01-12-98 Regular
CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Richfield, Minnesota
Regular Meeting
January 12, 1998
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Kirsch at 7:00 p.m.
PRESENTATION OF COLORS AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Kirsch led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL
Members Present:Martin Kirsch, Mayor; Michael Sandahl; Susan Rosenberg; and
Kristal Stokes.
Members Absent:Russ Susag.
City Clerk Ferber read the following message from Council Member Susag:
“I will not be in attendance at the Monday, January 12, Richfield City Council meeting
because of an out-of-town business commitment. I serve on the Research Coordinating
Council of the Gas Research Institute. Their winter meeting is scheduled to be held
Monday-Tuesday, January 12-13, in Newport Beach, CA. This meeting was scheduled 12
months ago. Several months ago I indicated that I would be absent from the January 12,
1998 Council Meeting. I respectfully request for this to be considered an excused
absence. Russ Susag”
M/Sandahl, S/Stokes to determine the absence of Council Member Susag as an
excused absence.
Motion carried 4-0.
Council Meeting Minutes-2-January 12, 1998
Staff Present :James Prosser, City Manager; Steven Devich, Administrative
Services Director; Thomas Ferber, City Clerk; Bruce Palmborg,
Community Development Director; Mike Eastling, Public Works
Director; Gretchen Blank, Recreation Services Director; Randy
Hughes, Operations Coordinator; Dan Scott, Public Safety Director;
William Fillmore, Liquor Operations Director; and Corrine Thomson,
City Attorney.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
M/Stokes, S/Sandahl to approve the minutes of the Special City Council Closed
Executive Session of December 22, 1997, the minutes of the Regular City Council
meeting of December 22, 1997, and the Regular City Council Study Session of January 5,
1998.
Motion carried 4-0.
Item #1PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATE OF COMMENDATION TO RICHFIELD
POLICE OFFICER LISA PETRICKA. C.L. NO. 1
Public Safety Director reviewed Council Letter No. 1 and presented a Certificate of
Commendation to Police Officer Lisa Petricka for her actions involving a suspect with a
gun.
Item #2CONSIDERATION OF ABANDONING VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK OF
RICHFIELD/WATER PLANT SITE FOR CITY MAINTENANCE FACILITY
C.L. NO. 2
Mayor Kirsch read the following statement:
“We have before us tonight a recommendation to abandon the Veterans Memorial
Park of Richfield as a site for the construction of the City maintenance facility. Because
most of you present tonight are here on that matter, I’m asking the Council to take action
on this item at the beginning part of our agenda. After that, we will certainly accept
comments from those present.
Council Meeting Minutes-3-January 12, 1998
Over the past few days we’ve all received a number of calls regarding this
proposal. I’ve prepared a statement that I hope responds to the questions that have been
raised. For at least the past 10 years, the City has identified a need to build a new City
maintenance facility. The need for that maintenance facility has been reviewed
periodically by our Community Services Commission, as well as the Planning
Commission. That need is basically the result of outgrowing our current facility and
changing methods of operations. Maintaining our streets, sewers, water system as they
get older requires more specialized equipment and space to store that equipment.
Improvements to 77th Street have also prompted the loss a portion of our maintenance
facility.
We knew that it would be difficult to find a location for a maintenance facility in a
community like Richfield. No one wants to have that maintenance facility in their
backyard. Our first effort was to look at a site on airport property that was not required for
airport operations. For a number of years, we worked with the Metropolitan Airports
Commission to find a suitable site. The Minnesota Department of Transportation had
begun to work with the City of Richfield on development of a facility that could be shared
by the City and MnDOT adjacent to the airport. Unfortunately, the MAC ultimately decided
that while MnDOT could build on their site; Richfield would essentially be required to
agree not to challenge any future airport expansions in return for use of that property.
Knowing that this would not be an acceptable outcome, the City began to explore a variety
of other sites within and outside of the City, including properties within Minneapolis. The
Veterans Memorial Park of Richfield site was identified as a potential site. Our
understanding was that we would be able to exchange a lime lagoon area that would be
restored to park land with the area immediately south of the existing water plant.
We knew that locating the maintenance facility in the park could prove to be
controversial. That is why a special effort was made to notify residents in the immediate
vicinity of the proposed facility through a special newsletter and to make the general
community aware of the proposal through articles in the Sun Current. We provided open
houses regarding the proposal and even constructed a sign on the site advertising the
proposed site for the facility.
We were also aware of the need to gain Department of Natural Resources’
approval for use of this property as a maintenance facility. Our discussions with the DNR
were initiated in late 1996. It was our understanding, obviously mistakenly so, that the
DNR would approve an exchange of property with the restored lime lagoon site.
It was also our impression that, based upon the lack of expressed public concern
regarding the proposed site, the maintenance facility at this location, while not desirable,
was at least acceptable. Obviously we were wrong about that as well.
The recent outpouring of opposition to constructing this facility at the park prompts
us to take this action to abandon this site. Unfortunately, site clearance had already been
initiated for this construction and it is this site clearance, the removal of the trees, that
without question, clearly brought to the attention of the public this proposal.
Council Meeting Minutes-4-January 12, 1998
While the opposition to this project has come on very late, it is still within our
powers to stop this project. While we cannot reinstall the size trees that were cut down,
90% of the trees were cottonwood trees, we believe they can be replaced with much more
beneficial varieties for wildlife, park users and neighbors. The City will be working to
develop a plan to restore this area and to plant some higher quality trees. A number of
our residents have volunteered to work with us in this planning process.
The City of Richfield is a small compact community. We’re known as the Urban
Hometown. We treasure resident involvement and participation in our government and
we value your opinion. If there was any way within our power to remove the anger and
frustration that was felt by our residents because of what has happened, I would certainly
do so; but I can’t. I can ask you to understand by our actions tonight that we do listen to
and care about what you have to say. Indeed, that is why we initially worked so hard to
gain your opinions regarding this project.
Finally, I want to recognize the media here tonight. They have played no small part
in raising public attention to this issue. It would be especially gratifying if the media would
pursue with equal vigor the airports refusal to permit Richfield from joining the MnDOT
maintenance facility on airport property. That refusal stopped an effort for a joint facility
which could have saved the City and the State not only construction costs but also
operating expenses.”
City Manager Prosser reviewed Council Letter No. 2 recommending that the City
abandon the Veterans Memorial Park/Water Plant site as a location for the Public Works
Maintenance Facility.
M/Rosenberg, S/Sandahl to abandon the Veterans Memorial Park/Water Plant site
as a location for the Public Works Maintenance Facility.
Mayor Kirsch invited comments from the audience and the following comments
were made:
Shirley Hokanson, 7345 Russell Avenue, I appreciate the opportunity here to visit
with you, Mr. Mayor and Members of the Council. It has been several years since I’ve
addressed you from this podium and, well, I can’t say I’ve missed it a whole lot. No. As
some of you may know, I’ve had the privilege for several years of representing our fine
city in the Minnesota State Legislature and I continue to believe that it is one fine city and
that our public officials do a good job. However, having said that, as public office holders
you know that occasionally and rightly so perhaps, you are put on the hot seat and I
submit that this is one of those times. It was not too long ago when I drove down Portland
coming off the 62nd Street there and I looked to the left and I thought, good grief. What
gives? I thought that the trees must all have been diseased trees and that could be the
only explanation for having that many trees cut down. Nonetheless, as I have
subsequently learned, that was not the case at all. This has indeed garnered
considerable publicity and I might add, Mr. Mayor and Members, that earlier today I
happened to visiting with a State Senator and by many counts, an influential State
Senator, who indicated to me that he is going to demand that the City of Richfield repay
Council Meeting Minutes-5-January 12, 1998
the State for the money that has been spent already. Whether that will be pursued or not,
I have no idea. As for myself, I simply urge that you move to correct this environmental
blunder as soon as possible and to fix the system that allowed this to take place in the first
place. Thank you very much.
