Staff persons on hand were Paul Hetland and Joel Dasher.
Also in attendance were Herman Lensing, Rich Romness, and Jim Schulz.
The Pledge of Allegiance was delivered by those present.
Approval of the Minutes
Thelen moved and Goebel seconded a motion to approve the August 13, 2003 meeting minutes. Discussion included a spelling notation for Greg Bechtold. Motion carried.
Report - Rich Romness, Bolton & MENK
7th Street SW
Romness reported that Quality Trailer has inquired about types of material it could use on the driveway. He explained that he would be forwarding a letter to Floyd Sand regarding the various materials that could be used.
Romness brought forward Change Order #1 regarding the salvaging of culverts, repair, and installation of the manhole from the east side of County Road 11 for a total of $2209.00. Humbert moved and Worms seconded the change order. Discussion was offered. Motion carried.
7th Street SE
Romness and Hetland brought forward Pay Application No. 3 for the improvement project. Humbert moved and Goebel seconded a motion to approve Pay App. No. 3 for the 7th St SE improvement project in the amount of $103,108.94 to Kuechle Underground, Inc. Discussion offered. Motion carried.
Hetland brought to the Council's attention the need to hold the special assessment hearings for 7th Street SW and the Industrial Park. Goebel moved and Worms seconded a motion to approve Resolution 2003-32 for 7th Street SW Improvement Project "Declaring cost to be assessed and ordering preparation of proposed assessment." Discussion offered. Motion carried. Goebel moved and Worms seconded a motion to approve Resolution 2003-33 for 7th Street SW Improvement Project "Hearing on proposed assessment" on October 1, 2003. Discussion offered. Motion carried. Goebel moved and Worms seconded a motion to approve Resolution 2003-34 for the Industrial Park Improvement Project Phase I "Declaring cost to be assessed and ordering preparation of proposed assessment." Discussion offered. Motion carried. Goebel moved and Worms seconded a motion to approve Resolution 2003-35 for the Industrial Park Improvement Project Phase I "Hearing on proposed assessment" on October 1, 2003. Discussion offered. Motion carried.
Industrial Park
Hetland forwarded a concern shared by a few property owners in the Industrial Park that street lighting be considered along Industrial Park Drive. Romness responded that he would check into options regarding wood/steel poles and pricing options with Xcel Energy and report back to the Council. He would also look into lighting options for 7th Street SW.
Hetland also brought forward a concern for striping on and near the curve on Industrial Park Drive. Discussion lead to the understanding that striping in the mentioned area was not necessary at this time, but a stripe at the stop sign located at Industrial Park Drive and 7th Street SW should be investigated.
Hetland also brought forward concerns regarding speeding or the need for speed limit signs on Industrial Park Drive. Discussion followed and it was noted that all areas in the city limits, unless otherwise noted, are set by state law at 30 m.p.h. Romness noted that he would contact the appropriate official, Tom Dumont, regarding the possible need for signs in the area.
Report - Jim Schulz, SEH
2003 Wastewater Ponds Stabilization Project
Schulz reported his discussions with the contractor, Landwehr, regarding the removal of the valve work in the bid. Through their analysis, SEH felt that the amount bid in the contract for this item and its installation, exceeded the fair market value for its completion, and that Landwehr was not willing to remove the item from its bid. Humbert moved and Worms seconded a motion to continue to move forward with the contract as bid and previously accepted by Landwehr for the 2003 Wastewater Ponds Stabilization project. Discussion offered. Motion carried.
3rd Street NE
Hetland brought to the Council's attention that the water allowance for the property owners on 3rd Street NE for sod restoration time has expired. There was no request or action to continue the allowance. Hetland also reported that Brandon Twedt, SEH; Joel Dasher, and he would be walking the street on Friday to go over the punch list, that is the remaining activities to take place before the project is completed.
Claims
Hetland brought forward the claims to date. There was discussion why the invoice for Schlenner Wenner & Co. was so high compared to the contract. Council instructed Hetland to investigate and remove the payment from the claims list. Council also brought forward the concern that the City should look into purchasing a water cooler opposed to renting one. Thelen moved and Goebel seconded a motion to approve the claims as itemized and presented by staff for the amount of $137,545.79 (which included the removal of the $12,625.00 payment to Schlenner Wenner & Co.). Discussion offered. Motion carried. Hetland also reported that there was currently $273,286.80 available in our checking account.
Report - Joel Dasher, Public Works Department
Dasher reported that the recent driveway aprons were installed correctly and according to city code. However, he also noted that Gary Thelen's curb stop is under the cement in his driveway. It was mentioned that reflective poles be purchased and installed for 7th Street SW to protect the sides of the road. He reported that the Dead End sign was replaced on 7th Street SE. He brought forward the issue of cutting and maintaining the area around the I-94 on/off ramps. Staff was instructed to contact MnDOT and to highly encourage them to maintain this area.
