City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council and Public Hearing for Municipal Liquor Store Minutes Monday, January 8, 2024 Present: Andy Higgins, Seth Young, Eric Berscheid, Jayme Opatz, Tim Winter, Amy Opatz, Herman Lensing, Candace Warga, Dave Blommel, Keith Hommerding, Aaron Rudolph, Pat Meier, Ron Hylla, Linda Zapzalka, Gordy Sjaaheim, Randy Schmidt, Nicky Lahr At 7:03 p.m. Mayor Eric Berscheid opened the public hearing for the Municipal Liquor Store. The hearing was required due to fiscal loss in 2 of the last 3 audited years (2020-2022). Councilmembers shared they would like to see the HMLS remain open, many well needed improvements have been made and they are starting to see some good profits over the last few months. A letter was read from a community member urging the council to sell the HMLS to a private party due to low profit margin and little oversite. Several community members spoke on behalf of the HMLS stating they have seen many recent improvements and would like to see it remain as a City owned business. Amy Opatz, HMLS Manager shared approximate profits since she started in October which averaged $2,000-$3,000/month, and they are fully staffed. She mentioned many people have commented to her, on how clean and improved the public areas and storage areas are compared to the past. At 7:09 p.m. Eric closed the public hearing and opened the Council meeting. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. No action was taken from the Municipal Liquor Store hearing. Jayme motioned to approve the consent agenda including December meeting minutes and financials. Seth seconded the motion. Motion passed with all in favor. Guests: Candace Warga stated she had a large utility bill accrue while out of town on vacation. She hired someone to find the issue which she believes to be a dripping sink or running toilet. She requested payment relief or a payment plan. Discussion took place due to a sewer forgiveness that occurred in the December council meeting. Eric stated the past policy had been not to offer forgiveness for issues when the water goes into the sewer system. Eric was not present at the December meeting, and the current council members may not have known this policy. Tim motioned to remove all late payment penalties and to accept a payment plan. Seth seconded the motion. Motion passed, all in favor. Department reports: Maintenance report was read by Eric. Submitted the Homeland Security Emergency Management reports for the WWTP, the well house, and the biosolids report. Steve is working on Copper and Lead testing site plan updates for new MDH rulings. Repaired minor plow truck issues, Jetted the underground pipes and the WWTP, Sent the spectrophotometer to HACH for annual service, repaired the Muni bathrooms, and light bulb replacements at City Hall. Several light snowfalls were cleared off of sidewalks and City Property. City Engineer’s report: Dave Blommel reported he is still searching for alternate funding sources for the lift station replacement project. Due to the ineligibility to receive USDA funding, he will try to get the City placed on the MPCA to get on their project priority List. He is also continuing to work on finding a location for a new well and is hoping it will coincide with the Wellhead Protection Plan. Liquor Store Report was read by Amy Opatz. She reported profits for December were $3135.92, and only down due to 3 payrolls in the month. They had 2 successful band events. She is 95% complete with the point-of-sale system overhaul, including the entire front end. The inventory audit was conducted on January 1st and will be submitted soon. The new lighted menu board is up. She is continuing to clean and organize items. Amy stated the Muni will have an indoor garage sale on January 28 th and sell all of the excess and unneeded items. Fire Department report read by Keith Hommerding. The calendars have been mailed out and donations are coming in. WDS made a large donation to the Fire Department, and he would like to thank them. 2023 End of year wrap-up was 158 total calls. 120 medical, 11 motor vehicle accidents, 3 structure fires, 3 vehicle fires, 8 grass/wildland fires, 2 misc. fires, 11 false alarms/canceled enroute. 