Osakis City Council – Regular Meeting
December 7, 2015
7:00 PM
Present: Kyle Kostrzewski, Keith Emerson, Jim Snyder, Randy Anderson, Jerry Olson
Absent: None
Others Present: Angela Jacobson, Kurt Haakinson, Chad Gulbranson, Julie Didier, Jon Backes, Reenie Goodwin, Greg Gottwald, Sheila Krohse (Bolten & Menk), Roberta Olson, Sam Larson, Darrin Hensley, Lil Ortendahl, Tim Marden & Doug Bice (Osakis Channel), Justin Dahlheimer, Sara Casper (Sunshare)
Meeting called to order by Mayor Keith Emerson at 7:00 p.m.
Pledge of Allegiance was spoken.
Motion by Anderson, seconded by Snyder, to approve the agenda as presented with the addition of Ducks Unlimited Gambling License. All Ayes
Motion by Kostrzewski, seconded by Olson, to approve the general consent items, including the November city bills in the amount of $206,728.42, meeting minutes from November 2, 2015. All Ayes
Project #192: Truth in Taxation
Council received a copy of the ad that was put in the paper for the Truth in Taxation hearing that is being held tonight. The hearing date and time was also put on each tax statement in Osakis.
The purpose of the public hearing is for the public to comment on the tax levy that the city is proposing for 2016 and the increase the city has certified.
Motion by Kostrzewski, seconded by Olson, to suspend the regular meeting and open the public hearing at 7:04 p.m. All Ayes
Public comments are as follows:
· Tim Marden & Doug Bice (Osakis Channel) – received a 25% to 30% increase in taxes for the properties in Osakis Channel Resort. The valuation increased from $60,000 to $90,000.
· Darrin Hensley – valuation increased
· Mill rate for $150,000 is 1.5%, over $150,000 is 2%. Clerk Jacobson will check into if the city can change the mill rate.
Clerk Jacobson informed both present, that this is a hearing for the taxes the city proposes to levy and the property valuations are heard in the spring at the Board of Review hearing.
Motion by Anderson, seconded by Olson, to close the public hearing and open the regular meeting. All Ayes
Project #84: Budget
Council received the proposed 2016 Budget that was approved at the September meeting.
At the November meeting, the council approved a schedule change for the Osakis Police Department. Chief Gulbranson calculated that an additional $1,100.00 will be needed for the police budget.
Motion by Kostrzewski, seconded by Snyder, to approve the additional amount of $1,100.00 for the 2016 Budget for part-time wages. The total for revenue is $1,172,723 and the total for expenditures is $1,172,544. All Ayes
Project #358: Tax Levy
The council certified the 2016 Tax Levy to the county on September 8, 2015. The council received the final resolution to approve for the final certification to the county.
The proposed levy increase will be 3% or $16,000 and with the Osakis Creamery taxes of $42,500, the total levy will be 10% or $589,000.
The following shows the levy breakdown:
· 100 Fund – General $487,500
· 2002 Bond (Hwy 27 Project) $45,000
· 2008 Bond (8th Ave E & 1st Ave E) $56,500
· Total Levy $589,000
Resolution 2015-34 was presented by Kostrzewski, seconded by Emerson, to approve the 2016 Tax Levy. When put to a vote, the resolution passed unanimously.
Project #24: Liquor Store
Julie Didier was in attendance. Council received the Liquor Store reports for November.
Off-Sale $504.35
On-Sale $4,149.64
Total Profit $4,653.99
Didier informed the council that inventory will take place on January 1st, 2016. The council is ok with the inventory beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Didier presented a quote of $3,633.75 from Dustbusters to clean the furnace and ducts. The last time this was done was in 2002.
Motion by Olson, seconded by Kostrzewski, to approve Dustbusters to clean the furnace and ducts at the Liquor Store for $3,633.75. All Ayes
Project #73: First Responders
Brian Schablin was not in attendance. Council received the November run report.
