City Council Meetings 2016-2024

MINUTES REGULAR MEETING MOOSE LAKE CITY COUNCIL Wednesday, November 9, 2022, 4:00 pm; City Hall PRESENT: Mayor Ted Shaw, Council Members; 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, Vicki Gamst, Kathy Lake, Beverly Horwath, Cathy Nelson, Bruce Youngberg, Tammy Johnson, Jan Ashmore, Eleanor Dockal, Jane Klejeski, Todd Keinanen, Shawn Wigg 1. CALL TO ORDER A. Pledge of Allegiance B. Approval of Agenda  Motion made to approve the Agenda by Councilor Sarvela, seconded by Councilor Lower. Vote: Yes – Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. No – 0. 2. CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes 1. Regular City Council Meeting – October 12, 2022  Motion made to approve the Minutes by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. No – 0. B. Financial Reports 1. City Accounts Payable – October 2022 2. City Financial Statements – October 2022 3. Liquor Store - Profit & Loss Statement – October 2022  Motion made to approve the Financial Reports by Councilor Lower, seconded by Councilor Juntunen. Vote: Yes – Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. 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.  Shawn Wigg addressed the Council, the Moose Lake Brewery would like to partake in E-Tabs. Administrator Owens and Shawn had discussed this prior to the meeting and how the process would work. Administrator Owens stated E-Tabs is currently up and running at the City Municipal and there have been no issues. Consensus given by Council to add this to the Agenda for the December City Council meeting. 4. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS A. Police Chief a. Department Report October 2022  205 total calls for service  Fall Drug Take-Back Day – collected 125.8 pounds of prescription drugs for disposal.  High School student has been doing volunteer hours for the department, Logan Tomczak. B. City Superintendent a. Department Report October 2022  Water Department 6.3 million gallons of water distributed in October. GIS Mapping system underway.  Hyrants have been flushed and winterized. MDH Source Water Protection Grant is all completed, lining project is complete.  Sewer Department 10.0 million gallons of wastewater collected in October. 2023 Lining Project – Phil put together a small project for next year. Bridge Lift Station, grinder installed. November discharge wastewater currently underway.  Street Department Pot hole filling is being done monthly. Blacktop patching completed for the year. 4th Street Road project 98% complete.  Campground/Cemeteries Winterized and shut down for the winter. Arena – ice is in, hockey practice has started. C. Municipal Liquor Store a. Department Report October 2022  Mishap with the water heater, pressure valve was fixed.  E-Tabs going well. D. Technology/Library Department a. Monthly Update  DMV second testing station is up and running.  Still working on the cameras.  WiFi – Hockey Association working on a solution for the concession stand to be able to use credit cards. E. City Engineer a. Monthly Update- November 2, 2022 Meeting Minutes – see attached for additional information.  73 Trails Project, punch list still needs to be completed.  4th Street Road Project is almost complete.  I&I Point of Sale Ordinance, working with City Engineers to get more information to place on the City website. Looking at providing this to the public around January 1, 2023. F. Chamber of Commerce Updates a. Monthly Update  Looking at a restructure of membership dues.  Events being planned; Annual Dinner, Ice Bocce. 5. PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED BUSINESS A. Minnesota Energy Resources – Franchise Fee Recap  Ryan presented as informational only. B. 2023 Proposed Budget Update -Administrator Owens presented. a. Proposed Employee Wage Increase  Proposed wage increase is 3% b. Estimated Tax Levy Implications  For the 5th year in a row, the tax rate has not changed. Tax capacity has increased.  Initial levy $904,391. c. 2023 Water & Sewer Rate Discussion  Recommendation of a 6% versus 10% rate increase for Water Fund. Impact of both the 6% and 10% rate increase net income presented.   Recommendation of 12% versus 21% rate increase for Sewer Fund. Impact of both percentages presented. Mayor Shaw recommends no more than the 12% rate increase. Consensus given by Council to the 12%. d. Identification of Capital Projects e. Proposed Department Revenue & Expense Updates  Administrator Owens walked through the Departments, highlighting a few line items. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. Hillside Terrace Resident Petition: Rental Increase Cap  Administrator Owens stated a petition was received asking the City to have an open discussion regarding a potential rental increase cap. Administrator Owens has reached out to the City Attorney. She stated this can be done with a City Ordinance if the Council is interested in taking that path. Administrator Owens stated City homeowners have seen a significant increase in property taxes, 30% increase.  Beverly spoke stating their lot rent does not include any utilities or property taxes. She stated St. Paul has a 3% cap.  Cathy stated some residents have not received their notices yet. Cathy stated new ownership took over in March and the residents do not know who this entity is. Cathy states they are aware that by law, rent can be increased twice a year; they are just looking for some sort of a cap.  Councilor Juntunen would like to know what legally we could do to help this situation, making sure there are checks and balances to protect these residents. Councilor Juntunen would like to see what other cities are doing. Administrator Owens trying to obtain sample ordinances.  Mayor Shaw stated they would look into what they could obtain through the League of MN Cities and hopefully be able to present next month.  Jan Ashmore stated she could help the residents obtain a Housing Advocate, which was very well received. B. 2022 Moose Lake WWTF Capacity Memo  Please see attached, positive impact. C. City of Moose Lake – Hail Damage Insurance Claim  Administrator Owens presented the list of damage to City buildings. Hoping to be able to have the repairs done in the spring. D. City of Moose Lake Personnel Policy a. Social Media Policy  Taylor has thoroughly reviewed the Personnel Policy and highlighted changes throughout.  Taylor has also developed a Social Media Policy as a guideline for those running the accounts.  Administrator Owens stated these two policies will be sent to the City Attorney for review and then bring back to Council for final approval. E. Municipal Liquor Store Manager Job Description  Motion made to approve the Municipal Liquor Store Manager Job Description by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. No – 0. F. CliftonLarsonAllen – Master Services Agreement & Statement of Work – Audit Services  Administrator Owens provided for review.  Motion to approve CliftonLarsonAllen – Master Servidce Agreement & Statement of Work by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Lower. Vote: Yes – Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. No – 0.  Motion made to close meeting to go into close session by Councilor Sarvela, seconded by Councilor Juntunen. Vote: Yes – Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. No – 0.   Motion made to reopen the regular meeting by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. No – 0. G. City Administrator Contract – Ellissa Owens  Motion made to approve the City Administrator Contract by Councilor Sarvela, seconded by Councilor Lower Vote: Yes – Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. No – 0. H. Police Department Contract Discussion  Motion made to add the Police Department Contract discussion to the Special Meeting Agenda to be held on November 16, 2022 by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes – Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. No – 0. The City Council of the City of Moose Lake will meet in closed session pursuant to MN Statutes section 13D.05 subd. 2(a) to have a personnel discussion. The meeting will take place in the Council Chambers of the Community Center at 313 Elm Ave. Following the closed session, the council will re-convene in open session pursuant to the posted agenda for that date and time and during such open session summarize its conclusion and make any motions. 7. REPORTS AND CORRESPONDENCE A. DNR Thank you – Holiday ATV Bridge B. Northern Lakes Surgery Center Ribbon Cutting – December 15, 2022 8. COMMITTEE AND BOARD MEETING MINUTES A. Moose Lake Area Fire District – September 13, 2022 9. ANNOUNCEMENTS Regular Moose Lake City Council Meeting, Wednesday, December 14, 2022 - 4:00 p.m. Moose Lake City Council/Town Board Chambers. Moose Lake Economic Development Authority, Wednesday, November 16, 2022 – 12:00 p.m. City Conference Room Moose Lake Water and Light Commission, Regular Meeting– Tuesday, November 15, 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, December 13, 2022 - 6:30 p.m. – Emergency Response Center. Moose Lake Park Board Meeting – Monday, January 9, 2023 – 5:00 p.m. City Council/Town Board Chamber. 10. ADJOURNMENT  Motion made to adjourn by Councilor Juntunen, seconded by Councilor Sarvela. Vote: Yes - Juntunen, Sarvela, Lower. No – 0. Recorded by: Paula Arnold