Committee of the Whole

CITY OF AMERY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE PROCEEDINGS May 17th, 2022 The Committee of the Whole of the City of Amery met on Tuesday – May 17th, 2022 at City Hall and via Zoom. Council President, Sarah Flanum called the meeting to order at 5:16 P.M. Present: Council President, Flanum; Mayor, Chad Leonard; and Alderpersons, Tim Strohbusch; Rick Van Blaricom; Mykaela Thompson; Mike Manor and Eric Elkin (5:27). Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator, Patty Bjorklund; City Clerk-Treasurer, Ben Jansen; Deputy Clerk, Taylor Larson; Police Chief, Tom Marson; Interim Fire Chief, Chuck Frohn; Library Director, Rachel Thomas; and Public Works Director, Jeff Mahoney. Staff Absent: None Others Present: Larry Stelter and Dick Waterman. Public Comment – No public comment was heard at this time. Department Head Reports – Reports were heard from Administrator, Bjorklund; Clerk-Treasurer, Jansen; Chief, Marson; Interim Chief, Frohn; Director, Thomas; and Director, Mahoney. Discussion of Proposed Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrades –Public Works Director, Jeff Mahoney; was present to provide some information about the future Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrade. The plan for the upgrade is in the early stages and public works has toured some of the newer surrounding plants. Three proposed ideas have been submitted and Mahoney gave a brief explanation of the three different systems to the council. Ordinance 04-2022 – Ch. 14 Boards, Commissions, and Committees – The ordinance would remove the Board of Health from the ordinances as the city relies on Polk County for this. Motion by Strohbusch; seconded by Van Blaricom; to recommend Ordinance 04-2022 to Full Council as written. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. Ordinance 05-2022 – Tattoo and Body Piercing – Interested parties have come to the City about opening a Tattoo and piercing facility and an ordinance should be in place to allow this to be regulated. The proposed ordinance mimics that of Polk County. Alderperson, Van Blaricom, had some concern about whether this would apply to all piercings, such as ears, and if it would impact andy facilities in the city currently piercing ears. City staff will check to see if there are any places that would be impacted. Motion by Leonard; seconded by Manor; to recommend Ordinance 05-2022 to Full Council as written. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. Ordinance 06-2022 – Arts, Parks, and Recreation Committee – This ordinance was drafted to reflect Mayor, Leonard’s desire to have a committee that could better serve the community in the areas of arts, parks and recreation. The committee would be open to including the school district and the townships. Motion by Leonard; seconded by Manor; to recommend Ordinance 06-2022 to Full Council changing, in Section F, City Finance Officer to City Administrator and Public Works Superintendent to Public Works Director, in Section A, 7 members to 5 members, and in section A, remove “at least” from in front of one member from the Amery School District. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. Pay Application 2 for South Industrial Park Project – This is the second pay request, in the amount of $313,224.15, to fund the progress being made at the South Industrial Park. Motion by Van Blaricom; seconded by Strohbusch; to recommend the pay request in the amount of $313, 224.15 to the Full Council. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. 1 Garbage Hauling RFP – Dick Waterman was present to explain the current recycling situation that Waterman’s Sanitation is facing with the Polk County Recycling Center. He also went over the history of recycling in Polk County. He stated that the county has allocated funds to the recycling center, are looking at their options now, will know their options by fall, plan to get bids over winter, and plan to move forward next spring/summer. Dick also explained some of the things he currently sees in the recycling industry and how he would like to see recycling done. Dick and the council believe that more education is needed about the topic of recycling to help produce a better product. Some members of the council showed interest in having curbside recycling again and the questions of price was asked. Dick didn’t have a answer for the recycling issue. Alderperson, Strohbusch suggested that the Garbage Hauling RFP could wait until fall when the county has learned more information about their project. Motion by Van Blaricom; seconded by Strohbusch; to table the RFP until September. Ayes – 5 Nays – 1 Motion Carried. Ordinance 07-2022 – Creation of a Recycling Committee – The proposed ordinance would create a recycling committee to help educate Amery residents and visitors about the importance of recycling as well as how to properly recycle. Mayor, Leonard would like the committee to be involved with the Women’s Club, who already work hard on recycling. Motion by Leonard; seconded by Elkin; to recommend Ordinance 07-2022 to Council with section A amended to remove township involvement, Section F amended to remove City Engineer, change City Finance Officer to City Administrator, and change Public Works Superintendent to Public Works Director, and add sub section C about recycling education to section D. Duties. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried. Motion by Strohbusch; seconded by Van Blaricom; to adjourn at 6:25 P.M. Ayes – 6 Nays – 0 Motion Carried Respectfully Submitted, Taylor Larson Deputy Clerk May 17th, 2022 2