DRAFT – These minutes are not official until approved at the next regular City Council meeting.
City of Bigfork
Mayor Tendrup called the public hearing to order at 7:00 p.m. and explained that the hearing was being held for proposed water/sewer delinquent account assessments. Tendrup stated that a few individuals had requested payment plans, however the City would be in violation of our own ordinances if we allowed this. Furthermore, there is no recourse on these accounts since the water has already been shut off. Gus David asked what the overdue amounts were and Tendrup answered that the amounts varied. David stated that the people knew they were overdue and did not contact the City until now. Motion by Lexvold, seconded by Pifher to accept the proposed assessment role as presented, Motion Carried Unanimously (MCU).
Tendrup closed the public hearing and called the regular meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Tendrup reviewed the results of the closed meeting held November 8, 2005. At the meeting, a performance review of Police Chief Jon Babcock was conducted. Babcock received 44 out of 45 points on his review.
Tendrup called for any additions or changes to the agenda. The liquor store lease agreement and the sale of the city house will be discussed right after the consent agenda is passed. There were no other additions to the agenda. Pifher moved to approve the agenda as changed, seconded by Salmi, MCU.
Resolution 12-05-2005 (1): Tendrup explained that there is a vacant seat on the City Council and two letters had been received from interested individuals. Tendrup asked that the two individuals read their letters of interest. Dave Schminkey read his letter and stressed that there would be no hard feelings on his part if he was not the one chosen for the position and stated that in his personal life, he has no debt and it works well for him. He stated he would work on the Council toward not letting debt grow and to eliminate the debt that is already in place, though he does realize that there are times and situations which require loans, etc. Lonnie Kacon was next to read his letter of interest. Tendrup reminded the Council that this is a mid-term seat that is being filled and the seat will be up for election in 2006. Tendrup thanked the two applicants for their willingness and interest. The Council voted by paper ballot and Lonnie Kacon was chosen. Motion by Salmi seconded by Pifher to pass Resolution 12-05-2005 (1) appointing Lonnie Kacon to the City Council, MCU. City Clerk Angie Storlie administered the oath of office to Kacon and he assumed his seat on the Council.
Consent Agenda Motion by Pifher, seconded by Lexvold to approve the consent agenda as follows with the removal of item #8 for more discussion: #1- approval of the minutes of the November 8th regular City Council meeting #2- approval of the Police Report for November 2005, report is attached to the minutes as Appendix A #3- approval of the Budget Report for November 2005 #4- approval of the City Clerk’s Office report for November 2005 #5- approval of the Administrative Policy Amendments as presented #6- approval of the Personnel Committee Recommendations as presented #7- approval of the position descriptions for various commissioners of the City of Bigfork #8- removed for further discussion # approval of the claims for payment in the amount of $49,989.44 including the November 15th and 30th payrolls MCU. (copies of documentation on any consent agenda item are available at the City Clerk’s office)
Liquor Store Lease Agreement: Shaw stated that the Council had voted to enter into a lease agreement with Miller/Zins. Zins has indicated they will have all required paperwork and payments to the City by January 18th and be open for business by mid-February. Tendrup clarified that the liquor license they had applied for was for 2005 and they would be applying for a license for 2006. Shaw asked if the Council wished to wait it out to see if they come through with everything by their date of January 18th. Shaw suggested notifying them that negotiations would be terminated if they do not follow through with all requirements by then. Motion to do so by Salmi, seconded by Lexvold, MCU.
Sale of City House: Shaw reviewed that the City had solicited bids on the house. The high bidder has indicated that they would not be entering into a purchase agreement. The next highest bidder was Howard McKinney who was present at the meeting. Shaw stated that the Council needed to determine if they wished to accept McKinney’s bid of $36,987.56. Motion to accept bid by Salmi, seconded by Pifher, MCU. Shaw will provide McKinney with a copy of the purchase agreement for his review. The original agreement will be left at the City Clerk’s office for McKinney so sign once he has reviewed his copy.
