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Tuesday, February 21, 2006
CITY OF WAUBUN MN REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, October 11, 2005 The regular October meeting of the Waubun City Council was held on Tuesday, October 11, 2005 at the Waubun Community Center beginning at 6:30 PM. Mayor Peter Haddeland called the meeting to order. Council members present were: Leonard Wells, Peter Haddeland, Ken Kylmanen, Larry Swiers and Milo Winter. Staff present was G. Riegert, Dan Murray and Paul Brehm. Guests and delegations: Ronald and Carol Moore, Paul Ahles, Ben Stalberger, Bill Eck and Phil Stalberger. The following items were added to the agenda: 1. Light on flag in the park is not always working. 2. What can be done about the ridge in front of the Community Center? 3. Question about Water and Sewer installation at new home near Ron Spaeth. 4. Clear the discussions with the Fire Department. Swiers made a motion to approve the agenda. Wells seconded it. The motion carried unanimously. A motion was made by Winter and seconded by Swiers to approve the minutes of the last regular meeting as sent out and posted. Motion carried by a unanimous vote. The following monthly bills were reviewed: GENERAL FUND: PERA 502.83 Midwest Bank 1,041.69 Bill Eck Construction 925.00 Ottertail Power Co 1,292.37 KRJM 300.00 Gene Moore Stump Gr. 387.73 Auto Value 12.65 Mahnomen Pioneer 69.75 Lee Electric 205.92 Bement Oil 141.94 Winter Repair 39.94 USPS 36.00 ACS 179.14 Daniel Murray 52.01 Mahnomen Co. Highway Dept 381.13 True Value Hardware 14.45 Minkota Technologies 415.30 Gopher State One Call 6.75 Gopher State One Call 6.75 Gizibii RCD Assn. 4,227.50 WATER AND SEWER FUND: Chad Smith 200.00 Ottertail Power Co 279.93 Hawkins Inc. 865.70 Daniel Murray 46.00 Electro Watchman 70.29 LTP Enterprises 2,755.96 WATER REVENUE BOND FUND: Ulteig Engineers 632.58 Winter made a motion to pay all the bills except to hold the statement from Eck Construction until a detailed billing was given to the Clerk. Wells seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The clerk reported that the only bills issued for October were the water and sewer charges which included the annual state hookup fee of $5.21. The following monies were received since the last meeting: W/S transfer to Gen. Fund $15,230.50 ACS $100.00 Interest (19724-25) 235.05 Mahnomen County—street mtce. $140.00 Liquor License (1/4) 500.00 snow removal $2,352.00 Old Business: Water Treatment Plant. Jon Pratt and Chris Thorsen of Ulteig Engineers reported that the filter bed has been rehabbed and LTP was in to pull Well 1 and worked on clearing all the iron oxide from the pipes. The procedure worked great. Well 2 will be done at a later date. A Pre-chlorination unit has been installed and if the Council was agreeable, they felt that the final payment was ready to be made. The Council agreed by consensus to have them complete this project. Bement Center The door project bid was opened. The only bid received was from Eck Construction in the amount of $8,985.00. It would cover closing the south doors and putting in a new overhead door on the north side including a light. After some discussion, it was decided on a motion by Winter and seconded by Swiers to table the matter for more study including what effect the Highway 113 project will have on the building. Motion carried unanimously. City Cemetery Mayor Haddeland reported that none of the Churches in the community appeared to be interested in taking over the City Cemetery. It was a consensus to table this issue until the Spring when a reevaluation will be made and a new fee schedule devised. Dodge Pick Up The City Pick Up has 177,000 miles on it and the transmission is not working well. It has an estimated value of $900.00. Dan suggested that we sell it and the 1 Ton (which is only a 2 speed) at the auto auction and purchase a Chevrolet 1 Ton 4x4 that we could mount the plow on for smaller areas. It costs $80 to out a vehicle on the auction. After some discussion, Swiers made a motion to have Dan negotiate the sale of both the 1 Ton and the Dodge at auction and purchase a different 4x4 pickup with a price limit of $6,000. If the price for another vehicle would exceed this amount it would need to be brought back to the Council for further action. Wells seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Other The flag pole light is not always lit up after dusk. Dan will call the electrician and check out the clock settings. It may have something to do with the return to regular standard time. Winter mentioned that the area adjoining the sidewalk in front of the Community Center has eroded which causes car bumpers to rub on the sidewalk and get damaged. Dan said he will put in some gravel fill and see if that corrects the problem. No further contact had been received from Ron Spaeth regarding the water and sewer lines to the new house property so the matter was tabled until further communications are made. Ken Kylmanen presented a draft safety program plan for the City of Waubun. He asked all members to review it and bring any questions back to the November meeting. Councilor Kylmanen reported that he had met with the Waubun Fire Department and it had been decided that no public apology would be made to Mr. Murray. Dan stated that he will pursue the matter with his personal