City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting, and Truth in Taxation Public Hearing December 12, 2022 Mayor Sue Marstein called the public hearing to order at 7:01 pm. There were no comments in regards to the proposed tax levy for 2023. Mike Odden made a motion to close the hearing, and Jayme Opatz seconded it at 7:05 p.m. The Holdingford City Council meeting was called to order at 7:07 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, Nicky Lahr, Season Lowe, Gordy Sjaaheim, Keith Hommerding, Melvin Breth. A motion was made by Eric to approve the consent agenda, which included the November meeting minutes and the monthly claims, and was seconded by Mike. AIF Department Reports: Liquor Store: report was given by Season Lowe. She stated that the Net profit for the month was $1065.09. She discussed her agenda for the upcoming month which includes streamlining the ordering process, Updating the information in the P.O.S., identifying critical maintenance issues, creating and SOP book, and preparing for the January 1st inventory. Jayme also presented a blueprint and pricing of a countertop needed to begin the food-safe space expansion. Mike Odden made a motion to move forward with the purchase of the countertop from Two River Ent. Eric seconded the motion. AIF Maintenance: report was given by Steve Horvath. He explained that well 3 tested high for manganese, and it will be placed offline, and we will be using well 2 only. Plans will need to be made for a back up in the future. The biosolids tested high for nickel. Need to do more testing to find the source. Tony Abfalter replaced burned out beacon lights on the water tower, and replaced the failed radio antennas for communications with the SCADA system. Steve also discussed furnace issues at the WWTP building. Steve let the Council know that the Spectrophotometer is no longer supported, and we will need to order a new one before this one fails, at a cost of approximately $7500. Mike made a motion to purchase a new Spectrophotometer before the end of January, 2022 to get the quoted pricing. Seth seconded the motion. AIF. This will be paid for out of the Rural Water fund. Eric asked when the ice rink would be set up, and Steve stated that the goal is to have it ready before the school’s holiday break. Seth suggested to look into some hockey nets. City Engineer: Scott Lange was not present Fire Department: Report given by Keith Hommerding. He stated the total number and types of calls for the month of November. He stated that he has had 3 good candidates for hiring, and will go into 2023 with a full crew. No training in December or January, and planning a house burn in the spring. Received a quote for a skid unit and would like to move forward with purchase. Jayme made a motion to purchase the skid unit, and Mike seconded it. AIF. Keith also discussed an opportunity to apply for a FEMA grant for turnout gear. He would like to hire Carin Anderson to write the grant for the department. Jayme made a motion to approve hiring Carin, and Mike seconded the motion. AIF. Emergency Manager report: Amber was not present Unfinished/Old Business Union negotiations are ongoing, and another meeting will be scheduled to discuss further. The Personnel handbook was tabled until next meeting as time ran out at the work session. Nicky updated the council on the internet search for the city. She found that fiber optics is not available at a reasonable monthly cost to the city. Marco is still offering a bundle deal for phone, internet, copy machine, and service plan. Eric noted that Midco is still an economical choice for phone and internet. This will be readdressed when we receive the quote from Marco, and may extend to the January meeting. New Business: Resolution 22-12-12-1 was presented for the 2023 designated polling place. Eric made a motion to pass it as written. Mike seconded it. AIF Resolution 22-12-12-2 was presented for the 2023 City Levy and budget. Mike made a motion to pass this as written for $250,000 levy, and Seth seconded the motion. Eric had added discussion stating he would like to pass the levy at $245,00 due to lowered wage projections. Sue took a vote from all council members, and Sue and Eric voted Nay, Seth, Jayme and Mike voted in favor of the $25000 levy. Motion carried. Jayme made a motion to pass the 2023 Council Meeting schedule. Eric seconded the motion. AIF. Mike made a motion to approve the annual Fire Department payroll. Jayme seconded it. AIF. Checks will be distributed this week. Sue mentioned that at the monthly Fire Department meeting, she had discussed the option of moving to all direct deposits for city employees including the FD in 2023 in which most members were not in favor of. Nicky stated that a city policy would need to be in place to make all direct deposit mandatory. After further discussion, Mike made a motion to add a policy requiring all city employees to participate in direct deposit effective January 2023. Jayme seconded the motion. Sue opposed. Motion carried. Mike Odden was recognized for his 20 years of service on the Holdingford council and was presented a certificate. There will be an open house on Sunday Dec 18 th from 2-3:30 and the Muni to help him celebrate. Mike made a motion to remove Jenn Hegna and Julie Warren from the Magnifi bank account and to have Kelly Abfalter and Nicky Lahr added to the account. Jayme seconded the motion. AIF. Mike made a motion to pass a gambling permit for the Post Prom Committee’s raffle. Eric seconded it. AIF. Discussion on 3% and 4% COLA increases for non-union staff. Mike made a motion to move forward with a 4% increase for 2023 for non-union employees, as inflation has been high. Seth seconded it. AIF. Tim Winter is asking for approval to combine his 2 lots into one so that he could possibly build a garage on his property in the future. Mike made a motion to approve this, and Jayme seconded the motion. AIF. Nicky will contact the county to let them know that they can move forward with this process. Admin Reports: Mayor’s report: Sue gave an update on the 2023 audit. It’s scheduled for the week of May 8 th. She also reported that Abdo will be continuing to teach and mentor the City Clerks. Clerk’s report: There will be a new utility bill format coming out in Feb. We received a claim payout from the LMCIT and a rebate check from 2022 as well. We implemented a new online/mobile timeclock for the 4 FT non-exempt city employees, and we received out projected property tax statement for 2023. Adjourn: Motion to adjourn was made by Mike at 8:45pm. Jayme seconded the motion. AIF Announcements: Winter Parking restrictions are in effect. Looking Forward: Next council meeting is January 9, 2023. Tim Winter will be sworn into the Council. Past Due Water Bills: None posted this month due to the tax assessments.