DEEPHAVEN CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2006
7:00 P.M.
PAGE 1
1.
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Anderson called the meeting to order at
7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Mayor Tom Anderson, Councilmembers Paul Skrede, John Wheaton, Keith Kask and Kim Crockett
STAFF: Police Chief Virgil Gustafson and
City Administrator Young
2.
APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA
Motion
by Councilmember Crockett to approve the consent agenda, consisting of the
minutes of September 7, 2006 and September 13, 2006. Seconded by Councilmember Skrede. Motion carried 5-0.
3.
MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR
There
were no matters from the floor.
4.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Boat
Committee members Pete Onstad and Marc Anderson were present to present the
proposed plan for the reconfiguration of the St. Louis Bay Marina. Key elements of the plan included:
·
Address the physical configuration of the St. Louis Marina and make
improvements to meet the need of residents.
·
Improve the shore line aesthetics and improve the sight lines into the
Bay by:
-
eliminating the Shore Space docks
-
improving the looks of the breakwater structure
-
creating a boardwalk
·
Eliminate the issues regarding “over wide” boats on slides.
·
No additional Boat Storage Units would be requested from the LMCD.
·
Reduce the demand for Class A slips by providing wider boats on slides.
·
Eliminate the Shore Space docks.
·
Develop a fiscally responsible plan.
·
Elimination of 13 Shore Space south of the Main Beach.
·
The boats that are currently on the Shore Space would be accommodated
on the new dock slips.
·
Boats in excess of 24 feet would be “grandfathered” (currently 2 or 3
boats)
·
Shore Space waiting list will be merged by date into the Class A dock
slips
·
Construct a boardwalk parallel to the shore line that will provide for:
-
transient dock spaces
-
replacement of the Yacht Club dock as a pickup and delivery area
-
fishing
-
general public enjoyment
·
Eliminate the Yacht Club dock upon completion of the boardwalk.
·
Expansion of the swimming area to encompass the breakwater.
·
Erect a ‘swimming platform” on top of the breakwater.
Slides:
·
There are currently 26 pallets with 78 boats on the slides in St. Louis
Bay:
-
16 boats in Carson’s and St. Louis Bay are not in compliance with width
requirements.
-
8 of the 16 boats have been moored since the ordinance was passed in
2004.
-
Slides are more difficult to fill than docks.
·
Select 10 pallets for wider boats, preferably in one single
location. These slides will be
designated as Class B1.
·
Two boats to a pallet with a maximum width of 7 feet and length of 17
feet reducing the number of slides by 10.
·
All boats with a beam greater than 5’4” will be required to be in these
designated slips. This would include any
from Carson’s Bay.
·
Fees for B1 Slides would be 50 percent more than B2 Slides.
·
The current waiting list would be used for both B1 and B2 slides.
·
Buoy permit holders would not be eligible for B1 slides.
·
An approved “Roll N Go” system would be mandatory for B1 slides. The slide holder would be responsible for the
purchase, maintenance, installation and removal of the winch at season’s end.
·
Allow for flexibility.
Additional pallets could be designated as B1 slides as demand increases
or reduced if demand decreases.
·
Class B2 slides would require a 5’4” beam or less.
·
All winches, rollers and other devices for retrieving and launching
must be eliminated or replaced by a Roll No Go system at the option of the
slide holder for B2 slides.
·
Would reduce complaints of slide holders whose space is infringed by
wider boats.
·
Would accommodate the demand for wider beamed boats by residents.
·
Possibly ease some pressure for Class A dock slips.
Docks:
·
Provides for 22 additional dock slips.
·
New construction would be preferred with an estimate of $3,000 per
finger.
·
Split docks into two fingers with a 40’ navigational lane, which would
provide additional safety for the swimming beach.
·
Alternate plan would be less expensive but might create safety issues.
·
Shore Space permit holders would now use 13 of the 22 dock slips.
·
No additional taxpayer dollars would be required. The project would be funded from the Marina
Fund with possible bonding if necessary.
·
No additional variances would be required from the LMCD although a
current engineering survey would be required.
·
Request for additional BSU’s from the LMCD would not be required.
Councilmember
Crockett asked what would happen to the Yacht Club dock? Pete Onstad stated that the dock would remain
at its present location until the boardwalk is constructed then the Yacht Club
could drop off and pick up its members from the boardwalk. Councilmember Crockett asked where the Yacht
Club would store their two smaller watercraft, which are currently stored on
their dock? Pete Onstad stated that the
Yacht Club would be givenlease two slide spaces.
Mayor
Anderson stated that he would prefer separate waiting lists for B1 and B2
slides so that you could monitor the demand for these two spaces.
