City Council Meetings 2016-2024

MINUTES REGULAR MEETING MOOSE LAKE CITY COUNCIL Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 4:00 pm; City Hall PRESENT: Mayor Ted Shaw, Council Members; Kris Huso, Walt Lower III, Doug Juntunen, Greg Sarvela, City Administrator Ellissa Owens, City Superintendent Phil Entner, Chief of Police Darren Juntunen, Deputy Clerk Ryan McKeon, Administrative Assistant Taylor Hansberry, Library Director Laura Helwig, Deputy Registrar Karen Dahlen, Water and Light Commission Superintendent Harlan Schmeling, Brandon Lundquist, Jim Gassert, Peter Thompson, Todd Hoadley 1. CALL TO ORDER A. Pledge of Allegiance B. Approval of Agenda  Motion made to approve the Agenda by Councilor Huso, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. 2. CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes 1. Regular City Council Meeting – September 14, 2022 2. Joint Meeting Minutes – Moose Lake City Council, Water & Light Commission – September 8, 2022  Motion made to approve the Minutes by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by councilor Huso. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. B. Financial Reports 1. City Accounts Payable – September 2022 2. City Financial Statements – September 2022 3. Liquor Store - Profit & Loss Statement – September 2022  Motion made to approve the Financial Reports by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT This time is reserved comments from the public on matters not listed on the agenda. Please keep comments to 3 minutes. 4. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS A. Police Chief a. Department Report September 2022  283 total calls for service b. State of Minnesota Joint Powers Agreement c. Court Data Services Subscriber Amendment to CJDN Subscriber Agreement B. City Superintendent a. Department Report September 2022  Water Department 7.4 million gallons of water distributed in September. Hydrants are flushed and winterized.  Sewer Department 10.4 million gallons of wastewater collected in September (11.3 August) Lining project is complete, waiting on televising results.  Lift station at campground was lined this week. Street Department Pot hole filling is being done monthly. Blacktop patching; two left to do. 4th Street road project is almost complete.  Campground/Cemeteries The punch list for Parks maintenance items has been updated for 2023 per the Park Board. Columbarium foundation is complete, flat work is complete. Campground is empty and closed down for the year, everything is winterized. There is a lot of personal property left from seasonals; decks, platforms, fridge, piles of firewood, yard décor, 3-season items. Phil asked Council for direction on what should be done with all this. Councilor Lower wants to see all of these items removed. Administrator Owens stated she could make contact with the seasonal people and ask to have items removed by a certain date. Suggestion was also made to add a fee for year-round storage although this raised the issue of liability. After discussion, the motion below was passed.  Motion made to act based on what the City Attorney suggests and directs the City Administrator to do by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0.  Arena Mike and his crew are starting some of the pre-hockey season maintenance things needed. The ice is in and should be ready for the season by the end of the week. C. Municipal Liquor Store a. Department Report September 2022 -updated will take place next month. D. Technology/Library Department a. Library Quarterly Update  Foot traffic has slowed a bit with kids back in school.  Free movie night once a month. Laura hopes to keep this going once a month.  Story-time every Thursday at 2 p.m. b. Part-Time Library Clerk Candidate Recommendation  Laura recommends hiring Diane Kauppi.  Motion made to hire Diane Kauppi as the part-time library clerk by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Huso. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. c. Audio Equipment Update  Ryan stated the new microphones are in use.  There have been communication issues which are currently being researched. d. City Cameras Update  Cameras throughout the city were checked for working condition. Some cameras are not working and are outdated. They will not support the current technology. This, again, is being researched and more information to follow. Councilor Juntunen recommended looking into grants available. E. Motor Vehicle Department a. Quarterly Update  Karen stated the DMV is still short staffed.  Things are slowing down as the weather gets colder and kids are in school. Over 100 exams have been done in the past 3 months.  Manuals are now available for sale.  There has been an increase in finding fees, up about $12,000 from last year. b. Part-Time DMV Clerk Candidate Recommendation  Karen recommends hiring Leanne Gibson.   Motion made to hire Leanne Gibson as long as background check has cleared as the part-time DMV Clerk by Councilor Huso, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. F. Parks & Recreation Department a. Campground Update  Ryan stated that financially, last year was a banner year. However, this year is exceeding last year’s numbers (preliminary).  Campground hosts; discussed going through background checks, basically getting the hosts on record. b. Riverside Arena Update  See c. c. Riverside Arena Sign Sponsorship Update  Taylor stated signs are in the arena from businesses for advertising. Taylor has been reaching out to advertisers to make sure they are paid or if they want their ad removed. 105 area business have been contacted; 5 new advertisers have been established. d. Part-Time Arena Attendant Candidate Recommendation  Phil recommends hiring the following three arena attendants; Graydon Ohlin, Steve Knaus and Kimberly Gubernot.  Motion made to hire Graydon Ohlin, Steve Knaus and Kimberly Gubernot by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. G. City Engineer a. Monthly Update- October 7, 2022 Meeting Minutes  73 Trail waiting on some punch list items to be completed.  