DRAFT – These minutes are not official until approved at the next regular City Council meeting.

City of Bigfork

Regular Meeting February 10th, 2004

Except for Motions made by the Council this is not a verbatim record of every statement made during the Council meeting. Discussions have been paraphrased to give general direction and understanding.

Members Present: Mayor Lonnie Kacon, Bob Zimmer, Jean Lexvold, and Amy Tendrup Absent: none Also Present: Julie Kennedy – SEH, Tim Johnson, Mark Maki, Tarry Edington, Scott Zahorik, Julie Heglund, Diane Larson, Barb Sanderson, Steve Greisert, Dick Salmi, Police Chief John Babcock, Joyce Holsman, Connie Maki, Gary W. Schwersinske, David Asher, Todd Hovisto, and Dan Briskin

Mayor Kacon called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m.

Housing Study Presentation: Tarry Edington explained that Itasca County Housing and Redevelopment Authority engaged Community Partners Research, Inc. to update the Bigfork portion of the housing study that was done in 1999. He introduced Steve Greisert from Community Partners Research who reviewed some of the key information in the study. He pointed out a key statement in the overview which reads, “On an increasing scale, however, the public is demanding that public officials control what happens in this largely private housing market by eliminating blight, protecting individual investments, and generating new housing growth to meet economic development needs.” Greisert reviewed and summarized much of the information contained in the report for the Council. This report includes information on demographics, employment and economic trends, and then goes on to give the findings and recommendations, including a section pertaining to the proposed WilderNest housing project. In total, there were fourteen recommendations presented, nine of which were also recommended in the 1999 study. The new recommendations included supporting the development of the WilderNest rental housing project, developing a local down payment assistance program or a community-based home ownership promotion program, utilizing the MURL Program, promoting townhouse/twin home/cooperative housing development, and supporting improvement to and the potential expansion of the mobile home park. Edington wrapped up the presentation by stating that the ICHRA could be contacted with any questions. Scott Zahorik from Kootasca Community Action introduced himself to the Council. He informed them that Kootasca is an administrator for the MURL Program and he would like to talk to the City more about this program. It was decided that Mayor Kacon and Bob Zimmer will meet with Zahorik. A complete copy of the revised housing study is available for inspection at the City Clerk’s Office.

Todd Havisto introduced himself and Dan Briskin, both of TNT Real Estate. They are the new owners of the Woodland Terrace mobile home park. Hovisto updated the Council on what has been done since they took over ownership. He stressed that they have been focusing on improving the quality of the park. They have been working with Police Chief Jon Babcock to curb crime in the park. They have purchased a brand new 3-bedroom home that will be moved in and have already upgraded four or five. Trash facilities have been put into the park. There is currently a waiting list to get into the park. One of their biggest concerns is the high water bills. Currently, the entire park is on one meter. The new owners would like to see individual meters for each unit in the park, and would be willing to share in the expense of installing the meters. Public Works Superintendent Mark Maki will talk with them further about this. Water pressure was another issue. Julie Kennedy stated that there is a 1 ¼ inch line that serves the park and running a larger sized line through that area would help. Kacon thanked Hovisto and Briskin for attending and expressed his desire to keep the lines of communication open and work with each other to solve any problems.

Julie Kennedy – SEH: Kennedy explained that the Council has already approved the study of water and wastewater infrastructure and capacity. She asked what type of billing structure the City would like for this project. Motion by Tendrup, seconded by Zimmer to use an hourly rate not to exceed a set number, motion carried unanimously (MCU). Salmi questioned if there was a grant to pay for this work. Kennedy explained that there is not. This study will be beneficial with all the proposed projects that are coming up. Kennedy reviewed a map of the Cedar Street lot that has been drawn out to propose the dividing out of a fifty-foot section for Peoples, and two similar sized lots to be sold as residential lots. The Council agreed that that was what they had asked for. This subdivision will now be filed with the County and the lots can then be put up for sale. The final issue that Kennedy had was sewer service for those new lots. She has found that a gravity sanitary sewer would be possible and that it would be beneficial to work with Orbin Holt on his current plans to include these two new lots. She stated that the next move was to forward this information into a full set of plans and designs. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Lexvold to allow SEH to move forward with this on the hourly basis pay schedule, MCU.

At this time in the meeting, Kacon moved Ordinance #116 up in the agenda. Ordinance #116: Storlie presented two different options for revising the water and sewer billing structure that was prepared with the help of Minnesota Rural Water Association. The Council had previously decided that they would like to lower the minimum gallons to 1,000. Doing this would cause some of the accounts to decrease and some of them to increase. Both of the options would provide the same amount of money to the City, the only difference is how it is divided out between the accounts. Zimmer felt that option two was the best. Option two provides for $12.00 for the first 1,000 gallons of water and $2.23 per 1,000 gallons thereafter, and $9.00 for the first 1,000 gallons of sewer and $2.16 per 1,000 gallons thereafter. With this option, 71 of the accounts would see a decrease in their bill based on January’s usage, and 62 accounts would see an increase. The average increase would be 17% and the average decrease would be 20%. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Tendrup to pass ordinance #116, setting the water and sewer rates as stated in proposal two, to be reviewed in six months, MCU. Kacon pointed out that the worksheets show that we have 33.36% of our water unaccounted for. This means that we are pumping that must less than we are collecting revenue on. This issue will be addressed by Maki and Kennedy.

