|
Friday, July 29, 2005
CITY OF WAUBUN MN REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, June 14, 2005 The regular June meeting of the Waubun City Council was held on Tuesday June 14, 2005 at the Waubun Community Center beginning at 6:00 PM. Mayor Peter Haddeland called the meeting to order. Council members present were Ken Kylmanen, Leonard Wells and Peter Haddeland Milo Winter and Larry Swiers. . Staff present was G. Riegert, Dan Murray and Paul Brehm. Guests and delegations: Ardette Bisson, Bill Gomall, , Kurt Philion, Carol and Ron Moore, Ed Scheler, Ron Spaeth, Shawn Greenleaf, Herb Ahles and Wilfred Stalberger. The following items were added to the agenda: • Bill Tilton has requested to lease the area around the dump grounds as pasture • Rich Berger’s tree was damaged by a City hired contractor • Discussion on backhoe-review possible purchase • Skating rink needs to be drained • Vehicles by Trinity Church/1418 Main St • Grass mowed on streets-alleys etc. • Boys and Girls Club reports Kylmanen made a motion to approve the amended agenda. Winter seconded it. The motion carried. A motion was made by Kylmanen and seconded by Wells to approve the minutes of the last meeting as sent out and posted including the amendment about Larry Swiers letter which was read at the last meeting. Motion carried by a unanimous vote. The following monthly bills were reviewed: GENERAL FUND: MN Council on Fdns 95.00 Wilson Bros. 137.01 Larke’s Lock & Key 137.01 Waubun Implement 581.53 Dan Murray 52.04 Midstates Wireless 100.00 Winter Repair 331.00 ACS 181.51 True Value Hardware 85.15 W E Sanitation 584.00 One Call Concepts 8.10 LMCIT 244.00 Mahnomen Pioneer 14.00 Pitney Bowes 31.15 MAOSC 259.65 Jeffry Doyle Inc. 104.55 KRJM 855.00 Stangels Repair 253.08 Ottertail 1,325.36 PERA 33.00 Minkota Technologies 872.24 WATER AND SEWER FUND: MN Dept of Health 32.00 Chad A Smith 200.00 Hawkins Inc 464.57 MN Dept of Health 235.00 Ottertail 374.53 RMB Labs 267.00 MN Dept of Health 23. 00 During the presentation of the bills, Wells asked if all of the purchases for materials and repairs for City owned vehicles were be noted in the vehicle logs and Dan assured him that they are if he is made aware of them. Swiers made a motion to pay the bills with the exception of the Wilson Brothers one which should be held until Dan checks out which vehicles it is for. Winter seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. Bills sent since the last meeting was the June water and sewer billings. The Clerk reported the following receipts since the last meeting: Refund on mower 31.95 Rural Cellular refund 6.23 Lake Grove Fire contract 3,300.00 Midwest Bank (#20415/416) 141.23 Delegations: Mayor Haddeland recognized Anne Sande from the Headwaters Housing Development Corporation. She presented an overview of her employer and talked about their mission to develop affordable housing and homeownership opportunities for low and moderate income households in the Headwaters Region. They gave built 5 homes in Mahnomen since 1998 and would like to cooperate with us to begin a project in Waubun. She suggested that we contact Tim Flathers from the HRDC and ask him to help us determine our housing needs and what and how we as a City can work with them to get this started. The City decided to think about the presentation and study it further Old Business Water treatment plant report: Dan reported that he was still waiting for the bill for the water tower cover repairs and work has been somewhat on hold because of the weather. Everything seems to be working fine inside the plant however. Hydrant repair quotes: Hough Construction will be coming in after Memorial Day to do the digging. It has been too wet to allow them to come sooner. Past due Water and Sewer Bills: The certified letters did have some positive results. There were four people who did not respond and the Clerk was directed to send them one more warning that unless arrangements had been made by June 26 by 3 PM they would be shut off. Waubun Brochures: Ken Kylmanen reported that he had been taking pictures of businesses and attractions in the City. After some discussion it was the consensus that we have a 1,000 two sided copies made. This should give us plenty to tide us over until nearer the Waubun Centennial celebration in July of 2007. The quote from Midwest Printing was deemed acceptable. Swiers made a motion to proceed with the brochure and Wells seconded it. The motion carried unanimously. Vacating Ethel Avenue: City Attorney Elroy Hanson spoke to the Ethel Ave. issue. He presented a sample resolution for consideration which would give ½ of the property involved to each of the north and south property owners. Several questions were asked by the audience, at which time it was determined that a public meeting on the matter should be held. Mr. Hanson will send a clerk the names of the property owners