MINUTES– MORRIS CITY
COUNCIL–REGULAR MEETING– MARCH 10, 2009
The regular meeting of the
Morris City Council was called to order at 5:17 p.m. this 10th day
of March, 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,
Police Chief Beauregard and City Attorney Glasrud.
CITIZEN’S COMMENTS:
None
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
None
READING AND APPROVAL OF
MINUTES: 2/24/09 Regular Meeting Minutes: Council member Webster
stated on the first page under the consent agenda he did not second the motion for
the American Legion gambling report. It was determined Miller seconded the
motion. Webster suggested a clarification under the City Manager report and
the discussion about the Historical Society. Webster stated the council’s
intent was to take note of the separation between the operations of the
business from the maintenance of the building and that the city’s contribution
was not to take the place of fundraising.
Council member Webster
moved, seconded by Storck, to approve the 2/24/09 regular meeting minutes with
the above mentioned changes. Motion carried.
2/24/09 Condensed
Version Minutes: Council member Webster moved, seconded by Carrington, to
approve the 2/24/09 condensed version minutes with the same changes as
mentioned in the regular meeting minutes. Motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Council member Webster moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to approve the consent
agenda, which included the following items:
A.
Approval of the city bills
dated March 10, 2009.
B.
February Transit Report
C.
Human Rights Commission Minutes
D.
Update on the Board of Review
PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND
COMMUNICATIONS: None
ORDINANCES AND
RESOLUTIONS: Resolution Accepting Bid for Highland Homes Addition
Improvement Project: City Manager Hill reviewed a breakdown of total costs
from the engineer comparing the original estimate to the bid amount. Hill
explained the original estimate was $2.6 million and the bid came in at just
slightly over $2 million so there are considerable savings. Hill noted ten
bids were received with the low bid coming from Kuechle Underground of Kimball,
Minnesota. Hill indicated they have bid on city projects before and are very
excited to come into the area. Hill recommended the council accept the bid and
award a contract to Kuechle Underground.
Hill reminded the council
that one of the things that came up after the initial public hearing is that
Key Row does not get its water from this project, which lowers the number of
water assessments for the project. Hill stated the assessments should be
reduced by about $2,000 for the homeowners. Hill stated Jeff Kuhn of WSN went
over the figures and stated the underground sewer work came in a lot lower than
they thought it would. Storck indicated it would be a little more work for City
Engineer Fier to work with a different contractor. Hill stated the retention
swail is part of the storm water plan and will hold the water for awhile until
the system catches up and then drains out. The retention area has been
incorporated into the figures.
Mayor
Giese moved, seconded by Council member Storck, to adopt Resolution
#2857-3-09, Resolution Accepting Bid for Highland Homes Addition Improvement
Project. Upon a roll call vote taken and all voting in favor, motion carried.
CITY MANAGER’S REPORTS
& RECOMMENDATIONS: City Manager Report: Hill pointed out he
will not be at the next meeting, as he will be in Missouri for training. Hill
stated the Coalition has asked for information on the city’s reserves because
the Legislature is now looking into this. The Governor has suggested that
excess reserves could be used to solve the budget crisis. Hill noted the city
doesn’t have excess reserves sitting around doing nothing. They are designated
for specific purposes such as equipment, debt service and enterprise funds. Hill
stated the city’s auditors suggest having 35-50% in reserves and the city is
sitting at about 50%.
Hill reminded the council
of the public presentation for the elementary reuse design plan next Tuesday at
7:00 p.m. at the USDA Soils Lab.
NEW BUSINESS: None
OLD BUSINESS:
Storck asked about the sidewalk/snow removal process. Glasrud stated he
received some information from the League but did not have a report ready for
the council.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:
None
ADJOURNMENT: There
being no further business, Mayor Giese adjourned the meeting at 5:40 p.m.
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