Councilmember
Skrede stated that a survey could be sent out to current slide holders asking
them if they would prefer a wide or regular slide.
Mayor
Anderson stated that he would prefer that the City installs and maintains the
Roll-N-Go winches to insure that they are installed properly. He added that the City could charge the slide
holder for the Roll-N-Go, who could eventually be reimbursed by the proceeding
permit holder who leased that space.
Councilmember
Skrede confirmed that permit holders with a B1 permit would not be eligible for
a dock slip or a buoy under the Boat Committee’s proposal. Pete Onstad stated that a B1 slide would be a
permit holder’s only resource.
Councilmember
Skrede asked what happened to the dock plan that showed a gangplank that
accessed the docks in the center? Pete
Onstad stated that he couldn’t really recall other than it might have been
eliminated from consideration due to safety concerns. Councilmember Kask stated that he remembered
that the plan was discarded due to depth issues on the north side of the docks
and that the dock would direct boat traffic through the Boisclair’s dock use
area.
Councilmember
Skrede stated that the proposed dock would be so close to the beach area that
he would prefer a plan that proposed a center gangplank design. Councilmember Kask agreed that a 440’ walk to
access your boat would be quite long, which would be benefited by a central
walkway to access the docks.
Councilmember
Wheaton asked if 40’ would be sufficient for the proposed navigation lane? Pete Onstad stated that typically only three
boats are moving from the docks at once and a 40’ navigation lane should be
more than adequate to handle several 8’ wide boats.
Mayor
Anderson suggested that perhaps the navigation lane could be reduced to 35’ to
allow an additional 5’ separation from the beach area.
Councilmember
Skrede stated that this plan is somewhat experimental in nature and he proposed
that the dock expansion be undertaken using City labor and materials rather
than contracting to replace the entire dock.
He stated that expanding the dock using our labor and materials would be
quite a bit less expensive than a total rebuild.
Mayor
Anderson asked Pete Onstad to have the Boat Committee consider the T design or
center gangplank as a third option for consideration. Councilmember Kask stated that the Committee
would have to determine whether there is appropriate depth on the north side to
support this option, as well as to explore the potential encroachment into the
Boisclair’s dock use area.
Mayor
Anderson stated that he would like to see a cost comparison of continuing the
structure with our own labor and materials versus the cost of a total rebuild.
Councilmember
Kask stated that there is more than just the upfront costs to consider with a
total rebuild of the docks. He stated
that there would also be a substantial ongoing annual cost to contract out the
maintenance of the docks as well.
Councilmember
Crockett agreed that she would hate to lose the ability of the Public Works
Department to maintain the docks. She
added that the Boat Committee has proposed a fairly conservative plan and asked
if the Council agreed with the proposed number of Boat Storage Units.
Councilmember
Kask stated that the Committee is proposing an additional 22 slips and larger
slides to allow for more functional use of space. He stated that while this plan may not seem
radical, it does appear to be doable.
David
Gross, 20245 Lakeview Avenue, complemented the Boat Committee on the proposed
St. Louis Bay plan. He added several
points from his perspective as a member of the LMCD Board. First, the LMCD has no boat overhang
provisions. Second, transient slips at
the boardwalk would need to be licensed.
And third, the LMCD has no restrictions regarding the size of boats on
slides.
David
Gross stated that the City should consider dropping the 5’4” width standard
because of the difficulty in finding a boat with a width that is less than this
standard. Councilmember Crockett
disagreed and stated that a lot of people, including her family, went to great
lengths to find a boat below the 5’4” standard.
David
Gross added that the City should also establish three pricing options for
slides – one price for boats below 5’4”, a second for boats between 5’4” – 6’,
and a third for boats over 6’. He also
recommended that shore space is too valuable to waste a 7’ space on a 5’6” boat
and that slides spaces be specifically designed to fit the width of a boat.
Jennifer
Young, 20035 Lakeview Avenue, stated that the effect of establishing the 5’4”
width requirement was to outlaw every Boston Whaler that has been built since
1960. Councilmember Skrede stated that
the intent of the width requirement was simply to equalize space for each
permit holder. Jennifer Young
recommended that the City Council strongly look at the possibility of throwing
out this ordinance.
John
Pearson, 3850 Virginia Avenue, stated that he felt it would be a big mistake to
not have the St. Louis Bay ramp open in the spring and fall. He stated that the ramp is used for people to
wash their dogs and for kids to wash their feet off. He requested that the Council reconsider the
use of this space.
The
Council requested that staff place a notice in the City Newsletter to hold a
public meeting on the St. Louis Bay dock plan on October 16th.
