2014-04-28 reg Part 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Voice vote on the motion of Mr. Glickert to approve Item Number 5 carried by a majority with Nay votes from Ms. Carr and Mr. Crow. 6. Approval of second extension request for the Conditional Use Permit (C.U.P.) for the Loop Trolley, a public utility facility in the CC – Core Commercial District and PA – Public Activity district. Mayor Welsch informed members of Council that the City had received notification today that Judge Limbaugh had issued an Order granting the TDD of the Loop Trolley’s motion to dismiss and Motion for Summary Judgment. The ruling states that “At the end, Plaintiffs have no standing or are barred from bringing their lawsuit as to Count I, which leaves the Court with Counts II through V. All four of those counts are State law claims which were brought under this Court’s supplemental jurisdiction pursuant to, et cetera, et cetera. Having disposed of the Federal claims on which those four counts depend on for jurisdiction the Court will dismiss those remaining claims.” Mr. Sharpe moved to approve, seconded by Mr. Price. Mr. Kraft stated that before anyone spoke on this he would like to propose an amendment to extend this item until the next Council meeting, or perhaps until the thirteenth, since the permit expires on the tenth. He stated that the reason is because the operating agreement between University City and the Trolley Co. has not been competed yet and one thing that he has been most concerned about was the legal liability questions. Mr. Kraft stated that he wants it to be absolutely clear that University City bears no legal liability for the operation, maintenance, et cetera, of the trolley. And since there is a pending draft agreement he thinks that Council needed to make sure the indemnity clause was rock solid. Mr. Kraft stated that the second thing he wanted to be clear on was that University City bears no financial responsibility for this trolley, whether it succeeds or fails. And that in fact, if the trolley fails that there are funds leftover and a mechanism in place for those funds to bring Delmar back to its pre-trolley state. These are things that can easily be done he thought Council ought to make sure that they are done before approving a six month extension of the Conditional Use Permit. Director of Public Works & Parks Richard Wilson stated that the City had just received the second draft of the agreement and staff is working on changes to make sure that all of the things mentioned by Mr. Kraft are covered, but according to protocol he would have to submit it to Ms. Pumm by tomorrow in order to get it on the next agenda. Mr. Wilson stated that to date the revisions have not been reviewed and approved by either the City Attorney or the Trolley Co., so he would like to extend this item to the last meeting in May. Mr. Kraft stated that he had no problem with doing so and would make a motion that the permit be , extended until May 302014. The motion was seconded by Mr. Sharpe. Mr. Sharpe asked whether the City Attorney would have an opportunity to review these revisions before it is presented to Council. Ms. Forster informed Mr. Sharpe that she has looked at every draft that has come through and this one would also be reviewed before it is finalized. Mr. Kraft asked Ms. Forster if there was any reason why the completed Operating Agreement could not be made public at the next meeting, if Council so desired. Ms. Forster stated that it could be. Mr. Kraft asked Ms. Forster if Council would be approving both the C.U.P. and the agreement at the same time. Ms. Forster stated that if Council is extending the permit to the thirtieth both could be run through at the same time. Mr. Crow asked Ms. Forster if she was the only attorney working on the operating agreement. Ms. Forster stated that she was the only attorney on behalf of the City and that the Trolley Co. had retained its own counsel. Mr. Crow stated that looking through the drafts as they have come forth it appeared to him as though there are a number of issues that seem to be rather lopsided in their