City Commission

Minutes of the Devils Lake City Commission July 15, 2024 The regular meeting of the Devils Lake City Commission was held on July 15, 2024 with the following members present: President Moe, Joseph Knowski, Jason Pierce, Lisa Uhlenkamp, and Rob Hach. Approval of Meeting Minutes – July 01, 2024 – Commissioner Pierce made a motion to approve the July 1, 2024 City Commission meeting minutes. Commissioner Hach seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Administer Oath of Office to Commissioner Uhlenkamp – The Municipal Judge administered the oath of office to Lisa Uhlenkamp for the position of City Commissioner. Visitor and Delegations: Law Enforcement Center – Starr Klemetsrud with the Law Enforcement Center (LEC) presented the LEC’s preliminary budget. The budget included a 4% cost of living for LEC employees, a few capital expenses, and an over 7% increase to insurance expenses. President Moe asked why the maintenance line item increased so much. Ms. Klemetsrud stated all the maintenance contracts for software and equipment were allocated to that line item. Commissioner Pierce said they are looking at long term improvements that have been deferred over time. The carpet and flooring is budgeted to be replaced in the RRC, along with the purchase of a vehicle. Commissioner Knowski asked if the LEC had plans to take inmates in the main facility. Ms. Klemetsrud stated that they are still under their order due to one deficiency. They have sent their corrective actions back to the state and will be asking to increase their inmate count. Ms. Klemetsrud stressed that there were no capital improvements included that were not absolutely necessary. There was a discussion about the newly created Captain position that is housed under Ramsey County. Ms. Klemetsrud said this has created chain of command concerns at the LEC. Commissioner Pierce said this will be a matter of discussion at their next meeting. Ms. Klemetsrud communicated that overall the City’s contribution to the LEC would see an increase of 9.56%. Commissioner Knowski – The City Engineer thanked the Utility Department for some good work the last two weeks handling some challenging situations. Commissioner Knowski said he spoke with a constituent who had the Utility Department over to assist with an issue and that they received high praise from the City resident for how they handled the situation. Commissioner Hach – The City Engineer said the application for the automated sanitation truck was submitted to the USDA last week. The City Engineer said the watermain project by Minnie H is continuing as scheduled. He added they will soon be having their preconstruction meeting with the contractors working on the Stromquist paving project. The City Engineer added they are continuing to work with the DOT for future micro surfacing work on College Drive next summer. He said there are proposals to enact a road diet and transition the south part of College Drive from 2 lanes on both sides to one lane each way with a middle turn lane. He said this could be beneficial to the City given some analysis and traffic studies that have been conducted. He added that improving the safety of the school crossing near Minnie H is a high priority for that project. The City Assessor said he has been out assessing properties on the southeast side of town. Commissioner Uhlenkamp – The City Engineer said they are doing work along college drive lowering the boulevards on the south part of College Drive in the effort to improve winter snow removal operations in that. He added they are closely monitoring mosquito counts. There was a mosquito hatch last week and they intend to continue with a frequent ground spraying strategy. President Moe asked if they could go down the alleys with the ground spraying. The City Engineer stated that they do on occasion, but it is not part of the normal route. The Commission debated the tradeoffs with doing an arial spray compared to continuing solely ground spraying operations. It was determined to continuing monitoring and conduct an arial spray if the circumstances warrant it. The City Administrator said they would keep the Mayor and Street Commissioner informed and updated. Commissioner Pierce – the Fire Chief communicated that the Fire Department intends to take over the ARFF mission at the airport on September 1st. He said a lot of the ARFF certification coursework can be done online. Commissioner Pierce asked how bushes on the corners near intersections can be maintained and who is responsible for them. Chief Bennette said it goes through the normal nuisance processes. Commissioner Pierce reminded everyone that tree vouchers are available and can be picked up. President Moe – Chief Toso said they have been doing some cleaning and updated at the City’s animal pound. He added that they are working on minor in liquor establishment ordinance to give the ordinance more firm standards for compliance. The City Administrator confirmed there will be a special budget meeting at 11:30am on Thursday, July 18th. He said he would send out as much information before the meeting as possible. He added the City has enough funds in the Mauve Estate’s TIF account to pay off the remaining principle on the debt associated with that project. He said there will be a resolution authorizing redemption of the debt at the next City Commission meeting. The City Attorney gave an update on the work being done on the minor in consumption ordinance update. Canopy Study Update – City Shade Tree and LRSC Collaboration - Lake Region State College Vice President Lloyd Halvorson and Shade Tree Foreman Cory Meyer presented to the Commission an update on the work they have done taking an inventory of all the trees in City limits. The Shade Tree Foreman said all the parks and school property are completely documented. He showed the Commission maps showing the tree inventory. He said 35% of the City’s roughly 8,000 trees were identified as ash trees. Mr. Halvorson gave a lot of credit to the interns and supervisors doing the inventory part of the canopy study. He said as of noon today they have inventoried 9,000 trees. Budget Amendment 24-03 – Shade Tree – Commissioner Pierce made a motion to approve Budget Amendment 24-03. Commissioner Uhlenkamp seconded the motion, and the motion was carried unanimously. Appoint Timothy Kurtz to Shade Tree Committee – Commissioner Knowski made a motion to appoint Timothy Kurtz to the Shade Tree Committee. Commissioner Hach seconded the motion, and the motion was carried unanimously. Pay Estimate #7 – Watermain Replacement 28-23 and 29-23 - Commissioner Pierce made a motion to approve pay estimate #7. Commissioner Knowski seconded the motion, and the motion was carried unanimously. 2025 Budget Discussion – The City Administrator gave an overview on a few topics pertaining to the 2025 Budget. The City Administrator gave an update on what the revenue projections for the 2025 budget will be. The projections for sales tax were 4% above 2023 actuals. All other revenue projections were consistent with the North Dakota League of Cities projections memo recently released. He went over the recommended sales tax allocations and gave an overview of the debt service, trust and fiduciary, and component unit funds. Commissioner Hach made a motion to pay the list of bills. Commissioner Pierce seconded the motion and the motion was carried unanimously on a roll call vote. SPENCER HALVORSON JIM MOE CITY ADMINISTRATOR/AUDITOR PRESIDENT OF CITY COMMISSION