The regular meeting of the Grey Eagle City Council was called to order by Mayor Jim Gohman at 7:00 p.m., on the 8th day of September, 2015. Council members present were Ralph Muellner, Roland Ahrendt, Thom Muellner and Joe Arnzen. There were no council members absent. Also in attendance were Chico Hellmann, Lori Hellmann and guests Vance Johnson, Tom Willing, Bryan Bye, Craig Tschida, Ken Messer and Deputy Mike Allen.
A motion was made by Joe Arnzen to approve the amended agenda. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve the minutes of the August 11, 2015 meeting with one change: page 1544, item 4, second sentence, remove the word “cost”. A second was made by Ralph Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve the minutes of the special meeting of August 18, 2015 with the following change: page 1546, record who seconded the motion to adjourn. A second was made by Joe Arnzen and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Vance Johnson would like to remove the old shed behind his garage and install a fence. The fence would be made of wood and painted to match the garage. The fence would be placed five feet off the property line as required by ordinance. A motion was made by Joe Arnzen to approve the demolition of the shed and install a 14’x27’x16’ fence, five feet off the property line. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Tom Willing would like to get an extension to his building permit. He is asking for a couple more months so that water and sewer could be installed to the new house and tear down the old house and have everything cleaned up and hauled away. A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve an extension to existing permit until December 8, 2015. A second was made by Joe Arnzen and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Bryan Bye and Craig Tschida updated the council on the next steps towards getting a proposed sewer improvement project on the project priority list. The first goal would be the application conference.
A motion was made by Ralph Muellner to proceed with the application stage for Rural Development funding. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to submit application to be placed on the Project Priority List. A second was made by Joe Arnzen and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Joe Arnzen to approve the building permit application for Grey Eagle Housing Association to build a 16’x20’ office on the east side of the existing building, with a canopy over the existing main entrance. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A building permit was issued to Brian and Lori Hollenkamp for the installation of an egress window on the east side of the house.
Ken Messer was in attendance to know if the culvert removal and restoration meets with council approval. The removal and restoration was acceptable to the council. The Clerk was instructed to contact the city attorney to see if anything more needed to be done.
Ken Messer would like a building permit for the addition to the existing shed on his rental property and to install tin on the walls and roof to match the color of the house. A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve the addition to the existing shed and for the siding and roofing to be installed. Upon roll call vote, the members voted as follows: Roland Ahrendt: aye, Joe Arnzen: nay, Ralph Muellner: aye, Thom Muellner: aye, Jim Gohman: nay. Motion carried.
The following water/wastewater/maintenance items were discussed:
1. There are still issues with the west lift generator. All paperwork indicates that both pumps are 7.5 hp. Based on that information, the current generator should have been large enough to handle the two pumps. The generator wasn’t working correctly, so more research was done to find that when both pumps kick in, they actually surge at the rate of two 10 HP pumps. The recommendation from Ellingson’s is to remove the current generator and install a 48 kw generator, for an additional $4,600, with no additional labor or material costs.
A motion was made by Joe Arnzen to approve the additional cost of $4,600 to Ellingson’s to increase the generator from a 24 kw to a 48 kw. Upon roll call vote, the members voted as follows: Joe Arnzen: aye, Ralph Muellner: aye, Thom Muellner: aye, Jim Gohman: aye, Roland Ahrendt: aye. Motion carried.
2. The water tower was cleaned by Water Tower Clean & Coat. They recommend painting the tower next year as some spots are showing wear. They would clean the tower before painting. Also, the bubbler should be installed sometime in October.
3. An estimate of $650 per tree that needs to be removed at Lakeview Cemetery which includes grinding of the stumps. The council would like to wait and see if Minnesota Power will be removing any portion of the trees due to how close they are to the power lines. Chico was instructed to get a couple more estimates and to include the other trees in the cemetery that are dead.