OLD BUSINESS:

Public Works Truck: Maki reported that the bids that came in for the public works truck were high. His recommendation at this time was to table the issue until we can find something more feasible. He stated that there are a few trucks coming out on the market that he knows about that may better suit the City’s needs and budget.

Amendments to Personnel Policy: Storlie presented the proposed amendment regarding City employees serving on ambulance and/or fire crews. This policy allows employees to answer emergency calls during work hours provided that their job for the City comes first if there is a situation at work that calls for their attention more so than any emergency call that may arise. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Tendrup to approve this amendment to the Personnel Policy, MCU. There was also a proposed amendment regarding drugs and alcohol. This policy has been drawn up with the help of City Personnel Attorney John Licke. Tendrup felt that the policy should spell out who is responsible for paying for testing. She also asked about a procedure for pre-employment testing. Zimmer felt that the insurance company should be contacted to see how they felt about the City performing drug testing. Storlie will check with Mr. Licke and the insurance company regarding these changes.

American Legion Fishing Contest: Storlie had contacted the insurance company regarding allowing the American Legion to hold a youth fishing contest at the City beach. The insurance company stated that if the City is co-sponsoring the event, the group would be covered by the City’s insurance. Motion by Tendrup, seconded by Lexvold to co-sponsor the event for insurance purposes, MCU.

City Hall Use Policy: The Planning Commission has met with the users of City Hall and come up with a fair user fee schedule. This new schedule sets a yearly use fee on an individual basis for each group based on how often they use the hall. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Tendrup to pass the City Hall Use policy as amended, MCU. The City will charge the users a prorated amount for 2004.

NEW BUSINESS:

Ordinance #115: Ordinance #115 repeals certain old ordinances. These ordinances are either archaic, unneeded, or have been replaced by newer ordinances. Motion by Tendrup, seconded by Lexvold to pass the ordinance, MCU.

Ordinance #117: During the 2003 audit, the new City Auditor cautioned against the $2.00 per month debt service charge that was added to water and sewer accounts. In reviewing the original resolution establishing the 1997 bond, the auditor found that the City had set up a schedule of tax levies in order to make the bond payments. Therefore, the $2.00 charges should not have been added to water and sewer bills. The auditor recommended that the City start levying for the amount needed to make the bond payments each year. Ordinance #117 amends the City Code to remove the debt service charge. Motion by Tendrup, seconded by Lexvold to pass ordinance #117, MCU.

Advertising for Lifeguards/Donation Requests for Beach Program: Because classes for lifeguarding start in March, the City needs to start looking for a lifeguard now. Kacon felt that we could also start advertising for a summer worker to help with lawn mowing. Motion by Tendrup, seconded by Zimmer to advertise in the Deerpath Shopper and hang signs around town and the school for lifeguard and summer worker, MCU. It was also decided to solicit donations from area townships and groups for the beach program for the summer of 2004.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Consent Agenda Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Tendrup to approve the consent agenda items, with one minor change to the minutes of the January 13th meeting minutes as stated below: #1 – approval of the minutes of the January 13th regular and the January 29th special meetings #2 – approval of the Police report for January 2004 (report is attached to the minutes as Appendix A) #3 – approval of the Library report for January 2004 of 135 books checked out and 30 readers using the library #4 – approval of the Budget report for January 2004 #5 – approval of the claims for payment in the amount of $61,219.82 including the January 6th, 15th, and 30th regular and vacation payrolls Motion Carried Unanimously (MCU) The change to the January 13th minutes is as follows: the section relating to Ordinance #114, snowmobiles, was clarified to read that snowmobiles are allowed on public property if they have permission from the proper authority.

Liquor Store Public Hearing: Kacon stated that because the State Auditor shows the Picaroon Saloon as having lost money in 2000 and in 2002, we are required to hold a public hearing sometime this year on the future operations of the store. Zimmer felt it would be best to wait until later in the year to give our Liquor Store Commission time to get things turned around. Motion by Tendrup, seconded by Zimmer to set the public hearing for one-half hour prior to the regular City Council meeting on October 12, 2004, MCU.

Salmi questioned where the City was at with Well #4. Kacon informed him that our new engineering firm is familiarizing themselves with the situation and will be working on it.

Babcock mentioned that the State has been slow at removing the snow windrow on Main Street. This is an obvious safety issue that needs to be addressed. Maki suggested possibly painting the ends of the piles so they are more visible until the State can get them removed.

Babcock gave an update on the Steering Committee. He explained that the group is focused on working on drug and alcohol abuse in the community. They are meeting the second Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. The group has split into three smaller groups focusing on fundraising, a youth center, and family education.

There being no further business, Kacon adjourned the meeting at 8:38 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 January 2004

3 17:43 public assist/property exchange woodland terrace 8 20:24 domestic assault misd./obstruction of justice gross misd. maple street 13 15:19 intrusion alarm/ business day 13 23:35 intrusion alarm/ business night 14 15:31 domestic argument/ bigfork school/transport to juvenile center 15 19:22 trespass river street 16 14:54 public assist woodland terrace secure trailer for bank 22 15:42 instruction permit violation bigfork school 23 20:31 snowmobile reg. violation cenex station bigfork 24 13:28 careless operation of a snowmobile misd. 24 15:45 snowmobile reg. violation misd. canoe landing 24 16:03 snowmobile trespass misd. golf course road 28 15:40 check forgery felony bigfork bank