80 calls were in the City of Holdingford, 51 in Holding Township, 19 in Brockway Township, and 8 in Krain Township. The Fire Dept still has openings and encourages people to apply. They will begin their first responder refresher and will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for 2 weeks. Working with the grant writer for the FEMA grant for Turnout gear. Eric stated the city received State Public Safety Aid of $32,601 to be spent on items specific to the Fire Dept. Keith mentioned he would like to replace the radios. Seth motioned to earmark the aid to purchase replacement radios for the Fire Department. Andy seconded the motion. Motion passed with all in favor. Clerk’s Report: Nicky reported election training is underway. She encouraged anyone interested in being an election judge to see her. The new payroll company, Paychex is live now. They have been much easier to work with than Paycom. The city received the 2nd ½ of LGA funds ($117,372) and also $32,601 in Public Safety Aid. Natural gas rates are going up 9.6% this year. She’s doing end- of-the-year reporting for PERA, sending out 1099 and 1096 tax forms, and ensuring Paycom does the Q4 reporting as well as tying out the W2s correctly. Pay Equity study will be done in 2024. She is still searching for an auditor for the 2023 financials and may have a lead. End of the year cleaning and purging of documents is taking place. Updates for the Commercial EDU changes for the January reading have been entered. Most of the dog tags have been updated. Reminders with late fees will be sent with the next utility bill. The safety Committee will meet on January 19th at 9 a.m. at City Hall. Nicky requested the closing of 4 more bank accounts. This will decrease errors and save time on monthly bank reconciliations. The funds will be tracked in the software instead of the physical accounts. Jayme made a motion to approve the closure of the truck fund, park account, maintenance account, and rural water account and move the funds to the general account. Andy seconded the motion. Motion passed with all in favor. New Business: Steve Horvath had his annual employee evaluation completed by Seth. Seth made a motion to approve a step increase from K2 to K3. Tim seconded the motion. Motion approved with all in favor. Jayme made a motion to approve Resolution 1-01-08-23 with the annual designations. Andy seconded the motion. Motion passed with all in favor. Resolution attached. Tim motioned to approve the updated schedule of fees. Andy seconded the motion. Motion passed with all in favor. See attached schedule. The Lion’s Club requested a donation from the city to help fund the installation of lighting to the “Welcome to Holdingford” sign on County Rd 9. Eric stated there is, if they would like the city to pay for it, they need to submit more details. Looking Forward: City Hall will be closed for MLK Day on January 15th, and for Clerk training on January 17th after 1 p.m. Past Due Utility Bills: Kevin Feia; Joseph Doll; Duane Young; Eric Kohorst; Greg Willenbring; Brooklyn McGillivray; Nathanial Posch; Nicholas Schmidt; Joe Lashinski; Dale Lundberg. Jayme made a motion to adjourn at 7:42 p.m. Andy seconded the motion. Motion passed with all in favor. Signed: ______________________________________ Nicky Lahr City Clerk-Treasurer, Holdingford  City of Holdingford Schedule of Fees Phone 320-746-2966 PO Box 69 www.holdingfordmn.us Approved 1/8/2024 Fax 320-746-3297 Holdingford, MN 56340 Email:Clerk@holdingfordmn.us Item Description Amount City Hall Rentals Hall/Library, 1-3 hours $20.00 Hall/Kitchen 1-3 hours $60.00 Hall/Kitchen, All day $100.00 Cleaning Fee (If not cleaned) $50.00 City Hall Rentals Hall/Library, 1-3 hours $ 10.00 Non-profit rates Hall/Kitchen, 1-3 hours $30.00 Hall/Kitchen, All day $50.00 Cleaning Fee (If not cleaned) $50.00 Park Rentals Veteran’s Park Shelter, All day $100.00 Camping Site, w/ Electricity and cement pad, per night (8 spaces available) $35.00 Primitive Camping, per night $15.00 Park Rentals Veteran’s Park Shelter, All day $50.00 Non-profit rates Dog Licenses Two-year tag (2024-2025), Altered $25.00 Excludes registered Two-year tag (2024-2025), unaltered $45.00 service dogs with Late fee for renewing after 1/1/24, per month $10.00 documentation Transporting dog to Tri-County Humane Society $200.00 Reclaiming Dog from Tri-County Humane Society $50.00 Reclaiming Dog from City Workers $100.00 Penalty for Dog with no license $200.00 Notary of the Public Notary Fee $5.00 Property Search Special Assessment Property Search, Per Property Search $10.00 City Services Loader with Operator, per hour $150.00 Non-profit, Loader with Operator, per hour $125.00 Plow with Operator, per hour $125.00 Maintenance Crew Assistance, per person, per hour $75.00 Lawn Mowing, per hour $100.00 Sweeper or snowblower with Operator, per hour $150.00 Council Members: Mayor: Eric Berscheid eberscheid.council@holdingfordmn.us | Jayme Opatz jopatz.council@holdingfordmn.us Seth Young