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1991-01-22 CC Minutes . . . COUNCIL MINUTES JANUARY 22, 1991 The regular meeting of the Albertville City Council was called to order by Mayor Jim Walsh. Members present included Mark Barthel, Don Cornelius, Donatus Vetsch, and Duane Berning. Others present were Maureen Andrews, Thore Meyer,City Engineer, Ken Lindsay and .Jackie Peterson. Others present were Gary Schwenzfeier, Judy Roden, Lori Winters of the Crow River News, Rick Wacker, Jim Krystosek, Howard Larson, and Doug Psyk. The agenda for the evening's meeting was reviewed by the Council. Maureen informed the Council of four additional items to be added to the agenda. They were as follows: 1. The Park Board Minutes from January 17, 1991. 2: Barthel Construction's request for building permit refund. 3. The Sunshine Kennels and Humane Society issue. 4. Building Inspector's Contract. A motion was made by Don Cornelius to approve the Agenda. Donatus Vetsch seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. The minutes for the January 7th, Council Meeting were reviewed by the Council. Duane Berning pointed out that he did not hear a motion by Don Cornelius to appoint the City's current Building Inspector. Don then stated that he did indeed make that motion. Donatus Vetsch commented that he had heard that the motion was not to be recognized. At that time the Council requested to see Jackie's hand written notes. The Council checked them. Jim Walsh then stated that it really does not matter, because the issue has since been resolved. 1 . Duane Berning pointed out that the last paragraph on page 7 should read, "time to think" instead of "time to thing". He also said that page 3 paragraph 3, stated that all were in favor the snow plowing ordinance. He pointed out that he had abstained from the vote. He then questioned the'lst paragraph on page 6, which said that the Council Member which has not yet filled the vacant seat, would also be a liaison between the new school project and the Council along with Jim Walsh and Donatus Vetsch. Jim then stated that was not what he had meant. He said it was to be Donatus and himself only. Hearing no further comments, Donatus approve the January 7th, minutes with Cornelius seconded the motion. All were carried. Vetsch made a motion to the corrections. Don in favor and the motion . The Council then reviewed the minutes of the January 14th, meeting. Jim Walsh stated that the last paragraph on page seven was not correct, and asked the paragraph be struck from the minutes. Don Cornelius then made a motion to approve the January 14th, minutes. Mark Barthel seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. The first item on the agenda was Maintenance updates. Ken brought up to the Council the issue of the Snow and Ice removal policies. He stated that the Park Board had met and discussed the possibilities of having the walkways and parking lot of the Four Seasons Park cleared of snow during a snow fall. There was some discussion, and the Council agreed that it would be a good idea. The Council decided that the wording for the policy should state that it will be for the Four Seasons park only, and that it will only be cleared by one piece of equipment, to eliminate the top layer of snow. This will help eliminate the liability of the City. . Ken then informed the Council of the Lakes and Prairie program.' The City recently had a youth doing some community service work for the City to work off Community Service time. He has since finished and would like to be hired on through the Lakes and Prairie program. The program is designed to employ troubled youths, using that as an incentive for youths to complete their high school education through night school. He further explained that it would not be of any cost to the City because the program pays the youth not the City. Any workman's compensation liability will be the Lakes and Prairie program, so therefore there would not be any liability obligations to the City. He explained that the youth would be working four hours in the morning, and then attending school in the afternoon. 