December
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Askov City Council held its regular meeting on Wednesday, December 13, 2006, at the Askov Community Center. Mayor Weulander called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Present were Weulander, Frederiksen, Maloney, Odle, Seek, and the clerks. Also present were Dave Barnick of PeopleService, and Fire Chief Pete Watrin. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. Sprouls and Gersters, who were scheduled to attend as visitors, did not come.
Motion by Odle, second by Maloney to accept the agenda as presented with the addition of a couple of new business items.
Barnick, and Seek gave an update to the Council on the conditions at the Water Treatment Plant. When TriState arrived to reset the insulation sleeve on the tower so that it wouldn’t freeze up, they drained the tower down for welding and cleaned the tower, as it was in need of it. There were three items, a drain, the mesh on the tower, and the safety guard, which TriState felt had not been completed properly and needed to be fixed. They had prepared estimates on fixing the items. Council was reluctant to approve any of the estimates, even though the safety issue must be addressed, choosing instead to have the clerk contact Phoenix, the original contractor, and ask why the items were not done correctly in the first place. Then talk turned to the problem with the filter and rusty water. It was felt that the filter was not doing its job properly and that there were perhaps several reasons for that. One may have been the type of polymer and the polarity of the raw water. Another is that the filter media may have lost its charge, some media may have been lost, or there may be a large buildup of iron in the filter. If the latter is true, the media can be reclaimed by superchlorination. If the greensand needs to be replaced, it could cost $10,000. Normally greensand media will last 8-10 years before needing attention.
Pete Watrin addressed the Council regarding the expenditure of the grant funds acquired. After reviewal of several quotes for equipment, vendor selections were made and gear and air packs and a fill station were purchased. Watrin had several concerns: 1. Bruno, not having received funds, would like to purchase our old fill station. Question: Put a value on the station or donate it? Watrin was counseled to contact Craig Anderson before getting rid of the Cascade system. 2. It will take approximately $500 to install the new system; Drilling Electric has been contacted. 3. The new air packs are in; the old packs don’t pass NFPA standards and so will be disposed of. 4. Provided the grant requirements allow for it, the department would prefer to spend $5000 on prevention and $5000 on safety training.
The consent agenda - consisting of minutes, receipts and disbursements, financial reports, cash proofs, accounts payable and reports - was presented. Motion by Maloney, second by Odle to accept consent agenda as presented. Motion carried 4-1 with Frederiksen voting nay because he had objections to the siren repair bill.
Neither Gersters nor Sprouls were present to discuss their water bills. The matters were tabled until next month.
Clerk told Council MPCA intends to come and discuss the sewer project in January or February.
Clerk informed Council that she intends to resign in two years when she has reached age 65. After some discussion of how best to handle the transference of duties and information to a new clerk, council asked Deputy Clerk Ecklund if she would be interested in expanding her hours to fulltime with the intention of taking over the Clerk position in two years’ time. Ecklund indicated she would be very much interested and that she and her family were seeking a home in the area. After some discussion, motion was made by Seek to extend Deputy Clerk Connie Ecklund’s hours to fulltime (40 hours per week) at a pay rate of $10.50 per hour, starting as soon as possible in 2007, with no medical insurance since her husband has coverage, no overtime hours, no increase in pay until she takes the Clerk position, and holidays taken as per the City’s personnel policy. Motion was seconded by Frederiksen and carried 5-0.
Clerk told Council that Tonka will return to be sure the WTP is functioning correctly.
Regarding the requests presented last month from the fire and rescue, the Council took the following actions: Motion by Frederiksen, second by Seek to increase the pay for rescue runs to $8 per call. Motion carried 5-0. Motion by Maloney, second by Odle to set the Fire Department pay for meetings, training, fire calls and extra hours at $5 across the board. Motion carried 4-0, with Frederiksen abstaining.
Clerk presented findings from the clerks’ listserv regarding auditor costs. Motion by Odle, second by Maloney to contract with Kern DeWenter Viere as auditors for year ending 2006. Motion carried 5-0.
Clerk to check with Terry Johnsen to see if he would be interested in serving on the Planning Commission.
Pettipiece had contacted the City office to see if a public hearing could be held in January in anticipation of submitting an application for a Small Cities grant for the sewer project. Motion by Frederiksen, second by Seek to set the Public Hearing at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center on Wednesday, January 10, 2007, with Council meeting to follow immediately upon close of public hearing.
Clerk presented a letter from Ed Melzark of Ringers’ Bar requesting Council permission to have a fireworks display at or near the bar on New Year’s Eve. Motion by Frederiksen, second by Seek, that upon proof of insurance necessary to cover the pyrotechnic display, and upon payment of $25, the City will issue a fireworks permit for the bar for New Year’s Eve. Motion carried 5-0.
In other business, Council authorized purchase of two ladders for the water plant, and instructed clerk to contact Lee Greenly regarding animal control. Council moved to City Office to view an LMC DVD on property taxes.
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Arla Budd, City Clerk