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1987-12-07 CC Minutes r . . . COUNCIL MINUTES DECEMBER 7, 1987 The regular meetIng of the AlbertvIlle C~ty CouncIl was called to order by Mayor Loretta Roden. Members present Included Gary Schwenzfeler, Donatus Vetsch, Don CornelIus and Bob Braun. Others present 1ncluded Maureen Andrews, Bob M1ller, and Ken L1ndsay. There was a mot1on made to approve the agenda. Donatus Vetsch and seconded by Don CornelIus. mot1on carrIed. The mot1on was made by All were 1n favor and the There was a motIon made to approve the mInutes of No~ember 16, 1987. The motIon was made by Gary SchwenzfeIer and seconded by Don CornelIus. All were 1n favor and the motIon carr1ed. The CouncIl dIscussed a resolut1on be1ng proposed by the JOInt Power's Board WhICh would allow them to charge 1nterest on bIlls that are In arrears. There was some quest10n regard1ng what percentage of Interest can legally be charged In a sItuatIon such as a JOlnt powers agreement. A motIon was made by Gary Schwenzfeler and seconded by Bob Braun WhICh wIll allow the JOInt Powers to assess a late fee to all bIlls not pa1d, pendIng the J01nt Power's attorney fIndIngs on the allowable rate WhICh can be charged. All were 1n favor and the mot1on carrIed. Ken Llndsay requested that he and MIke Merges be allowed to attend the MWOA meet1ng 1n St. Cloud on December 8, 1987. The tOp1CS to be dIscussed Included new laws regardIng conflned entry regulatlons. The Councll agreed that If weather permlt that both could go to the meetlng. It was also suggested that Mlke should attend the Annual School 1n the Spr1ng. No act10n was taken ont he 1ssue. Ken next revlewed w1th teh Councll some lnformalton he recelved on an alarm system for the Wastewater treatment faclllty. The prlmlnary cost Ken presented lncluded: BasIc Un1t $ 1,075.00 1 pager 330.00 1nstallatlon 200.00 a1r frequency 125.00 TOTAL COST $ 1,730.00 The system looked at IS a radlo transmItter WhIch warns for both h1gh water level and monItors power outages and has the capacIty to be expanded to four unIts. COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 2 . Ken Informed the CouncIl that a phone alarm costs $2,000.00 plus and works on an auto dIal program. In addItIon to the start-up costs there IS also a monthly charge for monthly phone serVIce. Gary Schwenzfeler saId he would check wIth JOInt Powers to see what type of a system they have at the water plant and wIll report back to the CouncIl hIS fIndIngs. Ken pOInted out that It wIll take 4-6 weeks to order and Install a system at the Wastewater plant. Ken next Informed the CouncIl when checkIng on removIng the old dIsposal plant and fIllIng In the hole It could run the CIty $1,000.00 plus. Other optIons that the CIty has Includes fIllIng In the hole wIth sugar sand or fIne gravel, placIng a false cap over the top of the hole and formIng an earth shelter across the top. It was questIoned whether or not the CIty has an oblIgatIon to remove the bUIldIng. It was suggested that Ken ask at the MWOA what other CItIes have done regardIng theIr removal of old plants and then report back to the CouncIl at a later meetIng. . The CouncIl was next Informed that Ken had found out that the elementary school IS uSIng a chemIcal degreaser WhlCh does not work as effectlvely on the grease bUIldup common to the school. A letter was belng sent form the CtlY to the school requestlng a meetlng to dlSCUSS the Issue In more detaIls. Ken pOInted out that the two maJor problems wlth plug ups are the result of grease and dIsposable dlapers and Albertvl1le has had problems wIth both. In fact the CIty IS currently havlng problems wIth dlapers beIng found In lIne at 57th and Lake. It was suggested that a letter be dropped at each of the houses dlscouraglng the practlce of flushlng down the draln. Once the letter IS wrItten then Ken and Mlke wll1 walk around wIth the letter. Ken next requested that the Councl1 conslder allowlng someone else to purchase a cab for the John Deere, provlded that the Clty purchased the top. Ken saId that the cost would run about $750.00 for the whole thIng. Donatus Vetsch saId that he dldn't 11ke the Idea that someone else would be purchasIng the cab because of how It could tIe the clty to some outsIde agreement. Steve Klltzka from the Park Board brought up the sweeper currently beIng used for cleanIng the rInk and the posslblllty that St. Mlchael IS looklng for a new' alternatl ve to sharIng the equIpment. The reason that thIS was brought up was that the Park Board has decIded to see If any of the organ- lzatlons would be Interested In purchaslng a new sweeper