City Council Meeting
Date: September 12th, 2022 at 6:00 PM
Location: Professional Building
Present: Renee Thomas, Mike Fitzgerald, Connor Snitker, Jeff Watts, Ken Norby, Pat Burton
Absent: Al Huttunen
Guests: Blaine Eisenbeis, Greg Koropatnicki, Brad Bail, Debi Stainbrook, Phil Hall, Ben Kneeshaw, Trevor Kneeshaw, Greg Kneeshaw, Cole Hegg, Rachel Gornowicz, Jaret Johnson, Brenda Masloski
PUBLIC HEARING
Public portion started at 5:54 PM following the Special Meeting
Ben Kneeshaw - Bought Mason’s property and asked about his street being maintained. The mayor will check to see if that road is owned by the city or if it is a private drive.
Call to Order following close of Public Hearing at 5:58 PM
Changes to Agenda
Mowing under employees report, new business - water meters, and assessments, city app under old business. Motion by Burton, seconded by Snitker to accept the changes. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Approval/Changes to August’s Minutes
Minutes included the August 8th meeting. Motion by Watts, seconded by Thomas to approve August’s minutes. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Old Business
Drainage west end along dike/mci drainage ditch - tabled
Garbage truck/rates. Countrywide was here. Propose to change trash services to Countrywide for at least 5 years with an option of another 5 years. We would change services starting March 1st with the proposed rates that were sent. Motion by Snitker, seconded by Watts to change services. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Spring/Fall cleanup - Countrywide gave the city proposals to have a spring and fall cleanup service. The city will have a fall cleanup on October 15th from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Countrywide will have two containers, one for metal and one for garbage where residents can throw their trash. There will be a list of what can and cannot be thrown.
Generator - Seth called and would like to get rid of the generator. Motion by Burton, seconded by Snitker to have the school unhook the generator and keep the shed. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Lagoon - We got it pulled apart and got it to drain. Health department also came to look at it. A new structure for a modern pond is about $15,000 - $20,000. Brad would propose to put a new structure in, laying out the design of a new pond as the state requires a three-pond. Motion by Burton, seconded by Snitker to get that one structure done. All ayes present. Motion carries. Also discussed how much the entire project would be. The city would need to purchase more land for the three-pond structure. The entire project could potentially cost around $2 million dollars.
Ramp Light - tabled
Special Election - Motion by Watts, seconded by Thomas to have the polls open from 9am to 7pm on November 16th at the Community Center. All ayes present. Motion carries. Motion to hire election workers at $15 per hour by Watts, seconded by Snitker. All ayes present. Motion carries. Stainbrook and Watts will conduct a drawing on Wednesday, September 14th at 1:00 PM at the city office to determine the order of names on the ballot.
Moore water bill - Council discussed the water meter readings on Moore’s bill and made the decision to have no late fees until they are caught up.
City App - the city app is now live. You can download it on Apple or Android in your App Store for free to find information and communication about Pembina.
Committee Reports
Fire Department - Blaine updated us about the Fire Department. Submitted their budget. Fire Prevention will be held at the school from the 9th -15th. ISO inspection next summer. Blaine will be taking care of the hydrant flushing while they are doing the pressure testing.
Rec Board - Brenda updated us about the Rec Board. She asked Greg to help with the septic tank. Submitted their budget. Going to have a Halloween party and working with the CIA committee on that. Items outside of the community center are junk. The next Rec Board meeting is on Wednesday.
Employees Report/Concerns
Mowing - Korpat is the lone ranger with mowing as summer help has been done since school started. On the daycare lease, it says to only mow the outside of the fenced area. The city will continue to mow outside of the fenced area.
Engineer Report/Brad Bail - Discussion about the pond/lagoon. Brad sent the council a link to look at the streets block by block for road repair projects. Proposed adding a new manhole in the alley. Council would like a cost comparison of the different options for the alley.
Update & Business: City Auditor/ Debi Stainbrook
September Bills & Financials. Motion by Watts, seconded by Burton to accept the bills as presented. All ayes present. Motion carries.
New Business
Storage Sheds – Watts brought up the idea of adding more storage units. Discussion about how much storage the city uses and the possibility of eliminating the garages we use to use for rentals.
Flowers for Flo - Motion by Norby, seconded by Thomas to order flowers for Flo. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Signature cards for bank accounts - Updated signature cards were presented to sign
Direct Deposit setup - Motion by Watts, seconded by Burton to set up direct deposit for payroll. All ayes present. Motion carries.
Recycling charges - Discussion about the recycling containers at the city shop. The city is not collecting enough money to pay for the container's dumping fees. Need to call Countrywide as the city used to get a kick back for cardboard.
Masloski’s lot - Korpat and Fitzgerald will go to Masloski’s lot on Saturday and try to use black top patch to fix their lot.
Water meters - Watts discussed the possibility of having a system to read water meters from a distance instead of going door to door. Council would like a quote.
Assessor and assessments - There have been complaints from residents about property taxes going up. Discussion about the city assessor and how properties are being assessed.
Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM
The next city council meeting will be held Monday, October 10th at 6:00 PM in the Professional Building.
By: Mayor, Mike Fitzgerald
Attested to: Debi Stainbrook, City Auditor
