|
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – JULY 24, 2007
The
regular meeting of the Morris City Council was called to order at 5:15 p.m.
this 24th day of July, 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 members Carrington, Webster, Miller, Storck and Mayor
Giese. Also present was Interim
City Manager Krosschell.
ADDITIONS
TO AGENDA: Mayor Giese added
the following items to the agenda under Petitions, Requests and
Communications: 1)Application for
Exempt Permit – Ducks Unlimited; 2)Junk Items at 707 Lyndale.
READING
AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 7/10/07
Regular Meeting Minutes:
Council member Webster moved, seconded by Miller, to approve the 7/10/07
regular meeting minutes. Motion
carried.
7/10/07
Condensed Version: Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Webster, to approve the 7/10/07 condensed
version minutes. Motion carried.
AUDIT
OF CITY BILLS: Council member Miller
moved, seconded by Carrington, to authorize payment of the City bills dated
July 24, 2007. Upon a roll call
vote taken with four voting in favor and Council member Storck abstaining,
motion carried.
CITIZEN’S
COMMENTS: Presentation by
Stevens County Stewardship Initiative: Paul Watzke, representing the Stevens County Stewardship
Initiative, was at the meeting to request a $15,000 contribution from the city,
spread over two years. Watzke discussed
the initiative and stated they are looking to identify leaders from throughout
the county to compile a list of projects called destiny drivers and carry them
through.
PETITIONS,
REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS: SCMC
Administrative Report: Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Webster, to accept the June administrative
report from SCMC. Motion carried.
Gambling
Reports: Mayor Giese moved,
seconded by Council member Miller, to accept the gambling reports from the
Morris Eagles, West Central Trailblazers and Met Lounge. Motion carried.
Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Carrington, to accept the gambling report from
the American Legion. Upon a roll
call vote taken and four voting in favor and Mayor Giese abstaining, motion
carried.
Application
for Exempt Permit: Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Webster, to approve the application for exempt
permit from the Morris Lions for bingo to be held August 8-12, 2007. Motion carried.
Gambling
Application: Interim City
Manager Krosschell explained that the Deer Hunter’s Association contacted Mayor
Giese regarding a raffle permit.
The organization did not get the application in soon enough to be
considered on the council’s agenda so they asked that the form be signed. Krosschell stated after consulting with
the Gambling Control Board he went ahead and signed the application but asked
how the council wanted these types of situations handled in the future.
Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Storck, to accept the application from
the MN Deer Hunter’s Association. Furthermore,
that if presented with this situation again city staff be authorized to approve
the application and to encourage organizations to get the application in on
time. Motion carried.
Application
for Liquor License: Council
member Webster moved, seconded by Mahoney, to approve the application from the
American Legion for the beer gardens at the Stevens County Fair, August 8-12,
2007. Upon a roll call vote taken
and four voting in favor and Mayor Giese abstaining as an officer of the Legion,
motion carried.
Request
for Donation – PRCA: Krosschell
indicated the Prairie Renaissance Cultural Alliance called city hall wondering
when they were going to get their check.
Krosschell stated city staff did some research and could find no record
that there was to be a donation to them.
Krosschell noted if the council wants to authorize this request it may
need to come out of contingency or miscellaneous funds. Mayor Giese asked if the city gave a
donation last year and Krosschell stated they did. Krosschell noted they have also requested a donation for
2008 as well.
Council
member Webster moved, seconded by Council member Carrington, to take the money
from the contingency fund and approve the $2,000 donation request from the PRCA
for 2007. Motion carried.
Application
for Exempt Permit – Ducks Unlimited:
Mayor Giese moved, seconded by Council member Storck, to approve the
application for exempt permit from Ducks Unlimited for a raffle to be held on
September 15, 2007. Motion
carried.
Application
for Liquor License: Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Webster, to approve the application for the
Morris Eagles Club for an event to be held at the Eagles Ballpark, either
August 4th and 5th or August 11th and 12th,
not to exceed a maximum of two days.
Motion carried.
ORDINANCES
AND RESOLUTIONS: Transit
Grant Resolution: Krosschell
explained he has completed the annual application process for the transit grant
and one of the required items is a resolution from the governing body pledging
their support for the local 20% share.
Krosschell stated expenses for 2008 are $335,146. The state grant which is 80% will bring
in $268,168 and a local share of $66,978 is needed. Krosschell indicated the local share will be offset by
transit system revenues estimated to be $57,200 for 2008. The estimated net contribution from the
city will be $9,778.
Council
member Webster moved, seconded by Miller, to adopt Resolution #2729-7-07,
Resolution 2724-7-07, Resolution to Enter Into an Agreement with the State for
Transit Services. Voting was as
follows:
Council
member Storck aye
Council
member Miller aye
Council
member Webster aye
Council
member Carrington aye
Mayor
Giese aye
With all
voting in favor, motion carried.
Resolution
Authorizing the Mayor to Enter Into an Employment Agreement: Mayor Giese indicated he talked with
Blaine Hill and everything is acceptable and in line with what was discussed
during the worksession. Giese
noted his start date would be September 1st.
Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Storck, to adopt Resolution #2725-7-07,
Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Enter Into an Employment Agreement with
Blaine Hill. 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.