2 . . . The Council expressed concern regarding the character of the youth and the possibilities of damage to City property. After some discussion, the Council requested to see a copy of the youth's driving record. Don Cornelius then made a motion and Mark Barthel seconded the motion, to hire the youth under the program pending the results of his driving record, and documentation from Lakes and Prairie that there will be no lia~ility to the City. Hearing no further comments from Ken, Duane Berning asked whether or not someone is watching whether or not the street lights are turning off during the day. He had commented that 2 or 3 lights seem to be on most of the time. Maureen explained that the street lights are all charged at a flat rate per month and that NSP does not recognize continuously running lights as a high priority item. Hearing no comments from the Engineering or Legal Department, the Council moved on to Administration. The Council reviewed the Income and Bills to be paid. There was question as to what the bill for Crow River Farm was for. Maureen explained that of it was for fencing for the Fire Department, and they will be reimbursing the City $1,200.00 for the fence. Donatus then asked about the Federated Propane bill. He thought that it seemed too high. He reminded that Council that the building used to have electric heat, and that the reason for the switch to propane was to save money. It seemed to him that the propane was just as expensive as the electric. The Council then requested to see a comparison of the electric costs for the building verses the propane costs, and the have them for the next meeting. Jim Walsh then asked why there were blank checks for Mike Rutkowski. Maureen explained that payroll was on Tuesday the 29th and Mike normally has over time compensation. We do not know until that time what the amount would be. At that time it would be filled in. Jim then stated he does not like to sign a blank check, and requests to see the amount reflected in the next meeting's list. Donatus Vetsch then made a motion and Don Cornelius seconded the motion, to pay the bills check numbers 11249 through 11287 excluding 11284. All were in favor and the motion carried. The Council then discussed the approval of the new City Attorney. As requested Maureen had provided the cost breakdown of a financing for a bond issue in the amount of $435,000.00 for cost comparison. 3 . Donatus noted that he felt comfortable with the City's current Attorney and that he served us well. He also pointed out that the new Attorney will have to start allover. He then suggested that the City keep the current attorney on a trial basis for one year and see how things go. Duane then commented that Bob Miller himself had said that he did not think that Bill Radzwill would have a problem, considering that he has a lot of pull. He also stated that Bob counsels 20 municipalities, and Bill Radzwill serves 50 townships and 2 cities. Howard Larson spoke to the Council. He said that he remembered a few years back when Gary Meyer was the City Attorney, and how he did not understand the bond issues. He felt that in hearing Bob Miller, that he did know the Bond Industry and the bond process. He also felt that Bob never had any problems answering any of the questions people had asked him regarding these issues. Jim Walsh noted Howard's comments but stated that was not the issue being discussed. . Howard then asked if Bill was not also the Attorney for Otsego, and if so, would it present a conflict of interest. Jim Walsh then stated that in previous discussion both Bill and Bob Miller felt that there will be no conflict. There was some question as to whether or not Mr. Radzwil1 could handle Albertville with all the rest of the communities he works for. Jim Walsh explained that he feels there is not a need to have a City Attorney present at every meeting. He explained that the $100.00 per hour attorney fees includes administrative and secretarial fees and that will never change. He then reminded the Council that Bob Miller also had said that Bill would probably do just fine as the Bond Council and Tax Increment Specialist. So in the long rung the City is going to save Bond Counsel, and Tax Increment Specialists, since Bill can do it all for the City. Gary Schwenzfeier pointed out to the Council the fact that with Maureen resigning as City Administrator, there will be no one knowledgeable of the events and City projects for a new City Attorney to work with. The City Attorney needs to work with a person who knows what has happened in the City in the past few years. Don Cornelius added that Gary brought up a good point to consider. Jim then stated that if it becomes an ethics problem, we would deal with it at that time. . The Council discussed the idea if they hired Bill Radzwill, they could have a review of his performance and rates. Donatus said that if it costs more at that time the City should consider a change. He also stated that for the record, he feels that with this change, the minute it costs more, it will come back to haunt the City. 4 . . . Duane Berning then made a motion to appoint Bill Radzwill as City Attorney with a six month review of the financial costs and his performance. Mark Barthel seconded the motion. Not all were in favor so a role call was taken. Mark voted "aye" , Duane Berning voted "aye" Donatus Vetsch voted "nay", and