AKELEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
7:00 PM CITY HALL
The Akeley City Council met in a regular meeting
Wednesday September 12, 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 arrived at
7:47 pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by the Council and
attending audience.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by Eric Sjolin and
carried to approve the consent agenda with the addition of 4.5
“Kevin’s Auto Body & Towing” and 12.5 “Approve Proposed Levy”.
Motion by Cliff Johnson seconded by Brian Hitchcock
and carried to approve to allow Mike Nelson to change the direction
of parcel #’s 29.37.14600 and 29.37.14700 which currently go east
and west to north and south pending a separate sewer line for the
trailer must be installed and a variance is put in place to allow
maintenance of the sewer if necessary.
Kevin & Deb from Kevin’s Auto Body & Towing
introduced themselves to the Council and stated that they have done
business in the area and hope to continue providing their services
to the Akeley area.
Bob Winner was present to discuss future plans for an
outdoor patio at the Liquor Store. Tom will check with local
contractors who may want to submit a bid to build the patio but
depending on the cost, the project may have to be delayed until next
year. Jon Johnson asked why a patio had to be built for smokers and
was given a reply from members of the Council that this would help
with business in the Liquor Store. Bob is looking into a possible
meat raffle and a chili cook off at the Liquor Store. Some
discussion took place on whether the floor in the Liquor Store would
be finished before the pool league starts. At this point in time it
does not look like it will be complete by then.
Frank Thelin introduced two representatives from
Hawkins Inc. who discussed the benefits of changing from using
chlorine gas at the filter plant to using liquid bleach.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by Eric Sjolin and
carried to approve to purchase the equipment stated on the proposal
for $1,430.00 from Hawkins which will be installed when the current
tanks become empty and will be funded by the water account.
Frank Thelin received two estimates for the overhead
door at the maintenance shop which he would like to have installed
before winter.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Tom Moore and
carried to approve to accept the bid from Park Rapids Overhead for
$240.00 to repair the overhead door at the maintenance shop.
Frank Thelin presented to the Council two bids
regarding preventative maintenance on the lift stations.
Frank Lamb arrived at the meeting at 7:47 pm.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Brian Hitchcock and
carried to approve to express the City’s interest in signing up with
North Dakota Sewage Pump Company and after reviewing the forms make
a decision at the next regular council meeting.
Frank Thelin is obtaining bids for maintenance on the
two wells and will submit them to the Council for approval when he
gets the third bid.
Frank Lamb questioned the status of the hole on
Pleasant Avenue. Frank Thelin will check with Howard’s Driveway
tomorrow to see when it is scheduled to be repaired.
Frank Thelin stated the electric heater in the water
tower needs to be fixed so he will be obtaining estimates to get it
repaired before winter.
Frank Thelin would like to purchase a 55 gallon drum
of oil for the maintenance equipment and is collecting quotes which
would include delivery of the new drum and hauling away of the old
drum. He would like to get the Council’s approval by next month to
do this.
Frank Thelin informed the Council that Tony Poncelet
will charge a $35.00 per hour consulting fee if he is needed in the
future.
Frank Thelin is looking into having someone come on
Saturday to grind out various stumps around town as well as at the
campground.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by Frank Lamb and
carried to approve to hire Pine River Stump Grinding to grind
$300.00 worth of stumps around the city and campground.
Police Report - Chief Eric
Klein
·
Eric was asked by Brad Shoff if
the Council had made a decision yet regarding the community sign on
south highway 34 near his residence since he was at the previous
meeting to communicate his opposition to the sign being placed
there.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Brian Hitchcock and
carried to approve to leave the sign where it is without the
planting of trees as was requested by Mr. Shoff.
·
Eric informed the Council that
if they would choose to guide the water between City Hall and the
Blue Ox Market onto Highway 34 that permits are available from MN
DOT.