Kostrzewski questioned the stipend for the First Responders. Clerk Jacobson explained the reasoning for it.
Discussion was held regarding the run calls for Todd County. Pages are not being received. Chief Gulbranson stated that this problem should be taken care of. The board has to meet and approve changes so the pages for Todd County are heard on the radios. Gulbranson will check on this matter.
Lil Ortendahl was in attendance. Awareness needs to be raised that the First Responders need daytime volunteers. Ortendahl stated the community needs their help.
Project #74: Fire Department
Jon Backes was in attendance. Council received the November report.
Backes informed the council of the following:
· The department had 5 calls for the month of November.
· The FEMA Grant is open again. The department will apply for the grant themselves.
· In the spring, the Boy Scouts will be invited to the fire hall for a Fire Department night.
The Osakis Fire Relief will be holding a meeting and has invited Council Representative Snyder and Mayor Emerson to attend their meeting to be held on Monday, December 14th, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.
Project #76: Police
Chad Gulbranson was in attendance. Council received the November police reports.
Gulbranson informed the council that the new squad is in service.
Project #292: Hazardous Building
At the November meeting, the council reviewed the two bids that were received for the demolition of the Leithe house.
After the meeting, Clerk Jacobson received a call from Doug’s Excavating. Doug stated that Didier Excavating received an unfair advantage over his bid to be allowed to exclude the hazardous waste, and the bids cannot be altered unless both have been given the option.
The council received information from the League of MN Cities regarding this issue.
The council reviewed the bids and Didier had an option in his bid for hazardous waste removal for $1,500. The council removed the hazardous waste option to reduce his bid to $9,185.
Doug’s Excavating had the other bid and had the hazardous waste included in his bid of $8,550 and would be willing to reduce his bid by $1,500 also if the other bidder was allowed to exclude the hazardous waste option.
The council has the following 3 options to take care of this matter:
- Leave the bid as is and see if it is challenged.
- Give the Doug’s Excavating the same option as we gave Didier.
- Reject both bids and call for new sealed bids to be submitted.
In the future, it would be best if the police chief calls for quotes instead of bids, if the project is not required to get a bid, and to advertise in the paper before accepting bids.
Motion by Kostrzewski, seconded by Olson, to rescind the November motion and to reject both bids for the demolition of Leithe’s house and to put an ad in the paper for sealed bids to be received by the January or February council meeting. All Ayes
Project #205: City Crew
Kurt Haakinson was in attendance. Council received the November public works report.
Haakinson informed the council of the following:
· Purchased a Flouide Test Tromito for $4,000. This is needed for testing equipment.
· Attended a meeting with the Greater Coalition of Greater MN Cities. The council will receive information about the organization and membership cost at the January meeting.
· Riley Brothers did not get the Tip Top & Community Center parking lot done this fall. Mark Lee will do it in the spring. Lee will give the city a new bid for the cost.
· The cost for a chipper from Geyer Rental is $1,400 per month. Geyer Renter sharpens and maintains the equipment.
Greg Gottwald was present. Haakinson would like Gottwald to begin the process of receiving his water/wastewater license. Gottwald started with the city as a seasonal employee on August 22, 2014 and became a full-time employee on February 22, 2015. Haakinson is asking the council to go back to August 22, 2014 for the beginning of his probation period.
Motion by Snyder, seconded by Emerson, to approve Greg Gottwald’s probation period to be recorded as starting on August 22, 2014. All Ayes
Project #460: Downtown Project
Sheila Krohse was in attendance. Council received an invoice from Bolten & Menk for the month of November in the amount of $28,461.
The following was discussed at the last council meeting:
· Garbage cans – Clerk Jacobson contacted Jeff Bertram from West Central Sanitation and stated that they service the garbage cans in downtown Alexandria for a fee. If we do something fancier that what we have now, a service agreement can be worked out.
