
District #112 School Board send a copy of the Resolution to other local
goverrm~ent units that fall totally or partly in District #112 in order to
apprise the~ of the School Board's support of this ordinance. Adopted November
9, 1989. Ironically enough we are talking about school goals or cost,unity goals
tonight. We're talking about Drug Awareness. The Minnesota Journal, a
publication of the Citizens League which is read widely I believe in the state
10
City Co~cil Meeting - Nove~er 20~ 1989
of Minnesota, dated tc~orrow, ended up on my desk today with an article in it,
Early Start Points to Drug Abuse. From the Minnesota Student Survey Report,
1989, a survey of 90,000 Minnesota students in grades 6, 9 and 12 by the
Minnesota Department of Education. Substance use almost always starts with
alcohol or tobacco. Excessive attention to illicit drugs such as cocaine may
send an implicit yet ~intended message that alcohol and tobacco are less
dangerous than illicit drugs. It's everywhere. I understand the concerns of
local businesses. I don't intend to take away the right for these businesses to
sell cigarettes. I'm taking that right away frc~ the machines which they have
in their establishments. What I'd like to also get out in the open right away
is that approximately 2 years ago my mother died of emphysema basically fro~
cigarettes. It's a real hell of a way to die I might add. But for the 28 years
that I knew ~ mom, I was never going to get her to q~]it. Loving, hating,
cheating, sneaking, doing whatever you want to do, there's no way you're going
to get people to c~]it so this is not a testimonial to tell adult smokers or any
smokers c~.lit. I'm not interested in it. It doesn't work. It's a waste of ~
time but we have a lot of pink lunged young 13 and 14 year olds out there that
don't know that. And you're right. If we can't take away, we're not going to
take away this probl~ frc~ these kids. If kids want to go out and poke
themselves in the ear with a sharp object, they can do it but this is one very
small step. The Vending Coalition basically states that State government will
have legislation passing soon, maybe by April. I think we all understand how
State goverr~ent operates. I can't wait and that's why I promoted this and I
appreciate the help of Council. Alcohol is not in vending machines. ~nere are
no illegal s~stances in vending machines except cigarettes. That is why we're
going specifically after them. The condom issue, the alcohol issue is another
issue. One which we should get into down at Pauly's later. $70.00 to $90.00
profit is something that you would necessarily base your business on and it's my
knowledge that the ~oking industry will, once you lose your vending machine,
will do everything in it's power to set up a cigarette sales center, racks,
signs, whatever you want to make it as easy for you as you want. And I'd like
perhaps a response frc~ the vending coalition on whether or not they are in fact
s~sidized by the tobacco industry.
Tom Briant: Mr. Mayor, Councilman Workman. The tobacco industry does subsidize
each vendor that has cigarette vendingmachines. I don't know the exact dollar
amo,~t of the subsidy but it is an annual subsidy that is paid. I do not know
if the s~sidy also goes to over the counter sales but it does go to vending
machine sales.
Councilman Work~mn: I've heard an awful lot of co~ents about because White
Bear Lake did it. I thank White Bear Lake. I thank the University of
Minnesota. They started a national trend here I think. You can't legislate
morality. You're right. I'm not sure that this is a morality question. It's
definitely a life and health situation. Education at ho~, there's no doubt
about it. That's where it starts. I would say that so~ hc~s are failing and
they could use a little bit of help. Drug stores selling over the counter,
that's where people are selling th~n over the counter. Again, I'm not after
that aspect of it. It's a vending machine. As far as diluting this ordinance,
I think we're opening ourselves up to a large can of worms trying to enforce.
Who gets them? Which bars get them? Filly's has teen night. The entire
facility is opened to teens in the bar, ~]sic going. No alcohol served but
vending ~chines available certainly. I bet there's smoke in the joint. I
haven't been down there. They don't allow ~ in the door. One of my
11
City Council Meeting - Noves.~er 20; 1989
professions is the life insurance business. I invite you all to call a life
insurance agent and ask him the difference between what it costs for cigarettes.
Smoking rate versus non-s~,oking rate. It's the most basic rate that a life
insurance agent asks. When somebody tells me they smoke, I go oh, because it's
going to double. Your rates are going to approximately double. Finally, to
give everybody a clear indication about the fact that I'm not after people
trying to stop smoking, I think it would behoove you to do so. Earlier this
year at the completion of the new wing of City Hall, there was a little sentence
in there, t~]blic Safety Director, Jim Chaffee had a little sentence in there
that the new wing would be smoke free. I raised the c~.]estion here that night
that why isn't all of City Hall smoke free. We have 2 smokers in City Hall, at
least that smoke at City Hall, one of them being City Manager Don Ashworth and
the other is Jean Meuwissen. It caused c~ite a roar and I could hear the
gutteral sounds of Don Ashworth down the way here when I mentioned it and I
understand living with my mother for 28 years that it's a heck of a thing to
have to give up. When you're about ready to die, you just don't give it up. You
enjoy it and you wait for things to happen. Basically what Don did with this
new wing was stated that Don and Jean would contain their smoking a little bit
better. There were some complaints. That anybody at City Hall that had a
complaint against the cigarette smoking. In other words, if Jean and DOn were
getting out of shape, that they could then go in privacy to me and then I could
basically with the Council's permission make all of City Hall smoke free just
like that. Did I ever do that DOn?
Don Ashworth: No.
Councilman Workman: Even though I had that opportunity. I didn't. I'm not out
to ruin people's lives. Their livelihood or their comforts or their pleasures.
I understand habits. I enjoy Coca Cola. But, this is a gap and a huge gap in a
much tougher ordinance or legislation that the City is passing that I think all
of ~zs as adults can help to pass. Trying to figure out which one of our spots
in Chanhassen should be able to have a machine and which one shouldn't is
sc~ething I don't think the City wants to get into and I'd like to personally
thank Dr. Jean Forester from the U of M and her friends Mary Corrigan and
Harry Lando, Matt Kelso and Melissa Mendsel from the High School, Nancy Lang
from the Lung Association, John Carlson from the Cancer Society, Chuck
Gabrielson was going to be here from Group Hone in town. Didn't make it. Midge
May from the Chaska School Board was going to make it. Norm Perzinski from
Chaska Police and the rest of the Council for hearing this and I await your
cos~ents.
Councilwoman Dimler: Thank you Tom for acknowledging my work with the School
Board. I appreciate that. I did give Tom a hard time when he first proposed
this to me. I played the devil's advocate. I wanted him to get his story
straight. I am not against smoking and as my children will tell you,
occasionally after dinner I smoke a cigarette. Isn't that terrible. Anyway, so
that is not the purpose of this ordinance is to get people to stop smoking. The
purpose of this ordinance is to keep tobacco products out of the hands of our
minors and that in this case means anyone under 18 years of age. I know that
the smokers will still have access to cigarettes in our town from over the
counter sales. It's impossible to enforce our new Minnesota law as long as
cigarettes are available through vending machines. The new law that went into
effect this past stm~er increased the penalty of selling cigarettes to minors.
It's -~ow a gross misde~eanor punishable by jail for up to 1 year and/or a fine
12
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
of up to $3,000.00. This makes the seller responsible and does provide sOme
deterrance to minors obtaining tobacco products. We can't very well find a
vendingmachine or put it in jail and it is n~ experience that vendingmachines
have very little supervision. Mostly they are placed in the entrance of an
establistm~ent for easy access. In one of the reports I read it stated that
friends are the primary providers to minor smokers and I guess ~ question there
is, how old are these friends and where are they getting their cigarettes? I
find it hard to believe that an 18 year old would be real close friends with a
13 year old. It just doesn't wash with n~ experience. I could see however an
18 year old ,mybe being friends with a 16 year old and then giving the
cigarettes to the 16 year old. However, that 18 year old is an adult and is
open to prosecution for even giving the cigarettes to the minor because it's an
illegal activity. I realize that an ordinance will not stop 100% of the sales
to minors but I do believe it will have a significant impact. I was glad that
the Chaska School Board did give us their support and I'm glad that they're
already taking a strong stand against tobacco use by declaring all district
buildings s~toke free as of January 1, 1990. However, I don't think this goes
far enough. Declaring it so doesn't necessarily make it so. I think as Jay
pointed out, when Chanhassen is declared drug free, that doesn't mean it is
right now. We have to work towards that and so we have to take this as a first
step working towards that. Many ti~.~s when I've driven past the school I have
seen the kids outside of the buildings smoking. I realize that anytin~ you
restrict things, it ~mkes them~ more desireable. It's a little bit like the wet
paint sign. Everybody then wants to touch it and see if it really is wet paint.
So restricting it in so~ instances ~mymake people pay more attention to it but
I do believe that son~ restrictions are necessary and I kind of have, saying
that not restricting access to cigarettes to our minors is like saying that we
don't need speed limits. Let's have everyone use their own judgment. Speed
limits don't cause people to quit driving and just like this ordinance won't
cause smokers to quit s~.~oking but we still have speed limits. It's also been
said that we can't legislate health andmorality. I've heard that we can't
morality often but I've never heard that we can't legislate health. I guess I'm
questioning why do we have a goverrm~ent department called Health and ~m~an
Services if we can't legislate health. Just food for thought. On the final
analysis, I see that this ordinance gives some assistance to the enforcement of
our Minnesota Statute. I do believe in helping our businesses make money but I
seriously do~t that anyone's business depends on the cigarette sales from
vending ~mchines. The business can still sell them over the counter and have a
revenue with a minor inconvenience and I hope that this inconvenience, that
they're willing to put up with to help so~ of our youth stay tobacco free. I
think the pending state legislation, whatever they pass, will not affect our
Chanhassen ordinance if we are more restrictive. We cannot be less restrictive
but we can be more restrictive so at that point we can change our ordinance if
we find we are less restrictive and we can ~mke it more restrictive then to be
in compliance with the State legislation but we can go ahead right now and pass
our ordinance. That's all I have.
Councilman Johnson: Mr. Mayor, this is a first step, necessary first step. It
doesn't go nearly far enough. If you walk into Brooke's, you look at their
sales cotu~ter, it's tobacco everywhere. %~nere's the free give away on the one
side. There's the cigars down below. There's the cigarettes up above. There's
the cigarettes to the right. There's cigarettes, it's con~letely encircled with
tobacco. Most of this is handily, readily available for the quick of hand youth
that wants access to this. I think the next step after the vending machines is
13
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
to make the cigarettes behind the counter the same as the Playboy's and
the Penthouse that we also are ~ying to have our kids not rip off. They're
behind the counter, under the counter. What does that say to our youth who go
there every day after school to pick ~ their candy? When they go to pay for
their candy, it's all tobacco. That says tobacco's okay. They're getting it
all day in school that tobacco's not okay fro~_~ Norm and the teachers and
everybody else. Many of the~ get it at home. Then they go into the stores in
our town and tobacco is everywhere. I think the next thing I'd like to look
into is making tobacco has to be behind the counter rather than in front of the
counter to ~ere it is not obtainable by the shoplifting method and is not
advertised and put forward. I think it's obvious I'm somewhat in favor of the
ordinance.
Councilman Work~an: And they have candy cigarettes on the other rack.
Councilman Johnson: Oh, don't get ~ wife started on that one. I think the
candy vendors, I'd like to see all of our people in town, our good ~erchants,
not sell candy cigarettes. If you look at how the kids do them, you can say oh
it's j~mt candy but my little 4 year old she had candy cigarettes and she was
doing the old cigarette smoking thing with it and that's exactly what Marlboro
and Winston that's on the pack wants when they do that. I'm wondering who owns
those candy companies that make candy cigarettes.
Mayor Chmiel: Is that it Jay?
Council~an Johnson: Yeah.
Councilman Boyt: I think it's always ~portant to take a little time to reflect
when the river seems to be flowing in one direction so strongly. The Public
Safety Co~ission considered this and reco~,~ended that it be sm~ended. I think
it's important that the Council consider those amendments. They're along the
lines of the uncontrolled access that the vending machine, if it's in an area
where the access is controlled, the D]blic Safety Co~m~ission felt that a vending
machine would be appropriate in those areas. I agree with Mr. Workman that
anyt~e that we amend this wemake it more difficult to enforce. Recognize that
if we don't amend it, we're really striking at situations in which we're not
trying to. We're hitting areas that we're really not trying to control. I
think everything I've heard tonight said vending machines are difficult because
they are uncontrolled generally. I think if the merchant can show that the
vending machine is controlled, locked when Filly's has their teen night for
instance would be another way of controlling it. I think another area that,
well the t~lic Safety Co~m~ission also reco~m~ended that the Co~mcil consider is
that when vending machines are in manufacturing areas. Typically manufacturers
cannot hire anyone ~nder the age of 18 because of liability considerations and
it's there s~ply because the employees would have no other means generally of
acquiring cigarettes. Borrowing frc~ friends I suspect but they have no other
neans of purchasing theme. I think the statistics verify that vending machines
are not the source of choice for cigarettes. I mean you just have to look at
the price in a vending machine to realize that no one who had other alternatives
would choose that as their first choice. I think what the ~]blic Safety
Co~m~ission discussed and reco~m~ended ~mkes sense. I recognize what Mr_. Workman
said. I think that another part of this, I guess out of curiousity, how many
people has the Judge fined $4g.007
14
City Council Meeting - November 20, 1989
No~m~ Perzinski: The kids can go through a diversion program whereby if they go
to a probation officer. Admit that they have been ~oking, they can just go
ahead and pay a $40.00 fine. In fact what the new policy's going to be, from
what I understand, they're going to send i~ediate letters out to the kids and
their parents and the kids can just go ahead and mail a check or money to the
court.
Councilman Boyt: Maybe I should put it differently. How many $40.00 fines have
you collected?
No~ Perzinski: I'm not in the collection business. We're just in the
enforcement business. You'd have to contact Court Services. One other point I
would like to make, whether restricting or going with full force ordinance is
that a lot of businesses, it will be my experience that you start restricting
this ordinance like you're saying or the Public Safety Co~ission, it makes it
that much harder to enforce. Whether it's manufacturing, United Mailing, or
another business, there are a lot of people 17 years of age or under that do
work for cc~panies that will have access to those vending machines.
Councilman Boyt: And I agree that that complicates the issue. I guess I'm a
little startled that a judge would actually fine a teenager $40.00 for smoking
when ~ can't get them to fine people for speeding. That just happens to be my
hot button. I find it ridiculous that the State would actually consider fining
teenagers, or I imagine teenagers $100.00 for using a vending machine. Maybe
they will. It just doesn't fit my experience.
Norm Perzinski: If I could make one point too to kind of clarify. The $40.00
is not a fine. That $40.00 is donated to a charity. I think the American
Cancer Society or American Lung Association. It's not ~t into the County
hoppers as per se.
Jim Chaffee: It also, I should add, that's not judicial Bill. It does not go
to the judge right away. That's all handled by Court Services. If the child
does not respond to that ticket, then it goes to the Judge but all that is
handled, the fine is handled adminstratively first.
Councilman Boyt: Well, I think that's going in the wrong direction gentlemen. I
think that the people who have talked about education are right. I think that
to put this on parents is to put a pretty heavy load and my guess is if w~ went
out and surveyed parents, we'd find that they feel helpless in this situation.
When their children smoke, they generally, my guess would be they smoke -without
the parent's permission initially and the parent realizes sc~ewhere along the
line this is happening and says how do I maintain peace in my family. I'm sure
there are a lot of solutions to that but some of th~, I think when the study
said that parents allow their children to buy cigarettes or even buy cigarettes
for th~m~, I don't believe, well I'll put it positively, I think in most cases
the parents isn't saying I condone smoking. They're saying it's the only way we
can live as a family and get this done. I support the ordinance as I suspect
everyone does here as an attempt to control a problem but I don't think it's
going to work. Sure, we'll r~ove vending machines but I can show you that we
don't currently enforce the State law about smoking in convenience stores and
other enclosed places. We don't, I don't think, we do a very agressive job at
enforcing the law about keeping them from selling cigarettes which has been
there forever. Mr.. Ashworth suggested sc~e approaches to that a few weeks ago.
15
City Council Meeting - Nove~oer 20, 1989
I didn't see the Council leaping to that action[ I think what we've got ].n
vending machines is something that's kind of handy to do but I really don't
think it's going to be all that effective if what we're trying to do is keep
teenagers from smoking. Maybe it will help if we do all this other stuff
because that will push people to vending machines and there won't be vending
machines in Chanhassen but if this is all we do, we're wasting our time.
Councilman Workman: Well tune in next week when we tackle another proble~ Bill.
When you say it won't work, yes it will work. Not one package of cigarettes
will be bought out of a vending machine. That will work.
Councilman Boyt: I agree. That will probably work.
