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Monday, February 20, 2006
The regular December meeting of the Waubun City Council was held on Tuesday, December 20, 2005 at the Waubun Community Center. Mayor Peter Haddeland called the meeting to order at 6:10 PM. Council members present were Peter Haddeland, Kenneth Kylmanen, Larry Swiers, Milo Winter and Leonard Wells. All members were in attendance. Staff present was Germaine Riegert, Clerk, Dan Murray, Public Works Manager, Ardette Bisson, Community Center Board and Paul Brehm, Police and Fire Chief. A large crowd of town’s folk were present. The sign in sheet is attached to the official copy of the minutes. City Attorney Elroy Hanson was also present. There was one addition to the agenda: Councilperson Wells added advertising for a fire chief and close out of the fire department checking account. Motion was made by Winter and seconded by Kylmanen to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried unanimously. A motion was made by Winter and seconded by Swiers to approve the minutes as posted and mailed. Motion carried unanimously. The following bills were examined by the Council persons: General Fund Pitney Bowes 12.00 W/S Fund 159.75 Paul Ahles 137.14 Brett Brehm 169.00 Paul Brehm 402.19 Scott Brehm 48.03 Lyle Fatz 4.62 William Gomall 274.27 Shawn Greenleaf 96.97 Joyce Guenther 60.03 Ryan Hendrickson 298.29 Dan Murray 36.94 Ed Scheler 254.89 Tammy Scheler 18.47 Leon Stalberger 354.63 Philip Stalberger 238.22 William Stalboerger 213.33 Larry Swiers 87.26 Gary Vik 18.47 Waubun Fire Relief 7,314.00 F U Oil 62.65 Morrison Electric 590.49 Mark II of Fosston 4,122.30 Thomas Fire Equipment 357.16 Wambach & Hanson 550.00 Waubun Steel 744.44 Emergency Apparatus 2,474.91 ACS 173.61 John Deere Credit 8,508.18 Nat’l Assn of Cities 185.00 Auto Value 477.77 Pitney Bowes 31.15 KRJM 150.00 True Value 107.26 Waubun Volunteer Fire Dept 2,500.00 Ottertail 2,849.60 Waubun Feed & Hardware 36.34 Nortrax 173.40 One Call Concepts 4.05 Ulteig Engineers 23,332.92 Mary Ahles 369.40 Larry Swiers 554.10 Leonard Wells 554.10 Peter Haddeland 698.80 Kenneth Kylmanen 554.10 Milo Winter 554.10 Water & Sewer Fund Chad Smith 200.00 Ottertail 648.19 Fargo Water Supply 47.37 MN Dept. of Health 235.00 Water Revenue Fund Mark II of Fosston 9,001.59 Tax Increment Financing Grocery Debt Retirement fund 4,291.51 Grocery Store Escrow Grocery Debt Retirement fund 3.000.00 Grocery Store Debt Retirement Fund Midwest Bank 7,291.51 A motion was made by Winter and seconded by Wells to approve the payment of the bills. The motion carried unanimously. The clerk reported that water and sewer bills were sent out for December. Delinquency letters to selected customers were also sent. The clerk reported the following receipts since the last meeting: 4th payment-liquor license $500 W/S shared costs $7,519.04 TIF $4,777.93 Interest (20415-20416) $209.64 Mah. Co. Treas. $30,987.65 Copies $15.75 LMC ins. Refund $2,651.00 Interest $ 170.48 Bldg.permit $6.75 Delegations: Mayor Haddeland opened the meeting for Carol Moore who wished to make a presentation. She opened her statements by noting that she expected her comments to be duly noted in the minutes of the meeting. She presented a sheet of questions from “a Concerned Taxpayer Group” which involved the hiring process for the Public Works manager and his continued employment in view of the fact that he has not passed the Waste Water licensure test. She stated that his continued employment is contrary to Council minutes of earlier meetings. The Clerk was asked to read the motion that was passed at the November meeting allowing Dan to continue to be employed until April 30, 2006. Copies of the questions and related observations are attached to the official copy of the Council minutes. One of the Council members asked who the concerned taxpayers were and Ms. Moore replied that it was “Ron and me and the Brehms”. Councilor Hanson was asked if the questions could be answered at this meeting. His reply was that disciplinary action is the one time a City Council can hold a closed meeting which would mean that the attendees would be asked to leave. The meeting would then be held with the Council and the employee in question. The meeting must be tape recorded and then summarized at the next Council meeting. Mayor Haddeland recognized Bill Eck who stated that much of the controversy is being caused by the Council members not working together. Mayor Haddeland next read his letter of resignation from the City Council effective 12-31-2005. Councilor Hanson then talked about the chain of command within the government. He was told that each of the council members was responsible for part of the function of the City and that Dan was responsible to that person. This past year Wells has been responsible for Water and Sewer, Swiers for streets, Winter for parks and school liaison and Kylmanen for buildings and safety. It was noted that Dan Murray is currently on sick leave. Wells will find someone to do the daily readings as required by law. After some discussion Mayor Haddeland announced that the motion passed at the November 15, 2005 meeting stands as passed. The next item on the agenda was the appointment of an acting mayor. Counselor Hanson said that this can be done by appointment or by a special election. Council person Kylmanen read his resignation letter effective December 31, 2005. After a lengthy discussion of costs and pros and cons of appointment or special election, Winter made a motion to hold a special election for both vacated positions at the earliest possible time. Kylmanen seconded it. Roll call vote was taken: