City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting Minutes Conditional Use Permit Public Hearing Minutes Monday April 10, 2023 Present: Seth Young, Jayme Opatz, Tim Winter, Nicky Lahr, Sandy Skwira, Andy Higgins, Scott Lange, Season Lowe, Jared Hillesheim, Marcelo Hernandez, Makaya Hernandez, Gordy Sjaaheim, Kelly Abfalter. Public hearing for conditional use permit opened at 7:00pm. Requesting daycare on main floor in 541 Main Street building. Owner stated that they will be open from 7-5 Monday through Friday. Parents will pickup and drop off in front of building, and can in the rear of building if needed as well. Eric Berscheid called the Holdingford City Council meeting to order at 7:05pm. Pledge of elegance was recited. Jayme made a motion to approve resolution 23-4-10-2, appointing Andy Higgins to the Council. Tim seconded the motion. AIF Eric Berscheid and Andy Higgins recited the oath of office. Tim made a motion to accept the Consent agenda including March financial documents and March meeting minutes. Jamie seconded the motion. AIF Sandy Skwira presented a quote from Larson’s for replacement of Sewer connection, and requested payment from the city. Scott Lange helped to explain the connection that was originally put in in 1997. He was unsure who did the work and is unsure if it was done incorrectly for the time that it was installed. Eric mentioned that the location of the fitting is typically the homeowner’s responsibility. Sandy feels that it was done incorrectly and therefore the City’s responsibility. Councilmembers were concerned that if they covered the cost of this for Sandy, they would have to also cover other homeowners’ repairs as well. Jayme suggested that Sandy gets a breakdown of the quote to see what parts would cost, and consider covering that portion. Sandy was asked to attend the next meeting with updated quotes. Department reports: Fire Department report was read by Tim Winter on behalf of Keith Hommerding. Gambling reports down last month. April 28th Gun raffle drawing at Rednecks Roost. Total monthly calls and types reported. House burn is planned for training purposes. Getting new truck fitted. Overhead doors will be installed as soon as weather permits. Discussion on cutting bollards off, or continuing to maintain. Eric made a motion to move forward with cutting them down, and relocating the lights. Jayme seconded the motion. AIF Tim also mentioned that blocks outside the back door need to be removed. Maintenance report was read by Scott Lange on behalf of Steve Horvath. Repairs were completed on the Kubota side by side. Continued Nickel sampling, no results found so far, however levels look fine for land application in spring. Started chlorine disinfection/de-chlorination process at WWTP in preparation for April fecal coliform test. Removed Christmas decorations. Received a quote from Rice Lake Construction for replacing 350 rusted bolts and hardware in the influent room. The council recommended one additional quote. No deficiencies noted on the MPCA’s annual compliance survey. SCTCC intern shadowing from 4/3-4/14. Getting street sweeper ready for spring clean-up. Requesting hiring a PT employee for lawn care, campground upkeep, cleaning and light maintenance. City Engineer’s report was presented by Scott Lange. Recommended vacation of alley on Washington Street. Based on prior plat drawings, the property would go to the owner of 220 Washington. Once vacated, the alley should be blocked to traffic. Jayme made a motion to move forward with a public hearing to vacate the alley. Tim seconded the motion. AIF. Scott also discussed setting up a meeting with staff to work on lift station funding. Further discussion on well replacement. He also reviewed the updated capital improvement plan for future projects including Lift station replacement, drilling a new well, street repairs/replacements, and City Hall building/parking lot update and repair. Scott recommended putting a committee together to walk through City Hall to get an estimate of repairs needing to be done, and put a dollar amount on it for future budget planning. Liquor Store report was presented by Season Lowe. She introduced Jared Hillesheim and recommended moving him into the liquor store manager position, and stepping down into the lead bartender position while continuing to train him. Jayme made a motion to promote Jared into the HMLS manager position and Season into the PT lead bartender position while continuing to train Jared. Seth seconded the motion. AIF. Continuing staff training and alcohol certifications. Continued work with POS software, and Ongoing operations streamlining. She stated that the Muni passed its health inspection for the new food service area, and as soon as staff is fully trained, they will begin serving food. Season stated