City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Meeting Minutes Monday, August 14, 2023 Present: Seth Young, Eric Bersheid, Tim Winter, Nicky Lahr, Andy Higgins, Jared Hillesheim, Herman Lensing, Steve Horvath, Kelly Abfalter, Keith Hommerding, Jeff and Sue Burg, Dave Yurczyk, Melvin Breth, Gordy Sjaaheim, Jamie Pelzer. Eric called the City Council meeting to order at 7:01 pm, and the pledge of allegiance was recited. Jayme made a motion to accept the consent agenda and financials from July. Tim seconded it. AIF Guests: Jeff Burg was present on behalf of the Historical Society. He asked for Council permission to dress up the front of the City- owned building by adding hardscape such as river rock to the front. He stated the Historical Society would have liked to add an awning, to protect the new mural; however, it was cost-prohibitive. Jeff also recommended the City to make the insurance company aware of the mural, in case of any future claims. The Councilmembers agreed to the request. Jamie Pelzer, who resides at 111 Main Street, received a letter of violation of City Ordinance 92.19 that allows no more than 3 trailers to be stored on a residential property. He requested a variance to have up to 6 trailers during the summer months as they are used for his business. Jayme made a motion to allow a variance to Ordinance 92.19 to allow up to 6 trailers that are licensed and in usable condition. The variance must be renewed after 2 years. Tim seconded the motion. AIF Eric also apologized for the letter stating he should have been sent a first notice, before receiving a final notice letter. Tim Yurczyk was present on behalf of Holding Township and asked for help paying for the cost of patching done on 4th Street. Eric stated that the township and the City had entered a verbal agreement at a past meeting with the understanding Holding Township would maintain 4th Street and the City would maintain River Street. Dave mentioned that he was not aware of this agreement. Minutes will be provided to Dave. Department reports: Fire Department report read by Keith Hommerding. Year to Date, 96 Calls total; 47 in the City, 31 in Holding Twp, 12 in Brockway Twp, 6 Krain Twp. Tony Abfalter resigned from the dept. due to advancement in his career leaving him with little time to make calls. They thank him for his service. Keith said they do not currently have a policy on the percentage of calls that must be made but they do have a requirement for missing training and meetings. This month for training, a driving course was set up at WDS. They would like to thank WDS for the use of the facilities. A house burn is scheduled. The city of Albertville donated more equipment including several saws. Tim made a resolution to thank the City of Albertville for their generous donations. Andy seconded the motion. AIF The Fire board meeting was scheduled for August 30th at 6:00 PM at City Hall. Township representatives will be sent a notice. Maintenance report was presented by Steve Horvath. Street sweeping took place in Upsala. They have a reciprocal agreement, we sweep their streets and the city of Upsala, will let us use their sewer jetter. The City Hall exhaust vent fan was repaired along with the light sensors at the campground bathrooms, and the lawnmower. Replaced light bulbs at the Wobegon trailhead and adjusted the timers. Rebuilt the weed tank sprayer. The Mixer #4 motor went out and will be $7557 to replace. Seth made a motion to purchase the replacement motor. Tim seconded the motion. AIF Conducted monthly weed inspections and sprayed for rough potato weeds. Back dragged and leveled the gravel camping spots. Received 2 bids for raising the dump station and adding a retaining wall to control erosion. Campers are not able to effectively empty into the dump station with the current design. Jayme made a motion to approve TS Landscaping quote, to make the repairs. Andy seconded the motion. AIF Eric asked more weed spraying take place along the roads/sidewalks. City Engineer’s report: Eric read a letter from Dave Blommel who is replacing Scott Lange as the City Engineer representative from SEH. Dave has been with the company for more than 19 years and is very familiar with many Holdingford projects. Dave lives nearby in Stearns County and is married with 2 children. Dave will be present at future meetings. Liquor Store Report was presented by Jaren Hillesheim. He lost one bartender and is currently interviewing for one or two more. He would like o be able to open on Sundays a few weeks before football season starts. He had a positive employee review for Angel Becker. He asked the council to consider a 2-step pay increase due to the additional responsibilities she has. Jayme made a motion to approve an increase from step 0 to step 2. Andy Seconded the motion. AIF Jared also asked the council to consider paying part- time bartenders double time when they work on federal holidays. Jayme made a motion to approve time and a half pay for Labor Day of 2023 only. Andy seconded the motion. AIF The council will discuss the full request at the next working session in September. Jared supplied 4 flooring quotes as requested by the insurance company. He stated Hennen’s Flooring in Freeport had the best pricing, and recommended hiring them. He