Present: Jenae Ulbricht, Romie Gessell, Irene Ehlert and Chad Landowski. Others present: Juli Scherping, Debbie Strassburg, Sandy Prout, Ron Strassburg, Sharon Erickson, Bob, Adam Ulbricht, Terri Veldkamp.
New Mayor Jenae Ulbricht and city council members, Irene Ehlert and Romie Gessell were sworn in at 7:00 p.m. Former Mayor Ron Strassburg proceeded to cut up his credit card after verbally requesting to be removed from all financial accounts for the city, and handed over keys and a stack of papers. Let the record show that by cutting up his credit card he is stating he would like to be removed from the bank accounts, which is now the responsibility of Mayor Ulbricht.
Mayor Ulbricht called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m.
Motion by Ehlert, seconded by Gessell, to approve December meeting notes, as presented in handwritten notes from the previous mayor, Ron Strassburg. Motion carried.
Motion by Ehlert, seconded by Gessell, to approve the general consent items, including electric bills from the months and totals: October 7, $521.19; November 7, $508.25; and December 7, $480.33. Let the record show these are automatically withdrawn each month. Motion carried.
Motion by Ehlert seconded by Gessell, to approve the League of Minnesota Cities statement dated September 1 for $433.00. Motion carried.
Motion by Ehlert seconded by Gessell, to approve snow removal by Ron Strassburg on 12/14, 12/15, 12/22, and 12/24 for a total of $180.00. Motion carried.
Motion by Ehlert seconded by Gessell, to approve snow removal by Terri Veldkamp on 12/8, 12/14, 12/17, and 12/22 for a total of $160.00. Motion carried.
Old Business
Requested Financial Information
Providing Bobby Veldkamp with his requested information. Former mayor Ron Strassburg stated that he is no longer working with Veldkamp and that he is working directly with the city legal team.
Handicap Hand Railings: Handicap hand railings that were passed in the November meeting notes (not publicly posted) were followed up on. These were not installed and/or purchased, and Ron Strassburg stated that he felt this is the new city council’s responsibility going forward. The new city council will be following through with purchasing and installing handicapped hand railings in both bathrooms at the city hall.
Old Burtrum School: Ron Strassburg submitted photos to the city council stating that there is asbestos in the old school. Mayor Ulbricht asked when these photos were taken, as a date is not stated on the photos. Strassburg wasn’t sure as it was not provided.
The council tabled item as the involved partiers were not at the city council meeting to speak about this matter.
City Council Member Seat Open: A city council seat is open following the resignation of Mitchell Bruggenthies submitted at the December meeting. The council is looking to fill this position.
New Business
City Clerk Resignation: Within the stack of paperwork received was the resignation of the city clerk of Butrum, Laura Horvath. The resignation was sent through email on 12/29/2022 stating a previous verbal notice was given to former Mayor Strassburg and the email was her official notice of resignation effective 12/30/2022.
An open position will be posted.
City Snow Removal: Terri Veldkamp asked at the meeting if the removal of snow around the city hall is still something that she will be doing. Mayor Ulbricht stated that there is no motion to remove Veldkamp, so the council would like her to continue removing the snow.
City Hall Cleaning: Debbie Strassburg asked at the meeting if the city hall cleaning was still a task the city would like her to continue doing. Mayor Ulbricht stated that there is no motion to remove her, so the council would like her to continue cleaning the hall upon request of the council
City Snow Removal: Ron Strassburg made it clear that he will not be operating the city snowplow effective, 01/02/2023 at 7:00 p.m. Discussion went as followed: Mayor Ulbricht stated that Bobby Veldkamp would be willing to plow the snow if necessary and council member Gessell stated Dustin Wiechmann is also an option for city snow removal.
The council tabled this for further discussion at the next town meeting.
City Laptops: There are two laptops owned by the city – one purchased in 2017 and another 2016. Former Mayor Ron Strassburg stated that these have been running slow and the city may need to update the computers. Mayor Ulbricht stated she will investigate possibly add more ram and/or pursue a new laptop option. The passwords were provided to the laptops by the former mayor and former city clerk.
City Ordinance: Gessell brought up the discussion on City Ordinance, and Mayor Ulbricht stated she had the city ordinances. There was discussion that people in town are unaware of ordinances and how can we make people aware of those. Ron Strassburg stated that the city attorney wants to start enforcing these ordinances, and he advised after the new mayor and council take office.
New Time for City Council Meetings: Ehlert brought up a discussion to reschedule the city council meetings to a different night. Mayor Ulbricht brought up the idea of possibly the second Tuesday of each month to allow time to look over bank statements from the previous month, to deliver more accurate financials to the public and to the council.
The council tabled this to discuss until the February meeting.
Curfew Horn at 10:00 p.m.: Gessell brought up for discussion the termination of the city curfew horn at 10 p.m. as there was a complaint from a city member. Ron Strassburg stated that he had heard this complaint prior, and he had said the city member was now okay with the horn.
The city council decided to table this conversation for the next meeting.
Other discussions: The following could not be provided and will be developed by the new mayor and council members: asset tracking for city items, key logs for city keys, city hall sign-out agreement, city council agenda sent prior to meetings, digitized city ordinances, and reimbursement forms.
Facebook access was requested by Mayor Ulbricht, and Ron Strassburg said he would grant access to her.
Motion by Landowski, seconded by Gessell, to adjourn the meeting at 8:07 p.m. Motion carried.
Minutes not yet approved.
Jenae Ulbricht
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