Approved Minutes 11-19-1997 SUMMARY MINUTES OF THE SAINT PAUL CITY COUNCIL
Wednesday, November 19, 1997 - 3:30 PM
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 3RD FLOOR
City Hall and Court House
15 West Kellogg Boulevard
The meeting was called to order at 4:10 p.m. by Council President Thune.
Present - 7 -Blakey, Bostrom, Collins, Harris, Megard, Morton, Thune
Absent - 0
CONSENT AGENDA
FOR ACTION
Gerry Strathman, City Council Secretary, read the following resolution into the record as an addition to the
agenda:
Resolution Approving Assessment- 97-1408 - In the matter of condemnation and taking of
temporary easements necessary for the Edgerton Street Bridge Construction Project (near Edgerton
and Whitall Streets) and setting date of public hearing for December 22, 1997. (File#18832-A)
Councilmember Bostrom moved approval.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
Councilmember Bostrom moved approval of the consent agenda as amended.
Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
1. Claims of Ellen Knourek-Bakke, Tamolyn Benke, Richard Danov, Mark Hagen, Geoffrey Schrag, St.
Anthony of Padua's Friends, and Jeff Swinehart.
Referred to Employee/Risk Management Division
2. Summons and Complaint in the matter of Michael J. Conlin vs.the City of Saint Paul.
Referred to the City Attorney's Office
3. Letter from the Office of License, Inspections and Environmental Protection announcing a public
hearing before the City Council on December 10, 1997 to consider the appeal of Tricia Leonard, and
Greg and Carol Clark, Jr. to a decision of the Heritage Preservation Commission granting approval
of a building permit to construct a two-story carriage house with one dwelling unit and four garage
stalls, proposed by Ronald Severson, at 420 Portland Avenue.
4. Letter from the Real Estate Division announcing a public hearing before the City Council on
December 22, 1997 to consider the vacation of part of the alley in Block 18, Oak Ville Park, near
Geranium and Arcade Streets.
November 19, 1997 City Council Summary Minutes Page 2
5. Letter from Saint Paul Fire/Division of Code Enforcement declaring 882 Greenbrier Street as
"nuisance property." (For notification purposes only; public hearing will be scheduled at a later date
if necessary.)
6. Resolution - 97-1344 - Approving the Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Saint Paul
and AFSCME 3757-Legal. (Laid over from November 12 for adoption)
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays -0
7. Resolution - 97-1388 - Approving the May 1, 1997 - April 30, 1999 Maintenance Labor Agreement
between the City of Saint Paul and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 110.
(To be laid over one week for adoption)
Laid over to November 26
8. Resolution - 97-1389 - Approving payment of$13,500.00 to Tayyibah Amatullah and her attorneys,
Kevin Koepke and Carleton Crutchfield, in full settlement of their claim against the City of Saint
Paul.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
9. Resolution - 97-1390 - Approving payment of$3,618.84 to Colonial Penn Insurance Company, as
subrogee for Thomas May, in full settlement of their claim against the City of Saint Paul.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
10. Resolution - 97-1391 - Accepting a donation of airfare, hotel and meal expenses from the
International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) for Councilmember Jerry Blakey
to attend the Cities for Climate Protection World Summit in Nagoya, Japan.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
11. Resolution - 97-1392 - Requesting the Planning Commission to review the Fire and Emergency
Services Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
12. Resolution - 97-1393 - Amending the 1997 budget in the Department of Technology and
Management Services/Risk Management Division by adding funds in the amount of$71,218.42 from
Minnesota Mutual and DCA, Inc. to correspond with the Division's spending plan.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
13. Resolution - 97-1394 - Accepting a$200,000.00 two-year grant from the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources for the Saint Paul -Minneapolis Regional Park Urban Interpretation Program.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
14. Resolution - 97-1395 - Establishing spending authority for partial use of the Local Law Enforcement
Block Grant to purchase equipment for the Police Crime Lab.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
November 19, 1997 City Council Summary Minutes Page 3
15. Resolution - 97-1396 -Finalizing City Council action taken October 22, 1997 approving the
preliminary and final plat for the Highlands Townhomes Addition allowing each new townhome
currently under construction to be subdivided and sold as separate units.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
16. Resolution - 97-1397 -Finalizing City Council action taken October 22, 1997 approving the
preliminary and final plat for Hundley Addition allowing the property at 1624 Old Hudson Road to
be subdivided into three lots.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
