Regular Meeting Motley City Council s1

REGULAR MEETING - MOTLEY CITY COUNCIL MOTLEY MN June 12, 2007

Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Alexander called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. with the following council members present: Bruce Mills and Rob Sampson. Larry Holub and Nancy Nieken were absent. The meeting took place at city hall.

The following persons were present for all or part of the meeting: Dawn Timbs; Gae Davis; Betty Starke; Lydia Goodwater; Marge Mills; Marinell Philipps; Wayne Barros and Bonnie Flansburg.

The pledge of allegiance to the flag was given.

Sampson moved, with a second by Mills, to approve the consent agenda, as follows: A. Outstanding bills – Claim # 3709-3749 Check # 24272-24304 Check # 12147-12154 B. Minutes of the Special May 15, 2007 meeting C. Minutes of the Regular May 22, 2007 meeting D. Resolution # 2007-7 – Donation – Kon’s Trucking E. Resolution # 2007-8 – Donation – Motley Fire Dept Relief Assn F. Employee Leave Report Sampson requested that it be noted that he did not vote on his appointment as Acting Mayor during the May 22, 2007 meeting. Mills, Alexander and Sampson voted aye, none nay. The mayor declared the motion carried.

The clerk informed the council that Nancy Nieken had arranged for Andy Dahlgren, Todd County Planning & Zoning to attend the July 10, 2007 meeting. Mayor Alexander expressed concerns about the amount of time this item will take and suggested that a Special Meeting be called to address this item specifically. Sampson expressed that he would rather this item be kept on for July 10th but that other items for the meeting be limited.

It was brought forward that former Building Official Pam Swanson has not been inspecting building projects that she agreed to complete. The clerk will contact current Building Official Dan Girtz to request that he complete these projects as needed.

The council reviewed a letter from Peter Vogel regarding council meetings. No action was taken.

The council reviewed a recommendation from the hiring committee for the Water/Wastewater/Maintenance Supervisor position as follows:  Full time position – 40 hours per week  Effective date of June 13, 2007  $19.82 per hour consistent with Step 9 of Grade 9.

of 5 Minutes of the regular June 12, 2007 Motley City Council meeting

 PERA will be withheld at the Coordinated Plan rate and the city will contribute their appropriate rate, as per MN Statute.  Sick leave, vacation and holiday benefits are included consistent with policy. Vacation is recommended to begin at 1½ days per month due to previous 25 years experience with the City of Motley in this position.  The City of Motley will provide the following insurance and pay premiums for the same in accordance with existing policies, commencing on the 1st day of the month following 30 days of employment. . Medical Insurance . Dental Insurance . Life Insurance . Short Term Disability Insurance  “At will” position. Barros requested that he be place at the 8 year mark so that he would advance to the over 10 year rate in 2 years. Mills thanked Barros for coming back 30 days ago and stated that he feels comfortable and thankful that he is willing to come back to work for the City of Motley. Mills stated that he realizes that the city will not get another 20 years out of Barros but believes that Barros would be a great mentor for a future replacement. Sampson stated that there were some members of the public that had issues with this particular item in the past and he wanted to make sure that the opportunity was given for the members of the public present to speak up now. There were no comments from the public present. Upon roll call vote, Mills, Alexander and Sampson voted aye, none nay. The mayor declared the motion carried.

Barros thanked the council for putting their trust back in him, stating that it will be beneficial to both parties and a grand opportunity for him and his family.

Barros stated that he will be changing the format of the maintenance report that the council receives. A lot will remain the same with him continuing to give the water flows, wastewater flows, sample results because these are vital things. He will be doing some maintenance at Ernie Converse Park, fixing the door handles due to the kids having a hard time getting in.

Barros met with Aric Welch and Mark Hallan, both of WSN to discuss the wastewater treatment plant. They are looking at use of some type of a chemical to take care of the algae problem. Sampson told Barros to keep the council informed on whatever he feels is needed. Barros talked about a “megger” that will send a high voltage through the windings of the motor and it will tell if there is a short within the windings. The maintenance department is now drying the motors out at the shop. This means a faster turn around for the aerators and just two times of sending the aerators out will pay for the “megger”. Barros stated that they took inventory for parts for the aerators and they did spend some money getting the stuff needed to keep the aerators going.

He stated that they also talked about different styles of aerators that could possibly be used down at the ponds. Some would go too deep, would scour the bottom, expose the liner and cause some damage, those would not be an option.

Barros discussed an enclosure to be installed around the lightening arrester battery backup at the water treatment plant to provide a safer and drier environment. They are looking at building a wall 6 foot away and approximately 10 feet high that would limit the exposure to the entire control panel. This would put the control panel in its own special environment. A rough estimate would be an electrician $200-300; de-humidifier $200-300 and the enclosure at roughly $500. Barros will get an estimate for the cost of materials for the enclosure and bring it back to the next meeting.

The council reviewed the weed list. Sampson stated that he felt some of the addresses on the list were actually fields. Due to complaints regarding the DeKan property, Barros will take another look at that address. A section of property west of the ElRay Travel Plaza and the area in Industrial Park that is being leased by MN Limited was added to the list.

