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MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – APRIL 10, 2007
The
regular meeting of the Morris City Council was called to order at 5:15 p.m.
this 10th day of April, 2007, by Mayor Giese in the Council Chambers
of the Morris Senior Citizens/Community Center.
PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of
Allegiance was recited.
ROLL
CALL: Roll call was taken with
the following members present:
Council member Carrington, Webster, Miller, Storck and Mayor Giese. Also present was City Manager Larson,
Finance Director Krosschell and City Attorney Glasrud.
READING
AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 3/27/07
Regular Meeting Minutes:
Council member Webster moved, seconded by Carrington, to approve the
3/27/07 regular meeting minutes.
Motion carried.
3/27/07
Condensed Version Minutes:
Council member Storck moved, seconded by Miller, to approve the 3/27/07
condensed version minutes. Motion
carried.
AUDIT
OF CITY BILLS: Council member Miller
moved, seconded by Webster, to authorize payment of the City bills dated April
10, 2007. Motion carried.
CITIZEN’S
COMMENTS: None
PETITIONS,
REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS: HRC
Meeting Minutes, 3/21/07:
Mayor
Giese noted the minutes talk about the new memberships. Webster stated his main concern was
that it seemed unfair to have someone willing to serve and then be rejected on
criteria that seemed vague and then have the commission go out and recruit
members. Webster wondered if the
city would get into trouble doing that.
City
Attorney Glasrud asked if the commission all had to agree on an
appointment. Webster indicated the
bylaws do not indicate any set criteria for selecting members and there is no
clear cut definition on how people are replaced.
Mayor
Giese stated the main thing that concerns him is that if the council previews
the applications for the HRC it needs to be done for all boards and commissions
and he isn’t sure he wants to do that.
Webster noted he would like to see a list of applicants when they
apply.
Council
member Miller, the ex-officio from the council, indicated the HRC is trying to
get a broad spectrum of members throughout the community. Miller feels they have been very
fair. Miller indicated the
commission had discussed previous applicants and if there is a vacancy and they
are still interested they should reapply.
Webster noted he would tell the citizen who approached him to
reapply.
Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Carrington, to accept the 3/21/07 HRC
meeting minutes. Motion carried.
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – APRIL 10, 2007
ORDINANCES
AND RESOLUTIONS: Pre-Sale
Report and Resolution for Sale of G.O. Improvement Bonds: City Manager Larson indicated the
council received a copy of the pre-sale report from Ehlers and Associates for
the G.O. Improvement Bonds for the West 6th Street and Lyndale
Avenue project. Larson noted the
bond would be for 15 years. Larson
stated the city is required by law to collect principle and interest in excess
of 5% of the amount due. Larson
pointed out $25,000 would be taken out of the franchise fee fund to be used for
reconstruction of the street, as was done for the West 4th and East
10th Street projects.
Council
member Carrington asked if a future city council could take out the
contribution from the franchise fund.
Larson stated it could be taken out but the deficit would have to be
made up somewhere.
Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Webster, to adopt Resolution #2706-4-07,
Resolution Providing for the Sale of $1,290,000 G.O. Improvement Bonds Series
2007A to Finance West 6th Street and Lyndale Avenue. Voting was as follows:
Council
member Carrington aye
Council
member Webster aye
Council
member Miller aye
Council
member Storck aye
Mayor
Giese aye
With all
voting in favor, motion carried.
Resolution
to Enter Into a Mutual Aid Agreement with U of M: Larson indicated this is something Police Chief Beauregard
has been working on with UMM.
Larson stated it is a good idea because up until now there has never
really been an agreement in writing.
Larson noted the Board of Regents has given their approval to the
agreement. City Attorney Glasrud
indicated these types of agreements are not uncommon with fire departments and
ambulance services. Glasrud stated
the agreement allows for city personnel to help to the extent that they are
able and the ability to pull out if personnel are needed elsewhere for city
matters.
Council
member Webster moved, seconded by Miller, to adopt Resolution #2707-4-07,
Resolution Entering Into a Mutual Aid Agreement with the University of
Minnesota. Voting was as follows:
Council
member Webster aye
Council
member Carrington aye
Council
member Storck aye
Council
member Miller aye
Mayor
Giese aye
With all
voting in favor, motion carried.
CITY MANAGER’S
REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS:
Renewal of Fire Contract:
Larson stated the formula used bases the cost for each township and the
City of Alberta on the total market value of all structures in the area being
covered and population in the same area, not on the number of fire calls. Larson stated he feels this formula
works better because it seemed that some townships were subsidizing other
townships. Larson noted
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – APRIL 10, 2007
Renewal
of Fire Contract: (continued)
the
geographical information in based on the 2002 census figures and information
from the state demographer’s office.
Larson pointed out all townships and the City of Alberta are charged a
3% surcharge for the contribution to the equipment fund.
Larson
reviewed each item of the fire contract with the council. The total contribution to the equipment
fund for all townships and the City of Alberta is $4,350.21 and an actual cost
share of $26,101.26 for a total of $30,451.47.
Council
member Miller asked about fire protection for the new ethanol plant by
Alberta. Larson indicated
right now the area in question is in Scott Township and serviced by the City of
Chokio. Larson stated if Scott
Township wanted to change they are free to come to the City but the City
wouldn’t approach them. Larson
noted that contributions from the state to the Fire Relief Association are
based on areas covered. If parties
want to change, the city wouldn’t say no but they would need to approach their
town boards.
Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Webster, to approve the fire contract between
the City of Morris and the City of Alberta and surrounding townships. Voting was as follows:
Council
member Miller aye
Council
member Storck aye
Council
member Carrington aye
Council
member Webster aye
Mayor
Giese aye
With all
voting in favor, motion carried.
Supplemental
Agreement to West 8th Street Project to Extend Sewer and Reconstruct
Street: Larson explained that
when West 8th Street was completed in 2006 the plans for the
sanitary sewer ended up being about 1400 feet short of the western city
limits. Curt Quisberg, who lives
at the end of West 8th Street in city limits, has since contacted
the city and is in need of replacing his septic system. If it were available he would hook up
to the city sewer system if it were extended to near his property. If the sewer were extended it would
also be necessary to reconstruct the road. Because the sewer was not extended the road was not planned
for reconstruction either. The
result is that there is a section of road between the new construction on West
8th and the new construction that Stevens County is doing that
doesn’t match up.
Larson
noted the large area in between where the utility ends now and the city limits
is owned by St. Francis Health Services and could be opened up for
development. The assessments on
this would be deferred until the land is developed. Larson noted the money is available to do the project with
$70,000 coming from the utility fund to cover the cost of the sanitary sewer
and $80,000 could be transferred out of the liquor store fund to cover the cost
of the road.
Mayor
Giese asked if Quisberg was on city water and Larson indicated he is. Council member Miller stated it seemed
like a lot to extend 1400 feet for one person. Council member Storck indicated it should have been caught
by someone before this. Larson
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – APRIL 10, 2007
Supplemental
Agreement to West 8th Street Project to Extend Sewer and Reconstruct
Street: (continued)
noted the
engineer’s design went to the last manhole. Larson stated if it is set to do right away this spring it
shouldn’t take long.
Council
member Carrington asked how much the assessment would offset the costs. Larson stated to be fair, Quisberg
would be charged the same as the others along West 8th Street, which
is $3,100 for the sewer. There
would be a supplemental assessment for land that would eventually be
developed. Larson indicated that
amount would be prorated for the life of the project, which is forty years for
a sanitary sewer.
Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Giese, to extend the sanitary sewer and
reconstruct West 8th Street the 1400 feet to the end of the city
limits. Voting was as follows:
Council
member Storck aye
Council
member Miller aye
Council
member Webster abstain
Council
member Carrington aye
Mayor
Giese aye
With four
voting in favor and one abstaining, motion carried.
Receipt
of Bids for Spray Park: Larson
stated one bid was received in the amount of $138,812.73. Larson indicated he would like to
discuss this bid with the Park Board and bring it back to the council at their
April 24th meeting.
Council member Carrington stated he thought the original bid was around
$100,000. Larson noted that was
the estimate at the time but the initial cost didn’t include as many spray
items. Larson indicated the toys
for the nozzles have been ordered for about $14,000. Larson stated this was simply informational for the council
at this time.
Update
on Special Assessments for Apartment Buildings: Larson indicated Amanda Minion, the intern for the city, has
researched this matter. Larson
noted the cities of Fergus Falls and Alexandria use a factor of .80 for
apartment buildings, instead of the .75 used by Morris. Larson explained for the most part,
cities assess by lineal footage which would be similar to what the city does
for curb & gutter.
Paul
Bankord, a local apartment owner, stated his renters can expect an increase of
$75-$100 a month for rent. Bankord
stated he feels the apartment owners are subsidizing the homeowners. Bankord stated his apartment building
uses 10,000 cubic feet per billing period for water, while the Legion uses
14,000 but pays a lower assessment.
Bankord stated he doesn’t mind paying twice as much and then paying
25-30% after that to bring it to an even playing field. Bankord stated his renters already pay
$350-$400 a month, including heat.
Bankord
questioned the assessment for UBC and what would happen there.
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – APRIL 10, 2007
Update
on Special Assessments for Apartment Buildings: (continued)
Larson
stated he is not recommending a final decision from the council at this
time. Larson suggested come fall
the numbers be prepared both ways to see how they compare.
NEW
BUSINESS: Council member
Webster informed the council the chamber is having a Sunrise Sale on May 9th
from 6:00-9:00 with a breakfast being served in the empty lot between McGinnis
and Keepers. Webster asked if four
picnic tables could be delivered to this area on May 8th. Larson indicated he would direct city
staff to take care of that.
Trail
Meeting: City Manager Larson
stated he spoke with Wayne Hurly, the West Central Initiative’s Planning
Director, and he will be in Morris on April 26th from 5:30-7:30 to
talk about recreational trails in the community. Larson suggested the people interested in the extension of
the bike path on West 4th Street attend the meeting.
OLD
BUSINESS: Review of Picnic
Table Policy: Mayor Giese
moved, seconded by Council member Storck, to continue the picnic table policy,
but to keep close tabs on it and if staff is unhappy with the way things are
going to look at it again. Motion
carried.
Broadcast
of Council Meetings: Council
member Webster stated he has asked Fred from Mediacom to provide a proposal for
the next council meeting.
Remaining
Items at School: Mayor Giese
stated he has been contacted by a group that is doing fundraising for class
trips and they would like to sell the remaining items left at the school. Mayor Giese suggested checking to see
if the sentence to serve people would be available to move the items to a sale
site.
Council
member Miller asked if everything had been picked up from the last sale. Larson indicated he believes most of it
is gone.
Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Storck, to contact the sentence to
serve coordinator and see if they would be available to move the remaining
items out of the school. Motion
carried.
INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS: March Transit Report: This was informational for the council.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, Mayor
Giese adjourned the meeting at 6:27 p.m.
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