City of Lewiston City Council Regular Meeting Minutes City Hall March 13, 2013

Transcription

1 1. Call to Order Mayor Dave Sommer called the Regular Meeting of the Lewiston City Council to order at 7:00 p.m.,. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Roll Call Members present: Mayor Sommer, Clm Michael Harrison, Clm Larry Rupprecht, Clm Sharon Trester and Clm Sean Sannes. 4. Agenda Item 16.1 Resolution Setting a Public Hearing on a Street Vacation, 16.2 Resolution Releasing an Easement, and 16.3 Biosolids storage at Wastewater Treatment Plant were added. Motion by Clm Rupprecht, seconded by Clm Sannes, to approve the agenda with said changes. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. 5. City Council Minutes The minutes from the February 27, 2013 Regular Meeting stood approved as presented. 6. Accounts Payable Motion by Clm Sannes, seconded by Clm Rupprecht, to approve accounts payable. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. 7. Citizens Concerns No citizen concerns were presented. 8. Heartland Days Clm Trester said the Heartland Days Committee chose the button design by Holly Jacobs for the 150 th Celebration and the $100 prize money. The committee would like to again have a Teen Dance in the Community Center and is requesting the Council waive the fee. Motion by Clm Sannes, seconded by Clm Harrison, to approve use of the Lewiston Community Center at no fee for the Heartland Days Teen Dance on June 26. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. Clm Trester said the City Council has supported the Medallion Hunt prize in the past. With the 150 th Celebration, the request is that the prize be $150 with a button or $75 without a button. The council members will provide the prize money out of their own funds. In regards to parade participation of the Council, the city will cover the expense for the candy distributed during the parade. More Heartland Days information is available on the city s website. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Barb Bartelson. Clm Rupprecht added that there will be an all-school reunion on Saturday, June 29 for two hours at the school. Historical archives will be available for viewing. M a r c h 13, R e g u l a r M e e t i n g M i n u t e s a p p r o v e d M a r c h 27, Page 1 of 6

2 9. City Insurance Review Jim Howard of CO Brown Insurance reviewed the city s insurance policy from the League of MN Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT). The property insurance is replacement cost coverage. The vehicle coverage includes replacement cost coverage for three vehicles and the others are actual cash value. The city must have a verified service and maintenance schedule to obtain the replacement cost coverage. The liability coverage limit is $1.5 million per occurrence and $500,000 per claimant. Cities can waive the limit by Council action. Motion by Clm Sannes, seconded by Clm Rupprecht, to waive the monetary limits on tort liability. All in favor. Motion declared carried. Mr. Howard said the tort limit is only for the city, not its subcontractors. Ms. Hengel will send the committee list to Mr. Howard. Equipment coverage includes values set some years ago. Council requested that Ms. Hengel meet with department heads to review values. Mr. Howard said with the Municipal Volunteer Accident coverage the city should have a general idea, within reason, of its volunteers. Sewer backup is the most prominent claim for cities, and there is a $2,500 deductible if the city is negligent. Cities that do a good job with maintenance can have the deductible lowered. CO Brown will run the Motor Vehicle Record on all employees and volunteers working on city business, but the employee or volunteer must give consent. Ms. Hengel and Mr. Howard talked about LMCIT s new methodology for determining municipal liability premiums. The factors are now expenditures, number of households due to land use claims, number of sewer connections due to backup claims, number of employees due to employment claims, and number of full-time police officers due to police department claims. These changes will result in higher insurance expenses for the Police Department and the Sewer Fund but less expense for other departments. 10. Yaggy Colby Associates Updates Bryan Holtz, engineer with Yaggy Colby Associates, referred to the letter from A-1 regarding the timeline for the 2012 CIP Project. Discussion included that the contractor chose to start the project over a month from the proposed start date and was out-of-town for some period of time. It was determined that logistically things may have happened sooner had the contractor started the project sooner. Motion by Clm Trester, seconded by Clm Harrison, to deny A-1 s additional five-day work request. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. Mr. Holtz reported on his attendance at a recent School Board meeting to discuss the Safe Routes to School Grant. The School Board did not particularly like the path in yellow on the map he distributed. That path would connect both Benson Drive and Country Club Drive to the school. Both the blue and red paths are less expensive. The blue is on top of a hill but in the trees. The red is a little more expensive due to the need for grading. Mr. Holtz has to send plans and specs to the Winona County engineer as soon as possible. The Project Memorandum is a priority, so Mr. Holtz will talk to EDA Director Brian Moehnke. Mr. Holtz will return to the next meeting to review the scope of the project. Tom Madden, engineer with Yaggy Colby Associates, updated the Council on the Drinking Water Radium Removal Plant. The former engineering firm s estimates generated some years ago projected M a r c h 13, R e g u l a r M e e t i n g M i n u t e s a p p r o v e d M a r c h 27, Page 2 of 6

