The Hampton City Council met on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at the Hampton City Hall for a public hearing and the regular scheduled meeting. Present were Mayor Knetter; Council Members Victor Anderson, David Luhring, and Anthony Verch. Council Member Kati Evertz-Garcia was absent. Also present were Chris Meyer, City Treasurer; Marlin Reinardy, Water and Sewer Superintendent; Cory Bienfang, City Engineer; Shannon Sweeny, City Financial Advisor; and Brad Fisher with Bolton and Menk.
Public Hearing Called to Order - Mayor Knetter opened the Public Hearing at 6:49 p.m.
The purpose for the Public Hearing was to discuss the renewal of the City Cable Franchise with Midco. Knetter stated that Midco had offered a free cable hook-up at City Hall and felt that it would be good to have a newsfeed in the event of an emergency situation at City Hall.
There were no public comments.
Adjournment - Motion by Luhring seconded by Verch to close the Public Hearing. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0. The Public Hearing closed at 6:51 p.m.
Regular Meeting Called to Order - Mayor Knetter called the Regular Scheduled Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present were Mayor Knetter; Council Members Victor Anderson, Anthony Verch, Kati Evertz-Garcia, and David Luhring.
Disclosure of Interest – None.
Approval of March 12, 2019 Regular Meeting Minutes - Motion by Luhring seconded by Anderson to approve the March 12, 2019 Regular Meeting Minutes. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0.
Approval of Disbursements – Motion by Luhring seconded by Verch to approve the April disbursements. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0.
Public Comment – None.
Ordinances and Resolutions -
Ordinance 1125 – Granting a Cable Franchise Agreement to Midco – Knetter confirmed that there had been no objections to renewing the franchise. Motion by Verch seconded by Luhring to renew Midco’s cable franchise. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0.
Summary Ordinance 1125 – Summary of Ordinance for Publication – Motion by Luhring seconded by Evertz-Garcia to approve Summary Ordinance 1125 for publication. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0. The Deputy Sheriff stated that there had been two vehicles stolen and that they were unlocked with the keys inside. The Deputy reminded residents to always take their keys with them.
Reports of Officers, Boards, and Committees -
Engineers Report – Cory Bienfang, City Engineer reported that bids for the 2019 Street Project had been opened March 28 and that out of nine submitted, Heselton Construction came in the lowest at $1,388,618.72 which was under the Engineer’s estimate. Bienfang said that they were a known contractor and recommended awarding them the project and mentioned moving forward with assessments as the total street project costs had been identified. Shannon Sweeny, City Financial Advisor discussed the total project costs including contingency and first interest payment and what funds would be responsible for the financing. Sweeny explained that streets would be contributing about 50% of the project and would require an increase to property taxes of approximately 16% as well as additional funding from the water and sewer funds and special assessments. Shannon felt that the sewer fund would be able to support the contribution, but that the water rates would need to be increased by around five dollars a month and that all final amounts required from the three different funds would be partially offset by the final payments on the 2013 bond being paid off in 2019. The City Financial Advisor provided a payment schedule that would include the final assessment roll of $372,619.00 which would be certified this fall at an interest rate of 5% for a 20 year term. Sweeny felt that it would be a good time to move forward as the bids came in favorable and interest rates were good as well as having the 2013 debt being dropped off this year. Shannon recommended the issuance of $1,885,000.00 of G.O. Improvement & Utility Revenue Bond at approximately 3.4% interest rate for a 20 year term which would require a yearly payment of $131,000.00. Anderson questioned if the Contractor could raise their bid in the event costs go up. Bienfang explained that there would be no additional cost unless something unforeseen comes up, in which case the Council would need to approve the work. Luhring confirmed with the City Treasurer that a contingency of $70,000.00 was sufficient. Verch verified that before any partial payments to the Contractor were made, the Engineer would be checking on the work that had been completed as well as hold back 5%. Motion by Luhring seconded by Evertz-Garcia to award the 2019 Street Project to Heselton Construction and allow Shannon Sweeney to negotiate funding with Baird on behalf of the City. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0. Cory Bienfang stated that he had reached out to MnDOT regarding the turnback of the Frontage Road and having them finance some maintenance items needed.
Water / Sewer – Marlin Reinardy, Water and Sewer Superintendent thanked John Knetter, Roger Otto, and Ryan Otto for their dedication to the City and assistance with the water breaks while he was out of town. Reinardy explained that he was working on repairs at the lift station that were related to last fall’s storm. Marlin mentioned that they would begin discharge approximately May 1 and that the water quarterly samples had been sent in and came back good. The Water and Sewer Superintendent also said that the hydrants would be flushed the last week in April. Knetter thanked Marlin for always being available to share his expertise and advice, especially assisting with the location of water shutoffs.
Park Report - Evertz-Garcia said that she was working with Verch on some repairs to the play structure at the Heights.
Street Report – Luhring stated that spring street sweeping was scheduled for the end of the month and would be determining how much patching would be needed.
Unfinished Business - None.
New Business
Rayspark Culvert Installation – Neil Hoadley discussed a drainage issue due to the developer’s installation of a culvert along Water Street and said that there had been changes to the original plan and that it currently does not reach out to the wetlands or meet safety standards as the run off empties into his and his neighbor’s yards. Hoadley explained that the residents in that area have considered working on a solution if allowed by the City and it would not affect Water Street. Knetter confirmed that a drainage easement is in place but not culverts. Verch questioned if it would be an option to extend the culvert to where it was day lighted. Council agreed that the Developer should be responsible but felt that the City Engineer could take a look at the situation and offer his opinion.
City Planning Services – Luring explained that he had noticed while working on the Comprehensive Plan Update that the current planning organization that the City used had a large turnover and the previous Planner Hampton had used was no longer employed there. Wendy Carpenter, City Clerk felt that as Bolton and Menk offered planning services as well as engineering, utilizing their services would streamline many of the City’s projects and mentioned that a contract was not necessarily needed as they could just reach out to them when necessary. Carpenter also commented on the familiarity of the City Bolton and Menk had and pointed out that the hourly rates were less than Sambateks. Motion by Luhring seconded by Evertz-Garcia to change the city planning services from Sambatek to Bolton and Menk. All voted n favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0.
Adjournment - Motion by Luhring seconded by Evertz-Garcia to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Wendy Carpenter