that the staff has faced issues with disrespectful customers and recommended a resolution that defines the customer code of conduct. Jayme made a motion to adopt resolution 23-4-10-1 that defines the code of conduct. Tim seconded the motion. AIF Season requested funding for a MMBA to cover a training conference for her and Jared. Tim made a motion to approve Season and Jared’s attendance to the MMBA conference. Seth seconded it. AIF. Season shared that due to deep buys on liquor and the completion of the food safe service put them at -$15325 for the moths. The HMLS remains at + $3378 for the year. Seth shared that he has received several compliments on how the bar has been cleaned up and is a better place to be in. Emergency Manager Report No updates Land Use Committee. Seth stated that the land use committee had one permit request for Opatz Metals building demolition and replacement on the same footprint. Jayme made a motion to approve the permit. Seth seconded it. AIF. Eric asked for a motion on the conditional use permit for providing a daycare on the main floor at 541 Main Street. Jayme made the motion with Seth seconding it. AIF. Clerk’s Report: was presented by Nicky Lahr. Worker’s Comp policy was renewed and paid at $20,025 for the year. Safety Committee is recommending a representative from each department quarterly. Jayme and Tim stated that they were willing to attend. Xcel will be replacing 24 power poles throughout the city. Working on liquor license renewals that expire at the end of June. Stearns County Sheriff will be hosting a safety in the park event in June at Veterans park. Ordered a new published and digital coy of City ordinances through the state of MN. Reviewing option for past due utility bills. The council asked for the policy/late notice letters to be updated and presented at the next meeting. LMCIT paid out the claim on the second sign in the amount of $7500. Unfinished/Old Business: Internet/phone will be installed soon. Eric made a motion to approve the purchase of Banyon accounting software and to outsource payroll to Paycom. Jayme seconded the motion. AIF. Seth mad a motion to approve the resolution 23-4- 10-4 for No Mow May. Andy seconded the motion. AIF. The City received a thank you letter for the initiative foundation for the donation given. A Job Description and pay range recommendation was provided for a new Grounds and Facilities PT position. Jayme made a motion to post the position and use best judgement on the pay scale. Seth seconded the motion. New Business: Helping hands requested a temporary gambling permit for Bingo on July 8th. Jayme made a motion to approve resolution 23-4-10-5, and Tim seconded the motion. AIF Eric made a motion to approve a step increase for Nicky’s employee evaluation. Seth seconded the motion. AIF Nicky mentioned the next wellhead protection plan meeting is on April 17th, and that she would keep everyone informed as that progressed. Additional Items: Discussion about an anonymous voicemail from a resident concerned about lack of plowing in the alley behind the Hyatt house. The individual stated that if they had to plow out their dumpsters, they would send the city a bill. Eric stated that the alley is partially owned by the land owners, and they share responsibility in snow removal. The city’s responsibility is to keep one clear path down the alley and one pass on the sidewalks. Tim mentioned that the fire trucks had no problems accessing the facility via the alley this winter and felt like it was adequately maintained. To help reduce the spread of Rough Potato weeds Seth stated that the compost pile will need to have some changes this year. Residents will not be able to take compost from the pile, but they will be able to drop off compost. Also, they discussed the ongoing issue with the large brush pile. He is recommending that we hire a company to take care of it this spring, and in the future to maintain it. Eric recommended better signs for what can and cannot be left at the site as well as notice in the newsletter and social media. Past Due Water Bills: Hyatt House, LLC, Jacob Hanebuth, Principle Logistics, LLC, Roger Jensen, Jesse & Carlena Johnson, Aubrey Neuman, Jacob Fischer, Greg Willenbring, Duane Young, Chris Mosel, Nancy Mager estate, Dale Lundberg, David Hagemann, Steve & Terri Steormann Adjourn: Seth made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:43 pm. Tim seconded the motion. AIF Looking Forward: Next Council Meeting: Monday, May 8, 2023 Public hearing for Rezoning and conditional use permit for Community Country Church May 8, 2023 Public hearing for vacating alley on Washington Street May 8, 2023 Music of the Heartland Polka at the American legion April 23rd City Hall will be closing early on April 18th at 3pm. Holdingford Cares/Cleanup day May 20, 2023