The regular meeting of the Grey Eagle City Council was called to order by Mayor Joe Arnzen at 7:00 p.m., on the 13th day of February 2018 in council chambers. Council members present were Roland Ahrendt, Thom Muellner and Brian Hollenkamp. Council member Bill Pohlmann was absent. Also in attendance were Chico Hellmann, Lori Hellmann and guests Dave Middendorf, Steve Klaphake, Carolyn Klaphake, Bill Berscheit, Dan Berscheid , Jim Tschida and Jeff Koehn.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve the amended agenda. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Roland Ahrendt to approve the minutes of the January 9, 2018 meeting as written. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Dave Middendorf was in attendance seeking approval of his building permit application for a 30’ x 36’ garage. The shingles and siding will match with what will be on the house. All setback requirements must be met and are as follows: 25 feet from the edge of the tar in to the property on Ward Street and 5 feet from adjoining property lines. A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve the building permit application for Dave Middendorf as stipulated. A second was made by Brian Hollenkamp and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Steve and Carolyn Klaphake discussed sidewalks that do not get shoveled when it snows. The council will review the city ordinance.
The following Fire Department items were discussed:
1. Bayer Truck Equipment installed the new box on the Rescue Rig and submitted a bill for $41,908.14. The original quote was for $36,985 but did not include any lights. $15,210 was received from the city insurance for the damages to the old box. Bayer reduced the bill to include $3,000 trade-in on the old box and $250 trade-in on the lights. There was no rear bumper installed and there were a couple of items on the bill that need further clarification. It was recommended that some portion of the bill remain unpaid until the work is completed to the Fire Departments satisfaction.
2. The Fire Department presented their recommendations for Officers as follows: Fire Chief: Dan Berscheid; Assistant Chief: Larry Brake; Medical Officer: Bill Berscheit; 1st Lieutenant and Training Officer: Paul Theisen; 2nd Lieutenant: Derek Pohlmann; Liason Officer: Brenda McDermond.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve the Fire Department Officers as recommended. A second was made by Brian Hollenkamp and upon roll call vote, the members voted as follows: Thom Muellner – aye, Brian Hollenkamp – aye, Roland Ahrendt – aye, Joe Arnzen – abstained, Bill Pohlmann – aye. Motion carried.
3. On January 25, the Fire Department Compensation Committee met and recommended the following pay rates be considered: increase the rate of pay to $10 per hour per call, meetings or training and $14 per hour for calls for the Officers and leaving the bonus policy as is. The council will take pay recommendation into consideration and will consult with the City Attorney before any decisions will be made.
Council member Bill Pohlmann joined the meeting at 7:31 p.m.
4. Presented the council with a drawing for the proposed sink in the Fire Department meeting room. The cost of the sink and installation would be paid for by the Grey Eagle Fire Department Relief Association funds.
The council discussed a bush encroaching the sidewalk on State Street. Council member Thom Muellner made contact with the owner of the property and was informed that they would trim the tree up in the spring. The bush is encroaching the sidewalk by almost five feet, making it difficult to remove the snow without causing damage to the bush and to the snow blower. The City cleans the snow on the two business blocks of State Street at no charge to the business owners. If the bush is not trimmed to allow snow removal without damage to City equipment, then the City ordinance requires that property owners be allowed 30 days to take care of issues relating to the sidewalks. A letter will be sent along with a copy of the ordinance requiring the bush be taken care of within the 30 day time period or the City will have it done and assess the cost to the property taxes.
Jim Tschida was in attendance seeking approval of a building permit application for a 14’x14’ addition and 14’x14’ deck on Cedar Street side of his property. He would also like to install an 8’x8’ cement pad along his driveway for additional parking space. Jim stated that he would be able to meet the 25’ setback from the edge of the tar road. A motion was made by Bill Pohlmann to approve the building permit application with stipulated setbacks. A second was made by Brian Hollenkamp and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
The council moved for a closed session to discuss employee performance.
A motion was made by Roland Ahrendt to accept the resignation of Jeff Koehn effective immediately and to advertise for the vacated position. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Brian Hollenkamp that the council does not waive the monetary limits on municipal tort liability established by Minnesota Statutes, Section 466.04. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor motion carried.
The council discussed the optional equipment breakdown coverage being offered through the League of Minnesota Cities at an additional charge of approximately $500 per year. The council declined the optional coverage.
The council discussed the public alert system offered through Softline Data for an additional charge of approximately $200 per year. The council declined to participate at this time.
The Clerk informed the council that Board of Equalization training starts online July 1, 2018.
The Clerk informed the council that something needs to be done for record storage. The space currently used is filling up. The Clerk was instructed to get some quotes on record storage attached to the back of the clerk’s office that would need to be fire proof.
A motion was made by Bill Pohlmann to approve the ACH agreement with Todd County for payments to the City. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
The Board of Equalization meeting for the City of Grey Eagle will be held on Thursday April 12, 2018 at 1:00 p.m., in council chambers.
The following Water/Wastewater/Maintenance items were discussed:
1. Chico is requesting attendance to the Minnesota Rural Water Conference March 6-8 in St. Cloud at the cost of $230. A motion was made by Brian Hollenkamp to allow Chico to attend the Minnesota Rural Water Conference at the cost of $230. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
2. Chico reported that the left brake on the tractor doesn’t work and will need to find someone who can fix it.
3. The snow plow was repaired by Eagle Fabricating for $300.
4. One of the brick pillars at the cemetery was pushed over by an unknown vehicle. Herdering quoted $500 to remove two pillars and Larry Kerzman quoted $100 to remove two pillars. Chico will contact Larry to have the two pillars removed by spring.
5. Discussion was held on whether or not to continue mowing the property that was once the old football field. It was the consensus of the council to continue mowing the property.
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: $17,792.50 from the Sewer Fund to the Rural Development Debt Service Fund, $750.67 from the Fire Fund to the Fire Hall Debt Service Fund and $109.25 from the General Fund of which $34.25 goes to the Water Fund and $75 goes to the Sewer Fund for Fire Hall and Library utilities. A second was made by Brian Hollenkamp and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Roland Ahrendt to approve the payment of bills as listed and to include payment of the following additional items: $200 to Central Minnesota Credit Union, $2,164.94 to Minnesota Power, $176 to the Todd County Sheriff’s Office and to reduce the Bayer bill to $30,000 until the remainder of the work is complete. A second was made by Brian Hollenkamp and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Brian Hollenkamp to adjourn the meeting at 9:08 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 March 13, 2018 in council chambers.
Lori Hellmann, Clerk