and cab for Clty equlpment. . At thIS pOInt It was pOInted out that the sweeper belng dlscussed was for the Toro so thIS dlScusslon needs to be held on untl1 later In the Councl1 meetlng. COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 3 . Back to the dlScusslon on the cab for the John Deere, Ken pOlnted out that Scherber's would not blll the C1ty unt11 after January 1, 1988. Maureen stated that because money was not budgeted for In the 19B8 budget no funds were allocated so bl111ng does not play an Issue 1n the matter. Maureen was asked to check to see If any funds were avaIlable for thIS type of purchase. Maureen pOInted out that there were capItal outlay funds eX1stlng, but that for the most part had been allocated to future purchases such as a truck for plOWIng and a new pIckup, etc. Ken stated that the MaIntenance Department mIght need the cab fIght a way and asked that the CouncIl act on the Issue as soon as possIble. The Issue was tabled untIl the meetIng on December 21, 1987. The next Issue dIscussed by the CouncIl was addItIonal damage beIng done on the dIkes at the Wastewater Treatment FacIlIty. Ken Informed the CouncIl that there has been two more lnstances of damage done to the dlkes and suggested that the CouncIl start thInkIng about comIng up WIth a Solutlon that would resolve the problem once and for all. OptIons dIscussed, lncluded: 1. MovIng the present fence to a lower level. 2. InstallIng a new fence. 3. Installlng a post and cable system sImIlar to what IS used on the hlghway road system. . Ken also pOlnted out that the SherIff's Off1ce has suggested that somethIng needs to be done to reduce the potentIal for damage. The CouncIl requested that Ken look Into the Issue and report back to the CouncIl at a later meetIng. The CondItIon of Hackenmueller's Road was dIscussed next. Because of unusual weather condItIons and hIgh volume traffIC at the Hackenmueller's corner the road has wash board and IS In rough shape. The records should not that Mr. Ed. Hackenmueller had contacted several members of the CouncIl and the CIty AdmInIstrator to see what could be done to the road. Member's of the CouncIl and Ken dId go out to see Ed and dIscussed the problem. In addItIon some bladIng and fIllIng was done on the road. Gary SchwenzfeIer stated that the condItIon of the road IS somethlng that WIll have to be Ilved wIth durIng the type of weather we have been experIencIng untIl the road can be blacktopped. The other members agreed, even though they are sympathetIc to Ed's problem that there IS very lIttle that can be done by the CIty. It was pOInted out that It 1S cost prohlblted to have the road graded on a regular basIs by Otsego TownshIp, The CouncIl dId suggest that Ken and MIke keep an eye on the road and work It as much as pOSSIble wIth the CIty tractor. . A lIght was authorIzed for the IntersectIon by Hackenmueller's. Maureen WIll contact NSP about havIng one Installed. COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 4 . Ken lnformed the Councl1 that he feels that the aerVlce organlzatlons have become begllglble ln plcklng up Clty Hall after meetlngs and returnlng the letters from the CtIY SIgn once an event has taken place. Mayor Roden pOInted out that to say somethIng to these groups may cause some hard feellng because of the fact that the CIty has full-t1me employees. Gary Schwenzfe1er suggested that we hold on the lssue and that the next t1me there lS a bIg mess to contact a couple members of the CouncIl to have them come down and look at It. Ken and MIke's overtIme calandar's were reflewed and dIscussed. There was some concern regardlng the fact that on many 1nstances both Ken and Mlke have taken FrIday's off to keep theIr compo tIme down. Ken explaIned that In those Instances one of them IS on call and can be gotten ahold of. It was suggested that It would be better to stagger the tIme off so someone IS workIng Monday through FrIday. Ken saId that he dId not know thIS was a problem but sald that they would do somethIng dIfferent In the future. The mInutes should note that the overtIme IS beIng kept down for both Ken and M1ke. Bob MIller updated the CounCIl on the rebudget request. A letter has been sent to the CommIsSIoner of the MPCA request1ng a reconSIderatIon of the den1al and are waItIng a response. . The next Item dlscussed by the Counc11 was the problem wlth dogs runnIng at large and what optIons the CIty has 1n control11ng the problem. The Issue of whether or not the CIty needs a dog catcher was dlscussed and If so what type of serVIce would be contracted. Issues dIscussed Included: 1. Does the CIty need a catcher? 