attorney. Councilor Wells noted for the record that the City Council is has final jurisdiction in all such matters and needs to go on record about it. He also stated for the record, that the answers to the By-Law questions were vague and not concrete. The Chief stated that they had been answered to the best of their ability and agreed that the By-Laws do need to be worked on. This will be done as an ongoing project. New Business: Seat Belts for Fire Trucks Councilor Wells stated that OSHA and FEMA want to see all people in emergency vehicles. He asked the Council to make this a regulation. Councilor Kylmanen said he, as Safety Officer, was not sure of the regulations on the matter but would appreciate some time to review such questions before it comes up for discussion. After some discussion of the pros and cons of the issue, Swiers made a motion that the City Council recommends the use of seatbelts in all vehicles that have them. Wells seconded it and it carried unanimously. NIMS Training The FEMA grant for purchase of new equipment has been awarded to Mahnomen County and the volunteer fire departments within it. The Clerk read the letter from Dean Johnson of Mahnomen stating that fire department members and as many as possible members of the City Council attend the NIMS training at the Mahnomen Fire Hall on October 26. Highway 113 Project Chris Thorsen of Ulteig Engineers presented the Council with preliminary plans for the restructuring of the roadway from the railroad to Third Street. He explained the drawings and went over the requirements that have to be met for easements, etc. The Council will need a new resolution and contract which will give Ulteig permission to secure the necessary permits and easements to make it happen. Swiers made a motion to approve this action. Wells seconded it and the motion carried unanimously. Mr. Thorsen also talked a bit about new water and sewer lines for the city. After some discussion, it was the consensus that this project be tabled until after the Highway 113 project is completed as it may stretch our finances too much. Mr. Swiers departed from the meeting at this time. Staff Reports: Police Chief Brehm passed out the incident reports and calendars. He stated that the equipment grant has been awarded but no monies are available yet. Two items of cost for this grant will be the grant writing fee and the 5% cost sharing portion of our share which will cost the City about $8,700. The furnace needs repair—in fact it needs to be replaced. Mr. Brehm was instructed to get quotes for a replacement unit that will be cost efficient and will benefit the resources available locally. He brought the name of Stacy Pederson to the Council as a new fire fighter applicant. She has not yet been approved by the Fire Department. Kylmanen moved that she be accepted provided she seek Firefighter I certification. Winter seconded it and the vote was 4 for and 1 (Wells) abstaining. A proposed by-law change was presented to the Council. The change would move the meeting night from Thursday to Wednesday to enable more people to become active in the department. Detail included were that the meeting would be from 7-7:30 PM, training from 7:30-8 PM and drills from 8-10 PM. Kylmanen made a motion to approve the proposed change. Winter seconded it and it carried unanimously. Public Works Dan Murray said that all of his information and needs had been discussed as part of the regular meeting and he had no further things to bring before the Council at the time. Clerk Clerk Riegert reported that an auditor from Eide Bailly, the firm which audits the School, had called her about a City audit. She requested permission to send a copy of the 2004 Annual Report to her for a look through and an estimate of cost. It was the consensus of the Council that she proceed with this project. No further business was presented. Winter made a motion to adjourn at 8:45 PM. Wells seconded it and it carried unanimously. ______________________________ ______________________________ Mayor Clerk . Tuesday, February 21, 2006 CITY OF WAUBUN MN REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, November 15, 2005 The regular November meeting of the Waubun City Council was held on Tuesday, November 15, 2005 at the Waubun Community Center beginning at 6:00 PM. Mayor Haddeland called the Council to order. Council members present were: Leonard Wells, Peter Haddeland, Larry Swiers and Milo Winter. Ken Kylmanen was absent Staff present was G. Riegert, Dan Murray and Paul Brehm. Guests and delegations: Ronald and Carol Moore, Linda Kylmanen, Bill Gomall, Kurt Philion, and Charles Hanson. The following items were added to the agenda: 1. Need to take the banners down and get holiday ones up. 2. Hydrants need to be flushed. Swiers made a motion to approve the agenda. Wells seconded it. The motion carried unanimously. A motion was made by Winter and seconded by Swiers to approve the minutes of the last regular meeting as sent out and posted. Motion carried by a unanimous vote. The following monthly bills were reviewed: GENERAL FUND: Midwest Auto Auction 80.00 Thompson Auto Sales 4702.75 Pitney Bowes 100.00 Ottertail Power 1325.33 PERA 6166.61 Laney’s Mechanical 105.95 Germaine Riegert 201.66 Karen Monroe 3.79 Dan Murray 356.45 Bement Oil Co. 1241.79 Waubun Feed & Hdwe. 15.39 Paul Ahles 149.85 One