CITY
MANAGER’S REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS: Planning Commission Minutes, 6/19/07: Mayor Giese moved, seconded by Council
member Carrington, to accept the 6/19/07 planning commission minutes. Motion carried.
Delinquent
Water Bill List: The following
list of delinquent water bills was presented to the council:
Cinda
Hetfield Carlson 21
Ridge Road $20.70
Jennifer
Brustuen 115
Meadow Lane 99.88
Zachary
Grant 103
S California Avenue 150.65
Stephanie
Gausman 115
S Oregon Avenue 115.13
Christian
Sell 12
South Street 103.26
Grandview
Apts. 100
S Columbia Avenue 1,815.25
Peggy
Vaneps 11
South Street 103.38
Andy
Emmert 9
South Street 155.73
Vance
Gullickson 100
East 1st Street 108.05
Carol
Mohrman 106
East 1st Street 93.23
Erika
Stein 311
East 1st Street 93.76
Ronald
Kubik 101
East 1st Street 94.47
Paul
Pederson 109
East 2nd Street 82.25
Barry
Nienhaus 210
East 3rd Street 150.65
Paul
Meyers 300
College Avenue 89.28
Vance
Gullickson 101
East 3rd Street 132.83
Dale
Peterson 402
East 6th Street 131.71
Morris
Comm. Church 211
East 6th Street 48.25
Paul
Pederson 306
East 7th Street 161.01
Vance
Gullickson 105
East 7th Street 202.89
Robert
Heck 205
East 8th Street 114.15
Paul
Pederson 25
East 8th Street 165.75
Brad
Weckman 108
East 9th Street 84.69
Sharon
Dohlen 202
East 9th Street 44.48
Andy
Emmert 918
Columbia Avenue 57.50
Vance
Gullickson 906
Colorado Avenue 48.84
Vance
Gullickson 908
Colorado Avenue 44.48
Joan
Geleneau 509 East 7th Street 114.93
Shanni
Roberts 617
East 7th Street 20.70
Dorothy
Selland 718
Iowa Avenue 20.70
Paul
Pederson 705
½ Columbia Avenue 102.27
Darcy
Mielke 508
East 9th Street 60.98
Stacey
Vig 512
East 9th Street 96.40
Jason
Karch 900
Arizona Avenue 99.32
Amy
Wagner 917
Columbia Avenue 23.96
Vance
Gullickson 406
Birch Avenue 210.09
Council member Miller moved,
seconded by Storck, to follow the usual procedure of turning the water off at
the above locations until the bill has been paid. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS: Request for Meeting at Historical
Society: Council member
Carrington asked about the Historical Society’s request for a council meeting
to be held at the museum. Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Webster, to direct Krosschell to send a letter
to the museum thanking them for the invitation and to see if it would work to
hold the council’s regularly scheduled council meeting at the museum on August
28th. Motion carried.
It was noted that Council members
Storck and Webster would both be gone for the first meeting in August.
Monetary Bonus: Carrington asked about the monetary
bonus for Interim City Manager Krosschell that was brought up at the last
worksession. Mayor Giese indicated
he agrees something should be done but suggested waiting until after the fact.
Policy and Procedures for Sewer
Back Up: Storck asked about
the availability of pumps in case of another heavy rain. Krosschell stated at the last meeting
Public Works Director Dittbenner indicated he had ordered some more pumps to
have on hand. Storck asked about
the possibility of blocking the manhole by using sandbags. Krosschell stated he believes doing
something like that may be against MPCA regulations.
Krosschell stated staff is doing a
great job in preparation in the event of another emergency. Storck referred to the two places there
were supposed obstructions and stated that they should be fixed or put in next
year’s budget. Storck asked about
the tape at City Hall which shows these obstructions. Krosschell indicated he was not aware of the tape Storck was
referring to.
Krosschell pointed out that he had
e-mailed the council asking if they had any items they would like put on the
agenda. Krosschell stated he can
work with staff to find answers to the questions if he knows ahead of
time.
Krosschell stated this is really a
three point program. The first
point being that an emergency response plan is in place and Dittbenner is working
on the manpower problem. Secondly,
this is a two decade old problem.
Krosschell noted there has been some smoke testing done in the past and
there are known problems. Thirdly,
what needs to be done to find out if it’s coming from Highland Homes Addition
and does it need to be moved up on the capital improvement list.
Miller suggested Fier and
Dittbenner be at the next meeting to give the council information on the known
obstructions on West 5th Street.
Noise Complaint: Council member Webster indicated the
council may be receiving a complaint on the train noise. Webster stated this individual noted
the trains are honking louder at 5:15 a.m. than they do during the day. Webster stated the Planning Commission
may be asked to look again at a noise ordinance.
OLD BUSINESS: None
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: Lease with Historical Society: Krosschell stated one thing that needs
to be clarified before approval of the lease is that the lessee is responsible
for utility costs but does not have a utility account with the city.
Worksession Minutes, 7/5/07: Council member Webster moved, seconded
by Miller, to approve the 7/5/07 worksession minutes. Motion carried.
Revenue & Expenditure
Reports: This was
informational for the council
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, Mayor
Giese adjourned the meeting at 6:35 p.m.
|