Don Cornelius voted "nay". Jim then stated that the Council is tied and the Mayor votes in favor of Mr. Radzwi11 for the tie breaker. Maureen asked to clarify if the vote was for Bond Council and Tax increment also. Jim then asked the parties making the motion if they were opposed to amending the motion to approve Mr Radzwill as City Attorney, Bond Counsel, and Tax Increment Specialist, at which time they agreed to the amendment. He then asked all those in favor? Mark Barthel and Duane Berning voted "aye". He then asked all those opposed? Don Cornelius and Donatus Vetsch voted "nay". Jim then stated he votes "aye" for the tie breaker in favor of Bill Radzwill. The next item the Council reviewed was the final bill for Loren Kohnen the City's previous Building Inspector. After some discussion Donatus Vetsch made a motion to approve the final bill in the amount of $10,453.51. Don Cornelius seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. The Council then discussed the approval of the Sewer Availability Charge (SAC) increase of $50.00 for a total of.$725.00 per hook up charge. Jim Walsh asked how often this will happen and when does it stop? Maureen explained that it will be $50.00 per year until the year 2,000, noting that the SAC Schedule had been provided to the Council in their packets. After some discussion Mark Barthel made a motion to approve the Sewer Availability Charge (SAC) increase of $50.00 per the bond repayment schedule. Donatus Vetsch seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. The Council then reviewed Maureen Andrews' resignation as City Administrator. Maureen informed the Council that she had accepted the position as City Administrator in Waconia. She stated that she enjoyed working for the City of Albertville. She then said that this was the first position she had applied for in 3 1/2 years. She further explained that the last time Waconia's Administrator position was vacant, she did not have enough experience at that time. Don Cornelius then told Maureen that he had enjoyed working with her. He then stated to the Council and Maureen that he hates to see her leave, and wished her luck in her new position. 5 . . . Maureen then told the Council that she could be done on the 15th of February, and use her accumulated vacation time to make up the difference of the days she is obligated by contract to work, or she said she would be willing to work until February 28th, and be paid for her remaining vacation time. She stated she would be willing to help the City thereafter, schedule permitting. She then suggested that the Council needs a motion to accept the resignation and decide if they wanted to set up a meeting to discuss what they wanted to. At that time Jim Walsh said that he did not want to make any decisions at time because he has not yet had a chance to review Maureen's contract. He said he wanted to hold off until the next meeting. He then said that he wants to make sure the contract will be held up to under the terms of the agreement. He then stated that there will never be a contract written in the next 2 years. He wanted to know who wrote the contract and if the City paid for it. Donatus pointed out that there was nothing magic about the contract. Jim Krystosek pointed out to the Council that it was a big plus to have the contract. He said that with the City having two new Council Members, without the contract, and Maureen's vacation time, she could be done in a week. Now she is committed to the contract. Donatus then said he had no problem with Maureen staying on until the 28th and that we need to get someone in here. He then made a motion to accept the resignation. Don Cornelius seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. There was some question as to whether or not the Council wanted to advertise for the City Administrator's position. The Council decided that they wanted to wait and have time to think over other options and possibilities. The Council then tabled the issue until the next meeting. The Council discussed the approval of the Joint Power's Board hook-on fees. Maureen explained that the charges were $400.00 per line inch diameter, and an additional $400.00 flat rate hook-up fee, which were put into a special fund for the expansion of the system. The increase will be $200.00 on the flat fee fund. She then explained an example. She said if it is a 3" line it will be $1,2000.00 plus the flat $600.00 fee. Hearing no further questions or comments Don Cornelius made the motion to accept the increase of the Joint Power's hook-up. Mark Barthel seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. 