Sampson moved, with a second by Mills, to approve sending notification to the addresses on the weed list, adding the ElRay property, the Industrial Park section and a follow-up on the DeKan property. Mills, Alexander and Sampson voted aye, none nay. The mayor declared the motion carried.

Mills stated that he wanted Barros to keep in mind that we are under scrutiny by the MPCA and that every piece of documentation for maintenance will help. Mills feels that any money that we spend will decrease the chance of getting a fine up the road. Barros stated that his goal is to see an algae free product out there. It will be two fold; 1) we will be sending a quality effluent out to the river which is primary, and 2) if we get the algae contained it will make less maintenance on the equipment and it will run smoother. Barros stated that the sampling station monitors for CBOD, TSS, Phosphorus and Nitrogen Ammonia.

Interim Police Chief Davis asked about the status of the office move for the police department. A committee was set as follows to come up with a final plan for the council to consider:  Bruce Mills  Gae Davis  Terri Smith  Wayne Barros  Troy Davis The clerk will contact the previous parties that bid on the project to see if they are still interested.

Davis expressed concerns about the guns that are kept in the squad car. She will bring back prices on what it would take to get guns that will work for everyone on the department. She spoke about training that deals with Methamphetamines and Cocaine and will bring back more information regarding this training to the council. The council stated that they are hesitant to say no to anything that has to do with education and/or safety for city employees. Sampson encouraged Davis to make any changes to the police report that she feels would give the council more information.

Mills moved, with a second by Alexander, to approve Resolution # 2007-9. A resolution requesting the reinstatement of the Local Board of Appeals. Mills, Alexander and Sampson voted aye, none nay. The mayor declared the motion carried.

Alexander moved, with a second by Sampson, to approve the application for an Exempt Bingo Permit from the Motley Fair Board for June 30, 2007. Mills, Alexander and Sampson voted aye, none nay. The mayor declared the motion carried.

The clerk explained that the city needed to find a new web site host for the city website. Limited information was available from Consolidated Telephone Company and information on GovOffice was reviewed. There will be initial online training and then additional on line training or support. There are many Minnesota cities that have their city websites hosted by GovOffice. Mills stated that he thinks Tracy Perish would be a good person to take care of it because her job was made easier with the new software for the computer and it would be a perfect job for her to do. There was not a decision made on who should be trained.

Alexander moved, with a second by Sampson, to move ahead with the purchase of service for the city website from GovOffice. Mills, Alexander and Sampson voted aye, none nay. The mayor declared the motion carried.

An application from the Motley Fair Board for a permit for fireworks to be held on June 30, 2007 was considered with the following requirements:  Proof of a bond or certificate of insurance in the amount of at least $300,000.00.  A diagram of the grounds at which the display will be held. The diagram must show the point at which the fireworks/pyrotechnic special effects are to be discharged; the location of the ground pieces; the location of all buildings, highways, streets, communication lines and other possible overhead obstructions; and the lines behind which the audience will be restrained.  Names and ages of all assistants that will be participating in the display.

Sampson moved, with a second by Mills, to approve the application for fireworks for June 30, 2007 contingent on receiving all of the required documents. Mills, Alexander and Sampson voted aye, none nay. The mayor declared the motion carried.

A resignation letter from Council Member Larry Holub was reviewed by the council. Smith stated that Attorney Peter Vogel had advised that the resignation be effective June 30, 2007 due to the lack of an exact date provided by Holub.

Alexander moved, with a second by Sampson, to accept the resignation of Council Member Larry Holub effective June 30, 2007. Mills, Alexander and Sampson voted aye, none nay. The mayor declared the motion carried.

Discussion on a replacement was as follows:

Sampson –  There are people out there that are willing to work with the council.  There are 5 persons on this council and all are equal. Mayor has the honor of heading the meeting.  We have a very good group of people on the council now and are getting a lot of work done.  Do we just ask for volunteers?  We want them to be willing to have discussion.

Mills –  Word of mouth is pretty good.  Would like to look inward, Planning and Zoning for example.  Believes that Sampson has been such an asset because of his experience on Planning and Zoning.  We should treat it like they are applying for a job.  It’s not like we want them to say yes every time we say yes. We want someone who is willing to show up.  Mayor has emergency privileges and that includes the street commissioner.

Alexander –  Can we just appoint someone that we know is interested?  We need to get out and talk to people to see if they are interested.  At the first meeting in July we should have someone.

Lydia Goodwater asked if the council could move to the candidate that was next in line in the amount of votes in the election. It was clarified that this was an option for the council but not required and the candidate that this would involve no longer is a resident of the City of Motley.

Sampson asked Barros what was being done with the fire hydrant that had been damaged by a snowmobile this last winter. Barros stated that he feels the hydrant is repairable and would not be an issue. The bottom part is made to break off.

Alexander moved, with a second by Sampson, to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was duly adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

Terri Smith Clerk Treasurer