HL City Council Mtg Minutes -02-07-18

HERON LAKE CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018, 7:00 PM

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Mayor Jason Freking, with the following council members present, Carol Wagner, Roger FitzHenry, Andrew Rasche and Glenn Kuhnau. Also present were Jim Eigenberg, John Haberman, Joe Liepold, Tony Fauglid, Tamara Shelton and Brenda Martin-Granstra.

Agenda
Mayor Freking moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve the agenda as presented. Vote on the motion: Freking, Kuhnau, Wagner, FitzHenry and Rasche, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

Minutes
Council Member FitzHenry moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve the minutes of the January 3 and January 12, 2018 council meetings as presented. Vote on the motion: Freking, Kuhnau, Wagner, FitzHenry and Rasche, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

Donation
Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve Resolution 2018-4, Accepting Donation, $150 from Fair Association of Jackson County to the Heron Lake Fire Department. Vote on the motion: Freking, Kuhnau, Wagner, FitzHenry and Rasche, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

PeopleService
Joe Liepold reported that the new Red Rock Rural Water meter is showing less water usage than what our city meter used to record. Hopefully there will be less unaccounted for water than in the past, but readings will have to be compared to past monthly figures over the course of the year.
Joe also told the council that he would like to get a two inch transfer pump and spoke about issues that could arise from discontinuing the addition of polyphosphate – it coats lead and copper lines so minerals don’t leach into the water. Rural water won’t have this additive that might have provided some protection to private service lines.

Public Works
Director John Haberman gave the council an update on two rear backhoe tires that need to be replaced. Twelve ply, industrial lug replacements will cost approximately $400 to $500 from Graham Tire.
Tires on the front of the backhoe are $250 to $300 and the service call will run $150 to $180. Council also ok’d getting a used rim and replacing a back tire on the grader.
John also discussed getting bulk oil and hydraulic fluid from C&B. Council Member Wagner asked John to fix the sign on 2nd Avenue for the liquor store.

Police Department
Chief Fauglid explained his abbreviated monthly report and said he would no longer be composing the police blotter, either, as that took several hours. Tony is planning to try to do more patrol hours and less desk time.

Local Board of Appeal & Equalization (LBA&E)
Jackson County Assessor Jason McCaslin sent the schedule for LBA&E hearings, with Heron Lake’s date set as April 11, 2018 at 7 PM. Council elected to postpone the regular council meeting until that date, to be convened after the hearing is closed.

Employee Personnel Policy
Council reviewed employee vacation policy that states that vacation is not to be carried over without council approval. The council members considered employee requests for carry over from 2017.
Mayor Freking and Council Member Wagner indicated that as a special circumstance, they would only be comfortable allowing one week of unused vacation being allowed to carry over. Going forward, they want the policy to be such that if an employee who has earned the maximum three weeks’ vacation had time nearing the end of the year, the employee would have a choice of using the vacation or having it paid out, with carry-over not being allowed.
Council Member FitzHenry moved, seconded by Mayor Freking, to approve the pay-out of no more than one week’s vacation time from 2017, with the understanding that carry-over will not be allowed in upcoming years. Vote on the motion: Freking, Kuhnau, Wagner, FitzHenry and Rasche, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

Other Items Discussed, No Action Taken
Council reviewed estimated costs of industrial water users and agreed that Shannon Sweeney of David Drown Associates should be brought on to work out details of re-negotiating industrial water agreements for when HLBE and MNSP loans are paid. Council briefly reviewed the email from Scott Thompson, MNDOT traffic engineer, which stated that they will proceed with the creation of pedestrian curb ramps at the Hwy 60 intersections with 10th Street and 1st Avenue.
Council was made aware of agendas and minutes of meetings of Southwest MN Broadband and that the ambulance is using a loaner while the old box and equipment is installed on the new chassis. Council also received information that the city received a rebate of almost $7,000 from Federated Rural Electric for recouped expenses after the Hanson’s 4th Addition lot was developed and that Stacy Grube would be attending the new clerks’ orientation conference in March.

Claims
Council Member FitzHenry moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau to approve claims as presented totaling $265,608.01. Vote on the motion: Freking, Kuhnau, Wagner, FitzHenry and Rasche, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

Adjourn
Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member Wagner, to adjourn. Vote on the motion: Freking, Wagner, FitzHenry, Rasche and Kuhnau, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

Submitted by: __________________________
Clerk/Treasurer

Approved:
FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, Wagner