City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting Minutes June 8, 2020 The Holdingford City Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Sue Marstein at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom, an electronic teleconferencing resource. Mayor Susan Marstein read a declaration for the Determination Regarding Conducting Meetings by Telephone or Other Electronic Means due to a health pandemic or an emergency declared under MN State Statutes, Chapter 12. The pledge of allegiance was recited. Present via remote access/electronic teleconferencing: Susan Marstein, Robb Berscheid, and Eric Berscheid answered to roll call. Keith Hommerding, Sandra Meer, Steve Horvath, Scott Lange (SEH) and Logan Oellien were also present. Councilman Bob Sanchez joined at 8:00pm. Absent: Mike Odden. Robb Berscheid made a motion to approve the consent agenda to include minutes of the May 11th Council Meeting, the May 18th Special meeting, submitted monthly claims and additions to the agenda of Logan Oellien, Bond option for Main Street Project, and Covid-19 Preparedness Plan. Sue Marstein seconded the motion. Following a roll call vote, all voted in favor. Motion passed. Financial reports will be forwarded to the council members later this week. Department Reports Municipal Liquor Store financial report was given by Mayor Sue Marstein. May gross revenue was $20,306.55, compared to $40,366.98 in May 2019. The Liquor Store outdoor patio bar is now open and hours were extended on Sundays from noon-6pm. The washable wall board was installed in the back room and the floor was resurfaced to comply with health and safety standards. Fire Chief Keith Hommerding gave an update on Fire Department activities. Calls for this year have totaled 68; 59 were medical, six fire, two hazardous conditions, and one cancelled in route. Of the 68 calls, 41 were in the city of Holdingford, 15 in Holding Township, five in Krain Township, six in Brockway Township and one mutual aid in Becker. Severe weather calls are now being dispatched by the department and not through the county. The DNR grant has been completed. Charitable gambling is opening up this week at Rudolph’s and the Municipal Liquor Store. The new rescue truck is expected to be done soon but has been delayed due to Covid-19 issues. A $500 donation was received from Resurrected Artists and will be applied to purchase of an extractor washer. Maintenance Department Report was given by Lead Supervisor, Steve Horvath. Sewer lines were jetted on the north side of town and by the school. They will also be jetting other areas before bringing it back to Upsala in July. The bathrooms at the campground were opened with the exception of the showers due to Covid-19 restrictions. A fence was built and tables put out for the Muni outdoor patio. Pressure washed weirs and clarifiers and completed annual maintenance at WWTP. The latest water samples tested for copper and lead passed all tests. The city will have one more test in October before returning to an annual testing schedule, if the tests maintain the same safe levels. Several hydrants were flushed at some trouble spots. Lift station pumps were cleaned out and there has been an increase of orange peels coming through the sewer system which has caused the pumps to clog. Forks were fabricated for the loader to move the large amount of brush and trees that have been dropped off this spring. Last month: 1,987,000 gallons of well water were pumped. 365,000 gallons of wastewater was treated. Engineer Scott Lange noted that the Sate Routes to School (SRTS) project is expected to start the week of June 15th with an expected finish date of Labor Day, before school starts. Construction Testing Proposals were received from Braun Intertec and ITT. Lange recommended using Braun Intertec, as their quote was more complete per the requested specifications. Engineering, testing, administration, and legal fees are not covered under the SRTS grant. Robb Berscheid made a motion to approve proposal of $7,113 from Braun Intertec for soil and concrete testing done for the SRTS Project. Eric Berscheid seconded the motion. Following a roll call vote, all voted in favor. MnDOT and the County approved the plans for the Main Street Project. Bids will be opened on June 24th via remote meeting session and a special meeting was scheduled for Monday, June 29 th to review and approve a bid. The Main Street Project is scheduled to begin mid-July and be completed by October 15th. Another