Roger Ose, 6824 Tenth Avenue, I watched the trees going down and I thought to
myself, during the years I grew up at Thief River Falls, my mom and us five boys planted
over 2,000 trees because of the need for environment beautification and I almost called
Mike Sandahl (he’s the guy whose boys used to go to school with our boys) and now the
damage has been done and I think it’s no need to point any fingers. I respect you people.
I respect what you tried to do. And in keeping with the very best in teamwork, which is
what Richfield always does, I’m willing to contribute a financial gift toward the restoration
of the new park. I would be very pleased to volunteer to help on the committee. In the
summertime, my wife and I walk that park at least two nights a week going the full length.
That’s why I’m so thin. Also, our son runs in that park consistently, even in winter and I
would say the next step we take is to get a plan for a beautiful restoration in that area.
And I want to thank you people for rescinding the garage which would have been built on
that property. And I take my hat off to the Richfield City Council for excellent leadership
and I am one of the people who stays here in Minnesota all winter because I was raised
here and I like it.
Lawrence Wozniczka, 6744 Wentworth Avenue, my friends call me Larry.
Sometimes even Members of the City Council call me Larry. You might recall that I have
faced you a number of times on this issue that I wanted a public hearing before we
proceeded with this maintenance garage. I regret that a forest had to be massacred in
order to bring this to the attention of the public. As a citizen of Richfield, I thank those
who made the special effort to bring the proposed maintenance facility at Veterans Park to
public attention. Today’s City Manager’s letter to the Council (Letter No. 2) concerning
this item, recommends “abandoning Veterans Park/Water Plant site as a location for the
Public Works maintenance facility.” The basis of that recommendation is that “Due to
opposition to the site by adjacent neighborhood, staff has decided not to develop this
site.” The recommended action is correct. The stated basis is incomplete. The real basis
is that the site cannot be used because of a previous agreement with the DNR.
Conveniently absent from today’s Council Letter are the costs to restore a forest and the
waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars (public money) for architect and management
fees to date. These deserve accounting and accountability. Our City Charter, chapter 11,
section 11.01, states that the City may own and operate water and other public utilities
and may construct all facilities reasonably needed for that purpose. But such action may
only be taken by ordinance, which requires public hearing and notice thereof. Staff had
consistently rebuffed my pleas for public hearing on this matter. Such hearings would
have defined the number of trees to be taken before the decision to cut them. It would
have very likely also uncovered the need for DNR approval. Another need for public
hearing relates to the proposed surcharge on water fees to pay for this facility. Section
11.02 of our charter states that before any rates can be fixed by the Council, the Council
must hold a public hearing on the matter in accordance with section 11.06 of the charter.
And that there shall be no attempt to use municipal utility operating funds directly or
indirectly as a general revenue producing agency. Those should be reviewed. City staff
Council Meeting Minutes-6-January 12, 1998
neglects to report the consequences of their action in tonight’s letter to the Council. Even
the Council request, as recently as last Monday at the Study Session, for the staff to bring
the report on consideration of alternative sites seems to have been ignored, at least that
report is not found in the public copy of the letters. I think there is a great need to go back
and revisit the need for an expanded garage. The area and population of the City of
Richfield have declined in recent years. Design provisions were not disclosed at the
December 30th meeting of the neighbors, nor were they at last week’s Study Session
when the architect was supposedly, or expected to be, showing what was included. It
would be interesting to know what we are expecting to add in terms of exercise rooms,
offices, meeting rooms, public access, especially pedestrian provisions. It’s disturbing to
me to pick up the public copy, read the public copy of the Status and Information letter
that goes to the Council and certain management personnel, but the one dated January
2nd, talks about the garage. And it says, staff would like to have a vehicle with a tilt bed,
so that aside from towing cars and trucks, it would be able to haul several mowers and
tractors too. Well, I submit that that’s a wasteful expenditure of funds. We have been
contracting with private haulers to do our towing and I think that’s worked very well and it’s
certainly cost effective. To use a tilt bed tow truck to haul lawn mowers is utterly wasteful.
We’ve got to provide a larger garage to store the tow truck. We’ve got to have another
one for the mower and we’re wasting space. It’s things like that that have got to be
reviewed. How could public hearings have been ignored so blatantly and so long? I want
to refer the City Council to a Study Session that the City Council called for February 3 of
1997, about a year ago. That was an unusual Study Session. I looked for the City
Council Letter that accompanied the announcement. I found none. And I try to be diligent
in my tracking of those things. I also find no minutes of that meeting in the public record.
You might recall that on February 10th at the City Council meeting, I raised the question
of whether that meeting was in violation of the open meeting law. I have yet to see a
response. The basis of my question was that at that meeting, in a full sit down dinner
session, when I arrived at six o’clock, was the Planning Commission, the HRA and quite a
few of the City staff. The topic of that meeting was “Systematic Development of Informed
Consent Workshop.” Consultant Hans Bleicker from the Institute of Participatory
Management and Planning presided. Informed consent was described as the willingness
of opponents to go along with a course of action that they are actually opposed to. Public
mass meetings were described and deemed counterproductive. It’s clear to me in
reviewing that, that part of that lesson has been followed in the matters relating to this
garage facility. I’d like to go to another disturbing bit. Some of you might know that I
serve as a member of Richfield Visions, Inc., as chair of the Economic Development
Committee. That committee is totally volunteer, no salary, contribute expenses. We
publish a newsletter and I think some of it should have reached the City Council. In order
to reach a broader audience, I had asked for and got permission to have our newsletter
set at the City desk, piled together with some of the public information and that lasted
about two months and I was told that, “no, we can’t allow that anymore.” And I wonder
why and I didn’t inquire as to who, but I presume it would be someone in the
administration, but then I got to thinking, what did I say in that last newsletter. It was
dated October 7th of 1997 and one topic was the City garage and this is its quote,
“Preliminary plans for a new $5,600,000 garage at Veterans Memorial Park were
approved by City Council on September 8th with a $246,100 work order for SEH to
prepare specifications and plans for bidding. Proceeding without public hearing and with
only $4,200,000 funding identified, raises concern about the economic impact.”
Council Meeting Minutes-7-January 12, 1998
I raise that with a question, whether we have a deliberate attempt among the City
administration, the staff, to control information. Was the Council informed of all the
details? Did those directives and what information you received lead to perhaps
uninformed or misinformed summaries on which you based your decisions? I find it very
difficult to believe that one of the Council Members could be quoted in the minutes of
December 22, 1997, that the City had done a very good job of communicating why this
site was chosen. I can’t say that happened. In summary, I’d just like to say that
oversights may be the excuse for failure to comply with the DNR agreement. Refusal to
uphold the City Charter in matters of public hearings are at least nonfeasance. Repeated
refusal by the City Manager to uphold the City Charter on public hearing requirements and
defy contracts existing with DNR and others, may be a matter for malfeasance. As a
property tax payer, this matter cannot be closed without an effort to recover costs lost to
this tragedy, including future expenses for replanting the trees. As a concerned citizen,
the process of public hearings must be preserved. Continued employment of the City
Manager needs to be made dependent on his willingness and availability to uphold the
City Charter. Thank you.
