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MINUTES - MORRIS
CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING –
MAY 13, 2008
The
regular meeting of the Morris City Council was called to order at 8:32 a.m.
this 13th day of May, 2008, by Mayor Giese in the auditorium of the
Morris Area High School.
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 Hill,
Finance Director Krosschell, City Engineer/Surveyor/Inspector Fier and Police
Chief Beauregard.
READING
AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 4/22/08
Regular Meeting Minutes:
Council member Storck moved, seconded by Miller, to approve the 4/22/08
regular meeting minutes. Motion
carried.
4/22/08
Condensed Version: Council
member Carrington moved, seconded by Webster, to approve the 4/22/08 condensed
version minutes. Motion carried.
AUDIT
OF CITY BILLS: Council member
Webster moved, seconded by Giese, to authorize payment of the City bills dated
May 13, 2008. Upon a roll call
vote taken and all voting in favor and Council member Storck abstaining, motion
carried.
ADDITION
TO AGENDA: Mayor Giese added
an Application for Exempt Permit from the Morris Fire Department to the
agenda.
CITIZEN’S
COMMENTS: None
PETITIONS,
REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS: Gambling
Reports: Council member Miller
moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to accept the gambling reports from the West
Central Trailblazers and Morris Hockey Association. Motion carried.
Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Carrington, to accept the gambling report from
the American Legion. Upon a roll
call vote taken and all voting in favor and Mayor Giese abstaining, motion
carried.
Application
for Exempt Permit – Morris Lions:
Council member Webster moved, seconded by Storck, to approve the
application for exempt permit from the Morris Lions for bingo at the Stevens
County Fair. Motion carried.
Correspondence
from OTP Parking Lot Committee:
This thank you from the parking lot planning committee was informational
for the council.
Appointment
to Planning Commission: Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Webster, to appoint Victor Gades to the
Planning Commission. Motion
carried.
Application
for Exempt Permit – Morris Fire Department: Council member Storck moved, seconded by Webster, to approve
the application for exempt permit from the Morris Fire Department for a raffle
to be held on November 30, 2008.
Motion carried.
ORDINANCES
AND RESOLUTIONS: Resolution
Authorizing Submission of a Liability Coverage Waiver Form: Council member Miller moved, seconded
by Webster, to adopt Resolution #2797-5-08, Resolution Authorizing Submission
of a Liability Coverage – Waiver Form.
Upon a roll call vote taken and all voting in favor, motion carried.
Public
Hearing and Second Reading of Ordinance No. 80, An Ordinance Amending the
Zoning Map for the City: Mayor
Giese opened the public hearing at 8:45 a.m. City Manager Hill explained the Morris Community Church is
in the process of purchasing the old UBC property. It is currently zoned Highway Business and it is proposed
that it be changed to Central Business District, which would allow a church as
a conditional use.
There
being no comments from the public, Mayor Giese closed the public hearing at
8:46 a.m. and brought the matter back to the council for action.
Council
member Webster moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to accept this as the second
reading and adopt Ordinance No. 80, An Ordinance Amending the Zoning Map for
the City of Morris. Upon a roll
call vote taken and all voting in favor, motion carried.
Resolution
Approving a Business Subsidy Agreement with Bonanza Bean, LLC: Mayor Giese opened the public hearing
at 8:46 a.m. This resolution would
approve the business subsidy agreement with Bonanza Bean, LLC and authorize the
Mayor and City Manager to sign the necessary documents to be provided to the
State of MN.
There
being no comments from the public, Mayor Giese closed the public hearing at
8:47 a.m. and brought the matter back to the council for action.
Council
member Carrington moved, seconded by Webster, to adopt Resolution #2798-5-08,
Resolution Approving a Business Subsidy Agreement with Bonanza Bean, LLC. Upon a roll call vote taken and all
voting in favor, motion carried.
Resolution
Renewing Wastewater Treatment Agreement: Hill stated this resolution establishes the limits DENCO
needs to meet before discharging into the city’s wastewater system.
Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Storck, to adopt Resolution #2799-5-08,
Resolution Renewing Wastewater Treatment Agreement with DENCO, LLC. Upon a roll call vote taken and all
voting in favor, motion carried.
Resolution
Establishing Municipal State Aid Highways: Hill noted WSN informed the city there is a small portion of
mileage available to designate as a municipal state aid highway. Hill suggested the council designate
the portion of Green River Road between Elm Street and South Columbia
Avenue. Hill stated failure to
designate the remaining portion available would result in a loss of the
additional designation.
Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Miller, to adopt Resolution 2800-5-08,
Resolution Establishing Municipal State Aid Highways. Upon a roll call vote taken and all voting in favor, motion
carried.
Resolution
Approving an Agreement with WCEC for Fuel Tank Removal Services: Hill pointed out the old elementary
school has a 10,000 gallon underground fuel storage tank that needs to be
removed. Hill indicated if there
is no contamination the city would have to pay for all of the removal. If there is contamination then the MN
Petrofund kicks in and pays for a portion of it.
Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Storck, to adopt Resolution #2801-5-08,
Resolution Approving an Agreement with WCEC for Fuel Tank Removal
Services. Upon a roll call vote
taken and all voting in favor, motion carried.
Resolution
Providing for the Sale of $2,250,000 G.O. Improvement Bonds, Series 2008A: Brian Reilly of Ehlers and Associates
was present at the meeting and reviewed the pre-sale report with the
council. These bonds would be used
to fund the 2008 street reconstruction projects.
Council
member Webster moved, seconded by Miller, to adopt Resolution #2802-5-08,
Resolution Providing for the Sale of $2,250,000 G.O. Improvements Bonds, Series
2008A. Upon a roll call vote taken
and all voting in favor, motion carried.
