City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting November 5, 2015 Mayor Sue Marstein called the November council meeting to order at 7:00p.m. and the pledge of allegiance was recited. Present: Eric Berscheid, Sue Marstein, Mike Odden, Alan Walz, Sandra Meer, Keith Hommerding, Pat Meier, Dorine Rausch, Scott Lange, Kyle Roach, Robb Berscheid, Ernie Schmidt, Lisa Silbernick, Gordy Sjaaheim, Tony Stalberger and Louis Walz. Absent: Lewis Becker Motion to approve consent agenda consisting of claims, checks, electronic transfers and withdrawals, bank reconciliation and minutes of the October 5, 2015 council meeting was made by Alan Walz. Motion seconded by Mike Odden. AIF Department Reports Liquor Store report was given by Manager Pat Meier. October gross revenue = $35,267.33. October expenses = $24,567.96. YTD lottery = $2,665.74. Year to date balance = $17,736.97. The Maintenance Department repaired the south entryway doorway. The Redwoods Company credit card agreement is on hold after examining company reviews. October bands and Game Day were well attended. Budget will be gone over with Pam and Sue in next week. Inventory is at a good level. Fire Department report was given by Chief Keith Hommerding. There have been 96 calls this year including 48 in the City, 6 in Krain, 18 in Brockway, 22 in Holding and 2 in Avon Township. Calendars are sent out. They have a better look this year, were printed locally and were less expensive. Firefighter Matt Philippi moved out of the area and has resigned after 5 years on the department. The department received a denial letter from FEMA for grant funds requested for air packs and the Fire Department would like to submit another request. Mike Odden made a motion to approve another FEMA grant submission for air packs. Alan Walz seconded the motion. AIF Trucks 600 & 700 need seals replaced but have passed inspections so will wait to make repairs. Emergency Managers report: The Emergency Managers meeting was hosted at City Hall in October and they completed a simulated protocol and damage assessment exercise. Dorine Rausch attended communications class for Emergency Manager Certification at Fort Ripley. The final orientation meeting will be at Governor’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Conference in February and she will receive her certification at the conference. Eric Berscheid made a motion to allow Dorine Rausch to attend the Governor’s conference in February to receive her final certification. Alan Walz seconded the motion. AIF Dorine is also continuing to work on the Holdingford disaster recovery plan. Maintenance Report was read by Mayor Marstein: Sprinklers at Wobegon Trailhead and Triangle Park were winterized as well as bathrooms at Ball Park and campgrounds. Snow equipment was installed. Surveying was conducted on County Road 17 by Stearns County for future road work. Supervisor Brian Zapzalka attended one day Water Operators training at St Johns. Specialist Andy Bartkowicz attended 3-day Wastewater Operators Training in St Cloud and passed the Class C Wastewater Operators Exam. A collapsed curtain in clarifier at Wastewater Treatment Plant was repaired. New chemical feed pumps were installed at the well house. Inspected and repaired all gate valves and manholes. Bio-solids were applied on city’s ten acre parcel. Guests: Kyle Roach from SunShare Community Solar presented information on subscriptions in their solar garden program. There are no upfront costs and usage costs are offset with bill credits. The program is run through Xcel Energy so Xcel can meet the renewable energy standards. The city and individuals can subscribe to gardens within this county or a neighboring county. A subscription is tied to production and rates are established when the garden is built. Eric Berscheid made a motion to sign a non-binding letter of intent with SunShare Community Solar for a community solar garden subscription. Mike Odden seconded the motion. AIF Nancy Scott, city building inspector addressed questions regarding the building valuation tool that she uses to determine building permits costs. In question were permits issued in September 2014 for Berkon Industries and Everything Signs. Nancy Scott uses the building valuation data charts that are put out by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, less 5% to account for the economic area. Eric Berscheid of Berkon and Rob Berscheid from Everything Signs noted that the valuations that were used for their permits were much higher than expected and about twice as high as the tax valuations that came back from the County. Nancy Scott had spoken with two Stearns County assessors and they based the valuation assessment on a formula using Marshall-Swift and location. Nancy Scott’s calculations are based on square footage, less 5%. She’s been using the same formula and building valuation charts for the past 17 years in several surrounding cities and has not had issues before this. Berscheid’s asked about using a more “fair” formula to account for the area’s economy. Nancy will check with the state and compare valuations and the city will check with other area inspectors for valuation comparisons. Unfinished Business Kyle Ackerman from Xtratyme Technologies responded to the Mayor’s request to update the contract for the antenna rent on the water tower. He rejected the proposed rent increase and service to the city and counteroffered that Xtratyme could provide either the