City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday October11, 2022 Holdingford City Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Sue Marstein at 7:01 pm. The Pledge of Alliance was recited. Present: Sue Marstein, Eric Berscheid, Mike Odden, Nicky Lahr, Scott Lange, Allen Fedor, Herman Lensing Eric Berscheid mad a motion to approve the consent agenda to include minutes from the September 12 th Council Meeting, and the September 20th special meeting, as well as the monthly financials. Department reports: Liquor Store report was read by Sue from information provided by Council Liason Jayme Opatz. Season Lowe has accepted the HMLS Manager position, and will begin FT November 1 st. Naomi Ring accepted Lead Bartender position. Point of sale training took place on Monday 10 th. Maintenance report was read by Sue from information provided by Steve Horvath. Blower hoses replaced at WWTP, sampled drinking water for annual testing, Will begin flushing hydrants on Monday 17 th. Don’t be alarmed by some water discoloration. Repaired some broken sewer clean out caps. Closed North ball field restrooms, and preparing to close the campground in the next few weeks, as well as blow out the ball field sprinklers. Fire Department/Emergency Manager report was read by Sue Marstein, information provided by Keith Hommerding, as Fire Hall open house was occurring at this time. Received a new hose rack and winder. Working on a FEMA grant for turnout gear. Kindergarten tour of fire hall on 10.12.22. 123 Total calls, 88 medical calls, 5 vehicle accidents, 8 hazards, 3 structure fires, 2 vehicle fires, 4 misc fires, 12 false alarms, and 1 severe weather. City Engineer’s report was made by Scott Lange. No new updates to report. He hopes to have funding options available for November meeting for the Main lift station. Unfinished/Old Business: Annexation for CCC. Public hearing is set for Nov 14 th. Certified letters were sent out to neighboring properties and to the Township. Voss/Hadley Land split is ongoing. Hadleys made the requested language changes, next it will need to be put on the deed. Scott Lange also recommended that all future land splits within the city are done as a platting process. Eric updated the Council on the Internet/VOIP phone project. He received quotes from Midco. A motion was made by Sue to move forward with this, contingent on the city’s IT specialist input. Eric seconded the motion. AIF The next AFSME contract negotiations meeting is scheduled for October 18 th. New Business: Eric made a motion for resolution 22-10-11-2 to thank Bob Dunning, the Stearns County Agricultural Inspector for donated weed control items to assist in controlling the rough potato vegetation. Mike Odden seconded the motion. AIF Jason Spychala submitted (2) emails to discuss options for utilizing main floor commercial space on Main Street for residential use. Councilmembers discussed past requests for this and stated that legal council had advised against this if the City wants to maintain a commercial downtown presence. The Council decided to uphold current ordinances, and denied approval for residential dwellings (both short and long term) to be permitted on main floor buildings of Main Street. The council noted that some residents may be receiving a letter from Stearns County on a Ditch 28 Redetermination project. Holdingford Lioness submitted a request for a temporary gambling permit for the Ladies Night Out event on November 4th. Mike made a motion to approve this. Sue seconded the motion. AIF The Stearns County Sheriff contract for 2023 was submitted to the council for approval for services provided for 2023. Mike made a motion to sign contract, and Eric seconded it. AIF Guests: Allen Fedor from Holding Township inquired about a possible discrepancy in the annual fire budget. Sue agreed to attend their next Township meeting to discuss. Allen also spoke about partnership between city and township in maintaining roads that abut both city and township properties such as River Street and 4 th Street. Would like to ensure all road maintenance cost is shared equally in the future. Councilmembers agreed that this is best practice. Admin Reports: Mayor’s Report: Sue spoke about the Copewell project and is looking for community involvement. She stated that there are potential grants available to better prepare the community in events of emergencies/disasters. She also reported that the LMCIT did a valuation on all of the City owned properties which will need to be reviewed and approved in the next 60 days. Council’s Report: No updates at this time. Clerk’s Report: Request was made to fund $300 to the Petty Cash fund. Eric Made a motion to approve this, with Sue seconding it. AIF. Nicky also gave an update on various trainings the clerks have attended through the LMC, and Asyst. Kelly attended MCFOA region 3 meeting to discuss digital retention, and possible joint power entity with IT software and administrators and cyber security. Nicky is currently updating Employee policy manual/handbook due to inconsistencies and outdated language. PEIP released their annual rate increase of $31/month increase in premium for single coverage. Announcements: Main Street Business 3:30-5:30 pm Trick or Treating on October 31 st Lady’s Night “The 50’s” Friday November 4 th Looking Forward: Next Council Meeting: Monday, November 14th, 2022 Public hearing for Community Country Church Annexation. Copewell Workshop October 19th at City Hall. Main Street Business Trick or Treating October 31st. Ladies Night November 4th. Voting Day November 8th. Past Due Water Bills: Amber & Tom Adelmann, Kevin Feia, Pat Waletzko, Dale Lundberg, Walker Neiaber, Duane Young, Greg Willenbring, Jacob Fischer, Scott Henkemeyer, Brenda Rybak, Joseph Doll, Hyatt House, Aubrey Neuman, Jesse & Carlena Johnson, Principal Logistics, Terry Runge. Adjourn at 8:19 pm: Motion to adjourned meeting was made by Mike, and seconded by Sue. AIF