Ernie Lindstrom, 7406 Fremont Avenue, I have lived in the City pretty soon 40
years. Some not very nice things have been said about you people in connection with the
cutting of the trees and I want you to know you are still our friends, our neighbors, you’re
honest and respected leaders of the community, and we won’t forget that. But having said
that, there isn’t any one of us in this room, if we had cut those trees, wouldn’t have been
arrested, put in jail, charged with destruction of public property and been subject to
enormous damages in a civil law suit. The same would have happened to each one of
you if you had acted as individuals. But when we come together under the aura of
government and its power, you people are exempt from those things, providing we
measure up to the safeguards that we have for the citizenry. Mr. Wozniczka addressed
the question of public hearings. Last Monday night was the first time I was aware that
there had been and the City Manager said we don’t need any public hearings to build a
78,000 square foot garage; the most expensive facility, I think, that the City has ever built.
I couldn’t believe that. So that was the first thing that we didn’t have in place as a
protection. Secondly, we have notices that go out to citizens that cause their attention to
be called to specific items that will bring them to City Hall. The notices here went out to
people within 100 feet of the trees as I understand it and only on one side of the park and
I suspect if we saw that notice, it would be very general, that it would related to the
locating of a garage and the cutting of some trees. I’ve never seen the notice but I
suspect that it did not say 208 trees. Thirdly, the property in the park is zoned residential.
If you look at our ordinances, 521.03, public buildings, government buildings and public
libraries can be located in a residential neighborhood. You could have put a community
center or a variety of public buildings in there, but by your own definition, this was a
garage and a maintenance facility for sewer, for water, for streets, for a whole lot of things,
and if you’ll read 521.05, a residential neighborhood only allows minor public utilities.
There is no possible way that you should have ignored the zoning of this particular areas
for purposes of locating this facility. That would have required notice and the public would
have again been aware of what was happening. I think the most brazen thing that
occurred, was the ignoring of specific letters, September of 96 and again in December of
96. If you’re going to change the use of this park, you must get the consent of the state
because of the state funds involved. And that was ignored. And so, what things should
Council Meeting Minutes-8-January 12, 1998
we learn from this?
Council Meeting Minutes-9-January 12, 1998
The first thing is, go the extra mile in terms of giving notice to the citizens of what we’re
going to do. Mr. Wozniczka addressed the issue of public hearings. We’re losing the golf
course. We’ve lost Rich Acres. We’ve lost the other part of the property, east of Cedar
and so know we’re 62nd Street to 78th Street and Cedar to Xerxes and part of that area is
maintained by the County. And whether we need a facility that large or not, I don’t know,
but I certainly would expect a public hearing. The second thing is, you people have tried
to do the right thing in terms of locating this facility east of Cedar Avenue. This is property
taken from the City by the Metropolitan Airports Commission, who in an outrageous
fashion, says that we’ll allow you to have a facility here if you never again challenge our
expansion of the airport. That is an unreasonable request by the Metropolitan Airports
Commission. You asked the media, Mr. Mayor, and I think you were correct, in terms of
what is happening over there. The Governor is out of the state and I have called the
Governor’s office to get the Governor involved in a situation where it appears that the
appointees are now greater than the appointor in the sense that we take the land and
even the State of Minnesota, in cooperation with the City, cannot locate a one-story
maintenance facility on property just taken from the City. That is outrageous. And I will
be first in line to try to assist, in any way I can, the City in that regard. The third thing I
would say, is that we have had a nonresident in charge of our park program for years. It
is time that we have a resident of this City, who knows our people, who has been here and
you have one in the department who is an excellent employee, who I will not name, but I
would hope you would put a resident of this City in charge of our park program as soon as
possible. The next item I would say is that we develop a set of guidelines as to what City
Hall must do on City property when we are going to develop it. One of my sons just built a
house in Eagan. The forester told him, “You will not move this tree on this lot,” and they
were raising the elevation of the lot 18 inches, “You will put rock around that tree and then
dirt on top of it to preserve the roots and so the water can get down.” And the builder
said, “I cannot save that tree because of my equipment getting out.” And the city said,
“You will put barricades around that tree or you will not build this house.” One tree. And
so, when we come to the question of City Hall cutting trees, we need some rules that the
citizens have, that we know you must abide by. We have had five City Managers and I
think .....
we need to adopt regulations for the City Manager and staff to comply with .......we are
willing to assist in the process of replanting the park......you are still our neighbors that we
still have a lot of respect for you.
Scott Christensen, 7012 Portland Avenue, I think I speak for everybody that its
pretty stupid that we should, when we drive down Portland, that we should suffer looking
at a 100 yard stupid garage. There’s no point of it. I could ask you this. I could go with
this, but, I mean, why a 100 yards? Why don’t you just make it a little bit shorter. Why
should we suffer with so big of a garage. I mean there’s no point of it. You can make it a
little bit shorter. And put some more trees.
Howard W. Swanson, 7326 Columbus Avenue, I have lived there for 43 years. I’ve
seen a lot of things happen in Richfield, but never have I seen such a screw-up that has
been done here with that park. I hope, I whole agree with Ernie Lindstrom and the
gentleman that talked before him, and I will not take up a lot of the time. But I do not think
we need a five and a half million dollar facility and the thing that really made me laugh,
when they have to have a conference room. For what? That’s ridiculous. That’s all I got
Council Meeting Minutes-10-January 12, 1998
to say. Thank you very much.
Council Meeting Minutes-11-January 12, 1998
John Frober, 7544 Tenth Avenue, I’ve lived in Richfield for 38-1/2 years. Just
before Christmas, I was over to Veterans Park to buy a Christmas tree. The guy over
there, I don’t know who he is, he was driving a big suburban. He was cutting some wood
there. I stopped to say, “hello, Merry Christmas” to him and I said, “a little firewood?” He
says, “Yeah, I’m able to take this off of this pile and this off of this other pile.” He says,
“But the stuff over there, them two piles that are marked, this has already been sold by the
City.” Now I’d like to know, I’m not making an accusation cause this is what somebody
else made a statement, I’m just asking a question. If this wood had been sold, the exotics,
I hear now that 90% was cottonwood, only 10% was usable. OK, this 10%, if this the
10%, ladies and gentlemen, that was sold. Who bought it? Who sold it? Who got the
monetary gain off of this? And if it hasn’t been sold, is there a DNR expert or somebody
that’s involved with trees, that could come and identify these and let us know that this is
good wood? And where did the money go? The guy told me, I have no name, other than
he said this has been sold by the City, the exotics. Ten percent of 200 trees is still a lot of
trees. A hundred and five years old, two hundred year old trees, they are pretty good
stands. I deal with wood myself. A chunk of wood this big around and 16-18 feet tall,
ladies and gentlemen, it’s a lot of wood and it could end up being lots and lots of money. I
don’t know. I’m just asking a question like these people are. You’ve all got questions.
Where did this money go to if the wood has been sold? And if it hasn’t been sold, what
are you going to do with these exotics. I understand that there was some mahogany over
there. There was a lot of oak. There was even a couple of cherry trees. It’s all exotics;
it’s expensive.
Camillo DeSantis, 6508 Newton Avenue, I’m not going to comment on the location
or what’s transpired because obviously the motion is to abandon this particular site. But, I
think what gets lost in this whole discussion is what’s happening for Richfield. Ernie
mentioned how our boundaries are closing in on us, property being lost, these kinds of
things and while the conclusion to this particular site and this particular exercise is going
to be abandoned, I think it points up for me the issue that we’re going to revisit this again.
We do not have much land in Richfield. My view on this particular project was that we
were trying to free up land that was not being used for taxes and try to restore it to a
taxable use and to me, that is the kind of checkerboard game that we’re going to have to
be playing and we’ve been playing it for quite some time. And to me, this is a classic
example of that particular activity having to be played out in our community. My hope
would be that even though we can quibble about details, I don’t think that a city like
Richfield could continue to operate in one or two or three or four sites and have an
efficient, decent maintenance department. Notwithstanding some of the comments that
have been made, we are trying to improve our City. I think we have made a great deal of
success. I think we need to keep doing that and providing services is one of them and as
far as I am personally concerned, an inefficient maintenance system costs us money
because it creates inefficiency. I would hope we don’t lose that. We still need a facility.
