City Council Meeting

City of Hinckley City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, March 11, 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 Pine County Deputy Josh Pepin. OTHERS PRESENT: None. 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 Burkhardt, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve the agenda with the addition of items 7D 2019 Water Supply Plan Adoption and 8F MMBA Annual Conference. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 3. Minutes of Previous Meetings A. January 14, 2025, Regular Meeting & Summary Minutes B. February 18, 2025, Special Meeting & Summary Minutes 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. 4. Public Hearings - None 5. 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. Resolution 10-2025 Declaring Equipment or Property as Surplus and Authorizing the Sale Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Hopkins, approve the consent agenda as presented. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 6. Reports of Officers, Council Committees, & Citizens Committees A. Pine County Sheriff  The shift bid was last week. Hinckley will keep Pepin and Farrand. Councilmember Scharpnick asked if they knew what the smoke might have been. Grice responded that there has been an increase in brush burning and if anyone has any questions, they can always check the DNR website or call Dispatch. B. Bolton & Menk- None. C. PeopleService- December and January Operating, Maintenance, and Work Order Reports were included in the packet. D. Building Official/Inspector- None. E. Hinckley Fire Department- Monthly Run Report- Runs 9-29 were included in the packet. Fire Chief Golly noted that we had the first wildland fire in February. The elevator call was at the Casino, and the fuel leak was at Kwik Trip. Council Member Frank asked if the Fire Truck was transferred to Duxbury FD; Elliot noted that it was, and they have already started training with it. F. Firehouse Liquors – The February monthly financials and Manager's Report were included in the packet. Councilmember Burkhardt asked if the new On-sale point of sale communicates well with the other systems. Jackson replied that they do not talk between themselves, but it seems like there are good reports that can be used to gather the needed information. He also asked if it is detailed enough to know to charge more for premium liquor and if there were multiple choices for POS systems. Jackson responded that it can, and Manager Taggart and Finance Director Barmettler sat through a few demos before deciding on Toast. Mayor Zeman asked about the employment situation there. Jackson noted that our two regulars and the newer hire are doing well. Another part-time bartender was hired but is currently working primarily in the off-sale. Of the two off-sale hires, one is looking at being brought on soon, and we are currently holding off on the second. G. Library- The February Branch Highlights are included in the packet. H. Standing Committees 1. Planning Commission- No meeting. 2. Park Board- Councilmember Burkhardt reported that the grant was submitted and approved for the full amount for the 2025 Sweet Summer Sounds season. 3. EDA- No meeting. 7. Unfinished Business A. 2025 Budget Update The unaudited January financials were included in the packet. Jackson noted that some significant expenses will come through due to the Community Center repairs. Another expense to come is at the Firehouse; the automatic opener on the exit door is failing and needs to be replaced. During the last cold snap, the furnace failed at the Old City Shop, causing a water pipe to freeze and start leaking once it warmed up. All staff believed the water was off at this location. Insurance has been contacted and ServPro Sandstone is working on drying it out. Mayor Zeman asked about water and sewer revenues and if there may be a reason for the lower revenues. Jackson responded that we are looking through the billing accounts to look for accounts that might not be billing correctly. Another contributing factor is we keep working on water conservation and that in turn will lead to lower usage and  revenues. Councilmember Burkhardt asked about the temporary water line at the Post Office and School building. Jackson noted that it is a private utility, but there is a potential of a main issue once a contractor starts working on the service. B. Frontier Energy Facility Energy Analysis Report The completed Facility Audit report was included in the packet. Page 23 of the report is where the findings start. Working on some of these projects may be eligible for Federal Grant monies. Jackson noted the hope is to include this in the aerator replacement project. C. Public Works Maintenance Worker I Job Description Update As part of hiring the third full-time Public Works City Maintenance Worker, we should look at the job description and make any updates as needed. At this time, it would be removing “or obtaining within six-months” for the Class B license requirement as DOT does not give the City a grace period for our drivers. Motion made by Hopkins, Seconded by Frank, to approve the updated job description as presented. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. D. 2019 Water Supply Plan Adoption The 2019 Hinckley Water Supply Plan was not completed and adopted in 2019. Planning and Zoning Administrator Perry completed the needed items. The updated plan was submitted to the State and has been approved. They require that the City Council approve and adopt the plan. Motion made by Scharpnick, Seconded by Burkhardt to approve the 2019 Hinckley Water Supply Plan and adopt it. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 8. New Business A. City Vision/Future Planning Councilmember Burkhardt mentioned that they had talked at the CVB and Community ED about finding some spots for murals in the community to spruce it up, and he thought about some locations would not need permissions, like the bandshell or community center. He has chatted a bit with some artists who might be resources if we do something like this. Administrator Jackson responded that we have staff looking into other communities and how they went about their mural programs and will bring the information to a future meeting. Councilmember Frank wanted to see what the council would think about looking at a timed lock on the bathroom at Legion Park instead of the porta potty. Staff will look into this option. Councilmember Frank asked if we knew who owned the Conservation Club building and to see if they have any plans for it. Jackson replied that the Conservation Club does own it. B. Assessment Agreement Between the City of Hinckley and Pine County for 2026-2028 The Pine County Assessor’s office completes the property assessment values for properties in the city limits. The current contract for this service will end in 2025. The proposed contract for 2026-2028 is included in the packet and includes costs of $6.00, $5.00, and $4.00 for the respective years for the sum of the parcels. Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve the 2026-2028 Assessment Agreement between the City of Hinckley and Pine County. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5- 0.  C. Resolution 11-2025 Authorization to Apply for Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure Grant Program and Commitment of Matching Funds As part of the project at the Family Dollar Property, the City will be looking to extend the road and utilities to the property line, including a lift station. The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency's Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure Program will open an RFP in the first quarter of 2025, and this project would be eligible. Administrator Jackson noted the application windows are typically very short, and she wanted to be ready to move forward with an application when the window opens. Councilmember Frank asked if Commonwealth could not move forward, would we need to still to take the money, or would it have to be returned? Jackson noted that there would be three years to spend the funds and that this program could be used to help spur development so we could move forward, but we would not have to. Motion made by Burkhardt, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve Resolution 11- 2025 Authorization to Apply for Assistance to the Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure Grant and Affirmation of Commitment of Matching Funds. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. D. Resolution 12-2025 Authorization to Apply for Greater Minnesota Small Cities (Tier II) Housing Aid Grant Program Minnesota Housing Finance Agency has the Greater Minnesota Cities (Tier II) Housing Aid grant program, which is a competitive grant. Projects under this program must be used directly for affordable housing development and financing. This program could be utilized to make Commonwealth Real Estate Acquisition, LLC’s application for tax credits more competitive. The application is similar to their application for tax credits, and they have indicated they would help with the ongoing reporting requirements if awarded. Funds would need to be used within three years after the award. Motion made by Burkhardt, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve Resolution 12-2025 Authorization to Apply for Greater Minnesota Small Cities (Tier II) Housing Aid Grant Program. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. E. Commonwealth Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Application Letter of Support Commonwealth Real Estate Aquisition, LLC is looking for letters of support to include with their Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Application. Included was a sample letter personalized for the City. A motion was made by Hopkins and seconded by Scharpnick to approve submitting the letter of support for the Commonwealth's MHFA application. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. F. Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Annual Conference- April 26-29, 2025 Firehouse Liquor Manager Phil Taggart has submitted a request to attend the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association (MMBA) Annual Conference, April 26-29, 2025. There are many beneficial topics to be covered and the ability to network with others in the industry. Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Hopkins, to approve Phil Taggart's attendance at the MMBA Annual Conference at $769.00. Voting Yea: Burkhardt, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 9. Presentation of Claims A. General Fund Payables - $158,862.32 B. Firehouse Payables- $143,248.99  C. EDA Payables - $0.00 D. Payroll Payables - $45,281.18 Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Scharpnick, to approve the claims as presented. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0. 10. Notices and Communications A. NPDES Permit Update Notice- The modified permit was approved. B. MS 150 Route June 8-9, 2025 C. 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 like just open counter hours for people with questions. D. Minnesota Tax Credit Tips from Lakes & Pines CAC 11. Presentation of Petitions, Complaints, and Requests (3 minutes each) 12. Closed Session - None 13. Adjournment Motion made by Frank, Seconded by Scharpnick, to adjourn the meeting at 7:48 p.m. Voting Yea: Mayor Zeman, Burkhardt, Frank, Hopkins, Scharpnick. Motion carried 5-0.