· Lights – Krohse stated that she will bid the lights as separate items in the bid documents. The city will need to decide what we want to be able to hang on the lights (banners, hanging baskets and christmas lights).
· Benches and Bike Loops – Clerk Jacobson has contacted Amy from HKGI and Amy stated that we can bid these in the documents or we can purchase them from a company ourselves. We also can install them ourselves and same money on the amenities.
A meeting was held to discuss the predesign for the utilities. Curb lines have been set for the downtown. There will be no bump out on Cty 82.
The deadline to submit to the MPCA/Deparment of Health is December 31st. Krohse informed the council that about 90% of the plans have been completed at this point.
Jacobson can begin the process of submitting a bill to Douglas County for 49% of the project.
Discussion regarding the grebe was held. There has been some controversy regarding the grebe design. Olson and Emerson are for changing the grebe to a walleye. Kostrzewski and Snyder stated the grebe would be unique to Osakis and has not been seen in any other city.
Krohse will have HKGI look into a walleye design for the next meeting.
The final design will be submitted in January and a public hearing date will need to be set.
Lil Ortendahl commented that people do not understand the assessment policy and that they are responsible. They think the county is paying half of their assessment. The assessments are the property owners’ responsibility.
Motion by Kostrzewski, seconded by Anderson, to approve to pay invoice #183632 to Bolten & Menk for $28,461. All Ayes
Project #464: Solar Energy
Sara Casper was in attendance.
At the October meeting, the council approved to enter into an agreement with Sunshare for solar energy.
The agreement has been sent to our city attorney. Council received a letter regarding the contract. Clerk Jacobson has contacted Kyle Roach and he was going to contact Tom Klecker (our city attorney) directly to work out the details.
At this time, an updated draft agreement is not available for the council to review.
Casper wants a commitment from the city stating that we are moving forward. Clerk Jacobson stated that we have had our city attorney review the contract but it is missing details in the agreement. The city is happy to start the process, but our city attorney will continue to review the agreement and work out the details with Kyle Roach.
Council chooses option #1 which is the saving an estimate of $5,000 or $.11 per kilowatt rate.
Motion by Snyder, seconded by Kostrzewski, to approve to accept the Sunshare subscription contingent on a workable contract. All Ayes
Snyder can negotiate with Sunshare on behalf of the council.
Project #465: Food Shelf
At the last meeting, the council discussed a proposed food shelf in Osakis.
Susan Uhde was in attendance.
Clerk Jacobson has talked to Douglas County Food Shelf, and they are not putting any money or time into another food shelf location. They are just looking to expand their current location.
There was a food shelf at the Catholic Church and is now shut down. It has not been researched if it can be reopened.
Council is receptive to a food shelf location in Osakis. Uhde will check with the church to see if it can be reopened or if other locations are available.
Project #368: Xcel Energy
At the November council meeting, representatives from Xcel Energy were in attendance. They included Mark Osendorf, Wayne Nielsen and Brenda McDermott. Comments from the council and public were heard. Excels representatives were going to follow up with those property owners that had claims and
were going to look into the power outages that took place on Main Street West and behind the H&R Block business on Loon Street.
Clerk Jacobson had emailed and talked to Osendorf and Nielsen regarding these issues. In the last month, poles have been replaced and new wires have been connected to the buildings. The only issue left to take care of is to remove the old poles and that will be taken care of when the frost is out of the ground in the spring.
No new concerns have been addressed at this meeting.
Project #272: Assessment Policy
Council received a copy of the assessment policy section that is being requested to be changed. The request is for all street overlays to be assessed at 100% to city cost and 0% private.
Council also received a policy created for the designation of funds. This is a request from our city auditors.
Resolution 2015-32 was presented by Kostrzewski, seconded by Anderson, to approve the amending assessment policy for Street Overlays to be assessed at 100% to the city. When put to a vote, the resolution passed unanimously.