Public Works Department Report: Public Works Superintendent Mark Maki reported that the heater at the water treatment plant had been repaired. Dave Waters completed an inventory of all the public works areas and facilities. Class V patching of alleys and streets around town was completed. The city house had a bad circulating pump which was repaired. House system was winterized. Maki was contacted by a customer to shut off their water so they could install a new main shut off. During the power outage, the hospital was asked to go on their own well system for safety. Maki met with Army Corps on airport mound system and City Engineer Julie Kennedy will have more information on this. Water at the RV dump, canoe landing and parks was shut off for winter. Maki discussed the possibility of a coin operated water meter so people would be paying for use of water from the RV dump station facility. Maki and Waters stood by a downed power line on Cedar Street until it was repaired by MN Power. City hall furnace has been worked on a couple of times. Lots of snowplowing is being done. North bridge sidewalks have been done with small snowblower until other equipment is purchased or work is contracted out. Ottum and East Ottum Avenues were sand salted by the City in the absence of County workers. Burned grass around pond #1 and are dealing with muskrat problem as per Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recommendations. Replaced broken tiles in the city clerk’s office. New Christmas banners were too long and were delivered to vendor for alterations. New snowflake decorations were donated by Gene Madsen and Orbin Holt. Next year, Maki plans on putting banners on lower brackets and snowflakes on higher brackets as there are enough snowflakes for all the light poles in town. Numerous locates were performed for hospital, Legacy and WilderNest. Seasonal resident shut offs were completed. Maki reported that he has talked with the DNR about submitting a grant application for footbridge, canoe access, and park upgrades. Maki will also be talking with the snowmobile club and Rajala Mill about materials and labor. Application is due February 23 and Maki is working on costs at this time. Maki has been getting bid specs for equipment as budgeted for for 2006. The purchase of this equipment will save money by allowing the PW Dept. to do more plowing, hauling and excavating jobs in house. Tree removal has been done around power lines in town. Trees in city park that were cut down will be given to the mill if they want them, or people would be allowed to take the trees for firewood. Council was in agreement with Maki getting rid of the trees any way he could. Maki would like to move the Public Works office from the City Garage into the old Council room in the basement of City Hall. The State will be storing a snow blower in the City Garage and we will need more room for this. Pifher moved to allow the move, seconded by Lexvold, MCU. Gus David asked if the state snow blower would be moved out in the spring and Maki answered that it would. McLynn reminded Maki to discuss the Wildfire Protection Plan. Maki stated that he and Fire Chief Ron Root met with DNR officials and went through an extensive background of the area and what the program is. Prescribed logging and burns will be done to reduce our fire danger. We have one of the largest fire services areas in the state, much of which is forested, wetland areas. The DNR has taken the preliminary information and will be setting up a plan and looking at grant monies to help outfit the departments with proper equipment. Tendrup clarified that this plan includes all levels of government working together to address the issue.
Mike Larson – snowmobile trail signage: Mike Larson addressed the Council requesting permission to reroute snowmobile trail users across the alley and over to his restaurant. He would like to place some signs on the trails. The Council was in favor of Larson putting up some signage to notify trail users of his location. Larson will contact the snowmobile club about this as well. Motion by Pifher to allow Larson to place signage on the snowmobile trail, second by Kacon, MCU.
OLD BUSINESS:
Julie Kennedy: City Engineer Julie Kennedy began with a discussion of planning for future projects. She explained that the Planning Commission had worked with her to put together a “wish list” of all of the projects needed and wanted in the City. This list will be used by the City for direction on our future projects, grant seeking and spending. Kennedy asked the Council to review this list and make note of any changes or additions they would like to see. In January the Council can adopt a finalized list of the projects and timeline they would like to see. Kennedy’s second item was an update on the airport facilities. She has talked with Maki about the issues that need to be addressed. She reviewed that most of the needs are expensive and will require outside funding. In order to obtain State funding, we need to get on the State’s priority list. Kennedy and Maki have been working on updating our Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) so that our projects are eligible for funding. Kennedy informed the Council that Short-Elliott-Hendrickson has an aviation department that can help with our update at no cost if the City is willing to appoint them for 2006 Airport Engineer for the City of Bigfork. Tendrup reviewed that without getting on this list, we only have the City’s general fund to use for funding for projects. Motion by Lexvold to proceed with preparation of the CIP and to appoint SEH as 2006 City Airport Engineer, seconded by Pifher, MCU. Salmi asked about the possibility of annexing the Bergquist property into the City. Tendrup noted that it would take discussion with Bigfork Township. Kacon stated that we need to be adjacent to any properties we wish to annex. Tendrup stated that the Planning Commission will be working on annexation in the near future. Salmi stated that there is a JOBZ zone in the area and maybe a pond system would benefit everyone in the area. Tendrup noted that annexation is on the project list. Kennedy addressed the airport mound system next. She stated that she and Maki had met with Roland Hamborg from the Army Corps of Engineers. Our Project Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the Army Corps for the mound system project is still in effect. Kennedy prepared a cost estimate for