DEEPHAVEN CITY COUNCIL
Monday, April
17, 2006
Minutes
1.
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Anderson called the
meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Mayor Tom Anderson, Councilmembers Kim
Crockett, Paul Skrede, John Wheaton and Keith Kask
STAFF: Police Chief Virgil Gustafson and
City Administrator Young
2.
APPROVE CONSENT AGENDA
Councilmember
Skrede moved to approve the consent agenda, which consists of the minutes of
April 3, 2006. Councilmember Wheaton
seconded. Motion carried 5-0.
3.
MATTERS FROM THE FLOOR
Administrator
Young stated that the SouthShore Community Center is holding a “Celebrate the
Cities” Luncheon on Monday, April 24th at noon and City staff has
been invited to attend. Mayor Anderson,
Councilmembers Crockett and Skrede stated that they planned to attend the
event.
Councilmember
Skrede stated that the Excelsior Fire Department has conducted a training burn
at 17950 Fairhomes Lane.
4.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A.
Presentation of 2005
Financial Statements
David
Stene of EideBailly was present to give a brief review of the 2005 Financial
Statements and Management Report. He
stated that the financials are in good condition and that staff is on top of
the budget and demonstrates good long-term budget planning.
Mayor
Anderson asked about the City’s reserves, which are currently at 104% of
current year expenditures, and if it were reasonable to have reserves at 75% or
are additional reserves needed to provide for any catastrophic needs. David Stene stated that 75% reserves would be
reasonable since there are also cash reserves available in the Capital
Equipment Fund.
The
Council requested that Administrator Young look into some sort of recognition
similar in cost to a plaque for staff member Mary Courtney who does such an
excellent job in maintaining the City’s financial statements.
B.
Review Proposed Site Drawing
for T-Mobile Tower
Christopher
Coughlin, representing T-Mobile, was present to discuss the location of a
proposed cell tower for T-Mobile. The
tower was proposed to be located on the City Hall Campus Site between the East
Side Fire Station and the LRT Trail.
Christopher
Coughlin stated that the City’s ordinance limits the construction of towers to
city property and that he had met with Councilmember Skrede, Administrator
Young and Zoning Coordinator Karpas to review potential locations on the City
Hall Campus. He stated that he is
looking this evening to receive feedback from the Council on the proposed
location before they proceed with a full application.
Mr.
Coughlin stated that the proposed location south of the fire station is their
number one choice. He stated that they
also liked a location south of the trail but it is parkland and they didn’t
want to have to deal with those issues.
He stated that the location next to the fire station would also be a
good location for the City because it doesn’t take more important land out of
production. He stated that the tower and
attached equipment would only have to be inspected once per month by a
technician who would be informed that he or she could not park in front of the
fire station. He stated that the tower
would be 100’ in height and would be able to accommodate T-Mobile and one other
carrier. He stated that the required equipment
would consist of three cabinets, which are each the size of a refrigerator. He stated that a six or eight foot cedar
fence could be constructed around the tower & equipment, if requested by
the Council.
Councilmember
Crockett stated that although she understands that the proposed lease agreement
would not be reviewed this evening, she stated that she has reviewed the
proposed draft of the lease agreement presented by T-Mobile and that she has
shared her comments with Councilmember Skrede and Administrator Young so that
they can be forwarded to our attorney.
She asked if we could accommodate more carriers if the height of the
tower exceeded 100’? Christopher
Coughlin stated that the ordinance limits the height to 100’ although the tower
could go higher to accommodate more carriers.
He added that a 100’ tower is not really marketable to accommodate
additional carriers as T-Mobile would be at 100’, a second carrier at 85’ and a
third carrier would be at 75’. He stated
that he didn’t know if there would be a market for a carrier at 75’ in height.
Mayor
Anderson asked if the proposed lease included a provision where the City would
share in the lease payments for additional carriers. Christopher Coughlin stated that that issue
still needs to be negotiated in the lease.
Mayor
Anderson asked if T-Mobile has looked at any other sites such as Thorpe Park or
Site 12 at the intersection of Minnetonka Blvd and Vine Hill Road. Mr. Coughlin stated that they had only
reviewed sites that fell within their search area. He stated that the search area is fairly
specific and that the City Hall Campus Site fell within the search area. Mayor Anderson stated that Site 12 is located
on higher ground and could accommodate additional carriers.
Councilmember
Kask stated that the proposed site next to the fire station was somewhat
limited due to the amount of available ground area and that he would not want
to limit additional carriers due to the limited site. He stated that the City might be obligated to
accommodate a second tower in order to provide another carrier with a 20’ x 20’
area for their equipment shed. He stated
that he would rather have a higher tower or more ground space to accommodate
more carriers.
Councilmember
Skrede stated that he had several discussions with Mr. Coughlin on this point
and there would be a spot on the southwest corner of the hockey rink that would
be sufficiently close enough to access the tower. He added that the elevation of Thorpe Field
is only 50’ higher than at the City Hall Campus Site and Site 12 is only 10’
higher.
Mayor
Anderson asked if we are doing justice to our residents if we aren’t able to
accommodate all carriers. He stated that
he likes the proposed site for aesthetic reasons but didn’t know if it would
large enough to accommodate enough carriers.
