January 19, 2011

The regular meeting of the Randall City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. with all members present except Councilman Turner.

                The minutes were approved as presented.

                Mayor Riitters and Councilmen Adamski and Andres were sworn into their new terms of office.

                Motion by Andres 2^nd by Carter to pay the bills for the month.  Carried

                Mayor Riitters presented his recommendations for the 2011 appointments.  They will remain the same as 2010 with the following exceptions:  Remove Charley Andres from Fire Advisory Board and add Rick Turner, add the Police Commission with Jerry Carter and Jerry Adamski, remove Pat Boone from the Civil Defense Board as he is no longer a resident of Randall.

                Motion by Adamski 2^nd by Andres to approve the Mayor’s appointments as presented.  Carried

                Bill Johnson, President of the Planning and Zoning Committee was present to discuss the building permit enforcement.  There is a policy in place that if a resident begins building without an approved permit, they will be asked to stop building immediately and will be fined $75.00.  Since this policy was put in place, there have been some situations where residents have proceeded with projects without permits and should have been fined.  The planning and zoning committee would like to see this policy enforced.  Anybody with a project that is going to change the outward appearance of the property, must apply for a building permit.  The council will review the exact language of the policy at February’s meeting.

                Prices for the off-sale expansion will be available at the February meeting.

                The council discussed the need to amend the definition of the business district for the Small Cities Development Program and it was discussed to change the district from Pacific Ave. only to include 1^st Street from Pacific Ave. to Hwy 10, all of Superior Ave. and 6^th Street from Pacific Ave. to Hwy 10.

                Motion by Andres 2^nd by Riitters to direct Jerry and Angie to send a request to re-define the business district, to Jason Krebsbach of the Small Cities Development Program to be sent with the final application to DEED.  Carried 2-1, Riitters and Andres in favor, Adamski voted against, Carter abstained

                Jerry Adamski stated he would be interested in attending the Cohasset Power Plant tour with MN Power, when a date and time are decided.

                Jerry Adamski also mentioned that he contacted a local construction company regarding cement barriers to place along the “parking” side of city hall to prevent vehicle from coming in contact with the building.  The barriers are 2x2x6 concrete weighing approx. 4000lbs. and cost $100 each.  Another option discussed was installing concrete filled posts and installing a steel cable between the posts.  Both options will be looked into further with more information at a future meeting.

There are adequate funds in the TIF District #1 (Downtown) account to be able to close it out at this time.  There is also a temporary law that permits cities to use any surplus TIF dollars on projects that will promote new economic development in the city as long as the development is done this year and will create some type of job, including construction jobs.  If there is a surplus after the bonds are paid off and there is some small project in town that needs assistance, the city can think about using the surplus before sending the surplus back to the county.  It was mentioned that perhaps any surplus could be used in the expansion of the off-sale.  There will be approximately $11,000.00 surplus after the bonds are paid off.  Nothing was decided on the surplus at this time.

                Motion by Carter 2^nd by Andres to pass a resolution to close TIF District #1.  Carried

                In discussing the balance of funds in the new city hall project account, Councilman Adamski stated that he would like to see the funds used for their original purpose, which is to convert the back section of the building into a council chambers, which is currently being used as a maintenance area for city equipment.  After some discussion it was clear that there is a difference in opinion and that nothing should be decided until a full council is present.  The matter was tabled until the March meeting.

                Motion by Carter 2^nd by Adamski to renew the contract with the Morrison County Humane Society for 2011.  Carried

                The Little Falls Chamber of Commerce, Senator Paul Gazelka and Rep. Mike LeMieur invited the Mayor and Councilmembers to the Little Falls City Hall Chambers for a legislative update on Friday January 21^st.

                In reviewing the delinquent utility accounts, a few accounts were flagged and need attention.  Notices will be sent out and disconnects will occur if needed.  Customers have the opportunity to apply for the cold weather rule, but only after their account is made current.

                The Fire Department had training over the weekend and it is estimated they used 15 – 20,000 gallons of water and Jerry Peterschick asked the council if they should be charged for it.  The consensus was to charge the department accordingly.

                The council was informed that the county will be pushing snow back away from streets/mailboxes and Wendell will be following behind cleaning out the snow that is left on driveways in the coming week.

                The Randall Police Department received a new radar from the Safe and Sober Program and it has been installed in the car.

                Jerry Peterschick will contact the gentleman who has been attempting to trap the beavers on the east side of town for an update.