Call Concepts 9.45 Mahnomen County Assessor 1090.00 WACCO 91.25 KRJM 275.00 True Value Hdwe. 116.85 Lunde Blade and Gravel 1235.96 ACS 172.74 EcoLab-- payment denied WATER AND SEWER FUND: Andrew Berg 500.00 Tonka 2614.02 Ottertail Power 254.14 LTP Enterprises 2325.38 Hawkins Inc 600.53 Justin Keezer 80.00 Chad Smith 200.00 General Fund 7519.09 WATER REVENUE BOND FUND: Ulteig Engineers 440.00 Winter made a motion to pay all the bills except Eco Lab which was returned to the Community Center Board for clarification. Swiers seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The clerk reported that the bills issued for November were the water and sewer charges and a zoning permit fee to Bernard Soyring. The following monies were received since the last meeting: W/S transfer to Gen. Fund $7,519.00 State of MN A&M credit $3,933.55 Liquor License fee (3) 500.00 Insurance ref-store (Knob) 925.00 Refund PERA – Steichen 310.80 Zoning fees-Bly 30.00 Old Business: Pick Up Report The Dodge City Pick Up was sold at the public auction for $1080. The new Chevrolet has been purchased and is getting retrofitted for the plow. We still have the 1 Ton truck and will keep it until the plow has been transferred in case of a burst of snow. NIMS (National Incident Management System) training report The recent grant received from FEMA (Homeland Security Department) for new equipment for the Fire Departments in Mahnomen County required that Council members and fire department personnel attend a training session held at the Mahnomen Fire Hall on October 26. The purpose of the training was to make personnel aware that a coordinated emergency plan must be developed so that terms and procedures will be spelled out and will meet the National mandate of like terms and discontinuance of “10 Codes”. Sheriff Athmann is the current emergency manager. The State of MN will be making the final decisions about the training but the Waubun Department can get a heads up if they begin typing equipment and supplies now. After some discussion the Council on a motion by Wells, which was seconded by Swiers, directed the Fire Department to make a complete equipment inventory which will be presented to the February Council meeting or sooner. The motion carried unanimously. The Fire Chief and the Clerk were tasked to look for the current City Emergency Plan, as one should exist. The Clerk was also directed to check with the League of MN Cities for plan boiler plate and to call the White Earth RTC to see where they purchased their equipment inventory tags. FLSA and Personnel Policies The Clerk reported that she had done some research on the Fair Labor Standards Act and as a result felt that the position of Public Works Manager qualified as an exempt position which means that while overtime pay does not apply, the employee is entitled to compensatory time at the rate of 1.5 hours of comp time for each hour worked in excess of 48 hours per week. To document this, the employee must keep and turn in a time card on a monthly basis. The pages3, 5, 6 of the current Personnel Policy were reviewed with the recommended changes noted. Page 10 was reviewed also. Swiers made a motion to change the Personnel Policy (Resolution 2005-01) as noted and to underline the disrespect policy statement in all future issues. Winter seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Andrew Berg Payment Andrew Berg presented his request for reimbursement for damages suffered when Hough Inc damaged his sewer line. The clerk reported that she had tried unsuccessfully to contact Mr. Hough three times. After some discussion, the Council asked Mr. Berg what he would settle for. He said that he thought $500 was fair. Wells made a motion to reimburse Mr. Berg $500 for the damages incurred. Winter seconded it. The motion carried unanimously. The clerk was directed to talk to the City Attorney about pursuing the matter further. New Business: LSS Senior Meals The Clerk read a letter from Bev Nelson of Lutheran Social Services advising the Council that the Nutrition Center is running a $3,000+ deficit. They were asking for some assistance to make this up or curtailment measures might have to be instituted. The consultant from the League of MN Cities feels that this would be a legal expenditure of City monies. The Council discussed the project and it was determined that it would be more helpful to the community to seek the involvement of area business and philanthropic groups such as WAMO and WOW etc. Swiers made a motion to table this until the December meeting to give the LSS staff time to write some letters seeking supplemental help. Wells seconded it. The Clerk was directed to help the Nutrition Site staff is they wanted it. Community Center Board of Directors: Several complaints about confusion in scheduling and who can use the Center have been addressed to the Clerk. The Council wondered about their involvement in the whole thing but since they pay for the janitorial worker and the power it was determined that they would like more information. Swiers made a motion which was seconded by Winter to table this issue until December and have the Clerk contact Ardette Bisson about her role now that she has moved from Waubun. The motion carried unanimously. Audit: The Clerk presented a proposal from Eide Bailly LLP as requested. There are several questions which