City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting Minutes Monday, July 10, 2023 Present: Seth Young, Eric Bersheid, Tim Winter, Nicky Lahr, Sandy Skwira, Andy Higgins, Jared Hillesheim, Herman Lensing, Steve Horvath, Kelly Abfalter, Jacob Knapp, Raymond Bloch, John Bloch, Sandra Bloch, Janel Heinen, Milissa Walz, Alan Walz, Keith Hommerding, Craig Dewar Eric called the City Council meeting to order at 7:02 pm, the pledge of allegiance was recited. Tim made a motion to accept the consent agenda and financials from June. Seth seconded it. AIF Guests: Raymond Bloch stated that he is the boy Scout that has chosen to work on the city signs that were damaged. He is requesting funds for materials to repair them with. Tim made a motion to provide $1000 to Raymond for materials to repair the city signs. Andy seconded the motion. AIF Raymond will contact the Clerk’s office to make arrangements for the funds. Sandy Skwira asked the city for the civil drawings from the sewer project in which her sewer connections were installed. City engineer, Scott Lange said that he would provide those for her, as well as the City ordinance that describes what the city is responsible for and what the resident is responsible for when repairing/replacing utilities to the residence. Janel Heinen asked the council for an update on what was being done with dogs that are running loose in the City. Eric explained that when City staff can locate the owner, they are sent a letter. If the issue continues, the Sheriff is called to fine the dog owner. It was explained to Janel that City employees are not trained or equipped to catch and transport dogs, therefore calling the sheriff is typically the current course of action. Department reports: Fire Department report read by Keith Hommerding. Calendar donation continue to come in. Year to Date calls are as follows; 86 Calls total, 62 medical calls, 7 motor vehicle accidents, 3 structure fire, 3 vehicle fires, 5 false alarms, 6 grass fires. 41 in the City, 28 in Holding Twp, 11 Brockway Twp, 6 Krain Twp. Pump training class occurred this month and all MFTBE for the past year and next year training reimbursements were submitted. Planned another house burn for this fall. The skid unit is in for the new grass rig, and electronics are ordered. The old grass rig as a bad cylinder in the motor, and the Fire Dept would like to sell the unit. Eric made a motion to sell the truck when the other unit is ready. Tim seconded the motion. AIF. Looking for approval for a grant. Andy made a motion to approve application for the DNR firefighter’s assistance grant. Tim seconded the motion. AIF They plan to use those funds on radios. Mike Schmidt applied for an EMS grant through the County and received $1000 to use towards EMS equipment. Still working on the bollards and door jams on the overhead doors. The doors will be installed before fall. Keith let the Council know that Everything Signs donated lettering for the new truck. Tim made a motion to thank Robb at Everything Signs for the donation. Andy seconded the motion. AIF And Keith stated that Melanie Odden took the EMT test and passed. Maintenance report was read by Steve Horvath. He stated that the streets were swept in preparation for Holdingford Daze. The Volleyball nets were set up, and the generators were serviced in case of power outages. The waste water plant had a main line between two processes block up. Roto Rooter was called in to clear the blockage. Over 100 gallons of weed killer was sprayed on the rough potato weeds throughout the city and along the Wobegon trail. Weeds were sprayed at the campgrounds, and the gravel camping spots were leveled. Extra gravel was added to the dump station to slope it off for better drainage. Street crack filling will begin this month. City Engineer’s report: Scott Lange stated that this is his last Council meeting after more than 25 years, as he is moving out of the state. He said that he will make arrangements with city staff to hand off any open items. Councilmembers thanked him for his time with the City and wished him well on his new job and move. Liquor Store Report was given by Jaren Hillesheim. He mentioned that Ashley Christen has been doing great at the Muni as a new bartender. With her coming on board, he believes they will be ready to open on Sundays for Football this fall. Jared mentioned that the air conditioning unit went out. The bar was required to close on July 3 rd due to the heat Hommerding was called in and replaced the fan motor. The next day, the unit failed completely. Keith was able to order a new unit and get it installed before Holdingford Daze. It appears as though insurance will cover the initial fan replacement and service call, minus the deductible. Ceiling tiles were replaced and there are extras that will be returned. The insurance company sent out a notice stating that they will not cover any CBD/THC sales, therefore the Muni will not carry those items at this time. Due to (3) payroll periods in June, and the ceiling tile replacement, the Muni ran -$3844.67 for the month. They are still ahead $1255.66 for the year. Land Use Committee updates given by Seth Young. He stated that there were 2 permits that the Land Use Committee approved this month. One was