Hamborg who secured an additional $160,000 for the project. Kennedy reviewed that in the past, the 25% that the City was responsible for was covered by Bergquist. Salmi asked if the mound system could be converted to a pond system due to the fact that there is talk of an industrial park in the area. Kennedy stated that it could, however she would not recommend it. She feels that the system should be working as a mound system and could be fixed once the problem is determined. She can see immediately that more water is being discharged than is going into the system which suggests that we are discharging ground water. This has become a problem with high phosphorus levels. There is a lift station on the north end of town that is basically unused that could be used to tie in the city’s JOBZ property. Kennedy felt that the first step was to meet with Bergquist to determine the problem and discuss their possible contribution to the solution. Kennedy would also like the City to install two more flow meters to help determine the problem. The next step is to monitor flows on a weekly basis and research the original design data. Lastly, Braun Intertec would come out in the spring and perform geotechnical testing on the system. At that point, the existing conditions could be analyzed and the best solution determined. Kennedy asked the City for permission to move ahead on this path of action. She reiterated that the Corps is very willing to work with the city to fix this problem. They are willing to share in the research costs and recommend that the City move forward with this. Maki stated he talked with Bergquist and they are willing to purchase the additional meter that is needed. Kennedy noted that the MPCA has been in contact with the City because the mound system is tied to our permit for the pond system and we will continue to have non-compliance issues with them until the issue solved. Motion to move ahead along the recommended schedule for the project by Kacon, seconded by Lexvold, MCU. Kacon, as water/sewer commissioner, will serve as the Council representative for this project. Salmi asked if Kennedy was sure that a mound system was the way to go. Kennedy answered that for what it is being used for now, the mound system is sufficient. If we are going to look at annexation and more development in the area, a pond might be desirable. Maki expressed concern over the issues with our permits from the MPCA. Kennedy clarified that if it were working as a true mound system, we would not need to test or include it in our permit. Salmi asked what Maki had found out at the meeting in Freeport, MN. Maki reported that there are numerous communities with failing systems, some of them mound systems and some of them other types. One community has spent over two million trying to fix their system. These communities are working together to see if funding can be obtained to make the systems work correctly. Maki stated that we have been invited down to the State capital in February to speak to legislative committees about the problems we are facing. Salmi asked what would happen if the mound system would not work with our soils. Kennedy stated that the system is not operating as it was designed to and she has learned through the meeting at Freeport that communities may be pursuing corrective action by the designers and contractors of these systems. Kennedy has no fear in designing a mound system up here that will work. Salmi has talked with Schwartz Excavating and they feel that much of the problem is in our native soils and percolation. Kennedy reiterated that the problem is in the design, not the use of a mound system. Salmi asked what protection the City has if we go ahead and fix it and it fails again. Kennedy stated that her licensure is on the line. She clarified that putting in a pond system because you fear a mound system will not work is not reasonable. A pond system should only be considered if future use of the area properties calls for it. Salmi stated that Scenic State Park has a pond system that is done well. Kacon suggested contacting Al Sobrack from Scenic State Park as he understood that there are some issues with their system as well. Kennedy stated that she could look into the costs of building a new pond system as well as the cost of piping to our current pond and expanding it. Salmi felt that it was best to look at the whole picture.
Resolution 12-05-2005 (2): Storlie reviewed that the Council had discussed obtaining property to use as a brush/compost site. It was learned that the forty acres that the County dump sits on is owned by Bigfork Township and they are willing to let the City use a portion of the property for dumping and burning of brush. Maki and Storlie have also looked at forty acres of tax forfeit property adjacent to the City Cemetery. Maki feels that this property could also be used for a brush site. Storlie reminded the Council that Cemetery Sexton Jerry Pula has notified them that more space will soon be needed for the cemetery. Motion by Kacon, seconded by Pifher to pass Resolution 12-05-2005 (2): requesting sale of tax forfeit property, MCU
Resolution 12-05-2005 (3): This resolution is to set the final budget and tax levy. The budget and levy numbers have not been changed since the preliminary budget and levy was approved. Salmi stated that he has talked to legislators and they are discussing a surplus and increase in local government aid (LGA). Pifher felt that we could not count on this money due to the fact that legislators have not made a final decision. Salmi asked if we could cut the 9% tax increase by half, or more. Tendrup stated that we would have to find more places to cut in the budget if we lower the levy and she does not see where else we can possibly cut. Pifher feels it should be left as is and see what happens with LGA because we can’t afford to count on money that might not be there. Pifher also pointed out that 9.8% is the state average for tax increases this year. Tendrup also noted that we are in line with cities of our size as far as our tax rate. Motion to pass Resolution 12-05-2005 (3): Adopting the final 2006 budget and tax levy by Pifher, seconded by Lexvold, motion carried with Salmi opposing. McLynn stated that just because the budget it set at a certain amount, it does not mean that amount has to be spent. Budgets can always be adjusted as the year goes on and the Council should monitor the budget to ensure careful spending.
