SANDSTONE CITY COUNCIL

REGULAR MEETING

February 2, 2005

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Atterbury called the workshop session of the Sandstone City Council to order at 6 pm.

ROLL CALL

Members present:            Johnson, Atterbury, Gafkjen, Bonander

Members absent:  Keller

Staff present:                Administrator Griffith, Recording Secretary Hormillosa, Spartz, CATV

Other present:               Tim Franklin

WORKSHOP & continuation of Sidewalk Public Hearing

Brad Hiler was present to make comments about the sidewalk in front of his home on Lark.  He would like to see a curb cut for his property and he will discuss the project with his neighbors to ask if the sidewalk should be replaced or removed.

Motion Gafkjen second Atterbury to continue the sidewalk public hearing to February 16^th.  Motion approved 4-0.

The Mayor had requested a workshop on development in the City. He presented a short list of some ideas he is pursuing.  Staff prepared a list of current private and public activities underway.  There was a general discussion about some of the planning work being done by city consultants and the next steps to be considered by the City.  Discussion on Wild River Apartments was deferred to the 16^th when Great Lakes Management will be present.  There was some discussion about how the City could and should market some of the opportunities in the community including consideration of acquiring some additional property to open up the airport property for development. Consensus was that the Council needs to prioritize time and money for these activities.  Council member Bonander volunteered to explore some tourism activities.    Council would like to see if they could meet with the Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee to see if there are some areas of cooperation.

Mayor Atterbury called the meeting to order from recess at 7:10 p.m.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Staff and members present recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA

Motion Gafkjen, second Bonander to approve the agenda with the addition of 12G – Consider utility bill adjustment – Maki and 12H – Status of Chuck Vork’s employment.  Motion carried 4-0.

SPECIAL ITEMS OF BUSINESS

Fred Keller resignation

Councilmember Fred Keller has tendered his resignation from the Council, EDA and advisory committees. 

Gafkjen expressed appreciation for Keller’s public service to the City.

Motion Bonander, second Johnson to adopt Resolution 2005-05, accepting Fred Keller’s resignation from Council position and declaring a vacancy.  Motion carried 4-0.

Motion Gafkjen, second Johnson to direct Staff to advertise the Council vacancy, accepting applications until noon on February 16, and request applicants to appear at the February 16, 2005 Council meeting for consideration.  Motion carried 4-0.

Fire Formula overview

The Council will meet with the townships for the annual Fire Formula discussion on February 8, 2005.  Griffith provided an overview of the Fire Formula for the benefit of the new council members.

PRESENTATION OF AWARDS, PETITIONS OR COMPLAINTS

Bonander forwarded a comment from a resident, who had previously complained about untimely snow removal, that his situation was addressed to his satisfaction.

APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES

Motion Johnson, second Bonander to approve regular meeting minutes for January 19, 2005.  Motion carried 4-0.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

There were none.

CONSENT AGENDA

Motion Gafkjen, second Johnson to approve the consent agenda as follows:  Hand checks; Authorize Administrator attendance at LMC Safety & Loss Control Workshop in St. Cloud on April 6; Appoint the following as Safety Committee members:  Chuck Vork; Andy Spartz; Ron Newey; Tom Drotning; Andy Andrews; Randy Atterbury.  Motion carried 4-0.

FINANCE OFFICER’S REPORT

Claims

Motion Gafkjen, second Bonander to approve and pay claims in the amount of $44,945.79.  Motion carried 4-0.

OLD & CONTINUING BUSINESS

Board of Review Training

The City Board of Review is scheduled for April 28, 2005.  New state law requires that at least one member of the Board attend training.  Pine County is holding a training session on February 15.  Johnson and Bonander volunteered to attend the training.

NEW BUSINESS

Utility bill adjustment – Petry

Bruce and Shelly Petry have requested a waiver of shut off fees for two properties they own based on a verbal arrangement they made to pay their overdue water bill.  When they did report to pay the bill, the shut off fee had already been applied, per City policy. 

Motion Gafkjen, second Johnson to uphold City policy and to not waive either shut off fee as requested by Bruce and Shelly Petry.  Motion carried 4-0.