the Council would like to clarify before making a decision. Wells made a motion to table the audit proposal to the December meeting and ask a representative of the firm to come and speak to the issues. Swiers seconded it and it carried unanimously. Waubun Area Community Council: Because Waubun is one of the villages within the boundaries of the White Earth Reservation and because many of the residents are either members of the White Earth Tribe or are employed by the Reservation Business Committee, it Tribal Council would like to get a Community Council (will not conflict with the elected City Council but will be in a supportive role to it) started here which would assist with projects for the youth, the elders and all segments of the village population. Councilman Wells asked if the Community Center could be made available for an introductory meeting on Tuesday, December 6, at no cost. Swiers made a motion to let Dan Murray and Leonard Wells set up a meeting as requested. Winter seconded it and it passed unanimously. Thank You: Mayor Haddeland read a letter of thanks from Charlotte Paskey and Tom Ryan of the Mahnomen County Chamber of Commerce for the Council donation which helped keep the tourist information booth open out by EZ One Stop. Not only was this a boon for Mahnomen County but also for the village. Several hundred brochures were distributed, also. The Clerk was directed to ask either Charlotte or Tom to visit with the Council about the future plans at the March 2006 meeting. Other The City of Dassel has a used Board Table to give away. The Clerk was directed to call to see if it is still available and if so, what would we need to haul it. The table would be stored for future use when the Council Chambers are built. Staff Reports: Police Chief Paul Brehm passed out the incident reports and calendars. He stated that the equipment grant monies are not available yet. Public Works Dan Murray reported that he has not put up the holiday banners as it has been determined that the village’s safety equipment is inadequate. The fire hydrant by the school is leaking again but hopefully it will seal up again. He did not pass the Wastewater Test again but said the Frank Stuemke from MN Rural Water had promised to come up every other week and help him study so he can pass it on the next try if the Council is willing to give him more time. This lead to a discussion of the probationary period as stated in the Personnel Policy. Mayor Haddeland polled the Council about extending the period for Dan. Wells, yes. Swiers, yes. Winter, yes. He then requested a date that it would be extended to. Wells made a motion to extend to April 30, 2006. Winter seconded it and the motion carried unanimously. Dan reported that he had removed the concrete by Mark Hendrickson’s building so it would not push the foundation in more. It will be replaced in the spring. The back hoe tire needs repair and the tank on the truck leaks. He will get them repaired as soon as possible. The hydrants need to be checked. Dan was directed to coordinate a flow test with the fire department. He noted that we still have the 1T truck. He feels that it should be kept until spring as a back up unit. It should be worth $2,200. He will try to get that by local advertising. If it doesn’t sell it can go to Auction in the spring. A question was raised about vandalism at the City Park. The wiring in the shelter needs to be covered some way as the kids hang on it. Dan said he has the conduit but needs help to install it. He has Leonard Steichen to assist but he has not had time to do it yet. They will get at it if the weather holds. Councilman Wells noted that he had seen gang sign in the park and had painted it out. He cautioned people to watch for this and make officials and law enforcement personnel aware if any is spotted. He was also concerned about the park benches. Perhaps they could be stored upside down and chained to the post. In the spring maybe it might be possible to get some Sentence to Serve people to assist in removing the graffiti and repainting them. Dan agreed to look into this. Clerk The Clerk asked if we could get Morrison Electric to put an outlet near the new pine tree so it can be lighted. Dan was directed to contact him to get this done. She reported that she had attended the University of MN sponsored training for a Community Vitality Workshop at Aitken MN on November 7. It was most interesting and she won the door prize which will entitle the City of Waubun to a free half day workshop of this type within the next six months. It was determined that this could be useful to bring the City Council and Waubun Area Community Council together for some discussions and planning. ACS has made another request about the street name where Haddeland’s Mobile Home Park is located. It is an unnamed alley on the plat map but should be named. After some discussion, it was determined by consensus to call it “No Name Street”. She reminded the Council that we had not held a Fall Cleanup. It was the consensus to not have one now and maybe have an extra day in the spring. No further business was presented. Swiers made a motion to adjourn at 8:10 PM. Winter seconded it and it carried unanimously. ______________________________ ______________________________ Mayor Clerk . |
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