City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting January 12, 2015 Clerk Sandra Meer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and the pledge of allegiance was recited. The Oath of Office was administered to Susan Marstein as Mayor and Eric Berscheid as Council Member. Mayor Sue Marstein then presided over the meeting. Present: Lewis Becker, Eric Berscheid, Susan Marstein, Mike Odden, Sandra Meer, Melvin Breth, Bruce Gerads, Pat Meier, Dorine Rausch, Tony Stalberger, Christy Becker, Pete Becker, Wayne Ebnet, Jeremy Freudenrich, Duane Kunstleben, Dave Marstein, Doug Marstein, Jake Marstein, Jennifer Marstein, Diane May Scott, Millie May, Tom May, Jim Muehlbauer, Lloyd Rausch, Bob Sanchez, Ernie Schmit, Liz Vos, and Alan Walz. Mike Odden made a motion to approve Resolution 15-01-12-1 Declaring a Vacancy on the City Council. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. AIF Official Business Official appointments and department liaisons were designated as follows. Acting Mayor Mike Odden Clerk-Treasurer Sandra Meer Asst. Clerk-Treasurer Sue Marstein Attorney John Koch at Reichert, Wenner Auditor Schlenner, Wenner & Co Engineers SEH – Scott Lange Depository Stearns Bank – Holdingford N.A. Newspaper Albany Enterprise Webmaster Mike Odden Liaison Officers: Clerk – Sue Marstein Fire – Sue Marstein/new council member Maintenance – Eric Berscheid Liquor – Lewis Becker Parks – Mike Odden Lewis Becker made a motion to approve the official appointments and department liaisons and the 2015 List of Charges, to include the building permit fee schedule. Eric Berscheid seconded the motion. AIF Motion to approve checks was made by Lewis Becker, seconded by Eric Berscheid. AIF Motion to approve electronic transfers and withdrawals was made by Lewis Becker, seconded by Mike Odden. AIF Motion to approve bank reconciliation for December 2014 statements was made by Mike Odden, seconded by Lewis Becker. AIF Motion to approve minutes of the December 2014 council meeting was made by Lewis Becker, seconded by Eric Berscheid. AIF Department Reports Liquor Store report was given by Patrick Meier. December gross revenue = $32,150.07. Expenses = $33,805.63.Year to date lottery proceeds = $3,673.90. Year to date balance = $2,379.62. Working to get sign mounted on front of building. All bartenders completed food service training online to get full food license for the bar. Saturday Fun Runs have started and dart league will begin soon. Fire Department report was given by Dorine Rausch. Responded to 80 calls in 2014 and have had four calls this year already. Received an application for new fire fighter and will call for an interview. Keith Hommerding was reelected as fire chief for 2015. The 700 truck will be driven to Lyon, South Dakota this week for warranty repair work. Air tank compressor installation was completed and is operational. Considering using funds generated from calendar for a new wild land ATV which would replace 2003 6x6 that was donated by SnoFlyers. More donations will be needed. Fire Department personnel will use a vehicle log form when trucks are refueled, instead of each time the vehicle is used. Logs will be turned in quarterly to clerk. This month’s training is on Traffic Scene Management with an instructor from the St. Cloud Technical College. Fire Relief Association has received about $5,000 in donations from the calendar fundraiser. A $4,000 donation was made to the truck fund from gambling proceeds. State aid for 2014 should be received in the next two months. Annual Fire Board meeting will be Wednesday, January 28 th at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. Dorine Rausch also reported on her Emergency Management training. She is attending a two day class this week on Local Damage and Assessments in New Brighton. Next month the training in Medina is on Decision Making and Problem Solving. The Stearns County Emergency Managers meeting will be January 20th, reviewing the SkyWarn program. Wayne Ebnet, Bob Sanchez and Alan Walz introduced themselves to the council and indicated why they were interested in being appointed to the vacant seat on the council. The Council agreed to table the appointment. Maintenance Report was read by Mayor Sue Marstein. 3000 feet of sanitary sewer line was jetted and televised. There was blockage from roots and an unmarked manhole was discovered. The section of sewer line is clay and may need to be re-lined. Storm sewer issues were identified with MP Technologies that included sewer drain covers, weather related sink holes in alleys and street drainage issues. Snow was removed. Maintenance shop and office were cleaned and organized. Laptop is being utilized for monthly reporting and email. Water tower was winterized and lock changed on access door. Beacon was replaced on loader and cutting edges were serviced on blade. White truck is leaking anti-freeze and will be taken to Paggen’s for repair. The blowers at the Wastewater Treatment Plant are not working well. Colin Marcusen from SEH will be on site this week to meet with a mechanical and an electrical technician to diagnose problems. Another option to help monitor systems, instead of using a dialer alert that was approved last fall but has not been installed yet, is the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) that works on a smart phone and allows operators to see in real time how lift stations, water tower and blowers and pumps are working. It wouldn’t take the place of weekend chores, but would be beneficial during non-working hours. Two quotes will be requested. Mike Odden made motion to approve Resolution 15-1-12-2 for a gambling permit for the Knights of Columbus to hold a cash raffle on May 7, 2015 at the Church of All Saints. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. AIF Jim Muelhbauer from Stearns Bank submitted plans for a new drive thru and parking area in back of the bank. Mike Odden made a motion to approve off street parking area for four vehicles and drive thru area in the parking lot behind Stearns Bank. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. AIF Mayor’s report was given at the end of the meeting. Old Business There was discussion on tabled Resolution 14-12-8-2 Establishing Limited Clean Up and Property Damage Protection for Sewer Back-ups and Water Main Breaks for Water and Sewer Customers that is offered through the League of Minnesota Cities. The City still has insurance but it’s not considered “no fault” insurance. The council did not act on the resolution since insurance coverage is in place and additional coverage would not be beneficial. Following discussion, Lewis Becker made a motion to move Brian Zapzalka from Maintenance Specialist to Maintenance Supervisor, Step J1 beginning next pay period and to move to Step J2 if he passes his license test for a “B” wastewater operator in March. Mike Odden seconded the motion. AIF Mayor Marstein reviewed the proposal to hire part time City Office position at 20 hours per week and to extend City Office hours. Duties would include utility billing, filing, website maintenance, dog licenses, building permits and general office duties. Position was included in 2015 budget. Clerk-Treasurer’s position would be reduced to 32 hours/week and council asked clerk to consider prorated insurance benefits. Discussion was tabled until February meeting. New Business Brian Zapzalka accumulated ninety hours of compensatory time before new Maintenance Specialist was hired. In keeping with the policy for paying out compensatory time at year end, Mike Odden made a motion to pay Brian Zapzalka for fifty hours of compensatory time accrued in excess of forty hours. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. AIF Sue Marstein contacted Jerry Schueler regarding his contract with the City for operation of the Wastewater Treatment Plant and holding current certifications until the current employees obtain the needed licensures. Mike Odden made a motion to renew contract with Jerry Schuler on a month by month basis as per his discussion with Mayor Sue Marstein. Eric Berscheid seconded the motion. AIF After converting the maintenance garage to natural gas, Brian Pilarski, Albany Heating, A/C & Service, suggested we put the boiler on Craig’s List since it’s still in good condition. Eric Berscheid made a motion to list the boiler on Craig’s List for $1,500. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. AIF Mayor Sue Marstein noted insurance dividend was received from the LMCIT for Property Casualty. See the end of minutes for detailed Mayors Report. A house on Washington Street has been boarded up and there was discussion on dilapidated houses. A letter will be sent to the property owner regarding the city ordinance on nuisance properties and upkeep. Council report included Mayor Marstein asking that council liaisons make a consistent effort to keep up communications with their designated departments so responsibility is spread across the board. Xtratyme will be contacted to get internet at the museum and to maintenance garage. A contract with Xtratyme should be discussed and signed for antenna, hookups and usage. Other notes: Have Maintenance guys start cleaning out north end of old maintenance shed. The south side entrance of HMLS is separating from the building and may need repair soon. Clerk Sandra Meer reported on getting health insurance coverage changed over to new plans, starting end of year reports and audit process. Announcements Residents who are delinquent in their utility payments are: Brian Mader, Jayson Burghardt, Scott Zehowski, James Urbanshich, Janice Zarbok, Jesse Johnson, Roger Jensen, and Mary Voss. Stearns County Municipal League of Cities meeting will be Tuesday, January 20th in St. Martin. Sue Marstein is planning to go. Annual Fire Board meeting is scheduled at City Hall on January 28th at 7:00 p.m. Motion to adjourn was made by Lewis Becker, seconded by Eric Berscheid. Meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sandra Meer City Clerk, Holdingford