increased rent or internet services to the city but not both. The council agreed that the original proposal for both providing service and paying increased rent was fair. The council specified that a response from Xtratyme be requested within 30 days or if no further negotiations, power could be shut off to his antennae by December 31, 2015. There was discussion on selling the old loader through Zeigler or other venue or selling it outright. Eric Berscheid made a motion to put loader out for bids. Sealed bids will be accepted until noon on December 14 th and will be opened at the regular monthly meeting on December 14, 2015. Alan Walz seconded the motion. AIF A report of the summer softball tournaments from organizers, Mark Solorz and Kayla Ebnet will be presented at the December council meeting and budget amount will then be determined. After seeking an opinion from the League of Minnesota Cities, the 1992 contract with resident, Louis Walz regarding garbage collection will remain in effect in its original form. Mr. Walz also expressed his concerns regarding the engineering done for water flow when the alley was paved behind Everything Signs to Stearns Bank. Mayor Marstein will relay the concerns to Scott Lange from SEH. In order to comply with current accounting standards regulated by the federal government and avoid a departure in the auditor’s report the city needs to request an actuarial study for the Fire Relief Association pension. The cost would range from $2,400-$3,500. The council requested that the Fire Relief Association pay for the actuarial studies from gambling funds. New Business The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office submitted a new contract proposal for an average of 6 hours per week at $50/hour, estimated to total $15,600. Eric Berscheid made a motion to accept contract with Stearns County Sheriff’s Department for 2016 with hours adjusted to match the budgeted amount of $15,000. Mike Odden seconded the motion. AIF Tri-County Humane Society sent a contract proposal to accept stray or abandoned animals from the city. Mike Odden made a motion to accept the Tri-County Humane Society contract for services for 2016. Eric Berscheid seconded the motion. AIF Office Assistant Lisa Silbernick presented a proposal from GovOffice for updating the website. The council discussed options for the website, as well as offering e-billed statements to utility customers, e-pay options for paying utility bills online and continuing the service agreement with CW Technology for computer support services or providing support in-house. Eric Berscheid made a motion to set up electronic e-billing option through USTI and the Asyst program. Alan Walz seconded the motion. AIF More information will be gathered on what residents are looking for with the city website and how it would be best utilized. Computer support issues were also tabled until the next meeting, pending information on support tickets. After considering the budget deficit in both the water and sewer funds and following discussion, Mike Odden made a motion to raise base rate for sewer and water to $19.00 per month and leave per gallon usage rate as is. Eric Berscheid seconded the motion then rescinded the second on the motion. The mayor called for a second to the motion and motion died for lack of a second. Eric Berscheid made a motion to raise the base rate for water and sewer to $19.00 and increase the per gallon usage rate from .004666 per gallon to .005 per gallon beginning with the January utility billing. Mike Odden seconded the motion. AIF Mike Odden made a motion to move $150,000 from the Reserve account at Stearns Bank to invest in a 9 month Certificate of Deposit from Central Minnesota Credit Union with .75% return. Alan Walz seconded the motion. AIF Residents who are delinquent in their utility payments are: Katie Severson, Jason Burgardt, Mara Glader, Rough Riders, Brandon Cottrell, Ed Ehrlichmann, Janice Zarbok, Jesse Johnson, Josh Krueger, Shelia Lenarz, Barbara Olson, James Taylor and David Hagemann. Admin Reports Mayors Report: Mayor Marstein and Maintenance Department staff met with the Stearns County Highway Department personnel to discuss County Road 17 paving project and future Main Street/County Road 62 improvement project. The Mayor reviewed possible interior and exterior City Hall building improvements for budget consideration. Councilman Lewis Becker is in the process of selling his house and will be moving. His seat on the council will be vacant if he is no longer a city resident and the council will need to appoint someone to fill the remaining year of his term. See end of minutes for more on the Mayor’s Report. Council Report: Alan Walz reported on numerous compliments regarding the Ladies Night Out that was hosted by the Holdingford Hometown Happenings committee. The next HHH event will be December 4th with Santa, sleigh rides and tree lighting. Clerk’s Report: The City received SCORE grant funds to cover most of the expenses from annual Clean-up Day. Assessment letters for delinquent utility and EDU accounts will be sent out this month as well as dog license renewal reminders. Announcements Next council work session will be 6:00 p.m. on December 14th and the agenda will include the 2016 fee schedule and Ordinance 10: General Provisions. Motion to adjourn was made by Alan Walz, seconded by Mike Odden. Meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sandra Meer City Clerk, Holdingford