AKELEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
JULY 11, 2007
7:00 PM CITY HALL
The Akeley City Council met in a
regular meeting Wednesday July 11, 2007 at 7:00 pm. Mayor Tom
Moore called the meeting to order. Council members present
were: Tom Moore, Frank Lamb, Cliff Johnson and Eric Sjolin.
Brian Hitchcock was absent. The Pledge of Allegiance was
recited by the Council and attending audience.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Frank Lamb and carried to approve the consent agenda.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to not waive the monetary
limits on tort liability established by Minnesota Statutes
466.04.
The Council selected Wednesday,
August 1, 2007 at 7:00 PM as the date for the Budget Work
Session. The Weed Ordinance will also be discussed at the work
session.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Frank Lamb and carried to approve to hire Don Moore as
contractor to build the diving platform to be used at the city
beach.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to hire Cina Pidde as
contractor to clean bathrooms and the lobby area of City Hall
one day each week at $8.00 per hour.
Eric Klein spoke with the League
of Minnesota Cities and DNR regarding gun permits being issued
by the City to eliminate varmints on home owners’ property.
They advised against it and suggested that the ordinance read
that all state statutes and DNR regulations must be obeyed.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by
Eric Sjolin and carried to approve to rescind the motion at the
June 13, 2007 meeting of a $5.00 permit, good for one year,
which could be obtained at City Hall allowing the property owner
to dispose of varmints on his property.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by
_______________to keep section (B) of §130.02 as originally
stated and add to the last sentence of section (C) of §130.02
“if he or she obeys all state statutes and DNR regulations and
accepts full liability.” ** Note: It was unintentional that
his motion was not seconded or carried for approval and will
have to be brought up for approval at the next meeting on August
8, 2007.**
Police Report - Chief Eric
Klein
·
Eric congratulated
the Reserves on a job well done during Paul Bunyan Days and also
thanked the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Department for their
assistance.
·
Reserves attended
mace training and Eric thanked Deputy Christianson who
instructed it.
·
Eric stated that
reserves hired to do jobs by other agencies outside of the city
limits such as the VFW will be covered by that agency’s
insurance and liability.
·
Eric asked if the
council would consider adding to the “Weed Ordinance” that
property owners who do not mow their grass after being notified
of their violation to the ordinance be billed for having it
mowed by someone else and if it isn’t paid that it be assessed
to the property owner’s taxes.
·
Eric requested
permission to attend Taser Instructor Training in Shakopee which
would be paid for out of the training budget and a percentage of
the expenses would be reimbursed by POST since the training
would count as POST credits.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to allow Eric Klein to attend
Taser Training in Shakopee on July 16th and 17th.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to pay minimum wage from the
Community Fund to officers on beach patrol working 4 to 5 hours
a day 7 days a week not to exceed 30 hours per officer per week
through Labor Day except in inclement weather.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Cliff Johnson and carried to approve to change Personnel Policy
#19 to state that vacation time will be accrued only on hours
worked up to 80 hours per pay period not including overtime
hours.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by
Frank Lamb and carried to approve to remove the last line of
Personnel Policy #26.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to give Wendy Klein the Step 1
pay increase as a result of a satisfactory annual review.
Old Business
Frank Lamb asked if it was known
when Howard’s Driveway was going to repair the intersection of
Pleasant Avenue and 2nd Street. Frank Thelin will check with
them to see when the street repair is scheduled.
Tom Moore stated there is a tree
in the City’s right-of-way near Akeley Auto Sales which needs to
be removed. Frank Thelin received two bids which were $250.00
from Total Tree Service and $300.00 from Rittgers Tree Service.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to approve to accept the bid of $250.00
from Total Tree Service to remove the tree.
Cliff Johnson stated that he had
talked to Dave Moore about building a shelf for the Liquor Store
office.
Discussion took place as Bob
Winner shared information regarding what would be required for
an outdoor patio to be built at the Liquor Store which would
allow smoking. Bob will start obtaining bids for the possible
addition of a patio.
Discussion was held regarding the
condition of the Paul Bunyan Statue. The paint was to last 10
to 15 years but is already fading on Paul’s pants and there are
some damaged areas. Tom Moore and Tony Hermes will talk to Dean
Krotzer regarding the statue’s condition.
New Business
Eric Klein stated he would like to
put the trailer that had been forfeited to the city up for
sealed bids since the city has no use for it. The ad to accept
bids will be placed in the Northwoods Press for two weeks.
Jon Johnson asked if Park Avenue
and Carroll Street could be closed during sporting events since
there are more people present and drivers have been going
through the stop signs. The police department will patrol that
area more during the sporting events rather than close off the
streets.
Wendy Klein shared information
regarding the Minnesota Sesquicentennial Grant Program 2007 to
2008 available to communities and organizations across Minnesota
which is to emphasize or build connections between the local
community and the state as a whole and may be historic, current
or looking to the future. Wendy will look into the grant
application process since the deadline is August 15th.
Frank Lamb stated the “Welcome to
Akeley” banners which are usually placed on the light poles by
the C&C in the spring and taken down in the fall had not been
put up this year.
Frank Lamb expressed his concern
with the map of the area by the Paul Bunyan Statue which was
painted by his son who was an Eagle Scout in 1980 and feels it
needs to be repainted or taken down. A suggestion was made that
possibly an Eagle Scout looking for a project could repaint the
map.
Eric Klein stated the “Beach
Rules” sign could be replaced since the letters are coming off
and only about every other letter can be read. Frank Lamb
suggested contacting Glen & Karen Stiffler since they have made
various signs in the city already including the sign at the
museum.
Tom Moore asked if Eric had heard
any more from MN DOT about extending the reduced speed zones on
the outskirts of the City. Eric stated the person in charge of
this at MN DOT just returned from vacation so is still working
on it.
Frank Lamb asked if the Scenic
Byway signs permit had been renewed. Tom Moore said it had been
renewed and that he and Gary Hendricks had just finished the
base rock work on Highway 64 south.
Eric Klein informed the Council
that he had called MN DOT at their request to find out if there
were any stipulations about routing water under the sidewalk
onto a MN Highway but has not heard anything so far.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by
Tom Moore and carried to adjourn.
Denise Rittgers
Clerk
Treasure
City of Akeley
Wendy Klein
Deputy Clerk
City of Akeley