for 820 3rd Street for a fence install. Brody Anderson was present to share a change that they are requesting. The neighbor approved to have the fence put up on their property due to a large shed. Brody provided a signed agreement between the two parties, which will be kept on file at City Hall with the permit. Seth made a motion to approve permit #19-23-7-10 to include the signed agreement, and upon sale of either home the fence will be removed. Andy seconded the motion. AIF Seth presented a building permit for 750 4th Street in which exterior doors and windows will be replaced, and a garage will be replaced. Seth made a motion to approve permit # 19-23-7-10 as long as the setbacks are met. Tim seconded the motion. AIF Clerk’s Report: was read by Nicky Lahr. She stated that ARPA reporting is finally completed, and in that process learned that we did not designate spending of the $39396.24 that was received in June 2022. She is recommending that they are designated to the lift station replacement project, and will bring forward a resolution when the time comes. The annual Worker’s comp audit took place, and we will be receiving a rebate from the LMCIT for this. Nicky requested to close the lottery checking account and move the funds to the general checking. Tim made a motion to close the lottery account and move the funds to General checking. Seth seconded the motion. AIF. Clerks sent out several letters for nuisance grass/weeds. The PO box for the Muni is closed as it is no longer needed. All mailings are forwarded to the main box now. Capital budget request was submitted for funding for the lift station project. The parking lot at Veteran’s Park was being torn up by a vehicle. The individual was located by the Sheriff and addressed. The first payroll for city employees from Paycom will be July 14th. Banyon software implementation is taking a back seat to audit prep currently. The new internet is installed and IT is working on getting the server installed. Cellular system is being added to the alarm panel at the Fire Dept so the land line phones can be discontinued. Clerks are looking for the best VOIP phone option currently. Utility billing in Banyon will hopefully start in August. There will be a new bill format again, along with a new online portal for payments with lower fees for residents. New checks were ordered for the Banyon accounts payable program. The safety committee will meet on July 21st. The following were resident concerns called in: Multiple complaints about the Hyatt house. Staff referred them to Stearns County. A sand pile and hole in the street on North High Court, which Maintenance took care of until street patching occurs. Thistles along Park Street as well as tall grass. Thistles were sprayed and the property is zoned agricultural, so it will be bailed when it’s tall enough. Missing water cap on Ridgeway, will be replaced when new covers are ordered. Long grass and weeds at the Trailer park, letters were sent. Unfinished/Old Business: N/A New Business: There were several requests for water and/or sewer forgiveness. The following were submitted and approved: Tim made a motion to approve sewer forgiveness request of $323.01 to Dan Eiynck for watering his lawn. Eric seconded the motion. AIF. Tim made a motion to approve sewer forgiveness request of $44.20 from Jacob Knapp’s for watering his lawn. Andy seconded the motion. AIF. Tim made a motion to approve sewer forgiveness request for Lisa Hohbein’s bill in the amount of $65.00 for pool filling. Andy seconded the motion. AIF. Tim made a motion to approve sewer forgiveness request for Anita Korelewski’s in the amount of $65 for pool filling. Andy seconded the motion. AIF. Tim made a motion to approve sewer forgiveness for Mike Odden in the amount of $46.01 for lawn watering. Andy seconded the motion. AIF. Tim made a motion to approve water and sewer forgiveness for Steve Horvath in the amount of $132 for watering the lawn due to the city’s curb replacement project. Andy seconded the motion. AIF The council reviewed Kelly Abfalter’s one-year employee evaluation. Tim made a motion to move Kelly from pay step H1 into step H2. Seth seconded the motion. AIF. Additional agenda items/council member updates: Eric asked if the clerks were able to get a quote on utility meters yet. He mentioned that last time the City received quotes, there were hidden fees. Kelly let him know that we were still waiting on their cellular study of our area before we get the quote. Also a request was made to update the bulletin boards located at the pubic park restrooms. Past Due Water Bills: Pat Waletzko, Estate of Nancy Mager, Brooklyn McGillivray, Joseph Doll, Hyatt House LLC, Aubrey Neumann, Jesse and Carlena Johnson, Roger Jensen, Terry Runge, Robert Keil, and Nathaniel Posch. Looking Forward: Next Council Meeting: Monday, August 14th, 2023 Hazardous Waste Collection at Holdingford High School parking lot, August 16 th. Holdingford City Garage Sales, August 17th-19th. Sign up at Holdingford Gas and Grocery. City Hall will be Closed, September 4th in observance of Labor Day Lion’s Club Community Picnic at Veteran’s Park, September 10th Adjourn: Tim made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:22 pm. Andy seconded the motion. AIF