City Council Meeting

City of Hinckley City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at 7:00 PM Council Chambers (Community Room) 106 First Street SE, P. O. Box 366 | Tel: (320) 384.7491 | Fax: (320) 384.7492 | ww.hinckleymn.gov Mayor and Councilmembers: Mayor Don Zeman | Councilmember Tim Burkhardt Councilmember John Frank | Councilmember Judy Hopkins | Councilmember Jace Scharpnick PRESENT: Mayor Donald Zeman, Tim Burkhardt, John Frank, Judy Hopkins, Jace Scharpnick. ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: City Administrator Leaha Jackson, Fire Chief Elliot Golly, Pine County Chief Deputy Scott Grice, and Firehouse Manager Phil Taggart. OTHERS PRESENT: Joel Virtue, Hinckley Area Chamber of Commerce. 1. Call to Order-Pledge of Allegiance Zeman called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and led the Council in the pledge of allegiance. 2. Approve Agenda Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve the agenda as presented. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 3. Oath of Office A. Oath of Office- Mayor Zeman, Councilmembers Burkhardt and Scharpnick Oath of office was completed for Mayor Don Zeman, term ending December 31, 2026, Councilmember Tim Burkhardt, and Jace Scharpnick, term ending December 31, 2028. 4. Minutes of Previous Meetings Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Scharpnick, to approve the minutes as presented. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. A. December 10, 2024, Regular Meeting & Summary Minutes B. December 16, 2024, Special Meeting & Summary Minutes 5. Public Hearings - None 6. Consent Agenda (Those items listed under Consent Agenda are considered routine by the City Council and will be acted upon by one motion under this agenda item. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless the Mayor or a Councilmember so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered under New Business.)  A. Lake Superior Chapter of Safari Club International - Raffle Permit- Grand Casino Hinckley- April 4-5, 2025 B. Jim Jordan Chapter- MDHA- Raffle Permit- Grand Casino- April 26, 2025 C. Resolution 02-2025 Accept Donation from Library Patrons for Library Support D. Pine County Sheriff's Office Rental Contract 2025 E. Ragnar Run August 8-9, 2025 F. Resolution 03-2025 Hiring Matthias Lenzen as Part-Time Rink Attendant G. Eide Bailly 2024 Audit Engagement Letter Motion made by Hopkins, Seconded by Scharpnick, to approve the consent agenda as presented. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 7. Reports of Officers, Council Committees, & Citizens Committees A. Pine County Sheriff- Calls were included in the packet. Chief Deputy Grice updated the Council on the FLOCK cameras. They will move forward with installing cameras in the County, including two in the Hinckley area. The next deputy bid will occur in April. B. Bolton & Menk- none C. PeopleService- May, June, July, August, September, October, and November Operating & Maintenance Reports; November Maintenance Budget. D. Building Official/Inspector-none E. Hinckley Fire Department -Monthly Run Report 120-133 and 2024 Call Break Down. Fire Chief Golly presented the December run report and the 2024 call breakdown. Jackson reported about 53 or so of the 2024 calls were billable. Justin Skutevik’s request to end leave of absence as of January 2, 2025, was included in the packet. Motion made by Burkhardt, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve Justin Skutevik’s return from leave of absence as of January 2, 2025. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. F. Firehouse Liquors - Monthly Report and Manager’s Reports The manager's report was included in the packet. Low-dose THC sales have started and are slowly ramping up. Mayor Zeman thanked Manager Taggart for his work at the City Holiday Party. Taggart is looking at setting schedules and staffing. Councilmember Burkhardt asked if the THC sales will replace sales numbers for products we already have. Taggart said they will replace those already lost due to industry trends. G. Library- November and December highlights were included in the packet. H. Standing Committees 1. Planning Commission- No meeting 2. Park Board- Burkhardt noted that the 2025 Sweet Summer Sounds lineup includes six performances. The grant application is due on February 1, 2025. 