4th Street Project 98% complete.  I&I Product just about complete.  Lift Station in Campground completed. H. Chamber of Commerce Updates a. Monthly Update  Ellissa stated the Chamber will be posting an Executive Director position. 5. PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED BUSINESS A. City of Moose Lake Electric Utility Expense Update  Ellissa stated there was a joint meeting between Council and Water and Light Commission. Motion was made by W&L to postpone electric utility payments from the City to W&L for two years starting January 1, 2023. This has a very positive impact for the City. B. 2023 Proposed Budget Update  City is in the process of removing certain line items. By the next meeting, Department expenditure and forecasts should be available.  ARPA monies that were received by the City, levy dollar amounts need to be higher than previous years; this was per discussion with Auditors. Ellissa stated the City has been following this stipulation.  Sewer fund balance is at 1.2 million; approaching the million dollar mark the City wanted to be at in making the Sewer fund self-sufficient. This amount will fluctuate. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. Conditional Use Permit Request for 21-010-4580, Moose Lake, MN 55767   Ellissa stated the Planning Commission did meet regarding this request. Communication was received by Co-Owners; Andrew and Jim Gassert of the Moose Lake Implement & Sport as well as Louise Halverson, concerned citizen. Both correspondence received were not in favor of this permit request.  The Planning Commission also had recommendations regarding stipulations of this conditional use permit.  Motion made to deny the Conditional Use Permit Request 21-010-4580 by Councilor Huso, seconded by Councilor Lower. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. B. Conditional Use Permit Request for 700 Folz Blvd. Moose Lake, MN 55767  Motion made to approve the Conditional Use Permit Request for 700 Folz Blvd with directions for the developer and Administrator Owens to work with the party next door for placement of the building within all the setback rules by Councilor Huso, seconded by Councilor Lower. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. C. 4th Street Reconstruction Project – Veit & Company, Inc. Pay Application No. 3  Motion to approve Pay Application No. 3 by Councilor Huso, seconded by Councilor Lower. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. D. 2022 Sewer Lining Project – Insituform Technologies USA, LLC Pay Application No. 3  Motion made to approve Pay Application No. 3 by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. E. Project Meter Billing  When meters are being installed, the requests are coming in outside of the budget cycle so anticipated costs are unknown. The current one that came in for the new Northland Surgery Center came in at $3045.84. Administrator Owens requests open dialogue. Phil recommends building these costs into the cost of the building projects. Administrator Owens recommends adding this cost into the commercial building projects.  This item is going to be added as an Agenda item to next month’s City Council meeting so this can be researched further. Consensus given by Council. F. MN Energy Resources - Natural Gas Franchise Fee Review  Ryan presented to the Council as information at this time.  Councilor Juntunen would like to know many users this City has and how this breaks down regarding residential and commercial. Ryan will be researching this. G. Municipal Liquor Store – Liquor Store Manager Job Description  Administrator Owens presented to Council, informational only at this time. This job description will be presented to the Liquor Board at their next meeting as a working document. H. City of Moose Lake - Online Presence  Taylor addressed the Council regarding the City’s online website which was very much out of date. Taylor has made a lot of updates/changes to this website which has become much more user friendly. Taylor is also continuing to work on the accessibility issues someone with a disability might experience using the City’s website. I. Parcel 21-190-1190 – ISD No. 97 Property Tax Split Request  Motion made to approve the Parcel 21-190-1190 – ISD No. 97 Property Tax Split Request by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. J. Resolution 22.10.01  Motion made to approve Resolution 22.10.01 by Councilor Huso, seconded by Councilor Lower. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. K. Resolution 22.10.02   Motion made to approve Resolution 22.10.02 by Councilor Huso, seconded by Councilor Juntunen. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. L. Truth in Taxation Meeting – December 14, 2022 - 6:00pm  Informational M. Historical Society Request  Modifications need to be approved by the Council.  Motion made to approve the planting of a couple trees up at the Historical Society Depot by Councilor Lower, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. 7. REPORTS AND CORRESPONDENCE A. Letter to Affected Tobacco Retailers – Administrator Owens 8. COMMITTEE AND BOARD MEETING MINUTES A. Moose Lake Parks and Recreation – October 3, 2022 (Informational Only) 9. ANNOUNCEMENTS Regular Moose Lake City Council Meeting, Wednesday, November 9, 2022 - 4:00 p.m. Moose Lake City Council/Town Board Chambers. Moose Lake Economic Development Authority, Wednesday, October 19, 2022 – 12:00 p.m. City Conference Room Moose Lake Water and Light Commission, Regular Meeting– Tuesday, October 18, 2022 – 1:00 P.M. Water and Light Office. Moose Lake Housing and Redevelopment Authority Board – Monday, November 14, 2022 – 11:00 A.M. Hillside Manor Office. Moose Lake Area Fire District – Tuesday, November 8, 2022 - 6:30 p.m. – Emergency Response Center. Moose Lake Park Board Meeting – Monday, November 7, 2022 – 5:00 p.m. City Council/Town Board Chamber. 10. ADJOURNMENT  Motion made to adjourn by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Huso, Juntunen, Lower, Sarvela. No – 0. Recorded by: Paula Arnold