Councilman Workman: Okay, and it will be effective given the statistics. It
will be effective. If in fact a vending machine with a product that's illegal
to anyone under 18 isn't such a proble~ if we slide it in the corner. If we
have the bartender kind of keep an eye on it over there. Why don't we let the
local bars put cans of beer in there? It's just another pain for the bartender
to have to dispense those darn cans of beer you know so why don't we just have
the~, put $2.00 in the machine and a can of beer will pop out. Then he just has
to mix. We' re not heading in that direction. We're not going to head in that
direction. It's the most ludicro~]s thing I've said. Manufacturers, you're
right. Victory Envelope, United Mailing, Instant Webb, those people aren't here
tonight. They're not going to be here tonight because they don't have a vested
interest in having their employees ~oke. They're going away from it. They
want that crap out of their manufacturing plants. Do the owners' children have
a special priviledge to purchase cigarettes if we do that though? Does the kid
who helps the family cleaning business clean that plant have a special
priviledge at getting at those cigarettes? Probably. You're right, if we try
to string this whole thing up, we can think about it all night. We're not going
to do a darn thing and I'm not so sure you don't want to not do anything. I
think we've got to do something and you've just act~itted that there's a problem
out there. This is one little baby step. Again, I know the dangers of smoking
better than anybody in this room, or as much as, and yet I understand a person's
right to have that habit. It's like baseball. It's an ingrained national past
time. Wordly past ti~e so I'm not going to slay that dragon. I'm just saying
we're taking a s~all step towards a small segment of the pol~]lation who are most
vulnerable to this and trying to restrict it there. Once you open up a little
door, you're going to open Ilo a whole plethra of things that I don't think the
City wants to deal with. I'd like to make a motion as soon you'll let me.
Co~mcilman Boyt: Well Don hasn't spoken yet. If I might j~_%st respond DOn and
then I'll pass it over to you. I think there's 3 elements to the wandering I
did there. One of them is, we're going to pass something. That's clear. I
think that the ordinance is a little better if it's amended. Third, I hope that
this really is the first step in a more agressive approach by the City. Those
are my three points.
Mayor Chmiel: You're looking at a former smoker. I'm sure there's many of them
sitting out there. I c~]it smoking 26 years ago and I probably smoked anywhere
between a pack and a half to 2 packs a day. I have a son who just c~_]it smoking
4 weeks ago because I've challenged him. I gave him an incentive. Who smokes 2
packs a day. Q]it cold turkey and it's been 4 weeks. I have a daughter who
s~okes aL,~ost a half pack to a pack a day who c~]it smoking 4 weeks ago as well.
16
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
I sc~etimes feel incentives work and hopefully they will and they're going to
learn f~om it. But I know that the availability of kids buying cigarettes from
machines are there all the time. I was standing in one of the St. Paul hotels
where there's no controlled access to a machine and it's close enough to the
cash register a~d this youngster went in there and just bought cigarettes and he
paid $2.50 a pack. Now that's absolutely ridiculous. I also had a father-in-
law who died frc~ ~,physema as well and it's nothing of a pleasure to watch
sc~eone die from that. I don't want to see kids start s~noking and I feel that
if we can curtail that a~)unt of availability for those kids by getting the
access to those machines and getting their cigarettes, I feel that's one step.
Basically it's just one step at a time that we have to do this. I'm not opposed
to anyone smoking. ~nat's everybody's priviledge. I did it. I'm not going to
say I'm a goody tw~ shoes now and I'm not. If they want to smoke, that's their
perogative. If you want to sell cigarettes, I feel then sell them over the
co,_~ter where there is a control so the kids don't have that access. I feel
rather strongly about it. So I guess you can sort of tell where I'm coming
from. I don't want to take anyone's livelihood away. I think that there is the
availability as Tom mentioned that the cigarette manufacturers would be more
than willing to set up a display to sell cigarettes within each of these
establishments. If it's so choosing that people want to buy them, that's up to
th~. Before my voice goes tonight, I think I'll just sort of stop right there.
I would entertain a motion.
Councilman Workman: Mr. Mayor, I would like to make a motion for what I would
call the first and final reading of an ordinance a~nding Chapter 10 of the
Chanhassen City Code by adding provisions regulating the sale of tobacco
products, specifically banning of cigarette vending machines in the City of
Chanhassen.
Councilwoman Dimler: I second that.
Councilman Boyt: I'd like to discuss it for just a mc~ent. Our vending machine
person, I didn't catch your na~ but can you tell ~ sc~ething about the resale
of vending machines?
Tc~ Briant: Mr. Mayor, Councilman Boyt. There is no resale value to a
cigarette vending machine. The machine cannot be converted for any other use.
Councilman Boyt: No, I mean the ability just to sell it to sc~.~eone else who's
selling cigarettes through it. Is there a market for those? For used cigarette
vending machines?
Tom Briant: Generally no. We have vendors who have literally semi-trailer
full loads of these used vending machines that they cannot sell either outstate
or instate so there's basically no market.
Councilman Boyt: I guess we got out too late huh? Well, I think the City
should share the financial burden here. I don't think we should cover future
losses that sc~eone would realize but I do think that the City should be
involved since typically if we were going to ~mke something, if we were going to
eliminate the possibility of doing something, we would grandfather in everything
that had it and clearly we're not going to do that tonight so I think the City
has an obligation to pay scot,thing for these vending machines. If we're
dedicated to this thing, we ought to put our dollars there. ~
17
City Council Meeting - Nove~oer 20, 1989
Mayor C%mtiel: Ted, do you own your? Is that your own vending machine that you
have? Did you purchase that yourself as you mentioned for what, $1,000.007
Ted Kor zonowski: Right.
Councilntan Boyt: Well you can see the resale value is pretty low today Ted.
Ted Korzonowski: He said grandfather. If we had a year to try to do this, if
we couldn't police our own, then I'd be willing to give the thing up.
Councilman Work.tan: Bill, I guess I'm not adverse to that. I guess I wouid
like to discuss that as a separate issue and not make it a part of this
ordinance and this motion. I do understand that liability. I would hate to
leave my position on the Cot~ncil and say yeah, I bought a cigarette machine so I
would like to look at that at the next meeting or we could disct]ss that and
figure out what that might be if in fact we have a liability. It's still a
machine that's dispensing illegal products. I'm sure that machine has paid for
itself a couple, few times a month. I'm not sure what our liability is. I'd
like to talk about it.
Councilman Boyt: I don't follow all of your argtmtent but I do follow the point.
If we could schedule this for the next meeting, I'd certainly consider that
reasonable. They're not dispensing illegal products. People are buying them
that shouldn't be buying them. Certainly the merchants have an invest~tent here
that they made in good faith and the City's taking their ability away to make
money with that and I think we certainly at least ought to look at how we
balance that out. I'd like to offer an amendment in good faith with the t~]blic
Safety Co~'mtission just to see what happens to is I guess among other things,
plus I believe in it. That we amend the motion to mean that vending ntachines
would not be allowed in uncontrolled areas. Is there a second? Well, I did it
in good faith didn't I.
Cot~nciL,~an Johnson: One thing I'd like to say before we vote is, the other way
is to start leveling $3,000.00 fines against people with vending machines that
have children buying cigarettes out of those vending machines because any
responsible person's making a profit off that machine is ready to pay the fine.
Ready to do one year in prison. That's the way I feel about it. If you want a
vending machine, you shouid be ready to do a $3,000.00 fine and 1 year in jail
because that's the maximtm~ fine and I would be right there in court telling the
judge that's what I think you sho,]ld get. If a kid cortes in here and buys
cigarettes out of your machine while your hostess is away or whatever. I think
you' re ready to do that. You said you' re ready to, you want to sell cigarettes
because you wanted that $70.0~ a month so if for any reason this gets turned
over or whatever, I'm sure it's going to pass tonight but I think we may want to
the only thing I would want to do here is give them 30 days or something.
Mayor Chmiel: It won't be effective until the issuance of a new license.
Councilwoman Dimler: Not until January of 1990.
Councilman Work.lan: Mm-. Mayor, I made my motion to be the first and final
reading of this so we may have to modify Council rules.
18
City Council Fk=eting - November 20, 1989
Mayor Chmiel: I think we would have to~
Roger Knutson: If you wanted, you could move to waive your rules.
Councilman Workman: Can we do that?
Councilman Johnson: There's no hurry if it's not effective until January 1st.
We can put it on the Consent Agenda next week or 2 weeks.
Councilman Workman: Can I make a motion with one on the floor already?
Councilman Johnson: Yeah, you'd have to.
Councilman Boyt: It probably has precedence if you're going to lay aside the
rules.
Councilman Workman: Okay, then I would ~ke a motion to suspend Council rules
to make this a first and final reading.
Councilwoman Dimler: I'll second that.
Councilman Boyt: I don't think it's a good idea. As Jay said, we have time.
By the t~ Jay, this takes a four-fifths vote.
Councilman Johnson: Yeah, I know.
CounciL-~an Boyt: And this is the kind of thing that since we do have the ti~,
why do we want to make this look like we've rushed to judgment? We haven't.
You've done a lot of work on this thing.
CounciL,~an Work, un: Nothing's going to change next week Bill. Nothing's going
to change this week so there's no reason to bring it up and muddle up the
agenda. The experts are all here this evening, as I thanked them~ before.
Without the~.~, a lot of this wouldn't have been possible and I think they're like
to see it passed tonight too.
Councilman Boyt: The first reading will pass.
Councilman Workman: First and final. I have a ~tion.
CounciL-~an Workman moved, Councilwoman Dimler seconded to suspend Council rules
to vote on a first and final reading of the City Code. All voted in favor
except CounciL-lan Boyt who opposed and the motion carried 4 to 1.
Co,.~cilman Workman moved, Councilwoman Dimler seconded to approve the first and
final reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 10 of the Chanhassen City Code by
adding provisions regulating the sale of tobacco products, specifically banning
of cigarette vending machines in the City of Chanhassen. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
19
City Co~ncil Meeting - November 20, 1989
PUBLIC HEARING: CITY CODE AMENDMENT TO CONSIDER RECYCLING PROGRAM OPTIONS:
A. REQUIRE ALL LICENSED HAULERS IN CHANHASSEN TO PROVIDE CURBSIDE COLLECTION
OF RECYCLABLES; OR
B. ESTABLISH A DIRECT BILLING SYSTEM FOR ALL CHANHASSEN RESIDENTS TO PROVIDE
WEEKLY OR BI-WEEKLY CURBSIDE RECYCLING.
Public Present:
Name Address
Victor Hallberg
Gary Lano
Keven Tritz
Mike Bet kowpeck
Uli Sacchet
411 Del Rio, Chanhassen
Chaska Sanitation
Woodlake BFI
Waste Mange~ent, Inc.
Hidden Circle
Jo Ann Olsen: As you know, the City currently has a contract with Waste
Mangement for collection of curbside recycling. The City has been funding that
program. We can no longer do that through the general funds so we've been
looking at separate options for funding recycling, to continue it. We have a
Recycling Committee now and we have looked at several options and we have
narrowed them down to the two that you just mentioned. After looking at all the
info.~.~ation, the committee has recommended that the haulers collect the
recycleables. The haulers that are licensed in Chanhassen. We do have
co~ittee me~rs here to also give information and we do have some haulers
here.
Mayor Chmiel: I'd like to have the committee me~mers, those who are wishing to
address it to come forward at this time.
Victor Hallberg: Victor Hallberg at 411 Del Rio. I serve on the Recycling
Co~ission. The key development that occurred recently was a finding frc~ the
Attorney's office that there was little enforceability to collections of
recycling bills because it could not be defined as a utility. As ec~]ivalent to
a utility in the size city that we're at, as I understood it. That meant that
the only alternative was to go to small claims co,irt which would be a costly
procedure. At which point the Co~'mission c~.~ickly concluded that asking the
haulers to pick up a~d bill for the recycleable materials was the only logical
alternative and we unanimously recommended it to you. The other issues have
been covered in a lot of different memos. I don't think we need to cover the~
at length.
Mayor Chmiel: Are there any haulers or anyone else wishing to address?
Gary Lano: I'm the owner of Chaska Sanitation, Gary Lano. We service
approximately 600 residential homes inside Chanhassen. At this time I really
feel, for a lot of the smaller haulers inside Chanhassen, it's going to be
awfully hard for ~us to go out and buy new ec~]ipment for a recycling progra~.
Recycling and garbage collection is basically two separate businesses and if the
Council and the Mayor decide to go ahead with this, our company's going to be
20
.City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
more than happy to go along with it and I'm basically here to represent the 600
residents I have here in Chanhassen. Thank you.
Kevin Tritz: Mr. Mayor, m~ers of the Council. My name is Kevin Tritz. I'm
the district manager for Woodlake BFI. I have a n~m~ber of accounts also in
Chanhassen. I guess I have no problems either way. There is several cities now
in the metro area that have licensing requir~nents for recycling as part of
doing business in those cities. There's 14 in all in the metro area. There's
23 cities in the metro area right now that have sc~e type of licensing
rec~.]ir~ent. I feel that in due time we're going to have to do it all over.
Right now it makes it a little more difficult in Chanhassen in that we're not
faced with the tipping fees like we are in Hennepin County or some of the other
co~,unities but in due time we're going to see that those tipping fees are going
to basically increase here and ~'re going to be faced with the same situation
we are in Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota counties. At that point recycling ~kes a
lot of sense for us as haulers to do. I guess if we had to do recycling
ourselves, we're prepared to do it and I have no problem with that.
Mike Berkopeck: My name is Mike Berkopeck and I 'm with Waste Mang~m~ent, the
current recycling collection hauler and we do have some residential accounts
here in the city of Chanhassen for garbage service. I think it would be, myself
and Lynn Morgan frc~ my company have been at many of the recycling cor~ittee
meetings so I think where we stand with this thing is pretty clear and quite
obviously we don't want to lose the work. We have a good contract with the City
and we'd like to keep doing that. We know what we can do and I guess we think
that that would be a good thing to continue to do. We understand that there's
sc~e problems from a billing standpoint and things like that and I think
ultimately it cc~es down to how you want to, the goal for everybody is to try
and get as much out of the waste treatment as possible and I guess we have sc~e
feelings that the contracted way may be the best way in this case. Other than
that, I guess I think on more of a technical thing is when this thing happens,
if the ordinance happens, I assume would this be the first reading of the
ordinance also?
Councilman Boyt: Hopefully.
Mike Berkopeck: Okay. If it happens that way, I guess I have some c~]estions
and concerns about the ordinance that it's not important to get into but I
assume there's a first reading and then there's opportunity for co~ent and
change? That's all I need to say. Okay, thank you.
Mayor Chmiel: Is there any one else?
Uli Sacchet: My name is Uli Sacchet. I live at Hidden Circle. As a resident I
like to stress slightly different aspect with this whole effort which I
personally very much appreciate and encourage. It seems to me that there should
be also an effort in stressing why recycling in terms of the residents. It's
basically a discussion here between the city and the haulers who's going to do
it. I don't know if there's enough awareness out there in the con~nunity and I'd
like to encouk~age you from your vantage point to stress the important of
recycling for the residents in general because it's relatively modest what's
being attempted here. I just visited my parents in Switzerland a couple of
months ago and they have to bring old medication back to the drug store to have
to put batteries in a recycling thing. They have to put aluminum foil into a
21
City Council Meeting- November 20~ 1989
different place. They have about 12 categories of recycling. It was a whole
little book to look at. A whole little brochure of how to go about it and
people take it very seriously and why? Well, it's important. Well, why is it
important? It's one way that we can preserve our environment. Healthy and it's
very...way to show we care for the environment. I don't know how much, and
that's just a little aspect of it, how much this awareness is out in the
co~unity and it should be considered as an important ele~ent in this whole
set-up. Not just is it the hauler or the city but the people have finally got
to do it or the residents. Of what I've seen in my neighborhood, there weren't
overwhelmingly many participating in that pick-up of recycleables. Just a
little idea. Thank you.
Mayor Chmiel: We have been doing this since, I'll let you address it.
Victor Hallberg: The issue of education is very close to the minds and hearts
of the me~oers of the co, mission and it's just been the issue is the ~m~ediate
issues that we've had to address first and then once we get that, we fully
expect to go into a much more broad educational program and please ask your
mother to send the booklet. If you would translate it for us, we'd be much
obliged. The other thing I wanted to comment on was the small haulers. The
cost of getting up the ec~]ilm~ent for recycling. There is options available. We
did hear several weeks ago when we had a lot of haulers at one of our cc~'mission
hearings and at that time, there is a natural obviously a conflict of interest
between large hagglers that already have geared up for recycling. For them to
subcontract through a s~aller hauler to do the recycling but in addition there
are companies out there that only do recycling. One of those representatives
was at that meeting so I think that does provide at least so~e flexibility for
the small haulers not to have to gear up and do a subcontract for the
recycleables of their customers so that gives us sc~e partial solution at least.
Mayor Chmiel: Good. Thanks. This is a public hearing. Is there anyone else
wishing to address the issue?
Councilman Johnson moved, Councilwoman Dimler seconded to close the public
hearing. All voted in favor and the motion carried. The public hearing was
closed.
Councilman Johnson: I was actually somewhat leaning the other way until we
found out that we couldn't actually make anybody pay us other than take them to
court for if the city made the collections and that kind of swayed ~ vote on
the co~nittee to go for rec~]iring the haulers. It's also very helpful to having
an independent businessm~an there who's only b~%siness was to provide recycling.
I think he does the city of Mound or whatever. So he would be the type of
person that the small hauler could subcontract to where he wouldn't be helping
out his other competition because this guy doesn't compete in the hauling
business. So there are options for the small ha,]lets where they won't have to
go out and buy a bunch of trucks.
Roger Knutson: Could I make a point of clarification? I hope you all received
by letter of Nove~oer 16th which explains how I got into it. As far you
treating this as a utility and being able to turn off the water, I think it's
pretty clear. You have a long way to grow before your city is a first class so
you can't do that. But as far as assessing the cost, ass~m~ing our recycleable
22
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
is garbage you could assess the cost as I pointed out. That has not been
tested.