Administrator
Young presented the 2007 Marina Fund Budget and 2007 Rental Fees for Council
review. He stated that the costs of
operating the Marina have resulted in significant increases to the Marina Fund
Budget. He stated that an increase in
2007 boat fees is needed to support the increasing costs. He stated that the Boat Committee had
recommended approval of the 2007 Marina Fund Budget and 2007 Rental Fees on
September 13th with only one modification – increasing the proposed
budget to include the cost to survey Carson’s Bay Marina property.
Discussion
turned to the proposed 2007 Rental Fees.
Councilmember
Skrede stated that he felt the proposed fees were slightly too high for dock
slips and should be lowered to $750 and that slides fees were too low and
should be increased to $225.
Councilmember
Wheaton stated that he felt the rates should be increased to reflect the fair
market value of a dock slip. He stated
that slips are an amenity not a public necessity and they should reflect a more
realistic rate. He added that increasing
the fees to fair market value would also substantially reduce the demand for
slips.
Mayor
Anderson stated that all substantially increased fees would do is force out
those residents with less money. He
stated that as soon as the City sets fees too high for a resident to afford the
fee we are heading in the wrong direction.
Councilmember
Wheaton stated that increased fees could also be used to support parks and
other amenities.
Mayor
Anderson stated that he felt it would be wrong to solely use economics to
manage a city resource.
Councilmember
Kask stated that the foundation of the argument is that dock slips should be
set at a commercial rate but he noted that many boats using our dock slips
would not be permitted at a commercial marina due to the general appearance and
condition. He added that the fees should
be set to allow our residents to enjoy an affordable boating experience.
Councilmember
Wheaton stated that the fees are too good a value and should be set such that
the additional revenue could be used elsewhere.
Councilmember
Crockett stated that she is comfortable with the running the Marina Fund as an
Enterprise Fund where rates are set to fund the specific expenses of that
particular fund. She stated that the
issue she has trouble with is the length of the lease. She stated that establishing realistic limits
on the length of a lease would transform the entire boating system.
Mayor
Anderson stated that Councilmember Crockett could request that this issue be
placed on the Council agenda and the Council could either vote in favor or
opposition to placing time limits on boat leases.
Motion by Councilmember Anderson to adopt Ordinance No. 04-42 as amended, An Ordinance Amending Section 405.05 pertaining to the Establishment of Boat Fees. Seconded by Councilmember Crockett. Councilmember Wheaton abstained. Motion carried 4-0-1.
D.
Adopt Ordinance No. 09-16,
Amending Section 900.07 Subd. 2 June 15th Deadline
Motion by Councilmember Skrede to adopt Ordinance No. 09-16, An Ordinance Amending Section 900.07 Subd. 2 of the Watercraft Space Ordinance. Seconded by Councilmember Crockett. Motion carried 5-0.
Councilmember Paul Skrede presented a presentation onreview
of the Excelsior Fire District statistical data that included
information on the following items:
·
Recap of Total District Calls 2003 – 2006
·
EFD Response Times District Wide
·
Calls per City
·
City Calls as a Per Cent of Total Calls
·
Call Types
·
Percentage of Calls by Type
·
Call Types – Deephaven
·
Percentage of Calls by Type – Deephaven
·
City Usage Comparison
·
Cost Comparison: Formula vs. Usage
Discussion
was held on the benefits of reducing or potentially
eliminating the number of medical calls made by the Excelsior Fire
District, which would help to equalize the current allocation of costs to run
the department. Councilmember Skrede
stated that he would bring this issue to the attention of the new Fire Chief
and the EFD Board.
Administrator Young presented a 5-Year Budget Projection for Council review.
5.
REPORTS FROM STANDING
COMMITTEES
Administrator Young reported on the activities of the Public Works Committee at their September 6, 2006 meeting. There were no recommendations requiring Council action at this time.
Mayor
Anderson and Councilmember Crockett both recommended that the staff develop
more consistency in the regulation of political signs within the street
right-of-way.
Administrator Young reported on the activities of the Park Committee at their September 6, 2006 meeting. He stated that the Park Committee recommended that the City Council designate the full amount of the T-Mobile lease proceeds to the Park Improvement Fund in order to establish a reliable source of funding for their fund.
C. Boat Committee – September 13, 2006
Administrator
Young reported on the activities of the Boat Committee at their September 13,
2006 meeting. There were no
recommendations requiring Council action at this time.
Councilmember
Crockett recommended sending each resident who had submitted a volunteer
application form an acknowledgement that the application has been received.
6.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 9:47 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Dana
H. Young
City
Administrator