asked the council if they would be willing to pay extra to include all of the flooring that insurance would not cover. Jayme made a motion to go with the full flooring quote with the condition the insurance covers all related costs such as tearing down the stage, and reinstalling the stage. Tim seconded the motion. AIF Monthly and YTD profit/loss were submitted. Jared stated July was a good month with Holdingford Daze sales included, but due to A/C replacement and ceiling tile replacement. He said they were up $18,877.66 for the month and $20,133.57 for the year. Jayme asked what time the bar closed on Saturday (August 12th) and why. Jared stated the bar was slow and he had worked more than 60 hours. Andy stated that there was a bus that showed up later in the evening expecting the bar to be open. Jayme told Jared the bar must remain open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until the published times unless there is an emergency. Jared was asked how his food safety license is coming along. He stated he had 1.5 hours completed and would continue during his workdays to get it done. Jayme asked how training with Season was going and asked him to be present no later than noon on the days Season works. Jayme also advised new employees not to do the books. Jared agreed. Land Use Committee updates given by Seth Young. Darrin Solinger is requesting a permit to lift his garage and replace the cement. Tim made a motion to reduce the permit fee to $50 instead of $250 and to approve the permit. Andy seconded the motion. AIF. Clerk’s Report: was presented by Nicky Lahr. She stated the City received its 1st half of the LGA payment and tax payments. The clerks requested to attend Clerks’ training on September 14-15th and to close City Hall during those times. Jayme made a motion to approve and Tim seconded it. AIF Nicky reported an individual was trespassed from the Campgrounds as they were not paying and were staying longer than the week limit. It was noted that 220 Cedar street does not have an external water shut off valve. Notice were sent out to residents based on complaints of loose/unregistered dogs, unregistered cars, overgrown lawns/weed, too many trailers, and nuisance trash. We are working on a good letter format for warnings and the new software will help to track these. Preliminary budget Levy will need to happen before the next meeting. Budget sheets will be sent out to each department and they will be reviewed at the working session before the September meeting. The next utility billing will be done out of the new software. The bill will look different and everyone will receive a paper copy until residents are able to register in the new online portal. Kelly requested that the city removes Stearns Bank from the list of ways residents can pay utility bills. The fees associated went up at the City’s expense and the payments don’t posted to the residents accounts in a timely manner. There were issues with the new meter reader, but the Clerks found a workaround until the new one is ready. If it cannot be used, we will get a full refund. Paycom issues are still not resolved. We are working on resolving issues with accruals and the accounting input still needs to be programmed. 2022 Audit is happening and Schlenner & Wenner hope to have it wrapped up by the next Council meeting. PERA changed the way to determine who is included in the retirement fund. The new monthly limit will most likely pull in all of the PT bartenders, this will need to budgeted for next year. Unfinished/Old Business: N/A New Business: Stearns Bank has a 9-month CD special at 5.23% currently. Jayme made a motion to purchase $100K out of the general account, $100k out of the Truck fund, $30K out of the Maintenance account, $25k out of the Parks account, and $100k out of the reserve funds. Seth seconded the motion. AIF Aaron Rudolph requested Main Street road closure for the Rockin’ Warriors event on October 7th. Jayme made a motion to approve and Andy seconded it. AIF All Saints Church requested a gambling permit for a raffle on November 1st for $20k.Tim made a motion to approve the permit and resolution 23-8-14-2. Seth seconded the motion. AIF Employee review for Nicky Lahr. Seth made a motion to approve a favorable review and move Nicky from pay step J1 to J2. Jayme seconded the motion. AIF A list of individuals was presented of which all were asking for sewer forgiveness on a portion of their utility bill due to pool filling, and garden/lawn watering. The council decided to table these requests until September. They will discuss future policies for forgiveness, including only allowing pre-approvals, and what the criteria will be. Additional agenda items/council member updates: N/A Past Due Water Bills: Kevin Feia, Joe Lashinski, Walker Nienaber, Brooklyn McGillivray, Joseph Doll, Hyatt House LLC, Jesse and Carlena Johnson, Roger Jensen, Principal Logistics LLC, and Robert Keil. Looking Forward: Next Council Meeting: Monday, September 11th, 2023 City Hall will be Closed on September 4th in observance of Labor Day, and on September 14th and 15th for Clerk training. Lion’s Club Community Picnic at Veteran’s Park, September 10th Adjourn: Jayme made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:32 pm. Seth seconded the motion. AIF