3 the plant to cost about $2.3 million. Yaggy Colby Associates has now developed the cost estimate with the actual treatment required to meet MN Department of Health (MDH) requirements. Last fall s pilot plant had great results in removing radium. HMO has been shown to be the best technology to remove radium when iron is also present. The Preliminary Engineering Report was given to Ms. Hengel and describes several alternatives that were further investigated. The HMO method is the lowest priced at an estimated $4.5 million. Because MDH has been adamant about the contaminants in Well No. 3, the design includes sealing this well and adding a new well. Yaggy Colby Associates will assist with finding options to make the project work financially. The engineers will also investigate other selections, such as going to a well that distributes the standard 350 gal/min. instead of 1,200 gal/min. Mr. Madden will return to the Council when these other selections are put into a revised estimate. 11. Ambulance Report Ambulance Director Matt Essig reviewed his written report in the agenda packet. He would like the Council s action on new tiered billing rates, which would only affect people not residing in Lewiston or from areas not under contract with the Lewiston Ambulance. The new rates are a $200 fee increase over the resident charge. The tiers will add value to the Ambulance contracts. Motion by Clm Sannes, seconded by Clm Trester, to approve the 2013 proposed rate changes for the Ambulance Department effective April 1. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. Mr. Essig said a new Weapons Handling on Incidents Policy was reviewed by the Ambulance Board, the Medical Director, the Personnel Committee and the Sheriff. The policy established a process for securing a patient s legally carried weapon. He said the situation may be unlikely, but this policy will provide standard procedures when law enforcement is not an option. Motion by Clm Rupprecht, seconded by Clm Sannes, to approve the Ambulance Weapons Handling on Incidents Policy. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. Mr. Essig said several Ambulance members will be attending training the coming weekend. April 26 th will be a mock accident focused on the dangers of texting while driving. A powerful speaker has been arranged for the event. He provided CPR training to several area child care providers. In the area of the city s safety coordination, Mr. Essig has organized the OSHA records, training, and First Report of Injury forms. All employees have had the required annual safety training to date. 12. Police Department Report Police Chief Joe Hastings said the department had 53 calls in February. The chief has been cleared for full active duty. The 2005 Impala was placed on ebay with the $4,500 minimum but did not receive a single bid. Motion by Clm Trester, seconded by Clm Sannes, to advertise the 2005 Impala on ebay with a minimum bid of $1,500. Voting in favor were Clm Sannes, Clm Trester, Clm Rupprecht and Clm Harrison. Opposed was Mayor Sommer. Motion declared carried. Chief Hastings mentioned the hiring of two part-time officers. Mayor Sommer asked him to wait for the Personnel Committee Report. Clm Sannes asked to see the beginning and ending mileage of both squad M a r c h 13, R e g u l a r M e e t i n g M i n u t e s a p p r o v e d M a r c h 27, Page 3 of 6

4 cars on the monthly reports. Clm Trester asked about the docking station and a stand for the new squad car so that a computer can go in the car. Chief Hastings said the cost would be $400 $700. Mayor Sommer said the squad car has been in service for a few months, but officers are not able to use the laptop in the car. Chief Hastings said he has been working on a grant to purchase a new stand. The Council concurred that the docking station and stand must be in the new car by April Park & Rec Committee Report Summer Rec Director Adam Franzen was introduced by Clm Sannes. Mr. Franzen has been working with the committee on processes and procedures. The Summer Rec offerings and registration form packet is down to four pages on two sheets of paper. Registrations through April 7 will be considered on-time. Motion by Clm Trester, seconded by Clm Rupprecht, to approve the 2013 Summer Rec Program offerings as presented. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. Donations are now being accepted for the program. Businesses can buy their own signs and the city will hang them at Cityview Park for $100 each year. Clm Sannes said the committee also looked at concession stand operations. Pre-packaged food requires no permit. The committee is recommending no concessions at weekly ball games. There will be two, possibly three, tournaments at which the committee is recommending concessions be offered through the city. The permit to offer cooked food is $20 for up to three events each year. Motion by Clm Sannes, seconded by Mayor Sommer, to purchase permits for the tournaments in order to offer concessions and have the finances, organization, and staffing run through the city. All in favor. Clm Trester said profit or loss of concessions can be looked at after the first tournament. The Personnel Committee will develop a staffing policy for the concession stand to recommend to the Council. 14. Personnel Committee Report Motion by Clm Trester, seconded by Clm Rupprecht, to send Jennifer Hengel to the LMC Conference for the $245 registration plus expenses in St. Paul from June All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. Heartland Days items were discussed. A recommendation for the hiring of two part-time police officers was presented. Motion by Clm Trester, seconded by Clm Sannes, to post and advertise for two parttime officers, with experience preferred, following the city s past processes. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. Clm Trester said the Personnel Committee is recommending the city cover the expense of a restraining order, if so needed, for a Lewiston police officer and his family because of threats against the officer due to job-related incidents. Motion by Clm Sannes, seconded by Clm Rupprecht, to approve the city paying for the restraining order if the officer needs to obtain one due to an incident in the line ofduty. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. M a r c h 13, R e g u l a r M e e t i n g M i n u t e s a p p r o v e d M a r c h 27, Page 4 of 6

