City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting, and Community Country Church Annexation Hearing Minutes. November 14, 2022 Mayor Sue Marstein called the public hearing to order at 6:59 p.m. There were no comments for or against the annexation of the Community Country Church annexation. Mike Odden made a motion to close the hearing, and Jayme Opatz seconded it at 7:09 p.m. The Holdingford City Council meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. The pledge of allegiance was recited. Present: Sue Marstein, Mike Odden, Eric Berscheid, Seth Young, Jayme Opatz, Steve Horvath, Herman Lensing, Tim Winter, Sheila Meehl, Kelly Abfalter, Nicky Lahr, Season Lowe, Tim Yurczyk, Gregg Valentine. A motion was made by Jayme Opatz to approve the consent agenda, which included the October meeting minutes and the monthly claims, and was seconded by Seth Young. AIF Department Reports: Maintenance: report was given by Steve Horvath. The plow truck had it’s DOT inspection, the Park bathrooms and shelters were winterized and closed, Hydrant flushing was completed, Well house addition passed it’s final inspection, repaired pothole on Hill Street, and land applied 83k gallons of biosolids. Also replaced Mixer #3 and blower hose and WWTP. The old mixer will be kept in cold storage, and rebuilt in the future. Will also need to replace a sensor. City Engineer: Scott Lange had no updates/was not present. Fire Department: Keith Hommerding was not present. Sue discussed updates to the 2023 Fire budget that corrected some mathematical errors. Emergency Manager: Amber Molitor was not present. She dropped off some signs to be placed around the city for the Central MN Mental Health Center. This is in connection with the Copewell project. Liquor Store: report was given by Season Lowe. She was introduced to the Councilmembers as the new Manager. She reported her task list of Streamlining operations, and ordering processes, Data entry and updating the POS system, including price increases in identified areas, Identifying and correcting maintenance issues, working with Stearns County environmental services for a food safe counter for the new auto fryer, and developing SOPs. Total estimate of Profit & Loss for October was $613.57 profit. Unfinished/Old Business Eric motioned to pass Ordinance #104 for the annexation of the Community Country Church. Jayme seconded it. AIF Eric also motioned resolution 22-11-14-01 for the annexation. Seth seconded it. AIF Eric made a motion to approve the division of property for Hadley/Voss, the Council recognized the revised Dedication and Warranty Deed, that has the approval of our senior engineer, there are no stipulations. Jayme seconded it. AIF After discussion and advise from City of Holdingford IT, the council determined that Fiber Optic internet would be the best choice for the City. Eric made a motion to approve use of Centrylink/Lumen for a 3- year contract if the monthly bill will drop down to $400 or less per month after the introductory rate. Jayme seconded the motion. AIF Union negotiations are ongoing. The city will counter language back to the union at their next meeting. Mayor Sue brought forward a request from Holding Township to pay for half of the bill for the replacement of the culvert on the 4th Street road, maintained by Holding Township. After much discussion, Eric made a motion to pay 25% of the bill. Mike seconded it. AIF Nicky Lahr requested a motion to add language to the current handbook and next union contract stating that a health care savings plan will be added, that is solely funded by the employees. Jayme made a motion to add the language and Seth seconded it. AIF New Business: An updated version of the Employee handbook was presented. The council will review pages 1-12 to be discussed at the next meeting. A request was made to canvass the election results form from the November 8th election. All Councilmembers and the Clerk signed the official form to be filed at City Hall. Kelly Abfalter presented the list of utility bills that will be assessed for the 2023 property taxes. Jayme made a motion to approve and Seth seconded it. The council received a thank you from the Holdingford Community Education for donations made for the 2022 summer programs. Admin Reports: Mayor’s report: Sue stated that she has concerns on large metal storage containers and other nuisance items in several resident’s yards within city limits. Council requested a review of the ordinances for the next working session in December. Council’s report: Clerk’s report: Nicky reminded the council, on the large USDA bond payment due at the end of the year. Also discussed the payment from the insurance company for the 2nd City sign that was damaged in a spring storm. She reported that the money will not be released until there is a signed contract to replace the sign. She discussed a cyber-attack on a City email account, costing the city some funds. This was reported to the Sherriff and the insurance company. Spam filters will be added to all email accounts, and policies will be reviewed and revised. Kelly presented results of a full audit of the refuse charges on the utility billing. She worked with Borgmann’s Refuse to determine if each resident was being charged the correct amount for the size container they have. Approximately 20 residents were contacted and made arrangements to either change billing or size of container. Adjourn: Jayme made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Seth seconded it. AIF at 8:50 p.m. Announcements: Winter Parking restrictions are now in effect Looking Forward: Santa Night sponsored by Holdingford Chamber Friday Dec. 2 Next Council Meeting: Monday, December 12th, 2022 at 7 pm. Working session at 6 pm. Truth in Taxation hearing December 12th, 2022 at 7 pm. Past Due Water Bills: Dave Hagemann; Duane Young; Greg Willenbring; Jacob Fischer; Joseph Doll; Hyatt House; Aubrey Neuman; Principal Logistics.