MINUTES– MORRIS CITY
COUNCIL–REGULAR MEETING– FEBRUARY 24, 2009
The regular meeting of the
Morris City Council was called to order at 5:15 p.m. this 24th day
of February, 2009, 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,
Finance Director Krosschell, Public Works Director Dittbenner, Police Chief
Beauregard and City Attorney Glasrud.
CITIZEN’S COMMENTS:
None
PUBLIC HEARINGS: Public
Hearing and 2nd Reading of Ordinance No. 84, An Ordinance Conveying
Real Property: Mayor Giese opened the public hearing at 5:16 p.m. Hill
stated this is the second reading of an ordinance to correct a title
description on a piece of property sold to Rick and Carrie Hennen. Hill
indicated he received no comments on this ordinance.
Mayor Giese closed the
public hearing at 5:17 p.m. and brought the matter back to the council for
action.
Council member Webster
moved, seconded by Miller, to accept this as the second reading and adopt
Ordinance No. 84, An Ordinance Conveying Real Property. Upon a roll call vote
taken and all voting in favor, motion carried.
READING AND APPROVAL OF
MINUTES: 2/10/09 Regular Meeting Minutes: Council member Storck
moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to approve the 2/10/09 regular meeting minutes.
Motion carried.
2/10/09 Condensed
Version Minutes: Council member Webster moved, seconded by Carrington, to
approve the 2/10/09 condensed version minutes. Motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Mayor Giese removed the gambling report from the American Legion from the
consent agenda. Council member Storck moved, seconded by Miller, 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.
Mayor Giese moved,
seconded by Council member Storck, to approve the consent agenda, which
included the following items:
A.
Approval of the city bills
dated February 24, 2009.
B.
SCMC Administrative Report
C.
Gambling Reports
D.
Raffle License Report
E.
Planning Commission Minutes
1/20/09
F.
Revenue & Expenditure
Report
PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND
COMMUNICATIONS: None
ORDINANCES AND
RESOLUTIONS: Resolution Authorizing Purchase of a Transit Bus:
City Manager Hill
explained the actual price of the bus is $55,119, of which the city pays 20% of
the cost. Hill stated buses are rotated out every two years to keep the fleet
up and running. The old bus will be put up for sale. Storck asked about the
money the city receives from Rainbow Rider for rent of the transit garage.
Krosschell confirmed that money is applied towards heating the transit garage.
Council member Webster
moved, seconded by Miller, to adopt Resolution #2854-2-09, Resolution
Authorizing Purchase of a Transit Bus. Upon a roll call vote taken and all voting
in favor, motion carried.
Resolution Approving an
Agreement with the MPCA for Correcting Non-Compliance at the Wastewater Holding
Ponds: Hill stated city staff met with the MPCA to work out the details of
the agreement to correct the city’s problem. Hill explained the city may have
already corrected the problem with actions taken last year to treat for algae
because the most recent test samples met all the requirements of MPCA. Hill
indicated one of the issues is that it takes a long time to drain down the city’s
ponds so staff is looking at purchasing a pump to physically pump down the
ponds. Council member Storck suggested buying a big enough pump that could
also be used in town if needed.
Mayor Giese moved,
seconded by Council member Webster, to adopt Resolution #2855-2-09, Resolution
Approving an Agreement with the MPCA for Correcting Non-Compliance at the
Wastewater Holding Ponds. Upon a roll call vote taken and all voting in favor,
motion carried.
Resolution Increasing
Sewer and Water Utility Rates for 2009: Hill recommended the council
approve a utility rate change to include adjustments to the water and sewer
rates and the water rates charged to the city of Alberta. Hill noted even
though rates haven’t been raised for a number of years he is still recommending
an incremental adjustment of 3% for the remainder of 2009, rather than waiting
until a major adjustment needs to be made. Hill indicated the rates for water
have not changed since 2003 and since 1997 for sewer.
Council member Webster
moved, seconded by Storck, to adopt Resolution #2856-2-09, A Resolution
Increasing Sewer & Water Utility Rates for 2009. Upon a roll call vote
taken and all voting in favor, motion carried.
CITY MANAGER'S REPORTS
& RECOMMENDATIONS: City Manager Report: Mayor Giese asked
about the weight restriction on 4-wheelers. Glasrud explained the city cannot
go over what state statute allows. Glasrud stated he believes at the time of the
adoption of the ordinance the city was allowing the maximum weight limit that
they could. Storck stated 800 lbs. was the limit set by the Police Chief and
his committee. City Attorney Glasrud stated he would look into this.
Storck asked about the
jail issue and if the council had agreed with what the city would contribute to
the jail. Hill stated the $15,000 figure he offered was for rent of the
building, based upon the space the city would have. Hill noted currently the
city pays $4,500 a year. Storck stated as taxpayers city residents are already
paying. Beauregard stated the county knows the city has limited resources so
$15,000 was a number that originally started getting kicked around. Hill
stated it all comes down to what the city can afford to pay, noting the city is
struggling to balance the budget for this year and next year.
Carrington stated he was
approached by members of the museum and asked for clarification on the issue
since he wasn’t at the last meeting. Hill explained the museum is not the
city’s operation but it is the city’s building. Hill stated the city does fund
things at the museum but that money does not take the place of fundraising for
support of the museum. Hill stated at this point he doesn’t know if the city
will be able to continue to pay for the daily costs for things (i.e. cleaning,
maintenance on the elevator) to support the museum. Hill stated the museum
does a wonderful job and needs the support of the public. The council’s intent
is to note the separation between the operations of the business from the
maintenance of the building. The city’s contribution does not go towards the
day to day operations and should not take the place of fundraising. Hill
pointed out there needs to be more communication between the city and museum
and indicated he would keep in touch with them. Carrington stated he
recommended to the museum that they give periodic updates to the council.
Hill stated city staff
will set up a schedule for televising council meetings and will put an
announcement on the access channel letting people know when it will be
rebroadcast.
Hill indicated he was
contacted by a member of the family readiness group asking if the flags could
be put up to recognize the troop that is leaving. A deployment ceremony is
planned for the weekend of March 28th.
Miller reminded the
council of the presentation of the Elementary School Property Redevelopment
Design to the public. The meeting is on March 17th at 7:00 p.m. at
the USDA Soils Lab. Hill state this is a chance for the public to see the
design and there will be a short presentation on what green living/development
means.
NEW BUSINESS: None
OLD BUSINESS: None
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:
None
ADJOURNMENT: There
being no further business, Mayor Giese adjourned the meeting at 6:06 p.m.
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