|
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – AUGUST 28, 2007
The
regular meeting of the Morris City Council was called to order at 5:15 p.m.
this 28th day of August, 2007, by Mayor Giese at the Stevens County
Historical Museum.
PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of
Allegiance was recited.
ROLL
CALL: Roll call was taken with
the following members present:
Council members Carrington, Miller, Webster, Storck and Mayor Giese. Also present was Interim City Manager
Krosschell and Incoming City Manager Blaine Hill.
READING
AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 8/14/07
Regular Meeting Minutes:
Council member Carrington moved, seconded by Miller, to approve the 8/14/07
regular meeting minutes. Motion
carried.
8/14/07
Condensed Version: Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to approve the 8/14/07 condensed
version minutes. Motion carried.
AUDIT
OF CITY BILLS: Council member Webster
moved, seconded by Miller, to authorize payment of the City bills dated August 28,
2007. Upon a roll call vote taken and
all voting in favor and Council member Storck abstaining, motion carried.
Final Pay
Estimate – B.G. Amundson: Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Council member Webster, to authorize the final
pay estimate of $583.34 to B.G. Amundson for work on the City Center Mall
parking lot. Motion carried.
CITIZEN’S
COMMENTS: Al Horner – Aaron
Carlson Woodworking: Al Horner of Aaron Carlson
Woodworking was present at the meeting.
Horner stated he feels he was misled about employment opportunities in the
city when deciding where to expand their business. Horner indicated because of their inability to create
additional jobs they are being required to pay back a $25,000 loan. Horner indicated he was also originally
led to believe the $25,000 was going to be a grant, not a loan. Horner stated he believes it is not
fair or right for them to bear 100% of the consequences. Horner stated he has a real problem
with misrepresentation by city and state officials.
Council
member Miller noted Michael Haynes of the SCEIC indicates that 700 new jobs
have been created in Stevens County.
Miller questioned why, with these statistics, it has been so difficult
for Horner to fill the employment requirement.
Incoming
City Manager Hill stated this is a risk that is taken as a business owner and
there are no guarantees. Hill
further stated there are rules and regulations cities are bound by that are
tied to job creation. Cities are
not allowed to just give money away without being in trouble with the state.
Council member
Webster indicated it doesn’t sit right with him that a grant turned into a
loan. Carrington noted he
originally voted against repayment of the loan because of the tax abatements. Krosschell stated the city has already
put in a significant investment with the tax abatement, which is money the city
gave up in order to have this business here.
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – AUGUST 28, 2007
CITIZEN’S
COMMENTS: Al Horner – Aaron Carlson Woodworking: (continued)
Horner
proposed that the amount be split, since his wife paid half of the $25,000
while he was in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery. Mayor Giese indicated the council would
make this a priority and direct the new city manager to advise the council on
this issue.
Broadcast
of Council Meetings: Skip
Hesse was present at the meeting and asked about the status of televising council
meetings on the local access channel.
Hesse stated it was his understanding that as part of the franchise
agreement with Mediacom Cable they were required to make this service available
and provide the equipment.
Krosschell indicated $3,500 is currently in the requested portion of the
budget for 2008 for this project.
PETITIONS,
REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS: Kim
Embretson – West Central Initiative:
Embretson was present at the meeting and presented the council with a
packet on the activities of the West Central Initiative. Embretson stated the Initiative is again
asking for a contribution of $10,000 over the next five years. Krosschell noted $2,000 has been
included in the requested portion of the 2008 budget.
SCMC
Administrative Report: Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Webster, to accept the July
administrative report from SCMC.
Motion carried.
Community
Education Information: Council
member Carrington moved, seconded by Webster, to accept the information from
community ed. Motion carried.
Gambling
Reports: Mayor Giese moved,
seconded by Council member Storck, to accept the gambling reports from the West
Central Trailblazers, Morris Eagles and Met Lounge. Motion carried.
Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Miller, to accept the gambling report from the
American Legion. With all voting
in favor and Mayor Giese abstaining as an officer of the Legion, motion
carried.
Dance
Permit – Morris Hockey Association:
Council member Webster moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to approve the
dance permit application from the Morris Hockey Association for a dance to be
held at the Lee Community Center on September 22, 2007. Motion carried.
Raffle
License Report: Mayor Giese
moved, seconded by Council member Storck, to accept the raffle license report
from the Morris Eagles Baseball Association. With all voting in favor and Council member Carrington
abstaining, motion carried.
Approval
of Contribution to Provide Free Music at Community Picnic: Mayor Giese moved, seconded by Council
member Webster, to approve a contribution of $200 to Dancin Tracks for free
music at the community picnic.
Motion carried.