meeting with business owners will be scheduled at city hall to outline schedule and time frames before the preconstruction meeting. A weekly email and link will also go out to Main Street business owners to keep them informed of progress. The well house project to separate and store chemicals is still in progress. Preferred Controls has provided options for retro fitting the control panel and Lange will have more information by the end of June. The water tower inspection that was done last fall sited some needed repairs. Color Dynamics, the company that recoated the water tower, is out of business as of this spring. Lange recommended filing a claim with their bonding company in order to move forward with the repairs, which were estimated to be about $2,500-$5,000. The city attorney will be contacted to make a claim to the bonding company. Guests Logan Oellien asked about continuing to host the softball tournament that is normally held during Holdingford Days as a fundraiser for the wrestling program. They are not sure if they are doing food, which may push people downtown. A music DJ is tentatively scheduled for Friday night, as it was last year. The council agreed that they could host the tournament as long as still abiding to the Covid-19 guidelines. Sue Marstein made a motion to approve a temporary liquor license for Logan Oellien/Holdingford Wrestling during the softball tournament on July 10th-12th. Robb Berscheid seconded the motion. Following a roll call vote, all voted in favor. Unfinished Business Robb Berscheid gave a brief update on the Main Street lighting project. The Chamber approved payment for the remaining balance of $12,240 to Xcel Energy which will be forwarded to the city, since the balance must be prepaid in order to continue with construction progress. A maintenance easement has yet to be completed. The Chamber is sponsoring a sweatshirt fundraiser and their annual Polaris raffle with proceeds going to help fund the lighting project. An update of nuisance properties included responding to Washington Avenue homeowners with pictures of crumbling wall and the condition of the house. A neighbor is also concerned about proximity of house in case of fire and unsure if house is habitable. A request for adding ordinance citations will be sent to the county which will pertain to the Meadow Street property which has unlicensed vehicles and more vehicles per residence then is permitted by city ordinance. A certified letter with pictures of the Cedar Street property will be sent for nuisance storage. New Business Information for funding upcoming projects with a bond was reviewed and discussed with the possibility of combining all projects including SRTS costs that are not covered by the grant, Main Street Project, the well house, and lining the sewer under Main Street. A draft of a Covid-19 Preparedness Plan was reviewed and discussed. Robb Berscheid made a motion to accept the Covid-19 Preparedness Plan as presented. Sue Marstein seconded the motion. Following a roll call vote, all voted in favor. Eric Berscheid made a motion to approve liquor license renewals for American Legion Post 211, Always 5 O’Clock, LLC dba: Rudolphs Redneck Roost, and a new license for Art In Motion on the Lake Wobegon Trial dbs; Boho Café. Bob Sanchez seconded the motion. Following a roll call vote, all voted in favor. Following discussion and recommendation from Scott Lange, Robb Berscheid made a motion to approve the cost sharing agreement with Stearns County for the Main Street Project. Eric Berscheid seconded the motion. Following a roll call vote, all voted in favor. The annual review for Deputy Clerk-Treasurer, Julie Warren was reviewed. Robb Berscheid made a motion to approve annual review and pay increase for Julie Warren from H-1 at $19.98 to H-2 at $20.35. Bob Sanchez seconded the motion. Following a roll call vote, all voted in favor. Extension of a No Parking Zone that is posted near the school on County Road 17 and going west around to the 500 block of River Street/County Road 17 was discussed. When cars park on the west side of the road it causes a safety hazard for traffic rounding the corner until they have a straight line of site down River Street. Council members postponed the discussion until the July meeting so on-site investigations could be done. Announcements Residents who are delinquent on their utility payments: Dave Hagemann $2,676.68, Sandra Ross $495.68, Bill Fellegy $494.51, Robert Opheim $375.07, Walker Nienaber $321.94, Robert