Grey Eagle City – August 21, 2012

Grey Eagle City
August 21, 2012
These are unapproved minutes.
The regular meeting of the Grey Eagle City Council was called to order by Mayor Jim Gohman at 7:00 p.m., on the 21st day of August, 2012 in council chambers. Council members present were Andrea Kraska, Thom Muellner, Joe Arnzen and Dennis Barrett. There were no council members absent. Also in attendance were guests Mike Aksamit, Bob Lefavor, Allan Beilke, Dennis Bacon, Walter Hoppe, Danny Mason, Walter Hoppe III, Dave Blaeser, Andy Bartkowicz and Lori Hellmann.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve the amended agenda. A second was made by Dennis Barrett and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Joe Arnzen to approve the minutes of the July 10, 2012 meeting with the following change: page 1411, item 2 of the Mayor’s update, change That to The. A second was made by Andrea Kraska and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Bob Lefavor, Mike Aksamit and Allan Beilke addressed the Council regarding an easement to the back end of the Allan Beilke property. Many years ago Allan Beilke obtained an easement from the school for access to the back lot. The school has since been sold to Bob Lefavor and the existing bus garage is being sold to Aksamit Bus Service to continue to house school buses. Bob and Mike are willing to relocate the Beilke easement; however a small portion of the proposed easement would include a portion that the City now owns.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve an access/utility easement for Allan Beilke on the northwest corner upon review by the City Attorney, at no cost to the City. A second was made by Joe Arnzen and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Dennis Bacon was in attendance to discuss the 2011 Audit. Dennis reported that the City’s finances are in good shape, but that the Council needs to monitor the water and sewer rates to keep those fund balances from operating with a negative balance. Dennis was happy to see that all council members sign off on the bills each month and would like to remind them to continue this practice as well as to monitor bank reconciliations on a regular basis.
A motion was made by Dennis Barrett to approve the 2011 audit as submitted. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
There was no water/wastewater report.
The following maintenance items were discussed: 1. Got everything ready for GEM Fest without any complications.
2. Matt was onsite when the sewer service line repair was done at Vance Johnson’s. Andy will continue to work with Matt to become more comfortable with the water and sewer utilities.
3. Andy will be attending a wastewater training session in Sleepy Eye on September 6, 2012, for which he will earn 6 certification hours. There is no fee for attending this training session.
4. The signs that were on the old fire hall doors were discussed. The signs are in poor condition and since similar signs are posted in various other locations they will not be replaced.
5. The Council discussed winter snow removal. Dave Blaeser will work on call as needed. Herdering prefers not to take over City street plowing but would be willing to help out. Andy was instructed to check with neighboring communities to find out where they purchased the wings for their plow trucks along with costs and report at the September meeting. The Clerk was instructed to start work on the snow removal contract with Herdering.
The Council discussed the Bass Lake boat ramp. The DNR supplied the new cement planks that will be used on the project. Erv Herdering submitted an estimated cost to make the necessary improvements at $2,500. This estimate is dependent on how much rock or gravel will be used during the course of the project. The Grey Eagle Burtrum Lions Club donated money to make the necessary improvements to the boat ramp. It was also reported that one of the float tubes on the pier will need to be replaced. The DNR would make those repairs at no cost to the City. Dennis Barrett will work with Tryg Hanson from the DNR on this project.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve hiring Herdering Inc to do the work on the Bass Lake boat ramp. A second was made by Dennis Barrett 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 Dennis Barrett to remove his existing garage and to replace it with a 24 x 32 garage with steel siding, cement slab, shingles and a twelve foot apron in the front of the garage. A second was made by Andrea Kraska and upon a roll call vote the following voted in favor: Thom Muellner, Andrea Kraska, Joe Arnzen and Jim Gohman. Dennis Barrett abstained. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Dennis Barrett to approve a demolition permit to remove the house on the Jon Rosenow property, with the water and sewer service lines to be capped. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Joe Arnzen to approve a temporary liquor license for the Grey Eagle Burtrum Lions Club for September 3, 2012. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
The Council discussed a donation request from Experienced Works. During the past couple of years the City has had an added employee thanks to this program at no cost to the City. Last year the council donated $100 to Experienced Works. The Council also discussed a donation request from the Initiative Foundation. In the past, the City has been involved in the Healthy Community Partnership Program and has been the recipient of grant money that has paid for fundraising efforts to purchase the four garbage cans on the two blocks of our main street as well as fees for the proposed RV Park project.
A motion was made by Andrea Kraska to approve a donation of $100 to Experienced Works. A second was made by Dennis Barrett and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to donate $225 to the Initiative Foundation. A second was made by Joe Arnzen and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
The council discussed the purchase of two lap top computers and a wireless printer for the City. One computer would be used by the Fire Department for submitting reports to the State of Minnesota and the other computer would be used to do online water and wastewater reporting. The clerk was instructed to look at costs and report at the next meeting.
The clerk was instructed to send property clean up letters.
The Clerk reminded the Council that the 2013 proposed budget needs to be approved at the September meeting. Figures and being finalized and should be delivered to the Council within the next week to allow ample time for the Council to review prior to that meeting.
A motion was made by Joe Arnzen to approve the various fund transfers as follows: $768.36 from the Fire Fund to the Fire Hall debt service fund, $110.00 from the sewer fund to the Sewer Rehab Fund, and $71.69 of which $16.69 goes to the Water Fund and $55 goes to the Sewer Fund for Fire Hall and Library utilities. A second was made by Dennis Barrett and upon vote with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Dennis Barrett to approve the payment of the bills as listed and to include payment to the Public Facilities Authority for $8,704.13. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Mayor Jim Gohman reported that he had received numerous compliments on the condition of the volleyball courts and ball diamonds for GEMFest.
The Clerk read a thank you note from president Mark Larson of the Grey Eagle Burtrum Lions club. We all can take pride in your hard work.”
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. A second was made by Dennis Barrett 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, September 11, 2012 in Council chambers.
Lori Hellmann, Clerk