Mayor Chmiel: Right.
Councilman Johnson: We could have assessed it back against the individual's
taxes?
Roger Knutson: The property owners. If sc~_~eone doesn't pay their garbage bill,
if a city garbage collection and you don't pay your garbage bill, the City can
assess that cost against the property just as it can a water bill.
Councilwc~an Dimler: Okay. After looking at all the options, I would go along
with option nu~er 2 requiring the haulers to recycle it. Especially in light
of the testimony that the haulers would be willing to comply with that. I would
reco~end removal of item (c) from Section 2 of the ordinance where it say, not
to restrict the nlm~er of haulers in our town. I guess I wanted to ask Roger
why we're not a first class. What's the criteria for first class?
Roger Knutson: There' s only Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth.
Mayor Chmiel: St. Cloud.
Councilwc~an Dimler: Is it population?
Roger Knutson: Yeah, population. I think it' s 80,000 to 100,000.
Councilwc~an Dimler: Okay. So we need to grow.
Mayor Chmiel: Maybe it's not St. Cloud if it has to be 100,000.
Councilman Boyt: Bloomington.
Roger Knutson: Are they 100,000?
Councilman Bo~vt: They're the largest city in the Minneapolis.
Councilwoman Dimler: Also, the other one I had was in Section 3, item (d) it
states that the garbage collection would be done on the same day but not
necessarily the recycleables at the same time and I was wondering why that was
because I thought one of our aims was to reduce truck traffic because it is hard
on our roads so that's 2 different trips for the same hauler.
Jo Ann Olsen: Because it will be a different truck. It can't be, recycleables
couldn't be collected along with the garbage trucks so it's two separate trucks.
Councilwc~,an Dimler: And you couldn't route th~ together?
Jo Ann Olsen: Well, they can do that but usually they come in later that day
or...
Councilwoman Dimler: Well anyway, I go back to Option 2 with the r~m~oval of
(c) from Section 2.
23
City Council Meeting - Nove~ker 20, 1989
Roger Knutson: Just an editorial co~ent. Living in Minneapolis, it's really
nice if you have everything done the same day because I have a complicated
schedule at home next to my calendar where there's some days this things happen,
some days other things happen. You've really got to keep on top of it. It's
easier if it all happens the same day.
Councilman Boyt: First I think, and I'm sure the whole Co~ncil would support
this that the committee certainly deserves and should receive our thanks for
their diligence. I know they met virtually weekly to get this done by January.
The Mayor could probably say it better but.
Mayor Clm~iel: That's alright, go ahead.
Councilman Boyt: I'll open it ~.~ by saying that I think that the City shouId be
coordinating this. I don't think it should be going through the individual
haulers so maybe a few words for the other side of that. The recycling co~mitte
meeting that I attended when both of those options still looked like they were
possibilities was evenly split. Only 4 of the committee me~kers were there.
Now a couple things about that. Why I think it's a better option. Marketing
recycleables is a challenge in itself. I understand we maybe coming out of hte
newspaper glut but that's a cyclical sort of thing and has always been and
probably will continue to be for a while. Finding a market for these is going
to be a challenge, especially for somebody who's major business is picking up
garbage, not recycling. I think there's some real efficiencies. I've got
several problems with the staff report, not least of which is when they ~]ote
the price at $1g.00 to $12.00 on a ~]arterly basis. The last time I looked, the
quarter was 3 months. The most we've ever ~]oted an~oody is $2.~ a household
per month which would be $6.00 a ~]arter.
Jo Ann Olsen: As explained in those me~os, that also included
adminstrative costs and also included containers. Purchasing containers.
Councilman Boyt: That's with weekly pick-up was $2.g~ a household per month.
Now, so there's this issue of who's going to do the marketing if we have the
individual 16 or whatever haulers do it? I agree with Ursula that we definitely
should strike item (c). What happens to new people who want to enter the
industry if we've said we're co~m~itted to only these 16 trying to get at the 4?
Maybe someone will come in with a better way of doing it. I think another
question that I have and I didn't see it in the staff report, how it would be
answered, but the County is going to be getting money from all of us through the
State and how is the Co~nty going to rei~flourse the city for this is the City
isn't spending anything? I mean all of us individually are spending something
but the City isn't spending it and you can be sure the County isn't going to
send each taxpayer $12.~g back or $3g.g0 back. They're going to want to focus
it through the City so if you've got some answers to that, or if staff does, I'd
like to know what those are. The City loses the ability to negotiate for the
best bid if we turn it over to the individual haulers. As it is now, we can
negotiate and have been fairly successful at negotiating at pretty good rate for
this. As we just heard, we're not going to be reducing the n[mfloer of trucks
when we go to individual haulers. We may even be doubling the n~er of t,~ucks
so I don't agree with the staff report that that's an advantage to the
individual hauler option. I think that the City, this is virtually a utility.
Would be if we were a big enough city. A utility should be controlled by the
city. There aren't many things that the City should be doing but basic
24
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
utilities are one of them and only the size prevents us from considering this a
basic utility. It is in fact a utility type service. There is probably a lot
of directions that the City is going to want to take with this over the years.
We can take them better if we're doing the monitoring and supervision of the
collection by being the people paying for it. My last point is, whatever we do,
whether it be option 1 or option 2, that the city staff should be directed to
w~fite a letter to our State Representatives asking them~ to spearhead legislation
to give us the right to consider recycling a utility. If the State's going to
req~ire us to do it, and they certainly have, then they should give us the power
to use it to get the job done right. That's all I've got.
Counci]m~an Johnson: Mr. Mayor, may I respond to one of Bill's there?
Mayor Chmiel: Yeah, I was going to respond to it too Jay. If you'd like to, go
ahead.
Councilman Johnson: I think the main one was what are we going to do with the
score money from the County. That's going to be used for education, containers.
Councilman Boyt: How will we get it?
Counci]m~an Johnson: How will we get it?
Councilman Boyt: Well we're not going to pay for the containers. R~ne
individual haulers are going to be bill their individual people for that, as it
stands as I read the staff report.
Jo Ann Olsen: If we have the billing, the direct billing, we would be.
Councilman Boyt: Well if we had direct billing, certainly we would but I'm
talking about option 2 where the 16 haulers are going to be doing the billing
individual. Is the City going to go ahead and buy the containers?
Jo Ann Olsen: We were still looking at that option. To go for the gran~
through the M~t Council to have 50% of that cost paid.
Council~an Boyt: Okay, that would be one item. And your sense then is that the
Cot~ty would give us money to provide for the education awareness thing that Uli
has said, and we all agree, is...
Councilman Johnson: Plus household hazardous waste. Plus white goods. Plus a
lot of other recycleables that these folks will not be able to recycle.
Mayor C?m, iel: All the other things youhave going including your leaf recycling
and many other factors too.
Councilman Boyt: Well you know, we're in here, the way this ordinance is
written now, we're going to require the individual haulers to do 16 leaf
pick-ups.
Mayor Chmiel: Yep.
Councilman Boyt: Well, the City and the County is currently doing that.
25
City Council Meeting - Nov~er 20, 1989
Jo Ann Olsen: That's mandatory anyway starting January 1, 1990 you cannot take
leaves or compost grass clippings to a landfill.
Councilman Boyt: No, but you know that the County already does that in the fall
and spt lng right?
Jo Ann Olsen: No they don't. This year ~nat they did was to let haulers know
where they could drop off leaves and grass clippings. They did not sponsor.
Councilman Boyt: What happened to those bags when we get them? Don't we get
those frc~ the city?
Jo Ann Olsen: We get those from the County.
Councilman Boyt: Doesn't the County come around and pick those up? Who picks
those up?
Jo Ann Olsen: The haulers. At least this year they did.
Councilman Boyt: Well that wasn't true last year.
Jo Ann Olsen: last year we had BFI pick up a portion of the city.
Councilman Boyt: And they carried the~ all out to the landfill, to the compost
and opened the bags and d~m~ped the leaves there?
Jo Ann Olsen: Right.
Councilman Boyt: So this year's going to be different?
Jo Ann Olsen: Yeah, it has to be taken to the compost facilities. They cannot
be mixed with garbage.
Co~mcilman Boyt: Who's picking it up this year?
Jo Ann Olsen: This year? You mean this fall?
CounciLman Boyt: Well, last year the County arranged for the pick-up.
Jo Ann Olsen: With BFI. The years before, we did it through our public works
depar tmen t.
Councilman Boyt: So who's doing it this year?
Jo Ann Olsen: Are you talking next year?
Council~an Boyt: This year. Right now.
Jo Ann Olsen: With the haulers. Carver County contacted all the haulers in
Chanhassen and said, there's a compost facility open that you can take grass
clippings, leaves to and only a few of the haulers provided that service.
Councilman Boyt: So we didn't provide that this year?
26
City Council Meeting -November 20~ 1989
Jo Ann Olsen: No~
Mayor Chmiel: Put them in your own compost pile.
Councilman Boyt: I could use more leaves by the way.
Mayor Chmiel: Everyone hear that? TV audience. Can we have your address
Bill?
Councilman Workman: ~ne reason I didn't have a whole lot of cc~m~ents is because
this is one of those issues, I don't think we're going to be fighting to make
the first and final reading. Just a lot of really to~h decisions and I too
want to say that the recycling cor~nittee has a tough job and thanks for making
it less tough for us. I guess I'm curious as to what will happen if we force
haulers in the city to go into the recycling business. I was talking to Mr.
Lano in the back row. When I think of garbage I think of Gary Lano. I grew up
with Gary Lano.
CounciL.mn Johnson: You're in rare form tonight.
Councilman Workman: Probably the best fullback the Hawks have ever had too.
That's, talk about taking a simple little machine out of somebody's ~]siness and
n~ God we're throwing their ledgers out of whack try buying one of those
recycling trucks. I would think, that's a major deal so I like the free market
idea. There's no way that we should allow only 4 haulers but gee, that's maybe
all we'll get. So that issue is confounding me a little bit. But then Bill
makes sc~e good points as far as the City having a little bit of control over
it. Receiving funding, etc. in contracting for that. While we have control
over it, I've seen in the past year that the recycling contract really, and I've
said this before, isn't a contract anyway. The way it goes up and down. Rarely
down but up and up and up and it's really not a contract at all. What was bid
really didn't ~mtter anyway I don't think. So I don't have any solutions
and I just, I don't even see where the Council's leaning.
CounciL.~an Johnson: I think what's happened to Eden Prairie, they've done this,
the rates actually didn't go up there. They will eventually and they're in
Hennepin County so their rates are a lot higher than ours but ours are going to
go up. That's one point I wanted to ~mke earlier that I didn't ~mke is that
when the Carver and Scott County composting facility gets built and all of our
garbage has to go to the Carver/Scott County composting facility, you'll see
everybody's garbage bills in this County double. Everybody better be ready to
acknowledge that and the recycling is the only way to keep that from tripling.
Right now I think this is one spot where the free enterprise syste~may work
better than goverrm.~ent trying to run a business. This is where business nmy do
it more competitively than what we will. I don't think we right now the City
needs to add more staff to run another utility. I would hope that we could do
it through the haulers with our present staff ~]t if we started doing our own,
contracting for our own, that would be another quarter of a person or half a
person to add to staff and I don't think that we need to add some personnel to
staff right now. So I'm in favor at this point of going the way the co~nittee
reco~ends.
Mayor Chmiel: So am I. Jo Ann, maybe you best explain total number of haulers
that ~ have presently picking up within the city and eventually when that
27
City Council Meeting - Nove~oer 2g, 1989
breaks down, be only 4 haulers within the city. The 16 haulers can haul from
now ~mtil eternity.
Jo Ann Olsen: Well currently there's closer to 9 or lg haulers that do pick-up
residential and the way the ordinance is written right now, yes. Whoever's
there can continue to haul in Chanhassen. If they choose to leave, then it
would p~event the~ frc~ cc~ing back in or new people from entering the city
until it's reduced to 4 o~ below 4. The whole reason that that was added into
that was to try to reduce the n~m~oer of haulers. The num~oer of trucks entering
the streets although the cou~'~ittee did want that removed. They agreed that it
should be left open. That we should limit it to 4.
Co~mcilwoman Dimler: So you're saying to remove (c) from Section 2?
Jo Ann Olsen: Right. So that option would not really be, one of the pros is
that it would be re_~oving the n~m~er of trucks on the city streets so that would
not be doing it anymore.
Councilman Johnson: One of the reasonings behind removing that is that it's a
recycling co~m~ittee and not a garbage co~m~ittee in that if we want to consider
overall garbage in the city, that should be a separate action. We tried to
separate the issues to where we didn't confound the recycling issue with an
overall garbage issue. That was my point. I was one of the people trying to
get rid of that section. I do see at some tJ_~e that it would be better, I would
love to have only one garbage truck and one recycling truck come down my street.
Now I'm sure I have at least 5. It seems like every other person on the street
has a different garbage man. I'd like to see that somehow organized but in the
timeframe we're working with, we want to get the recycling straighten out and
not try to confuse the issues with the rest of it. This is a viable thing to
look at in the future as to ~mking things more efficient in the city. Maybe
look at how the city of Champlin has their garbage collection, utility run. The
haulers got together, fot~ed a company. All the existing haulers in the city
fo~_~ed a company that became the Champlin Refuse Company or something. I'm not
sure what the name of it is and then they all had their piece of the action. As
the City grew, their business grew. }~]t it did restrict competition and there's
a lot of issues that we didn't want to get involved in this recycling issue so
we said just drop (c) and let's just do recycling right now. If we want to get
involved in those, we'll do those next year.
Mayor Ct~iel: Okay, as I was all gung ho when we started this recycling, I made
some statements at that particular time about the con~ittee. I said they were
innovative. They took the ti~e and they worked every R~]esday for hours on end.
They took all the time that was needed to really sit down and work out a
solution. I really applaud them because they really did a fantastic job. You
really did. It was sort of neat to be part of it with Jay and I both working
with you on the co~ittee. I too am~ going to go along with reco~endations of
the conm,ittee and that being that we re,_lire all licensed haulers in Chanhassen
to provide the curbside collection on those recycleables. All I've got to say
is, good show. For the rest of them as well. Any other further discussion?
Councilman Boyt: Yes. I didn't see it in the staff report but in one of the
reports to the co~-~ittee that 4 of the existing haulers said they wouldn't be
able to do this. Is that still true?
28
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
Mayor Chmiel: No, I think all of them indicated that evening that we were ~here
that they' re al 1...
Jo Ann Olsen: There was one hauler who said he would have a difficult time
doing it but actually he didn't say that it would prevent him. He actually
didn't say that he'd stop working in Chanhassen. I don't know where you saw
that there were 4.
Councilman Boyt: I don't know either. So, what you're telling me is that these
9 to 10 active haulers can all do this if we ask th~ to do it independently?
Jo Ann Olsen: They've been well informed. We've been having them involved the
whole time to get their input. None of th~ have said that we would leave
Chanhassen. They were all given the packet tonight. I can't say that for a
fact none would leave but I haven't heard that as an objection.
Councilman Boyt: And the rest of the Council's assured me that County funding
is going to be there which ever way we go there.
Jo Ann Olsen: Can I answer that a little bit?
Mayor Chmiel: If we know that they're even going to get the money.
Jo Ann Olsen: I did talk with Mike Lien about that, explaining that if we did
have the direct billing we would be able to show how much money we're spending
and if we do have the haulers because I brought up the same point that you
brought up. Because we're already having a difficult time receiving funds.
They said that we would still, what they're doing is looking at how much it
would cost if they would have to provide the 1 per month pick-up because that's
what they have to do at the very least starting in October. They still, even if
we had the direct billing, they're not guaranteeing money. We're not in any
worse position to receive ~ney or any better position to receive money. I
don't think that that should be a deciding factor.
Councilman Boyt: Alright. So it doesn't make any difference?
Jo Ann Olsen: It doesn't ~ke a difference.
CounciL,~an Boyt: And the sense is, or the sense of staff is this negotiation
issue. How do we deal with that? Are we going to do anything to help these
people find sources? I know that eventually Hennepin County's going to do that.
Is Carver County going to do that? How are we going to help these
independents?
Mayor Chmiel: For the market is what you're saying?
Councilman Boyt: If one thing will force them out of the garbage business
altogether, it's when mountains of newspapers pile up and they can't find a
place to put th~.
Mayor Chmiel: Waldorf has just expanded their facility to require, double the
a~unt that they have taken previously which means it would be very unlikely
that there's going to be another glut of paper.
29
City Council Meeting - Nov~oer 20, 1989
Councilman Boyt: Well when we go from 25% participation to 60% participation~
it will be, the newspaper will be absolutely am~azing.
Mayor Chmiel: True. Carver County is also sitting there, frc~ their standpoint
of being able to shred that and ,_Me that for animals in barns and so on as they
do the straw. So there's another back-up for that paper. To bale it as such.
Council~an Boyt: Your sense is, this isn't an issue?
Mayor Chmiel: No, I don't think so right now.
Councilman Boyt: I gather then that it would be the Council's cos~itment to
devote some staff tise to solving this problem~ if it becomes a problem?
Mayor Chmiel: I think so.
