City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting Minutes Monday January 9th, 2023 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, Seth Young, Jayme Opatz, Tim Winter, Nicky Lahr, Kelly Abfalter, Scott Lange, Steve Horvath, Alan Walz, Milissa Walz, Janel Heinen, Keith Hommerding, Herman Lensing Jayme Opatz made a motion to approve the consent agenda to include minutes from the December 12 th, 2022 Council Meeting, as well as the monthly financials. Department reports: Liquor Store report was read by Council Liaison Jayme Opatz, as Season Lowe was not present. He stated total sales for the month of December were up by $2,262.14 over December 2021 sales. He noted there are ongoing maintenance updates including faucet replacement, and food service shelving. Sue Marstein questioned the money spent on this and the taco bar, and permissions to spend the money. Jayme stated he has been working with Season on this project, and it all would be under budget. Jayme stated the air fryer would not be used any longer, instead only the new auto fryer, as there is only one 220 outlet. Jayme shared a new advertisement and logo that were placed in a Stearns County flyer, and explained that 4 radio ads are included in the cost. He also shared the stickers that double as business cards were designed. Sue Marstein discussed the closing of the Muni on December 24 th and January 1st and indicated this contributed to a loss of profit on those days. Seth agreed it should have stayed open on December 24 th as there was a Vikings game on. Sue stated that she felt it was not the decision of the Manager to close the Muni without council approval. Eric Bercheid stated that Season was hired to make these decisions. Fire Department report was given by Keith Hommerding. He gave the 2022 final numbers including 171 total calls, 130 medical calls, 7 motor vehicle accidents, 9 hazard, 3 structure fires, 2 vehicle fires, 5 misc fires, 14 false alarms, and 1 for severe weather. 99 of these were in the City of Holdingford, 50 in Holding Township, 12 in Brockway Twp, 8 in Krain Twp, and 2 in Elmdale Twp. He also stated they are having final interviews for the remaining open positions. There was a recommendation to hire both candidates even though it went over the 25 rostered positions. Keith stated that Albertville FD donated 20 fire nozzles to Holdingford. Eric made a motion to pass a resolution to thank them, and to send a letter of gratitude. Jayme 2nded the motion. AIF. Keith also mentioned that there is discussion on lengthening the term for the Chief position. Emergency Manager Report was given by Sue. She reported that we did not meet the threshold for the FEMA grant that Amber was working on, and will have to withdraw from it. Maintenance report was given by Steve Horvath. He stated the City passed the lead and copper tests and will now only need to test annually. He also reported the department of health was scheduled to register well 3 as inactive. Steve also brought forward an issue of snow removal. The designated spots to place the snow are too full and will need to be hauled away before the next snowfall. Eric said he will speak with Jeremy from Opatz Metals and Sue will speak with Jeff at the Mill to see if they will share in the costs as both businesses are using the same places for snow storage. Steve also stated the ice rink is open and getting a lot of use, the shop boiler needed repairs by a plumber, and the snow removal equipment needs some preventative maintenance and repairs. City Engineer’s report was made by Scott Lange. He recommended since well 3 is no longer in use and will only be the back-up source, we should have a letter drafted and ready to be sent out to the residents in case it needs to be put online, indicating the high levels of manganese. The council agreed with this recommendation. He also stated there is ongoing testing for nickel in the sludge, and the maintenance team is continuing testing to determine where the elevated levels are coming from. He also stated he should have a funding source recommendation for the lift station replacement which is projected for 2025, at the next council meeting. Guests: Janel Heinen brought forward a concern about loose dogs in her neighborhood. She stated they are unleashed and causing issues for many other citizens. She provided a list of recommendations she would like to be implemented to reduce the instances. Sue thanked her for the time and thought put into this, and assured her the city would consider those recommendations. Unfinished/Old Business: Eric presented the terms were negotiated on the union contract, and recommended approving. Jayme made a motion to approve the 2023-2024 union contract with the proposed language. Seth seconded the motion. AIF. Final draft of the contract will be presented for signature at a later date. The lead maintenance supervisor requested a position change to maintenance supervisor. The council stated there would need to be changes made in the job descriptions, and they would be presented at the next council meeting along with his annual review. The council tabled the Employee handbook discussion, and planned a work session on Wed, Jan 18th at 6pm to go through the proposed language, as well as the job descriptions. New Business: Knights of Columbus applied for a gambling permit for a raffle on May 4, 2023. Jayme made a motion to approve the license, and Seth Seconded it. AIF Jayme made a motion to approve the fee schedule as discussed in the working session, including all recommended changes. Seth seconded the motion. See final fee schedule attached. Annual appointments: Eric made a motion to retain Kennedy Graven, Chrtd as the city attorney, and Stearns Bank-Holdingford and Magnifi Credit Union – Holdingford, as the official depository and secondary depository. Jayme seconded the motion. AIF Jayme made a motion to appoint Eric Berscheid as Acting Mayor, Sue Marstein as the liaison to the Clerks, Tim Winter liaison to the Fire Department, Seth Young to Maintenance, Jayme Opatz to the HMLS, and Eric Berscheid to the Parks department. Tim Winter Seconded the motion. AIF. Motion was made by Eric to continue with The Star Post as the official City Newspaper. Jayme seconded it. AIF. Sue made a motion to continue to have Amber Molitor as the appointed Emergency Manager, SEH-Scott Lange as the City Engineer firm, Advantage One, and Ebner Insurance as the City’s primary and secondary insurance agencies, and the Planning and Zoning Committee to continue to oversee the Building Permits. Tim seconded it. AIF A request was made for reimbursement of a lawn decoration that was damaged during snow removal in the amount of approximately $75.00. Eric made a motion for full reimbursement. Seth seconded it. AIF. A motion was made by Seth and seconded by Tim to Thank WM.D. Scepaniak Inc for use of their lift to hang the city Christmas decorations. Motion passed, AIF. Jayme made a motion to move $22,383 to the USDA Rural Dev. Savings account from the General checking account. Seth seconded the motion. AIF. Sue made a motion to move $40,000 from the general checking to the reserve savings account. Eric seconded the motion. AIF. Brenda Swanson’s performance evaluation was completed by Manager Season Lowe. Jayme read the results as favorable, and recommended a step increase. Eric made a motion to move her to step E1, and Tim seconded. AIF. Sue discussed Kelly Abfalter’s review, and gave favorable feedback. She recommended a step increase to H1. Jayme made a motion to approve this, and Tim seconded it. AIF. Mayor’s Report: Council’s Report: Tim Winter asked for communication to the community to please shovel out any fire hydrants in residents areas. Clerk’s Report: All mandatory state and Federal employment postings have been updated, the city received a rebate in the amount of $5821.00 from the LMCIT, a letter was sent out for violation of dog license ordinance, and 1 for violation of land use permit. Will be working on 1099s and W4s in the next month. Nicky proposed City Hall hours change to M-Th 8-4:30 and Fri 8-12. Eric made a motion to change the hours effective next month. Jayme seconded the motion. New internet/phone quote was proposed from Marco. After further discussion, Eric made a motion to move forward with the MidCo quote for Internet and phone. Seth seconded it. Jayme was not in favor, motion passed. Past Due Water Bills: Amber and Tom Adelmann $346.70, and Wade Rodenwald $30.51 Adjourn: Jayme made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:41 pm. Sue seconded the motion. AIF Announcements: New utility billing cards will be mailed out in February. Looking Forward: January 18th 6pm working session scheduled at City Hall to review personnel handbook. Next council meeting is February 13th, 2023.