Minutes - Council Work Session - 05/11/2021

Home

Deputy City Administrator Gladhill stated that staff can also bring forward a suggestion for an administrative approval process with the option to appeal to the Council. The consensus of the Council was to direct staff to create a process for administrative approval as well and bring the proposed changes back to the Council for review. Deputy City Administrator Gladhill commented that staff will draft a policy framework for the Council to review and if there were consensus, staff would draft an ordinance amendment. 2.04: Discuss Final Settlement Agreement for Retaining Wall Encroachment in Trott th Brook Greenway Conservation and Trail Easement at 7349 18 Circle NW and Potentially Discuss a Broader Corridor Solution; Case of John and Jodell Seaman Deputy City Administrator Gladhill reviewed the staff report. Councilmember Musgrove thanked staff for their work on this case. She stated, “For the record I wanted to show that I specifically asked for this case to come and initially another case came which is a very needed conversation that we need to have about the broader corridor, but I’m glad that we have gotten to this point where the case is here before us. In the summer of 2020 I brought some concerns about this trail to Tim.” She noted that she photographed a rusty barrel located on the water side of the trail, which is still in that location. She asked who is responsible for monitoring the conditions of the trail. Deputy City Administrator Gladhill replied that this has been a learning experience. He stated that because of the grant funding, each year the City is audited and provided details on that process. He stated that the code enforcement program has been tweaked to identify areas in which staff should be more proactive. He stated that if desired this could be included as one of those areas. He stated that he can follow up on the rusty barrel. Councilmember Musgrove stated that her complaint about the barrel was ignored and more focus was put on the retaining wall. She stated that she is glad they are now at the point to say the City will assist with the cost but hoped that they could have come to this point sooner. She referenced the cost to vacate just the portion of the easement along the corridor would be between $10,000 and $20,000. She asked for clarification on which portion of the easement is referenced. Deputy City Administrator Gladhill commented that would apply corridor wide on the south side of the trail as the area of contention on the properties is only on the backyard side of the trail. He explained what that cost would entail. He stated that as part of the settlement the Seaman’s paid $1,500 as part of their CUP application. He stated that currently nothing has been charged towards that in attempt to reach a final settlement. He noted that cost would be applied to the purchase, floodplain modeling, or could be refunded. Mayor Kuzma commented that one of the things that started this process was that the residents did not pull a permit for their retaining wall activity; therefore he does not tend to favor refunding that amount. He commented that if the City lets this go, he believes there could be additional problems to follow in the future. City Council Work Session / May 11, 2021 Page 5 of 10