May 19, 2010

The regular meeting of the Randall city council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. with all members present.  The minutes of the April 21st meeting and May 18th special meeting were approved as presented.  Mayor Riitters appointed Jerry Carter to accompany Charley Andres and Jerry Peterschick on the utility board at the special meeting. 

Motion by Andres 2nd by Turner to approve the Mayor’s appointment of Jerry Carter to the utility board.  Carried

 

                Upon reviewing the bills to pay for the month, Councilman Carter stated that the city should be sure that the old police vest is disposed of properly.  Motion by Carter 2nd by Turner to pay the bills as presented.  Carried

 

                The council was informed that the covered area behind the park building has been cleaned up per the request at last month’s meeting.

 

                The council expressed its concern about the delinquent amount of TIF payments that Roach Townhomes owes for 2009.  The current amount past due is $4,203.00.  The council directed the city manager to send Terry Roach, owner of Roach Townhomes, a certified letter requesting payment for the delinquent amount, to be paid by June 1, 2010.

 

                Mike Degen is the new owner of the old antique building on Pacific Avenue.  He informed the city manager that he would like to restore the building in an antique fashion and would like to advertise his construction business on the front of the building, if the council would allow him to do so.  The consensus of the council was that the restoration of the building is a good idea and the building is on his land therefore he is allowed to advertise his business on the building front.

 

                The planning and zoning committee approved 9 permits this month:

Tim Schmidt-extend chain link fence

Art kanieski-12x16 garden shed

Jessica Nutz-install egress window & finish chain link fence

Tim Strack-50x114 storage building

Brian Olson-12x12 deck

Melissa Garner-(4) 6x10 panels for dog kennel

Robert Samler-10x12 shed

Brian Zilka-12x14 deck

Rick Turner-4x4 smoke house

Motion by Andres 2nd by Adamski to approve all nine permits.  Carried

 

Bill Witt turned in building permit to city hall after the planning and zoning committee met.  The permit is for an 8x16 storage shed.  The council directed the city manager to contact each planning and zoning committee member for approval of this permit. 

Motion by Carter 2nd by Andres to approve the permit pending approval from the planning and zoning committee.  Carried

 

The delinquent utility amount this month is $12,592.55.

Councilman Adamski stated that he does not like the double standard that the businesses do not have to pay a fee if their payment is late and the residents do.  The council agreed unanimously to direct city staff to add the late fee on business accounts excluding government and non-profit accounts.

 

There were no residents present at the board of review meeting in April.

 

The city received a thank you from the Darling/Green Prairie park board for its donation.

 

Mayor Riitters expressed interest in attending the next meeting to be held by the Small Cities Development Program.  Jerry Peterschick will inform the council when the next meeting has been scheduled.

 

The big screen tv in the liquor store has been experiencing some picture issues recently.  Angie Magee contacted both Tom’s TV in Brainerd and Radio Shack in Little Falls for prices of new t.v.s.  Tom’s TV can repair the existing tv for approx. $400 but because of its age, about 8 years old, it may not be feasible to repair it anymore.  The prices on the new tv’s are as follows:

Tom’s TV                                                                                             Radio Shack

60in. plasma-$1999.00 w/2 yr. warranty                                 60 in. plasma-$1900.00 w/1 yr. warranty

55in. LCD-$1899.00 w/2 yr. warranty                                        55 in. LCD-$1709.00 w/1 yr. warranty

Mount & Installation-Approx. $700                                          Mount & Installation-$300.00

 

Motion by Carter 2nd by Riitters to purchase a 60inch LG Plasma TV, including delivery and installation from Radio Shack of Little Falls for the approx. total cost of $2,200.00 plus tax.  Motion carried 3-1 and 1 abstention (Riitters, Carter & Turner in favor, Adamski against and Andres abstained due to conflict of interest)

 

Motion by Turner 2nd by Andres to accept two donations from the Randall-Cushing Lions; $100 donation towards the flower pot project and $1200 towards the concession/storage building being donated to the school.  Carried

 

Jerry Peterschick reported that the two mowers are working great and by using both these mowers, he believes it will cut way down on the amount of hours the Ford tractor is used in the summer.

 

The police chief will be back to work soon, after being off a few weeks for surgery on his wrist.

 

The $847,000.00 grant that the fire departments will be receiving should hopefully be deposited into the Joint Advisory Fire Departments account and then immediately transferred to Morrison County. 

 

It was the general consensus of the council to have the city manager schedule with Tri-City Paving, the installation of the 2nd layer of tar in the Aspen Ridge Addition.

 

Wendell Schultz and Dan Thilquist have been spraying for weeds/dandelions this past week.  There was one resident that expressed their concern to a councilmember about the smell of the spray, but the city received no other complaints.

 

Jerry Carter stated that he would like to see the port-a-potty moved to a different location as it is the first thing people see when they come over the RR tracks.  He stated that when looking at the city’s nice park building, people see a big “biffie” in front of it.  Jerry Adamski stated that he has heard the opposite, that people have noticed the port-a-potty, never knowing there was one there before.  It was the general feeling of the members to keep the unit where it is.

 

There has been no further discussion with the individuals who inquired about purchasing land by the hardware store.

 

The utility board will meet and make some adjustments to the current delinquent utility ordinance.  It was decided that the city will not be putting delinquent utility bills on customer’s property taxes.  The utility board will have full authority to act within the ordinance and the city manager will no longer have authority to make payment arrangements with customers.

 

Meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.