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MINUTES
– MORRIS CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – MAY 27, 2008
The
regular meeting of the Morris City Council was called to order at 5:15 p.m.
this 27th day of May, 2008, 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, Miller, Storck and Mayor Giese. Council member Webster was absent. Also present was City Manager Hill,
Finance Director Krosschell, Public Works Director Dittbenner, Fleet Manager
Searle and City Attorney Glasrud.
READING
AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 5/13/08
Regular Meeting Minutes:
Council member Storck moved, seconded by Miller, to approve the 5/13/08
regular meeting minutes. Motion
carried.
5/13/08
Condensed Version: Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to approve the 5/13/08 condensed
version minutes. Motion carried.
AUDIT
OF CITY BILLS: Council member
Storck moved, seconded by Carrington, to authorize payment of the City bills
dated May 27, 2008. Motion
carried.
CITIZEN’S
COMMENTS: Jim Storck, 207 East
2nd Street, was present at the council meeting to discuss his
neighbors at 205 East 2nd.
Storck stated there is garbage around the house and they don’t mow or
shovel the sidewalk. Storck
indicated many of the neighbors are concerned about this but are worried what
may happen if they complain.
Hill noted
he has talked with the tenants, caretaker and owner of the property without
much result. Hill indicated the
biggest issue the city deals with is timing and it would be nice to have a way
of issuing a citation on the spot.
It was the
consensus of the City Manager and City Attorney that they would meet to discuss
a tool to deal with this property and others like it.
West
Central Initiative: Brianna
McAleer of the West Central Initiative was present at the meeting. McAleer reviewed the investments the
initiative has made in Stevens County over the past year, i.e. the Workforce
20/20 Program and the Early Childhood Initiative Mental Health Component.
PETITIONS,
REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS: SCMC
Administrative Report: Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Miller, to accept the April administrative
report from SCMC. Motion carried.
Gambling
Reports: Mayor Giese moved,
seconded by Council member Carrington, to accept the gambling reports from the
Eagles, West Central Trailblazers and Morris Hockey Association. Motion carried.
Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Storck, to accept the gambling report from the
American Legion. Upon a roll call
vote taken and all present voting in favor and Mayor Giese abstaining, motion
carried.
Community
Ed Information: Mayor Giese
moved, seconded by Council member Miller, to accept the information from
community ed. Motion carried.
Application
for Liquor License: Council
member Miller moved, seconded by Carrington, to approve the liquor license for
the Assumption Church for September 7, 2008. Motion carried.
ORDINANCES
AND RESOLUTIONS: Resolution
Providing for the Issuance and Sale of G.O. Improvement Bonds: Mark Ruff of Ehlers and Associates was
present at the meeting and reviewed the results of the bond sale for the city’s
street improvement projects for 2008.
The low bidder was Cronin & Company with an interest rate of
3.8418%. The amount of the bid was
reduced from $2,250,000 to $2,215,000 because the rate was so favorable. The closing for the bonds will be June
19th.
Council
member Carrington moved, seconded by Miller, to adopt Resolution #2805-5-08,
Resolution Providing for the Issuance and Sale of $2,215,000 G.O. Improvement
Bonds, Series 2008A. Upon a roll
call vote taken and all present voting in favor, motion carried.
CITY
MANAGER’S REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS: Traffic Tickets: Hill stated at the last meeting the council talked about
parking problems near the University.
Hill indicated the city needs to find out what the possible fines can be
and how parking regulations can be enforced. City Attorney Glasrud stated the city can charge up to $300
for a ticket, which is a petty misdemeanor.
Miller
suggested talking with UMM about parking and making use of their lots. Giese stated he agreed that the fines
needed to be increased.
It was the
consensus of the council that the city should meet with the University to
discuss parking issues.
Bike
Path Extension – West 4th Street: Hill stated he put this on the agenda in response to a
letter to the editor in last week’s paper. With regard to the bike path, MN DOT has already indicated
they are not interested in extending the bike path and feel it is not
needed. Hill stated he sees no
reason to put a path through the back part of the neighborhood and in the end
MN DOT won’t let it happen anyway.
Hill
indicated he does feel there needs to be a sidewalk or walking path put in
along West 5th Street near the bus garage to connect that area up
with the existing bike path. Hill
stated this is not a matter of the east side of town vs. the west side; it is
based on the actual asset that is being connected. Mayor Giese asked that something be done with the existing
bike paths because they are in poor condition.
Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Storck, to direct the city manager to
notify Pat Hein that there will be nothing done with the extension of the bike
path. Furthermore, to look into
the sidewalk issue along West 5th Street and to somehow connect that
area to the existing bike path.
Motion carried.
Planning
Commission Minutes: Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Carrington, to accept the 4/15/08 planning
commission minutes. Motion
carried.
COPC
Final Agreement: Hill
indicated this grant is coming to an end but there would be an agreement on the
next agenda for the city and Center for Small Towns to continue to move forward
and work together.
Reschedule
Worksession: Mayor Giese
moved, seconded by Council member Miller, to schedule a worksession for 5:00
p.m. on Thursday, June 5th.
The worksession would include a tour of town and the old elementary
school. Motion carried.
City
Manager Report: This was
informational for the council.
Report
from City Attorney, City vs. Sax:
City Attorney Glasrud explained the Supreme Court decided that the city
cannot regulate rental housing in a manner different from the State Building
Code. Glasrud noted he drafted a
letter for Melanie to distribute for all landlords. Glasrud stated the ordinance still stands and the city can
continue to inspect, there are just portions of the ordinance that are not
enforceable. Glasrud indicated he
would like to join the fight in the legislature next year to fix this
problem. Hill noted what the city
is doing is good; it just needs to be tweaked.
Nuisance
Houses: Hill stated there are
two houses, one on East 3rd Street and one on West 8th Street,
that have spoil piles that need to be removed. Letters have been sent to the property owners but nothing has
happened. Hill indicated he has
received complaints from neighbors in both areas. The council instructed Hill to proceed with taking care of
these matters and get the areas cleaned up.
NEW
BUSINESS: None
OLD
BUSINESS: None
INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS: Building Permit List: This was informational for the council.
Revenue
& Expenditure Report: This
was informational for the council.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, Mayor
Giese adjourned the meeting at 6:44 p.m.
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