The question is going to be where is it going to be? I have to be honest with you. I don’t
hold much hope for MAC. I hope Ernie has enough political clout that he can produce
what he hopes he can produce. I do not have that. And if that does not occur, I hope the
folks in this room are ready to come back to the planning table and help us figure out
where we put a maintenance facility for the City of Richfield which we need and were
willing to pay for. This is not the end, I don’t think. I think it’s the beginning of our having
to solve this particular issue. Thank you.
Council Meeting Minutes-12-January 12, 1998
Gordon Anderson, 7501 Elliot Avenue, much has been said here tonight and I won’t
repeat that, but one thing, sitting next to the City Manager is our legal consultant and I’m
wondering, I just asked the question, whether or not our legal attorney that handles the
affairs of the City legally on legal questions, whether they were asked about this DNR
requirement. Were you ever asked about that? The other one is that, like other people,
Susan Rosenberg was afraid I was going to have a heart attack when I called up her
house and told her. Her husband felt the same way. And she told me this, that if she had
known the facts about this situation, about the taking of those trees and all that, she would
have voted against this proposal from the beginning. Now if you can’t give the facts to the
Council, who gets them? Who gets the facts? Another thing I would like to bring up here.
I’ve lived here for 45 years. I was a young guy when I moved here and we worked really
hard in Richfield. There was a lot of espirit de corps. We were just so proud of Richfield,
you know, everybody knew about Richfield. I was active in the Jaycees. I was president
of the Jaycees. We were the forerunners to the present Chamber of Commerce. We
were doing that kind of work. Richfield won the All America City Award, you know, and on
every main entrance coming into the City was that red and white little shield. But, you
know I was going over the web the other night and I hate to tell you this, WCCO has a
web called (you got a computer or you got a web TV like we’ve got), just dial in
www.wcco4000com and then community. And I was just distressed to see, that they have
done a commissioned survey of cities surrounding the Twin Cities and they picked 20 best
cities. And where do you think Richfield is amongst those 20 outstanding cities? It isn’t
even on the list! And I was distressed by that. I think we’ve got to do some things to build
up Richfield and get it like it used to be. That’s it. It takes leadership and it takes some
enthusiasm to get this going again. And I hope that you can help bring it about. And I
hope also when people come before the Council, or when they go to meetings, I do hope,
and I heard it the other night, that some of the people were quite disturbed by one of the
Council Members; that they didn’t really feel that they were treated right on their
complaint. And I hope that doesn’t happen again. Thank you.
Kristen Swan, 6409 Second Avenue, I have been calling Richfield my home town
for over 40 years, I hate to admit, and I’m very pleased though to be part of this
community. I’m really thrilled about the proposal or the motion right now on the floor and
I’m extremely thrilled with the citizen involvement tonight, coming to this meeting. What I
would like to propose is a way to somehow make something of this rather disastrous
outcome at Veterans Park and that is that perhaps there could be some committee
formed. Both of my parents lived and died in Richfield recently. I would love a place
where we could have a memorial forest. If these trees could be replanted and there be
some movement to make this an opportunity for people to either sponsor or adopt or some
names be put on the trees in memory of lost loved ones, I think it would be a joy to walk
through this very young, but growing, forest and that would be my suggestion.
Brian Johnson, 6710 Oakland Avenue, some people think that this is a good idea
because it’s some of the only place to put it and I know more people that think this is a
horrible idea. Personally, I think that this is something should never have happened but it
did, so I’m glad, and I know many people are too, the reason is that you are getting to the
point to stop this. But why after so many trees have been cut? The reason this place is
called Richfield is because the soil is so rich, so why waste it on a stupid garage? And,
Council Meeting Minutes-13-January 12, 1998
also, a young woman just told me that some of the girl scouts had helped plant some of
those trees so I think that if you’re going to waste time cutting all that stuff down, why put it
in?
Vicki Dice, 6439-11th Avenue, I face the park. We moved into Richfield three and
half years ago. My husband grew up in Richfield. I thought it was a great place to live.
You have parks, but yet you are so close to the city you can enjoy a whole lot of things.
When my husband went down and filed our homestead three and half years ago here at
City Hall, he was given three things, one of which is a brochure which says “Veterans
Memorial Park of Richfield - What’s in it for you?” In here, it has an entire plan with a
community center and a whole lot of other things including a whole lot of trees. No where
on here is a garage. As a mother of four, I walk that park. I’ve walked my babies through
there. It’s devastating. You know, good people do sometimes make bad decisions and
this is one of them and I really hope you learn from it.
Don Vogtman, American Legion/Richfield Post 435, 6309 France Avenue, Edina,
Richfield School District, a part of our problem, perhaps a large part of our problem, goes
back to something that was never done; not something that we did, but something that we
didn’t do. I am referring to, a number of years ago when this was just getting rolling, this
idea, I called City Hall and asked them about an environmental impact statement. They
advised me that the City of Richfield did not have to prepare environmental impact
statements. It seemed rather strange to me at the time, but I didn’t challenge it any
further. I thought they surely must know what they were doing and somewhat after that,
the thing got pretty well rolling along and representatives of the City of Richfield came
over to our Post and said that the proposed park, and the park was getting underway, just
getting started, when it was finished it would be known as the Veterans Memorial Park.
Well that was pretty nice. We thought that was great. There weren’t any veterans
memorial parks, to my knowledge, in the City of Richfield and it was giving the veteran a
little attention, a little recognition. Shortly after that, they came back, it wasn’t very long,
and they indicated that their funds were in dire striates of being reinforced. They were
short of money. They wanted to know what we could do as a Post, American Legion Post,
to augment the fund that they had and to really come in with a good piece of change, so to
speak, to allow them to keep the show on the road. In effect, they asked for $100,000.
We didn’t have $100,000 but we had a bank that we had borrowed from on a number of
occasions. Those weren’t some of the better years at our Post and we were, however,
able to go back to that same bank and get a second mortgage and we wound up giving
the City of Richfield $100,000 for the advancement of their project. Now this is validly
called Veterans Memorial Park. We were not contacted in this instance before the trees
were destroyed and I’m sure that, in my own mind, that no other veterans organizations
were so contacted. And I doubt very much that many members of this audience here
tonight were so contacted. Now the beauty and aesthetics of the park have been unduly
destroyed without going to the people, without giving the people a chance to provide
some input. Large trees, such as those that were cut down, will take many, many years to
replace. They provided shade. They provided habitat for birds. They were just a
wonderful thing to have in our park. You go through some of the parks in the Dakotas and
they have more trees in the South Dakota parks than we’re going to have in this one, the
way it looks to me. We’re going to be pretty short on trees. We’ve lost habitat diversity
for
Council Meeting Minutes-14-January 12, 1998
wildlife. We’ve lost the actual wildlife that depended on those trees for nesting and
escape cover and things of that nature. And we lost a lot of real beauty. Correct me folks,
I don’t believe the veterans, and in particular, Richfield Post 435, has gotten a dollar value
received for their $100,000. And in conclusion, I believe that the taxpayers in general,
Richfield and surrounding communities, have also been left at the starting gate and I
didn’t think it could happen here. Thank you.
Brad Kreidler, 7421 Washburn Avenue, I’m concerned about what’s happening to
the City with its shrinking, mainly the taking of houses such as 77th Street. I know it’s
done and gone, but there was also the proposal with 76th Street which I live a block from.