6 . The Council then discussed the request of the Firemen for an increase of the Firemen's Relief Fund. Maureen explained to the Council that she had talked to the Fire Chief, Paul Heinen, regarding this issue. He had told her that he wants to see the Fire Department's Standard Operating Procedures up and running before any increases are put into place. At that time there were some comments and questions as to what the Fire Department's policies are. After some discussion the issue was tabled until further notice. The next item on the agenda was Barthel Construction's request for reimbursement on a buildir~ pel~it of a house which will not be built. Maureen explained that originally Barthel's submitted and paid for a permit. After the plan review by Kevin Mealhouse determined that the original house they planned to build was not acceptable for the lot. Then Barthel Construction submitted a new permi t, and another plan review was performed. The permit was approved, but never picked up. Now the house will not be built, and they are requesting a refund. She stated that the plan reviews have been done and can not be refunded. . The question of then raised. The administrative time. breakdown of the refund administrative time spent on the permits Council decided to withhold 1 hour The permit amount was $1, 663.20. would be as follows: was of The Permit Amount Plan review 90-85 Plan review 90-84 Administrative fees Total $ 1,663.20 232.70 238.70 100.00 $ 1, 091. 95 Donatus Vetsch then made a motion to refund the permit minus the plan review charges and the Administrative charges. Don Cornelius seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. Jim stated that he had met with Mosford and Barthel regarding the accounting for the City. They were to be out the next day at 8:00 a.m. to go over the some accounting procedures and software for the City. Jim also stated that he would like to see Jackie do the entry work on a daily basis, and will provide to the Council a financial statement each month. He also said he had arranged for Mike Bromberg, from Greenfield to demonstrate an accounting package he has. . In another matter, Maureen updated the Council on the Sunshine Kennels issue. She said that the Humane Society will be sending the Sunshine Kennels a letter regarding all of the violations of State Statutes and their recommendations to resolve the problems. 7 . . . Jim Walsh then brought up the issue of purchasing a fax machine. There was some discussion between the Council and the people in the audience of the pros and cons. It was decided that Jim would pick up a machine at the Wholesale Club, which he is a member of. Donatus Vetsch made a motion to have Jim pick up the machine at the Wholesale Club. Don Cornelius seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. The Council discussed a few other issues. Duane Berning asked if there had been any discussion on recycling plastics. Jackie commented that she had talked to Wright Recycling, and it sounded like it would not cost that much more per month, and would look further into the matter. There was some discussion also as to who wi11 be liaison for the different special meetings and staff. Jim said he will continue to be liaison for the Maintenance Department. Wi th further discussion between the members of the Council, it was decided that Mark Barthel will be Park Board representative, and Duane Berning will be the liaison between the School District and the City. Hearing no further comments from the Members of Council, Don Cornelius made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mark Barthel seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. ~1-aW~ . . . .~ INCOME/BILLS TO BE PAID JANUARY 22, 1991 INCOME SEWER ACCOUNTS GLORIE BALFANZ - KENNEL FEES - DOG ALBERTVILLE BROOMBALL LEAGUE - DONATION FRASER STEEL MINNEGASCO - PERMIT INFORMATION WRIGHT TITLE GAURANTEE - SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS 11249 11250 11251 11252 11253 11254 11255 11256 11257 11258 11259 11260 11261 11262 11263 11264 11265 11266 11267 11268 11269 11270 11271 11272 11273 11274 11275 TOTAL $ 114.01 &1.50 3f.0.oo E00.oo 50.00 5,999.99 $ 7,134.50 BILLS TO BE PAID MAUREEN ANDREWS JACKIE PETERSON KEN LINDSAY VOID MIKE RUTKOWSKI MIKE RUTKOWSKI - 12 HRS OjT VOID BOB BRAUN DON CORNELIUS COMMUNICATION AUDITORS NORTHERN GASES INC. ROAD RESCUE, INC. DJ'S TOTAL HOME CARE MONTICELLO ANIMAL CONTROL PERA LMCIT - 1991 DIRECTORY ROBERT MINKEMA CROW RIVER FARM EQUIPMENT CO. FIRST TRUST FIRST TRUST FIRST TRUST AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK NORWEST BANKS QUEST DATA EMERGENCY APPARATUS MAINTENANCE, INC. HACKENMUELLER'S INC. MEDCENTERS $ 848.23 4...18 . 49 741.00 rn2'.00 414.64 88.29 l2klO.oo 00.00 00.00 151.29 153.41 367. 79 366 . 27 67.50 149.02 64.50 320.00 198 . 76 73,741.25 51, 872.50 95,870.88 60,350.00 63,861.50 320.00 235 . 58 226. 11 597 . 10