Keil $315.45, Aubrey Neumann $315.43. Admin Reports Clerk Treasurer Sandra Meer noted that the auditors are completing bookkeeping and will do field day virtually. The workman’s comp audit will also be done virtually in the next few weeks. After submitting the solar amendment to the city attorney, he suggested not adopting the amendment without good reason that would benefit the city. We are waiting on response from NextEra. The union rep asked for an earlier start for negotiating this year’s contract, and we are looking to schedule a meeting mid-July. Mayors/Council Discussion notes:  Neighbors with abutting property behind Cityview Apartments have asked for a privacy fence to eliminate rocks, debris and roaming dogs and kids.  Filing dates for City Council seats will be posted on the city website and at city hall as soon as they are received.  ACH fees for utility bills will be discussed.  Two areas where street lights should be installed/maintained include where the crosswalk will be put in by the school entrance on County Road 17 and in North High Court cul de sac. Eric Berscheid made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Bob Sanchez seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sandra Meer City Clerk, Holdingford MAY 2020  Department Gross Pay General $ 7,034.69 Public Works $ 8,087.50 Fire $ Liquor $ 5,450.01 Total $20,572.20 2 pay periods ending 5/8, 5/22 City of Holdingford - Equal Opportunity Provider Accounts Payable Check Register Report - STEARNS BANK For The Fiscal Periods Range From 2020-5 To 2020-5 For All Vendors And For Outstanding, Cleared, Voided Checks - Computer Generated Check # Type Date Vendor Name Amount Status 35540 C 5/11/2020 704 AFSCME Council 65 $105.20 O 35541 C 5/11/2020 691 Allstream $217.98 O 35542 C 5/11/2020 326 Auto Value $33.07 O 35543 C 5/11/2020 9 Bernick's Pepsi-Cola $332.10 O 35544 C 5/11/2020 627 Breakthru Beverage Minnesota $145.56 O 35545 C 5/11/2020 828 Brian Zapzalka $650.00 O 35546 C 5/11/2020 18 C & L Distributing, Inc $3,635.85 O 35547 C 5/11/2020 1020 DG Central 1, LLC $1,165.51 O 35548 C 5/11/2020 85 Granite Water Works $104.85 O 35549 C 5/11/2020 91 Hawkins, Inc $731.34 O 35550 C 5/11/2020 91 Hawkins, Inc $200.00 O 35551 C 5/11/2020 92 Headley Hardware $790.32 O 35552 C 5/11/2020 948 Henry's Foods, Inc $1,220.86 O 35553 C 5/11/2020 614 Holdingford Gas and Grocery $116.38 O 35554 C 5/11/2020 899 Illinois Casualty $2,073.00 O 35555 C 5/11/2020 119 Johnson Brothers Liquor C $2,057.90 O 35556 C 5/11/2020 1009 Kennedy & Graven, Chartered $511.50 O 35557 C 5/11/2020 730 Midcontinent Business Solutions $316.81 O 35558 C 5/11/2020 911 MN PEIP $1,137.00 O 35559 C 5/11/2020 465 Sandra Meer $24.36 O 35560 C 5/11/2020 685 Star Publications, LLC $554.75 O 35561 C 5/11/2020 242 Stearns Cty Auditor-Treas $2,000.00 O 35562 C 5/11/2020 245 Stearns Cty Public Health $250.00 O 35563 C 5/11/2020 915 Steve Horvath $25.00 O 35564 C 5/11/2020 804 Toshiba Financial Services $117.94 O 35565 C 5/11/2020 271 UC Lab $1,782.00 O 35566 C 5/11/2020 339 Verizon Wireless $116.43 O 35567 C 5/11/2020 281 Viking Coca Cola Bottling $1,115.70 O 35568 C 5/11/2020 358 XCEL ENERGY 51-5655040-0 $1,164.61 O 35569 C 5/11/2020 519 XCEL ENERGY 51-8242904-3 $24.75 O 35570 C 5/27/2020 9 Bernick's Pepsi-Cola $810.75 O 35571 C 5/27/2020 18 C & L Distributing, Inc $6,886.85 O 35572 C 5/27/2020 873 CenturyLink $65.66 O 35573 C 5/27/2020 48 D & D Beverage $433.10 O 35574 C 5/27/2020 550 Everything Signs $74.99 O 35575 C 5/27/2020 89 Handyman's Inc $175.52 O 35576 C 5/27/2020 119 Johnson Brothers Liquor C $1,365.74 O 35577 C 5/27/2020 998 Julie Warren $44.80 O 35578 C 5/27/2020 132 Larson Excavating $2,458.00 O 35579 C 5/27/2020 1003 Marie Ritzer $28.93 O 35580 C 5/27/2020 153 Med-Compass, Inc $1,420.00 O 35581 C 5/27/2020 1000 Molly Schnell $139.00 O 35582 C 5/27/2020 938 Nathan Pilarski $4,900.00 O 35583 C 5/27/2020 207 Postmaster $105.00 O 35584 C 5/27/2020 223 S.E.H. $14,338.45 O 35585 C 5/27/2020 750 St Cloud Times #1076 $25.00 O 35586 C 5/27/2020 242 Stearns Cty Auditor-Treas $4,965.50 O 35587 C 5/27/2020 1024 Stryker Sales Corporation $1,162.80 O 35588 C 5/27/2020 263 Tom's Refuse $6,304.00 O 35589 C 5/27/2020 637 Tony Stalberger $107.55 O 35590 C 5/27/2020 276 Vadim Municipal Software Inc $3.84 O 35591 C 5/27/2020 281 Viking Coca Cola Bottling $576.00 O 35592 C 5/27/2020 359 XCEL ENERGY 51-5655038-6 $1,339.55 O 35593 C 5/27/2020 361 XCEL ENERGY 51-5655039-7 $1,059.50 O Cleared $0.00 Outstanding $71,511.30