2023-09-05 City Council Minutes
ALBERTVILLE CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES September 5, 2023 – 7 pm
Council Chambers
Albertville City Hall
1. Call to Order
Mayor Hendrickson called the meeting to order at 7:09 pm.
2. Pledge of Allegiance – Roll Call
Present: Mayor Hendrickson, Councilmembers Cocking, Hayden, Olson and Zagorski.
Staff Present: City Administrator Nafstad, Fire Chief Bullen, Finance Director Lannes and City
Clerk Luedke.
3. Recognitions – Presentations – Introductions – None
4. Public Forum – None
5. Amendments to the Agenda
MOTION made by Councilmember Olson, seconded by Councilmember Hayden to approve the
September 5, 2023, agenda as submitted. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and
Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried.
6. Consent Agenda
All items under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by the City staff and will be
enacted by one motion. In the event an item is pulled, it will be discussed in the order it is listed
on the Consent Agenda following the approval of the remaining Consent items. Items pulled will
be approved by a separate motion.
A. Approve the August 7, 2023, regular City Council Meeting minutes as presented.
B. Approve the August 21, 2023, City Council Workshop minutes as presented.
C. Approve the August 21, 2023, regular City Council Meeting minutes as presented.
D. Authorize the Tuesday, September 5, 2023, payment of claims as presented, except
bills specifically pulled which are passed by separate motion. The claims listing has
been provided to City Council as a separate document and is available for public view
at City Hall upon request.
E. Approve an On-Sale Temporary Liquor License application for the Albertville Lions
Club for a Music in the Park event on September 14, 2023.
F. Authorize the promotion of Jesse Hertwig to the position of Probationary Paid-On-
Call Firefighter with the Albertville Fire Department.
G. Approve the Memorandum of Understanding between Wright County and the City of
Albertville for the Purchase of Salt for the 2023-2024 Snow and Ice Removal Season
at a cost of $109.69 per ton.
H. Approve Payment Application No. 4 to Gridor Construction in the amount of
$703,580 for Wastewater System Improvements.
City Council Meeting Minutes Page 2
Regular Meeting of September 5, 2023
MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Hayden to approve
the September 5, 2023, Consent Agenda as submitted. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson,
Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried.
7. Public Hearing – None
8. Wright County Sheriff’s Office – Updates, reports, etc.
There were no updates from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.
9. Department Business
A. City Council
1. Committee Updates (STMA Ice Arena, Planning, JPWB, Parks, Fire Board,
FYCC, etc.)
Mayor Hendrickson provided an update from the Joint Power Water Board meeting which
included the review of the 2022 audit. She said the audit was approved.
B. Building – None
C. City Clerk
1. Approve New Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) License for the Smoke Shop
located at 11135 61st Street NE
City Clerk Luedke presented the staff report which included details on the ordinance approved to
regulate the sale of THC products. She said the City received a THC license application from
The Smoke Shop and staff was working with Wright County to provide the required background
investigation. She answered questions from Council regarding the licensing process.
Mr. Felix Langford, 12053 78th Street NE, Otsego, was present and answered questions from
Council regarding his business.
MOTION made by Councilmember Hayden, seconded by Councilmember Olson to approve a
THC License application for The Smoke Shop 763 LLC dba The Smoke Shop located at 11135
61st Street NE, Suite F through December 31, 2023, contingent upon a successful background
check. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion
carried.
D. Finance – None
E. Fire
1. Fire Department Capital Apparatus Update
Fire Chief Bullen reviewed the Fire Department’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) which
included the previous vehicle purchases that resulted in the removal of the 1995 Tender 11 from
the department’s CIP at that time. He provided details on Fire Protection Agreement with Otsego
and their projected beginning operation date of January of 2027. Chief Bullen reported the
Albertville Fire department does not believe the current Tender 11, which is mainly used for the
service contract with Otsego, would be reliable through 2026. He said the department became
aware of a stock truck that was for sale but it was purchased quickly by another agency so the
department would continue to look at option and answered questions from Council.
City Council Meeting Minutes Page 3
Regular Meeting of September 5, 2023
F. Planning and Zoning – None
G. Public Works/Engineering
1. 53rd and CSAH 19 Signal
City Administrator Nafstad said at the last Council meeting, he requested the contract approval
for the CSAH 19 and 53rd signal be tabled due to a large development project potentially being
built at the intersection, but said the project was no longer moving forward. He said the City only
received one bid to construct the signal which came in higher than expected but the project
entailed many costly design components. Administrator Nafstad said he believed it would not be
less expensive to wait until spring and rebid the project. He answered questions from Council
and said if the project was awarded to Design Electric they could begin work right away.
MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Hayden to approve
the plan and specs and award the project to the low bidder, Design Electric, Inc., in the amount
of $347,835. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The
motion carried.
H. Legal
I. Administration
1. Full-Time Building Official Position – Mr. Kevin Benshoof
City Administrator Nafstad presented the staff report which included background information on
the application process and the interviews conducted. He said staff recommended appointing
Kevin Benshoof as the City’s Building Official and answered questions from Council.
MOTION made by Councilmember Zagorski, seconded by Councilmember Hayden to hire Mr.
Benshoof for the full-time position of Building Official at a starting wage of $55.16 per hour,
conditioned on successful completion of a background check. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden,
Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried.
2. Purchase of Ford Maverick 2WD Hybrid Vehicle
City Administrator Nafstad presented the staff report which included information on the vehicle
to be used for the building department. He answered questions from Council regarding the
vehicle and its use.
There was Council discussion regarding the type of vehicle needed and average delivery times.
MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, seconded by Councilmember Zagorski to approve
purchase of a 2024 Ford Maverick from Elk River Cornerstone Ford in the amount of $25,144.
Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None. The motion carried.
3. I-94 Project Discussion
City Administrator Nafstad provided information on the proposed design for the MnDOT I-94
Gap project and said the State would soon be submitting a request for municipal consent
agreement to the City for the project. He said he would like to resolve the CSAH 19 turn lane
issues before then because he felt the proposed turn lane would not be long enough and was
looking for Council direction before the City received the agreement. Administrator Nafstad also
asked Council if staff should maintain the care of the MNDOT stormwater pond and provided
City Council Meeting Minutes Page 4
Regular Meeting of September 5, 2023
information on the park and ride the City gave to the State for the I94 construction. He said he
believed a cul-de-sac would be more beneficial then the hammerhead design that MnDOT
recommended.
Chief Bullen provided additional information on the I-94 project and answered questions from
Council.
There was Council discussion regarding the I-94 project, the storm water pond, and the project
design. The Council’s consent was for staff to work with MnDOT on the appropriate length for
the turn lane.
City Administrator Nafstad also updated the Council on the meeting staff had with Frazer Steel
and their possible building expansion.
Announcements and/or Upcoming Meetings
September 11 STMA Arena Board, 6 pm
September 12 Planning Commission, 7 pm
September 18 Council Workshop, 6:15 pm
September 18 City Council, 7 pm
September 25 Joint Powers Water Board, 6 pm
Parks Committee, 7 pm
October 2 City Council, 7 pm
10.Adjournment
MOTION made by Councilmember Cocking, second by Councilmember Hayden to adjourn the
meeting at 8:09 pm. Ayes: Cocking, Hayden, Hendrickson, Olson and Zagorski. Nays: None.
The motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________
Kristine A. Luedke, City Clerk