A motion as made by Thom Muellner to approve Resolution No. 2015-10, A Resolution Accepting $200 Donation from James & Laura Mills for Fire Department Equipment. A second was made by Joe Arnzen and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried. The above stated resolution may be read in its entirety in the Clerk’s office.
A motion was made by Ralph Muellner to approve Resolution No. 2015-11, A Resolution Accepting $2,750 Donation from the Grey Eagle Burtrum Lions Club for Fire Department Equipment. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried. The above stated resolution may be read in its entirety in the Clerk’s office.
A motion was made by Joe Arnzen to approve Resolution No. 2015-12, A Resolution Accepting $1,647 Donation from the Grey Eagle Burtrum Lions Club for Community Appreciation. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried. The above stated resolution may be read in its entirety in the Clerk’s office.
The council discussed several different locations in which to place the community sign. Council members will talk to property owners and report back at the October meeting.
A motion was made by Joe Arnzen to approve Resolution No. 2015-13, A Resolution Approving 2016 Proposed Levy and Budget. A second was made by Ralph Muellner and upon roll call vote, the members voted as follows: Thom Muellner: aye, Joe Arnzen: aye, Roland Ahrendt: aye, Jim Gohman: aye, Ralph Muellner: aye. Motion carried. The resolution is as follows:
A Resolution Adopting Proposed Levy Payable in 2016: Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the following proposed budget for 2016 was approved and adopted by the Grey Eagle City Council on this 8th day of September, 2015.
Levy Payable 2015
Fund Levy Amount % of Total
GENERAL $61,120.00 65
FIRE $14,057.00 14
Street Improv. Proj. $18,173.00 21
Total $92,350.00 100
Adopted this 8th day of September, 2015.
A motion was made by Roland Ahrendt to set Tuesday, December 8, 2015 for the Truth in Taxation Meeting at 6:30 p.m., with a continuation date of Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 6:30 p.m., if needed. A second was made by Joe Arnzen and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve Resolution No. 2015-14, A Resolution of Sponsorship for Community Concern for Youth. A second was made by Joe Arnzen and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried. The resolution is as follows:
Resolution No. 2015-14: Resolution authorizing participation with the Community Concern for Youth Program with Todd-Wadena Community Corrections.
Be It Resolved, by the Grey Eagle City Council that Todd County act as sponsoring unit of government for the project entitled Community Concern for Youth to be conducted by Todd-Wadena Community Corrections during the period from 01/01/16 through 12/31/16. Dave Kircher, Chairperson, Todd County Board of Commissioners, is hereby authorized to execute such agreements and funding as are necessary to implement the project on behalf of the Grey Eagle City Council.
Be It Resolved, that the Grey Eagle City Council hereby agrees to contribute $277.00 for the project entitled Todd-Wadena Community Concern for Youth during the period 01/01/16 through 12/31/16, which is to be paid on 01/01/16.
It is understood that the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle School Board contributes $2,937.00, and the Long Prairie City Council contributes $2,328.00 for a total community contribution of $5,542.00.
I hereby certify that the above resolution was adopted by the Grey Eagle City Council on September 8, 2015.
There were no yard clean ups for council consideration.
The Clerk was instructed to proceed with delinquent utilities as allowed by ordinance.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve the various fund transfers as follows: $748.26 from the Fire Fund to the Fire Hall Debt Service Fund, $272.40 from the Sewer Fund to the Sewer Rehab Fund, and $87.41 from the General Fund of which $27.91 goes to the Water Fund and $59.50 goes to the Sewer Fund for Fire Hall and Library utilities. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve payment of the bills listed and to include the payment of the following additional items: $1,779.49 to Minnesota Power and an addition to the Eagle Auto Repair bill of $799.55. A second was made by Joe Arnzen and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Roland Ahrendt to adjourn at 9:34 p.m. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
The next regular meeting of the Grey Eagle City Council will be held on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 in council chambers.
Lori Hellmann, Clerk