Councilman Boyt: Then my last issue, as you solve these dile~as it's of course
easier to vote for the plan that the study group recommends, is I'd like to see
something drafted so at least we have the ability to treat this as a utility if
we choose to in the future. Would the Council support the staff encouraging
that action?
Councilwoman Dimler: Do I understand this correctly, we'd have to be 100,0007
Councilman Boyt: Well right now but if Kelso and Schmitz would introduce a
state statute that would allow cities of our size to do this.
Mayor Cbm~iel: What benefit would it be for the City Bill?
Councilman Boyt: Well because then we would have, should we choose, like
Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, to collect garbage as a municipality, we'd
have the ability to do that. Right now we don't. Well, we do but it's much
more awkward.
Councilman Workman: But if people don't pay for their sewer and water bills, we
can't even turn off their water.
Councilman Boyt: Well we go through once a year where we, what do we call
that?
Roger Knutson: We certify the delinc~ent water bills to the County. I think
it's twice a year now Don is saying.
Councilwoman Dimler: DO they get assessed?
Roger Knutson: Yeah.
Councilman Boyt: It goes against their property taxes.
Roger Knutson: And if you don't pay that, you lose your property.
Don Ashworth: But if I hear Roger correctly, that hasn't really been litigated
as to whether or not picking tip recycleables could be treated as garbage and
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
therefore legally put as a delinquent collection along with property taxes~
Correct?
Councilman Johnson: But you can do it for garbage?
Roger Knutson: For garbage you can, yes.
Councilman Johnson: Our city can't.
Roger Knutson: Yes. Your city can.
Councilman Johnson: And first class cities can do it for recycleables as a
utilitv~
Roger Knutson: They're two different things we're talking about. What
Minneapolis can do is it can say, we treat collecting recycleables the sa~ way
as a utility and all our utilities under the statute can be treated as one and
one of your utilities is water. So the city of Minneapolis, when you don't pay
your garbage bill or your recycling bill, they can pick up the phone and say,
unless you pay your bill by a week frc~ tomorrow, we're turning off your water.
That gets people's attention and they usually pay it.
Mayor Chmiel: I think if we look at it from the standpoint of wanting to get
back into that business, then we can make an ordinance change in that as well.
Councilman Boyt: Well it has nothing to do with an ordinance. It's a State
Statute and if they don't give ~ the authority to do that, we can't.
Mayor Chmiel: You don't have the authority.
Co,_~cilman Boyt: Now we don't. What I'm asking is for support to seek that
authority.
CounciL, lan Johnson: I would support any legislation of that nature and I'd like
to say that if we can keep this thing moving, I'd just say I'd like to move
approval of the haulers doing it with item 2(c) removed and that the Council
support any legislative action to allow a city of our size to have recycling as
a utility.
Councilman Workman: And I second it.
Councilwoman Dimler: I think I'd rather wait to see what the legislature is
going to co~ forth and propose and then deal with that at that ti~.
Councilman Boyt: What we're trying to do is shake that legislation. Send a
signal to th~ that this is a tool that we could use.
Councilwoman Dimler: I don't know if we as a Council want to do that now. I
think as an individual if we call th~ and tell th~ the direction we wanted to
go.
Councilman Johnson: Why not? Why can't we have the sa~ rights as Minneapolis
and Bloc~ington? Sure we're a little smaller but we're just as good. We're
better.
31
City Council Ym~ting - November 20, 1989
Mayor Ctm~iel: We' re probably better.
Councilwoman Dimler: I said that earlier. We're first class.
Mayor CTm~iel: I'm not sure where it's really going. I just don't like seeing
us making some kind of a motion as such.
Councilwc~an Dimler: Just the third part of it. I like your other two parts.
Mayor C%m~iel: Yeah, I like that too but it just doesn't set well with me right
now because I don't know...
Councilwoman Dimler: We don't know what direction they're going to take.
Mayor Chmiel: And would we be satisfied with it?
Councilman Johnson: Specifically it's just as a start if any legislation that
would give us time same rights for making recycling a utility within this city.
Councilwc~an Dimler: But that's not the direction we may want to go in the
future. I'm just saying, if and when we want to go in that direction, we'll
still have that avenue available.
Councilman Johnson: Some other town might want to and I'd like to support that
town. It doesn't say we have to make it a utility. Nobody can tell us we have
to ~'mke recycling a utility. Well, they could. Actually the legislation could
say that all towns must have recycling as a utility. That could be something
that would go. I wouldn' t support that.
Mayor Chmiel: I guess I don't want to make it any more ct~ersome than it is
right now either.
Councilman Johnson: Well we'll simplify it like I said. Item (c) simplifies
it. If it's going to be co,~licated with my third part there, I'll drop that
if my second will drop that.
Councilman Workman: Yes.
Councilman Johnson: Then we'll have to do it individually.
Councilwc~an Dimler: Okay, so the motion is?
Councilman Johnson: The motion will be then to accept the co~ittee's
recommendation incl~ing the dropping of item 2(c).
Roger Knutson: That' s tine first reading?
Councilman Johnson: As a first reading.
Co~mci~an Johnson moved, Councilman Workman seconded to approve re~]iring all
licensed haulers in the City of Chanhassen to provide curbside collection of
recycleables and deleting item 2(c) from Chapter 16 of the City Code concerning
solid waste. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
32
.City Council Meeting - Nov~ber 20~ 1989
Councilman Johnson: Now somebody said they had some co~nents. Generally second
readings come up on a consent agenda. Make sure the staff gets those cor~nents
right away so that if there's something significant, there will be changes to
it, then they'll be sc~.~ething other than a consent agenda, we'll have to talk
aobut it.
victor Hallberg: Just one final co~ent. We are going to meet on a week from
tomorrow night, the Recycling Cor~.~ission so we'd certainly welcc~e sc(ne
additional input if you want to cc~e and give us sc~e input on the ordinance
itself, we can address it at that time. If anything significant cc~es up, we'll
channel it back this way. Tne second thing is that I'm personally interested in
this idea of the State mandate so I will make a call to Councilman Schmitz and
see what I can dig out of there and channel that information through the
co~ission because I think it should not be a stone left unturned at this point.
Councilman Johnson: I think most of us will be in Atlanta at the National
League of Cities Conference next week.
AWARD OF BIDS: 1989 SEWER REHABILITATION PROGRAM.
Gary Warren: The bids were opened Friday. This is the bid tabulation.
Schurcon, Inc.
0 & P Contracting, Inc.
S.M. Hentges & Sons, Inc.
F.F. Jedlicki, Inc.
J.P. Norex, Inc.
G.L. Contracting, Inc.
Engineer ' s Estimate
$117,544.00
$122,291.00
$131,160.00
$132,027.00
$138,106.66
$159,497.46
$124,984.00
We were very fortunate. I think we had a very good bidding climate. The
engineer's estimate actually had misquoted, I had said in the staff report at
$118,000.00. Actually we had an addition just before the bid documents went out
which ~]t it at $125,000.00 and as you see in the ~mterial that I just handed
out, the low bidder is Schurcon. I believe they're located in Maplewood.
$117,544.00. If you throw out G.L. Contracting who was out of the ballpark
there, the rest of th~ are grouped within an 18% range and we feel very
comfortable with the bid and also with the subcontractor list that they're
showing.
Mayor Ctm~iel: Schurcon Incorporated. Have you had any, have we had any
dealings with them previously?
Gary Warren: We haven't had any personal dealings with them. Talked with John
Horn today. He has talked to their President and vice President and apparently
they're a ~re recent corporation here in the last few years but the individuals
have extensive background in construction. They would be responsible for the
sewer repair and rebuilding portion as you would see on the subcontractors list.
visu Sewer and Solidification, whichever way they go there, I'm very experienced
with both those fir~s fr~ the testing and sealing standpoint and they're very
qualified. Similarly REO Construction.
33
City Council Meeting - Nov~er 20, 1989
Mayor Cb~iel: Other cities have used them?
Gary Warren: That' s correct.
Resolution #89-128: CounciL~an Johnson moved, Councilwoman Di~er seconded to
award the bid for the 1989 Sewer Rehabilitation Program to Schurcon, Inc. in the
amount of $117,544.00. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
REVIEW PUBLIC WORKS AUXILIARY STORAGE BUILDING DESIGN CONCEPT AND AWARD OF BIDS
FOR FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION.
Gary Warren: I guess Mt-. Mayor, based on our discussion at the last ~=eting,
staff went back to try to better define the cost estimate that we had for the
building as it was proposed. As you'll recall, the original criteria that we've
tried to stick with here is that we're going to replace the building with a
comparable sized facility that we were releasing on 82nd Street and that's
pretty much where the 54 x 88 footprint has come frc~, and that's exactly to
within 50 feet almost of what we lost at 82nd Street. Maybe to start it off
here, it is 2 separate item,s and I think we want to deal ~ith the concepts first
recognizing that we haven't prepared design plans or anything obviously so these
are cost est~ates that we're dealing with. But we did have a contractor,
Zastrow-Nasset Construction from Shorewood was willing to give us a cost
estimate and I just received this today and I'll hand this out.
Councilman Workman: Gary, I thought we were going to have our staff possibly
look at p~]tting out footings in. What happened to that idea?
Gary Warren: Our staff w~uld be the excavation w~rk.
Councilman Workman: Oh, just the excavation?
Gary Warren: Yeah, we aren't licensed masons. Basically what you're seeing in
that estimate there, there's a $5,000.00 contingency item on the bottc~_~ so
basically the best estimate from the contractor on the building as EOS put
together would be about $115,000.00 building. Jack Anderson is here tonight.
Jack's estimate was roughly $141,000.00 if I reme~oer our earlier ntm~oer on it
so a lot is going to depend on the bidding climate. I do have some overheads.
You do have in your packet here the concept of the building. There's nothing
fancy there I guess. Just to give yo,] an idea of what we're putting forward.
When we look at the cost estimate, if you want to point at areas that, if you
want to call th~ frills I guess. I don't think that's an appropriate word but
there's maybe $1g,g00.00 worth of building facilities that could be modified or
pulled out at this time. If we don't go with the cracked block face for example
which is the face of the other buildings on the site there, maybe we're talking
about $6,000.00 to $8,00~.00 worth of cost there. If we don't insulate the
building, I don't know exactly if we have a cost for that Jack. We'd have to
pull off the cap moldings basically on the walls if we ever did decide to heat
it and I think that's a minor expense to keep our options open.
Jack Anderson: I did look at...but when you start looking at that but when you
start taking out the insulation out, the building won't meet energy...so if
somebody down the road is going to heat it, you'll have to try to fill those.
34
City Co,J~cil Meeting - November 20~ 1989
Roof insulation, we' re taking out about $6,500.00. Approximately. Again, that
would have to go in also at a later date if you wanted to heat it so it'd
probably be an expense to have the insulation and block and...energy calculation
n~m~ers a~d it's a little bit better than what it has to be but not enough that
you should pull any of these items out. Again, that's the feeling...
Gary Warren: So I guess we've had nu~ers from $141,000.00 to the current
n~m~er here, $120,000.00. The bidding climate is going to be the real test I
guess as far as that's concerned. Referencing Tom's co~ment, the Public Works
would indeed do the excavation on the footings and the actual masonry work, the
concrete block work would be part of the contract which would be the second it~
here that we'll be looking at in a minute so we are trying to save money I guess
where we can. There's no floor slab proposed for this building. There's no
pl~m~ing proposed for the building except for outside roof scuppers. We have
set the building elevation at such a grade so that if it were to be hooked into
the sanita.~y sewer, it can be done. ~nat's not in this element. So I guess
we're looking for your direction recognizing that it's kind of, estimates are
estimates I guess but...
Mayor Chmiel: Can I ask a ~]estion on the mechanical and electrical allowance?
Gary Warren: Certainly.
Mayor Chmiel: $11,500.00.
Jack Anderson: Do you want to know the breakdown roughly? Well, we've got
exhaust and intake fans and approximately $3,500.00 in electrical lighting and
power. $3,000.00 of...which ~y or may not have to happen. It would be
$3,500.00 and then we've got... I think $11,000.00 we figured $10,000.00 and I
think they have $11,500.00...they've bumped that up a little bit.
Mayor Chmiel: Are there contingencies on each one of the costs all the way
through here?
Jack Anderson: I'm sorry, the $11,500.00 on the estimate from Zastrow-Nasset
includes overhead profit in it. Our $10,000.00, that's included after.
Gary Warren: That' s 20%.
Jack Anderson: So you're looking at two different estimates in the w-ay they
were put together.
Gary Warren: Our estimate would have been $12,000.00 with the contingencies or
with the general conditions and overhead on it.
Jack Anderson: Would have been about $12,000.00, yes. The 400 foot service
...that we can get NSP to put a transformer back there, that will reduce that
cost a lot. Bring it down ~]ite a bit. But as the building stands now, we'd
have to go ~]ite a distance for that.
Mayor Chmiel: Any discussion or questions?
Council,an Workman: Is this si~ly a review which doesn't require us to take
any action here?
35
City Council Meeting - Nove~floer 20, 1989
Gary Warren: We're looking for some direction so that plans and specs could be
prepared from this point forward I guess with that input. If it's a cost
criteria or any other criteria that you w~ant us to shoot for I guess. Whatever
you can give us.
Mayor Chmiel: Total estimated of Phase 1 and phase 2 of $120,000.00 I still
think that's darn high. I really do.
Gary Warren: So you believe the bids would actually reflect the lower cost for
what we're asking?
Councilman Boyt: What did we sell it for?
Mayor Chmiel: A hundred.
Councilman Boyt: I'd say it's a bargain. Get a brand new building for
$21,000.00 if it ca~e in at this.
Mayor Chmiel: I had some work done on this by a couple civils and this is high.
Fran~ the prices I was told.
Councilman Boyt: The bids should certainly verify that. I'm just saying that
even at this it's a deal. We've moved it so we're more centrally oriented.
Mayor C[m'~iel: Right, I agree with that.
Councilu~an Boyt: Ail those things we talked about when we sold the property.
Mayor Clm~iel: Yep. Time saving and everything else.
Councilman Boyt: And I hope you're right. I hope it comes in at $100,00~.00 or
sc~ething.
Councilman Johnson: Did your civils have txhe design standards rec~_]ired in our
business part about the brick and all that other stuff that runs the price up on
this?
Councilman Boyt: Well, I'd move approval.
Councilwo~an Dimler: Approval of what?
Councilman Boyt: Well we've got approval of the design concept and rec~est bids
for the foundation construction.
Gary Warren: I've got the bid here. That ~uld be separate so we just right
now are dealing with basically the concept.
Councilman Boyt: I move approval of the building design concept.
Councilman Johnson: Second.
36
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
Counci/man Boyt moved, Councilman Johnson seconded to approve the building
design concept for the Public Works Auxiliary Storage building. All voted in
favor and the motion carried.
Gary Warren: The second ele~ent, I have another handout and I hope we' 11
eventually get away frc~ these Friday openings before Council meetings but, we
solicited c}_]otes for the foundation work from DayCo and other local firms.
Partly reflecting the busy construction...we got one quote. Even our local
DayCo didn't choose to big on the project. They just didn't have time to get to
it. But fortunately the bid which is shown on the back of that thing is a low
bid of $13,055.00 is below our estimate for the foundation work as well as
you'll see in the Zastrow quote there. They were quoting about $15,000.00 plus
for the work. Wachholz Masonry is a reputable firm from Waconia. They gave us
soe~e quotes on our earlier facility and we had bid an alternate just in case it
was over $15,000.00 but I believe that it's a responsible bid. We'd like to
have mo~e than one but in this case, recognizing the dollar amount and it's
within the two check points that we have, I feel comfortable in recoem~ending
award to Wachholz Masonry.
Councilman Johnson: So moved.
CounciL,~an Boyt: What about waiting? I'll second it ~lt what about waiting
until the bid cl~mte is more favorable? We know in all likelihood it will be
this winter.
Jack Anderson: It appears that we do have a good bid here for one thing. We're
talking about a fairly small portion of the job. If we went through this
process...it worked out kind of nice for spring because then when all the rest
of the building is ready to go, they don't have to wait for the frost to come
out of the ground. What you might gain with a better climate for this small
portion of the job by waiting, you're going to lose by having them have to wait
in the spring for the frost to come out of the ground.
Counci]_,~an Boyt: So you think the bids for the rest of the building will be
better?
Jack Anderson: I think ultimately it will be better knowing it's the first job
out there. We're going to probably get, I think last time on the public works
addition we had like 20 bidders. The first thing in the spring they can coe~e
right out and it's ready.
Gary Warren: It's a clean job plus they're able to order steel during the
winter months when typically that's not as busy and they've got a lot more
control over the project site and their destiny's.
CounciL-lan Johnson: When everybody else gets their frost out of the ground and
gets the masonry in, we'll be ahead of that. That makes a little sense there.
As I watched them~ build houses in the winter behind n~ a few years back, I don't
like to see ~ putting in masonry in the winter.
Mayor Chmiel: Yeah, I agree. Any further discussion? Tom? Ursula?
Councilman Workman: Are we approving this bid then?
37
City Council Meeting - Nove~J~er 2g, 1989
Gary Warren: That's right.
Councilwoman Dimler: I don't like having just one choice but if that's all
we've got.
Gary Warren: I think we all wouid like more but I think we're comfortable.
