February 20, 2019
Regularly scheduled City Council Meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by Mayor Dan Noss.
All council present Mayor Dan Noss, Clerk Gerald Adamski, Deputy Mayor Jeff Wright, council members Jim Chyba and Rick Turner.
Council accepted the minutes of the January 16, 2019 meeting as presented.
Motion by Adamski and seconded by Turner to approve the payment of the bills as presented. Carried
Guest(s): None at this time.
Public Comment and Concern: resident Brian Zilka expressed his concerns for the current weather and heavy snowfall. He explained to the city council that he could not get through some of the intersections and to his own house. City manager and council apologized for the inconvenience of the weather but policy is to generally wait until the snowfall has stopped before cleanup starts.
Donations: Motion by Adamski and seconded by Chyba to approve a donation of $4,100.00 to Little Falls Community Services to provide youth recreational programs in Randall. Carried
Motion by Wright and seconded by Turner to accept a donation of $1,050.00 on behalf of the Randall Area Business Group for use of city signs for 2019. Carried
Old Business:
The personnel manual is at the final draft. The manual has been reviewed and edited by Noss, Adamski and city manager. The next step is to send it to the city attorney for review.
New Business:
Local Board of Equalization has been set for April 24, 2019 at 11:00 AM. All council members have completed the necessary training for this meeting.
Highway 10 Crossings in Randall – Noss, Chyba and Matt attended a meeting with Morrison County and Minnesota Department of Transportation to discuss their plan to improve the safety of the crossings and reduce accidents. There would no construction cost for the city of Randall because all three crossings are either Morrison County or State Highways. The Minnesota Department of Transportation will be at the March 2019 meeting to present the project.
City Hall Remodel – City staff have started the remodel project. The former storage is now setup as the city manager’s future office. There are now two additional doors added to allow entrance/exit from the city manager’s office to the hallway and to the back conference room. Matt would like to have council decide if there should be a service counter and a safety window, or just a counter with the possibility of adding a window later. The council decided to construct a service counter without a window at this point, but to construct it so a window could be added in the future if needed.
Randall Clean-up Day – Matt spoke with Long Prairie Sanitation for the Randall. They set Saturday May 11, 2019 from 8am to 10am will be Randall Clean-up Day.
Bucket Truck – Matt, Patrick and Adamski went to look at a 2007 International bucket truck from Brainerd Public Utilities. The truck was purchased new by Brainerd Public Utilities. They are purchasing a new bucket truck to replace it that should arrive in November 2019. They are willing to sell it to the City of Randall and draft a purchase agreement upon council approval. They are selling it for approximately $25,000. The truck is in excellent condition, meets the City of Randall’s needs and all safety requirements.
Motion by Turner and seconded by Adamski to approve a purchase agreement for no more than $26,000 for the bucket truck from Brainerd Public Utilities. Carried
Natural Gas purchase for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons – Matt spoke to Kinect Energy Group, our natural gas supplier. They were able to get pricing for the next two heating seasons to cover 80% of our gas use. The price for 2019/2020 season was quoted at $3.20, and the price for 2020/2021 season was quoted at $3.02. Matt said that 2020/2021 price of $3.02 is a good price and suggested we lock in. The pricing for 2019/2020 season at $3.20 could possibly be quoted at a lower price in the near future.
Motion by Chyba and seconded by Wright to lock in our natural gas pricing for the 2020/2021 at $3.02 and continue to watch the market for a price between $3.10 and 3.20 for the 2019/2020 heating season before locking in. Carried
Planning & Zoning permits: None at this time.
Committee Reports:
City Manager/Liquor Store – Matt: The furnace in the utility room that heats and cools the restrooms at the Liquor Store went out and is beyond repair. There is a portable heater in the women’s bathroom for the time being. Matt would like to look options before replacing the furnace.
Maintenance Supervisor Report – Pat: The snow removal has kept both Pat and Mike busy.
Water and Sewer – Mike: All is running as it should be for both the water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant.
Council Member’s concerns:
(Jeff) Ernie – Nothing at this time Jim – Nothing at this time Rick – Nothing at this time
Jerry – wants to thank the city staff for the snow removal work and to keep it up, they are doing great!
Dan – he, Ernie and Jim will be attending the League of Minnesota Cities elected official training this Friday and Saturday.
Dan and Jerry will not be here for the next regularly scheduled city council meeting on Wednesday March 20, 2019 at 7pm because they will be attending a DAV event at the state capital. Motion by Wright and seconded by Turner to change the next regularly scheduled city council meeting on Wednesday March 20, 2019 at 7pm to Tuesday March 19, 2019 at 7pm. Carried
Adjourned 8:00 p.m.