The regular meeting of the Grey Eagle City Council was called to order by Mayor Joe Arnzen and 7:00 p.m., on the 14th day of March, 2017 in council chambers. Council members present were Joe Arnzen, Thom Muellner and Roland Ahrendt. Council member Bill Pohlmann was absent. Also in attendance were Chico Hellmann, Lori Hellmann and guests Duane Towle, Brian Hollenkamp and Joe Krueger.
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 Thom Muellner to approve the minutes of the February 14, 2017 meeting as written. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Duane Towle was in attendance to discuss the possibility of connecting his home to city water. His driveway is at the end of city limits but his home is in Grey Eagle Township. Duane stated that he would pay all expenses related to connecting to city water and that he was not requesting connection to city sewer. Duane will get costs together and the council will do research before a decision will be made.
Brian Hollenkamp was in attendance seeking a building permit to move in a 20’x10’x8’ storage container to be used as a shed. Brian provided the council with a photo of the storage container and stated that the container would be painted to match the house. Brian stated that setback requirements would be met without any issues. A motion was made by Roland Ahrendt to approve a building permit for Brian Hollenkamp to move in a 20’x10’x8’ storage container. Painting of the storage container will be completed by the end of June 2017. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
Joe Krueger was in attendance to introduce himself to the council and staff and to offer his legal opinion on questions the council had on a number of issues as follows:
1. Undeveloped streets: In areas where the city never opened an undeveloped street for public use, the council should not encourage maintenance of an undeveloped street. The council should police the undeveloped streets to ensure that items are not built or placed in them and not allow property owners to make any improvements. The council could block off undeveloped streets if an issue should arise. He also recommended that the council not be so quick to agree to vacate property that is held in trust for a public road.
2. Fire Department incentive pay. The incentive pay does not violate any labor laws, but a Firefighter compensation policy should be drawn up.
3. Inoperable vehicles that have current license or collector plates. Current ordinance appears to allow this but he would need to look over the city nuisance ordinance before he can give an opinion further.
4. Service Dogs unleashed. Suggested that the city first speak with the county attorney to see how they would handle the case if it went to court. He recommended that the individual be cited for any violation of the ordinance and if they have a valid defense they could present it to the court. He stated that there is no defense for the dog depositing waste on the neighbor’s yard or bushes.
The council discussed the alley that is between the Credit Union and the Junction. Someone has been blading the alley that was not hired nor approved by the council. Joe Krueger believes there is a statute prohibiting this but he will do some research and report back to the clerk.
The following water/wastewater/maintenance items were discussed:
1. There is a tree at Bass Lake that appears to be leaning. It was the consensus of the council to leave the tree stand at this time.
2. The generator at the east lift station has been beeping over the last couple of weeks. Jim’s Electric has been here to repair a switch but that did not take care of the problem. It was later determined that the tank heater is bad and needs to be replaced. Jim’s Electric did not have a tank heater on hand so one had to be ordered. They will come and install the new tank heater as soon as possible.
3. It was the consensus of the council to have the City of Sauk Centre come in and do the street sweeping as they have done the past couple of years. Chico was asked to coordinate with MnDOT who usually does State Street at no charge to the city.
4. Discussion was held on where the dock should be placed at Bass Lake.
5. Discussion was held on whether or not to reinstate the connect/disconnect fee. The council tabled a decision until the April meeting.
6. Chico informed the council that all the gate valves should be exercised. Minnesota Rural Water rents out an automatic gate valve opener to make this task a little easier. Chico will get in touch with Minnesota Rural Water to find out the cost to rent the gate valve opener before a decision will be made.
7. Wastewater licensure compensation was discussed. Currently Matt receives $350 per month for each license held. Last month the Clerk was instructed to find out if the city could compensate for the licensure without being in violation of pay equity. After talking with the accountant it was determined that the city could pay based on licensure and not be in violation. A motion was made by Thom Muellner to compensate Chico $350 per month for his Class D Wastewater licensure. 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 a two year leave of absence for Craig Tschida from the Fire Department. If at the end of two years, Craig has not reactivated his status to the Fire Department, he would be terminated. A second was made by Roland Ahrendt and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
The Clerk informed the council that she had received a check from the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust for the damages done to the Rescue Rig. The Fire Department is waiting for an estimate for a new aluminum box before it will be presented to the council for approval.