5 Clm Trester said the Personnel Committee met in closed session for preliminary consideration of an allegation of misconduct against a police officer. The Personnel Committee determined that the officer was within the scope of his duties in performing an identification check and no disciplinary action was recommended. In response to a second complaint form received regarding the same incident, the recommendation was that no action is needed as the complainant had no direct contact with the officer. Motion by Clm Rupprecht, seconded by Clm Sannes, to approve the recommendation from the Personnel Committee that no disciplinary action result from the complaints against the officer. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. 15. Ordinance Amending the City Code Chapter 1, Section Ms. Hengel said the ordinances or their summaries will be published and available for viewing at City Hall and on-line. This first ordinance amends the City Code to be in line with MN Statutes for petty misdemeanors and misdemeanors. Motion by Clm Rupprecht, seconded by Clm Harrison, to adopt Ordinance Amending the City Code Chapter 1, Section All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. 16. Ordinance Amending the City Code Chapter 2, Sections , , and Ms. Hengel said this ordinance adds the fourth Wednesday as a regular City Council meeting and changes paragraph headings in two locations. Motion by Clm Trester, seconded by Clm Rupprecht, to adopt Ordinance Amending the City Code Chapter 2, Sections , and All voted in favor. Motion declared carried Resolution Setting a Public Hearing on a Street Vacation Ms. Hengel said the street vacation is related to the land transaction between the city and Nienow Real Estate. This street vacation affects the parcel of land west of Rice Street and north of Highway 14. Motion by Clm Rupprecht, seconded by Clm Trester, to adopt Resolution Setting a Public Hearing on a Street Vacation. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried Resolution Releasing an Easement Ms. Hengel said the Council originally approved releasing this easement in December 2012 with certain contingencies. According to City Attorney Jennifer Gumbel, the contingencies in the original resolution have not been met, so a resolution with new contingencies is presented. The resolution will clear up some deed questions for Land O Lakes. Motion by Clm Rupprecht, seconded by Clm Trester, to adopt Resolution Releasing an Easement. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried Biosolids storage at Wastewater Treatment Plant Herb Krueger from PeopleService contacted Ms. Hengel to see if the city would be interested in receiving some of the Stewartville Wastewater Treatment Plant s biosolids. The roads to the areas M a r c h 13, R e g u l a r M e e t i n g M i n u t e s a p p r o v e d M a r c h 27, Page 5 of 6

6 where Stewartville typically spreads the biosolids have restrictions that will prevent the spreading this spring. Mr. Krueger s suggested a price for Lewiston to receive 150,000 gallons; the payment would cover the cost of spreading the biosolids received from Stewartville as well as Lewiston s biosolids. Lewiston s storage capacity is 500,000 gallons, and Mr. Krueger s said less than 100,000 gallons one year s holding was hauled out last fall. The Council was interested in this possibility, so details will be presented at a future meeting if Stewartville needs to pursue this option. 17. Utility vehicle for Summer Rec & Beautification Committee Clm Rupprecht said that the Public Works Committee concurred with Garlan Hulbert of the Beautification Committee and Curt Benter with Public Works to purchase the used Kubota. Ms. Hengel said Summer Rec Director Franzen has also been brought into the discussion. Clm Sannes said the used Kubota has four years and over 700 hours of use, whereas the new Kubota would have no use and a one-year warranty. He felt with not knowing how or for what the used vehicle was utilized, it would be worth the additional money to purchase the new Kubota. Motion by Clm Sannes, seconded by Clm Harrison, to purchase the 2012 Kubota from St. Joseph Equipment at the cost of $8,600 plus tax. It was noted the purchase is a good investment for the city. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. 18. Council concerns No Council concerns were presented. Mayor Sommer noted that a Work Session has been scheduled for March 27 at 5:00 p.m. for further discussion on the Wastewater Treatment Plant operations. 19. Informational Items: MDH letter and SEMMCHRA letter No discussion was held on the informational items. Motion by Clm Rupprecht, seconded by Clm Trester, to close the public meeting for the purpose of discussing the purchase of parcel # All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. 20. Proposed purchase of parcel # owned by W. Daryl Rusert Motion by Clm Rupprecht, seconded by Clm Trester, to adjourn the closed portion of the meeting and open the public meeting. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. Clm Trester said the parcel will allow the city to provide better access to the Community Center for flow of traffic through the lot. Motion by Clm Rupprecht, seconded by Clm Harrison, to approve the purchase of parcel # for the purchase price of $14,000. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. Mayor Sommer said the EMS Building Committee has agreed to gather more information on other sites. 21. Adjourn Motion by Clm Sannes, seconded by Clm Trester, to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. Motion declared carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:28 p.m. M a r c h 13, R e g u l a r M e e t i n g M i n u t e s a p p r o v e d M a r c h 27, Page 6 of 6