City Council

MANTORVILLE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 6:30 PM 1. Call to Order – Mayor Bradford called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm. Members Present: Chuck Bradford, Henry Blair, Luke Nash, Don Hofstad and Sharon Davern (remote) Others Present: Ginger Knight, Rhonda Rocap, Carol Boyd, Joan Nesvold (remote), Marilyn Lermon (remote), City Staff Shelly Germundson, Joe Adams and Cami Reber. 2. Pledge of Allegiance - Done 3. Additions/Deletions to Agenda - None 4. Consent Agenda – Motion made by Member Nash, second by Member Hofstad to approve the consent agenda as follows: a) City Council Meeting Minute’s November 9, 2020 & November 12, 2020 b) Warrant List November 23, 2020 c) LMC 2020-2021 Notice of Premium Rates d) 2021 Assessment Agreement with Dodge County Motion passed unanimously. 5. Public Concerns - None 6. Public Hearing(s) - None 7. Old Business/New Business a) Ordinance 2020-04 Amending Mantorville City Code Chapter 95 & 96, Adding Chapter 33 Cami explained the amendments and noted the long grass piece is what was discussed at previous meetings. Chapter 33 was added due to discussion she had with the City Attorney. It cleans up the imposing and billing out of service charges that are allowed by state statute but this puts it directly in our code. It cleans up the nuisance provisions of long grass as we previously discussed and cleans up the abatement process. It is our Legal teams’ recommendation to move forward with this. Member Nash asked about the clarification of the fees that are written in the ordinance versus what is on our fee schedule. Cami clarified not tying in a dollar amount in the code and referring to the master fee schedule instead. Member Davern noted the City charging for services and the public not requesting help due to being charged. Member Nash noted in most cases the charges are covered by insurance. Member Blair discussed the charges that were reviewed in previous years and that we had altered our fees then. He noted it is standard to charge for calls. It isn’t prohibitive and most are covered by insurance. The medical calls for first responders are not billed out. Member Davern noted not everybody has insurance. Discussion on charges and what is charged and what is not. Member Hofstad noted that the ambulance does bill for their response but the City does not bill out for first responder calls. Member Davern wants to see the ordinance state no fees for medical charges will be billed. She feels the ordinance should be as clear as possible. Member Blair noted our fee schedule sets out the fees. Without it being in the ordinance, it gives us the ability to only amend the fee schedule and not the entire ordinance if we did decide to change things in the future. Motion made by Member Nash, second by Member Blair to approve Ordinance 2020-04 Amending the Mantorville City Code Chapter 95 & 96 and Adding Chapter 33. Member Davern asked if we are going to enforce the 8” across the board or just when someone is mad. Member Nash noted that we will enforce the ordinance consistently when it is brought to our attention. Member Blair noted as with every ordinance. Motion passed 4-1 with Mayor Bradford and Members Blair, Nash and Hofstad voting for and Member Davern voting against.  b) Resolution 2020-26 Approving Summary Publication of Ordinance 2020-04 Motion made by Member Blair, second by Member Hofstad to approve Resolution 2020-26, Approving Summary publication of Ordinance 2020-04. Motion passed 4-1 with Mayor Bradford and Members Blair, Nash and Hofstad voting for and Member Davern voting against. c) Resolution 2020-25 Increasing the Monthly Water and Sewer Rates For 2021 This is presented at the direction of the Council from the last meeting. Motion made by Member Blair, second by Member Nash to approve Resolution 2020-25 Increasing the Monthly Water and Sewer Rates for 2021. Member Davern asked why are we increasing fees if we are doing ok. People are having a hard time as it is. Member Nash explained that this is largely for preplanning. It is hard to predict the future unknowns and the capital needs of the City. Member Davern asked why we can’t skip one year to give people a break. She feels this shows the total disregard for the people that are struggling. Council members noted not pushing things off until the very end and staying slow and steady is easier for people. Member Davern asked that for one year, giving people a break would be helpful. Again, this is a total disconnect for those that cannot pay their mortgages, rents, etc. Mayor Bradford explained the reason that the Council is taking this position and what the background is on setting fees and suggestions of the financial planner. Cash needs to be available for capital projects with the hope of lessening the debt that needs to be incurred. Is it better to do smaller increases through the years or one large increase at one time? Motion passed 4-1 with Mayor Bradford and Members Blair, Nash and Hofstad voting for and Member Davern voting against. d) 2021 General Fund Budget – Final Draft before TNT Meeting Mayor Bradford noted this is the final draft numbers before the Truth in Taxation meeting. Cami noted this is the final draft that council discussed at the last meeting and it is set at a 4% levy increase per Council direction. Member Davern noted some items she would like to discuss such as EDA and Park Board budgets. Member Nash noted he has no input at this time until he hears from the EDA. Discussion on the CARES funds and if any budgets are impacted by that. The CARES funds spreadsheet showing what those dollars were spent on will be added to the next meeting packet so Council and the public can review. No further input on the budget. 8. TBD a) Public Works Report – Joe Adams reported on the following: • Two boulevard trees that need to be to be removed. He still has money in the budget for this. Total cost including clean up and stump grinding is $1,680. Member Nash asked if there are any more things that need to be done this year yet to use up the budget and maybe modify next years? Joe said he would review. Motion made by Member Hofstad, second by Member Nash, to approve. Motion passed unanimously. b) City Clerk Report – None c) Consultant Report – None d) Committee Report • Fire Department – Member Hofstad gave an update on the successful Toys for Tots drive this past Saturday. Mayor Bradford expressed his thanks to the Fire Department Members for doing this. e) Council Member Report - None f) Mayor Report Mayor Bradford expressed that we look at the blessings that we have every day and what brings us together as a community. He gave an update on the KM Schools COVID Advisory Committee. They met and they are recommending no change in the current standards that are being done, no changes to the learning model.  Motion made by Member Hofstad, second by Member Blair to close the regular session and go into closed Executive Session at 7:11 pm for the purpose of conducting the annual performance reviews for Joe Adams and Cami Reber. Motion passed unanimously. Motion made by Member Nash, second by Member Blair to close the Executive Session and go back into open meeting at 7:35 pm. Motion passed unanimously. 9. Executive Session a) Closed Session per 13D.05 Subd. 3 for the Annual Performance Evaluation of Joe Adams and Cami Reber Motion made by Member Hofstad, second by Member Davern to approve the recommendation of 2% performance retro back to January 1, 2020 for Joe and Cami and a 2% performance to take place January 1, 2021. Motion passed unanimously. 2020 COLA – Motion made by Member Nash, second by Member Hofstad to approve a 2% COLA increase for all staff starting January 1, 2021. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Adjourn – Motion made by Member Blair, second by Member Nash to adjourn the meeting at 7:39 pm. Motion passed unanimously.