The Hampton City Council met on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at the Hampton City Hall for the regular scheduled meeting. Present were Mayor John Knetter; Council Members Cindy Flodeen, David Luhring, Anthony Verch (arrived at 7:02), and Nick Russell. Also present was Brad Fisher of Bolton & Menk, Melissa Timm, 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 April 11, 2023 Regular Scheduled Meeting Minutes – Motion by Russell seconded by Flodeen to approve the April 11, 2023 regular scheduled meeting minutes. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0.
Approval of Disbursements – Mayor Knetter mentioned that an additional bill from the City’s attorney’s office, in the amount of $45.70 was received today, and asked that the motion to approve includes the addition of this bill to the claims list. Motion by Luhring seconded by Flodeen to add the additional attorney bill to the claims list and approve the May disbursements. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0.
Public Comment – Melissa Timm, 23205 Colorado Ave., was in attendance at the meeting to speak about ordinances that are continuously being violated, particularly that of being parked on the streets for longer than 24 hours at a time, referring to Ordinance § 71.02. Timm also referred to Ordinance § 71.03(G), which states, “No vehicle shall be parked upon any public street, alley, or public property for the purpose of camping or residing in.” She said that she is aware of an instance of this occurring in the Heights of Hampton. Timm also referred to Ordinance § 152.238(C) Front yard/side yard/corner side yard, which states, “No portion of a required front yard, side yard or corner side yard shall be used for off-street parking…” Timm indicated that there are examples of this ordinance being violated on every street in the City. Timm also stated that it is her opinion that enforcement of these ordinance violations is being done only on select addresses, and that she has made complaints to people currently in the room, but nothing has been done. She has called the Sheriff Department, but was told that they have no jurisdiction with regard to city ordinances. Mayor Knetter told Timm that her concerns were duly noted. Councilor Luhring asked that an item be included on next month’s meeting agenda to review the City’s parking ordinances.
Petitions, Requests, and Communications – Mayor Knetter stated that he has been receiving phone calls about the trees on Main St. that are affecting the condition of the asphalt. This needs to be checked to see what actions may need to be taken by the City.
Reports of Officers, Boards, and Committees:
Engineer’s Report – Brad Fisher of Bolton & Menk began by reporting on the Frontage Road Turnback Agreement. The City passed its resolution to enter into the three-party agreement with Hampton Township and MnDOT at its February Council meeting. Hampton Township has done the same. The three-party agreement has been signed by all parties, and a Notice of Intent was published in the Cannon Falls Beacon that the City of Hampton and Hampton Township intend to enter into a joint resolution providing for orderly annexation. Fisher stated that the next step in the process is for Council to approve and execute the joint resolution of orderly annexation. Mayor Knetter asked for a motion to approve the resolution. Motion by Luhring seconded by Verch to approve Resolution 2023-06 – Joint Resolution Providing for Orderly Annexation Between the City of Hampton and Hampton Township Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes § 414.0325. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0.
The second item that Fisher touched on was the Highway 52 reconstruction project and issues with traffic control that have been affecting traffic on Hampton city streets. Adjustments have been made by MnDOT to improve traffic control to limit problems occurring within city limits. They will monitor over the next 48 hours to see if the adjustments bring about desired changes.
The third item reported on by Fisher was the 2023 Pavement Maintenance Project. At the April 11th City Council meeting, Council asked Fisher to make an assessment of the current condition of city streets within the Heights of Hampton. Both Fisher and Cory Bienfang, of Bolton & Menk, made site visits to the area and agreed that there is noticeable deterioration in many areas. Fisher stated that the condition of the streets appeared to be similar to that of Belmont Street and the adjoining cul-de-sacs last year, where a mill and overlay was done as part of the 2022 Pavement Maintenance Project. Fisher asked Council to turn their attention to the cost estimate in his staff report of a mill and overlay in the Heights of Hampton. He reminded Council that this is a larger project than the project completed in 2022, so the cost is substantially higher. Because the cost is estimated to be more than $175,000, the project will have to be put out to bid, rather than the City accepting project quotes. Mayor Knetter asked Chris Meyer, City Treasurer, if he felt this was something the City would be able to do in 2023. Meyer responded that he would have to crunch the numbers and let Council know. The 2023 Pavement Maintenance Project is tabled until the June 13th Council meeting.
Next on Fisher’s list was the Dakota County CR 78 FEMA LOMR Acknowledgment. Fisher explained that Dakota County is working to get FEMA approval for the CSAH 78 project that was completed in 2021. The project included the replacement of large box culverts under CSAH 78 that convey stormwater for Tributary 3 of the South Branch Vermillion River. The tributary has a FEMA-regulated floodplain designation through the project area, so hydraulic modeling prior to construction was done with the coordination of FEMA and the MN Department of Natural Resources to show that the project would not create a rise in the floodplain elevation. The same hydraulic modeling was done by the County’s consultant after construction was completed using the “as-built” conditions in order to complete the required Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) to submit to FEMA to update the mapping. A portion of the project was located within the city limits of the City of Hampton and, because the City of Hampton is responsible for administering the floodplain within its boundaries, a city official must sign off acknowledging the map revision request. Bolton & Menk is requesting that Mayor Knetter consider the request and complete the applicable section of the FEMA Community Acknowledgment form.
The final item brought up by Fisher was the Water St. Lift Station Back-up Generator Project. Fisher met with Killmer Electric the day before. The subcontractor is scheduled to do borings next week. Fisher mention that the project may be done before next year. Also, correspondence will be sent to neighbors informing them of project details.
Water / Sewer Report – Mayor Knetter reported that they are actively discharging, and samples taken look good. Also, the parts that were ordered for the fluoride pump were received.
Marlin Reinardy spoke about the contractor working on the Highway 52 project who requested access to the City’s water supply, who estimated that the daily volume of water that would be taken would be approximately 100,000 gallons. The contractor felt that the price the City had quoted of $10 per 1,000 gallons of water was too high; that he felt a fair price was $4 to $5 per 1,000 gallons, so he is putting in a well.
Park Report – Councilor Russell reported that the tennis courts will be put together tomorrow. The hockey rink is cleaned up. Soon there will be painting done at the hockey rink and needed striping at the basketball court. Have been having problems with dirt bikes in the park in the Heights of Hampton.
Street Report – Councilor Luhring stated that alleys are in bad condition and will be redressed. Patching needs to be done at the intersection of 238th St. and Main St.
Ordinances and Resolutions:
Resolution 2023-06 – Joint Resolution Providing for Orderly Annexation Between the City of Hampton and Hampton Township Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes § 414.0325. Motion was made and resolution was approved – item covered under Engineer’s Report.
Resolution 2023-07 – A Resolution Consenting to Amendments to the City’s Senior Housing Revenue Refunding Notes, Series 2016C (McKenna Crossing Senior Housing Project). Mayor Knetter asked Council Members if they had any questions about the resolution. Motion by Flodeen seconded by Luhring to approve the amendments to the City’s Senior Housing Revenue Refunding Notes, Series 2016C. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0.
Unfinished Business - None
New Business:
LIBOR modifications to the Shepherd’s Path/McKenna Crossing conduit note from 2016 – Mayor Knetter stated that this was covered under Resolution 2023-07.
Adjournment – Motion Verch seconded by Luhring to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 5:0. The meeting adjourned at 7:34 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy O’Brien
City Clerk