2. WIll changes to ordInances need to be made? 3. If a Dog Catcher IS hIred on a on-call basIs does the CIty need a temporary holdlng kennel? 4. Can the CIty charge for the temporary kennelIng of anImals? 5. Is there responsIbIlIty for the owners of female dogs to keep theIr dogs contaIned? 6. OptIons of who the CIty could use as a catcher. It was agreed that Maureen should try to get DaVId Stromberg at the meetlng to dlSCUSS hIS ldeas on dog catchIng. Bob recommended taht the Clty hold on makIng any changes to the ordInance untIl after the next meetIng. Steve Klltzka of the Park Board next dIscussed the Issue of the Ice Rlnks. It was questIoned when teh rlnks would be flooded and what work was beIng done on the rInk at the tlme of the meetIng. Ken lnformed the CounCIl that the hockey rlnk had been blown out earlIer ln the day and dependIng on the weather, floodIng would begIn later In the week. . It was also pOInted out that the maln rlnk had been leveled and regraded because of the unstable ground on WhICh the rInks are bUIlt on. In addItIon COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 5 . the "open skate" rlnk was made a l1ttle larger to accomodate more people. The hockey rInk has been reserved Tuesday and Thursday evenIngs for Youth Hockey, Wednesday and FrIday (tentatIve) for Broomball and Saturday and Sun- day afternoons for open skatlng. In addItIon, rules regardIng rInk actIvItIes IS beIng prepared and wIll be posted at the entrance of the rlnk area. Steve next asked about the newspaper. He asked If It would be posslble that he contact the newspaper dlrectly Instead of gOIng through the CIty. The Councll thought that It would be flne. The next Issue dlscussed was the raffle tlckets. Sales are gOIng fIne. Drawlng wlll be at the Lamp Post In on Saturday evenlng at 8:00 p.m. The Park Board asked If It would be o.k. If meetlngs were moved to the thlrd Thursday Instead of the fourth, so Maureen could attend them as needed. The next ltems dlscussed Included the new doors at the park. The new doors have been Installed and the gate to the hockey rlnk has been fIxed. Wlndow's In the warmlng house wlll be Installed as soon as they are fInIshed. The only other Items needlng to be done IS replaclng the lIghts at the rlnk, WhICh has to walt untIl the ground IS frozen and replaclng the door on the warmlng house. . The warnIng track and gazebo wll1 be coordlnated In the Sprlng so that sod can be reused. There was some addltlonal dlScusslon regardlng the broom for the 1ce r1nk and how 1t should be handled between the two c1t1es. There IS some dIScusslon regardlng about sellIng Albertvllle's share of the equlpment and uSlng the money to purchase a sweeper for the Toro. The Councll Ind1cated that If the Park Board could come to some consensus they should then dlSCUSS the 1ssue wlth St. Mlchael. The next Issue dlscussed was the Income recelved and b1lls to be pa1d. There was a mot10n made by Don Cornel1us and seconded by Donatus Vetsch to approve the b1lls. All were 1n favor and checks through were approved. The Counc1l d1scussed the C1ty Hall phone serVlce and were Informed that the phone company could not have two llnes rlng In on 497-3384 w1thout rol11ng over on to Ken's l1ne 497-3145. So unt1l somethlng dIfferent 1S done when the 11nes are In use people wlll recelve a busy sIgnal. It was agreed that the phone purchased 1n November should be kept and 1nstalled out at the Wastewater Treatment Fac1l1ty. A meetlng on garbage haullng should be scheduled some evenlng that the Counc11 can all attend. . Lltchfleld North Dakota offered the Clty $75.00 for the purchase of the Chrlstmas llghts. The Councll sald the sale was approved. . . . . . COUNCIL MINUTES -'" PAGE 6 The Counc1l approved bU1ld1ng perm1t , 53 pend1ng payment. The mot1on was made by Don Cornel1us and seconded by Bob Braun. All were 1n favor and the mot1on earned. There was add1t1onal dIScusslon on the extensIons for the fIre hydrants. Gary Schwenzfe1er wIll check on at the next JOInt Powers meet1ng and wIll report h1S f1nd1ngs back to the Counc1l at the next meet1ng. There was also some dIScuss10n about gett1ng some d1rect1ves clear1f1ed w1th the C1ty Eng1neer regardIng slgnage and gravel amounts In new add1t1ons. Don CornelIus Informed the rest of teh CouncIl members that he would be gone about two and a half months. He asked that he be kept 1nformed as to what was happen1ng by havIng h1S m1nutes forwarded. there was no other new bus1ness so there was a motIon made to adjourn. The motIon was made by Gary Schwenzfeler and seconded by Don CornelIus. all were 1n favor and the motIon carrIed. 01J ~ / CJ>>LIc