Jack Anderson: We called everybody who was on it before. There were about 8
bidders and we got 4 of them didn't want to bid it. They were so busy and...we
thought we were going to get 4 bids.
Councilman Johnson: Everybody's trying to get something in the ground right
now.
Gary Warren: It's a little bit different than say our north side parking lot
project where we had a lot to gain and as we did we gained $6g,0gg.gg I believe
the n~l~floer was in that case. Here I think we have...
Councilwoman Dimler: $2,090.g0 or so?
Gary Warren: Yeah, if that. I really think from our estimates that it's
reasonable plus I think we have more to gain on the ultimate bid of the building
that would compensate for anything, for fluff if there even is that.
Resolution #89-129: Councilman Johnson moved, Councilman Boyt seconded to award
the bid for the foundation work on hhe ~blic Works Auxiliary Storage Building
to Wachholz Mansonry, Inc. in the amount of $13,055.0~. All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
MARKET SQUARE LOCATED AT THE SOUTWWEST CORNER OF MARKET BOULEVARD AND WEST 78TH
STREET:
A. PRELIMINARY PLAT APPROVAL.
B. VACATION OF A PORTION OF WEST 78TH STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY.
Councilman Boyt: I move approval. Does anybody have problems with this?
CounciL,~an Workman: What about the bus?
Councilman Boyt: That's taken care of.
Jo Ann Olsen: We've got a condition in there that we will work with them to
design, to have the~ pull off.
Gary Warren: I did track down the MTC standards for bus acceleration,
deceleration lanes and it is about 520 feet of length to accommodate a 10 foot
inversion.
Councilman Workman: Would they rather have half of that or none at all?
38
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
Gary Warren: They don't like thsm at all from my understanding just because
have to fight to get back into traffic and such which is a hazard. That's
another safety.
Mayor Chmiel: One question I have is regarding the sidewalk which would be
located on West 78th Street will not be within the right-of-way but will be
acco~odated by a sidewalk and trail easement. Why do we need both?
Jo Ann Olsen: It's just a trail easement.
Mayor Chmiel: One or the other?
Council~an Johnson: It should be or.
Counci]_-~an Boyt: It's the same piece of property.
Mayor Chmiel: It should have said then, by a sidewalk or trail easement?
Jo Ann Olsen: Sure.
Roger Knutson: Sidewalk/trail easement.
Councilman Boyt moved, Councilman Johnson seconded to approve Preliminary Plat
for Market Sca]are as shown on the plat dated "October 31, 1989" with the
following conditions:
1. ~ltlot A shall not be developed until it is replatted.
2. The final plat shall reflect the utility and drainage easements for existing
and proposed city sewer and water lines over the site.
3. The preliminary plat shall be amended to provide the following:
a. Show the 40 foot wide right-of-way along the south half of West 78th
Street.
b. A 30 foot wide drainage and utility easement shall be dedicated over the
south 30 feet of the east 360 feet of Lot 1, Block 1.
c. A 10 foot wide utility and drainage easement shall be dedicated around
the perimeter of the plat.
d. The preliminary plat shall be amended to show additional right-of-way
on Market Boulevard to accommodate the city sidewalk and a bus turn-off
as approved by the City and Southwest M~tro Transit Adminstrator.
e. A trail eas~m~ent shall be provided accommodating the trail/sidewalk
along West 78th Street.
f. Cross access/pa~king and utility eas~ents over all parcels in favor of
all parcels.
39
City Council Meeting Nove~oer 20~ 1989
4. The landscaping plan shall be revised to acco~odate additional right-of-way
and the bus shelter on Market Boulevard.
5. Final plat subject to all conditions of PUD approval.
Ail voted in favor and the motion carried.
Resolution #89-130: Councilman Boyt moved, Councilman Johnson seconded to
approve the Vacation #89-8 to vacate a portion of West 78th Street and maintain
a 40 foot right-of-way along the southerly half of West 78th Street for the
Market Sc~_]are plat with the following conditions:
1. A trail easement shall be provided acco~m~odating the trail and sidewalk
along West 78th Street.
2. Final plat approval for Market S~]are.
Ail voted in favor and the motion carried.
ERSBO ADDITION, FAST OF POWERS BOULEVARD JUST SOUTH OF LAKE LUCY ROAD:
A. PRELIMINARY PLAT TO SUBDIVIDE 5.~6 ACRES INTO 7 SINGLE FAMILY LOTS.
Bo WETLAND ALTERATION PERMIT REQUEST TO DEVELOP WITHIN 290 FEET OF A CLASS A
WETLAND.
Paul Krauss: The applicant's rec~.lesting to subdivide a 5 acre parcel into 7
lots. One lot with 92,g~0 sca]are feet which is the large ho~e site located on
the right side of that illustration would contain an existing home and the
remaining 6 lots would be available for new construction. Last year the City
approved a s,]bdivision of this parcel into 5 lots for the same applicant. The
plat was filed and is listed on the plat map. However, the improvements were
never installed. The applicant has stated that he's unable to proceed with the
development of that plat prJ_~,arily due to development costs and the need to
distribute it over 5 lots rather than, or excuse me 4 new lots instead of 6 and
of course it must be noted that the current plat does yield 2 additional lots
over the original proposal. Staff generally supports the proposal. We worked
with the developer to revise the plans which resulted only minor modifications
were recruited. Access and a related variance were really the only significant
issues surrounding this plat. The original plat utilized a 50 foot wide
right-of-way along the west side of the property to provide access and then
brought in a cul-de-sac off of that. The result of that was that the existing
house site over there had frontage on a future street and did not rec~ire a
variance. We took a look at that road design and came up with sc~_.~e significant
problems with it. The property located just to the west of the Ersbo Addition
contains a large protected wetland. The location of the wetland is such that
construction in that road would probably cause sc~e filling into it and it's a
Class A wetland. We also looked at the extension of the road that was
illustrated further to the east to pick up these lots over here. We saw some
problem,s with that as well in that there's a hc~e located on this lot which
would be only 15 feet fro~'L the street. If in fact a road was built in this
manner, you would have a bunch of double frontage hc~e sites and the backyards
would back onto a major street which is not an optimal design. There was a
4~
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
further, problem with the road extension on the west side of the property in that
we couldn't figure out who it would serve. It can only have homesites on one
side and it wasn't clear where it would go as it continued further to the south.
Consec~]ently, we went with the, well we support the applicant's current design.
We took a look at overall access into the surrounding area. What we think might
happen in the long term is that right now the MUSA line is the property line of
the Ersbo Addition. It runs down there. At such time as the MUSA line is moved
out to the west, and if this property is developed, we think it's possible to
bring a road down from Lake Lucy coming back up...Ersbo Addition and coming back
out to Powers Blvd. and that's probably the better way to sel~e that area in the
future. One of the problems that results from the plat that's being proposed.
Councilman Boyt: Before you move that, I've got so~e questions about that one.
Your proposed road, is it running across a wetland there? What is that light
colored area? Is that trees?
Paul Krauss: There's a drainage. The wetland itself is right ilo in here.
There's a ditch that outlets the wetland out to the south. It's not the wetland
property. It's a drainage feature that you have to cross.
Councilman Workman: That's lake Lucy?
Mayor CTm~iel: No, lake Lucy Road.
Paul Krauss: Lake Lucy Road is...
Councilman Work.mn: But what's the wetland in there? That's the pond?
Paul Krauss: This is the wetlands.
Gary Warren: I believe that outlets to the north. The inlet is what it would
be crossing.
Councilman Boyt: What's the terrain like in there? Is that really, I mean Gary
is that a realistic place to put a road? It looks like they going up and down
so~e steep grades there.
Paul Krauss: Actually these are our new aerial topos.
Gary Warren: When we had looked at the original plat when Ersbo ca~e in, that's
where we came ~ with the concept of trying to service him off of Lake Lucy Road
and we didn't extensively look at this because we didn't have the topo
available. There's no question that you've got some ilo and down there. I
haven't detailed study the magnitude of what kind of earth work would have to be
done but there would be some involved.
CounciL, lan Boyt: Okay. Well those are n~ questions about that.
Paul Krauss: What we have resulting though from the plat that's being proposed
is that there is a variance for Lot 2 in that it's entire frontage is I believe
the, is it 30 feet along Lake Lucy. It's basically a neck lot. Staff supports
the proposal. We think it makes so, e sense due to area topography and from an
environmental standpoint in that we think it will in the long term provide
better protection for the wetland. We also think that it makes more sense in
41
City Council Meeting - Nov~'~er 20, 1989
the long run for overall access. Therefore we are reco~ending approval of that
variance. We also go back to so~..~ething that we've discussed several times
previously is that there's an anomoly in the ordinance in that the subdivision
code allows these types of lots to exist while the RSF district does not. We've
currently scheduled a review by the Planning Commission of an ordinance
amendment to propose a way to address that. The Planning Co~m~ission reviewed
the proposal at their last meeting and reconmended approval of it. One of their
concerns however, and it's a valid one, was a desire to reduce the n~m~er of
curb cuts on Lake Lucy Road. One of the things that they had proposed looking
at was methods of taking the private driveway and bringing it into the
cul-de-sac so it would enter onto the cul-de-sac rather than on Lake Lucy. We
took a look at that and it's impossible to do but it's quite difficult. The
grades are such that you have 12 foot drops coming in off that existing home and
since we really didn't think it was all that effective an idea, the Planning
Co~mission recc~ended approval of it in the way in which you see it tonight.
We also would like to add a condition that we discussed at the Planning
Co~ission and that is that the street name be changed to Arlington Court South.
We had a long discussion with the Fire Marshall in terms of what's the most
easily identifiable street if you're on an smergency services run and came up
with the answer that it would be best if there was one Arlington in the city and
it was both sides of the same intersection and that way they know where to go.
They have a localized area for their service calls. Sc~eday we may have 3~ or
40g cul-de-sacs in this city. If everyone of them has a different name, it's
going to be a nightmare to navigate around. With that we are reco~ending
approval of the subdivision with the variance. There's also a wetland
alteration permit and that one's a little c~.]irky too in that the reason for
having the wetland alteration permit is that the activity that will take place
on this plat is within 200 foot of the Class A wetland. In point of fact,
nothing will be done into the wetland besides outletting a drainage pipe from
this project and this particular plat has less of an impact on the wetland than
the original plat did. We are, Jo Ann and I are taking a look at the wetlands
ordinance in total and will probably be bringing something to you in the next
few months on that but we are reco~m~ending approval of the wetland alteration
permit for this project as proposed.
Mayor C%m~iel: Is Mr. D~sbo here?
Roman Roos: Good evening. I just took my cigarettes and ~]t them in the
bathroc~. After this evening I don't think I might ever smoke again. I do have
Richard Ersbo here this evening and he and I will address any c~]estions you
might have. We have as of the previous meeting with the Planning Co~mission,
made the changes that Planning Cou~ission and staff recoumended. We have
changed the name of the cul-de-sac. We've changed the sewer size of course up
to an 8 inch pretty much as the Planning Co~ission wanted. Ended up with a
fire hydrant inside the cul-de-sac and of course a potential loop for the
watermain going between lots 2 and 3 and I guess staff's report is pretty
comprehensive. The Planning Co~,ission's review you have before you so we're
here to answer any c~]estions you might have on this particular site.
Councilman Johnson: And for the record who are you?
Rc~an Roos: Is this for the public record? My name is Roman Roos with Rome
Corporation.
42
City Council Meeting - Norther 20~ 1989
Councilman Johnson: My only discussion is, I liked it. Staff's done a good job
working with the applicant and we've i~oroved a plat here. I think putting a
driveway through that little subdivision w~uld be more of a problem than having
it loop around the edge of it. I lived with a driveway behind me going back to
Kerber's farm for about 4 years before he ended up having to sell out for tax
reasons I guess and it really wasn't much of a problem. I think cutting through
to the cul-de-sac with a driveway would be far more of a problem. Having a
driveway between 2 people's lawns. There's not that many cars. The name of the
street I think should be exactly the same as what it is on the other side. If
it's Arlington Court, I like we just call it Arlington Court because they'll
have. Why South? It's not on the south side of town. Is the other one
Arlington Court North? If the other one's Arlington Court North, we could call
this one South. Just Arlington Court. It will have different street numbers.
You'll have lower street nuzzlers to the south than they have to the north or
vice versa.
Councilwoman Dimler: What did you call it? Did you name it already?
Rc~an Roos: No, we're in the process. We're going to change it to...
Mayor Chmiel: It will be south of Lake Lucy Road is basically what they're
saying.
Councilwc~an Dimler: I guess are we approving the 15 conditions and I had the
other 2 down there and that was exactly what it was to call Eagle Circle
Arlington Court South I had but it doesn't matter to ~. But I wonder, does
condition 17 have to be the fire hydrant located at the end of the cul-de-sac
with a 10 foot clear radius around the hydrant. Does that have to be specified?
Paul Krauss: We got it down to 7 conditions.
Councilwoman Dimler: Oh, where are you?
Paul K~auss: It was intially quite a bit longer but the plan was amended before
you got to see it so it's on page 8 and 9 of the staff report.
Council~mn Workman: Tnat was the Planning Commission right?
Councilman Johnson: Five conditions for wetland alteration permit and 7 for the
plat.
Councilman Workman: Tne Planning Cc~ission didn't make any changes then?
Ro~lan Roos: No.
Gary Warren: To answer that c~]estion another way, plans and specs review would
also look at that.
Mayor Chmiel: Any other discussion? Bill, you've got something?
Councilman Boyt: Sure. Tc~n, you've got something?
Councilman Workman: I was just going to ask Paul, I'm not clear as far as what
we're going to be doing. He said that the cul-de-sac will affect the wetland?
43
City Council Meeting - Nove~'~er 2g, 1989
Paul K3~auss: No. The cul-de-sac won't directly. The alteration permit is
beca,_%se it's going to be grading activity within 290 feet of it. We'll make
sure that there's erosion control but the only physical thing that's going to
happen in the wetland is that there's a storm...outlet into a corner of the
wetland.
Councilman Work~'~an: I thought you said it was going to fill some of it?
Paul Krauss: No. The original plan had a potential for doing that.
Roman Roos: Tom, that's a blacktop road r~ming along that western front of the
property. We'll be putting a Type III erosion control barrier all the way along
the inside edge of that road if you will which would totally preclude anything
going into the wetland area. But the holding pond he's talking about on the
drainage plan that I think you have a reduced size there, there is a holding
pond that's going to pick up the retainage surface water runoff of this site
along Lake Lucy Road and of course r~n ~_~nderneath a culvert underneath Lake
Lucy, the cul-de-sac c~ing in and then along across to the holding pond. Then
from the holding pond, then into the wetland areas so it's a settle~ent,
basically a settlement pond.
Gary Warren: If the alternate road concept here that Paul has volunteered would
co~e to pass sometime in the future, it might be appropriate since the real
interest even in the first submittals here was to try to minimize the curbcuts
on Lake Lucy Road. It might be appropriate to have a condition that if that
road does materialize, that the c~'rent hc~e be rec~.]ired to connect to that road
and that this connection to Lake Lucy Road then would be abandoned. I think
it'd be a more direct access to that property anyway.
Mayor Cbmiel: Do you have any concerns about that?
Roman Roos: Again, Dick I'll refer that to you. We do have, it's a blacktop
paved driveway at this point in time on that easement on the west hand side.
Dick, what about that?
Dick Ersbo: I'm Dick Ersbo. I'm the owner. The blacktop road going down the
side is going to be a private road and n[m~oer 2 block, where my house is, it's
not going to be touched. It'd not going to be developed. I'm only interested
in the front to get developed. I'm only interested in getting a little tax
relief and I'm tired of _being a caretaker. Right now this is the third time
this was going to be approved. It's been approved twice before and we've got it
the best right now and the way we got that thing set up with the cul-de-sac,
facing these h~,~es. The way it was before, the back of the homes would be
facing Lucy Lake Road which would be terrible driving down Lucy Lake. This way
it's going to look nice.
Councilman Johnson: Dick, the question is, you see the green line going from
Powers down around your house and back over to Lake Lucy. That's a potential
future road.
Gary Warren: We're not going to...with this at all. I'm just saying if that
doesn't, the driveway and this house sweeps around and actually is on the south
side of the house isn't it? So I'm just saying, if indeed this materializes,
44
City Council Meeting - Nov~nber 201 1989
and who knows. That's going to take some doing too but the interest in doing a
road of this nature and our initial review of the plat and we're trying to get
the access in here was to eliminate this.
Dick Ersbo: That has nothing to do with me. It's not even going to be on our
property.
Roman Roos: ...if that green line becomes a road in the future, they'd like to
consider the possibility of that blacktop driveway being wiped out.
Dick Ersbo: Heck, I'll give them the blacktop driveway if you want to maintain
it.
Councilman Johnson: We don' t want the blacktop driveway.
Dick Ersbo: I'll give it to you. I can see where Lucy Lake is up in the red
there and, that's no problem I don't think. As far as I'm concerned it isn't.
Roman Roos: Gary, probably the biggest concern would be the elevation change.
Dick Ersbo: What you've got to understand is where my house is and where those
lots are in front there, you've got what is it? About a 25 feet raising that's
a~ost ~possible with those other 2 council guys, well the Planning Cc~ission.
