City Council Meeting

Public Hearing and Holdingford City Council Meeting October 5, 2015 Mayor Sue Marstein called the Public Hearing to order at 7:00 p.m. Scott Lange from SEH reviewed the final assessment worksheet for the Alley Paving Project. One patch was added on the north side of the Legion and is separated on final assessment. The overall project cost was $22,220.90, which was higher than the original estimate of $18,750. This was mainly due to an increase in pavement width to match into the existing buildings. With 25% cost share from the City, the final assessment to business owners was less than the initial estimate. The assessment resolution included payment options extending over a five year period at an annual rate of 3%, payment in full within 30 days or unpaid assessment balances certified to the county auditor. Mike Odden made a motion to close the public hearing. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. Public hearing closed at 7:07p.m. Mayor Sue Marstein called the October council meeting to order at 7:08p.m. and the pledge of allegiance was recited. Present: Lewis Becker, Eric Berscheid, Sue Marstein, Mike Odden, Sandra Meer, Keith Hommerding, Pat Meier, Scott Lange, Robb Berscheid, Derrick Meyer, Ernie Schmidt, Lisa Silbernick, Tony Stalberger and Dave Yurczyk. Absent: Alan Walz. Motion to approve consent agenda consisting of claims, checks, electronic transfers and withdrawals, bank reconciliation and minutes of the September 14, 2015 council meeting was made by Mike Odden. Motion seconded by Eric Berscheid. AIF Department Reports Liquor Store report was given by Manager Pat Meier. September gross revenue = $29,773.83. September expenses = $42,647.34. YTD lottery = $2,137.76. Year to date balance = $6,509.62. September was slower than expected and advertising will be done for upcoming events. Two bands are scheduled for October 17th and 31st. Planned improvements include fixing the south entryway, purchasing a double door freezer and signage on front of building. A two year contract was made with The Redwoods Company for credit and debit card transactions and included a new card reader with chip authentication technology. Fire Department report was given by Chief Keith Hommerding. There have been 85 calls this year including 41 in the City, 6 in Krain, 17 in Brockway, 19 in Holding and 2 in Avon Township. Of the 85 calls, there were five fires, 71 medical, six good intent, one hazardous condition, one lockout, and one false alarm. Calendars have been approved for printing and will be mailed out by Rengel Printing in next few weeks. New applicant, Mike Schmidt was hired and has started Firefighter 1 class. One more person has picked up application and will meet with department soon. The State Fire Marshalls Office is offering a grant and cities with populations under 10,000 pay 10% cost share of grant expense. Mike Odden made a motion to apply for a $1,000 grant for a turn out gear washer extractor. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. AIF September training included a survivability course. October training will be in house due to busy month with Fire Safety Week and other activities. The Kindergarten classes will be visiting the fire station this week Wednesday. On Saturday, October 10th fire extinguishers can be brought to the Fire Department for testing and batteries will be available for smoke detectors. October 13th the department will host the Stearns County Fire Chiefs Meeting at City Hall. Firefighter Dave Yurczyk presented a report from the Minnesota State Fire Chief’s Association on increasing hardships of recruitment and retention for volunteer departments. Dave Yurczyk also highlighted the many fire boards and organizations he’s involved with at regional, state and national levels. He noted that Representative Tom Emmer will be at the Lake Region Meeting in Alexandria on October 19, 2015. Maintenance Report was moved to New Business. Unfinished Business Mayor Marstein will continue to communicate with Xtratyme Technologies to renew their contract for antennas on the water tower. A report from the summer softball tournaments was requested from organizers, Mark Solorz and Kayla Ebnet and will be forwarded after their wedding in October. The 1992 contract with Louis Walz regarding garbage collection was revisited. The contract will be forwarded to the League of Minnesota Cities for legal advice. New Business Following discussion and response from the public hearing for proposed alley assessments, Eric Berscheid made a motion to accept Resolution 15-10-05-1: Adapting Alley Improvement Assessment for improvements on alley east of Main Street between Cedar Street and Plymouth Street. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. AIF Payment Application No. 1 for the Alley Improvement and paving patch on 3 rd Street was reviewed. Mike Odden made a motion to pay Payment Application No. 1 to Tri-City Paving for $19,113.05. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. AIF Three solar energy companies have provided proposals for buying into community solar gardens. Council requested that a representative from SunShare come to the November meeting to present options. Eric Berscheid made a motion to spend $48,550 on the purchase of a 2002 938G loader from the City of Little Falls. Mike Odden seconded the motion. AIF The loader from Little Falls needs bolt replaced before it’s used and is expected to be available late November. There was discussion on selling the old grader. Contracts under $25,000 are at council’s discretion to have sealed bids or sell outright through Ziegler, online or other venue. Eric Berscheid will follow up. The Wellhead Protection Plan needs to be updated to reflect current employees and contact information. Mike Odden made a motion to appoint Maintenance Supervisor, Brian Zapzalka and Clerk-Treasurer, Sandra Meer as the Wellhead Protection Plan co-managers. Lewis Becker seconded the motion. AIF Maintenance report was read by Mayor Marstein. All fire hydrants were flushed and serviced. Hydrants will be winterized. Electrical problems were fixed on sweeper. New heater was installed at well house by Keith Hommerding. Plow truck was licensed and passed DOT inspection. Plow will be installed soon. Water tower was inspected. A report and recommendations from Tri-State Coatings were reviewed. Tri-State gave a bid for interior and exterior repairs and upgrades. McGuire Iron, the company that built the tower will be contacted for a bid as well as a third company. Repairs and maintenance will be done on a 5-8 year rotating basis to help reduce costs. Street crack filling will be done in the spring. Following discussion, Mike Odden made a motion to bring Brian Zapzalka’s pay up to Step J-5 for credit for his years of experience. Eric Berscheid seconded the motion. AIF Eric Berscheid made a motion to approve step increase from J-3 to J-4 for Clerk-Treasurer Sandra Meer following her performance review. Mike Odden seconded the motion. AIF Admin Reports Mayors Report: See end of minutes for Mayor’s Report. Council Report: Mike Odden noted complaints regarding poor seed quality that Xcel Energy and MP Technologies spread after natural gas was installed. More thistles grew than grass. Clerk’s Report: Website programs are being researched and quotes requested for upgrading the city’s website and offering online utility payment options. Announcements Residents who are delinquent in their utility payments are: Mary Voss, Mike Young, Debra Feld, Katie Severson, Brandon Cottrell, Jayme Opatz, James Urbashich, Jason Burgardt, Jesse Johnson, Josh Krueger and David Hagemann. Next council work session will be 6:00 p.m. on November 9th. Agenda includes Ordinance 92: Health and Safety Nuisances and Ordinance 110: Business Regulations & Licensing. Motion to adjourn was made by Lewis Becker, seconded by Eric Berscheid. Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sandra Meer City Clerk, Holdingford SEPTEMBER 2015 Department Gross Pay General $ 4,970.41 Public Works $ 6,424.94 Fire $ Liquor $ 6,143.24 Total $ 17,538.59 2 pay periods ending 9/6 & 9/20