affected and she will notify them of the proposed hearing to be held at 6 PM on Tuesday, July 12. Swiers made a motion to approve this action. Kylmanen seconded it and it carried unanimously. Conflict of Interest: City Attorney Hanson reported that he had not yet heard from the Attorney General’s Office so the matter was tabled until the July meeting. ReLeaf Grant: The Clerk reported that she had spoken to several Nursery people and that she would also contact George Scherzer who is doing a similar project for the White Earth Tribal Council to get the project rolling. Mr. Scherzer would not be available before July. We have until June of 2006 to complete it. Siren Study The Clerk reported that she had contacted Systemco Corporation. The siren would need to be placed in the middle of the area—probably the park. It would be audible for a 2 mile radius and needs to be 35’ in the air. Len reported that he had contacted Ottertail about a pole and they were receptive to assisting us. Swiers made a motion to order the siren. Winter seconded it and the motion carried unanimously. Computer The Clerk reported that she had polled the Council, as requested, about the purchase of a new full sized computer—a Dell 3000 etc. and had gotten unanimous approval. She contacted Minkota Technologies, Winger who quoted a price of $819 for the hardware and some software. Motion was made by Kylmanen to purchase the new computer and hand the lap-top down to Dan in Maintenance. Wells seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS OSHA Consultation Councilman Swiers spoke to the need to get an OSHA consultant to meet with City personnel so we can be sure that we are in compliance with official regulations. He will give us some names of people to contact. There is a training session to be held at the Casino on July 19 about safety and safety planning, also. It is sponsored by the League of Minnesota Cities. Winter made a motion for staff to attend. Wells seconded it and it carried unanimously. Alley to the Dump Site Kylmanen reported that there had been a conflict between two property owners in the area and discovered that the City owns the property in question. This alley is no longer travelable. Several questions were raised about vacating it, etc. Counselor Hanson advised the City Council to leave the matter alone because to correct it would necessitate hiring a surveyor and the costs would be prohibitive. The Council members agreed to table it indefinitely. Part Time Staff Hiring Lisa Zluticky has resigned because she found a new full time position. Do we need to advertise and interview for this position? After some discussion with Attorney Hanson it was determined that since this is a seasonal position it would defeat the need if the process was followed. Mr. Hanson agreed to look into Labor Laws about hiring youth for the position, also. Interested parties should contact Dan Murray as soon as possible. Swiers made a motion to allow Dan to hire someone to help him. Wells seconded it. The motion carried unanimously. Alley Behind Trinity Church Bill Gomall spoke to the issue that several vehicles are parked to the east side of the alley and it cannot be mowed properly. The Clerk was directed to write a letter to the person or persons owning the vehicles to have them removed. During the discussion it was noted there were several other properties that have nuisance type vehicles and articles or unmowed grass etc. on them. Motion was made by Winter and seconded by Kylmanen to direct the Clerk to write letters to these people citing the Nuisance Ordinance requirements. Pasturing Request Bill Tilton has requested that he be allowed to lease the old dump ground area for pasturing animals. Discussion followed about whether this would be safe and if something happened because of contaminants, etc., who would be liable for damages. A roll call vote was taken on the issue: Haddeland-nay, Winter-nay, Kylmanen-nay, Wells-nay and Swiers-nay. Mayor Haddeland will call Mr. Tilton to let him know the Council’s decision. Other • Ron Spaeth informed the Council that he will be building a new residence on the land east of his very soon and that there was a question about water lines. The home owners along the corridor paid for their own water mains and some are 3” and some are 4”. He wondered about an extension as another hydrant would be needed. After some discussion it was determined that the City Attorney and City Engineer would be contacted to determine what is needed to allow Mr. Spaeth to get the building process moving. • Wilfred Stalberger told the Council that he was “sick and tired” of loose dogs and what was the Council doing about it? He was assured that they are working on a new and enforceable dog ordinance and that in the meantime; citizens will be reminded frequently about the terms of the current ordinance which requires all dogs to be leashed