The ones before was talking about putting another round cul-de-sac in there.
Well, you'd be better off putting a ski jump in there. %~nis is the only
practical way that this will work and it's better looking. I'm not a
professional developer and a lot of these things I'm learning from just by doing
things like this.
Councilman Johnson: What we're saying is some time in the future, years from
now. Who knows when. It could be next month. Who knows. Somebody's going to
want to develop so~.~e other property and this green line may become a road
running right next to your property.
Dick Ersbo: Heck, as far as I'm concerned, it's okay. They can take it.
Councilman Johnson: Okay, what we want to do is ~mke a condition because the
less amount of roads that go onto Lake Lucy, the safer Lake Lucy is. So what
we'd like to do is make a condition that if that road is built, that you would
connect your driveway onto this new green road versus going out your private
drive to Lake Lucy.
Dick Ersbo: That'd be fine but if you go over and look at where that blacktop
road is, you'll see that you've got a big probl~ there and it's not going to be
feasible.
Council~an Johnson: You mean where that green line is?
Dick Ersbo: Because of the hill there.
Councilman Johnson: It may not ever be feasible.
Dick Ersbo: Well, if you want to think long enough. Get about a thousand
trucks out there to take that dirt away.
45
City Council M~eting - November 20~ 1989
Gary Warren: It will all depend on what the road grade is. There may be enough
challenge to...
Dick Ersbo: I've got no objections later on but right now I'm not going to
develop that back part there.
Councilman Johnson: Do you own that too?
Dick Ersbo: Yes. I own that.
Council~an Johnson: To the south?
Dick Ersbo: I own the home there. That's where I live.
Councilman Johnson: No, further south.
Dick Ersbo: No, I don't own that. That's Kerbers.
Mayor Chmiel: Larry owns that to the south.
Gary Warren: He owns to the south along Powers Blvd. but I don't think...
Paul Krauss: Actually I think it's Ortenblat.
Councilman Johnson: I don't think he's in any great hurry to develop that
property to tell you the truth. I don't see a problem there. I think that has
answered my c~_~estion.
Mayor Chmiel: Okay. Any other further disc~msion?
Councilman Boyt: Yes. How wide is the blacktop now?
Dick Ersbo: It's got to be about 18 foot wide roughly.
Council~an Boyt: It's my understanding that 3 houses can access off a private
drive?
Paul Krauss: The subdivision code I believe says 4.
Councilman Boyt: Four? Do we need any additional right-of-way if 4, are we
going to be satisfied with 4 houses accessing off an 18 foot piece of asphalt?
If they came in with 3 more houses that they were going to use for ~natever
reason?
Gary Warren: If he'd f~]rther subdivide Block 2?
Councilman Boyt: Yes. I know it's never going to happen and all this sort of
thing but if it did, conceiveably 4 houses could access off this private drive.
Gary Warren: I think there's a 30 foot right-of-way.
Paul Krauss: Could we approach that a little differently though? Right now the
ordinance does say, there's that ano3~aly and it does require a variance to get
46
City Co,.uncil Meeting - November 20~ 1989
any of these. We' re going to bring you a comprehensive change in the Code that
looks at the entire issue of how to access lots such as this. I don't know what
the n~m~er will be on how many we would propose you allow but there certainly
would be road design standards that would be required if these things were
allowed to occur. For example, if you have more than one house on a private
driveway, it should be paved to a width of 18 feet so you can get a fire truck
down it. ~]ilt to a 7 ton design. ~nose are the kind of things we'll be
bringing up in this ordinance proposal.
Councilman Boyt: Okay, well that's good but we don't have it so my question is,
is 18 feet wide enough? I know it is for your current needs and I'm not
proposing that you go out and pave it to 24 feet tomorrow. I'm simply saying
that for the City's, frc~ the City's standpoint, are we protected? Are we going
to be able to have a sufficient road here if for sc~e reason it would have 4
houses on the end of it or do we need sc~e easement that we don't now have?
Gary Warren: As you're well aware, our standard right-of-way is 50 in the urban
area with curb and gutter. If you would allow this to subdivide, and I think
the land would be in question whether it would even allow that with the
topography there but if you would give th~ a rural section. I mean a rural
standard is 60 foot right-of-way with a 24 foot paved surface. I would say that
it would be pretty reasonable. That he's very close. I think within the 30
foot right-of-way you could do a private drive that would access the property
reasonably.
Councilman Boyt: I'm just thinking of the situation we have off Frontier Trail
there where Brad put in those houses. Now I have a c~]estion for staff. When
you discussed flag lots, one of the c~]estions that I have about flag lots is
where are your setbacks? Where do you measure th~ from? That's not clear in
the ordinance right now. We don't have flag lots now so we don't need it.
Paul Krauss: That's another thing that we would have to address.
CounciL,~an Boyt: I think when you're looking at that, figure the answer out to
that one. Do we have, I haven't seen this or I haven't gone out and walked this
particula~ piece of property but generally aren't there trees in this area?
Rc~an Roos: Actually there's two co~ents. You can see the topo here and the
lines get narrow and it's a pretty severe grade. Okay? This basically is
cc~ing to a hilltop in this area. This grade comes around and...so that
addresses your first ~estion. The probability of subdividing this downstream
is...but we do have a 30 foot access which I think we can meet.
Councilman Boyt: That's covered. Let's talk trees.
Rc~an Roos: Okay, as you walk up this tree line, this is a fairly open area
with no trees on it. As you get about halfway up this hill, you'll start seeing
the treeline coming at it. That was addressed at the Planning Con~ission and
one of the criteria was that we would take staff out there to try to create a no
build type line on that hillside so I think that's the way we brought it in.
But there's no trees down here whatsoever. It's just on the hillside.
Councilman Boyt: Right which is where you're putting your cul-de-sac and
several houses.
47
City Council Meeting ' November 2g, 1989
Paul KI-auss: Co~mcilman Boyt, we did look at that and there's no c~.]estion there
are sc~e trees that are going to be lost as a result of this. However, the
grading rec~_]ire~Lents of this plat are pretty similar to the grading rec~_]irements
of the approved plat. That hill is being cut back to about the sa~e point as it
was on the original proposal.
Councilman Boyt: Since the original proposal came in I think we've developed a
little bit better sense of what we want to do with trees. I referenced here to
just 2 weeks ago when we went through this and so~e of the things you had in
there you don't have here. I'm just a little curious why we don't have the~. I
think that one of the things, certainly when you do this review with staff, that
all the trees that are going to be saved have to be staked off at the drip line
prior to grading.
Roman Roos: Bill, I understand your concern with trees and I surely am one as
you know frc~, ~ last one...so I can relate to the cause for trees. ~nen yogi
take a site of this nature with the topography we've got on that site and make
it useable and marketable, which is what development is all about, either for
the private individual or for the developer, there is a point where you have to
draw a line where sc~e trees have to go.
Councilman Boyt: Right. I understand that.
Roman Roos: This hillside is extremely and we're willing to work with staff but
there's got to be some reasonable, we're cutting part of that hill away
naturally as you can see on the grading plan that you've got a copy of Bill so
we do have to shift that line somewhat.
Councilman Boyt: Well I'm not saying you can't cut any trees down Roman. What
I'm saying is when you decide what trees you're going to save, let's be sure
they're saved. The other thing that I liked and we put in this development a
few weeks ago was a situation about tree replace~ent. When you reprove trees I
believe that was 10 inches. You were going to look at replacing. I think we
should have cc~parable sorts of language in all o~r proposals. That's city
ordinance. I'm talking about when you re~ove trees Roman that you should ~e
replacing them. Now you don't have to replace th~ caliper inch for caliper
inch. Not only would that be ~possible, it would be extremely expensive but I
think you have to replace them not with a cc~parable size tree but with trees
that amount to a comparable caliper inches when you divide them out. I think I
would like to encourage staff when they do this tree review to be particularly
careful to note trees that are 2g inches or greater in diameter.
Dick Ersbo: No more trees will be cut down than is necessary.
Councilman Boyt: I appreciate that but if I had a dollar for every time I've
heard it, I wouldn't have to do this.
Roman Roos: On the...which is the entrance if you will, we will do some tree...
so I know your point and like I said, I've been on both sides of the table. I
know what you're saying. Again, to make this ~mrketable, we're going to be
doing sc~e landscaping on it Bill and we'll work with staff as best we can but
we are going to have to take some trees. I don't know if there will be anything
of that size...
48
City Co~cil M~eting - November 20, 1989
Councilman Boyt: I'm not telling you, I don't think the Council even if I
wanted to, tell you you can't cut trees. Yes, you can cut down trees. I'm
saying that these trees represent investment in the whole co~nunity. You own
them but the co~nity benefits from them.
Dick Ersbo: Cutting the trees down will cut down the beauty of this property.
I don't want to cut these trees down unless it's a necessity.
Councilman Boyt: I would propose two conditions be added to the list. One of
them I think you agree with completely and that's staking off the trees at the
drip line that are to be saved. The second one, I don't know what the council
feels about this but I think anything over 10 inches should be replaced by other
trees. Not meaning they have to be equal caliper inch. The total caliper
inches need to add up to that same thing. That's what we put in there 2 weeks
ago I believe with that one. The earlier proposal and I think it should be in
this one. What's the sense of the Council on those?
Councilman Johnson: I'd say 6 inches maybe rather than 10.
Mayor Chmiel: Where will those trees get put once they get cut? Who's
determination where they go?
Councilman Boyt: I think the developer can determine where they go and I'm sure
the developer will put them where they' 11 be most advantageous to the
homeowner s.
Paul K~auss: The front 4 lots will have no vegetation on them~ at all. In fact
they are attempting to build a little bit of a berm between the lot and Lake
Lucy so some of the trees could certainly go up in that area.
Roman Roos: I think our next step will be to work up an overall landscape...
Bill I read you loud and clear.
Councilman Boyt: I think the DNR Forester will come out and tell you which
trees won't make it and suggest all kinds of things like that. Usually we put
in the DNR forester should work with you in developing a plan.
Mayor Ctm~iel: Any other further discussion?
Councilman Johnson: I ' 11 move with Bill ' s two additions.
CounciL, lan Workman: Second.
CounciL,~an Johnson: And the third addition from staff on the access for the
future road and what are you waving for?
Paul Krauss: Street name.
Councilman Johnson: Street name to Arlington Court.
Councilman Workman: South?
49
City Council l~eting - Nove~_~oer 20~ 1989
Councilman Johnson: I don't care. Why have it different than the one on the
other side of the street?
Councilman Boyt: Why don't we let the fire marshall decide.
Councilman Johnson: Yeah. If the fire marshall wants to call it south. I
think anything south of TH 5 is south.
Councilman Workman: I wanted to ask Roman why he wanted Eagle.
Councilman Johnson: Because he likes the crackers.
Mayor Chmiel: Because he doesn't want to be with turkeys like us.
Councilman Workman: He's got an eagle fettish.
Roman Roos: Could I make just a conm~ent on your motion? Or your amendment to
the motion? Is that in order Mr. Mayor?
Mayor Ct~iel: If you can understand what our motion is, you can respond to
that.
Roman Roos: In regards to the proposed green road in the future. We have spent
quite a lot on that blacktop road coming in right now and of course I would
think, I ,~nderstand what staff is trying to do in tel~s of curb cuts on
Lake Lucy but at the same token, if you notice the length of that driveway~
there's a tIemendous expense at this point in time and for him to have to negate
that road or recut a new road down if it is indeed possible which we don't know
at this point in time, I would say he would at lesat look at that possibility
but at the same token there is a major cost factor involved so I don't know Jay
if we can make that a condition of your motion. At least that's my feeling at
this point in time. Now perhaps when something happens with the Ortenblat
situation, maybe at that point in time but I would hate very much to have that
be a condition of the motion at this point.
Cotmcilman Johnson: To tell you the truth, it's kind of a useless condition in
that your plat will be completely built and all the houses will probably be on
it prior to that road even being around but what we're establishing is the
intent so that in the future if that road comes in there, and it's a reasonable
thing to connect to, that the future Council will have something to say. Okay,
we gave you something, you're giving us something. We give you a variance so
that you can have that road now without having to go through your new
subdivision and ruining your new subdivision. We're giving you sc~ething. What
we're saying is that we w-ant something in return and that something in return is
if in the future that road goes through, we will make Lake Lucy a little bit
safer for the drive~:s of this town and he'll get a better access out to Powers.
Roman Roos: I ~]nderstand what you're saying Jay but again there's a tremendous
amotmt of economics in it and I think we would definitely do that kind of thing
if indeed it happened in the future but I would think there would have to be
some kind of economic consideration because we have spent a lot of money to date
on that road.
50
City Co,~cil Meeting - November 20~ 1989
Councilman Johnson: The econc~ic consideration would come from so~ future~
future Council.
Roman Roos: I understand but as long as that's part of it.
CounciL, lan Johnson: Well yeah. There's always the reasonableness has to be
brought into it. What we're saying is that this is the plan at this time. If
in the future it's going to cost you $100,000.00 to do it, obviously they're not
going to make you do it. No reasonable Co,~ncil would and I would assume this
town's only going to elect reasonable Councils.
Gary Warren: Maintenance cost savings could ec~]al the cost of a new road over
several years too. That's a long driveway.
Roman Roos: But again, I just wanted to make that co~m~ent to your motion. I
understand what you're saying Jay.
CounciL, lan Johnson moved, Councilman Boyt seconded to approve Subdivision #87-36
as presented on the plat stamped "Received October 11, 1989" with a variance to
allow a 30 foot lot width on Lot 1, Block 2, subject to the following
conditions:
1. Provide final detailed plans of the streets and utility improvements.
2. Lots 1 and 6, Block 1 are to gain access solely by driveway to Eagle Circle.
Access to Lake Lucy Road is prohibited. A notice of this limitation should
be placed in shared title of both lots.
3. Provide final erosion control plans acceptable to staff. Type III erosion
control will be required along the western perinleter of the site adjacent to
the wetland. Prior to the initiation of grading, staff will walk the site
with the developer to mark out trees designated for preservation. Staff
will modify the plans as re~]ired to improve tree preservation efforts.
Drainage swales are to be provided around each of the ho~s. The berm
located in the Lake Lucy Road right-of-way is to be relocated onto Lot 1,
Block 1.
4. Provide final drainage plans for approval by City Staff. Watershed District
approval is required.
5. Easements to be provided:
a. Right-of-way for Eagle Circle.
b. Rec~]est the City Council vacate right-of-way for existing streets and
easem,ents approved under the original plat.
c. Utility easements are required for the proposed watermain and sanitary
sewer pipes on Lot 6, Block 1; Lot 1, Block 2; and based upon final
engineering design may be re~]ired over an adjacent parcel to the west.
d. Drainage and utility easements are required over the pond and storm
sewer pipes on LOt 6, Block 1; Lot 1, Block 2; and based upon final
51
City Council Meeting - Nov~er 2g~ 1989
engineering design may be rec~_lired over an adjacent parcel to the west.
e. Standard utility easements around the perimeter of each lot.
6. Enter into a development contract with the City.
7. Cc~pliance with the conditions of Wetland Alteration Pe~it ~88-7.
8. Change the street name to Arlington Court.
9. At such time as a new public street is provided to the south of Lake Lucy
Road, the private driveway currently serving tJ~e existing home shall be
removed and the driveway shall access to the south off the new public
street.
lg. Stake off the trees to be saved at the dripline.
11. All trees 10" or more in caliper need to be replaced.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Councilman Johnson: I will move the wetland alteration permit.
Councilman Boyt: I will second that. I think we should add a ski~m~er. They
talked about a skimmer. They pulled the ski~er out.
Councilman Johnson: Why don't we have a ski~er? I missed the ski~er.
Roman Roos: We've got a sedimentation pond. A ski~er's cost is not that great
but that's really the lm]rpose for a sedimentation pond before it outlets into
the Watershed.
Councilman Boyt: And that's what the ski~er does isn't it? It ensures that
the sedimentation pond is doing it's job.
Ro~mn Roos: Not necessarily. If the ski~er's ~.~ed on a main outflow into an
watershed type situation, all we did was put a sedimentation pond in it's place.
It was a reco~endation of Planning Co~,isssion if I recall Paul, but again
knowing what they do and how they function and I guess engineering, Gary can
address that issue. That ski~er's really not going to perform any real
function as it sets as we've got it laid out on a drainage situation. Gary?
Gary Warren: I don't know all the details of a ski~er. I would suggest that
when plans and specs cc~_.~e back, we will definitely be looking at along with the
Watershed District to have the appropriate, whether it's a skimmer or not. To
have the appropriate facility put in.
Council~an Boyt: The City has im]t that in several of it's holding ponds.
Gary Warren: And I've been on record, I don't like the wood skin,Lets because
they're going to be, not too far in the distance we're going to have a lot of
repairs and maintenance on them but I'd say, the plans and specs phase would be
appropriate to work out that detail.
52
City Council M~eting - Nove~er 20, 1989
Councilman Johnson: Which Watershed District has this?
Gary Warren: Their boundaries, we just got, this actually flows, that wetland
flows up ultimately to Christmas Lake so that's Minnehaha Creek but the boundary
fro~, what Mr. ~]anbeck has told me, doesn't necessarily follow. My gut reaction
is that it's Minnehaha but it could be in Riley-Purgatory.
Councilman Johnson: So I have some review of the skinnier.