Position/wage approval for assistant clerk

The Personnel Committee has recommended that Donna Duncan be offered the Assistant Clerk position at $8.75/hr for 30 hours per week.  She is available to begin immediately.

Motion Johnson, second Bonander to offer the Assistant Clerk position to Donna Duncan at $8.75/hr for 30 hours per week.  Motion carried 4-0.

S.E.H. contract extension

The City has a contract with S.E.H. for the Storm Water Utility program.  Some additional engineering time is needed.  Adequate funds have been budgeted in Non-Departmental for engineering needs.

Motion Gafkjen, second Bonander to extend the contract with S.E.H. to implement the Storm Water Utility project, with the provision that the amount not exceed $2,600.  Motion carried 4-0.

Corporate Authorization resolution

Fred Keller is currently listed as a signatory for the City’s bank accounts.  Accepting his resignation, the City must also replace his name on the signatory list.

Motion Gafkjen, second Bonander to adopt Resolution 2005-06, removing Fred Keller’s name and adding Jody Johnson’s name as signatory for the City’s Bank accounts.  Motion carried 4-0.

Surplus snow plow

The City declared the old Falls plow blade as surplus and offered it for sale to the highest bidder.  One offer was received, from Gary Stafne, in the amount of $205.00.

Motion Gafkjen, second Johnson to accept Gary Stafne’s bid of $205.00 for the surplus plow blade and to deposit the proceeds into the Public Works Equipment Fund.  Motion carried 4-0.

Increase in pension amount for fire fighters

The Fire Relief Association is requesting that the City consider increasing the pension payment from $1,100 per year of service to $1,500 per year of service.  The Association’s financial situation is such that this action is appropriate and can be adjusted in the future if the need arises.  Both the Mayor and Administrator were present at the Fire Relief Association meeting when the topic was discussed. 

Motion Gafkjen, second Johnson to approve the request of the Relief Association to increase the pension payment from $1,100 per year of service to $1,500 per year of service.  Motion carried 4-0.

Utility bill adjustment – Maki

Ed Maki has requested that the Council forgive all or a portion of his excessive water usage for the month of January.  He was unaware of a leak, although Dave from PeopleService inspected the home and found three leaking toilets. 

Motion Gafkjen, second Atterbury to not forgive the excessive water usage by Ed Maki in the month of January.  Motion carried 4-0.

Status of Chuck Vork’s employment

Chuck Vork has a unique employment situation with the City and has discussed retirement this summer.  He is willing to remain in the employ of the City and the Mayor has suggested granting a wage increase.  Increases for all other union and non-union employees was determined in December and Staff recommended that the Council not set a precedent of negotiating pay increases with employees on an individual basis.   The Council had previously determined that it wished to review all job descriptions.

Motion Johnson, second Gafkjen to direct the Personnel Committee to review all City job descriptions and report back to the Council with its findings.  Motion carried 4-0.

REPORTS

Motion Gafkjen, second Johnson to accept the reports as follows:  Summary of paid claims; Safety Committee minutes – January 11; CDAC minutes – January 12; Fire & Rescue minutes – December 27 and January 24; Relief Association minutes – January 24. Motion carried 4-0.

WRITTEN NOTICES AND COMMUNICATIONS

The City has received the activity reports for November, December and January from the Sheriff’s Department, as requested. 

ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Griffith reminded the Council of the Fire Formula meeting on Tuesday, February 8 at 6:30 p.m.

Other items to note include:  the need for neighborhood watch members, the need for members for a Skate Park Booster Club, the Public Hearing on tax abatement on the Kettle River Town Home project (and the upcoming County meeting on the same issue), a 6 p.m. start time for the EDA meeting on the 16^th, legislative activities, an opportunity to meet with Representative Judy Soderstrom on Saturday, 4 p.m., at the Grapevine.

He requested suggestions for future workshops.  The Council agreed that the 4^th Wednesdays of February and March be reserved for 2 Council members to meet with members of the public to informally answer questions and obtain feedback.

ADJOURN

Motion Johnson, second Bonander to adjourn at 8:29 p.m.

                                                                        _____________________________

                                                                        Randy Atterbury

                                                                        Mayor

Attest:

____________________________

Donna Hormillosa

Recording Secretary