The Hampton City Council met on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at the Hampton City Hall for a public hearing and the regular scheduled meeting. Present were Mayor John Knetter; Council Members Cindy Flodeen, David Luhring, and Kati Evertz-Garcia. Council Member Anthony Verch was absent. Also present was Marlin Reinardy, Water/Sewer Superintendent; Brad Fisher with Bolton and Menk; and Jesse Gesme, Neil Hoadley, Vicki Dohmen, and Victor Anderson .
Public Hearing Called to Order – The purpose of the first public hearing was to consider the Repeal and Replacement of the Enabling Resolution Establishing the Hampton Economic Development Authority. This is necessary because the Enabling Resolution that was passed in November 2008 listed the appointed officers of the EDA by their names rather than by their titles. The purpose of the second public hearing was to consider an Application for a Variance for a 2,560 Square Foot Pole-Framed Garage for Jesse Gesme of 23215 Hampton Blvd. Mayor Knetter opened the public hearing at 7:00 p.m. There was no public comment. Discussion ensued among Councilors regarding clarification of the steps required for the granting of the Variance by Council and the recommendation by the Planning Commission for the approval of the Conditional Use Permit for the pole-framed garage. Knetter indicated that he had spoken with the City Planner and that the steps are required because of the wording in the city’s ordinances. His opinion is that the ordinances need to be updated to streamline the process for such requests.
Adjournment – Motion by Luhring seconded by Evertz-Garcia to close the public hearing. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0. The public hearing closed at 7:06 p.m.
Regular Meeting called to Order - Mayor Knetter called the Regular Scheduled Meeting to order at 7:06 p.m. Present were Mayor John Knetter; Council Members Cindy Flodeen, David Luhring, and Kati Evertz-Garcia.
Disclosure of Interest – None
Approval of April 13, 2021 Regular Scheduled Meeting Minutes – Motion by Luhring seconded by Evertz-Garcia to approve the April 13, 2021 Regular Scheduled Meeting Minutes. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Approval of Disbursements – Motion by Evertz-Garcia seconded by Luhring to approve the May disbursements. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Public Comment – Mayor Knetter stated that, for public comment items, no action will be taken on an item unless Council votes to add the item to the agenda. Neil Hoadley was present to comment on the need for property clean- up. His address is 23440 Water Street. He recently was cleaning up some buckthorn and, where the buckthorn is located abuts a runoff channel that begins at Main Street, then goes under STH 50, and then behind the Rayburn development on the south side of Water Street. Hoadley was working in that area this past winter and noticed that it looked like the channel was leaking across several residents’ properties. Upon further investigation this spring, he found that an old snowmobile bridge that had previously crossed the channel had drifted down the channel and had caused the channel to dam up and water and debris was overtopping the dam. Hoadley would like this issue to be put on the agenda for a future City Council meeting to discuss the City’s responsibility in regard to cleaning this up. He mentioned that the channel is not draining properly, and water is backing up and going into residents’ back yards.
Hoadley had an additional public comment item regarding residents of Main Street that are taking debris from their lawns and dumping it on an undeveloped private property across the street. He stated that, recently, a road had been built to the back of the property and larger quantities of debris are being dumped on the back of the property. In addition to the illegal dumping, Hoadley mentioned that there seems to be more and more unregistered vehicles parked around the city that need to be addressed. Councilors thanked Hoadley for the information.
Vicki Dohmen addressed the Council regarding concerns about parking on city streets. Specifically, her concern is parking on streets near the new funeral home, which includes Lincoln St., where she resides. She has concerns about potential effects on her property value, and also about safety issues when vehicles are parked on both sides of the city streets. When this occurs vehicles driving down opposite sides of the street must take turns going through because of the width of some city streets. Councilors thanked Dohmen.
Petitions, Requests, and Communications – Variance application for a 2,560 square foot pole-framed garage – Jesse Gesme, 23215 Hampton Blvd. Discussion again regarding clarification of the process for approvals for the variance and the CUP. Luhring stated that the Council would work to clean up the ordinance language so that no other resident would have to go through the cumbersome process that Gesme has gone through. Motion by Evertz- Garcia seconded by Luhring to grant the variance. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Councilor Evertz-Garcia resignation. Mayor Knetter thanked Evertz-Garcia for her service to the community. Evertz-Garcia stated that Tom Eilen is the individual that is purchasing her property in Hampton. He asked Evertz- Garcia to let Councilors know that he is intending to use her property and other properties he owns for future development. In order to do that, he has future plans to make a request to Council for the purchase of the City property where Main St. ends and is barricaded off, so that the properties he owns can be combined for development.
Knetter asked Councilors for a motion to accept Evertz-Garcia’s resignation. Motion was made by Flodeen seconded by Luhring to accept Evertz-Garcia’s resignation. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Ordinance review and discussion. Knetter indicated that it is the consensus of Councilors that ordinances need to be reviewed and updated where necessary. Knetter asked Flodeen to take the lead on the discussion. Flodeen said she would first like to discuss ordinance § 152.278, Private Swimming Pools. She referred to notes she had taken after reviewing the City’s ordinance and recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics regarding the subject. She mentioned that the City’s ordinance states that pools must have a minimum fence height of 5 feet. However, the ordinance doesn’t consider the size of the pool, or its portability. As far as the 5’ minimum height, Flodeen stated that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a minimum side wall height of 4 feet, and that the pool is enclosed on all 4 sides so that it is climb-proof. She specified that a chain link fence is not climb-proof, so it should be mentioned in the ordinance that that type of fence cannot be used for this purpose. Other items to consider include that gates be self-closing and self-latching, that gate latch heights are appropriate, and that the pool area remain toy-free when not in use. Knetter stated that these are all important considerations, and that this is the beginning of the process for updating this particular ordinance, and that it will be discussed further at next month’s meeting.