Gary Warren: You ~y have sc~ influence.
Councilman Johnson moved, Councilman Boyt seconded to approve Wetland Alteration
Permit Rec~lest #88-7 as presented on the plat stamped "Received October 11,
1989", subject to the following conditions:
1. Acquisition of a drainage easement frc~, the adjacent property owner.
2. Approval of a permit from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
3. Creation of a storm water retention pond in the northwest corner of Lot 6,
Block 1.
4. Installation of Type III erosion control between the development and the
Class A wetland.
5. Compliance with conditions of the Preliminary Plat #87-36.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
CONSIDER PLUMBING PERMIT FEE REVISION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A PIPING FEE.
Councilman Johnson: Can I ask a question? Why aren't we doing this with our
normal fee review that we do every January?
Don Ashworth: This is a new fee schedule. J~ is present. Do you want to go
through it Jim?
Councilman Johnson: It seems that that would be a logical time to implement a
new fee when we review all our fees. Maybe not.
Jim Chaffee: I didn't c~lite hear your question or what the answer was. This is
a new fee that we're asking be implemented. One is a new fee and another is a
revision of the pl~m~ing fee. We've not revised the plumbing fee structure for
c~]ite a while. Our plumbing inspector took a look at this several months ago.
Asked if they could come up with a schedule that would be conducive more to what
they do and also more in like with what the other cities in our surrounding
areas are doing. They have done that and after considerable amount of research,
they have revised the plu~ing permit fee schedule to reflect more of what we do
and they've also asked that we implement a gas piping fee schedule which we've
never had in the City of Chanhassen. We didn't even look at this until we
started doing our mechanical inspections ourselves. I think it's a needed area.
53
City Council Meeting - Nove~floer 20, 1989
They've asked the Council to approve it so they can get on with their business.
In doing this, they have indicated that they would spread the tax burden
amongst, well to take the tax burden away from the citizens of Chanhassen and
put it on the developers so all the citizens are not burdened with this tax
issue. So everybody's not paying for the select few people who use our
services. It's just like any other user fee.
Councilman Johnson: Sounds good to me.
Councilman Boyt: Okay, I'll ask a question. How much did your fees collected,
if you know off hand, exceed your expenses last year for the building
department?
Jim Chaffee: In 19887
Councilman Boyt: Sure.
Jim Chaffee: I'm guessing around $149,000.00-$150,000.00. State that c~.]estion
again Bill?
Councilman Boyt: How much did your fee income exceed expenses in 19887
Jim Chaffee: Just for code enforce~ent I would guess about $300,000.00.
Councilman Boyt: Okay. This is too good an opportunity to pass UP. This is
crazy. I'll say it one more time. The building department is subsidizing the
City and we've got to cut that out. To come back now and for the building
department to say well we need more money, they're not spending what they're
bringingyou.re bringingin now. inThey'rev n.ot spending, well if you've got $300,000.00 more that
than .ou re expending, now to'come back and say, well if we
don't charge this, the taxpayers are going to be underwriting it is a joke. The
building inspection department is underwriting the city. So that's one problem.
I wish we could resolve it. We ought to resolve it but there's another proble~
that I think is just as big and that is that people routinely in my estimation
wire their house, plumflo their house, build their decks and they don't come in
and get a permit. Then there may be the q~]estion of when they do come in and
get the permit, maybe we don't do the inspection. I'm not sure about that one
but I know that a good many of them do it without getting the permit. We have
to address that and I don't mean by going in and inspecting door to door but we
have to figure out a way to let people know that 'this service is available to
them and the advantages of ,]sing it and we've got to make it cheap enough so
they will use it because they'll see the advantages outweighing the cost.
There's no c~estion we should, in ~ mind, that we should be doing the
inspections that you're reco~ending that we do. My two c~estions are, one. We
sure as heck don't need to charge more permit fees because we're bringing in
more than we're spending now. Two, we've got to get people to use them. New
homeowners or new home builders ~ndoubtedly use it but what about the citizen
who's putting in a new piece of wiring to wire a flourescent lamp or plumfloing
something or building a deck so I don't think we're really addressing the
problems that we've got with this particular thing. I can't vote to support it
when we're bringing in more money than we're spending.
Councilman Workman: I'm not sure Bill I understand the second part of that.
54
City Council Ms, ting - November 20, 1989
Councilman Boyt: Bringing in more money than we're spending?
Councilman Workman: No. That's the first part. The second part being the
people who are plumbing their own thing, wiring their own thing.
Councilman Johnson: Different issue.
Councilman Boyt: Well it's really not addressed by this but it touches on it
and I'm just saying that scmehow we're not matching up with those folks. I
think they're not coming in to get permits. I don't know.
Councilman Johnson: Some do. Scm~e don' t.
Councilman Boyt: And they should. It's a safety issue. So how do we get them
to do that? How do we get them to know they have to do that? That's a separate
issue.
Councils~an Workman: I guess I've never met a fee I like and so the issue of the
building department subsidizing the city I think might be appropriate now. I
don' t know about later.
CounciL-~an Boyt: When's later?
Councilman Workman: I mean it's going to rise and it's going to fall so later
it's not going to be subsidizing.
Councilman Boyt: Right, so then what do we do for money? What would you do if
suddenly, for scm~e reason there was a stop in new home construction? We would
lose $300,000.00 that we're now funding the City with. It would be gone. To ~
that sounds like when you're running your basic city services out of money that
comes in on a fee structure, we're at risk.
Councilman Workman: Yeah, and I understand that. I'm just saying right now we
have a glut of it and when we don't have a glut of it, we're not going to have
this $300,000.00 but does that still, I still see that as maybe being a little
bit separate from this also.
Councilman Boyt: Well you're saying add to it.
Councilman Workman: What. I'm sayin, g is and what the Public Safety Department is
saying, the building offiCial is saying, right now we're all being charged for
when somebody has this done and it's unlike everything el.se we're having people
do. We're charging them a fee but for these things, we're all paying for it.
So regardless of how much money we're taking in, and I understand that as being
an issue. I think the real issue is, should these people be paying for this
themselves when they have it done or shouldn't they. I think separate of your
issue of the fact that the City is basing all this on should I be paying and
subsidizing when somebody has plu~ing, gas piping or a fireplace done.
Councilman Boyt: But you're not.
Councilman Work~an: Well as it states here I am.
55
City Council Meeting - Nova~oer 20, 1989
Council,,an Boyt: But they're wrong. They're wT:ong because they're bringing in
$300,000.00 that they're not even spending. So when they go out and do these
inspections, maybe they're taking it o~]t of that $300,000.00 but they're sure as
heck not taking it out of anything we pay.
Councilman Workr~an: But you're talking now. I'm talking what about in the
future.
Co~mcilman Boyt: I'm talking about now. I'm talking about last year. I'm
talking about the year before that. How far back do you want to go?
Council~an Johnson: He wants to go the other way.
Council~an Workman: I want to go forward.
Co~mcilman Johnson: 2 years from now when the ho~]sing's way do~m.
Councilman Boyt: If that sho~lld happen to us, the way we r~.m the budget on this
item today, are you going to choose to not plow the streets or not have a police
contract or what are you going to give up because you're not going to have the
money beca~]se these guys are underwriting you and now they're coming back and
they're saying well other ca~unities are charging for this, we should charge
it. I agree with that part of ~/nat you said. We should ~mless you run a
$300,000.00 surplus ar~ then how do you j~]stify it? We're not adding to staff
to do this are we? There you go. They've already covered themselves and
they're running a $300,000.00 surplus and they're saying give us more. I can't
buy it.
Councilman Johnson: We sho~]ld r~]n the finances of our city pure. Not like the
rest of the world but a little more pure and be purely legal and...pay for what
services those folks get. We shouldn't have this surplus. Which would mean
increased taxes to the rest of us in comparison to Eden Prairie and everybody
else who also is in the saF'.e boat we're in. It's probably universal throughout
aL~ost any city as an income maker in the inspections department.
_Mayor CTm~iel: JIF,, what's our average cost for an inspection of a residential
and commercial businesses?
Ji~ Chaffee: I don't know if I can answer that just right off hand.
Councilman Workman: It's like this co~unity center that's being proposed.
Some parts of the co,~.mity center make money and pay for the others. Some
don't so we're not ever going to wash that out you know. I'm not going to stand
here and defend the fee, that's for sure. That's not what I'm defending.
Councilman Boyt: What are you defending?
Councilman Workman: I defending the logic of what we have and should we choose
to ignore this half because of this pile of money that we're sliding around City
Hall and I'm looking to the f~]t~]re to say well we have the money now b~t we
aren't going to have it later. Can we then come back and say because we'll all
be on the Council in 10 years or whatever. Then we'll be able to say, see we
told you but now we're going to have to start getting and pulling these fees out
of everywhere else.
56
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
Councilman Boyt: Well when it's a fee for service situation given that you need
so~ sort of surpl~.~ there so you can absorb...for slow down periods but
generally if the need for the service declines, then you cut back. That's a
variable cost so you cut back in your inspection staff. What we're doing now is
if there's a decline, we cut back in hard city service and the stuff that we all
think our tax dollars are paying for.
Councilman Johnson: Or we increase taxes.
Counci]_-~an Boyt: (k4 we increase taxes.
Don Ashworth: I don't know if I would really agree with that Bill. From the
standpoint that over the last 2-3 years surpluses that have been built up, I've
advised the Council do not spend these dollars on reoccuring operational
expenditures because you don't know if you're going to get th~n again. So so~
of the areas that we've spent those dollars on are the addition to City Hall. I
~an that's $550,000.00 just in the physical plan not including any type of
desks and anything else. That's really not in Jim's nu~er. We fund the
equitm~nt purchases out of a separate fund. That's not in those n%~nbers. I
would say if there is a down point, you're not going to have those surpluses
that we've built up over the years but I don't know that I'd be willing to state
that we're going to have to give up hard services for that. I don't know that
I'm in a position to totally agree or totally disagree but I mean I question the
total logic there. I'd like to respond to that part of the ~]estion. I'd like
to research that issue a little bit further.
Councilman Boyt: You've looked at this issue for 3 years. There's nothing new
about this issue and you're telling ~ you still don't know?.
Don Ashworth: I don't think that the numbers that I had presented to you a year
ago were that far off as far as being a great money maker. I thought that we
had continued to close that gap as far as the difference between the amount of
money taken in from revenue and the expenditures associated with the inspection
department.
Councilman Boyt: I agree that you've worked to close the gap. I agree with you
there. I'm just saying there's still a gap and how do we justify charging
people more when we're taking in more money than they're spending. That's n~
point. I mean you guys can vote anyway that you see it.
Mayor Chmiel: Good. Jim, in determining these fees that you did come up with.
Is this out of the UBC?
Jim Chaffee: Portions are out of the UBC but the plu~ing portion is based on
surrounding communities. What we've traditionally had and the percentage
inflation factor for the past several years that this has been revised.
Mayor Ctm~iel: In comparison with the other co~unities, where are we at with
what we have existing? What you're proposing, is thiS where we're the two
differences are?
Jim Chaffee: Right. Where we are at right now is the lowest. What we are
proposing is in the middle range, slightly on the low end of the middle range.
57
City Council Meeting - Nove~oer 20, 1989
Mayor Cfm,icl: How many co, munities did you review to come up with the
conclusion?
Jim Chaffee: That I'm not sure.
Mayor Chmiel: Eden Prairie is mentioned in there. I'm wondering if there are
any more besides Eden Prairie like Bloc~ington or Burnsville.
Jim Chaffee: I think they looked at, I'm guessing but I think they looked at
growing co~-~unities like Eagan, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville.
Mayor CTm~iel: On the gas segment of this. Has Minnegasco done any of those
inspections when they co~e in to connect or when they bring in that meter. Do
they do any kind of inspections at all?
Jim Chaffee: Not for Code, no. We do that.
Councilwoman Dimler: I have one c~_]estion Jim. I don't know if these figures
are good or bad but do you have any evidence...develolm~ent?
Jim Chaffee: No, we haven't seen that. We went through this when we raised the
building pek~it fees about 2 1/2-3 years ago. Didn't scare off anybody.
Co~mcilman Boyt: I'm sure they'll pay it.
Jim Chaffee: What we did then is we just increased the fees to match the UBC at
that time. So what they were getting as a bargain, now what they were paying
for throughout the entire state.
Councilman Johnson: This won't slow down our growth.
Mayor Chmiel: No. The only thing I was thinking was how long does it take an
inspector to do that inspection and what does it cost that we pay that inspector
for that?
Jim Chaffee: Those figures I don't have right before me but I think I can get
those. There's like 2 or 3 t~es yogi have to go back for a pltm~ing inspection.
Heating inspection you have to go back twice. We have all those.
Mayor Chmiel: Are all those additional trips taken into consideration as well?
Ji~ Chaffee: Right. When I get those figures, we would take those trips into
consideration as far as our cost goes. As far as manpower.
~Mayor Chmiel: Okay. Any other ~]estions?
Councilman Workman: I guess I see it as fitting in line with everything else
that we're doing. Not proud of that fact but the iss~]e of where we stand with
our fees, fees for services and our reliance on them for our budget, I guess I
would like to see if they've been done in the past 3 years. Maybe it's time I
saw sc~e of it but I don't...
Mayor Chmiel: Is that it?
58
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
Councilman Workman: Yeah. I just don't know how, I mean I'm not sure that I
c~]ite follow Bill's logic. I see the things in there and why but to charge for
so~ services and not for others, maybe we need to charge for this and lower the
cost of all the others if we want to bring that surplus down or so~ething but
we're taking a certain segment of the building out and we're not charging a fee
for it.
Councilman Johnson: There's some inspections that I know we're spending more
money on. Say what I paid for ~ building permit and they've come out twice
already to do inspections and they have one more yet to do if I ever get back to
getting the dry wall finished. For these little fix it up your own self home
jobs, what you pay for a building inspection is far less than what the City puts
into it but for a new home, it may go the other way.
Mayor Chmiel: So what you're saying is it ec}]alizes maybe one to the other?
Councilman Johnson: A little. I think we are at this point in our town doing
some subsidizing. I believe that every other town in the Twin Cities and the
state of Minnesota is probably doing exactly the sa~ thing. I don't want to be
actually the first one to be ccm~pletely pure with our budget the way it is right
now.
Councilman Boyt: If I could make one more attempt at explaining the logic. I
agree with you that there should be a fee for inspections. That we certainly
should be inspecting these t~o areas. What we're really doing is taxing new
hc~eowners and I think we need to be very careful when we do that. How do we
justify increasing a tax when we are making a substantial income over
expenditure surplus? I mean if you want to take it out of sc~e other area and
call it pl~m~ing and gas piping fees, that's fine by me. I'm just saying that
how can we justify to new home owners we just increased the cost of moving them
to Chanhassen and we're already making, cut it in half. $150,000.00 over what
it costs us to do this.
Mayor Chmiel: But you're talking Bill about a $103.00 difference in that new
hc~e price that you're talking.
Councilman Boyt: Well, whether it's $10.00 or $300.00, we've got a surplus and
we're not adding to staff. Add somebody to staff. Justify your need for...
Mayor Chmiel: No, we don't need to do that.
Councilman Boyt: Another way of looking at this is that we're d~anding these
inspections out of our existing staff. Well anyway, my plan would be to vote
against this. I think we have to send a signal to the City that more is too
much.
Mayor Chmiel: Alright. Do you want to discuss this more?
Councilman Johnson: I don't.
Councilman Workman: I ' d move approval.
Councilman Johnson: I'll second that.
59
City Council Meeting - Nove~oer 20, 1989
Resolution ~89-131: Councilman Wo~'kman moved, Councilman Johnson seconded to
approve the revised pl~ing permit fee schedule as indicated by staff and
approve the gas piping pek%,~it to include the associated fees as indicated by
staff. All voted in favor except Councilman Box~ who opposed and the motion
carried with a vote of 4 to 1.
COUNCIL PRESENTATIONS:
Mayor Chmiel: Bill, get your t~]blic Safety Minutes.
Councilman Boyt: Okay, this is quick. J~t already is working out an answer to
this but tlae t~.]blic Safety Co~ission asked me to come to the Co~]ncil and seek
Council direction on whether or not you want to continue to have the Minutes
typed. It's expensive and there was some c~.]estion as to ~nether there might not
be better alternatives that wouid be less expensive so that's why I brought it
here.
Councilman Johnson: But you're doing tJ~at with building pe~.~it money though.
Mayor Chmiel: I would make a motion that we continue with the verbatim Minutes,
or that's my feeling.
Councilman Workman: How did that discussion come up?
Mayor Ctm,iel: I was at that meeting too. It was, depending upon how it was
discussed back and forth.
Councilman Workman: I mean it was brought up as an agenda item?
Mayor Chmiel: Yeah.
Council~mn Work~an: But a group?
Councilman Boyt: I might have brought it up. I don't remember honestly.
Councilman Workman: And what was the, they voted on it?
Councilman Boyt: Dick Wing said, I want you to go to the City Council and find
out what they want, as I recall. I don't have the Min~]tes yet.
Councilman Workman: I might add that HRA on Thursday approved verbatim Minutes.
Mayor Chmiel: Right and I think we should have them.
Councilman Workman: 7hey felt that there's a lot more legalies and co~itments
in words that they're saying and they thought that maybe they ought to have them
because things are getting left out.
