The regular meeting of the Grey Eagle City Council was called to order by Mayor Joseph Arnzen at 7:00 p.m., on the 12th day of March 2019 in council chambers. Council members present were Thom Muellner, Bill Pohlmann, Roland Ahrendt, and Brian Hollenkamp. There were no council members absent. Also in attendance were Chico Hellmann, Lori Hellmann and guests Mark and Sherry Larson, Rick Utech and Dan Berscheid.
A motion was made by Bill Pohlmann to approve the amended agenda. A second was made by Brian Hollenkamp and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve the minutes of the February 12, 2019 meeting as written. A second was made by Bill Pohlmann and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Mark and Sherry Larson were in attendance to discuss upcoming Lions Club activities:
*Community Appreciation May 25, 2019 at the Fire Hall from 4:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. They would like to run the bills through the city as was done in the past.
*Memorial Day activities and parade as was done in the past.
*GEMFest July 20th and 21st to include Pig Races on Saturday and parade at noon on Sunday. If the City would like to contribute to the Pig Races, it would be very much appreciated.
*Labor Day Tractor Pull September 2, 2019.
Mayor Joseph Arnzen discussed how donations are made by the Grey Eagle Burtrum Lions Club to the City and how the City spends those donations. Based on information obtained from the accountant, there is no issue with donations received from the Lions Club from their gambling proceeds. The issue is how those funds are spent by the City. Once the money is deposited into city accounts they become public funds and must follow the public purpose expenditures guidelines regardless of what the government request form states as to the purpose of the donation. Moving forward the City will no longer run the Community Appreciation expenses through the City as the expenses do not meet public purpose guidelines. As for Memorial Day activities, the City can only spend up to $300 per 75,000 in population, can only directly pay for certain expenses to honor veterans, and cannot donate to any nonprofit such as the Grey Eagle Cemetery Association. The City also will not be able to make any donation towards the pig races that will be held during GEMFest as that also does not meet the public purpose guidelines. Other donations that will no longer be able to be run through the City will be Race on Trace trophies and the Empty Stocking Program.
Rick Utech from the Todd County Economic Development Corporation was in attendance to discuss information on potential rental housing. To do a full blown housing study would cost approximately $25,000. This study would determine what types of housing would be needed. To do a market study it would cost approximately $6,000. Before a housing study could be done available property would need to be identified. Typically the City would purchase the property and then donate it for the project with water and sewer to the property. The application through Central Minnesota Housing Partnership would need to start in November or December for 2020 construction.
Dan Berscheid was in attendance to discuss the possible purchase of a 2008 F350 cargo truck with winch for $9,600 from the State. The truck will be brought to Little Falls for the Fire Department to view. If the truck were to be purchased it would cost approximately $3,000 – $5,000 to paint with a total approximate cost of $25,000 once it was equipped with items from the old truck.
A motion was made by Bill Pohlmann to approve the purchase of the 2008 F350 cargo truck from the State for $9,600 if it is a suitable truck. If the truck is purchased any other expenditures would need to be approved by the Council before any work could be done. A second was made by Brian Hollenkamp and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Due to the large number of Certificates of Deposit at Central Minnesota Credit Union, the Clerk is requesting to consolidate them into only seven. The Credit Union will waive early penalty fees if no money is to withdrawn at the time of consolidation.
A motion was made by Bill Pohlmann to approve consolidation of Certificates of Deposit at Central Minnesota Credit Union with both Joe and Lori in attendance at the Credit Union when that consolidation takes place. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
The council discussed snow piles and how all the snow may affect the City when everything starts melting.
A motion was made by Bill Pohlmann to call a special meeting for Tuesday, March 26, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers. The first part of the meeting will be set aside to meet with the Walburn family to discuss the possible purchase of property on which to place the west lift station as part of the sewer rehabilitation project. The second part of the meeting will be for the residents that the City will need to obtain either temporary or permanent easements as part of the sewer rehabilitation project and the county road project. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Spring Leaf and Lawn has been scheduled for Friday May 3, 2019.
There were no building permits for council consideration.
The Clerk was instructed to proceed with delinquent utilities as allowed by ordinance.
A motion was made by Brian Hollenkamp to approve the following fund transfer: $148.12 from the General Fund of which $31.12 goes to the Water Fund and $117 goes to the Sewer Fund for Fire Hall, Library and Old City Hall utilities. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
The following water/wastewater/maintenance items were discussed:
• The John Deere snow blower broke down. There were no hydraulics and the drive shaft broke and went through the radiator. The cost of parts to repair is approximately $900 plus the cost of labor.
• The water tower back up UPS unit failed causing issues at the Water Plant. Residents had no water pressure for a short time while Chico and Matt got it back up and running.
• The PVC valve was replaced on the City truck and seems to have taken care of the issues.
A motion was made by Brian Hollenkamp to approve the payment of the bills listed and to include the payment of the following additional items: $100 to Central Minnesota Credit Union, $1,337.86 to Sourcewell, $2,249.32 to Minnesota Power and $187.08 to the First State Bank of Swanville. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Bill Pohlmann to adjourn at 8:58 p.m. A second was made by Brian Hollenkamp 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 April 9, 2019 in council chambers.
Lori Hellmann, Clerk