Wells-appoint; Swiers-appoint; Kylmanen-election; Winter-election. Mayor Haddeland voted for election. The motion passed 3 for and 2 against. Councilor Hanson was directed to find out the legal procedures and work with the Clerk to set up the special election as soon as feasible. Mayor Haddeland asked Councilor Hanson to remain for the discussion of the Highway 113 project. The contract was presented to the Council. The project will establish storm sewers, establish side walks, curb and gutter, and install a new retaining wall to the south along the section near the school. The project will run from the railroad tracks to the junction with Third Street and will cost approximately $566,000. Most of the cost will be born by the State of Minnesota but the City is responsible for development costs. It will begin as soon as school recesses for the summer. After the contract is ratified, the Engineers will begin securing the necessary easements, etc. to make the project work. Motion was made by Winter and seconded by Kylmanen to approve the contract. The motion carried unanimously. Senior Meals No action was initiated by the Senior Meals project. The Clerk will work with the elders to try some other forms of fund raising and will report back to the February meeting. Audit The Clerk will invite the folks from EideBailly to attend the February meeting to discuss the scope and focus for the proposed audit. No other action required at this time. Community Center Ardette was asked to explain how the bookings work and who should be contacted. She stated that the Center Board has no by-laws or formal regulations. She has put a three year calendar in the kitchen so that there will be no double bookings or miscommunication about times etc. The clerk will have a cost schedule and a copy of the contract so that people will have more information before they call Ardette or Leonard Steichen to make reservations. The Clerk agreed to talk to some one at the League of MN Cities about having separate check books, etc. Board Table The table in consideration had been spoken for by the time the Clerk called New York Mills. One-call Concept billings The Clerk called Gopher State offices. The slips for work requests have been sent to the Midwest Bank. A new agreement was negotiated and all slips will now come to the City via e-mail. We will have documentation to back up our payments from January 1 on. Hiring of Fire Chief Council man Wells reported that he had researched the League of MN Cities website and municipalities are required to hire a fire chief. It means advertising for the position, interviewing and hiring. Questions were asked if this meant that we had to hire an outsider at an exorbitant amount of money or what. He said it might be the same person we have now. It is a state law however, and needs to be adhered to. NEW BUSINESS: One Way Street Request Mayor Haddeland read a letter from Superintendent Boyd Bradbury requesting that the street in front of the school be designated as a one way. Some discussion followed. Swiers made a motion to table this matter for further study. Wells seconded it and the motion carried. Water Safety Report A letter from the MN Department of Health was presented which stated that our water supply is within the range of normal. STAFF REPORTS: Public Works Dan reported that the hydrant by the school had been repaired. The plow is now mounted on the pickup and works great. He is on medical leave due to tears in the stomach wall and will be off until at least January 2—at which time he will see the doctor for a reevaluation. When he was asked about snow removal, he said Shawn Greenleaf would be doing it as he has the necessary licensure. Another question was asked about flooding the ice rink. He said it will be done as soon as the weather gets cold enough for it to remain frozen. When asked how the backhoe works for moving snow he replied that it is great. A bigger bucket would be nice but he didn’t feel that he should modify the machine as it very likely would negate the warranty. He reported that Chad Smith comes regularly to check on his work as specified in the contract the City has with him. He has also showed Shawn how to do the meter readings and procure the water tests that are required while he is on medical leave. Police and Fire Chief Brehm turned in the monthly mileage logs for the machines and presented copies of his calendar and monthly report. There were no billable services. The vandalism at the park has been noted but now there seems to be an eye witness. Councilman Wells stated that he will get information about the gouges on the table tops to Paul shortly. Clerk The Clerk reported on the delinquencies in the Water and Sewer account. This is the final month of the fiscal year and there is more than $2,000 in outstanding accounts at the present date. The collection letter was sent with the December statements. It garnered a few responses but she feels that something else needs to be done. The Council agreed and will study the matter more fully. She also presented information on a new type of insurance which will be available with our new policy package. Called TULIP, it will enable people renting city facilities to purchase low cost insurance to protect themselves and the City from liability suits when using the Community Center for example. The Council agreed that we need to add this provision to the policy. No other matters were brought before the Council. Swiers made a motion to adjourn and Kylmanen seconded it. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM ___________________________________ ______________________________ Mayor Clerk |
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