17. Resolution - 97-1398 - Approving a Registered Land Survey for a portion of the property at 294
Summit Avenue and 297 Irvine Avenue allowing recording of a previously approved lot split.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
18. Resolution - 97-1399 - Authorizing the proper City officials to enter into a Cooperative Construction
Agreement with the Minnesota Department of Transportation or reconstruction of Trunk Highway 5
(West Seventh Street) at the Trunk Highway 5/Wheeler/Munster intersection.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
19. Resolution - 97-1400 - Approving right-of-way management permit fee structure.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
20. Resolution - 97-1401 - Increasing the 1997 Inflow/Infiltration project budget to account for
agreements with Ramsey County and the City of Maplewood.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
21. Resolution - 97-1402 - Authorizing the Department of Fire and Safety Services to solicit carbon
monoxide detectors from the Kidde Safety Company for the citizen's loaner program.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
22. Resolution - 97-1403 - Accepting Quit Claim Deeds: City to Metropolitan Council Environmental
Services.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
23. Preliminary Order- 97-1404 - In the matter of improving the alley in Block 19, Merriam Park
Addition (bounded by Iglehart,Wilder, Carroll and Moore) by grading and paving with bituminous
material, and setting date of public hearing for January 14, 1998. (File#18865)
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
24. Preliminary Order- 97-1405 - In the matter of improving the alley in Block 19, Merriam Park
Addition (bounded by Iglehart, Wilder, Carroll and Moore) by grading and paving with bituminous
material. Also, condemning and taking an easement in the land necessary for the slopes, cuts and
fills in the grading and paving of said alley, and setting date of public hearing for January 14, 1998.
(File#18865-5)
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
November 19, 1997 City Council Summary Minutes Page 4
FOR DISCUSSION
25. Resolution - 97-1111 - Approving the hiring of personnel to plan, coordinate and evaluate gun
violence programs in the City of Saint Paul. (Laid over from October 15)
Councilmember Blakey moved to lay over three weeks.
Laid over to December 10 Yeas - 7 Nays -0
26. Resolution - 97-1283 - Accepting and thanking Minnesota Mutual for its contribution of designing
and printing Theft from Auto literature. (Laid over from October 22)
Councilmember Bostrom moved approval.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
28. Resolution - 97-1354 -Allowing the City to sell Cafesjian's Carousel to Our Fair Carousel Inc.
(Laid over from November 12)
Council President Thune urged staff in the Division of Parks and Recreation to work hard to try to
keep the carousel in Saint Paul. Vic Wittgenstein, Parks and Recreation, appeared and stated that
Our Fair Carousel has a site selection committee that has narrowed the field down to three sites:
Apple Valley Zoo, Minnesota State Fair grounds, and Como Park. Both the State Fair and the
Minnesota Zoo have an admission charge which limits the number of people who visit. There is no
admission charge to Como Park, there are over 300 weddings in the Como Park Conservatory every
year and the carousel may be one of the sites where people would have pictures taken. This
information will all be a part of the proposal to have the carousel placed in Como Park. The first site
of choice of the Our Fair Carousel committee has been Como Park.
Councilmember Morton moved approval.
Adopted Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
The meeting was recessed and the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) meeting was called to
order for consideration of the Consent Agenda. Present - 7 Absent - 0
The HRA meeting was recessed and the City Council meeting was resumed.
ORDINANCES
29. Final Adoption - 97-1247 - An ordinance amending the Saint Paul Legislative Code Sections 33.02
and 33.05 to update the building code and to require a certificate of occupancy for one-and two-
family rental dwellings which are not occupied by the owner. (Amended and laid over from
November 12)
Councilmember Megard moved approval.
Councilmember Blakey said he felt this ordinance would address issues with problem properties in
Saint Paul but it may also displace people. He indicated that there are costs that have not been
factored in yet. The Office of License, Inspections, and Environmental Protection (LIEP), the
Housing and Information Office (HIO), and the City Attorney's Office will all have to hire additional
November 19, 1997 City Council Summary Minutes Page 5
people. Pam Wheelock, Department of Planning and Economic Development, as well as the affected
offices requested more time to look at the impact the ordinance would have on housing.
Councilmember Collins stated he would abstain from voting as he owns rental property in Saint
Paul. Phil Byrne, City Attorney, stated that Mr. Collins' vote will be recorded as an abstention but it
will have the effect of a no vote.
