The Hampton City Council met on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at the Hampton City Hall for the regular scheduled meeting. Present were Mayor John Knetter; Council Members Cindy Flodeen, David Luhring, and Nick Russell. Also present was Brad Fisher of Bolton & Menk, Mike Slavik, District 1 Commissioner for Dakota County, Melissa Timm, Neil Hoadley, Marlin Reinardy, and Chris Meyer, City Treasurer.
Regular Meeting called to Order - Mayor Knetter called the Regular Scheduled Meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Disclosure of Interest – None
Approval of the May 9, 2023 Regular Scheduled Meeting Minutes – Motion by Luhring seconded by Flodeen to approve the May 9, 2023 regular scheduled meeting minutes. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Approval of Disbursements – Motion by Flodeen seconded by Russell to approve the May disbursements. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Public Comment:
Mike Slavik, District 1 Commissioner for Dakota County, was in attendance and asked Council if he could provide an update of recent County events. Slavik reported that there is an open house scheduled for tomorrow evening in Randolph for the CTH 88 reconstruction project. Slavic reviewed the anticipated schedule for completion of the project.
The Minnesota Legislative session was mentioned by Slavik. He reported that there will be a 1% sales tax increase for Dakota County and the rest of the 7-county metro area. The purpose of the increase is for housing project needs. The increase will generate approximately $1.1 - $1.2 billion in Dakota County. Of that, approximately $300,000 will be available for housing needs in Dakota County. Slavik mentioned that the state budget mainly benefits needs at the state level. There is very little that will trickle down for that of county needs.
The final item referenced by Slavik was an Open House Meeting that will be held in the back-meeting room at Celt’s Pub in Farmington on June 27th at 7:00 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to present a proposal to allow for the County to add 3 additional Sheriff Deputies to improve public safety response time and to have an adequate number of deputies to meet the demand needs in the Sheriff’s Patrol area.
Also, in attendance was Neil Hoadley, who asked if the street sign at Water St. and Sun Valley Lane could be moved so that he has better access to his property. Mayor Knetter stated that the City would take a look at Hoadley’s proposed location for the sign.
Petitions, Requests, and Communications – Repairs to dry air scrubber at the Main St. lift station – Marlin Reinardy – Marlin Reinardy, former Water/Sewer Superintendent, stated that the air scrubber at the Main St. lift station was installed 5 years ago. Currently, there are neighbors who have reported an odor coming from the lift station. It has been determined that the system’s filtering media needs to be replaced. The cost is $4,100, plus shipping. Installation will be done by the City. Motion by Luhring seconded by Russell to approve purchasing the dry air scrubber filtering media replacement. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Reports of Officers, Boards, and Committees:
Engineer’s Report – Brad Fisher of Bolton & Menk began by reporting on the Frontage Road Turnback Agreement. Hampton Township approved the Joint Resolution at their last meeting. The remaining work is to record the Joint Resolution with the state. Any costs associated with the filing will be split between the City and the Township. Fisher reported on his recent communication with the DOT regarding the timeline of when the mill and overlay of the frontage road will be done. The mill and overlay is scheduled to be completed in 2023. However, because of the location of the batch plant that was erected for the purpose of working on the Highway 52 reconstruction project, the City has concerns about the frontage road mill and overlay project being done in 2023 because trucks will be hauling on the frontage road during reconstruction of Highway 52 for the remainder of the construction season in 2023, and in 2024. Discussion with Council regarding their preference for when they would like to have the mill and overlay project done. The consensus of Council is that the mill and overlay should be done in 2024 because of the volume of hauling yet to be done on the frontage road both in 2023 and 2024.
Fisher asked Council if the traffic situation in the City has improved since changes were made with regard to signage and traffic control. Council agreed that there has been improvement. Fisher mentioned that Stage 2 of the Highway 52 project will begin in mid-July.
The second item reported on by Fisher was the 2023 Pavement Maintenance Project. This was discussed at the May City Council meeting; however, it was tabled to allow time for the City Treasurer to do an analysis of the City’s cash accounts, and the potential availability of funding for the project to be done in 2023. Chris Meyer, City Treasurer, submitted a report to Council and Fisher, summarizing his analysis, with the final result indicating that the City does have enough cash available to fund the pavement maintenance project to be done in 2023. In his report, Fisher again summarized work that had been done by himself and Cory Bienfang to assess the current condition of the pavement on streets in the Heights of Hampton. Additionally, Fisher provided the cost summary that had also been reviewed at the May Council meeting. Discussion. After discussion by Council, it was decided to push off the mill and overlay project until next year, so that the City may benefit from more competitive bidding in the spring. Fisher stated that he will move forward with preparing a construction plan by year-end and beginning the bidding process in early 2024. Councilor Luhring stated that he had reached out to the spray patching company used in the past and expects to receive a quote by the end of the week.
The next item on Fisher’s list was the Dakota County Maintenance Facility Conditional Use Permit (CUP). Dakota County met with City staff to discuss updates to the Maintenance Facility plans for which the CUP was approved in the fall of 2021. The proposed changes are significant enough to require an amendment of the CUP that was previously approved. The plan is to bring the CUP amendment application to the June Planning Commission meeting for their recommendation, which would then be considered by Council at their July meeting.
