The Melrose City Council met in a Regular Meeting on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. at the Melrose City Center pursuant to due notice being given thereof. Present were Council Members Jenny Mayers, Dick Christenson, Tony Klasen, Josh Thieschafer, Mayor Joe Finken, City Administrator Michael Brethorst, and City Clerk Patti Haase. City Administrator Brethorst opened the meeting. Also in attendance were several American Government students from the Melrose Area Public High School. The Council then recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
The City Administrator administered the Oaths of Office to Mayor Joe Finken and Council Members Dick Christenson and Josh Thieschafer who were elected in November 2014 to serve for four-year terms. Mayor Finken presided thereat.
A motion was made by Ms. Mayers, seconded by Mr. Christenson and unanimously carried to approve the agenda as submitted.
Mayor Finken welcomed the Council Members and is looking forward to working with them and the community. The following items were considered for approval under the Consent Agenda:
a. the minutes from the Council’s December 11, 2014 Regular Meeting and the December 17, 2014 Special Joint Meeting with the Commission.
b. 1) Assistant Weed Inspector: Mayor to appoint for a one-year term. Streets/Parks Supervisor Mark Maus has served in this position in the past and will accept reappointment.
2) City Forester: Mayor to appoint for a one-year term. Streets/Parks Supervisor Maus has served in this position in the past and will accept reappointment.
3) Animal Control Officer: Mayor to appoint for a one-year term the Melrose Police Department as the City Animal Control Officer.
c. Animal Shelter: The Council also gave consideration to designating the Minnesota Veterinary Associates, Inc. as the Animal Shelter.
d. Resolution No 2015-1, Resolution Designating Official Depository and Supplemental Depositories for City Funds. This resolution designates the depositories of City funds for 2015. Central Minnesota Credit Union, Melrose, and Freeport State Bank, Melrose were designated for 2015 and the Finance Director was given the authority to name additional depositories for the deposit of funds.
The Council again granted the Finance Director the authority to name the depositories. This could be done with the understanding that Central Minnesota Credit Union, Melrose, and Freeport State Bank, Melrose would also be used as depositories.
The motion designating the depositories of City funds should include the following, “For the purpose of being certain that all funds in financial institutions will be insured, the Finance Director shall have the authority pursuant to Minnesota Statutes 118A.02, Subd. 1, to name depositories for the deposit of funds so as to make certain that all City funds are either insured or collateral has been pledged by the depository as security, as permitted by M.S., Chapter 118A.”
Ambulance Department uncollectable accounts in the amount of $5,084.86 have been submitted to Revenue Recapture, collections, or written off. A complete list of accounts is on file at the City Office. There was also a total of $200 collected from Fire Department account holders during this quarter.
A motion was made by Mr. Klasen, seconded by Mr. Thieschafer and unanimously carried to approve the Consent Agenda.
Consideration was then given to the following appointments: 1) A motion was made by Mr. Finken, seconded by Ms. Mayers and unanimously carried to appoint Mr. Thieschafer as Acting Mayor for 2015.
2) In 2014, Dymoke Law Office PA was appointed to serve as the City Attorneys for general matters. Correspondence has been received from Dymoke Law Office seeking reappointment for 2015 with the rate of pay for services at $110 per hour.
Recommend the following items apply when making the appointments: a) Statements to be detailed and to include the time spent on each item;
b) City Attorney to attend Council meetings with only the first hour of each meeting being charged at the flat rate of $110 meeting lasting one hour or more, all additional minutes, hours etc. to be non-chargeable. If the Council meeting runs less than an hour, each meeting would be charged at a flat rate of $55;
c) City Attorney to attend Board/Commission or special meetings upon request with only the first hour of each meeting being charged at the $110 per hour flat rate and all additional minutes, hours, etc. to be non-chargeable. If the Board/Commission or special meeting runs less than an hour, each meeting would be charged at a flat rate of $55; d) The hourly rate to be $110 per hour for general matters;
e) Legal costs for special items to be negotiated with an hourly rate and the total cost not to exceed a set amount. Statements for special items to be submitted monthly; f) Copies of statements to be submitted to the Council for their review.
A motion was made by Mr. Christenson, seconded by Mr. Thieschafer and unanimously carried to appoint Dymoke Law Office PA to handle general matters for 2015 with the rate of pay to be $110 per hour.
3) Public Utilities Commission: A motion was made by Mr. Thieschafer, seconded by Mr. Klasen and unanimously carried to reappoint Mr. Christenson as the Council’s representative on the Public Utilities Commission for a one-year term.