CITY
MANAGER’S REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS: Authorization for a Multi-Agency Agreement to Participate
in a Task Force for Internet Crimes Against Children: Police Chief Beauregard indicated they
have an opportunity to have an officer be trained as an investigator to deal
with internet crimes against children and be part of a multi-agency task force
to deal with this problem.
Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Miller, to adopt Resolution #2803-5-08,
Resolution Approving Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Agreement for a MN Internet
Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Upon a roll call vote taken and all voting in favor, motion carried.
Downtown
Lighting: City Manager Hill
explained he went back and counted lights in the project area and came up with
approximately ten lights that could be put in to provide lighting needed for
the area. Hill noted if the city
spends over $50,000 it needs to go to bids. On August 1st that law will change to anything
over $100,000. Webster asked if it
could be broken into two sets and purchase ten now and ten after August 1st. Hill noted it would be frowned upon to
break things up in order to avoid going to bids. Hill also noted that with trees and lights it may be too
much clutter and asked what is needed for lighting and aesthetic value.
Webster
stated he doesn’t feel the city should underestimate the value of the lights
and noted this is the city’s front door.
Webster indicated the original estimate was 40 lights and he could
easily find spots for 20 lights on the map. Webster suggested setting a budget amount and sticking to
it.
Council
member Miller stated he likes how the proposed amount has continued to decrease
from 40 to 20 and now 10. Miller
stated if he had his way it would be zero. Miller pointed out 25% of the existing lights along main
street are currently not working.
Miller stated streets need to be the first priority.
Storck
stated he agreed with Miller and there are plenty of other places to spend the
money such as tearing down the school, a new sweeper or a new patching
machine.
Carrington
agreed with Webster that lighting would help revitalize the downtown area.
Mayor
Giese stated he thinks lighting is a good idea but a budget should be set. Giese stated he likes the idea of
staying under the $50,000 but also agreed the city needs some other things too. Mayor Giese moved to spend up to
$50,000 on lights, concentrating on the East 6th Street and library
mall area.
Webster
stated he would second it if it were for $100,000. Webster indicated he doesn’t even know if 10 lights would be
worth it. Webster noted a large
amount of money was put into ball field lights that are used a fraction of the
year.
Following
a lengthy discussion, Mayor Giese rescinded his motion for lack of a second.
Council
member Webster moved, seconded by Carrington, to spend $100,000 on 20 lights in
the corridor area with input from the City Manager on placement of those
lights. Furthermore, that the
costs of the project be split 50/50 in order to avoid a bid situation. Voting was as follows:
Council
member Storck nay
Council
member Miller nay
Council
member Webster aye
Council
member Carrington aye
Mayor
Giese nay
With two
voting in favor and three voting against, motion failed.
Council
member Carrington moved, seconded by Webster, to spend $50,000 on lights,
concentrating on the library mall and theater areas. Voting was as follows:
Council
member Carrington aye
Council
member Webster aye
Council
member Miller nay
Council
member Storck nay
Mayor
Giese aye
With three
voting in favor and two voting against, motion carried.
Use of
City Owned Picnic Tables: Hill
recommended to the council that rates stay the same for rental of the picnic
tables, but that in certain instances the city manager be allowed to authorize
the use of the tables without a fee or deposit. Hill explained some occasions where he feels there should
not be a charge include fundraisers for youth, Prairie Pioneer Days and other
special events by non-profits.
Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, that a paragraph be added to the
picnic table form for the city manager to authorize the use of city owned
picnic tables without a fee or deposit if the use of the tables is in the best
interest of the City. Motion
carried.
Reminder
for LMC Conference & WACCO Celebration: Mayor Giese reminded the council of the League meeting June
11-13 and the WACCO celebration on June 5th.
City
Manager Report: Hill explained
one issue he has talked with the Police Chief about is fear on the part of
senior citizens to report things because they are afraid of what might happen
if they do. Hill indicated he
isn’t sure how to get over that hurdle of letting people know that the city is
here to help. Hill encouraged the
council to put the word out that people shouldn’t be afraid to report parties,
garbage or nuisance problems, etc.
Police Chief Beauregard noted he has an article to that effect in the
next city newsletter.
Hill
stated the city is getting ready to purchase the video equipment to begin
taping city council meetings.
It was the
consensus of the council to reschedule the council worksession tour at the next
meeting.
Giese
suggested the council agenda be posted online and on the access channel.
NEW/OLD
BUSINESS: Parking on E 3rd
& College Avenue: Council
member Storck stated he was confronted about the three hour parking on College
Avenue and East 3rd Street and the fact that it is not being
enforced.
Police
Chief Beauregard stated for them to enforce that area every day is just not
practical and it is very frustrating.
Beauregard noted they have increased their activity in that area in the
last six months. Miller asked if
the fine could be increased.
Beauregard stated that is up to the council and noted that Morris is the
only city in Minnesota that only charges $10 for a parking ticket. All others are in the $25 to $50
range. Beauregard indicated things
will change when it hits someone in the pocketbook.
Hill noted
the council had talked about issuing tags, which would make it easier for the
officers. Hill suggested talking
with UMM about the parking situation.
Request
for Items from Old Elementary School:
Hill explained there is a theatre group that is interested in some
lights and a church interested in the curtains from the old school. Hill asked the council for
authorization to go ahead and advertise some of the remaining items in the
school.
It was the
consensus of the council to do a walk through of the school the same day as the
tour around town. At that time a
list could be made of the items left to advertise.
Mock
Drill: Beauregard noted they
are hosting a mock drill on May 20th so there would be additional
law enforcement in town that day.
INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS: April Transit Report: This was informational for the council.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, Mayor
Giese adjourned the meeting 9:57 a.m.
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