Everything is taking houses and you know that worries me. I know the Veterans Park
thing didn’t consider taking houses, but things are in the works such as Lyndale Avenue at
76th Street. The houses they are possibly going to take to redevelop that area. And
another concern, I don’t know if anything was done, but was anything looking into the site
you have now. I drove by it the other day and saw the old Lampert sheds and things, you
know, all the garages and could something be done with that site to utilize it, maybe it
doesn’t have to be a big palatial City garage like they have out there in Apply Valley or
Eagan. They are just massive facilities; they are paid for by taxpayer money. You know, I
think they overbuild these garages with taxpayer money and make them too luxurious.
But I want to know how many houses have been lost in Richfield with the airport and all
the expansions. It worries me, because this town is just shrinking and I grew up here. I
bought my house here five years ago and I just hate to see more and more private
residence get taken away. Thank you.
Mike Sable, 6521-11th Avenue, I may be walking into the lion’s den here, but I
supported the garage project. I think Richfield needs it and Mr. Wozniczka brought up the
fact that he thinks that Richfield facilities and services are good enough and I read that in
the Sun Current that someone else thought that their services were good enough. I don’t
want to live in a city that settles for good enough. I think that everybody should ask
themselves if they really want to settle for good enough. I have every right to speak. The
reason I’m up here, though, is because I’m outraged at the Metropolitan Airports
Commission. They are taking away our land and they are taking away everything we want
to do with the City of Richfield.
Doris Rubenstein, 6515 Emerson Avenue - I lament the loss of the trees. I am a
bird lover and I ride my bike around Veterans Park all the time during the summer and
spring months. Another thing that is being lost in the airport expansion is the community
gardens and I’m a Richfield community gardener as well. A lot of us have been using, I’ve
been gardening there ever since I moved to Richfield 14 years ago and I’m going to be
missing that. It’s a wonderful community builder. People from all over Richfield getting
together and sharing garden tips and sharing our produce at the end of the season. I like
the idea of the memorial growth, but I would also, since we are going to be losing our
community gardens, see if that might be a good use of some of that land as well. Another
way of growing and building community as well would be to restore a portion of that
property at Veterans Park to being community gardens. I think it’s another caveat for the
City Council. When we think about the loss of the trees at Veterans Park, how this part of
nature is so important to people in Richfield and is such a part of our culture here in
Council Meeting Minutes-15-January 12, 1998
Minnesota and it’s just a second reminder to you, or probably the umpteenth reminder to
you, about the value that residents have put on retaining the very natural nature of the
Richfield Lake which has been discussed, has been under discussion for redevelopment.
At many of the community meetings, and there have been community meetings on that
one and very well attended as you know, there has been universal support for maintaining
the untouched nature of Richfield Lake. And yet, each time I see a reiteration of the plan
for Richfield Lake, it calls for building of a pavilion and other “improvements” to Richfield
Lake area. I just hope that you are listening to what people are saying here. That when
we have a little bit of nature in Richfield, surrounded by highways as we are, we want to
keep nature untouched and unspoiled. Please hear our voice and please maintain to a
minimum those civilizing elements that you are trying to impose upon us without hearing
us. We want it the way it is.
Teddy Shaw, 6215 Second Avenue, I think there should be planted trees there
again and I don’t think we should be going by there and seeing those stumps. I think we
should be going by there and seeing some trees instead of those stumps.
Monika Protzner, 6215 Second Avenue, I was outraged at the loss of those trees.
That was always a favorite spot for us to go and walk and have picnics in the summer and
it just hurts my heart to go by there and see those trees. And I think that a lot of people in
this community feel that way too.
Dan Jegtvig, 6233-13th Avenue, I just want to say a word regarding the trees in
Veterans Memorial Park. Like another person, I homesteaded here about four and half
years ago based on the education for my children and the park facilities and the city in
general and I’ve lived in the Twin Cities a long time and I chose Richfield to buy our home.
My question to the City Council and Mr. Mayor is part of the attraction to Richfield are the
assets that we have in our nature, in our parks, education. If you received a brochure in
the mail saying please live in Richfield, come to Richfield, with a picture of Veterans
Memorial Park, would you be attracted to live here?
Lori Soderman, 6830 Columbus Avenue, I was one of the people that never saw a
flyer for any of this and I live less than four blocks from the park. My husband and I
decided to move here three and half years ago. We came to Richfield because we saw
community. We saw the way that this community bound together. We saw that there was
a lot of residents that had been here for many, many years and that made us want to
come here. When we saw what happened in the park, my husband bikes there, I bike
there, we walk our dogs there, we run there together, we do a lot of things in that park and
we’ve always loved having that park so close. That was the biggest reason why we
bought the house we did is because it’s close to a nice park that had a nice walking path.
It had a nice bike path. It was beautiful to walk through. It was quiet. The trees blocked a
lot of the traffic noise so you didn’t hear it as you walked through the park. It was like you
were walking through a forest in the middle of no where. And we thought that was
beautiful and that this was a community that really cared about the environment that their
residents lived in. And we saw the devastation that happened. My husband and I rode
through the park on Christmas Day. I got a new mountain bike for Christmas and we saw
that the bike path had even been destroyed by this. And it was just sad to see it happen.
And I’m just hoping that the Council really takes this all to heart and doesn’t destroy
Council Meeting Minutes-16-January 12, 1998
anymore of the natural area that we have left in the City because it is going to help us
build community in the future. We’re losing some of our longtime residents due to
retirement, their children have grown, they are moving to smaller houses, they’re moving
to the country because they are now retired and they don’t want to live in the city
anymore. So we have a lot of younger people coming in with children that really would
like to see this kind of thing for their children to grow up in. And I would hate, after
hearing all the children who have spoken tonight, I would hate to see that lost for the
children for the future. Thank you.
Mary Ermisch, 6304 Wentworth Avenue, I’ve been a homeowner with my husband
for 15 years in Richfield. We had planned to life-long residents of Richfield. I’m not sure I
agree with the decision here. I have followed your plans. I knew a maintenance facility
was going to go in there. I knew a recreation facility would be attached. At no time did I
hear that 200 trees would be lost because of it. What I am afraid of, is now that you are
abandoning this position, is that where will you go for your next spot? Will it be Augsburg
Park? Will there be more trees lost? I hope that you will find some of our least desirable
areas as an alternative. There are many areas that can be upgraded and used. Please
don’t take any more trees. Please do not make the City, us residents, pay for this mistake
that has happened. I hope that, my main hope is that you will not take more trees. Thank
you.
Brian Johnson, 6710 Oakland Avenue, I’ve already been up here and I would just
like to say that one of the ladies that was already up here and was talking about the
children’s future is absolutely correct because I know lots of people that have tried to get
away from their parents at some time or another and they’ve just biked along and played
in the park and if you start taking down that, then we can’t get away from our parents.
And the last person that was up here that was saying, “What are you going to do next?
Take down some more parks?” I think that completely correct. I mean if you start taking
down this park, which one’s next? Thank you.
Scott Christensen, 7012 Portland Avenue, I’ve also been up here. You know how
everybody celebrates Fourth of July and we all hang out by the same park and now since
you’re taking out that park, there’s barely any place to sit and watch the fireworks all
together. That just takes out all the joy for all of us and I like to sit around, people have
like company and meet new people and make new friends. I think that’s like neat and that
the whole point of Richfield and the Fourth of July and other celebrations. I’ve seen when
I go up there, I see a lot of kids, a lot of people that have fun up there and like to go in the
woods and like, you know, just have fun and chill out and get away from their parents. I
think every kid does. I’ve also heard that they don’t even have the blueprints and you’re
just rushing into stuff. I think you guys should stop rushing into items until you have
everything that you need and have all the materials that you also need.