Report - Paul Hetland, City Clerk/Treasurer
Hetland reported on his attendance of the August 26-28 League of Minnesota Cities New Clerks Orientation conference. He expressed his appreciation for the ability to attend and the conference was of great and practical value in executing the position. Council agreed and encouraged similar participation in appropriate future trainings.
Hetland announced that on Monday, September 15 at 12:00 P.M. there would be a ceremony for the FEMA (U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency) grant received for the Freeport Area Fire Service. Expected to attend the event are the following: U.S. Senator Mark Dayton, U.S. Representative Mark Kennedy, and State Representative Bud Heidgerken among others. Council requested that Hetland contact Fire Chief John Gilk and ask that he give a report to the Council once a month. Council also conveyed its excitement about receiving the grant and congratulated John and Tammy Gilk publicly for applying for the grant.
Hetland reported on the road improvement assessments collected to date. For 3rd Street NE $25,643.74 out of $70,854.66 and for 7th Street SE $4131.25 out of $25,211.03. Also noted were transfers made from our 2003 bond account into checking of $264,201.30 and $105,854.18 from the street fund into checking. Remaining in the 2003 bond account is $123,418.83.
Hetland brought forward a notice from attorney Robert Pottratz regarding a curfew violation in the city with a minor. Council decided not to prosecute on a first time offense of this nature and requested that the city clerk discuss the matter with the parents and suggest a joint discussion with the alleged offender and his parents.
Beutz Radiator Service was discussed. Worms mentioned that each business building must have two fire escapes according to the state fire code. It is believed that the business is in violation of this code and should be noted to the state fire marshal.
Hetland noted that employee reviews should be conducted for Joel Dasher for his one-year review and Paul Hetland for his six-month review at the October 8 meeting.
A brief update of the city hall construction was delivered by Hetland. Humbert moved and Thelen seconded a motion to officially assign Paul Hetland as the project coordinator to oversee the daily progress of the new city hall construction project. Discussion offered. Motion carried. It was also noted that Jim Hemker, John Thelen, and Paul Hetland picked out the block and brick colors for the city hall and samples are on display.
Dasher reported that the water tower clean-out would be occurring the following Thursday.
Dasher and Hetland brought to the Council's attention the point that in case of sustained power failure in the City, the water system would not be able to provide service to the users. Staff suggested attempting to fit our generator to one of the well pumps. Thelen moved and Humbert seconded a motion to allow the expenditure of up to $2000 to fit our existing pump onto one of the wells to maintain a water supply in the event of a prolonged power failure. Discussion included contacting local electricians and obtaining their expertise in the project. Motion carried. Dasher requested to examine the project first. Thelen moved and Humbert seconded a motion to rescind their previous motion. Motion carried.
Famo Feeds requested to pay the difference between the cost of a residential water meter for the purchase of a 2" water meter. Thelen moved and Goebel seconded a motion to approve of the purchase of a 2" water meter for Famo Feeds and that the difference between it and a residential meter be subtracted. Discussion offered. Motion carried.
2004 Budget
Hetland provided information for the 2004 city budget process including the point that a levy limit needed to be set prior to September 15, 2003. It was further noted that the levy amount set at this time could not be raised at a future time but could be lowered. Thelen moved and Goebel seconded a motion to maintain the levy in a manner appropriate to maintain revenue to support a budget relatively unchanged for the next fiscal year. Discussion offered. Motion carried.
A discussion occurred regarding the amount of time spent and tasks accomplished in the public works department. Hetland noted that Dasher and Middendorf maintain a log of their activities and their time spent on each task. This information is to be used in effectively budgeting the resources for the department and not for personnel matters.
The water and sewer rates were discussed at length. The major concern was that sewer rates should be adjusted to more appropriately reflect the usage of the system, specifically, when water is used to water one's lawn the water should be entering the storm sewer and not the sanitary sewer yet one's sanitary sewer rate rises in such a case. Thelen moved and Humbert seconded a motion to instruct staff to prepare a new waste residential water rate system to average each waste water bill on the first four months of the previous year and apply that amount to the remainder of the year to calculate the waste water rate for each residence and to be in effect on January 1, 2004. Discussion. Motion carried.
Hetland presented the snow removal contract for 2003-2004 with Bill Kemper. Humbert moved and Goebel seconded a motion to approve the 2003-2004 snow removal contract with Kemper Trucking & Excavating adding in an hourly rate percentage increase from last year's contract of 3%. Discussion offered. Motion carried.
Regarding the matter with the Dave Anderson property in the Welle Country Acres, Council instructed Hetland to discuss the gravity of the situation with legal counsel and if action could not be taken, to seek out other legal services.
Goebel moved and Thelen seconded a motion to adjourn the Council meeting at 12:15 A.M. September 11, 2003.. Motion carried.