Mayor CTm~iel: If you don't have f~]ll verbatim Minutes, you don't get the full
picture of what the discussion was. It's their interpretation of whoever is
pulling those Minutes together.
60
City Council Meeting- Norther 20~ 1989
Councilman Johnson: I do not want to see Dick Wing's Minutes~
Councilman Boyt: An alternative would be, certainly there are some items the
~]blic Safety Co~ission discusses that are going to end up on your agenda and
you want th~ but one alternative was that the Minutes would be taped. ~he
tapes would be kept. If there was a public hearing or if there was an item that
appeared to be controversial, that those portions of the Minutes would be typed
~. The rest of the Minutes would si~lybe su~arized.
Mayor Cb_,~iel: You're still not getting the full picture of what was done at
that particular ~eting.
Councilman Boyt: $4,000.00 to do that.
J~ Chaffee: That's where Bill and I disagree.
Mayor Chmiel: Yeah, there was a lot of figures being tossed back and forth on
those total dollars.
Councilman Boyt: Ask Don.
Don Ashworth: For verbatim Minutes. The figures from finance show $3,500.00 to
$5,000.00 is ~ recollection.
Mayor Chmiel: I don' t believe that.
Councilman Boyt: That's what's in the budget. $4,500.00.
Council~an Workman: I don't rem~nber the last time I saw a Public Safety
Minutes.
Mayor Chmiel: How long does it take to type up the Safety Minutes? 20 hours.
Okay. And that's normally once a month right?
Councilman Boyt: The last ones were also the shortest of the year so far.
(Everyone was talking amongst themselves at this point.)
Mayor Chmiel: We j~t did a real quick calculation here and you come up with
anywhere between $2,500.00 and $3,000.00 but I think they're worth something in
itself. You still get the full scoop of what's happening at that particular
meeting as far as the information is contained in it. If they were just to pull
the half out of the Minutes as they do in some of them, you lose some of the
thought that' s there.
Councilman Boyt: You do. I agree. You do.
Mayor Chmiel: And you don't know what's happening so in ~ opinion, at least as
I see it, I would just as soon see the verbatim Minutes contained within.
Councilwoman Dimler: What about the issue that they come out only once a month
and a lot of times Council's already dealt with the issue before the Mintues .
come out?
61
City Co~ncil Meeting - Nov~oer 2g, 1989
Jim Chaffee: I gl]ess that's because I'm so quick. We did get th~, real c~ick
this time. We' re going to try and get them a lot c~]icker so it's before the
Council as the issue.
Co~mcilman Boyt: Real c~]ick. That ' s October 12th. That ' s over a month.
J~ Chaffee: No, no. We've got what, last week's Minutes already.
Councilman Boyt: We don't have them.
Ji~ Chaffee: No. I haven't sent them out yet. I just got them Friday and just
say the~ today but T~ saw them. He had them tonight because he had the~ for
the cigarette issue. The s~'~oking issue.
Councilwc~an Dimler: So you're saying that you would have them but you're not
going to give them out but you'll work on the next Council meeting in the
packet.
Jim Chaffee: Well ideally what we'd like to do is as an issue co~es before
Council, we'd like to have the b]blic Safety couments with that issue. Just
like the Planning Co~ission or Park and Rec Cc~_~ission it~ would come. That's
ideally []ow we'd like to do it and I think we can get that and do it. We may
have to hold back one more Council meeting than I normally like to get it before
the Council but I think it can be done.
Councilwoman Dimler: Okay, but you're not planning to have any to our homes or?
Jim Chaffee: No, you'll get them in the no~,al Council packet as it comes out
as I get them.
Councilman Boyt: Well it hasn't happened yet. That's why I'm smiling.
Mayor Ck~tJ. el: Okay, any other discussion?
Councilman Workman: What is again, the ~]blic Safety's overall, they split
right?
Jim Chaffee: Yeah. If you want to table this for a second I can go ~]pstairs
and I can tell you exactly what it is.
Councilman Boyt: Do you have the Minutes?
J~ Chaffe~: I took them back upstairs Bill.
Councilman Workman: I gave those Minutes back to you didn't I?
Jim Chaffee: Yeah. I took them upstairs again.
Councilman Woxkman: No, I think they're split. I don't think it changed any
really.
Council~an Johnson: I almost like that option that something that isn't coming
before us could be s~mmarized and whateve~ is going to be cc~ing forth that
we'll be acting ~]pon be typed ~1o. Could save some money. A lot of the issues
62
City Council Mee%ing - November 20, 1989
they may, but see what they may not act on this time they may act on next time.
Mayor Chmiel: Of course some of the things they're discussing too, to give you
a little better perception on some of the things that you're talking about and
even give you some other insights on other things that they're talking about.
Co,~cilman Johnson: Unfortunately I'm so involved in so many co~nittees and
everything, I don't have ti,~ to read every cor~ission's verbatim minutes. It's
just impossible.
Mayor Chmiel: It doesn't take too long.
Councilman Johnson: Well I can't read them as I drive to work.
Mayor Chmiel: Oh yes you can. When you sit on TH 5 like I did this morning.
Councilman Johnson: I take TH 101. You can't read and drive on TH 101.
Councilman Boyt: So what's the wish of the Council?
Mayor Chmiel: I will make a motion to keep the verbatim Minutes with Public
Safety. Is there a second?
Councilman Boyt: Well I'll make a motion that we go to a modified Minutes
situation with items appearing before the Council typed up and in the
appropriate Council packet and tapes kept of all ~=etings for referral should
the need ar ise.
Councilman Work, mn: I guess I would just say that...
CounciL,~an Boyt: Well, is there a second to that?
Mayor Chmiel: It's discussion. You don't have to ask for it? Wait for it.
CounciL,,an Johnson: I'll second it so we can get sc~e discussion on it.
Councilman Workman: I'm just unsettled because Public Safety is so unsettled
about it.
Councilman Johnson: They're looking for some direction. Let's give them some.
CounciL,~an Workman: I don't know. They haven't been real valuable to me
because of the timeliness and a lot of cash. I don't know. I would be in favor
of going all the way around to less minutes. I know that isn't going to happen
real soon but that ' s why I 'm unsettled I guess.
Councilwoman Dimler: I voted against the measure in the first place and I guess
j~.~t for consistency sake I will stay with that position. I don't have time to
read the~ either. I don't find them that helpful and when there is an issue, we
can go back to the tapes and check with Jim.
Councilman Johnson: I like the modified version.
63
City Council Meeting - Nov~loer 20j 1989
Councilwoman Dimler: Yeah. And I do think the expense is significant if that's
actually what it is.
Councilman Boyt moved, Councilman Johnson seconded to accept mod].fied Minutes
fra~, the t~]blic Safety Co~,ission with items appearing before the Council typed
verbatim and in the appropriate Council packet and tapes kept of all meetings
for referral should the need arise. All voted in favor except Mayor Chmiel who
opposed and the motion carried with a vote of 4 to 1.
Mayor Cb~iel: Okay, let's move onto the next one. Ursula?
Councilwoman Dimler: About Chanhassen Tobacco Free Youth Project. Seeing that
we just passed the ordinance of cigarette and vending _machines. One of the
recor,~endations was to have the co_~unity involved in a tobacco free youth
project. This ~uld be any men'~oer of the co~,unity that would want to be
involved. It wo,]ld be mainly to ed,]cate, which is ~/nat we talked about. We
need to get o~]t there anti educate and these cost,unity men,ers would go out and
they would talk to our business people and tell them, make them aware of the
law. A lot of them aren't even aware of the law abont the new changes and that
-they are liable if they do sell to minors. Also they could get stickers that
say, p~]t them in their store and say we check ID's which might scare the youth
to try to go and get over the counter. There's just all kinds of ideas that the
public could get involved in in helping to enforce the law and helping to
educate the ad~]lts. How we can all better deal with it. I talked to Margie
Karjalahti and she said that she would be willing to head up that project. I'm
just bringing it up for discussion. I think it's a good direction for us to go.
Councilman Workman: Police Contract. I guess I'm bringing this ~]p because I
think the City needs to set a direction Deca_]se I think we've gotten off our
direction. This goes back to the approval of the contract whence we had an
amendment to the contract for us to research the idea of getting other entities
to bid and take care of our police contract for us. A neighboring co~,unity has
taken it upon themselves, and I'm not c~]ite s~]re of the details but were asked
by a person frc~, the City of Cnanhassen to research the idea of doing this for
our city. I think to the detriment of all of ~]s. I thought we had an ]~plicit
understanding that it wo~]ldn't be done and it's being done. I think the [~]blic
Safety Director backs ~.~e on this. We have in place basically a co~ittee with
Jim and A1 Wallin and I'm not sure who else to look at the situation of our
police situation. I guess I would like that to work itself through and wait for
those res~]lts before we, as a City Council, look to take bids and offerings from
neighboring co~unities. I'm perplexing you Jay.
Councilman Johnson: I'm perplexed, yes. We're taking bids?
Councilman Workman: A neighboring city has prepared a doc~m~ent, ever so briefly
and c~_]ickly to basically bid or take, it's telling us what's wv~ong and what
we're doing wrong and everything else and I think that's so3~ething...
Councilman Johnson: An unsolicited proposal?
64
City Council Meeting - November 20~ 1989
Mayor CTmtiel: I don't know. I'm in the process of doing some checking on that
Tom. I' 11 let you know.
Councilman Johnson: What we heard a while back was that nobody was interested
in doing this.
Mayor CTm~iel: And that's what I'm saying but I'd like to send direction to
Chaffee and Company that we're in the middle of a study but we're not taking
bids from neighboring co~l_~ities yet.
Councilman Johnson: You know we get this, this is a good bargaining chip. If
somebody sends in, we've been saying we have no bargaining chips. What have we
got to bargain with? We've got one provider providing one service and he's the
only provider that can possibly provide that service. That's what the people
keep saying. Now we might have a bargaining chip. Not that we want to use the
chip b, lt we might have a chip when we go to bargain on our contract. We've
never bargained on the contract. It would be kind of a new concept. You know
it's take what you can get contract.
Councilman Work,,an: Well Jay, what I'm saying is...
Councilman Johnson: It surprises ~ that anybody's bidding without our fee out.
Co,.mciD~an Work.mn: That's right and so, the co~_..~lmity is in another county and
you know what that might create.
Jim Chaffee: A1 Wallin and I have seen a copy of the study. They're not< going
to provide services for us. They're not even going to recommend it. What I was
looking for is direction from the council so I could officially write to them
and say, we don't want this. Please don't even pursue it.
Councilman Work.lan: Because it was ~ understanding that we were going to be
happy with the contract and we've got a contract and when that t~e co, es again,
so~.~time then we can look at it but I think for harmony sake, we ought to let a
sleeping dog lie and that's what I was hoping we were going to do. That hasn't
occurred.
Mayor Chmiel: Let's get it on the agenda.
Councilman Boyt: Every time we bring this up it just creates more unrest.
There is I think for the last 2 months at least, if not longer, I've been trying
to work through t~]blic Safety and get that effort stopped. I wasn't involved in
getting it started. I don't have the slightest idea how it ca~e to be but I
think, Tom I agree with you that we're working on something here with the
Council in an effort to get this issue resolved. We know that it can be
extre~ely controversial.
Councils~an Johnson: I like the co~_.m~ittee.
Councilman Boyt: I was surprised when it came up in the Public Safety
Co~mission at the last meeting and frankly disappointed that it did. I'm
disappointed that we're talking about it right now. I don't think that we need
to treat this as a serious matter. We have in front of us an opport[unity to
work with the County and we should be pursuing it.
65
City Council Meeting - Nov~tber 2~ 1989
Councilman Workman: I gl]ess I would just like to, if we can, I'd just like to
direct staff at this point, basically I would call it outside interference
almost. That we weren't looking for them at this tire ard we're getting one and
I think it's going to ca~]se the problems. I think we are working along.
Councilman Johnson: That little extra knowledge is going to cause a problem?
Councilman Workman: Yeah, I think so.
Jim Chaffee: Sheriff Wallin thinks it will Jay. It's not that we're not going
to get the report. We will get the report and we will ~]se it in o~]r co~ittee
to further our study efforts. What Sheriff Wallin and ~self are afraid of
right now is that if it gets out to the public and the deputies are made aware
of it, there's going to be a decrease in moral. There's going to be some upset
deputies and it's not needed at this point. And the probl~'~ that I'm faced with
right now is that I'm still ~mder the g~]idelines from the Council to pursue
alternative police services. There was no change in that. That's what I'm
directed to do. Now if the Council decides otherwise and tells me no, I'm not
directed to pursue alternative police services, then I would feel comfortable
wv~iting to Chief Yo~zng saying the Council has directed me not to pursue
alternative services. Please don't submit this report and I'd feel comfortable
doing that. That' s where we' re coming from.
Councilman Johnson: I move we suspend our r~]les on Council presentations and we
move on this tonight and we direct them not to p~]rsue this.
Councilman Workman: Second.
Mayor Ctm~iel: I would fully agree.
Councilman Johnson: Keep that study co~ittee moving on how we're going to make
this transition in the future.
Councilman Johnson moved, Councilman Workman seconded to suspend Council rules
on Council Presentations and direct staff to not purs~]e alternative police
services at this time. Ail voted in favor and the motion carried.
Mayor Chmiel: I already disc~]ssed previously when I indicated about Drug
Awareness Week so I won't have to pursue that.
Jim Chaffee: Ursula's set ~]p a, or is going to be setting up a program where
we'll have, and I think she's host of the talk show cable, and she'd ask that
representatives from the Sheriff's Department and [~]blic Safety Department and
the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force join her on this on her cable show to
discuss Cities Fight Back Against Drugs Week.
Mayor Chmiel: Good. Ail the awareness we can make people of, that's the way to
go.
Councilman Johnson: You have a cable show?
66
City Council M~eting - Nove~-~er 20~ 1989
Councilwoman Dimler: Yes, I have a cable show~
Mayor Chmiel: We have a celebrity.
Councilwc~an Workman: In Bloc~ington.
Councilwc~,an Dimler: Well we can show it on regional. We can pick it up.
Mayor Chmiel: Have we had any response from any of the other cities regarding
the letters that we sent them?
Jim Chaffee: Yes we have. Mayor Roepke called ~ today from Chaska. He
indicated that he probably wouldn't be able to get as many red ribbons as we had
asked for and kind of said they would do their own t]~ing in Chaska. That he was
working through his Police Chief, (keg Skol to do so~ething. He is going to
call me next week to let me know whether he' 11 be at the ribbon cutting cer~nony
in front of the grade school. I have not heard back from Victoria or Greenwood,
Excelsior, or Shorewood. Scott did put out an invitations to them since they're
also involved in the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force.
Mayor Chmiel: Do we have a great big large ribbon that we could affix to the
school?
Jim Chaffee: It's up in my office right now.
Mayor Chmiel: Great. Wonderful.
Council~an Johnson: Roepke was going to get you ribbons?
Mayor Chmiel: Yeah. I had discussions with him. He and I have been talking
about this and being that he works for 3M and 3M has those ribbons, I thought
~ybe we could get a good deal and he could buy it for a reasonable price. ~]ch
more reasonable than what we would have had to pay.
Councilman Johnson: I think if you went through 3M's PR people you'd probably
be better off.
Mayor Chmiel: Well, I thought of that too but they've been giving so many away,
they didn't have many left to give away.
ADMINISTRATIVE PRESENTATION: REAPPOINTMENT OF TRUNK HIGHWAY 212 CITIZENS
ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
Gary Warren: An update of the staff report Mr. Mayor. Mr. Hamilton has
indicated via the City Attorney that he also would be interested in continuing
to serve on the Citizen's Advisory Cc~ittee so basically all foyer of the
existing men,ers have expressed a willingness at the Council's pleasure to
continue to serve in that role.
Mayor Chmiel: I would like to make sure that the people who are on that
particular co~ittee attend those meetings. I don't know, do we get an
attendance or anything on that?
67
City Co~mcil M~eting - Nove~oer 2g, 1989
Gary Warren: Q]ite honestly they've been relatively inactive for the last year
and a half or a year. They kind of get called on and that's why we want them to
update their interest here because of the EIS hearings coming ,]p so they will
probably get more involved as we go along b~lt there's no attendance that I'm
aware of.
Councilman Johnson: Is Chaska's old mes~oers going to be the same too do we
know?
Gary Warren: I don't know Jay what their status is.
Mayor Chmiel: Now 4 people is what we've had. Is 4 people sufficient?
Gary Warren: From my perspective, it' s probably more than enough.
Councilr,an Johnson: These are all ex~Les~oers of the Council.
Mayor Cnmiet: Do we need a motion on that?
Gary Warren: I think it'd be appropriate for the Council to reappoint.
Councilman Johnson moved, Councilman Workman seconded to reappoint To~ Hamilton,
John Neveaux, Clark Horn and A1 Klingelhutz to the Trunk Highway 212 Citizens
Advisory Cos~ittee. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
The City Council set Dece~oer 11, 1989 for a budget hearing at 7:30 p.m..
Councilman Johnson moved, Councilman Workman seconded to adjourn the meeting.
All voted in favor and the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at ll:3g
p.~..
Submitted by Don Ashworth
City Manager
Prepared by Nann Opheim
68