July 12th, 2022 Minutes
City Council Meeting
Date: July 12th at 5:00PM
Location: Professional Building
Present: Jeff Watts, Pat Burton, Connor Snitker, Ken Norby, Allen Huttunen, Mayor Mike Fitzgerald
Absent: None
Guests: Debi Stainbrook, Greg Koropatnicki, Rob Fleming, Brad Bail, Blaine Eisenbeis, Brenda Maslowski, Wes Stainbrook, Taryn Warner, Tracy Foy, Stacy Koble
Mayor requested a roll call; with 5 members present a quorum was declared. Meeting called to order at 5:01PM.
Changes to the agenda:
Add Bridgestone sign, permit, and food truck to new business, lagoon under old business, continuing education credits under Greg, interstate light under old business. Motion by Watts, seconded by Burton to accept the changes. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Approval of Prior Minutes: Minutes included 6/13, Reorganizational meeting 6/28, Special meeting 6/28, special meeting 6/29. Motion by Watts, seconded by Burton to approve June’s minutes. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Council Approvement Vacancy: The public has a right to request an election up to 15 days after someone is elected. Motion by Burton, seconded by Norby to approve Renee Thomas for city council. Roll call: Watts-aye, Burton-aye, Snitker-nay, Huttunen-aye, Norby-aye. Motion carries.
Old Business:
Drainage west end along dike/MCI - Twamley is backed up with business/projects. Want to get done before freeze up.
Garbage Trucks – Tabled. Seeing if we can get better rates. Jeff will contact Jensons.
Generator – Tabled
Lagoon – We need to do something before fall season. There are only 2 towns that have one pond, Pembina and another town. Most have 2-3 ponds. This will be a bigger project down the road. Motion by Burton, seconded by Watts to temporarily fix the lagoon. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Ramp Light – Call DOT in Grand Forks as the light is the states property according to the police report.
Signage –Motion by Snitker, seconded by Watts to have the bridge ton sign reflect the same as the street signs so there is no confusion. 5 ayes, 1 nay. Motion carries.
Committee Reports:
Fire Department – updated us on the building. The roof leaks and is causing significant damage. The walls and trucks are getting rain damage. Will get an estimate on new roof to see how bad it is.
Rec Board – updated us on activities. Asked if they could use some dirt from the tree pile to fill in the holes at the park. They were given the go-ahead.
Employees Report/Concerns:
Ventrac Mower – Machine came up for a demo. Most of the interior and exterior dike can be mowed with this. Motion by Huttunen, seconded by Burton to purchase last years model at $29,995. Roll call: Watts-aye, Burton-aye, Snitker-aye, Norby-aye, Huttunen-aye. Motion carries.
Continuing Education Credits – Motion by Burton, seconded by Snitker to allow Greg to attend training for 3 credits on July 19th. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Mayor Mike Fitzgerald leaves at 5:57PM
Engineer Report: Updated us about the alleys, drains, and 5th street. Will start getting elevation levels and have that for the next meeting as we don’t want water sitting on the streets.
Attorney Update: Daycare lease is on Debi’s desk. Update on Cosley’s house. The 15 days will start today for council seat. Pembina could look at getting a specific food truck ordinance.
Council Business/Concerns:
Spring Cleanup Day – Tabled. Jeff will contact Dean and Kyle about spring cleanup.
Tree and Compost Pile – Need a permit and Blaine would sign off on it. Need to find time to burry the sandbags. Need to get a list of flood damages to Sam Diemert for FEMA relief.
Update and Business:
July Bills – Motion by Burton, seconded by Norby to approve July bills. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Credit Card – Motion by Snitker, seconded by Burton to apply for a p-card through the state. All ayes present. Motion carries.
City App – Motion by Burton, seconded by Snitker to use Living Local app. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Schiltz Golf Membership – Motion by Snitker, seconded by Burton to move this voucher to use it next year. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Northern Plains Resource Conservation and Development Council dues – Motion by Huttunen to pay dues. No second. Motion dies.
ND Rural Water Systems Association renewal – Motion by Burton, seconded by Snitker to renew membership. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Audit quotes – Tabled. The Cavalier company is no longer conducting city audits, the company in Park River is not taking new clients. Brady Martz estimated it would be around $15,000-$20,000 for an audit of the last 2 years. Will call the state auditor and see if they audit city financials.
Update on storage units – discussion on rentals. Storage fees will be added to utility bills starting in August. If tenants are not paid up by the 5th of August, they will be evicted.
Shredding – council would like all documents shredded, even if disposition says landfill. Can call DocuShred in Grand Forks.
New Business:
Sign for Bridgestone – Tracy Foy presented a proposal to put up a sign coming into Pembina. It would be a 3-foot sign with an arrow that points to the bar, and will be made by Customs Stripes. Had a couple different locations in mind. Motion by Snitker, seconded by Burton to approve sign by buffalo, pending agreement from Rob. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Street closure for Bridgestone – Taryn Warner is requesting to close off the street July 16th from 3pm-10pm. She turned in a special event permit to sell alcoholic beverages outside of the bar. Motion by Burton, seconded by Snitker to close the street and place detour signs. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Food Truck – Stacy Koble is wanting to set up a food truck in the city park and asked if she was able to use the pavilion so people can sit at the tables in there. Motion by Burton, seconded by Snitker to waive fee and bond for food trucks for the rest of the year. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Time Adjourned: Motion to adjourn at 7:01PM
Submitted by: Debi Stainbrook, City Auditor
The next city council meeting will be held August 8th at 6:00PM in the Professional Building.