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Friday, September 16, 2005
CITY OF WAUBUN MN REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, August 9, 2005 The regular August meeting of the Waubun City Council was held on Tuesday August 9, 2005 at the Waubun Community Center beginning at 6:30 PM. Mayor Peter Haddeland called the meeting to order. Council members present were Ken Kylmanen, Leonard Wells, Peter Haddeland, Milo Winter and Larry Swiers. Staff present was G. Riegert, Dan Murray and Paul Brehm. Guests and delegations: Kurt Philion, Karen Ahmann, Ardette Bisson, Opal Voit, Ed Scheler, Paul Ahles, Bill Gomall, Attorney Elroy Hanson and Judy Murray. The following items were added to the agenda: None Kylmanen made a motion to approve the agenda. Winter seconded it. The motion carried. A motion was made by Swiers and seconded by Wells to approve the minutes of the last meeting as sent out and posted. Motion carried by a unanimous vote. The following monthly bills were reviewed: GENERAL FUND: Midwest Bank 1,038.72 PERA 316.08 Daniel Murray 428.99 Maguire Iron Inc 3,960.00 Viking Industrial Center 206.17 Pitney Bowes 75.00 Hough Inc 15,230.50 Wambach & Hanson 1,112.00 Waubun Implement 883.63 Ahles Repair 46.12 Paul Brehm 29.46 True Value Hardware 68.14 KRJM 250.00 Mahnomen Cty. Hwy. 297.97 Waubun Feed & Hardware 78.50 Gopher State One Call 5.40 PERA 10.00 Ottertail 1,271.51 ACS 182.20 Auto Value 137.01 Bement Oil Co 79.75 LMC 30.00 WATER AND SEWER FUND: USPS 419.85 Minkota Technologies 212.49 RMB Labs 69.00 Ottertail Power 369.95 Hawkins 898.78 Team Laboratories 159.75 Chad Smith 200.00 TAX INCREMENT FINANCING: David Drown and Assoc. 1,000.00 WATER REVENUE BOND FUND: Ulteig Engineers 27,348.19 A bill presented by Andy Berg for damages to his sewer service was tabled until a determination is made as to who is liable for it, the City or the excavation contractor. Winter made a motion to hold the bill for determination and Swiers seconded it. Motion passed unanimously. Swiers made a motion to pay the rest of the bills. Wells seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The clerk reported that the only bills issued for August were the water and sewer charges. The following monies were received since the last meeting: LGA $31,526 Water Tower ins. Settlement $5,315.11 Old Business: Mayor Haddeland changed the order of the meeting to consolidate the issues that needed to be discussed with the City Attorney. The earlier completion of the public hearing on the Ethel Ave. issue was discussed. The Council directed Mr. Hanson to prepare a resolution vacating the remainder of Ethel Ave. When it is completed, it will be returned and will be signed off by the Mayor and attested by the City Clerk. The possible transfer of the City Cemetery was revisited. Mr. Hanson said it may not be gifted to any of the Churches as they, by taking it over, will be picking up the maintenance liability. Other alternatives were investigated also. The City may accept gifts for the cemetery and if they do so will have to set up a trust and agency account with a separate Board of Directors to administer it. Another alternative is to raise the cost of a plot to a more reasonable price. Swiers made a motion and Winter seconded it to check with the Circles of Faith congregation to see if they are interested in taking it over. Mayor Haddeland agreed to talk to Pastor Harrison-Rogers and get back at the next meeting. If the Churches are not interested, then the plot prices will be raised to help cover the costs of maintenance. The Dog Ordinance was discussed briefly. A copy of the White Earth Reservation Animal Control Code was given to Mr. Hanson. He will tailor our new Ordinance to dovetail with the Tribal Code. Procedure for adoption of an Ordinance was discussed. The new ordinance will be affective to all residents within the city limits of Waubun. A motion was made by Kylmanen and seconded by Winter to have Mr. Hanson draft the proposed ordinance so it can be reviewed at the September meeting. The motion carried unanimously. A question was asked about a recent Fire Department meeting and whether it was closed or open. Mr. Hanson advised he thought that because the Fire Department is part of the City government, all meetings are presumed open unless so stated. If a meeting is closed it must be recorded and the tape kept for a certain amount of time according to MN. Statute 13-D. Councilor Wells presented a list of questions to the Fire Chief. Councilor Swiers suggested that the Council and the Fire Department schedule a special joint meeting to discuss the questions and answers after the Fire Department had a chance to respond to the items of issue. Swiers made a motion to hold a meeting on August 25 at 7 PM at the Fire Hall. Wells seconded it and the motion passed unanimously. Mayor Haddeland recognized County Commissioner Karen Ahmann and invited her to address the Council. She said that the road projects are underway, that the County Commission is working on the 2006 budget and she explained the new HAVA election procedures which will take effect in 2006. This will be an expensive project so she was glad to learn that the City of Waubun and Popple Grove Township were talking about combining polling places and sharing personnel, etc. Ardette Bisson of the Community Center Board told the Council that the Center is being kept busy. It is almost fully booked for September and October. Old business continued. Dan reported that there have been many false alarms at the pump house since it went on line. There is also a problem with the filtration bed, the cause of which has not yet been determined. Jon Pratt of Ulteig Engineering is working with him to try to find the problem. If it is one of the wells that are causing the iron bacteria build up then steps can be taken to remedy it. It was noted that even though there is a high iron content in the water, it is safe to drink and use. Another series of more in depth tests is scheduled for next week. The Highway 113 project was discussed. This will begin in the spring of 2006. 