HERON LAKE CITY COUNCIL

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2020, 7:00 PM

REGULAR MEETING

               

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Appointed Mayor Andrew Rasche, with the following council members present; Glenn Kuhnau, Danni Swanson and Carol Wagner. Others in attendance were Jim Eigenberg, Joe Liepold, Police Chief Tony Fauglid, John Haberman, Tamara Shelton and Stacy J. Grube.

 

Oath of Office

                Mayor Rasche affirmed the following oath of office: “I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Minnesota, and that I will discharge faithfully the duties of the of the office of Mayor in the County of Jackson, the State of Minnesota, to the best of my judgement and ability.”

 

Approval of Agenda

                Council Member Wagner moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve the agenda with the additions of a Southwest Broadband update and discussion regarding a possible housing tax abatement program. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

 

Approval of Minutes

                Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Council Member Swanson, to approve the minutes of the Council Meetings of December 2, 2019, December 4, 2019, and December 16, 2019 as presented. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

 

Appoint Council Member

A posting for a vacant Council Member resulted in one letter of interest.

Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Council Member Wagner, to appoint Zach Schumacher to the Heron Lake City Council, to complete the vacant term through 2020. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

 

Organization of the City

 

                Meeting Dates

Council Member Wagner moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve Council Meeting dates to be the First Wednesday of the Month, unless otherwise stated. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

 

Appointments

The following changes were made to the 2020 Appointments are: 

Council Member in charge of Police Chief & Clerk Treasurer:  Andrew Rasche

Personnel Committee: Andrew Rasche and Danni Swanson  
                                                                        
Weed Inspector:  Zach Schumacher

Economic Development Authority Board:  Andrew Rasche and Glenn Kuhnau
                                                                            
Library Board:  Danni Swanson

Tree Committee:   Public Works:  Wayne Rasche and Zach Schumacher  
                          
Industrial Water:  Andrew Rasche and Zach Schumacher
                                                 

                Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Mayor Rasche, to approve Resolution 2020 – 01, approving the above additions and/or changes to the 2020 Appointments for the City of Heron Lake. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

                Fee Schedule

The following changes were made to the 2020 Fee Schedule

Mileage: IRS Rate – $.575

Utilities: Sewer, flat rate – $47.58

                Mayor Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member Swanson, to approve Resolution 2020 -02, approving the Fee Schedule with the changes listed above. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

 

Revolving Loan Fund

                Council was informed of recent RLF Board meetings and was given an update on Green Earth’s loan status. Recommendation given to Council from the RLF Board was to “continue with current loan status providing loan has been brought to current status. Council was informed that payment was made on 1/6/2020 and 1/7/2020.

                Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Council Member Swanson, to call the loan due immediately if check comes back NSF. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

                Recommendation was made to Council to a $50.00 monthly fee from the Revolving Loan Fund to the General Fund to cover administrative costs.

                Council Member Wagner moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve a $50.00 per month fee from the Revolving Loan Fund to the General Fund to cover administrative costs, either monthly at $50.00 or once yearly at $600.00. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

                                                                                                               

Social Media – City Facebook Page

The City Clerk/Treasurer asked if Council was interested in having a City Facebook page. Discussion regarding pros and cons resulted in:  

                Council Member Swanson moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve the Clerk/Treasurer setting up a City Facebook page. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau and Swanson, aye; Wagner, nay. Motion carried.

 

Zoning Permit

                Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Council Member Wagner, to approve the zoning permit of Jose Lopez to build a storage shed at 1132 10th Street. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

 

Accept Donations

                Mayor Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve Resolution 2020 – 03, accepting the following donations: $5,000 from the Robert L. Schmidt Family in honor of Wyatt Schmidt to Heron Lake Fire Department and $5,000 from the Robert L. Schmidt Family in honor of Wyatt Schmidt to Heron Lake Emergency Medical Services. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

 

Fire Department

                Fire Chief Chad Diemer reported that a procurement policy should be considered if one is not already in place to further assist in acquiring a grant, he also asked that Council consider adopting an ordinance for being able to collect Fire Protection charges.

 

PeopleService

                Joe Liepold reported the following: 1) Transducer at the City well is not working but may still be under warranty; 2) Verizon service was not functioning properly causing water to be ran manually to Industrial sites, for 1 day; 3) Monthly written reports provided to Council.

 

Public Works

                John Haberman reported the following: 1) Library lift batteries went out, have been replaced and is now working again; 2) 17th Street storm tile has been opened and flowing well; 3) C&B Equipment Sales sent info regarding items that are currently on sale with an additional discount given if purchased by the City, discussion resulted in:

                Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Mayor Rasche to approve the purchase of a Stihl Trimmer. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

                John Haberman also reported that he has an interested party in a set of tire chains that are no longer used. It was recommended to Council to sell the set of chains for $50.00.

                Council Member Wagner moved, seconded by Council Member Swanson to sell the tire chains for $50.00. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

 

Police Department

                Police Chief Fauglid reported the following: 1) A part-time officer has resigned; Chief and other part time officer will cover the hours and Jackson County have covered as requested; 2) He is working on finalizing contract with Jackson County; 3) December yielded 91 calls; 4) Year-end report shows approximately 1,280 calls with an emphasizes on directed patrols.  

 

Other Business – No action taken

City of Okabena – Mayor Rasche explained that he had been contacted about possibly sharing a Public Works employee with the City of Okabena; he also explained that because both Cities would generally need the employee at the same time, it was not feasible at this time.  

Southwest Broadband Update – Council Member Kuhnau reported that there has not yet been a vote on possible closed meetings for SMBS as they are still exploring options.

Tax Abatement – Mayor Rasche reported that he had attended a meeting regarding a possible Tax abatement program to encourage people to build homes within Jackson County. Mayor Rasche asked for Council’s consideration of this program and will discuss further in the future.  

Ambulance – Working on resuming monthly meetings and more training.  

 

Claims

                Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Council Member Wagner, to approve payment of claims as presented, totaling $534,464.33. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.                               

 

Adjourn              

                Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Council Member Swanson, to adjourn at 8:23 PM. Vote on the motion: Rasche, Kuhnau, Swanson and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

Submitted by:  Stacy J. Grube, Clerk/Treasurer

Approved: 2/5/2020    

Rasche, Kuhnau, Schumacher, Swanson, Wagner