Council Meeting

Regular Council Meeting – April 11, 2022 Members Present Others Present Gail Schmidt Anthony Martens Madi Dorsey Chad Neitzel Josh Knudtson Jessica Lutgens (e) Loren Skelton Sarah Sundve Brenda Routh (e) Jason Casey Ryan Gehrke Dylan Arnold (e) Jody Wynnemer Brandon Herrmann Janda Ferguson (e) Brody Bell-Penman Steve Maher Members Absent The meeting was called to order by Mayor Gail Schmidt at 6:30 p.m. Roll Call - All members present Pledge of Allegiance Approval of Agenda – Motion made by Loren Skelton and 2nd by Chad Neitzel to approve the agenda as presented. Carried (4 yes, 0 no) Consent Agenda • Motion made by Jason Casey and seconded by Chad Neitzel to approve the minutes from the Regular City Council meeting held on 3/28/22. Carried (4 yes, 0 no) • Motion made by Jason Casey and seconded by Jody Wynnemer to table the approval of the January 2022 and February 2022 financial reports. Carried (4 yes, 0 no) • Motion was made by Loren Skelton and seconded by Chad Neitzel to approve the March 2022 accounts payable. Carried (4 yes, 0 no) Public Comments • None Ordinances and Resolutions • Resolution 22-03 Approving State of MN Joint Powers Agreement with the City of New Richland on behalf of its City Attorney and Police Department – Motion was made by Chad Neitzel and seconded by Jody Wynnemar to approve Resolution 22-03. Carried (4 yes, 0 no) • Resolution 22-04 A Resolution Approving Appointment of a Commissioner to the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of the City of New Richland – Motion was made by Loren Skelton and seconded by Chad Neitzel to approve Resolution 22-04. Reports 1. Ambulance Department Report – Director Sarah Sundve • Sarah reported 57 runs YTD through 4/11/22. • Crew will have mandatory trainings in April and May required by medical control. • 5K run / Bunny Hop is scheduled for Saturday April 16th with an Easter Egg hunt to follow in the City Park. • CPR Instructor – Sarah Sundve and Sara Jo Vulcan completed their CPR instructor certification course and are now certified to teach CPR. Discussion about potential opportunities to provide training to schools, local business, and daycares. Opportunity to be state registered at $50 / person. Motion made by Jody Wynnemer and seconded by Chad Neitzel to pay for State Registration costs for Sundve and Vulcan. • EMS Week is May 15-21  • Motion made to accept the Ambulance Department report by Jason Casey and seconded by Loren Skelton. Carried (4 yes, 0 no) 2. Fire Department Report – Submitted in Writing Chief Josh Moen submitted the Fire Department Report in writing • 3 Total calls for the Month of March o 2 Medical Calls / 1 Fire Call • Training for March o Search and Rescue Training / Live Burn Training • Additional Information o Burned old Peterson House on 260th • Motion to accept the Fire Department Report made by Jason Casey and seconded by Jody Wynnemer. Carried. (4 yes, 0 no). 3. Police Department Report – Acting Chief Josh Knudtson • 132 Calls for Service for the Month of March • Service has been scheduled for warranty repairs on both squads • Joint Powers Agreement with the State of MN o Acting Chief Knudtson and Administrator Martens presented a Joint Powers Agreement with the State of MN to allow the Police Department to continue to access services of the State and Federal Government. This agreement is a renewal of an expiring Joint Powers Agreement. New to this agreement is a $50/ month access fee. • Chief of Police / FT Officer Replacement o Motion made by Loren Skelton and seconded by Jason Casey to appoint Acting Chief Josh Knudtson as the new Chief of Police to be sworn in on Monday April 25th. Pay grade 7, Step 1, $25.66/ hour with a increase to $26.94 after 6 months with a satisfactory performance review. Carried. (4 yes, 0 no). o Motion made by Chad Neitzel and seconded by Jody Wynnemer to have Acting Chief Knudtson and Administrator Martens take letters of interest from current PT officers for the FT police officer job and present their selection for approval at the April 25th meeting. Carried. (4 yes, 0 no). • Motion to accept Police Department report by Chad Neitzel and seconded by Jason Casey. Carried. (4 yes, 0 no) Unfinished Business • ExperT billing was unable to attend due to a family emergency • Metro Document Scanning o Steve Maher and Brody Bell-Penman were in attendance to discuss a document scanning option for the City Administration office. Council directed City Administrator to contact Coordinated Systems to see if the City could get a shorter extension to their current contract with the Smart Search system at this time so they could have some additional time to weigh options. • Past Due Water Bill Discussion o Discussion on delinquent water bills due to final reads. Motion made by Jason Casey and seconded by Chad Neitzel for the City Administrator to send a new letter that includes a corrected bill showing final reading charges without late fees or penalties to those who have not paid. For those who have paid, city shall refund any late charges and fees. Carried. (4 yes, 0 no). • Generator Insurance Information o Generator problem was diagnosed at the request of LMS Insurance Trust. Per their investigation, the problem was with an O-ring liner seal that wore out and allowed coolant to get into the engine. This problem was deemed general wear and tear and was not covered by insurance. New Business • Concession Stand – Legion Field o Dan Schmidt with QCBA requested ***. Council directed City Administrator to work with Maintenance and Schmidt to identify and repair problems with the concession stand and to return to the April 25th, 2022, council meeting with proposals for the Legion Field Concession Stand rental. • Lifeguard Program & Compensation o Council discussed the program and set the wages for the 2022 Lifeguards and Water Safety Instructor. Motion was made by Chad Neitzel and seconded by Jason Casey to set the lifeguard wages at $12/hour and the WSI wage at $16/hour. City Administrator was directed to post wages and continue recruitment. An update will be provided to the council at the April 25th, 2022, council meeting. Miscellaneous • None Mayor/Council/Administration • Board Member / Commission Information o Discussion about current board and commission members. Administrator Martens will continue to verify and update members and terms. • Desk for Administrators Office o Tabled at this time • Coffee Make for Community Room o Tabled at this time • Solar Contract o Information Only. Annual reimbursement/offset was $13,044.39 • Online Publishing of Council Meetings o Motion was made by Loren Skelton and seconded by Jason Casey to publish City Council Meeting videos to a City YouTube page. Carried. (4 yes, 0 no). • Federal/Covid Money o Discussion was had regarding Federal/Covid money reimbursements. Administrator Martens was advised to work with ABDO. ABDO should have information regarding this. • Administrators work list o Administrators work list was updated to include some new items. • Mayor Schmidt provided comments regarding valuation of properties based on the new valuation system. Administrator Martens will attempt to locate some additional information and publish it via the Cities social media accounts. Adjournment – Motion for adjournment made by Chad Neitzel, seconded by Jody Wynnemer. Carried (4 yes, 0 no) 9:25 p.m. Submitted by, Anthony Martens City Administrator/Clerk/Treasurer