The next ordinance for discussion is § 152.032, Accessory Building and/or Structures. Flodeen again took the lead on the discussion. Flodeen’s opinion is that, basically the changes that need to be made are ones that make the process less cumbersome for residents who are seeking a variance or CUP for adding a building to their property. Knetter stated that Council needs to get input from the City Planner on how to revise the current ordinance to streamline the process for such requests.
Ordinances and Resolutions – Resolution 2021-04 calling for the repeal and replacement of the enabling resolution establishing the Hampton Economic Development Authority. Knetter asked for a motion to approve Resolution 2021- 04. Motion was made by Evertz-Garcia seconded by Luhring to approve Resolution 2021-04. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Reports of Officers, Boards, and Committees:
Engineer Report – Brad Fisher with Bolton and Menk began by updating the Council on the Main Street Lift Station Backup Generator Project. He informed Council on the progress being made by Muska Electric. He mentioned that he stopped by the site on the way to the meeting and verified that the gas line has not yet been trenched in, so will need to contact them to coordinate and find out what their schedule is for that. Once the electrical work and the gas line trenching are complete, the next step is to have Muska Electric contact the generator supplier and have them commission the generator, make sure that it is working properly, and do some training with City staff.
The second item that Fisher updated Council members on is funding options for a new water tower. He reminded Council that a year ago he applied for the City to be ranked and placed on the Drinking Water Revolving Fund’s Project Priority List (PPL). The next step to move forward in this process is to submit an Intended Use Plan (IUP) by the June 4th deadline so that the City will have a “shovel ready” project, which should benefit the city as projects are prioritized for funding. Fisher asked Councilors their opinion of moving ahead with this next step of IUP submission, and it was the consensus of the Council that the City needs to move forward with the project, so asked Fisher to prepare and submit the IUP.
Fisher continued that the next step in the process, after the submission of the IUP, is the completion of an Environmental Review. As a part of the review, various considerations need to be investigated, including project impacts to various state agencies. One of the more critical hurdles the project will face is the requirements of the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) because of the potential historic nature of the existing water tower being a Red Top tower. If the tower is considered historic, it would require a Historic Significance Study and SHPO’s turnaround time would be expected to take up to a 12-to-18-month process to complete.
Fisher asked Councilors to provide him with direction on what to do next to move forward with the process. Discussion ensued regarding SHPO’s authority and its impact on the project. Councilors asked Fisher to do more research regarding SHPO’S authority and requirements for the project to proceed.
Along with the Environmental Review, a Tower Siting Study will need to be completed. If it is identified that the City needs to acquire additional property for the new tower, that will need to be determined in advance to allow for enough time for the property acquisition process to occur.
Fisher asked Council their opinion on the timeline to continue with the project, as to when a “study kick-off” meeting might be planned for the various steps that will be required to proceed with the project. As had already been discussed Council would like Fisher to do further research regarding the jurisdictional authority of SHPO. Knetter also mentioned that there already has been some work done on the subject of the site for the new tower. Gathering and reviewing this information may take a couple of months, so Council asked that a kick-off meeting be pushed off until then.
Water / Sewer Report – Marlin Reinardy reported that, for the sewer system, the discharge process is going well. However, there was a problem with one of the valves that wouldn’t open, which can’t be fixed until the discharge is complete.
For water, there is a shut off valve on one of the hydrants that may be leaking. The location of the hydrant is at the corner of Belmont St. and Belle Ct. Reinardy has been checking the status of the hydrant, and is unsure of what is causing the leaking. Reinardy will continue to monitor.
Reinardy mentioned that he took a 6-hour continuing education course that was offered by the Minnesota Rural Water Association. It was held on the property of Mystic Lake Casino, and course attendees had the opportunity to tour their sewage disposal system.
Park Report – Evertz-Garcia mentioned that the weeds in the parks are coming in quickly and that the landscape service should be contacted to begin spraying in the parks. Reinardy stated that they had already begun spraying this past Saturday.
Street Report – Luhring reported that the spring sweeping has taken place and that the streets are in good shape. Old Business – None
No Parking signs – Lincoln St. and Belmont St. Reinardy had asked that this item be placed on the agenda. He stated that there is an existing ordinance that states that parking on those streets is only permitted for park events. He feels that signs that indicate this need to be put up right away. Additionally, he mentioned that there has been a problem with unauthorized motorized vehicles being driven on park property, and wants to put up signs for that issue as well. Discussion ensued regarding the proper wording to be used on the signs. Council determined that there is plenty of money in the budget for the purchase of the signs and authorized Reinardy to order them.
Adjournment - Motion by Evertz-Garcia seconded by Luhring to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:21 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy O’Brien