Councilmember Harris asked Peter Hames, Mayor's Office, for his opinion. Mr. Hames responded
that as a representative of the Mayor, he can repeat the Mayor's support of the goals of this program
to ensure that the quality of housing increases. The Mayor would like a program in place by the end
of 1997; however, there are some disagreements about the cost of the program and whether there is a
financing sources in place as the Mayor will not support an unfunded mandate. Also, the emphasis
of the ordinance is for a mandatory inspection program; however, the Mayor believes a more
effective program would be one that responds to complaints about problem properties. There are a
number of unresolved issues and the Mayor would prefer that he and the Council continue to work
together on the details to reach an agreement on how an effective program would be structured. If
the Council adopts the ordinance, the Mayor would veto it because there is no agreement on how the
program is structured, there are no ongoing financial sources, and there is not an agreement on how
the program would operate, Hames stated.
Councilmember Harris stated there are people who take care of their property and this ordinance
would place a bureaucracy on them when they have not done anything wrong. Issues will be created
for some properties that may not be up to code but are still livable. There are a lot of older homes in
Saint Paul that are not up to code, but are good homes, and some properties, which may still be
livable, could be vacated or torn down because of this code. There have been suggestions that at
some point if properties are not up to code, the City would try to identify a mechanism to put money
into them and Mr. Harris said he is against that. There are some positive things in the ordinance, but
Mr. Harris said he is concerned that it would be mandatory and a fairly strict code would be imposed
on property owners.
Councilmember Megard stated this ordinance is about having one class instead of two for rental
property in Saint Paul. There is currently a certificate of occupancy program for three or more units
and for another class of properties there is no standard. The property maintenance and building
codes are the laws of the City and they are in place to provide safe and sanitary housing. Ms.
Megard said she would not like to see the Mayor veto an effort which is designed to turn around
substandard housing.
This ordinance also addresses houses used as businesses and the owner has a responsibility to keep
the building safe and clean, Councilmember Bostrom stated. Procedures are set out to be followed
and it allows administrative procedures to be inacted.
Fire Marshall Steve Zaccard said he felt there would be a need for more inspectors as the complaints
could be overwhelming. The people who call about problem properties will not get the service they
deserve with the current number of inspectors.
Adopted Yeas - 4 Nays - 2 (Blakey, Harris) Abstention - 1 (Collins)
November 19, 1997 City Council Summary Minutes Page 6
27. Resolution - 97-1246 - Establishing policy guidelines for a certificate of occupancy requirement for
non-owner occupied one- and two-unit rental dwellings. (Laid over from November 12)
Councilmember Megard moved to introduce a substitute resolution and approval.
Substitute adopted Yeas -4 Nays - 2 (Blakey, Harris) Abstention - 1 (Collins)
30. First Reading - 97-1406 - An ordinance amending Chapter 60 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code
pertaining to metal shredder plan and zoning code amendments.
Laid over to November 26 for second reading
31. First Reading - 97-1407 - An ordinance amending the Saint Paul Legislative Code Section 33.03
which changes the effective date from the time a compliance inspection is performed to the date the
deposit is received for work done on nuisance, dangerous and vacant buildings.
Laid over to November 26 for second reading
(Thune left; Blakey assumed the chair)
PUBLIC HEARING
32. Resolution - 97-1174 - Ordering the owner to remove or repair property at 807-809 Buffalo Street
within fifteen (15)forty:;fve(45) days from adoption of resolution. (Legislative Hearing Officer
recommends approval) (Laid over from September 24)
Councilmember Collins stated that this resolution had been laid over because the new owner was
considering demolishing the building and additional time was needed. The owner appeared and
requested an extension to December 10.
Councilmember Collins moved to amended the resolution to 45 days to remove or repair the
building.
Adopted as amended Yeas - 6 Nays - 0 (Thune not present for vote)
(Thune returned)
POLICY SESSION
33. Resolution - 97-868 - Adopting the Saint Paul Transportation Policy Plan as a Chapter of The Saint
Paul Comprehensive Plan. (Laid over from August 20)
Nancy Frick, Department of Planning and Economic Development
Mike Klassen, Department of Public Works
Mike Morehead, Police Department
Following a lenghty discussion, Councilmember Harris moved to lay over.
Laid over to the December 17 Policy Session Yeas - 7 Nays - 0
November 19, 1997 City Council Summary Minutes Page 7
The meeting was adjourned.
/Y v 1
Dar_iel :ostrom, Council President
ATTEST:
Minutes approved by Council
Nancy Ande n - . . as \```�
Assistant Council Secretary
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