NEW BUSINESS:
Quote for picture cleaning and framing: A quote was obtained to clean and frame the pictures that previously hung in the Picaroon Saloon. The project will cost approximately $1,000.00. Motion by Kacon to direct Storlie to solicit donations for the project, seconded by Lexvold, MCU.
Resolution 12-05-2005 (4): Motion to approve the resolution setting wages and salaries for FY 2006 by Pifher, seconded by Lexvold, MCU.
Complaints on Cats in Woodland Terrace: The City has received numerous complaints on the number of cats in the trailer court, both from residents and non-residents of the court. The court owners do have rules about pets for their tenants. Tendrup provided copies of a letter sent to residents from the owners of the park. This letter stated that residents should call city officials for help. Tendrup reviewed that the City does not have an ordinance addressing cats at this time. Babcock stated that the City does not have jurisdiction over the park since it is private property. Tendrup suggested that a letter be sent to park owners and residents of the park informing them that there is nothing the City can do about the issue and suggesting that the park owners should enforce their own rules that are in place. Lexvold and Schminkey volunteered to deliver letters to all the residents of the park. Motion to send a letter explaining the City’s position to the owners and residents and asking the owners to enforce their own rules on the issue by Lexvold, seconded by Pifher, MCU.
Approval of 2006 Pay Equity Report: Storlie presented the completed Pay Equity Report and informed the Council that this report is required by the State of Minnesota Motion by Kacon to approve the report, seconded by Pifher, MCU. A copy of the report is available at the City Clerk’s office.
Engagement Letter for 2005 Audit: Miller, McDonald, Erickson & Moller, Ltd. will be performing the annual city audit again this year. Motion by Pifher, seconded by Lexvold to accept the proposal by MMEM to perform the audit, MCU
Tendrup stated again that a thank you to Gene Madsen and Orbin Holt was in order for their donation of the new snowflake lights on Main Avenue. Motion by Kacon, seconded by Lexvold to have Storlie send letters of appreciation to Madsen and Holt, MCU.
OTHER BUSINESS: Babcock stated that he had received a couple of complaints about people driving around the gate at the beach in order to access the lake for ice-fishing. Babcock stated that the City has always allowed ice-fisherman at the beach. He asked for clarification on the policy of the City on this. Tendrup stated that there is an issue of whether or not the City can legally allow this due to the fact that it has been suggested that the original purchase agreement for the property contained a provision that the property never be used for a public access. Schminkey stated that the complainant was about vehicles going out on the ice, not about people using the lake for fishing. Waters stated that about four years ago he had placed posts so that vehicles couldn’t get around the gate. One of these posts has been pulled out since then. If it were put back in, they couldn’t have access around the gate. Babcock remembered that the Public Works Department used to plow up a snow pile barrier in order to prevent access around the gate. Bakke suggested placing a sign reading “no vehicles beyond this point”. It was also suggested to cover the sign that reads “no fishing, no access” that is currently up as it only refers to summertime. Babcock noted that if the City officially allows access, they will need to waive the rule of no access after sunset for the property. Motion to allow fishing, to plow a snow pile barrier to prevent access around the gate, to remove or cover the current sign reading “no fishing, no access”, and to waive the rule of no access after sunset for ice-fishing season by Pifher, seconded by Kacon, MCU.
Mayor Tendrup adjourned the meeting at 9:02 p.m. and announced that a closed session would be held immediately for discussion of an employee incident report.
Mayor Tendrup reopened the public meeting at 9:03 p.m. in order to open two bids that were received on the Cedar Street lots. The bids were for $16,000 and $20,000. Tendrup reminded the Council that we need to make $55,000 on the sale of the lots in order to pay off the bond on the Cedar Street project. Salmi felt that it was best to get the properties back on the tax roll. Tendrup did not feel we could afford to accept a low bid at this time. If we do not make enough on the sale of these lots, we will need to raise taxes in the future in order to cover the bond payements. Pifher felt that with Legacy Development going in, people may look at that instead of the lots. Tendrup felt that not everyone is interested in the Legacy type of housing and the lots should still sell for a good price. Motion to reject both bids by Pifher, seconded by Lexvold, MCU.
Mayor Tendrup closed the regular meeting and called the closed meeting called to order at 9:14 p.m.
Angie Storlie City Clerk
These minutes are available on the City website at www.cityofbigfork.com. To sign up to receive the minutes by email, send your email address to ctyclerk@bigfork.net.
Appendix A
Bigfork Police Department Police Report November 2005
4 08:42 mva vehicle in ditch 14 15:55 theft business/building 15 10:00 possession of tobacco/juvenile 23 09:52 domestic argument/adult 27 03:48 intrusion alarm/business