July 11, 2007
The regular meeting of the Randall City Council was called to order by Mayor Riitters at
The minutes of the last meeting were approved as presented.
Motion by Adamski 2nd by Andres to approve payment of the bills for the month. Carried
Dennis Mueller, owner of Gosch's Store, was present to express his concerns of the quality of power coming into Randall. He stated that he is finding it is inadequate and he has not been able to install a new piece of cooking equipment because of the low voltage of power coming into the store. Minnesota Power stated that they are in the process of repairing the reclosures along Highway 10 but this could take approximately two weeks. Mueller informed the council that this problem has been quite costly for his business and in the past two years has caused the price of his "Maintenance Blanket" to increase by 225%.
Jerry Carter stated that if MN Power cannot meet the city's needs then maybe we need to look at a different supplier. He stated that this was brought up a year ago and there hasn't been any improvement and also, how does MN Power know if the city is getting adequate power.
Mayor Riitters thoughts were to have MN Power, St. Cloud Refrigeration, Randall Utility Board and Gosch's Store together to try and figure out what the problem is and how to fix it.
Jerry Peterschick will set a meeting up as soon as possible with the above mentioned people.
Randy Manlick of Duck's Unlimited, presented the council with some information about a new event coming up to hopefully interest younger people in their 20's and 30's. The event is a Waterfowl Hunter's Party and will be held on
Motion by Adamski 2nd by Carter to approve the gambling license application to be sent to the State of
Dan Thilquist updated the council in the CR #104 project and stated that the project is running pretty smoothly. The main line sewer is installed East of the Little Elk River and the water main is in up to
Dan also stated that the wells are keeping up just fine to the higher water usage due to the dry weather.
The city has been informed by Long Prairie Sanitation that they will be raising their rates to the city by 3% each year, beginning this year. The solid waste rates have not been increased for many years and the council has discussed keeping up with the increases from Long Prairie. The utility board presented their recommendation of raising the current charge by 35 cents per month, which would basically be passing on the increase received from Long Prairie.
Motion by Adamski 2dn by Venske to increase the solid waste rates by 35 cents per month effective
Paul Ross, an individual interested in bringing a business into Randall, inquired at city hall whether or not the city has any incentive programs to help bring in new business. The council instructed the city manager to contact Ross and have him bring in a business plan to the next meeting.
Motion by Adamski 2nd by Andres to give $400 to the Initiative Foundation as the city's annual commitment. Carried
The planning and zoning committee had two permits submitted this month:
Innsbrook Motel-Remove & close off a window and door and replace a door and window
Jessica Nutz-install a 4 foot fence
Motion by Venske 2nd by Andres to approve submitted permits. Carried
Planning and zoning re-discussed the issue of people building without a permit. Some on the committee would like to see those people receive a fine. In the case someone needs a permit in between meetings, the city manager will call around to members of the planning and zoning and council to get approval. There was also discussion regarding a shed on a property in the Little Elk Addition that the adjoining property owner would like moved to within 10 feet of his property line as this is the ordinance. The shed is currently within 3 feet of the property line. The city manager will follow-up on this issue with the owner of the shed.
The City Council signed the Solid Waste contract with Long Prairie Sanitation after reviewing a couple of changes that were made per city attorney Mike Perry's recommendations.
Wendell Schultz reported that the street committee needs to meet and look at the access for the new café being built by Designer Cultured Stone.
Chief Vanden Avond spoke with Paul Koering regarding possible state funding assistance for an automated civil defense warning system. Koering informed the chief that the city needs to put together a proposal with what type of system the city needs, the cost and how much the city would be willing to help pay towards the system. The city manager and police chief will put together a proposal and send it to Paul Koering so he can bring it to the State for next years' bonding bill.
Chief Vanden Avond then asked the council about the possibility of hiring a part-time officer. He stated that the call volume has increased for both the city and the county which makes it difficult for the county to help protect the city when the chief is out of town. He would like to see a part-time officer work 16 hours per week which would make it possible to have weekend coverage both day and night. Jerry Adamski, Jerry Carter, Jerry Peterschick and Chief Vanden Avond will meet and put a proposal together for the council.
The Randall-Cushing Lions donated $500.00 to the City towards the purchase of the camera system for the new squad car.
The city manager presented the council with a list of delinquent utility accounts. As the policy is written, all utility bills are due by the 10th of the month, delinquent accounts are sent a disconnect notice on the 20th of the month and if not paid are to be disconnected by the 30th of the month. The customer does have the right to appeal to the city council.
Motion by Carter 2nd by Adamski to direct Jerry Peterschick and Angie Magee to follow through with the policy and disconnect delinquent utility accounts. Carried
Meeting adjourned at