The final item brought up by Fisher was the Water St. Lift Station Back-up Generator Project. A great deal of site work has recently been completed. Work will continue, including restoration of turf areas, ahead of the generator delivery and installation later this year. Pay Application 2 invoice was submitted by Killmer and included in the claims list for payment.
Mayor Knetter recognized a Dakota County Deputy in attendance at the meeting and asked if he had anything to report. The Deputy stated that there were issues with traffic because of the Highway 52 construction project detours, along with people crashing into traffic control barricades. As far as criminal activity, there have been some calls, but nothing too terrible.
Water / Sewer Report – Marlin Reinardy reported on the sonar imaging of the sewer ponds that will assess the wastewater sludge levels. The service is no longer available from the organization he originally spoke to about it. He contacted a company named Team Lab that will charge $600.00 to do one pond and $400.00 to do a second pond. It is Reinardy’s recommendation that the sonar imaging be done on all 3 of the sewer ponds to get a good baseline for determining future chemical treatment needs. Mayor Knetter stated that he agreed with Reinardy. Knetter mentioned that the sonar imaging of the ponds does not need a motion, as there was a motion to proceed with obtaining the service at a previous Council meeting.
The second item Reinardy mentioned was in regard to the lead pipe inventory project that the City will need to have completed by the fall of 2024. Reinardy mentioned that there is a free 6-hour course in Howard Lake, MN on June 22nd that he would like to attend in order to learn more about the requirements to complete the inventory. Reinardy stated that, if he will be doing the inventory, he wants to get it done before he leaves for Arizona in the fall. Mayor Knetter stated that he thinks it is a good idea for Reinardy to attend the training. Discussion about doing the inventory in-house or outsourcing. Brad Fisher mentioned that there will be grant funding available for this. He said he will know more about the grant funding next month.
Park Report – Councilor Russell reported that there are signs of emerald ash borer damaging trees in the park. He is currently seeking tree removal estimates. At last month’s Council meeting Mayor Knetter mentioned that he has been contacted by residents who are concerned about trees along Main St. that are causing damage to the roadway, so the tree removal estimates are for the trees in the parks and also 3 clusters of trees along Main St. The trees at the ballfield will be taken care of after the season is over. Russell stated that he would contact the DNR to get their opinion about options for replacement trees. Mayor Knetter suggested that Russell also get some input from the folks associated with the Hampton Cardinals.
Russell also mentioned that he will be getting quotes for replacing wood chips in the parks. As far as the tennis courts, there are some cracks that need some attention. Russell is also shopping for a bench to be placed at the tennis courts.
Street Report – Councilor Luhring stated that anything regarding the streets has already been discussed.
Ordinances and Resolutions:
Resolution 2023-08 – Approving a donation to the City of Hampton. Mayor Knetter stated that this was a donation from Mark and Julie Peine, who donated a used (like new) commode for the men’s restroom at the ballfield. Motion by Luhring seconded by Flodeen to approve the donation. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Unfinished Business – 2023 Pavement Maintenance Project – This was covered earlier under the Engineer’s Report.
New Business:
Liquor License Renewal – Roundup and Meric’s - Motion by Luhring seconded by Russell to approve the liquor license renewals. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Gambling/Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for St. Mathias Fun Fest - Motion by Russell seconded by Flodeen to approve the gambling/temporary on-sale liquor license for the St. Mathias Fun Fest. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Quotes/proposals for tree removal on Main Street – Mayor Knetter mentioned that he had requested a quote from one other tree removal service. The owner of that business had been out-of-town and unable to get the quote to Knetter prior to tonight’s meeting. - Motion by Luhring seconded by Russell to approve the quote that is most beneficial to the City for the tree removal, pending receipt of the quote from the 4th tree removal service company. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Outsourcing utility locates – Mayor Knetter stated that, because of the Highway 52 reconstruction project, there have been many more locate requests than average this year. Because he and Josh work full-time, they are unable to keep up with all of the locate requests. The City requested fee information from several companies who provide this service. Only one company responded with the requested information, and that quote was in the amount of over $10,000 per year. Marlin Reinardy has agreed to resume the duty of doing the utility locates for the City during the months when he is not in Arizona.
City Ordinances regarding parking on City streets – Mayor Knetter stated that this was put on the agenda because of a discussion that occurred under Public Comments at last month’s Council meeting. It was felt that Council needed to review the City’s Parking Regulations Ordinances to ensure that they properly address problems that have been occurring on the City’s streets. Knetter mentioned that one of the problems that he recently addressed was the individual who was repairing cars that were parked on Water St. He said that it took him some time, and several discussions with the apartment building owner, until the issue was finally resolved. The building owner allowed the resident to work on the vehicles in his private parking area on the property. Discussion. Knetter and Councilor Luhring said they reviewed the Ordinances and feel that they fully cover the issues that Council agreed are important for all residents. Luhring commented that the problem is not the Ordinances, but enforcement of those Ordinances. Discussion among Council and those in attendance about problems with people being parked on both sides of a street and emergency vehicles being able to get through. Knetter stated that he didn’t think this was a problem, as he is a member of the fire department, and he knows he could drive a truck through a street, even if cars are parked on both sides of the street. It was again stated by Council that the Ordinances are sufficient; that the problem is one of enforcement. Discussion continued about parking enforcement officers or community service officers who are residents, but have the authority to direct residents who are in violation of parking ordinances to stop what they are doing.
Adjournment – Motion Flodeen seconded by Russell to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:07 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy O’Brien
City Clerk
