HERON LAKE CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2018, 7:00 PM
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Mayor Jason Freking, with the following council members present: Roger FitzHenry, Glenn Kuhnau, Andrew Rasche and Carol Wagner.
Also present were: Brett Paasch, Greg Ous and Peter Harff from MnDot, Tim Stahl from Jackson County, State Trooper Ron Richards, Julie Foote from MVTV, Terri Stenzel, Glenn & Denise Henkels, Jerry Christopherson, Jim Eigenberg, Lance & Leah Baumann, Butch Mathias, Shannon Sweeney from David Drown Associates Inc., Joe Liepold, Police Chief Tony Fauglid, John Haberman, Tamara Shelton and Stacy Grube.
Agenda
Council Member Wagner moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau, to approve the agenda as presented. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
Minutes
Council Member FitzHenry moved, seconded by Council Member Rasche, to approve the minutes of the September 5, 2018 council meeting as presented. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
Industrial Water Supply Development & Distribution Agreement Draft Letters
Shannon Sweeney spoke to Council regarding the revised draft letters for the Industrial Water Supply Development & Distribution Agreements. Permission was requested to send letters as presented.
Council Member FitzHenry moved, seconded by Council Member Wagner, to approve mailing of the Industrial Water Supply Development and Distribution Agreement letters as presented. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
Water Tower Equipment- MVTV
Julie Foote from MVTV presented information regarding services available. She stated that she is receiving requests to provide services to customers living in the country, therefore, is requesting Council’s approval to place additional equipment on the water tower to provide internet services to potential customers. Council questioned if the equipment would interfere with current services, with her response being there would be no interference.
Council Member FitzHenry moved, seconded by Council Member Rasche to approve MVTV placing additional equipment on the water tower with the understanding that MVTV would be responsible for its own electricity. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
J-Turns – Terri Stenzel
Terri Stenzel presented a petition against proposed J-turns that included 435 signatures. She stated that she found conflicting information on data she received from MnDOT. She encouraged the Council, representatives from MnDOT, Jackson County and MN State Troopers to consider alternatives to the J-turns to address current safety concerns. Greg Ous, MnDOT engineer, stated that J-turns mitigates and addresses the current safety issues at the intersections intended to have J-turns placed, and that municipal consent is not necessarily needed to complete the project as planned.
Further discussion resulted in:
Council Member Kuhnau moved to rescind Council support of the placement of the proposed J-turns on Highway 60. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; Freking, nay.
Bob Krueger – Curb Stops
Bob Krueger expressed his concern regarding the City’s ordinance that makes the home owner responsible for the repair of curb stops located on their property, questioned if there is a policy in place to have the curb stops exercised and encouraged Council to reconsider this ordinance.
Parcel R 22.200.1805
Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member Wagner to purchase Parcel R 22.200.1805, located next to the Water Treatment Plant, for $1.00 from Jackson County. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays; Kuhnau, absent for vote. Motion carried.
Water Tower Contracts
New proposed bid from KLM presented. Discussion resulted in:
Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau to accept proposed bid from KLM for a 10 year service agreement for $6,200.00. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
MN Municipal Beverage Association
MMBA is requesting Minnesota cities to pass a resolution in opposition of a possible bill that may be introduced in the next legislative session allowing beer and spirits to be sold in grocery and convenience stores.
Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member Kuhnau to pass Resolution 2018-3 opposing the concept of allowing strong beer, spirits & wine to sold, for off premise consumption, at any outlet other than the Municipal Liquor Store. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
Ordinance 226
Mayor Freking moved, seconded by Council Member Rasche to amend Ordinance 226 with the change of streets and alleys having a clear space of fourteen (14) feet and sidewalks and right of ways having a clear space of eight (8 feet). Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; Kuhnau, nay. Motion carried.
Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Mayor Freking to approve Resolution 2018-12, approving the summary ordinance for publication. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
House Assessments
Mayor Freking informed the Council that Jackson County has been looking over tax-forfeited properties in Heron Lake, and that if the properties are auctioned for little or nothing, the City may need to decide if assessments against the properties will be forgiven. Council Member Wagner stated that she will look to see if any grants are available for demolition.
Employee Health Insurance
Council was presented with quotes for employee health insurance from the Public Employees Insurance Pool and Southwest West Central Co-op. Council tabled their decision until the November Council Meeting.
Pay Equity
Council was informed of notice of non-compliance for Pay Equity with MMB. In order to be in compliance, Minnesota Management and Budget requires an increase in wage for City Clerk to match the wage of Public Works.
Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Council Member FitzHenry, to approve a $.25 per hour wage increase for City Clerk effective September 16, 2018. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
Liquor Store Bond
Council was informed the liquor store bond in now paid, and the debt servicing account can be closed. Liquor Store manager would like to contribute to repair/savings account.
Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by council Member FitzHenry to approve the closing of the debt servicing account and contributions to repair/savings accounts. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
PeopleService
Joe Liepold reported the following; 1) Flushing is complete and went well; 2) Lead and Copper samples were done with two marked as high and will be resampled; 3) Ponds are full, but good; 4) Chapman lift station had concrete and plastic, has been unplugged; 5) South well at HLBE will be pulled on October 9th; 6) Valve buried on 14th Street, has been uncovered and line flushed.
Public Works
John Haberman reported the following; 1) Bids for a new mower were presented, Council declined. 2) Structures are in for the 17th Street project, the tile has an opening of approximately 2 inches. Bid was presented from Empire Pipe Services, repair will be tabled until spring; 3) Ditch at Ice Road and 17th Street discussion was held and tabled until spring; 4) Storm tile on 10th Street NW and Chapman has been recommended to be moved, no action taken at this time.
Police Department
Chief Fauglid presented his monthly reports to the Council. There were 103 calls in September with 25 hours of radar completed on 10th Street NW due to detour, and canvasing the City for street light outages.
Fire Department
Council was reminded of Fire Prevention Week being October 8 – October 12.
Ambulance
Council was informed that an amplifier for the door opener on the ambulance bay was purchased.
Other Business
Reminder of Large Item Pick-Up is scheduled for October 10, 2018. Mayor Freking stated that the local 4-H Club is looking for community projects.
Claims
Council Member Rasche moved, seconded by Council Member Wagner, to approve claims as presented totaling $137,151.41. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
Adjourn
Council Member Kuhnau moved, seconded by Mayor Freking, to adjourn at 10:02 PM. Vote on the motion: FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche and Wagner, aye; no nays. Motion carried.
Submitted by: Stacy J. Grube
Clerk/Treasurer
Approved:
FitzHenry, Freking, Kuhnau, Rasche, Wagner