·
Eric brought up again the two
damaged street lights near T&M and the CurtiSinn and said the one
near T&M needs to be replaced as soon as possible and that a
protective barrier needs to be put in place to prevent damage to the
pole in the future.
·
Eric presented information to
the Council regarding the purchase of a new squad truck for the
Police Department and explained that since the Police Department can
obtain vehicles at a cheaper price through State Bid, the old squad
truck could then be used by the Water/Sewer/Maintenance
Departments. The Police Department and Water/Sewer/Maintenance
Departments would then rotate vehicles every five years making it
more economical for the city. The trucks currently used by the
Street Department will need to be replaced in the near future hence
the reason for the inquiry for a new squad truck.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Brian Hitchcock and
carried to approve to allow the Police Department to purchase a new
squad truck paying $5,000.00 from the Community Fund, $9,665.70 from
the sewer account, $4,834.30 from the park account and the remaining
$7,000.00 plus decal and changeover charges from the police
administrative funds.
Brian Hitchcock asked if the tasers had arrived yet
and was informed that they had been received today.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Brian Hitchcock and
carried to approve to renew the City’s insurance package with Dick
Bradow Insurance.
Some discussion took place regarding an auction of
City property in the spring which could include the
Water/Sewer/Maintenance truck, the old diving dock as well as the
old wooden pump house. City employees will keep an inventory of
items which will be auctioned off.
Frank Lamb suggested that in the future the City,
Fire Department and Lion’s Club work together to get an outdoor
bathroom built with flush-type toilets by the Paul Bunyan Statue
since it is a wayside rest area and the bathrooms in the museum are
only open four hours a day from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by Brian Hitchcock and
carried to approve to make the proposed changes to Ordinance #
101-2005 “Adopting a Schedule of Fees and Charges for Various
Services, Licenses and Permits for the City of Akeley, Minnesota”.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by Eric Sjolin and
carried to approve to take no action to pay Tony Poncelet at his
request for unused sick time upon his retirement. Frank Lamb
abstained with the reason that he was on the prior & current
Councils when the decisions were made to change Personnel Policy #
34.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by Cliff Johnson and
carried to approve to accept the preliminary levy of $227,633.00
with the understanding that the amount can be reduced but not raised
before the December 15th deadline.
Old Business
Frank Lamb stated the water issue between the Blue Ox
Market and City Hall will have to be dealt with before next spring
therefore Frank Thelin will begin obtaining quotes.
Cliff asked Bob if the new door was ready to be
installed at the Liquor Store and was told that it would be put in
as soon as the door is received.
Frank Thelin informed the Council of a permit the
City needs to purchase from the DNR for use of water which the City
pumps out of the ground. This is a lifetime permit provided that
the amount of water pumped out each year is reported to the DNR.
Frank Thelin stated that per an agreement signed in
1994 by the City of Akeley and the DNR, the Fishing Pier is the
responsibility of the City for any structural repair and that the
DNR is responsible for the floats. Discussion took place regarding
the repair of the fishing pier and a suggestion was made to have
volunteers help when the pier is repaired.
Brian Hitchcock asked if the diving dock had been
removed from the swimming beach and was informed that it has been.
New Business
Cliff Johnson suggested that the City look into
purchasing a digital recorder to record the Council meetings since
they are only about $65.00 and can record a number of hours then be
downloaded onto the computer to be saved onto CD’s. This would
prevent portions of meetings from not being recorded when audio
tapes have to be turned over or replaced. Brian Hitchcock said he
would check into this.
Eric Sjolin said he noticed a couple of weeks ago
that there is a stop sign on 2nd Street which is
obstructed by a tree and was notified that it has been taken care
of.
Some discussion was held regarding the use of the
“Sentence to Serve” people from Hubbard County to help trim areas
with tree and shrub growth causing obstruction of view to signs and
roadways.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by Eric Sjolin and
carried to adjourn.
Denise Rittgers
Clerk
Treasure
City of Akeley
Wendy Klein
Deputy Clerk
City of
Akeley