or kenneled. • Shawn Greenleaf presented a copy of his resignation from the Fire Department and his reasons for doing so. The Council accepted his announcement and thanked him for his services to the Council and the City, especially this past winter. • Carol Moore requested that the hydrants be flushed in their corner. Dan reported that he is unable to locate a log of when they were done last but that no hydrants would be flushed until Hough was finished replacing the non-functioning ones. He will then do a system wide cleaning. STAFF REPORTS Police and Fire: Paul Brehm presented his written reports. He also reported that at a recent fireman’s meeting it was decided that members would take a voluntary lie detector test to see who had cut the tires on the van. When questioned about cost, he said the Fire Department would be paying for it. Councilman Swiers then read a letter on his own behalf resigning from the Fire Department and presented it to Mr. Brehm. Public Works/Water and Sewer: Dan Murray introduced two representatives from Nortrax who does the commercial marketing of John Deere products. He said he and Larry had assessed the age of our systems and the need for repairs. He cited that it would cost more than $27,000 just to repair the frost heaves and that the repair of the 3 hydrants had cost in excess of $3000 so he felt that it would be to our benefit to purchase our own back hoe and this would allow him to do the work. Nortrax presented a proposal for a six year, lease-purchase plan at the rate of $15,600 per annum. After discussion on if the City could afford it, it was decided that it would be in the best interest to the citizens to enter into the agreement. Swiers made a motion to purchase a John Deere Back hoe with two semi-annual payments in July and January for a period of 6 years. Wells seconded it and it carried unanimously. He presented quotes for street patching. It was decided to look at the matter more carefully because of the bid threshold imposed by MN Statutes. We also need to look into the possibility of the School District helping with the cost of repairs to the area on Norman Avenue in front of the School which was damaged extensively during the construction process. He reported, along with input from Mayor Haddeland and Councilman Swiers, on the meeting with MN DOT about the redoing of Hwy. 113 from the railroad track to the school. The project has been approved for 2006. He reported on the damaged tree at Rich Berger’s. It looks like it will survive but he suggested that the Clerk ask Mr. Lhotka for a signed release prior to paying his bill to make sure that they don’t come back at the City. It was the consensus of the Council to do this. He also noted that the City has been mowing a lot on the north side for some time. He has found out who the owner is and suggested that the City bill the owners for services rendered. After some discussion it was decided that $30 per mowing was fair and the Clerk was instructed to initiate a bill. He will be going to a Water Class later in the month. He will be taking the test for Water Works Class C at that time. Dan was asked about the water standing in the skating rink. He has dug out but the ground is so saturated it is not seeping away. He will continue to work on it to get it dried, leveled and mowed. City Clerk: The clerk reported that the State Demographer has established our population at 394 for 2006. She did not challenge this year as she had last year. The loss control survey from LMCIT was presented. There were not serious issues but it does point out the need for more training in the safety issues which will dovetail well with the upcoming training on July 19. The plaque for the Evelyn Larson Award was ordered and will be here before WAMO days. She presented a letter from the County Assessor about certification training for Board of Equalization training. Wells and Haddeland will be attending one of the sessions as required. Community Center Ardette Bisson reported that the Center is very busy for the remainder of the summer with dances, anniversaries and wedding receptions. She asked for two more keys for the building, also. The City Park is also in demand. She noted that the stove in the cook-shack was not properly cleaned and is rusted and dirty. She suggested getting a new stove. The Council took the request under advisement. OTHER The City Council discussed the need to view the plant and equipment soon. A motion was made by Wells and seconded by Swiers that a special meeting for Wednesday, July 6 at 3 PM to take a tour and resolve any issues as needed. Motion carried unanimously. No further business was presented to the Council. Swiers made a motion to adjourn at 9:40 PM. Kylmanen seconded it and the motion carried unanimously. _______________________________ ___________________________\ Mayor Clerk |
Copyright 2010 R&J Broadcasting Inc.