4) Planning and Zoning Commission: The Council to appoint one member for a four-year term. Incumbent Jeanne Kraemer is not seeking reappointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission. With his seating as a Council Member, Planning and Zoning Commission Member Josh Thieschafer has submitted his letter of resignation from the Commission effective December 31, 2014. The Council to appoint one member for a three-year term to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mr. Thieschafer. Shawn Mayers and Adam Paulson have submitted an application to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The Mayor to appoint a Council Representative for a one-year term to the Planning and Zoning Commission. For 2014, Tony Klasen served as the Council Representative.
A motion was made by Mr. Christenson, seconded by Ms. Mayers and unanimously carried to appoint Mr. Mayers to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a four-year term.
A motion was then made by Mr. Klasen, seconded by Mr. Thieschafer and unanimously carried to appoint Mr. Paulson to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a three-year term.
A motion was then made by Ms. Mayers, seconded by Mr. Thieschafer and unanimously carried to reappoint Mr. Klasen as the Council’s representative on the Planning and Zoning Commission for a one-year term.
5) Melrose Area Development Authority (MADA: A motion was made by Mr. Christenson, seconded by Mr. Klasen and unanimously carried to reappoint George Jensen to MADA for a six-year term.
A motion was then made by Mr. Thieschafer, seconded by Mr. Christenson and unanimously carried to reappoint Ms. Mayers as the Council representative on MADA for a one-year term.
6) Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA): Mayor to appoint and Council to concur appointing one member for a five-year term. Melvin Roehrl is not seeking reappointment. Matt McDonald has submitted an application to serve on the Housing and Redevelopment Authority.
A motion was made by Mr. Thieschafer, seconded by Ms. Mayers and unanimously carried to appoint Mr. McDonald to the Melrose Housing and Redevelopment Authority for a five-year term.
Mayor to appoint and Council to concur a Council Representative to serve a one year term. The Council to adopt Resolution No. 2015-2, Resolution of Appointment.
Mr. Klasen introduced Resolution No. 2015-2, Resolution of Appointment to the Melrose Housing and Redevelopment Authority. The motion was seconded by Ms. Mayers with a roll call vote recorded as follows: For: Council Members Klasen, Mayers, Christenson, Thieschafer, and Mayor Finken; Against: None.
7) Parks and Recreation Board: A motion was made by Mr. Christenson, seconded by Ms. Mayers and unanimously carried to appoint Mr. Thieschafer as the Council representative on the Parks and Recreation Board for a one-year term.
b) The Council gave consideration to designating the Grievance Representative for 2015. The Utilities Commission will also designate their Grievance Representative for 2015 at their January 12, 2015 Regular Meeting. For 2014, Joe Finken was the Council representative and Lyle Olmscheid was the Utilities Commission representative.
A motion was made by Mr. Christenson, seconded by Ms. Mayers and unanimously carried to reappoint Mr. Finken to serve as the Council Grievance Representative for 2015.
The Council next gave consideration to appointing a member to the Ad Hoc Labor & Personnel Committee for future labor discussions. In 2014, Council Member Jenny Mayers served as Council Representative and Eric Seanger served as the Utilities Commission representative for this Committee. The Utilities Commission will be appointing a representative at its January 12, 2015 meeting.
A motion was made by Mr. Klasen, seconded by Mr. Thieschafer and unanimously carried reappointing Ms. Mayers to the Ad Hoc Labor & Personnel Committee for 2015.
Mayor Finken noted that the Council and Utilities Commission have approved the design work for the 2nd Street NW and 1st Street NE Utilities and Roads Projects. The design work is nearing completion. The total project cost for both the construction and slip lining is estimated to be $437,400. This would be paid by the various funds accordingly.
After a review of the project costs and the timing of additional projects for 2015, it has been identified that the complete 2nd Street NW portion of the Five Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) would exceed the cash available to fund the project planned for 2017; therefore, it is recommended to delay the 2nd Street NW portion of the project until 2018 in the CIP. This would coincide with the expiration of the bond which would allow the City funds to help pay for this and other needed projects.
The 1st Street NE slip line project will still be completed. This project does not impact the General Fund and only affects the Wastewater Fund. WSB would continue with the design work for the projects as originally planned; however, they would not proceed beyond design phase. This would then become a shovel-ready project.
A motion was made by Mr. Christenson, seconded by Ms. Mayers and unanimously carried to delay the 2nd Street NW construction project.
The following informational item was discussed: a. Council Member Mayers noted that the Council will host an event for the visiting German students on Tuesday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m.
A motion was made by Ms. Mayers, seconded by Mr. Klasen and unanimously carried that the meeting be adjourned at 6:20 p.m. Patricia Haase, City Clerk