Paul Taylor, Native American Rainbow Network, I am a docent at Como Zoo and I
also drive for Handicabs - Metro Mobility Twin Cities. Thank you for holding this public
forum this evening. I think that it’s exceedingly important. It’s good to see the amount of
press here and I want to say that I’m not here to criticize. I am here to listen, particular to
listen to the children. This last young man talked about the beauty of a campfire and the
Council Meeting Minutes-17-January 12, 1998
quietude of a forest. He also mentioned that we should slow the process, that we should
not be rushing into areas that are pristine, areas that are indigenous and native and that
we should have what you might call, more careful planning in the future. I would
encourage all of you certainly to visit the park, the Veterans Memorial Park, if you have
not already done so initially. And secondly, I would encourage you to go to your public
library or your neighborhood bookstore and check out or order a copy of a book that I
have in my hand called Clear Cut. It is a living testimony to this nation’s loss of heritage.
I’ve been involved with Native American people for probably five years as a volunteer and
one sacred scripture to them are the words, “What we do to the earth, we do to
ourselves.” I’d like to hold up a picture of British Columbia as testimony to that fact. It’s
not only happening in Richfield, it’s happening worldwide. The fires in Indonesia, the
economic collapse that we are witnessing in Asia are absolutely testimony to the violence
that we are perpetrating on the earth. And we had violence in a neighboring park in
Richfield just the other day. An 18 year old youth was killed. That’s tragedy. And I don’t
believe that’s what we want to leave for our children as their inheritance. This is the
picture that I brought with me. This is a picture of British Columbia and as you can see,
we are clear cutting right up through the tree line and in this particular picture, it is prime
grizzly and caribou habitat. These animals are restricted to the fragments that are left
over. And someone earlier mentioned the loss of birds and the loss of habitat particularly
and other wildlife in this area. I drive the City and it’s overwhelming. As this lady on my
vehicle said recently from Chicago who used to live here, “There’s no plan. There’s no
rhyme or reason to your development in the Twin Cities.” I want to thank you for letting
me speak here and certainly I don’t believe this is a cause for malfeasance in office or I
said criticism or punishment of these people. We’re all involved and it’s important that we
all become involved in the process to see that this does not happen again. Like this
young man said, where will it happen next? Let’s see that that doesn’t happen. Thank
you.
Barb Kidman, 7010-15th Avenue , I’ve lived in Richfield since 1965 and I have to be
honest with you, I just arrived. I was at home watching all of this on TV and got fired
enough to come up here and say my piece. I think that the one thing that I’ve been really
disappointed with in what I’ve seen thus far, that there seems to be firstly, a very big lack
of saying thank you very, very much to our Mayor and the City Council for rejecting the
request from the MAC. I think that we entirely owe them a round of applause. I think that
a couple of people have tried to address the fact that probably the airport situation should
be our biggest concern. I think that the airport has done more to harm the City of
Richfield than anything that we can do; even cutting down some trees. But I do believe
that. I really do believe that and I think that one of the things that is lacking right now is
that the trees are down and perhaps it’s time to right the wrong and go forward and do
something about fixing it. Certainly we want to make sure that this type of thing does not
happen again, but I think to spend hours and hours and onward and onward with endless
meetings talking about this doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. My feeling would be to
move on. Let’s figure out what can be done. Very honestly, if you take a look at the other
buildings that border the park, like the Legion Post and Water Plant and so on, they are
not particularly attractive, but they are not horrible. And perhaps it would be possible,
because there isn’t a lot of land available in the cities, to find a way to build a garage in
that area that might work and could be even environmentally interesting. Maybe it could
be something done on like an earth-sheltered type building or something. I don’t know. I
just think that it is time to move on. I think it is time to find a way to right the wrong and
Council Meeting Minutes-18-January 12, 1998
bring the City back together and move forward and say that in the future, let’s be sure that
we all get together and do things the right way. I’m going to go one step further and I’m
going to volunteer myself to be part of a committee to figure out what we do henceforth.
Thank you very much.
Burt Miller, 6712 Pleasant Avenue, I’ve lived in Richfield from the time that 66th
Street was an Indian trail up to the time it was a freeway to Southdale. Gone through the
whole gamut. One of the things I have noticed about the City Council and representatives
and also the staff, is that they are not resident responsive. The only time I’ve seen
anybody that’s been resident responsive, is when Susan Rosenberg fought very hard to
get a new driveway that Lund’s wanted to be put down, not installed. The big reason for
that is that she lived right directly in the neighborhood. Now, I live a half a block away
from the biggest thing in Richfield and that’s the dome. Now, I think that if Ernie would
have known that we were fighting the Catholic Church, Sister Theresa’s, Holy Angels and
Hans Bleicker, he may have gotten on our side and that dome wouldn’t have been up,
which is a residential and neighborhood blight. One of the things that Ernie mentioned
was the fact that he would like to see someone in Richfield, or a resident of Richfield,
become the Director of Recreation. I think that everyone of the officers within your group,
for instance, your Planning Commission and rest of your Commissioners, all should be a
representative of Richfield. I don’t mean the people that live under them, but the heads of
the departments should live in Richfield. I read an article in last week’s Sun that kind of
shook me up a little bit. I read it about three times. And Ernie, I shouldn’t mention names.
It mentioned about arrogance. And in this situation, where you know that you cannot build
a garage there because you did not have the graces of the DNR and you’re not going to
get the DNR. I don’t know if I can classify that as arrogance. I’d have to classify it as
incompetence. Thank you.
Thomas Rublien, 2016 West 64th Street, I certainly regret the devastation that
occurred. I’m not certain that all of those trees were all that valuable. I’m not certain that
that portion of the park was an integral part of the park. However, I think what has fallen
here, for me, is not so much the loss of the trees, but the integrity of the Council, and
more importantly, the staff of the City. I no longer can call my Council representative,
whom I did discuss this issue with, and trust that the answer she gives me, after
consulting with the staff, will be truthful. When I come to her, because I quite frankly don’t
have the time to continually check on all these items, that’s why you all are here and that
is why the City staff is here, when I go to her and say, “Is this building worth $5.5 million?”
and she checks it out and comes back, “Well, the staff told me,” should I believe her?
When I go to her and say, “Jeez, you know this seems like an awful devastation of trees,”
as many of these people already have, maybe they have talked to their City Council reps,
but in the future, if they do that, can they trust the answer that they are going to get back?
Can you tell me that that will occur? I think that is one of the biggest losses that you have
right now perpetrated, is a loss of trust. [background comment] Well, I’m not so sure it’s
politics as usual. Let me ask you, how many of you have volunteered to be on one of the
commissions? How many of you stepped forward before tonight to ask about this park?
You know, we mentioned walking our dogs, how many of you have walked by something
in the park that that dog has left? There are a lot of people that don’t clean up our parks.
This pious outrage at the devastation of a few trees is one thing, but to sit there and say,
Council Meeting Minutes-19-January 12, 1998
gee, this is politics as usual in one instance. [background comment] It is? I’m not so sure
that you are correct. On the other hand, I would also have to agree that in many, many
instances, you are not resident responsive. This just happens to be a very, very good
example. The question is, and earlier was raised, should we point fingers? I will be in the
minority and say yeah. Somebody here made a very, very, very big mistake. Was my
Council rep duly informed of the DNR agreement? I’m not so sure that she was. Was she
duly informed of the process that had to be followed according to the law? I’m not so sure
she was. And that, rests squarely on the staff. If the staff is not informing my Council rep
of law and due process, how can I trust her? How can I trust this system? How can these
children who have gotten up and spoken trust the system? The question now is not
whether or not you’re going to abandon the garage. I mean you’ve got a lot of people
here that are going to make you do that anyway. I mean it’s kind of a foregone
conclusion. The question is how are you going to repair the system?
