MINUTES – MORRIS CITY
COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING – MARCH 24, 2009
The regular meeting of the
Morris City Council was called to order at 5:15 p.m. this 24th 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,
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, Police Chief Beauregard and City
Attorney Glasrud.
CITIZEN’S COMMENTS:
Wayne Morford, new director at the Regional Fitness Center, introduced himself
to the council. Morford invited comments/suggestions from the council as to
how the RFC can work better with the City of Morris.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
None
READING AND APPROVAL OF
MINUTES: 3/10/09 Regular Meeting Minutes: Council member
Carrington moved, seconded by Storck, to approve the 3/10/09 regular meeting
minutes. Motion carried.
3/10/09 Condensed
Version Minutes: Council member Miller moved, seconded by Mayor Giese, to
approve the 3/10/09 condensed version minutes. Motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Mayor Giese moved, seconded by Council member Miller, to approve the consent
agenda, which included the following items:
A.
Approval of the city bills
dated March 24, 2009.
B.
SCMC Administrative Report
C.
Consumption & Display
Permit, Crystal Lanes
D.
Gambling Reports
E.
Revenue & Expenditure
Report
PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND
COMMUNICATIONS: Gambling Report – American Legion: Council member
Carrington moved, seconded by Storck, to accept the gambling report from the
American Legion. Upon a vote taken and all present voting in favor and Mayor
Giese abstaining as an officer of the Legion, motion carried.
ORDINANCES AND
RESOLUTIONS: Resolution Accepting a Proposal for a Limited Site
Investigation for the Old Elementary School Property: Hill stated the city
solicited proposals for a limited site investigation at the old elementary
school fuel tank site. The lowest bidder was Great Plains Environmental from
Fargo, but WCEC, the local company, was only higher by $47.00. Hill explained
he checked with the Petro Fund and they did not have a problem with the city
accepting the local bid.
Miller asked if the city
would receive a percentage of reimbursement from the Petro Fund. Giese stated
typically it is 90% and assumed it would be the same for a city.
Council member Storck
moved, seconded by Miller, to adopt Resolution #2858-3-09, A Resolution Accepting
a Proposal for a Limited Site Investigation for the Old Elementary School
Property. Upon a roll call vote taken and all present voting in favor, motion
carried.
CITY MANAGER’S REPORTS
& RECOMMENDATIONS: Correspondence from Historical Society:
Giese stated this information was basically just a memorandum of the society’s
understanding of the city’s relationship with them. Hill stated no action is
needed at this time.
City Manager Report:
Hill stated the city again had a good meeting with MPCA about the treatment
ponds.
Council member Carrington asked
about the proposed resolution for the jail. Hill stated this item was not on
agenda for approval but it is up to the council how they want to deal with it.
Hill indicated the committee is meeting right now on whether or not they are
going to move forward with the jail. Hill believes the county will be
approaching the planning commission for the city, probably in April, for a
variance on coverage of the property. Hill pointed out one of the issues that
hasn’t taken place is any vacation of Colorado Avenue in front of the
courthouse. Hill indicated this matter is in the county’s court as far as
getting everything taken care of. City Attorney Glasrud explained the
resolution is purely advisory. Hill informed the council he didn’t put it in the
packet because it wasn’t a city resolution but the council could get a copy of
it.
Miller confirmed that the
mayor is on the advisory committee so the council will have a pretty good sense
of what’s going on. Mayor Giese stated the committee toured a jail in Olivia,
which was very interesting. Giese stated the committee is gathering a lot of
information and getting into the nuts and bolts of it. Miller indicated one of
the concerns has been the cost of operation, not so much the cost of the building
itself.
Giese stated personally he
doesn’t feel it is the council’s authority to tell the county what to do.
Miller agreed. Hill explained the city will have recommendations on other
parts of the process such as the conditional use permit, variance and vacation
of Colorado Avenue.
Storck asked about
establishments having street dances. Storck stated he believes it was an old
policy with the past police chief and city manager about not using public right
of way for dances. Storck stated the Met Lounge is interested in having a
street dance during Prairie Pioneer Days. Storck stated he felt the Met lost a
lot of business last summer because of the street project and he would like to
see them be able to have a dance. Police Chief Beauregard explained there is a
liability when alcohol is involved on city property and that has been the
sticking point in the past. Glasrud suspected it may be okay if they provided
a certificate of insurance with the city as an additional insured. Miller
stated these events are once a year and people are coming to take part in the
city’s community celebration and he would like to try and help them.
Hill stated the current
position is that the city doesn’t allow alleys or streets to be blocked off. Hill
questioned how often the city would allow this and who would decide which one
is going to have the street dance or is it first come, first serve. Hill
stated it is up to the council as far as what they want to do and maybe the
liability insurance is the key to it. Beauregard pointed out the
establishments have to go through the process of hiring law enforcement
officers for their event.
Storck suggested that if the
council agrees and City Attorney Glasrud finds no problems with it, the city should
encourage people to have these types of events. Miller indicated his support,
noting that he’s been to them, they are a lot of fun and he isn’t aware of any
trouble with them in the past.
The council directed City
Manager Hill and City Attorney Glasrud to look into the insurance situation.
Storck asked about street
excavation permits. Hill noted a letter was sent to all contractors and there
will now be a cross check between Gopher 1 calls and excavation permits.
Schedule 5/12/09
Council Meeting at High School: Council member Miller moved, seconded by
Mayor Giese, to schedule the May 12th council meeting for 10:15 a.m.
at the High School. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
Miller asked about the pumps that were placed around town after the weekend
rains. Hill indicated the pumps were put out to try and keep up with the
rainfall. Dittbenner explained there were two lines that were blocked, which
were not due to the rain. The council thanked the city crew for being
proactive and getting ahead of the heavy rains.
OLD BUSINESS: None
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:
None
ADJOURNMENT: There
being no further business, Mayor Giese adjourned the meeting at 5:56 p.m.
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