AKELEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
OCTOBER 10, 2007
7:00 PM CITY HALL
The Akeley City Council met in a
regular meeting Wednesday October 10, 2007 at 7:00 pm. Mayor Tom
Moore called the meeting to order. Council members present were:
Tom Moore, Cliff Johnson, Brian Hitchcock, Eric Sjolin and Frank
Lamb. 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.
Jeff Vorel was present to speak with
the Council about complaints which had been made to the Police Chief
regarding the alley by his home being plugged. He stated that the
alley is not plugged and that he does not release items which he has
worked on until payment for the repair has been made. He also
stated he would like the people who are complaining about the alley
by his home to come and talk to him rather than bother Eric about
it.
Frank Lamb stated he has done a lot of
business with Jeff as a mechanic and has no complaints of his
operation except that he would like Jeff to remove the fake car from
his front yard and to try and keep the yard as neat as he can.
Margaret Bond-Vorel was present to
speak to the Council about the Dog Ordinance which is in place. All
water & sewer customers had received with their bills a reminder of
the ordinance to have dogs licensed, on a leash and that the keeping
of 3 or more dogs on the same premises is considered to be a
nuisance and not allowed. She stated they moved to town five years
ago and had the six dogs then of which all but one are kept in the
house. At that time the ordinance did not prohibit the keeping of 3
or more dogs and she does not want to get rid of any of hers.
Margaret said she is more concerned with the unleashed dogs in town.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Brian
Hitchcock and carried to approve to allow Vorels to keep more than
the limit of dogs as long as they are all licensed and they don’t
create a public nuisance by barking or getting out and that allowing
more dogs than allowed on any premises is a decision to be made by
the Council on a case by case basis.
Kevin & Deb from Kevin’s Auto Body &
Towing were not present however Eric Klein explained the concern an
anonymous citizen had made to the newspapers regarding Kevin & Deb
issuing $15.00 gift certificates to three officers of the Police
Department. Eric said it was an act of kindness on Kevin & Deb’s
part and an oversight on his in accepting them but he has returned
his gift certificate and the other two officers have paid theirs
back.
Robert Warnke asked the Council who he
should talk to about the house next to his. He was told by the
Council that he would have to wait to discuss this during New
Business since he was not on the agenda.
Water/Sewer/Maintenance Report
- Frank Thelin
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Brian Hitchcock and carried to approve the contract submitted from
ND Sewage Pump Company Inc. for a fee of $475.00 for maintenance on
the sewer lift stations for one year.
Frank Thelin stated that he has talked
to other towns regarding fees charged for use of water from a fire
hydrant and he would like to see the fee for the City of Akeley
raised to be more comparable to the other towns. He also said he
would like to have a water meter purchased for a more accurate count
of gallons used from fire hydrants.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by Frank
Lamb and carried to approve to raise the permit fee on Ordinance
101-2005 from $2.50 to $25.00 for fire hydrant use and the rate per
1,000 gallons taken from a fire hydrant from $5.00 to $7.50 with the
exception of the Fire Department who would not be charged anything.
Frank Thelin is looking into getting a
55 gallon drum of oil for the equipment at the maintenance shop and
has obtained two quotes, one from Detroit Lakes for $429.00 not
including tax and one from Walker for $422.16 not including tax.
Eric Sjolin stated he would like to see the City go with the more
local business.
Frank Thelin said he spoke with the
DNR about the City Pier and is trying to get organized for next
spring to get floats and he will be able to repair the facing on the
dock. A green treated wood walkway to the pier would be suitable to
make it handicapped accessible.
Margaret Bond stated that the alley
near their house right above the sewer line gets spongy in the
spring and fall and wondered if it was possible that the sewer line
was leaking. Frank said he could check on it but members of the
Council stated the ground in that area is very wet.
Cliff Johnson asked Frank Thelin if
the new system (change from using chlorine gas to liquid bleach at
the filter plant) has been put into place. Frank said the tank and
pump have been delivered and they are waiting on the containment
tank so it should be hooked up in about a week or so.
Cliff Johnson asked Frank Thelin if he
had checked into getting a small heater for the water tower and was
told that it is already done.
Police Report - Chief Eric
Klein
·
Eric said he has not
heard any more regarding the community sign on south highway 64.
·
Eric is requesting that
something be done with the street light near T&M. Some discussion
took place and possibly the City’s insurance or the insurance
companies of the motorists on record who have hit the light pole
would cover the cost to replace it. A suggestion was made to move
the location of the street light at the time it is replaced to
prevent future damage.
·
Mr. Jeff Vorel and
Margaret Bond-Vorel dog and clean up issues were addressed earlier.
·
Gift certificates and
the Akeley Police Department were discussed earlier.
·
Eric requested that the
Council allow him to continue working with Officer Williams since
there have been some issues which he believes are correctable
through additional training. Eric Sjolin recommended that Police
Reserves work only with experienced Police Officers. Brian
Hitchcock stated that since Officer Williams needs more training and
time with (personal relations), that Friday and Saturday nights may
not be the best time to do it and maybe more hours during the week
could be looked at.