Carol Newby, 6400-11th Avenue, I’m directly behind the park. I feel very fortunate
to live there. I would just like to say that, like everyone else in this room, or 99% of the
people in this room, I too am devastated at the loss of the trees. However, if there is one
good thing that has come out of all of this, it’s that it’s brought a lot of people together. I
look in this room and I see these people who have very strong feelings about the park and
that gives me a lot of faith that things will get better. And I would like to use this
opportunity to invite all of you along with everyone in the audience to join the Friends of
Veterans Park a week from today at 6:45 p.m. at King Oscars. It would be a packed
house, if you all come, but we are going to keep the Friends group going and we would
really love to have input from as many people as possible. Thank you.
Tamara Newby, 15 East 56th Street, Mpls., I drive to your park probably five days a
week to walk my dog and enjoy the utter beauty. It’s like being in the middle of a wildlife
refuge. And six months ago, I got a real estate guy to look for a house in Richfield and I
thought, I just found the perfect place to live. This gorgeous wildlife refuge, friendly senior
citizens walking around, nice people all talking to each other, knowing each other. And I
stopped. I’m no longer looking for a house in Richfield, but I will tell you I might change
my mind again, because after seeing this community outpour. This is incredible! I’m so
glad to see you finally came together. Richfield is a great place, I think, and I may
consider still moving into the area, but you know you really have to think in the future
about your parks and the nature lands. I think it’s been emphasized enough tonight.
Because if you really want your City to build up and you want to attract residents like me,
you can’t do this, because Richfield already has a bad reputation and this is one way of
improving it -- by keeping your parks open and beautiful. Maybe getting a nature preserve
or get the Audobon Society involved. Make people really want to come down there and
be a part of the nature because it is one of the most beautiful parks in the cities; there’s no
other park like it in the Twin Cities and I drive all around looking for them. You’re lucky,
lucky people and I’m glad you’re fighting for it.
The motion before the Council was:
M/Rosenberg, S/Sandahl to abandon the Veterans Memorial Park/Water Plant site
as a location for the Public Works Maintenance Facility.
Council Meeting Minutes-20-January 12, 1998
A roll call vote was requested by Council Member Rosenberg.
Rosenberg - Aye Sandahl - Aye
Kirsch - Aye Stokes - Aye
Motion carried 4-0.
Item #3OPPORTUNITY FOR PERSONS TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL ON
ANY ITEM NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA.
Larry Wozniczka, 6744 Wentworth Avenue, discussed concerns regarding the lack
of response to his questions at the December 3 Budget hearing regarding the budget and
the unidentified funding source for a portion of the proposed maintenance facility. He
discussed a recent editorial letter of Fred Hoisington and his upcoming response. Mr.
Wozniczka indicated he is still waiting for a response about how much money has been
spent on the Richfield Lake planning. He stated concern that two comment cards he
submitted at a November 17 meeting on Richfield Lake were not included in the record
and stated concern that the public comments are not getting through to Council Members
because the comments are filtered through staff.
Camillo DeSantis, 6508 Newton Avenue, invited the public to participate in a
National Day of Dialogue on Race Relations on Thursday, January 15 from 7-9 p.m. at
Richfield City Hall. Mr. DeSantis also discussed his concerns regarding some comments
suggesting that City department heads be City residents indicating that job related
qualifications were most important.
Gordon Anderson, 7501 Elliot Avenue, stated interest in further information on
recent mediator decisions regarding the application of the sign ordinance. He stated that
he preferred that the City Council make these decisions rather than a mediator.
Item #4 COUNCIL APPROVAL OF AGENDA
M/Sandahl, S/Stokes to approve the agenda.
Motion carried 4-0.
Item #5 CONSENT CALENDAR
Council Meeting Minutes-21-January 12, 1998
Mayor Kirsch stated that Consent Calendar Items #5A. and #5B. would be removed
from the Consent Calendar and placed on the regular agenda for consideration as Items
#10A. and #10B.
A.Removed from the Consent Calendar and placed on the regular agenda for
consideration as Item #10A.
B.Removed from the Consent Calendar and placed on the regular agenda for
consideration as Item #10B.
C.APPROVED AMENDING WOOD LAKE DREDGING CONTRACT TO INCLUDE
RAISING PATH ALONG WEST SIDE OF WOOD LAKE NATURE CENTER. C.L. NO.
5
D.APPROVED REMOVAL OF STOP SIGNS AT 64TH STREET AND STANDISH
AVENUE C.L. NO. 6
E.APPROVED BID MINUTES/TABULATION, REJECTION OF LUVERNE APPARATUS
CO., LTD. BID, AND AWARD CONTRACT TO TOYNE INC. FOR REPLACEMENT
FIRE RESCUE ENGINE AND EQUIPMENT PER SPECIFICATIONS IN TOTAL
AMOUNT OF $175,288 C.L. NO. 7
F.APPROVED THE FOLLOWING 1998 LICENSE RENEWALS:
x
AAGARD SANITATION: GARBAGE HAULER, 4 VEHICLES
x
AIRPORT & AIRLINE TAXI: 50 VEHICLES
x
BROWNING-FERRIS IND.: GARBAGE HAULER, 10 VEHICLES
x
KENNYS MARKETS: OFF SALE 3.2 PERCENT MALT LIQUOR, RETAIL
CIGARETTE, FOOD ESTABLISHMENT, ICE VENDING, SOFT DRINK
x
KWIK WAY FOODS: OFF-SALE 3.2 PERCENT MALT LIQUOR, RETAIL
CIGARETTE, FOOD ESTABLISHMENT, ICE VENDING, SOFT DRINK
x
MAI TO GO: RESTAURANT, PERISHABLE FOOD VEHICLE, SOFT DRINK
x
QUALITY WASTE CONTROL INC.: GARBAGE HAULER, 6 VEHICLES
x
SANDY’S TAVERN: OFF-SALE AND ON-SALE 3.2 PERCENT MALT LIQUOR,
RETAIL CIGARETTE, FOOD ESTABLISHMENT, POOL/BILLIARD; SOFT
DRINK
x
SUBURBAN TAXI CORPORATION: 44 VEHICLES
x
VASKO RUBBISH REMOVAL INC.: GARBAGE HAULER, 1 VEHICLE
x
WALSER BUICK: MOTOR VEHICLE DEALER
x
WASTE MANAGEMENT-SAVAGE: GARBAGE HAULER, 21 VEHICLES
M/Sandahl, S/Rosenberg to approve the consent calendar as amended.
Motion carried 4-0.
Council Meeting Minutes-22-January 12, 1998
Item #6PUBLIC HEARING AND SECOND READING OF ZONING ORDINANCE
AMENDMENT TO SECTION 521 RELATING TO REGULATION OF
LICENSED AND COMMUNITY BASED RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES.
C.L. NO. 8
City Manager Prosser reviewed Council Letter No. 8 regarding a proposed
ordinance amendment to Section 521 of the Zoning Ordinance relating to the regulation of
licensed and community based residential care facilities.
Larry Wozniczka, 6744 Wentworth Avenue, questioned why there was no
separation requirement applied to single family residential districts.
City Attorney Thomson stated that the intent of this ordinance amendment was to
make it consistent with state law.
Mr. Wozniczka asked if the ordinance could just reference the State law.
City Attorney Thomson stated that the ordinance clarifies what is in the State
statute and provides the information for citizens.
M/Sandahl, S/Rosenberg to close the public hearing.
Motion carried 4-0.
M/Sandahl, S/Stokes that this constitute Second Reading of Bill No. 1998-1
amendment to Section 521 of the Zoning Code, that it be published in the official
newspaper and that it be made part of these minutes.
Motion carried 4-0.
Item #7PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING RENEWAL OF 1998 PAWNBROKER AND
SECONDHAND GOODS DEALER LICENSE FOR METRO PAWN AND GUN,
INC., 7529 LYNDALE AVENUE. C.L. NO. 9
City Manager Prosser reviewed Council Letter No. 9 regarding the application for
renewal of a 1998 Pawnbroker and Secondhand Goods Dealer license for Metro Pawn
and Gun, Inc. 7529 Lyndale Avenue.
