City of Pembina, ND

UnOfficial Minutes for November 13, 2023, Pembina City Budget Meeting and Council Meeting

 

Date: November 13^th, 2023, at 6:00pm

Location: Professional Building

Present: Jeff Watts, Renee Thomas, Connor Snitker, Al Huttunen (by phone until 7:35, then in person), Pat Burton, Ken Norby, Mayor Mike Fitzgerald

Absent:

Guests: Sherri Carattini, Greg Koropatnicki, Brad Bail, Rob Fleming, Pete Huttunen, Ben Kneeshaw

 

Public Meeting: 6:00 pm – No Public Comments

 

Regular Meeting called to order at 6:01 pm

 

 

Changes to Agenda: Add House Condemnation Hearing to start of meeting, Add Local Permit Request for Catholic Church to New Business, Add Spot Bar Lot to Old Business, and add the following under Employee Reports/Concerns (Greg): Tower VFDs, Skid Steer, Water Tower Inspection Report, City Christmas Lights, February Training in Fargo for Greg, and Gator Blade. Motion to approve changes by Snitker. Seconded by Thomas. All ayes present. Motion carries.

 

HOUSE CONDEMNATION HEARING: 251 N. 2^nd Street, Pembina

Home owner was not present for the hearing. Hearing was facilitated by Attorney Rob Fleming (in person) and Inspector Anthony Dumas (on speaker phone). Dumas led the council through the inspection report and reported on the city ordinance subsection violations that qualified the structure to be condemned. Motion to adopt the report and, thereby, approve the condemnation by Burton. Seconded by Snitker. All ayes present. Motion carries.

 

Approval/Changes to October 9^th Minutes: Correct Norby attendance information (he was absent); change house address from 455 N. 5^th St to 422 N. 5^th street. Motion to approve minutes and changes as presented by Thomas, seconded by Snitker. All ayes present. Motion carries.

 

Old Business:               

• Garbage/Recycling/Clean Up Day – Huttunen reported he has 2 Valley Landfill meetings this week. The council reiterated that single-family homes that are rented out count as residential properties and, therefore, are to fall under Countrywide Sanitation bins and rates. Apartment buildings and Airbnb properties are considered commercial properties and are to fall under Valley Landfill dumpster rates. Finally, Watts made a motion to remove the large paper dumpster at the shop and only keep the cardboard recycling. Seconded by Snitker. All ayes present. Motion carries.
• Daycare – no applications received; continue to advertise on social media
• Lagoon – no new updates
• Automated Water Meter Readers – Still awaiting IT from Ferguson to set up Banyon and begin installations
• House Condemnations –
• Pembina County 2023 Self-Help Application – Sherri reported that dumpster purchases are almost complete and, once canceled checks are received, the applications will be submitted.
• Fish & Game/Widseth Rock Dam – Mayor Mike reported that the plan is to install a step-rock dam, at no cost to the city
• Employee Evaluations – completed. Raises will be discussed at the December meeting.
• Specials – Pay them off? – Tabled until January.
• Spot Bar Lot – Tabled

 

 

Committee Reports:

• Fire Department – New By-Laws tabled until Attorney can review
• Rec Board – Sunday, December 3^rd, Santa Day: Pancake Breakfast 8:00-1:00 at Fire Hall, Bingo 1:00-3:00 at Community Center, BBQ/Hot Dog Meal 1:00-4:30 at Community Center, Visit Santa 3:00-4:30 at Community Center, Christmas Tree Lighting with cookies and cocoa 4:30-6:00 in South Pembina. Free Will Offering. Also, Halloween Party was a success with 136 attendees!

 

Employees Report/Concerns: Greg

• Lead Service Line Inventory – Sherri & Greg summarized their Teams Meeting and reported on what documentation the city will need to provide.
• VFDs – Greg reported continued issues and alert codes, even after some maintenance and repairs. Will continue to troubleshoot to find root cause of problems with the system.
• Skid Steer – Greg reported that, even after a new battery and starter were installed, it is still dead. It was loaded up and taken to Grafton to see if it can be repaired.
• Water Tower Inspection Report – Greg shared the report with the council, noting that, overall, the report was good, but it was stated that the exterior could do with new paint.
• Christmas Lights – Greg reported that we are replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs. Sherri will research when the Snowflakes were purchased, and for how much.
• Training in Fargo – Greg requested approval to attend training February 6-8, 2024. Motion to approve by Burton. Seconded by Thomas. All ayes present. Motion Carries.
• Gator Blade – Motion to sell the blade by Burton. Seconded by Watts. All ayes present. Motion carries.

 

Engineer Report:

• Brad Bail shared information and pricing for the city to have LIDAR mapping completed for the city. Total cost for “red area” mapping = $15,900. However, city will pay only a minimum portion of that with most of the cost falling on Fish & Game under the dam project. Motion to purchase LIDAR mapping for the identified “red” area by Burton. Seconded by Snitker. All ayes present. Motion carries.

 

Attorney Update: no updates

 

Update & Business: Mayor – no updates

 

Update & Business: City Auditor/ Sherri Carattini

• October Bills & Financials – Motion to approve financials by Norby, seconded by Watts. All ayes present. Motion carries.
• Delinquent Accounts – One resident is still in arrears, but is making some payments. Sherri will inquire as to why his monthly water usage is higher than normal. Also, Sherri provided a list of delinquent accounts sent to the county office. One of those residents has returned to the area. If she wants the water reconnected, she will need to pay the $85.00 reconnection fee along with a $250 deposit, and must be present at the property when the water is turned back on. A motion to make this a policy for all resident reconnections due to non-payment of utility bills was made by Snitker. Seconded by Thomas. Five ayes and one nay. Motion carries. Sherri will relay that information to the resident.

 

New Business:

• Professional Building Locks quotes – Motion by Huttunen to approve lock changes under $500. Seconded by Snitker. All ayes present. Motion carries.
• Request for FD to move completely under the city - denied
• Maersk is moving out of Professional Building. Council wants them to remove desks/furniture as well.
• Day after Thanksgiving – Employees may take as unpaid day or vacation day – or work that day.
• Assumption Catholic Church Gaming Permit Request – motion to approve request by Thomas. Seconded by Huttunen. All ayes present. Motion carries.

 

Adjournment – Motion to adjourn at 8:05 PM by Thomas.

 

By: Mayor, Mike Fitzgerald                                                                                  

Attested to: Sherri Carattini, City Auditor

 

 

The next city council meeting will be held on December 11^th, 2023, at 6:00pm in the Professional building.