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MINUTES–MORRIS
CITY COUNCIL–REGULAR MEETING–SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
The
regular meeting of the Morris City Council was called to order at 5:15 p.m.
this 23RD day of September, 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, Webster, Miller, Storck and Mayor Giese. Also present was City Manager Hill, Public
Works Director Dittbenner, Fleet Manager Searle, Police Chief Beauregard, City
Engineer/Surveyor/Inspector Fier and City Attorney Glasrud.
READING
AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 9/8/08
Regular Meeting Minutes:
Council member Storck moved, seconded by Webster, to approve the 9/8/08
regular meeting minutes. Motion
carried.
9/8/08
Condensed Version: Council
member Webster moved, seconded by Carrington, to approve the 9/8/08 condensed
version minutes. Motion carried.
AUDIT
OF CITY BILLS: Council member Miller
moved, seconded by Storck, to authorize payment of the City bills dated September
23, 2008. Motion carried.
CITIZEN’S
COMMENTS: None
PETITIONS,
REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS: SCMC
Administrative Report: Council
member Storck moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to accept the August administrative
report from SCMC. Motion carried.
Gambling
Reports: Mayor Giese moved,
seconded by Council member Carrington, to accept the gambling reports from the West
Central Trailblazers and Met Lounge.
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.
ORDINANCES
AND RESOLUTIONS: Resolution
Appointing Judges for the General Election on November 4, 2008: Council member Carrington moved,
seconded by Webster, to adopt Resolution #2830-9-08, Resolution Appointing
Judges for the State General Election on November 4, 2008. Upon a roll call vote taken and all
voting in favor, motion carried.
CITY
MANAGER’S REPORTS & RECOMMENDATIONS: Set Date to Canvass Results from 11/4/08 General Election: Mayor Giese moved, seconded by Council
member Webster, to set the canvassing meeting for the November 4, 2008, general
election for Thursday, November 6th at Noon in the Council
Chambers. Motion carried.
Snow
Removal Policy: The existing
snow removal policy was discussed at length. The main issues were the criteria for calling a snow alert
and downtown businesses shoveling their snow onto main street after it has been
plowed.
Council
member Storck expressed his concern over late spring snow falls and the damage
the melting does to the roads.
Fleet Manager Searle stated the only downtown businesses they have
problems with putting snow into the street after it’s been plowed are the ones
who do it themselves. Otherwise,
those who hire snow removal contractors are out at the same time as the city
crew. Police Chief Beauregard
noted they towed 75 cars during the first snow alert last year and only 4 the
second time, so the policy does work.
With
regard to where to store cars after they have been towed, Beauregard stated it
works well to use the city shop.
An officer needs to be there 24/7 until cars are picked up and as far as
liability to the vehicles they need to remain on city property. Public Works Director Dittbenner
suggested snow piles in parking lots be required to be hauled away within 48
hours after a snow. This causes
visibility problems, drainage issues and a hazard for children playing on
them.
City
Manager Hill stated the tool is in place to get the vehicles off the
streets. Hill stated in
Breckenridge after the first snow emergency you are not allowed to park on any
city streets. Storck indicated he
wants somebody to be on the ball when it starts to get warm outside.
Planning
Commission Minutes, 8/19/08:
Council member Webster moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to accept the 8/19/08
planning commission minutes.
Motion carried.
Budget
Worksheets: Hill asked the
council to go through the budget worksheets and find what areas they are
concerned about. The budget will then
be reviewed during the first meeting in November.
Group
Health Insurance Changes: City
Manager Hill stated this item could be removed from the agenda.
City
Manager Report: This was
informational for the council.
Police Chief Beauregard stated he has issued about 10 permits for the
new golf cart/ATV ordinance. Hill
updated the council on the Safe Routes to School Committee. Hill stated the most dangerous place is
at the school itself because of the large amount of parents dropping their kids
off.
City
Engineer Fier updated the council on the downtown project. Fier stated that the city needs to
enforce shutting off abandoned services to the main. Fier indicated revisiting some of these procedures would
make it much easier when doing projects.
Hill pointed out that is something that should be on the checklist for
the demolition permit.
Fier noted
the tree planting that took place on Saturday went very well with the
volunteers planting 105 trees.
NEW BUSINESS: Mayor Giese moved, seconded by Council
member Miller, to change the date of the November 11th meeting to
November 10th, due to the Veteran’s Day holiday. Motion carried.
Fier
pointed out Vicky Dosdall and her crew have been working on the West 6th
Street boulevards and they are starting to look very good.
OLD
BUSINESS: None
INFORMATIONAL
ITEMS: Revenue &
Expenditure Report: This was
informational for the council.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, Mayor
Giese adjourned the meeting at 6:20 p.m.
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