A motion was made by Roland Ahrendt to approve a five year contract with Tom’s Refuse effective June 1, 2017 through May 31, 2022. 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 Resolution No. 2017-11, A Resolution Establishing Limited Clean Up and Property Damage Protection for Sewer Back-ups and Water Main Breaks for Water and Sewer Customers. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried. The resolution is as follows:
Resolution No. 2017-11: RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING LIMITED CLEAN UP AND PROPERTY DAMAGE PROTECTION FOR SEWER BACK-UPS AND WATER MAIN BREAKS FOR WATER AND SEWER CUSTOMERS
WHEREAS, the City of Grey Eagle (the Governmental Unit) provides water and sanitary sewer services to property within its jurisdiction; and WHEREAS, water main breaks may cause water to enter into property causing damage; and WHEREAS, blockages or other conditions in the Governmental Unit’s sanitary sewer lines may cause the back-up of sewage into properties that are connected to those Governmental Unit’s sanitary lines; and WHEREAS, water main breaks and sewer back-ups pose a public health and safety concern; and WHEREAS, it may be difficult to determine the exact cause and responsibility for a water main break or sanitary sewer back-ups; and WHEREAS, the Governmental Unit desires to encourage the expeditious clean-up of properties that have encountered damage from water main breaks and sewer back-ups; and WHEREAS, the Governmental Unit desires to minimize the potential of expensive lawsuits arising out of water main breaks and sanitary sewer back-up claims; and WHEREAS, the Governmental Unit is a member of the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT); and WHEREAS, LMCIT has offered the Governmental Unit limited “no fault” sewer coverage and water main break coverage (No-Fault Coverage) that will reimburse users of the water and sewer system for certain clean-up costs and property damage regardless of whether the Governmental Unit is at fault.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, as follows: The Governmental Unit will reimburse water and sanitary sewer customers for up to $10,000 of clean- up costs and property damages caused by a water main break or sanitary sewer back-up, regardless of whether the Governmental Unit is negligent or otherwise legally liable for damages, subject to the following conditions:
I. Sanitary Sewer Back-Ups. For Sanitary sewer back-ups:
A. The back-up must have resulted from a condition in the Governmental Unit’s sanitary sewer system or lines and not from a condition in a private line.
B. The back-up must not have been caused by any catastrophic weather or other event which has been declared by the President of the United States to be a major disaster pursuant to 42 U.S.C 5121-5206, commonly known as the Stafford Act.
C. The back-up must not have been caused by an interruption in electric power to the Governmental Unit’s sewer system or to any Governmental Unit lift station, which continues for more than 72 hours.
D. The back-up must not have been caused by an amount of precipitation equivalent to rainfall amounts which exceed:
• 2.0 inches in a 1-hour period; or
• 2.5 inches in a 3-hour period; or
• 3.0 inches in a 6-hour period; or
• 3.5 inches in a 12-hour period; or
• 4.0 inches in a 24-hour period; or
• 4.5 inches in a 72-hour period; or
• 5.5 inches in a 168-hour period.
E. Neither the Governmental Unit nor LMCIT will reimburse any costs which have been or are eligible to be covered under a property owner’s own homeowners’ or other property insurance, or which would be eligible to be reimbursed under a National Flood Insurance Protection (NFIP) policy, whether or not the property owner actually has NFIP Coverage.
F. The maximum amount that the Governmental Unit or LMCIT will reimburse is $10,000 per building, per year. A structure or group of structures served by a single connection to the Governmental Unit’s sewer system is considered a single building.
II. Water Main Breaks. For water main breaks:
A. Neither the Governmental Unit nor LMCIT will reimburse any costs which have been or are eligible to be covered under a property owner’s own homeowners’ or other property insurance.
B. The maximum amount that the Governmental Unit or LMCIT will reimburse is $10,000 to any claimant, regardless of the number of occurrences or the number of properties affected.
C. Neither the Governmental Unit nor LMCIT will pay more than $250,000 for water main break damages resulting from any single occurrence. All water main break damage which occurs during any period of 72 consecutive hours is deemed to result from a single occurrence. If the total water main break damage for all claimants in a single occurrence exceeds $250,000, the reimbursement to each claimant will be calculated as follows:
1. A preliminary reimbursement figure is established for each claimant, equal to the lesser of the claimant’s actual damages or $10,000.
2. The sum of the preliminary reimbursement figures for all claimants will be calculated.
3. Each claimant will be paid a percentage of his or her preliminary reimbursement figure, equal to the percentage calculated by dividing $250,000 by the sum of all claimants’ preliminary reimbursement figures.
III. The Governmental Unit’s determination to make these payments is contingent on and expressly limited to the extent that No-Fault Coverage is in force and available to reimburse the Governmental Unit for the costs set forth herein.
IV. The Governmental Unit retains the right, in its sole discretion, to revoke, rescind, or modify this resolution at any time.
V. The Governmental Unit hereby rescinds any prior resolution providing no-fault sewer back up coverage and water main break coverage.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Governmental Unit by action of its governing body, caused this Resolution to be approved on March 14, 2017.
A motion was made by Thom Muellner to approve Resolution No. 2017-12, A Resolution Accepting $2,500 Donation from the Grey Eagle Burtrum Lions Club for Race on Trace Trophies. 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.
The spring Leaf and Brush pick up will be held on Friday, April 28, 2017.
Mayor Joe Arnzen reminded the council that a home needs to be found for the community sign that was once on the corner of the old school 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: $26,987.71 from Central Minnesota Credit Union checking account to the First State Bank of Swanville checking account, $748.26 from the Fire Fund to the Fire Hall Debt Service Fund and $101.26 from the General Fund of which $31.26 goes to the Water Fund and $70 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 Roland Ahrendt to pay the bills as listed and to include the payment of the following additional items: $200 to Central Minnesota Credit Union and $1,171.56 to National Joint Powers Alliance. A second was made by Thom Muellner and upon vote, with all members voting in favor, motion carried.
A motion was made by Roland Ahrendt to adjourn at 9:00 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, April 11, 2017 in council chambers.
Lori Hellmann, City Clerk
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