Frank Lamb questioned the reasoning
for the Council’s desire to rescind his motion to purchase a new
squad truck for the police department since it had been a unanimous
decision. He had missed the last budget workshop when the Council
had discussed how they thought they should be more conservative.
Frank understood the Council to say that nothing has structurally
changed since the last council meeting, only the Council members’
attitudes and both Eric Klein and Frank Thelin have agreed that they
could wait another year to get new vehicles for their departments.
Motion by Brian Hitchcock seconded by
Eric Sjolin and carried to approve to rescind the motion allowing
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. Frank Lamb
opposed since the motion had passed once but agreed with being
conservative.
Approving a Sewer Variance for Bruce
Beckley was on the agenda but Frank Thelin stated that he hadn’t
been able to talk to Bruce yet about writing a letter to the Council
requesting a variance. Frank said he would talk to Bruce and should
have a letter requesting a variance for the next council meeting.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Brian
Hitchcock and carried to approve to allow Frank Thelin to attend
Water Training on Winterizing on October 23rd in Grand
Rapids at the cost of $75.00 for the class, reimbursement for
mileage, and pay while attending the training.
Frank Thelin presented a contract for
clear well cleaning which is recommended to be performed every 5
years and it has been 5 to 7 years since it was done last. He
would like to have the work complete before December and it has to
be contracted out since there are safety concerns. Frank will keep
a maintenance schedule so it will be known in the future when this
type of work is required again.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Tom Moore and carried to approve
to accept the contract from Water Tower Paint & Repair for clear
well cleaning at $1,500.00 with the funds coming from the Community
Fund.
Denise Rittgers explained the
Community Water Supply Service Connection Fee which has been paid
annually by the City of Akeley to the Minnesota Department of Health
for all service connections served by our water supply. The Service
Connection Fee is a surcharge which is meant to be billed out to
each of the users and in the past with the City paying the fee, it
has taken away money from the Water Fund which is needed to pay for
other water related bills. By having each user pay $0.58 a month,
it would cover the cost for this service connection fee.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Brian Hitchcock and carried to approve to add $0.58 to each water
account billing starting with next month’s water/sewer billing.
Old Business
Bruce Blaeser asked if he is required
to get a building permit if he builds on to his garage and was told
by members of the Council that he is. He stated that he has seen
others building around town but has not seen building permits
posted. He was told by members of the Council that they are
required to be posted.
Bruce Blaeser also stated that people
who have businesses in their homes should be paying commercial rates
rather than homestead rates. Members of the Council responded that
it would be up to the assessor.
Robert Warnke was wondering about the
old house next to his and was informed that it is to be auctioned
off in the near future and that he should contact the Hubbard County
Land Office for more information.
Margaret Bond-Vorel asked if it was
possible for the City to raise the allotted number of gallons of
water used but charge the same rate for larger families who exceed
the normal usage of water each month. Eric Sjolin stated the
expense is directly proportional to the amount of water used and
that the City is not actually charging as much for the water as it
should be. No action was taken.
New Business
Bob Winner stated that there is a
possibility of using material from the large ramp (that goes up to
the old city offices) to extend the temporary smoking area on the
back side of the liquor store. It would be temporary and the cost
to do was estimated to be around $200.00 or so.
Frank Thelin informed the Council that
there are bids in Tom Moore’s mail box regarding correction of the
water problems between City Hall and the Blue Ox Market. Frank Lamb
read the bids from Ron Vredenburg and Action Contracting and stated
that both bids had a flaw in them and suggested that Frank Thelin
inform them both that the Council would like a grate rather than PVC
pipe and then have them resubmit bids.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Tom
Moore and carried to approve to have Frank Thelin contact both
contractors, clarify what the City wants, have them re-bid and have
Frank Thelin choose the bid which is of best interest of the City.
Margaret Bond-Vorel asked if there is
an ordinance regarding fences and if a building permit is required
to put one up. There is an ordinance but a building permit is not
required to put one up.
Bob Winner asked if he is required to
get Council approval to give out prizes at the liquor store for the
Halloween party it has each year. He was informed that he does not
need Council approval and that the general rule of thumb is that
anything over $500.00 needs Council approval.
Bob Winner stated that the Chili
Cook-Off is looking good and will be held on October 20th
at the liquor store.
Bob Winner also said that $50.00 has
been paid to the DJs at the liquor store for quite a few years now
and he would like to see them receive a raise. Eric Sjolin stated
he thought it was more important to make the karaoke books look more
attractive and Bob stated that he has already purchased supplies to
do that. No action was taken.
Frank Lamb asked regarding the liquor
store patio, if it would be adaptable so it could be made permanent
and that same area would be used. Eric Sjolin stated he thought the
way it would be put up now would be temporary and that later the
Council could revisit whether the area needed to be larger or not
but the same access would be used.
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
