AKELEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
AUGUST 8, 2007
7:00 PM CITY HALL
The Akeley City Council met in a
regular meeting Wednesday August 8, 2007 at 7:00 pm. Mayor Tom
Moore called the meeting to order. Council members present were:
Tom Moore, Cliff Johnson, Brian Hitchcock and Eric Sjolin. Frank
Lamb was absent. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by the
Council and attending audience.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Brian Hitchcock and carried to approve the consent agenda.
Mike Nelson requested permission from
the Council to split two of his lots in half so they would run north
and south rather than east and west. The Council had some concerns
with where the water and sewer lines are located and whether an
easement would be required so would like to look into this before
making a decision.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Tom
Moore and carried to approve to table a decision to allow Mike
Nelson to split his lots as he proposed until more information is
obtained.
Frank Thelin was on the agenda but was
not present.
Greg Everett was on the agenda
regarding the old well shed but was not present.
Police Report - Chief Eric
Klein
·
There are still
questions from citizens regarding the ordinance to discharge
firearms and whether or not they are allowed to shoot within the
City limits. At the last council meeting a motion had been made to
make proposed changes to the ordinance but it unintentionally had
not been seconded.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to remove section (C) of §130.02
and to make all other changes as highlighted.
·
Brad Shoff was present
to discuss his opposition to having the Akeley sign placed next to
his property on South Highway 64. Brad, Eric Klein, and Tom Moore
had met previously to discuss the following options and shared them
with the Council:
1)
Per Mr. Shoff’s request,
place a row of 12 6-8 foot trees which would block his view of the
sign.
2)
Move the sign.
3)
Keep the sign where it
is since the work was done per the MNDOT approved permit.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by Eric
Sjolin and carried to approve to table a decision regarding the sign
on South Highway 64 until it can be discussed more at the next Work
Session.
·
Eric spoke to MNDOT
Engineer, Jeremy Hadrava regarding the water issue between the Blue
Ox Market and City Hall and whether or not it would be acceptable to
route the water onto Highway 34. Options to resolve the issue were
discussed and Tom offered to talk to Gary Hendricks to get the
contractor’s name to make them aware of the problem with occasional
water in the ductwork.
·
The street lights by T&M
and the CurtiSinn have been damaged from drivers backing into them
and will have to be replaced. According to MNDOT, the street lights
are the responsibility of the City of Akeley.
·
After attending Taser
Instructor Training, Eric felt that tasers would be beneficial to
the Akeley Police Department. He requested permission from the
Council to purchase 3 tasers for the department from administrative
citation funds.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by
Cliff Johnson and carried to approve to purchase 2 tasers at $807.00
apiece out of the administrative citation funds.
Brian Hitchcock stated that some
people have expressed to him their concerns of more than one police
officer at a time going into the Liquor Store and that it may be
“scaring away” business. Police officers occasionally have “ride
along” reserve officers with them which is the reason for more than
one officer entering the facility at a time. Officers will also go
into the liquor store at times to eat since few establishments are
open in the evening.
Frank Thelin arrived at the meeting to
discuss the following items:
·
He is obtaining
information regarding the fishing pier since it will have to be
repaired/replaced and what should be done with the pier during the
winter months.
·
Frank would like to set
up a calibration schedule for the lift stations and wells to prolong
the lifetime of the equipment.
·
Frank stated he is
looking for a probe to go with an old ph meter and is having a
difficult time finding one so may have to purchase a new ph meter.
·
The city garage has a
lot of scrap metal and he would like to get it cleaned up so he has
room to establish an office.
·
Frank would like to
purchase a file cabinet to help get his office organized.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to allow Frank Thelin to purchase a
4-drawer file cabinet for the maintenance shop out of the sewer
fund.
Sealed bids for the trailer were
opened by the Council and are as follows:
1)
Gary Hendricks bid
$257.00
2)
Jerry Hamm bid $567.51
3)
Steve Keranen bid
$325.00
4)
Donald McBarney bid
$525.00
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Brian Hitchcock and carried to approve to accept the highest bid of
$567.51 from Jerry Hamm for the trailer.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to table until next month, “Funding
on Sealer for the Museum” since Frank Lamb was not present to
explain this issue.
Some discussion took place regarding
the propane contract which the city needs to renew. Tom stated the
price quoted by Skelgas is $1.66 and the 1,000 gallon tank would
cost $1,500.00 if the city would purchase it. He is still waiting
to receive quotes from two other businesses.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by
Cliff Johnson and carried to approve to go with the cheapest bid on
propane, lease a 1,000 tank at the present time and then buy a 1,000
gallon tank next year.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by
Brian Hitchcock and carried to approve to remove the last sentence
of §92.42 “Abatement By City” in the Weed Ordinance and to add to
the City of Akeley Fee Schedule, a charge of $100.00 per hour with a
minimum charge of 2 hours for costs incurred by the City for
removal, cutting or destruction of weeds as defined in the Weed
Ordinance.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Cliff Johnson and carried to approve to clarify Personnel Policy #
18 with the changes proposed.
Motion by Cliff Johnson seconded by
Brian Hitchcock and carried to approve to move Denise Rittgers to
the next pay step due to a satisfactory annual review.
Old Business
The previous Council changed the
amount of sick time paid out for retired employees from 50% to 100%
in October of 2006 and the present Council changed the amount of
sick time paid out for retired employees from 100% to 0% in February
of 2007. Since Tony Poncelet retired in July, questions regarding
payout have arisen.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by Brian
Hitchcock and carried to approve to table a decision regarding sick
time payout until the next meeting so that more information may be
obtained.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to set a work session for the 2008
Budget on Thursday, September 6th at 7:00 PM.
Denise Rittgers asked the Council if
any of them would be willing to apply for the Sesquicentennial Grant
since it is a very in-depth application and the City office staff
does not have the time to fill it out. The Council members agreed
to give the application to Frank Lamb to fill out.
Discussion took place regarding the
addition of an outdoor patio to the liquor store which would allow
customers to smoke outside. Cliff Johnson is having plans drawn up
and is communicating with an individual who is knowledgeable of what
is considered indoor or outdoor.
New Business
Bob Winner requested that the Council
allow a wage increase to be given to one of his part time liquor
store employees due to the quality of work she performs.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by
Cliff Johnson and carried to approve to give Kathy Stromer a 50
cents an hour raise starting the next pay period.
Bob Winner shared estimates with the
Council to replace the front door of the liquor store which would
include installation.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Brian Hitchcock and carried to approve to allow Bob to accept the
lowest bid to replace the front door of the liquor store.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by Brian
Hitchcock and carried to adjourn.
Denise Rittgers
Clerk
Treasure
City of Akeley
Wendy Klein
Deputy Clerk
City of Akeley
