HERON LAKE CITY COUNCIL

REGULAR MEETING

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2018, 7:00 PM

The meeting was called to order at 7:02 PM by Mayor Jason Freking, with the following council members present: Roger FitzHenry, Glenn Kuhnau, Andrew Rasche and Carol Wagner.

Also present were: Danielle Berg, Eva Rostomily, Police Chief Tony Fauglid, John Haberman, Tamara Shelton and Stacy Grube.

Agenda

            Council Member Freking moved, seconded by Council Member Rasche, to approve the agenda, with the addition of accepting an application for the Ambulance and Southwest Broadband report.  Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried. 

Minutes

            Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Council Member FitzHenry, to approve the minutes of the June 6, 2018 council meeting as presented.  Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried. 

Auditor

            Danielle Berg presented the 2017 Audit to the Council.  The audit included fund financials, current revenue and expenses, and general fund with variance.  Due to conflicting opening numbers from previous audits, an adjustment was made with Council approval.  Danielle commended the City on their thorough accounting practices. 

Council Member FitzHenry moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to accept the 2017 Audit.  Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried.    

Storm Drain

            Eva Rostomily discussed the water issues that she has at her home when it rains.  She explained that water often runs on to her lawn, leaving debris.  She explained that although a larger intake was put in, she continues to have water issues.  Council discussed the problem and will look in to putting an additional catch basin to help with this issue. 

Zoning Permit

            Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Council Member FitzHenry, to approve the zoning permit of Gerardo Najera to build a storage shed at 671 Lakeview Road.  Vote on the motion:  FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried.

Zoning Permit

            Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve the zoning permit for Daniel Koopman to demolish two sheds and house at 131 Strawberry Lane.  Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried.

2018 Election Judges

Council Member FitzHenry moved, seconded by Mayor Freking, to adopt Resolution 2018-10, approving Deanna Andersh, Carol Baumbach, Catherin Bushard, Doris Grube, Sue Isder, Delores Pelzel, Mavis Vanderheiden and Shirley Wagner as election judges and Stacy J. Grube as head judge. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.

Accept Donations

            Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Mayor Freking, to approve Resolution 2018-11, accepting the following donations:  1) $750.00 from Windom Lions Club to the Heron Lake EMS;  2) $70.00 from Heron Lake Class of 1958 to the Heron Lake EMS.  Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried. 

PeopleService

            Discussion was held on the proposed pricing provided by PeopleService.  Council instructed staff to obtain clarification on the dates of the contract and length of the contract.  The contract will be tabled until the next Council meeting.

Tree Trimming

            The draft letter to be sent to be sent to residents needing to trim trees was reviewed.  Discussion resulted in the Council instructing the following changes to be made prior to being mailed:           Mayor Freking moved, seconded by Council Member Rasche, to approve the letter with the following changes:  1) Adding 30 days to comply after the 14 days to make arrangements;  2) Removing the specific dollar amount replacing with “Your expense”; 3) removing the date of not being paid replacing with “within 30 days”.  Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; Kuhnau.  Motion carried. 

Watershed Lease

            A Counter offer was presented to the Council from Heron Lake Watershed District.  Their requests included a locked in rate of $550 per month for five years, $50 per use of the large hall, and refined janitorial services. 

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

Computer Lodge      

            Recommendations and quote for Solid State Drives for the office computers were presented to the Council.  Council declined to take action. 

RLF Committee Vacancies

            Council discussed current vacancies which consist of one EDA rep vacancy and tow at large rep vacancies.  Council instructed staff to send letters of recruitment to current EDA Board Members and four community members. 

Safety Review

            Recommendations from the safety review conducted on 6/19/2018 included: 1) Review of City facilities for ADA Accessibility; 2) Reinstalling signs indicating accessible parking at City Hall and Municipal Liquor Store; 3) Review and improvement to access route at Municipal Liquor Store. 

            Mayor Freking moved, seconded by Council Member Rasche, to remove 1 accessible parking sign at City Hall, replace all remaining accessible signs with compliant signs at City Hall, and place one accessible sign at the Municipal Liquor Store.   Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried. 

City Clerk

            Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member FitzHenry to approve a 25 cent per hour increase effective July 16, 2018 per hiring agreement for Stacy Grube.   Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried.             

Public Works

            John Haberman reported the following; 1) Work on the 17th Street project is on hold until Lake water goes down;  2)  Mosquito spraying bids were reviewed  3)  Work continues for the leaking 4 inch valve has been leaking at the library, parts are currently being looked for. 

Police Department

            Chief Fauglid presented his monthly reports to the Council. There were 70 incidents in June, including a break-in at the Laundromat.  Chief Fauglid reported that he currently has a suspect and will be filing charges.  Chief Fauglid hired an additional part-time officer, Arutro Martinez. 

Fire Department

            It was reported that the recent Pork Chop Feed had a lower turn out this year.  The Fire Department will be hosting an Open House on September 8, 2018

Ambulance

            Mayor Freking moved, seconded by Council Member Rasche, to approve Chena Persing for service on the Heron Lake Emergency Management Services.  Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried.  

Other Business

            Council Member Kuhnau reported that Southwest Broadband had 219 customers connected to their new streaming service as of June 1.

Council Member Wagner reported that the Library is thankful for the additional air conditioner that was installed. 

Claims

            Council Member FitzHenry moved, seconded by Mayor Freking, to approve claims as presented totaling $256,864.99.  Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, and Wagner, aye; no nays.  Motion carried.    

Adjourn

            Mayor Freking moved, seconded by Council Member Rasche, to adjourn at 9:58 PM.  Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays, Motion carried.

Submitted by:  Stacy J. Grube                                     

                         Clerk/Treasurer

Approved:  8/1/2018

FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, Wagner