3. EDA- No meeting 8. Unfinished Business A. 2024 Budget Update  The unaudited December financials were included in the packet. Administrator Jackson noted that we should carry the Community Center doors and City Hall vehicle forward to 2025. B. Rush Line Task Force Administrator Jackson asked if the Council would like a representative at the Rush Line Task Force meeting. Council wants to know if it is virtual or where the location is if in person. Council members would be interested in knowing if there is an online option. Staff will gather more information. C. 1993 GM Tender Surplus Sale Staff tried listing it with Gov Surplus multiple times, but it never reached the reserve. Minn. Stat. § 471.64, subd. 1. allows a city to sell it to another government agency, or if the contract does not exceed $25,000, the company can sell the item on the open market. Duxbury Fire Department approached Golly at a Chief’s meeting about purchasing the tender. Elliot recommends selling it to the department for $22,500. Motion made by Hopkins, Seconded by Frank, to approve the sale of the 1993 GM Tender to the Duxbury Fire Department for $22,500. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. D. Commonwealth Real Estate Acquisitions, LLC Pre-Development Agreement Administrator Jackson provided a brief overview of the project and the Preliminary Development Agreement. Liz Peterson from Commonwealth Development Corporation was available over the phone to answer questions. If approved, this would allow the City and Commonwealth to continue to work on a final Development Agreement while they continue with their application to the MN Housing Tax Credit Program. Mayor Zeman noted that one of the differences between this and Zenith, with whom the City was previously working, is the potential TIF, but there would be some payment for the property. He also noted that he received comments that the public would like to see single-family housing. After talking with a local developer, they concluded that after putting in the infrastructure, you could not make it affordable per lot. Zeman believes this project could benefit the community. Councilmember Frank asked if the project is dependent on the award from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency; Peterson replied that it is. Motion made by Burkhardt, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve the Preliminary Development Agreement between the City and Commonwealth Realestate Acquisitions, LLC. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 9. New Business A. City Vision/Future Planning Councilmember Scharpnick asked if the City knew why the date of the carnival was switched. Joel Virtrue from the Hinckley Chamber was present and responded that it was moved due to the request from the carnival ride provider. B. Resolution 01-2025 Organizational Resolution Annual designations of meetings, acting mayor, an official newspaper, official depositories, commission appointments, EDA members, emergency management director, and weed inspector. Motion made by Hopkins, Seconded by Frank, to approve Resolution 01-2025  Organizational Resolution. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. C. Pine County Emergency Response Center- Hinckley Community Center Pine County is updating its Emergency Response Plan. In the past, they have had a contract to use the Community Center as an Emergency Response Center, but the agreement needs to be renewed. Motion made by Burkhardt, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve the MOU with PIne County for the use of the Hinckley Community Center as an Emergency Response Center. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. D. Utility Payment Arrangement Policy The City has a fiduciary responsibility to all utility customers to collect funds due to the City. This also includes developing a policy for utility payment arrangements to collect those funds on time. The packet includes a Utility Payment Arrangement Policy specifying how payment arrangements may be structured. Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve the Utility Payment Arrangement Policy. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. E. Sewer Effluent Meter Replacement The effluent meter is currently out of service and is required for our wastewater discharge permit. PeopleService has obtained quotes to replace the meter. Motion made by Hopkins, Seconded by Scharpnick, to approve the replacement of the effluent meter by Hydro Tech Services for $12,775.00. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 10. Presentation of Claims A. General Fund Payables- $158,731.06 B. Firehouse Payables- $283,693.64 C. Payroll Payables- $61,451.93 Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve the claims as presented. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 11. Notices and Communications A. Hinckley Board of Appeal and Equalization- April 16, 2025, 8:00 AM at the Pine County Courthouse. Council does not need to be present; the County runs this meeting. It is more just open counter hours for people with questions. B. Minnesota Tax Credit Tips from Lakes & Pines CAC 12. Presentation of Petitions, Complaints, and Requests (3 minutes each) 13. Closed Session - None 14. Adjournment Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Scharpnick, to adjourn the meeting at 7:53 p.m. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. Don Zeman, Mayor Attest: Leaha Jackson, City Administrator