The Hampton City Council met on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 at the Hampton City Hall for the regular scheduled meeting. Present were Mayor Skog; Council Members Jerry Huddleston, John Knetter, and Amanda Jensrud. Council Member David Luhring was absent. Also present were Chris Meyer, City Treasurer; and Cory Bienfang, City Engineer.
Regular Meeting Called to Order - Mayor Skog called the Regular Scheduled Meeting to order at 7:02 p.m.
Disclosure of Interest – None.
Approval of January 12, 2016 Special Meeting and Regular Scheduled Meeting Minutes – Motion by Jensrud seconded by Huddleston to approve the January 12, 2016 Special Meeting and Regular Scheduled Meeting Minutes. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Approval of Disbursements – Motion by Knetter seconded by Jensrud to approve the February disbursements excluding John Knetter’s. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0. Motion by Jensrud seconded by Huddleston to approve John Knetter’s February disbursements. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 3:0. Knetter abstained from voting.
Public Comment – Paul Siebanaler, Fire Department Treasurer provided the 2016 contract for signatures and confirmed the cost remained the same at $10,774.00. Siebanaler invited City Officials to the annual meeting and meal on March 3 and announced that Kevin Whitson was elected the new Fire Chief. Skog requested that the Fire Department send the Randolph Dance Team off to State Competition with the fire truck. Tom Richardson with MnSpect reported that they had met with Janet Otte to review the scope of work planned for her buildings on Main Street and were in the process of collecting the required information. Richardson said that he planned to address the Council in the near future on rental issues.
Petitions, Requests, and Communications - Chris Meyer, City Treasurer provided the Council with the Treasurer’s Annual Report showing the activity and year-end balances for all accounts including information on CDs that the City currently holds. Meyer explained that the 2015 Financial Statements were required to be submitted to the City Council within 45 days after the close of the fiscal year as well as submitted to the State Auditor and published within 90 days. Meyer will provide the Council with a draft by February 14 and will present a copy at the March City Council meeting as well. Skog confirmed that recommended minimum balances were being met. Skog inquired to who the Planning Commission Chairperson was for the year 2016. Amanda Jensrud confirmed that she had been appointed.
Reports of Officers, Boards, and Committees
Engineer Report – Cory Bienfang, City Engineer confirmed that Dakota County had approved the grant reimbursement for the abandoned well project in the amount of $13,000.00 and that he will be applying for an additional grant available starting March 1 to cut a hole in the old city hall to continue the process required by the MDH. Bienfang mentioned that the MPCA along with Dakota County were working with residents along Main and Water Streets to gather air and soil samples due to the Main Street contamination investigation which started a couple of years ago. Cory will provide the results when available. Bienfang gave an update on the MnDOT Highway 50 Street Project and the City’s request for a bike trail to be included with the proposed improvements. The City Engineer explained that a 10 foot shoulder is considered a safe bike trail but was not an option due to expense and drainage issues and anything less than that was not recommended as it was not considered safe. Bienfang had projected an estimated construction cost of $300,000.00 for a 10 foot bituminous trail from the Heights of Hampton to the downtown area and that although MnDOT would allow Hampton the use of their right-of-way, the City would need to acquire some additional land along the highway. Cory said that there were grants available including one for trails that the DNR would require a 25% match and that if the City was serious about installing a trail, the next steps would be to create a feasibility report, refine the right-of-way by contacting the two landowners that would be affected, and then research financing options whether acquiring a bond or wait to add this project to the next street project. Skog had safety concerns if the trail would be along 50 due to traffic and having to cross over at some point. Bienfang said that the best area for a trail would be parallel to 50 as they would be allowed to go off of MnDOT’s right-of-way and if you were traveling between the Heights and downtown, it would be necessary to cross over. Huddleston felt that the two property owners may be on board for the project as they both live farther back and there wouldn’t be that much land needed and said that he would like to move forward with a feasibility report and perhaps check into what types of grants would be available. Knetter mentioned that the City may not be providing enough time to complete the study, contact landowners, and apply for the grant as there was a March deadline. Huddleston agreed that if it was too much at this time, it could wait until the next cycle, however; he felt that the City Planner may have enough information now to complete the grant application as she was currently working on a Park Plan Update which included the idea of installing a connecting trail. Jensrud suggested contacting the property owners to see if they would be willing to work with the City and reminded the Council that there was money budgeted for this type of park improvement planning. Knetter suggested the City look at their CIP first to see what projects may need to have priority such as infrastructure and streets. Motion by Skog seconded by Huddleston to approve a feasibility study at this time. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Water / Sewer Report - None
Park Report – Huddleston explained that the City Planner had provided an inventory and summary of what the City’s parks offered to the Planning Commission and will be working on a draft update of the Park Plan as well as setting up an open house to discuss and hear the public’s ideas. Skog said that a resident had told him that the ice rink was not plowed and that she had concerns since it was not supervised. Council discussed the idea of a sign reminding residents that the park facilities were not staffed. The Deputy Sheriff stated that there had been a warrant upheld and the person of interest was found in Hampton and also mentioned that there had been an increase in thefts of large trucks.
Street Report - Skog mentioned addressing Belmont Street in the spring as it was really beginning to get rough in spots. Knetter commented that Luhring had been working with the snow removal contractor and that things were going well. Huddleston said that a resident had inquired as to how much street damage all of the different garbage trucks caused. Knetter confirmed that the older streets were definitely affected but the new streets are a higher standard street and are better suited for the larger trucks and unless a city offers garbage pickup as a core city service, it is difficult to require a resident to go with one certain carrier.
Unfinished Business –
Dakota County Sheriff’s Department JPA - Skog suggested approving the JPA to uphold city ordinances. Jensrud was not comfortable with the costs that could be incurred whether it is rates increasing or insurance expenses and pointed out the section requiring the City to indemnify the Department. Knetter confirmed that the JPA would only allow the Sheriff’s Department to uphold misdemeanor ordinances and would not apply to parking issues and felt that the City would be giving up a lot of control. Skog mentioned that issues such as illegal fires could be handled by the Department. Knetter stated that all fire issues were dealt with by the Fire Department and by calling 911. Huddleston said that although the Sheriff could enforce some ordinances, there may be a cost and if the City would have to indemnify them Hampton’s insurance costs would go up as well. Huddleston confirmed that at this time the Department upheld all state laws regardless of a JPA. Motion by Skog to approve the Sheriff’s Department JPA. There was no second.
Dakota County Collaboration of Comprehensive Plan Update - Skog stated that the Clerk of Empire had said that costs should be covered for a basic legal Comprehensive Plan and that Hampton could add their own addendums. Jensrud said that she had confirmed with the County that costs would be between three and five thousand dollars per year, depending on what grants would be available and that basic addendums would only consist of personalized maps. Jensrud explained that the City Planner had confirmed that Hampton’s current Comprehensive Plan required only minimal changes and that at this point did not want to put a lot of time or money into the update without knowing the outcome of the ZipRail. Motion by Skog to join the Comprehensive Plan Collaboration. There was no second. Motion by Jensrud seconded by Knetter not to join the Dakota County Collaboration of Comprehensive Plan Updates. Knetter, Huddleston, and Jensrud voted in favor. Skog opposed. Motion passed 3:1.
Head of Civil Defense - Motion by Jensrud seconded by Huddleston to appoint Paul Steinbruckner to Head of Civil Defense and John Knetter to provide back-up services. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
New Business - None
Adjournment - Motion by Jensrud seconded by Knetter to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:09 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Wendy Carpenter