AKELEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
NOVEMBER 14, 2007
7:00 PM CITY HALL
The Akeley City Council met in a regular meeting Wednesday November 14, 2007 at
7:00 pm. Mayor Tom Moore called the meeting to order. Council members present
were: Tom Moore, Cliff Johnson, and Frank Lamb. Eric Sjolin arrived at 7:45
pm. Brian Hitchcock was absent. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by the
Council and attending audience.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Cliff Johnson and carried to approve the
consent agenda with the addition of 6.5 Marie Crosby’s Resignation Letter from
the Fire Board.
Greg Everett was present to discuss a seasonal rate at the campground since he
has had a few people inquiring about one. Currently there is a daily, weekly &
monthly rate but there is no seasonal rate for a campsite. Frank Lamb suggested
that if the City charges a seasonal rate that it be limited to 5 sites per
season.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Tom Moore and carried to approve to determine
at the next council meeting a seasonal rate for the campground which will be
limited to 5 sites reserved at a seasonal rate per year.
Liquor Store
Report – Bob Winner
·
The Liquor Store will be open on Thanksgiving Day from 5:00 pm to
1:00 am.
·
Pool League starts at the end of the month.
Water/Sewer/Maintenance Report - Frank Thelin
·
Frank received a letter from a resident who turned in his water
meter and will eventually tear down the house on his property. The resident
asked if he would have to continue paying for a water bill since the house will
be torn down and the water has been shut off. Denise Rittgers stated that as
long as a structure is there, the property owner will be charged and once she
has been notified that the structure is gone, she will remove them from the
billing list.
·
Repairs will have to be done on the Chevy truck due to some
leaking.
·
The starter for the grader was taken to Bemidji to be rebuilt and
once the grader is running again, the streets requiring attention will be
graded.
·
The cable which aids in operating the wing on the plow truck may
not have been routed properly and will have to be rerouted to prevent bending to
the ram.
·
It is too late in the season for anything to be done regarding the
water issue between the Blue Ox Market and City Hall but Frank did receive a
price of about $275.00 for a solid grate which would go across the sidewalk.
·
The chlorine liquid is now in place at the filter plant.
·
On Monday the clear well was cleaned and inspected.
Frank Lamb read a letter from Marie Crosby stating she is resigning her position
from the Akeley Fire Board as of December 1st, 2007 and she offered a
recommendation of Marilyn Ferrie as her replacement.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Tom Moore and carried to approve to accept
Marie Crosby’s resignation from the Akeley Fire Board effective December 1st,
2007 and the Council will consider appointing her replacement at the December
council meeting.
Police Report - Chief Eric Klein
·
Eric is waiting for report information from the Sheriff’s Office
of the incidents when the two light poles had been struck. The cost of
replacing the poles is $1,058.00 each and the City’s insurance will help to
cover the costs but they would like help from the insurance companies of the
drivers who hit the poles.
·
A concerned party contacted Eric about the erosion problem that
takes place on Crow Wing Lake Drive each spring. Legal action was promised by
one of the complainants if nothing is done for prevention and water damage
occurs. The City is responsible for maintaining streets and rights-of-way so
discussion was held to try to determine what should be done to resolve the
problem.
·
The Police Department distributed bags of candy and safety items
to children of Akeley on Halloween night.
·
The Akeley Police Department received an anonymous donation for
new equipment and Eric will be sending them a thank you.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Tom Moore and carried to approve to make the
payment for USDA Rural Development Loan #91-03.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by Frank Lamb and carried to approve to update
Personnel Policy # 16 with the proposed changes regarding holiday pay.
Motion by Cliff Johnson seconded by Tom Moore and carried to approve to update
Personnel Policy # 20 by adding Table A regarding the rate of sick leave
accrual.
Old Business
Bob Winner
clarified that when the Liquor Store is open on Thanksgiving Day, it will be for
On Sale only.
Bob Winner stated
that the Liquor Store will be receiving at no cost, a couple of shelters from
Ah-Gwah-Ching that will be used for the smoking patio. Cliff Johnson stated
money would be needed to move the shelters and to build a platform. The liquor
fund will be paying all costs to put this into place.
Eric Sjolin arrived
at 7:45 pm.
Jon Johnson asked how the Liquor Store was doing and Bob stated the Liquor Store
was down about five or six hundred dollars this past month partly due to an
insurance payment that needed to be made.
Jon Johnson also asked about the Holiday Pay benefit that had just been approved
by the Council. Denise Rittgers stated that an employee working a paid holiday
would have the option of getting paid double time or getting paid at the regular
rate and adding the same number of hours to the employee’s vacation time to be
used at a later date.
Jon Johnson questioned whether there would be any money set aside in next year’s
budget for major street repair and was told some money has been set aside for
Class 5 but there is no money budgeted for black topping.
Frank Thelin asked what should be done if culverts are needed and was told that
the City can get them if they are needed.
The Council agreed to set the last Budget Work Session for Wednesday, November
21st at 10:00 am.
New Business
Frank Lamb asked
Frank Thelin if he was going to look into the diving dock wheel and the fact
that the diving dock doesn’t sit level. Frank Thelin is looking into it and
will have until next spring to get it resolved.
Tom Moore said it
had been mentioned to him that Veteran’s Day might be considered a paid holiday
in which the city office is closed and city employees would not work out of
respect for the veterans. The Council said they would have a year to think
about it and no action was taken.
Motion by Frank
Lamb seconded by Tom Moore and carried to adjourn.
Denise Rittgers
Clerk
Treasurer
City of Akeley
Wendy Klein
Deputy Clerk
City of Akeley