Councilmember
Crockett stated that the Council could grant a variance to allow the tower to
extend to 125’ to accommodate additional carriers. Christopher Coughlin stated that they could
design the tower to add an additional 20-30 foot extension which could be added
and paid for by another carrier should the need arise.
Councilmember
Wheaton asked if the ground buildings could be stacked. Christopher Coughlin stated that this has
been done but it’s not desirable for carriers since not all carriers need a
shelter and use free standing cabinets.
Councilmember
Wheaton asked if the proximity to the transmission lines next to the LRT Trail
would effect service. Christopher
Coughlin stated that they would not and that carriers often locate their
equipment on power towers. Councilmember
Wheaton asked if the City could locate the City Hall siren onto the proposed
tower. Mr. Coughlin stated that it could
be done but it would require some re-engineering of the tower.
Councilmember
Skrede stated that he understood that each carrier would need to be approximately
10’ apart on the tower and asked if there would be a residual benefit to other
cell phone users apart from T-Mobile by having T-Mobile construct a tower at
this location. Christopher Coughlin
stated that other cell phone users would not enjoy any residual benefits since
each carrier has there own bandwidth.
Mayor
Anderson stated that adding a 20-foot extension to the 100’ tower would address
the Council’s concern about accommodating additional carriers. Christopher Coughlin agreed that a height of
60’ would be marginal to most carriers but 80’ in height would be
acceptable. He added that construction
of the 20’ extension would be the responsibility of the new carrier.
Councilmember
Skrede stated that T-Mobile focused on three sites – the proposed site next to
the fire station, a site on the east side of the Sand/Salt Shed and a site west
of the fence line near the wellhouse. He
stated that the fire station site would be the most acceptable and, with the
possibility of expanding the tower by another 20’, would accommodate the
highest number of carriers possible.
Councilmember
Wheaton stated that he liked the fire station site because it’s aesthetically
the best site available.
Mayor
Anderson stated that it appears unanimous that the fire station site is the
preferred site, particularly with the option to expand the tower by 20
feet. He stated that Mr. Coughlin could
work with the City Administrator in the development of a lease agreement.
5.
REPORTS FROM STANDING
COMMITTEES
A.
Public Works Committee
Administrator
Young stated that the Public Works Committee met on April 5, 2006 and reviewed
a request from Doak Davis for a four-way stop sign at Highland & Leroy,
completed a final review of the 2006 Storm Water Project Report, and discussed
higher than anticipated cost overruns in the 2006 Seal Coating Project and for
the 2006 water truck.
Mayor
Anderson questioned the practice of using gravel to clear ice from the City
streets. Administrator Young stated that
the Public Works Department would occasionally use pea gravel left over from
seal coating to help melt the ice from streets.
He added that while it was effective in providing traction, it was
extremely messy in the spring. He stated
that they would discontinue the practice of using pea gravel.
Councilmember
Skrede stated that Schoell & Madson informed the Public Works Committee
that they were pretty much done with their participation in the 2006 Storm
Water Project Study. He stated that the
Council should review the project areas and the associated costs of each
project to determine whether there are sufficient benefits to proceed with
these projects.
B.
Park Committee
Administrator
Young stated that the Park Committee met on April 5, 2006 and approved the
completion of Matt Sorenson’s Eagle Scout Project and reimbursement of his
project-related expenses in the amount of $311.71. He stated that the Park Committee recommended
a Triathlon entry fee of $15 for single participants and $35 for family participants,
established bench and table standards for parks and beaches, and briefly
discussed improvements to Paddle Tennis Park.
He stated that the Park Committee would be touring City parks and
beaches next month.
C.
Boat Committee
Dana
Young stated that the Boat Committee met on April 12, 2006 and spent the
majority of the meeting discussing the revised dock plans that had been
presented last month by committee member Marc Anderson. He stated that the Committee took action on
several items of interest:
1. The Committee recommended
presenting three plans of St. Louis Bay to the City Council that would include
the original plan designed by Marc Anderson, a second plan showing a shoreline
dock and a third showing roll-n-go slides as a replacement for slides.
2. The Committee recommended
the use of four available slides in St. Louis Bay for roll-n-go slides to
accommodate larger boats.
3. The Committee recommended
that a survey be conducted to determine the property lines and lot line
extensions at the Carson’s Bay and St. Louis Bay facilities.
Mayor
Anderson stated that the Committee should consider the issue of whether the
City should be providing dories or other methods for boaters to access their
sailboats instead of providing each with a separate slide space. Councilmember Crockett stated that there also
should be more discussion on addressing the waiting list. She stated that Darel Gustafson is the only
committee member who seems to be trying to address this issue. Administrator Young stated that he would
bring these concerns back to the Committee.
D.
Other
Councilmember
Skrede stated that members of both the Shorewood and Excelsior City Council
have also expressed concerns regarding the unauthorized expenditures that were
made from the Excelsior Fire District’s Capital Equipment Plan that was discussed
at the last Council meeting. He stated
that he intended to distribute a copy of Resolution No. 08-06, which expressed
the City of Deephaven’s concerns on this issue, at the next Fire Board meeting.
6.
ADJOURNMENT
Councilmember
Wheaton moved to adjourn the meeting.
Councilmember Skrede seconded.
The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Dana
H. Young
City
Administrator