City Council Meeting

Holdingford City Council Minutes Monday, July 8th, 2024 Councilmembers in attendance: Eric Berscheid, Jayme Opatz, Seth Young, Andy Higgins, and Tim Winter. Others in attendance: Nicky Lahr, Gordy Sjaaheim, Herman Lansing, Amy Opatz, and Keith Hommerding. Eric called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m., and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Jayme made a motion to approve the consent agenda, with Seth seconding it. The motion passed with all in favor. Eric read the June Maintenance report. The water main repair is delayed due to a broken shut-off valve. When this is repaired, the water will need to be shut off to a small neighborhood temporarily. Rough potato noxious weed has returned, and they have been spraying it as it’s found. Street sweeping is happening in preparation for Holdingford Daze. Dave Blommel submitted contracts for North High Court improvements and the Well Site Investigation contract. Seth made a motion to approve the North High Court contract with SEH. Tim seconded, and it passed with all in favor. Jayme made a motion to approve the contract with SEH for the Well Site Investigation project. Andy seconded the motion, and it passed with all in favor. Keith read the Fire Department report. He reported 83 calls for the year, including 43 in Holdingford, 24 in Holding Twsp, 10 in Brockway Twsp, 5 in Krain Twsp, and 1 mutual aid for Albany Twsp. Keith said they would like to hire another employee. Andy made a motion to hire Mathew Pantze as a probationary Fire Fighter. Tim seconded the motion, and it passed with all in favor. They are still awaiting word on the FEMA grant award and are awaiting word from Stearns Electric for financing for the truck purchase. Amy gave the Muni report. She stated that they are -$1634 for the year but expect to make up the difference over Holdingford Daze. She is also seeing savings with her job duty changes with the City. She moved all of the liquor shelves to the upstairs storage room and finished clearing out the basement. They are working on doing some floor repairs as well. Starting August 1st, the Husker card will give you $2 off the purchase of a pizza. The new 2024/2025 Husker cards will also reflect this. This will save the Muni a large amount of money annually. She is also implementing a loyalty program rewards card. Amy is prepping for Holdingford Daze and stated that the Muni will be closed on Sunday, July 14th, to clean after the festivities. The ATM machine will be moved next to the pull tab machine so it is more accessible, especially during Holdingford Daze. She is planning to adjust the Muni hours in August, possibly opening at 12 or 1 p.m. instead of 11 a.m. Jayme made a motion to accept the resignation of Kailee Althaus. Seth seconded it, and it passed with all in favor. Seth reported that the Land Use Committee reviewed one building permit for 101 Main Street. He said it meets all of the setback criteria. Seth made a motion to approve Land Use Permit 19-24-6-24. Tim seconded the motion, and it passed with all in favor. Seth also would like to develop an administrative fee for failure to pull a land use permit and will possibly have a proposal for the next meeting. Nicky also mentioned that all building permits will be printed on bright pink paper, and the homeowner will need to post them in a visible area. Nicky will also email all building permits to the council members and Land Use Committee members so they know which properties had prior approval. Minutes are not official until approved by the City Council and signed by the Clerk. Nicky gave the Clerk's report. She stated that TIF reporting is completed and that the City received the first half of property taxes. We received the elections reimbursement from the State, and we should expect the first LGA payment of the year soon as well. Amy did her first utility bill readings in June and successfully sent out bills to the residents. Metering Technology came on-site for a brief training with her. Nicky approved an administrative land split for Berscheid Properties. Town Web is working on building our website, and it will go live in December. They are creating a new logo that we will also be able to use on all City documents. The preliminary levy needs to be submitted to the County by Sept 30th, so Nicky will be getting budget worksheets to all of the respective department heads and liaisons. In new business, Two Rivers Enterprise has requested potential TIF, MIF, and Job Creation funding from the City. Jayme made a motion to approve a resolution to hold a public hearing before the August Council meeting for the TIF. Seth seconded the motion, and it passed with all in favor. Jayme made a motion to approve a resolution to hold a public hearing for the Job Creation funding and MIF before the August Council meeting. Seth seconded the motion, and it passed with all in favor. Past Due Water Bills: James Berthelsen, Tanner Cleland, Covered Bridge LLC, Joseph and Lana Doll, Kevin Feia, Holdingford Hillside Trailer Park LLP, Brooklyn McGillivray, Nathaniel Posch, Terry Runge, Jared Voudry, and Duane Young. Looking Forward: City Hall will be closed from July 19th – 24th. Borgmann’s lawn waste pickup is on the first Friday of each month, with the next one on August 2nd. Holdingford Daze is on July 12th-13th. Seth made a motion to adjourn at 7:31 p.m. Jayme seconded the motion, and it passed with all in favor. Signed: Nicky Lahr______________________________________ City Clerk-Treasurer, Holdingford Minutes are not official until approved by the City Council and signed by the Clerk.