Council Member Rosenberg commented on the positive improvements to the
exterior of the building.
Council Meeting Minutes-23-January 12, 1998
Mark Nichols, 8917 Xerxes Avenue, the applicant, indicated he has worked hard on
improving the appearance of the building.
Council Member Sandahl requested that Public Safety Director Scott provide him
definition of a “theft delayed” criminal contact.
M/Sandahl, S/Stokes to close the public hearing.
Motion carried 4-0.
M/Sandahl, S/Rosenberg to approve the renewal of the 1998 Pawnbroker and
Secondhand Goods Dealer license for Metro Pawn and Gun, Inc., 7529 Lyndale Avenue.
Motion carried 4-0.
Item #8PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING RENEWAL OF 1998 PAWNBROKER AND
SECONDHAND GOODS DEALER LICENSE FOR PLAZA PAWN, 6414
NICOLLET AVENUE. C.L. NO. 10
City Manager Prosser reviewed Council Letter No. 10 regarding the application for
renewal of a 1998 Pawnbroker and Secondhand Goods Dealer license for Plaza Pawn,
6414 Nicollet Avenue.
M/Sandahl, S/Stokes to close the public hearing.
Motion carried 4-0.
M/Sandahl, S/Stokes to approve the renewal of the 1998 Pawnbroker and
Secondhand Goods Dealer license for Plaza Pawn, 6414 Nicollet Avenue.
Motion carried 4-0.
Item #9CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION APPROVING 1998 HUMAN SERVICE
AGENCY FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS. C.L. NO. 11
City Manager Prosser reviewed Council Letter No. 11 regarding the 1998 human
service agency funding recommendations.
Camillo DeSantis, 6508 Newton Avenue, reviewed the following funding principles
used by the Richfield Community Human Services Planning Commission (RCHSPC) in
making their recommendation:
Council Meeting Minutes-24-January 12, 1998
1.Services to families and children.
2.Services to vulnerable/home bound elderly.
3.Youth at risk.
4.Prevention/early intervention.
Mr. DeSantis presented the following funding recommendations:
Lutheran Social Services$ 1,200
Senior Community Services$ 8,320
Storefront/Youth Action$ 61,000
VEAP$ 4,000
Cornerstone$ 12,500
YouthNet$ 1,000
TOTAL$ 88,020
M/Rosenberg, S/Stokes that the following resolution be adopted, that it be spread
in the resolution book and that it be made part of these minutes:
RESOLUTION NO. 8548
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A REVISION OF THE 1998
BUDGET FOR OTHER AGENCIES DIVISION
Motion carried 4-0. This resolution appears as Resolution No. 8548 in Resolution
Book No. 68.
Item #10CONSIDERATION OF DESIGNATION OF COUNCIL LIAISON
APPOINTMENTS FOR 1998. C.L. NO. 12
Council Member Stokes read a list of the recommended Council liaison
appointments for 1998.
M/Sandahl, S/Rosenberg to designate the following as 1998 liaison representatives
for various boards, commissions and agencies:
AGENCY1998 LIAISON
ASSOC. METRO MUNICIPALITIESRUSS SUSAG, REP.
JIM PROSSER, ALT.
SOUTHWEST CABLE COMMISSIONKRISTAL STOKES, DIR.
JIM PROSSER, DIR.
MIKE SANDAHL, ALT.
STEVE DEVICH, ALT.
Council Meeting Minutes-25-January 12, 1998
NOISEMICHAEL SANDAHL, REP.
RUSS SUSAG, ALT.
LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIESMARTIN KIRSCH, REP.
JAMES PROSSER, ALT.
MASACKRISTAL STOKES, REP.
DAWN WEITZEL, REP.
MICHAEL SANDAHL, ALT.
JAMES PROSSER, ALT.
RICHFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICTSUSAN ROSENBERG, REP.
RUSS SUSAG, ALT.
STOREFRONT/YOUTH ACTIONPUBLIC SAFETY DIR., LIA.
SUSAN ROSENBERG, ALT.
ADVISORY BOARD OF HEALTHMARTIN KIRSCH, LIA.
SUSAN ROSENBERG, ALT.
COMM. SERVICES COMMISSIONSUSAN ROSENBERG, LIA.
KRISTAL STOKES, ALT.
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONRUSS SUSAG, LIA.
MIKE SANDAHL, ALT.
PLANNING COMMISSIONMARTIN KIRSCH, LIA.
RUSS SUSAG, ALT.
FRIENDSHIP CITY COMMISSIONMARTIN KIRSCH, LIA.
KRISTAL STOKES, ALT.
RICHFIELD COMMUNITY HUMANSUSAN ROSENBERG, REP.
SERVICES PLANNING COUNCILKRISTAL STOKES, ALT
Motion carried 4-0.
Item #10AAPPROVAL OF COUNCIL DESIGNATION OF MAYOR PRO TEMPORE
FOR 1998. C.L. NO. 3
M/Stokes, S/Rosenberg to designate Council Member Sandahl to serve as Mayor
Pro Tempore for 1998.
Motion carried 4-0.
Council Meeting Minutes-26-January 12, 1998
Item #10BAPPROVAL OF COUNCIL RESOLUTION INVOKING RULES REGARDING
COUNCIL MEMBER ATTENDANCE AT COUNCIL MEETINGS. C.L. NO. 4
City Manager Prosser reviewed Council Letter No. 4 regarding the proposed
resolution invoking rules regarding Council Member attendance at Council meetings.
Council Member Rosenberg stated she had requested that this item be removed
from the consent calendar to acknowledge the Charter Commission’s work on this issue.
Larry Wozniczka, 6744 Wentworth Avenue, requested City Council attendance
records for last year.
Mayor Kirsch suggested that City Council attendance information be included with
the packet when the Council annually considers this issue.
M/Sandahl, S/Stokes that the following resolution be adopted, that it be spread in
the resolution book and that it be made part of these minutes:
RESOLUTION NO. 8549
RESOLUTION REGARDING ATTENDANCE
BY COUNCIL MEMBERS AT COUNCIL MEETINGS
Motion carried 4-0. This resolution appears as Resolution No. 8549 in Resolution
Book No. 68.
Item #11AIRPORT STATUS REPORT
City Manager Prosser reviewed the status of the following airport issues:
x
North-South Runway Low Frequency Noise Mitigation
Don Brauer and City Manager Prosser presented information to the Met Council
regarding the City’s proposed mitigation plan. They requested Met Council
assistance on technical issues, development of standards, investigating the
long term health impacts of low frequency noise, and replacement housing on
the fringe of the impacted area. Any mitigation plan will require extensive
community participation.
Council Meeting Minutes-27-January 12, 1998
Item #12LEGISLATIVE REPORT
City Manager Prosser reported that draft legislative initiatives are being prepared
regarding Ballfield Replacement Funding, Met Council Review of Airport Expansion
Impact on Community Livability, legislative grant for a multi-jurisdictional Public Safety
training facility, and tax increment financing base adjustment.
Item #13COUNCIL DISCUSSION ITEMS
None.
Item #14CLAIMS AND PAYROLL
M/Sandahl, S/Rosenberg that the following claims and payrolls be approved:
RICHFIELD BANK & TRUST CO.
INT Checks: 72961-72988$281,792.04
H/C: 73344-73838$787,734.89
FIRSTAR BANK
Payroll: 109857-110419$990,891.10
Motion carried 4-0.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 9:27 p.m.
Date Approved:
Martin J. KirschMayor
Thomas P. FerberJames D. Prosser
City ClerkCity Manager