City Council Meeting October 12, 2020
The City Council met at 5:30 pm at the Emergency Center with the following members present: Mayor Willey and Council: Gentzkow, Hoggarth, Nogosek, Sandness, and Pedersen; employees Haugen and Schaffer, newspaper Hagebock. Attending via conference call was Engineer Reber. Visitors Robert Flath, Hope Coleman, Judy Watkins, Germaine Erberle, Rod Buck & Linda Buck were also in attendance.
Mayor Willey called the meeting to order.
Minutes: Pedersen moved Gentzkow second to approve September Council meeting minutes. Polled vote: all yes. Motion carried
Financial: Gentzkow moved, Watkins second to accept financial reports as presented. Polled vote: all yes. Motion carried
Bills for August: Hoggarth moved, Pedersen second to approve bills as presented. Polled vote: all yes. Motion carried.
Engineer Report: Work on the water tank with start on October 1. Work to be done this fall includes soil correction and the base. Larry Acres will be the on site inspector. Special Assessment meeting is scheduled for Oct 26 at 5:30 pm. Reber presented an invoice for payment of $7152.15. Hoggarth moved to pay, Gentzkow second. Polled vote: all yes. Motion carried.
Visitor Comments: Hope Coleman and Judy Watkins represented the LaMoure Park Board. They requested to be considered for receiving sales tax money once the Emergency Center is paid. They would like the money to be put towards the construction of a new swimming pool, their current price estimates are approximately $2.5 million.
Germaine Erberle representing the Little Loboes Bright Beginnings Daycare Center asked for half of the $5,000 bill for the pavement cuts made to install water, be forgiven by the council. Hoggarth made a motion that the City would split the cost of repairing the street cuts with the daycare, Watkins seconded the motion. Polled vote: all yes. Motion carried.
Hope Coleman, Judy Watkins & Germaine Erberle left the meeting at this time.
Committee Updates: The Public Buildings and Grounds committee which consists of Gentzkow, Sandness & Pedersen met prior to the council meeting. The discussed and researched issues pertaining to the city dump. One issue addressed was buildings being torn down and the proper disposal of those that contain asbestos. The committee made a recommendation to change the City Permit form to Remove Buildings. They recommended that a line be added to address whether or not there is asbestos in the building and how that determination was made. The determination of the presence of asbestos must be made by a state certified inspector. The next part of the discussion moved to disposal of the removed building being taken to the city dump. Council woman Gentzkow asked Mayor Willey if he had approved the house removed by Heath Schaffer to be taken to the dump. Willey stated he did give permission to Schaffer and when asked he also stated that he had been to the dump to see what had been put there. He stated there are laws that need to be followed when removing a building and what can be taken to the city dump to be burned. Councilwoman Gentzkow stated that she and the committee felt that approval should be given by the council. Further discussion on the process of removing a house came to the conclusion that the Removal Permit will be updated to include questions on asbestos and plans to dispose. If asbestos is present, the permit would be granted contingent on State Approval. These requests are taken on a case to case basis and may not all be approved. Guidelines for the removal will be added to the permit form. And the permit form will be presented to Attorney Radermacher for approval. The Council will also give permission for a house to be taken to the City Dump, there are very specific guidelines as to what can and cannot be burned, those will also be included with the permit. Once the new permit is presented and approved, a charge for using the City Dump to dispose of buildings will also be set.
Old Business:
Mosquito charge on utility bills. Schaffer has not gotten pricing on a new fogger, will check next month on a pre-buy. Council decided to continue with the mosquito charge until Schaffer returns with that pricing to ensure that enough has been collected to pay for the machine and chemical.
Haugen presented a list of Utility Bills to be sent to the county and assessed to the property tax. Watkins moved to approve the list to be assessed. Gentzkow second. Polled vote: all yes. Motion carried.
Tree City, USA- Councilman Pedersen researched the process of getting a forester and the making the application. This will continue to be pursued so the city can apply for Tree City, USA status in 2021.
City Hall Building Proposal: Rod and Linda Buck were approached by the committee to inquire if they would be interested in selling the building that is currently owned by them and houses their account business. They expressed interest and presented a proposal to the Council. Mayor Willey expressed concerns that the building would not be large enough to hold Council meetings. There is also concern about converting to meet ADA building standards. The council will continue to research this and other City Hall options.
Building Permits:
-Brenda Heyd Coffell – removal of a house – this permit was tabled until the new permit and standards are in place.
-Bryce Livingston – removal of a house- this permit was tabled until the new permit and standards are in place.
-Bruce & Susan Rienstra – petition to vacate alley – after discussion about utility and technology access, the council denied the petition and stated that they will no longer vacate street and alleys that contain utilities.
Meeting Adjourned at 6:45 pm.