70-80% of the preliminary work has been done. One of the next projects that need to be looked at is the replacement and repair of the sewer system. We will seek assistance from Headwaters Regional Development Corporation and MN Rural Water Association to help us develop a grant package but it was noted that this will be 3-4 years in the future. Mayor Haddeland commented that we need to have an open house at the Water Plant when it is all completed. Councilor Kylmanen reported on the Safety 101 Meeting that he and Dan attended at the Casino last month. He got lots of information and suggested that Waubun needed to establish a Health and Safety Committee to assist with developing plans for safeguarding employees and constituents. After some discussion it was determined that 3-4 people would be delegated and would meet at least monthly to begin with. Wells made a motion, which Winter seconded that a Health and Safety Committee be established. The following people were designated to serve—Larry Swiers, Dan Murray, Ken Kylmanen, Paul Brehm and Germaine Riegert would serve ex-officio. The motion carried unanimously. Mayor Haddeland directed Councilor Kylmanen to head up the project. Mr. Kylmanen noted that one of the biggest safety hazards which now exists is the entry into the Bement Building on the south side which is uphill and right on highway access. He said he felt that this needed to be corrected as soon as possible. After some discussion, Swiers made a motion to advertise in the Pioneer for someone to install a new 11’ x 14’ insulated door on the North side of the building. Winter seconded it and the motion carried unanimously. The clerk will work with Dan and Kylmanen to get the advertisement into the paper. A discussion was held regarding the asphalt overlay to be done on the City streets. Mohawk Paving has quoted a price of $1.20 per sq. foot. Because the total price would be under $50,000, it does not have to be bid. Dan was directed to seek another quote and accept the lowest cost contractor who could guarantee that the job would be completed before school starts on September 6. Motion was made by Swiers and seconded by Kylmanen to approve this process. Motion carried unanimously. New Business: The Clerk reported on the meetings she had attended at the County level regarding HAVA (Helping Americans Vote Act). Pairing of polling places would save money in the long run as the machines are costly. They are designed to work with up to four entities such as City, Township, School District, etc. A motion was made by Kylmanen and seconded by Winter to develop agreements with other entities to keep the cost reasonable. Motion carried unanimously. The Clerk was directed to follow up as discussed earlier. The Clerk presented a letter from the League of MN Cities insurance adjuster requesting that the Council accept the settlement of $250 on the police car radio damaged in the rain storm last spring. After some discussion, Swiers made a motion to accept. Wells seconded it and the motion carried unanimously. Staff Reports: PUBLIC WORKS: Dan Murray reported that he has been busy since the back hoe arrived. He has been cleaning ditches, repaired the alley between the Laundromat and Blanche Walz’s and has repaired the skating rink base. The ponds are in good shape and discharging was completed on time for MPCA. Samples have been showing favorable results and toxin levels are well within tolerance levels. The hydrants have been repaired and things are getting in shape for winter. He noted that the warming house is in bad condition. It was suggested that maybe the carpentry class would be interested in repairing it. Swiers made a motion to have Kylmanen talk to the school officials about it. Winter seconded and the motion carried unanimously. He noted that someone had driven into the store and damaged the handrail and door. The person had insurance. This constitutes a safety hazard and he had talked to Mark Hendrickson about repairing it. After discussion he was directed to work with Kylmanen to get it fixed. POLICE & FIRE: Paul Brehm reported that they had one mutual aid fire last month. He will be meeting with fire personnel to complete the questionnaire filed by Mr. Wells. ADMINISTRATION: Germaine Riegert reported that a resident had approached her with a question about planting trees on or right near a lot line. She talked to Zoning Officer Revier and he felt that since this was not specifically addressed in the Ordinance that the City had no jurisdiction. The Council agreed with his interpretation and she was directed to write a letter telling her of their decision. No further business was brought forward. Kylmanen made a motion to adjourn and Wells seconded it. Motion carried unanimously and the meeting was closed at 8:40 PM. ______________________________ ____________________________ Mayor Clerk |
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