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – AUGUST 28, 2007
ORDINANCES
AND RESOLUTIONS: Resolution
Renewing Lease Agreement with the Historical Society: Krosschell suggested the resolution be
tabled pending further review of some items including the utility costs and
paying of janitorial services for the building. Ward Voorhees, who was present at the meeting, also
suggested language be included in the lease which allows them to sublease space
to the University.
Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Storck, to table this resolution. 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, resolution tabled.
Rental
Licensing Ordinance Changes: Melanie
Fohl and Steve Rudney were present at the meeting to discuss proposed changes
to the rental licensing ordinance.
Fohl stated most of the requested changes are basic items, but the
biggest change has to do with the size of egress windows above grade. Fohl discussed the fact that the
current ordinance does not meet the requirements of the state fire code. Rudney added that the problem with the
current wording is that it says the fire code is being followed, and it
isn’t. Fohl noted the State Fire
Marshal thinks it is fine to take the language out of the ordinance. Rudney stated 95-98% of rental units do
not comply with the fire code requirement.
It was the
consensus of the council and city staff to refer this matter to the City Attorney
for his review.
Fohl
stated another matter is a request for a waiver of the requirement for
mechanical ventilation at 100 Atlantic Avenue, which is owned by the LaFave
family. Fohl explained there is a
problem with the mechanical ventilation in the bathrooms. Rudney stated it would be very
difficult for them to accommodate without a major expense. Fohl suggested the requirement be
waived and rental inspections be done once a year instead of once every four
years to keep an eye on it. Krosschell
questioned whether or not the city had a provision in the rental ordinance for
a variance.
Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Miller, to refer the suggested changes
and variance request with regard to the rental ordinance to the City Attorney
for his review and comment. 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.
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – AUGUST 28, 2007
Resolution
to Enter Into an Agreement with School District No. 769: Mayor Giese noted under Section VI the
total amount paid for the year is different in each of the two places
mentioned. Krosschell indicated
the council could adopt the resolution, noting that the correct figure would be
inserted in the agreement.
Carrington also asked about the yearly update from Chief Beauregard on
the school resource officer’s activities.
Council
member Webster moved, seconded by Carrington, to adopt Resolution #2728-8-07,
Resolution to Enter Into an Agreement with School District No. 769, noting that
a clarification would be made on the correct amount under Section VI. 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: Delinquent Water Bill List: The following list of delinquent water bills was presented
to the council:
Brian
Moser 101
West 4th Street $68.24
Janette
Brown 310
West 4th Street 95.03
Paula
O’Loughin 113
West 6th Street 89.85
Scott
Heins 208
West 6th Street 147.40
David
Holman 302
West 6th Street 139.61
LeAnn
Love 400
West 6th Street 144.51
Lynn
Halbakken 701
West 6th Street 105.74
Ferolyn
Angell 705
Lyndale Avenue 257.14
Tim
Bartram 708
Lyndale Avenue 125.96
Justin
Durkee 200
West 7th Street 87.10
Jamie
Swenson 400
West 7th Street 118.36
Thomas
Bengston 715
Wyoming Avenue 97.99
Sharon
Pillatzki 115
West 8th Street 74.63
Don
Ritter 308
West 8th Street 20.69
Anna
Crummie 817
Pacific Avenue 126.98
Elizabeth
Kill 108
West 9th Street 103.55
Paul
Pederson 1019
Pacific Avenue 68.23
Rodney
Giese 114
West 11th Street 56.82
Nathan
Suess/Ray Suess 506 West 8th
Street 125.40
Sharon
Dohlen 1009
Albany Avenue 137.67
Jamie
Swenson 304
West 11th Street 68.24
Christian
Fromm 11
Westwood Acres 100.17
Kelly
Ramthun 1131
Park Avenue 176.69
Mayor Giese moved, seconded by
Council member Miller, to follow the usual procedure of turning the water off
at these locations until the bill has been paid. Motion carried.
MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – AUGUST 28, 2007
NEW BUSINESS: Reminder for Community Picnic: Council members Carrington and Webster
will be working the first shift and Mayor Giese and Miller will work the second
shift at the Community Picnic on Thursday, August 30th. Council member Storck will be out of
town.
Schedule Breakfast Worksession: Council member Webster moved, seconded
by Carrington, to schedule a worksession for Thursday, September 6th
from 7:00-9:00 a.m. at the LaFave House.
Motion carried.
Thank You: Mayor Giese thanked the Historical
Society staff for the tour given earlier in the afternoon.
Jail: Council member Storck stated he has a
real problem with the proposed idea of a jail being built in Cyrus. It was the consensus of the council and
city staff that it would be a good idea to hold a worksession with the county
to discuss this issue.
OLD BUSINESS: Thank You: The council thanked Krosschell for
everything he has done as Interim City Manager.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: None
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, Mayor
Giese adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m.
|
