Councilmembers present: Greg Boelter, Bud Heidgerken, John Thelen and Dave Humbert.
Others present: Maintenance Supervisor Joel Dasher, City Engineer Pete Carlson and Acting Clerk Joe Heinen.
Minutes of these regular and special meetings were presented for review and adoption:
- regular meeting of 1/29/02
- special meeting of 2/06/02
- special meeting of 2/15/02
- special meeting/hearing of 2/19/02
After studying the minutes, a motion to approve the 1/29/02 minutes, with corrections was made by Heidgerken, s/Thelen. The motion carried with no objections. Boelter then moved to adopt the 2/06/02 minutes as presented, with a second offered by Thelen, and this was carried by unanimous vote. Heidgerken then moved for adoption of the 2/15/02 special meeting minutes, with corrections required, and this was seconded by Boelter. The motion passed without dissent. By consent, the council agreed to defer approval of the 2/19/02 meeting/hearing due to major re-drafting needs. The clerk agreed to re-draft and present these minutes at a later date.
Committee/Staff Reports
A. EDA Board - Mayor Atkinson commented on the action of both the 2/20/02 and 2/25/02 sessions that involved discussion and action on these projects:
- Industrial Park - Traci Ryan was on hand to propose the platting of 7 lots, with public facilities, at an estimated cost of $578,000. She indicated that a bond sale to finance these improvements would require a face amount of $663,000, including capitalized interest, engineering fees,etc. A tax levy of $19,000 would be needed annually to provide the cash flow to pay principal and interest. As a counter-move, the board agreed that only 3 lots should be platted and improved at this time, to reduce financial liability, with the lot sizes to be nearly 4 acres each. This plan would cost approximately $363,000. With that, Thelen moved, s/Humbert, to authorize the preliminary platting of< Middendorf property involved, working with Rich Romness of Bolten Menk Inc. The motion to proceed was adopted by all present. The matter of platting then brought up the issue of insuring that all of the property included in the improvement scope be a part of the city and this then prompted the need to annex certain lands. After discussing the procedures with acting Clerk Heinen, a motion was made by Humbert, s/Heidgerken, to begin the annexation action that would incorporate the Middendorf land within the city limits. Heinen stated that he felt a joint resolution between the City and Oak Township was all that was needed but he would have to research the matter further to see if a petition from the Middendorfs was required first. Upon a call for action on the motion, a voice vote approved the action with 5 Ayes and no nays.
- Residential Development
- Member Thelen had contacted Dave Nord about visiting with us on adopting the state building code. He stated next that he was now scheduled to meet Don Anderson in St. Cloud later in the week to learn more about the process.
- Utilities-Joel Dasher spoke to the group about the new chemical tanks and well piping projects being planned and revealed that the street sweeper was down due to tire being impacted on the wheel rim. He also sought approval to attend a one day Rural Water Conference in St. Cloud next week. Atkinson moved to approve said attendance, s/Heidgerken, and by voice vote, the motion passed. In a final matter, he stated that the lawn service care proposal passed out would not be needed since he has learned that the local Lions Club will be mowing the lawns in the parks.
- Pete Carlson of SEH appeared to speak of the 2/19/02 hearing results and then went on to state the problems causing the water ponding near 7th St. SE and 3rd Avenue were created by an overgrown ditch, which lay north near and in in the MNDOT right-of-way. He agreed to speak to the state about either a cost-sharing project to clear the vegetative growth or seek permission to enter their r.o.w.
- deed and encumberance from the firm of Rinke Noonan, with respect to the Middendorf property
- notice of Board of Equalization hearing to be held here on April 16th
- MPCA petroleum tank site release notice for the Pump & Pantry, dating back to 1999, which stated that the state had not yet received a final cleanup notice
- memo from the clerk to the fire department on pending forms for relief association filing
Old Business
Members viewed a mailing from the LMC that announced that certain fees would have to be reported to the state next year as a result of legislative action. The first report would be due by April 1, 2003, and would have to include all land use activity. This prompted some discussion on imposing a building moratorium for the time being but all agreed, this issue could be addressed when the public hearing on the building code is held. The need to hire additional staff was initiated when the mayor stated that Bonnie Sunder-mann would agree to work as a part-time clerical person to assist the clerk.at a rate of $10.00 per hour with no fringe benefits, at an average 10-12 hours per week. Heidgerken moved to authorize the hiring, s/Humbert, and all voted in the affirmative.
New Business
A Stearns County Board mailing, announcing today's meeting of a tax abatement session in Albany was coupled with another notice of a tax abatement meeting, hosted by David Drown Associates in St. Cloud on March 14th. Several members, as well as the clerk, expressed a desire to attend this function at the Tech College on that date, to learn more >about this process. Resolution No. 2002-03, a RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING BANK SIGNATURE CARDS on behalf of the Freeport State Bank, was introduced by the clerk for purposes of securing approval for he and the mayor to sign checks and make loans, as needed. Thelen moved to adopt, s/Heidgerken, and the motion carried unanimously. At 9:05 P.M., the meeting was recessed for purposes of the Freeport Fire Service Area conducting its annual assessment meeting with the surrounding townships and cities. Notes of this session are contained in the 2002 AFSA files.
Audit & Budget
At 10:00 P.M. the meeting was reconvened to review the prepared list of pending payables, amounting to $25,942.41. Upon studying the claims list, there was concensus to remove a $3,340.07 charge from NSP for replacement of a utility pole and to add a $10.00 payment due the Middendorfs' for a option agreement on future industrial lands. Heidgerken moved to approve the revised list, s/Boelter, and without dissent, the motion passed.
In a late item, a building permit application from Ken Goebel, seeking approval to erect a 10x12 addition was granted authorization, contingient upon a site plan inspection conducted by Joel Dasher., following a motion by Heidgerken, s/Boelter. All voted in favor of said action.
Correspondence
The following items were informational only, with no action requested:
In a final item, the mayor asked if it were prudent to begin the proceedings on rezoning of the former Adeline Berg property, measuring some 50x62 feet, to expand the C1 Commercial district. His reason was stated as being that the lot is substandard and could not accommodate a new residential dwelling anyway. By consent, the council agreed to have staff prepare the map, notice of mailing and publication, all of which will be a little time-consuming.
At 10:55 P.M. the meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent.
