October 19, 2011

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 last meeting were approved as presented.

               

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

 

Camp Ripley/Veterans State Trail:  Bob Reinitz, the Chairman of the committee, was present to give a brief presentation on the trail and the process of getting it built.  He spoke about all the benefits this trail system will bring to the central Minnesota community and how the surrounding cities can benefit.  The trail will be designed for multi-use, meaning almost everyone will be able to use it, from walking and biking to ATV and snowmobile use.  He explained that the DNR is on board, will be in charge of the design, construction and maintenance of the trail and will be working on the “Master Plan” at the same time as the Corridor Study is being conducted which is a rare situation because usually the Master Plan is done after the study is complete.  At this time, there is no exact timeline for construction to begin and completion of the project.

                Committee member Mark Kavanaugh was also present to discuss the process the city, if interested, will need to take to build the connecting trail to the State trail.  At this time, it has not been decided where exactly the trail will go and how close it will come to Randall, but he stated it is important that Randall make a plan for connecting to the trail.  There are many grants available and he suggested that this would be a good time to start putting some money away each year for this project.

 

 

 

Randall Veterans Memorial:  Dan Noss presented a design for the Randall Veterans Memorial and stated they would like to begin construction in Spring 2012.  The VFW did inquire about the need to set up a long term lease with the city for the property where the memorial is going to be.  The council does not feel this will be necessary and does not see there ever being a problem with future councils.  There will be two granite benches at the memorial.  Dan asked the council if the city would be interested in sponsoring one of the benches, the cost being $961.88.  This item was tabled until the November meeting.

 

Neighborhood Watch Program:  One of the task forces of VISION Randall will be holding a meeting for all Randall Residents to discuss the start of a Neighborhood Watch Program at the Randall VFW at 7pm on Wednesday October 26th.  Those city residents that attend will receive a free burger and fries that evening.  There will also be a guest speaker.

 

Dan gave a little update on the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program and asked if a link to the website could be placed on the city’s website.  Angie will take care of this.

 

Randall Treasure Days:  More information will follow, but Randall Treasure Days will be held the week before Randall Clean-up next year.

 

                The ditch between the Catholic church and Knight Street has been seeded and straw and mesh have been put down to help prevent wash-outs.

 

Capital Improvement Fund:  The excess funds in the Capital Improvement Fund will be paid back on November 1st.

 

                Delinquent accounts were reviewed and 7 notices were sent out for shut-offs this week.

 

                Motion by Adamski 2nd by Carter to approve the participation in the Salvations Army’s Heatshare program again this year.  Carried

 

 

                Building Permits:

                Pat Schmid – 10x15 addition to garage.

                Motion by Carter 2nd by Turner to approve the permit.  Carried

 

                A gentleman who used to work for the MN Pollution Control, stopped by city hall this week to visit with Dan and commented on how nice the city always looks and that he enjoys coming to visit this town.  Jerry gave all the credit to Wendell and Dan and commended them for their efforts in keeping the city looking good throughout the year.

 

                The 15MPH sign will be ordered and installed on Hill Drive this month.

 

                Jerry Adamski commented that his personal opinion is that the city should look at placing any excess money from the parks and recreation account in a separate trail connection fund.

 

                The Mayor would like to have a special/closed meeting to discuss employees and their wages and look at how Randall’s wages are comparing to other communities in the area. 

                Council briefly discussed the new property tax changes for 2012.

 

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.