syoung.council@holdingfordmn.us | Tim Winter twinter.council@holdingfordmn.us Andy Higgins: ahiggins@holdingfordmn.us | Clerk/Treasurer: Nicole Lahr clerk@holdingfordmn.us  Page |2 Item Description Amount Utilities Residential Water, Minimum per month, up to 1000 Gallons $14.50 Water/Sewer/Refuse Residential Water, Per Gallon over 1000 Gallons $0.009 Residential Sewer, Minimum per month, up to 1000 Gallons $19.00 Residential Sewer, Per Gallon over 1000 Gallons $0.014 Residential Sewer Only, Per Month, no water connection $38.00 Commercial Water, Minimum per month, up to 1000 Gallons $14.50 Commercial Water, Per Gallon over 1000 Gallons $0.009 Commercial Sewer, Minimum per month, up to 1000 Gallons $19.00 Commercial Sewer, Per Gallon over 1000 Gallons $0.014 School and Churches Water, Minimum per month, up to 1000 Gallons $28.00 School and Churches Water, Per Gallon over 1000 Gallons $0.0125 School and Churches Sewer, Minimum per month, up to 1000 Gallons $30.00 School and Churches Sewer, Per Gallon over 1000 Gallons $0.016 Water Hook-up Fees (Building permit required) $900.00 Sewer Hook-up Fees (Building permit required) $900.00 Trash 35 Gallon $13.00, Recycling $4.50 $17.50 Trash 65 Gallon $18.50, Recycling $4.50 $23.00 Trash 95 Gallon $27.50, Recycling $4.50 $32.00 Late Fee per month $15.00 Late Fee, if more than 1 month past due $25.00 Reconnection Fee $50.00 Snowbird, per month, contact city clerks $20.00 Equivalent Dwelling Unit per month $15.00 Minnesota Department of Health Fees per month $0.81 Administrative Fees, Assessing Past Due Utilities to Property Taxes $50.00 Non-sufficient funds fee (NSF) $30.00 Water Usage Other than City, Per 1000 Gallon for the first 5000 Gallons (minimum charge) $20.00 Water Usage Other than City, Per 1000 Gallons over 1st 5000 Gallons $15.00 Maintenance Assistance, (for Water Usage Other than City only) $50.00 New Water Meter At Cost Rescue Car Accidents and fire calls, plus man hours ($25 per fire fighter) $400.00 Fine for repeat Non-Emergency call, at the discretion of the Fire Chief $100.00 Reimbursable Expenses Mileage, per mile $0.67 Meals, at cost, with receipts, not to exceed federal per diem Training, Conferences, Meetings, at cost with receipt Election Judges Election Judge, Per hour $10.00 Head Election Judge, Per hour $12.00 Approved by City Council on 1/8/2024  Page |3 Item Description Amount City Council Mayor, Per month (Effective January 2025, $235 per month) $231.44 Council Member, Per month (Effective January 2025, $120 per month) $115.72 Additional Meetings, Per Meeting $30.00 Building Permits Remodeling Permit $25.00 Permit Requires: Approval by City Clerk Includes: Building Demolition, re-siding, re-shingling, retaining walls 3 foot or higher, deck or patio less than 200 square feet, window replacement, Interior remodeling, or Basement finishing Small Construction Permit $50.00 Permit Requires: Planning and Zoning Committee Review and Council Approval Includes: Deck or Patio 200 square feet or larger, fence 4 feet or higher, new or additional driveways, handicap ramp, and signs over 9 square feet. New Construction or Addition Permits $250.00 Permit Requires: Planning and Zoning Committee Review and Council Approval Includes: New house, Shed, Garage or other building over 200 square feet. Moving a building, in-ground pool, or industrial structure. Failure to obtain Permit amount determined by the Council Minimum double the permit fee Zoning Variance and Appeals Fees $250.00 The application fees are used for staff time for case review and preparation of documents, Plus escrow publication of the public hearing notice, and for postage to mail the required notices to adjacent properties. These fees do not include legal fees or additional publication fees. Escrow $1,000.00 In addition to the $250.00 Variance and Appeals Fees, the applicant may be asked to Fees may vary submit an escrow amount as determined by the Zoning Administrator, from which the city by project will be reimbursed by the application for all outside legal, engineering, and administrative expenses in connection with the process. If there are funds remaining after the matter is closed, those funds shall be reimbursed to the applicant Adult Entertainment Fees Application Fee, non-refundable $1,000.00 Yearly License fee- permit required $10,000.00 Liquor License On-sale Intoxicating Prorate $700.00 Sunday Liquor Prorate $200.00 One-Day License $35.00 Wine License $125.00 Set-up License $125.00 Club License $300.00 3.2 On-sale $150.00 Fine for failing to compliance check Plus City Council meeting appearance $100.00 Approved by City Council on 1/8/2024