September 12, 2007

The regular meeting of the Randall City Council was called to order by Mayor Riitters at 7:00 p.m. with all members present.

            The minutes of the last meeting were approved as presented and a motion was made by Venske 2nd by Andres to pay the bills for the month.  Carried

            Jerry Peterschick updated the council on the CR#104 project and stated that the sodding should be completed within the next day, the streets will be swept, mailbox posts will be put back up next week and the striping on the street will be completed.  There will only be a center stripe put on this year as there is one more layer of tar to be laid next year.  Peterschick informed the council of a couple issues regarding the sewer and water project.  The first is a dip in the sewer line in an area by the school that is not used very much.  Tom's Backhoe deducted $3,000.00 from the bill in the case the city would have to ever repair that line.  The other issue was at the intersection of MN Ave. and CR#104, upon televising the lines, it was found that there is a rock pushing against a pipe.  This would be a very expensive repair and Tom's Backhoe agreed to revisit this issue in 1 1/2 to 2 years and if the pipe has gotten worse then he would hire a company to come in and repair the pipe from the inside, without having to dig up the road.

            As for the assessment process, Widseth, Smith & Nolting completed a proposal for calculating the figures and Jerry Peterschick will keep in contact with both Dave Reese of WSN and David Drown, the city's financial advisor.

            Last year the council set the tax levy at $91,200.00.  Jerry Peterschick informed the council that after looking at the general fund budget, if the levy was raised $18, 800.00, that would still leave the general fund about $6,000.00 short.  This does not take into account the CR#104 project.  Whatever the council would set the levy at, they can always lower it before the final levy is set.  That amount can not be raised any higher than what it is preliminarily set at.  After some more discussion it was decided to raise the preliminary levy by $30,000.00.  In the mean time, the budget and CR#104 total cost will be reviewed and when all that information is collected, the council can decide whether to lower the levy or not.  Upon looking into what other cities, comparable in size to Randall, had set their levy at last year, it was found that Royalton is at $189,781.00, Motley-$230,750.00, and Pierz-$280,515.  Raising Randall's levy by $30,000.00 would set it at $121,200.00.  Still considerably lower than other cities.

            Motion by Andres 2nd by Adamski to set the Preliminary Levy at $121,200.00, an increase of $30,000.00.  Carried

            The Truth in Taxation meeting for the City of Randall will be December 12, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at the Randall Fire Hall meeting room, continuation meeting, if necessary, will be held December 19, 2007, at 6:30 p.m. also at the Randall Fire Hall meeting room.

            Mayor Riitters spoke with Russ Nygren and he is putting some information together for the Mayor and Councilman Andres for their budget committee meeting.

            The State of Minnesota has passed a statewide smoking ban which will be in effect October 1st.  It was brought to the council that some form of a patio should be added to the liquor store for the customers to use.  Jerry Peterschick stated that the bar needs to do something or customers will go to a bar where they can sit outside with their drinks and smoke.  It was also mentioned that the majority of the liquor stores' customers are smokers and there needs to be something done for them.  This would not necessarily need to be done this fall as it will be getting colder and the immediate need would not be there but something will have to be done in the Spring.  The city manager will keep informed of what other bars are going to do and the council will revisit this issue in the near future.

            The Salvation Army has a program called HeatShare, which offers help to people in need of assistance in paying their heating bills.  There will be brochures sent out in the next utility billing and anyone wanting to donate to this program may do so through this form.  All funds donated by customers in Randall, will be used to help customers in Randall.

            Motion by Venske 2nd by Carter to participate in the Salvation Army Heat Share program.  Carried

            The Planning and Zoning committee had no permits to approve this month.  They did however, discuss the parking spot in front of the V.F.W., next to the East 4th Street intersection, and whether or not it could be turned into a handicapped parking spot or 10 or 20 minute maximum parking spot.  There are a couple of people that park in that area while they are working and Jerry Peterschick will speak with those people to see if they could park in a different area.  This would remedy the problem during the week.

            The League of MN Cities will hold their Fall Regional Meeing on October 3rd at Breezy Point Resort.  Any interested council members should contact Jerry or Angie if they would like to be registered to attend.

            Jerry Peterschick, in representation of the Randall-Cushing Lions, asked the council for a gambling license renewal at the Randall Liquor Store and also for the rent to remain at $250.00 per month.

            Motion by Venske 2nd by Andres to approve a gambling license for the Randall-Cushing Lions and also the pull-tab booth rent amount to remain at $250.00.  Carried 4-1, Councilman Carter abstained due to conflict of interest.

            Wendell Schultz informed the council that the Derby lawnmower is showing many signs of wear and may need to be replaced within the next year or two.  He stated that the mower deck has been replaced once and repairs are getting more frequent.  This is something that may need to be worked into a future budget.

            The new part-time police officer is working out well and the council would like him to attend the next council meeting.

            The old squad car was discussed and initially a couple council members thought it may be a good idea to keep the car as a secondary response vehicle.  Upon further discussing the issue it was agreed by all members of the council that the car would be a potential maintenance issue and it would be best to put it out for bids along with any additional equipment relating to the car.  The car will have to have the decals removed and be completely stripped of any existing equipment as it cannot be sold as a squad car.

            Motion by Venske 2nd by Carter to place the old squad car and all related equipment on bid.  All bids must be turned in to the Randall City Hall by 4:00 p.m. on October 8, 2007.  Bids will be opened and awarded on October 10th at the regular council meeting.  Carried

            The new tile has been installed in the liquor store by Wiczek's Floors and More.

            The delinquent utility list was presented to the council and shut off notices will be sent out on September 20th.

            Any council members or employees who have any personnel issues may contact the personnel committee and they will discuss any issues when they meet and bring information back to the full council.

            The re-organization of the First Response Team is in the beginning stages with Bill Vanden Avond, Val and Mary Olson and Christina Grams the only members at this time.  All the previous members resigned at the Joint Advisory Fire Board meeting on September 4th.  Vanden Avond and Val Olson are going to meet and go through all the equipment, training and also begin accepting applications.

            Mayor Riitters and Jerry Peterschick met with some residents that had some questions regarding city ordinances and the enforcement process.

            Mayor Riitters contacted Bob Lockner with the City of Buckman in regards to their civil defense siren.  Lockner stated that the city did not receive any grant money for the siren, but paid for it by including it in bonding for various projects within the city. 

            It was stated that Randall needs to make sure the siren they choose is one that will be able to give the appropriate coverage.  The City Manager will contact some other cities regarding their civil defense systems.

            Jerry Peterschick will get some proposals from a couple different companies on the cost of an Electrical System Assessment and bring them to the October meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 8:17 p.m.