Unofficial Minutes for September 9, 2024, Pembina City Council Meeting and Special Final Budget Meeting
Council members present: Mayor M Fitzgerald, J Watts, K Norby, K Needham, S Carattini, A Huttunen (arrived 5:58 p.m.)
Council Members Absent: C Snitker
Guests: G Koropatnicki, City Super; T Stoiber, City Auditor; R Fleming, City Attorney; D Fanfulfik, City Engineer; Erik Jones, Houston Engineering; Scott Gangl, ND Game & Fish Dept. & Steve Cress, Fish & Wildlife; April Klecker, Dan & Betty Pelletier; Phil Hall citizens
Date: September 9, 2024, Special Budget Meeting called to order at 5:34 p.m. by Mayor Mike Fitzgerald
Public question by Klecker, why were taxes set so high. Fitzgerald explained that Council always requests high initially, because if they are set low, they can’t be raised; after requesting the higher amounts, the Council goes through and reduces the amount, which will be the final amounts requested from the County. Public portion closed.
Discussion on use of funds, amount of funds available. Capital improvements is for lagoon. Overall, City has $1.6 million that is designated for most projects. Watts presented the final numbers as follows: General Fund $120,922.89, Emergency Fund $4141.20, Library Fund $1656.48, Cemetery $3312.96, Rec Board $4141.20, and Capital Projects $3312.96, for a grand total of $137,487.69
Motion to accept the modified budget and certify to the County by Carattini, 2nd by Needham. All ayes. Motion carries.
Special Budget meeting closed at 5:54 p.m.
Regular Council Meeting called to order at 5:54 p.m. by Mayor M Fitzgerald
Public portion no discussion.
o Move Ken Norby items to new business;
o add one more building permit for approval;
o discussion on Cosley Culvert permits;
o D Bridell application as City Shop Helper (mowing grass, etc.)
Motion by Carattini to accept the changes. 2nd by Needham. All ayes. Motion carries.
- Approval/Changes to August 12, 2024, Meeting Minutes—motion to accept minutes as presented by Carattini, 2nd by Needham. All ayes. Motion Carries
- Erik Jones—presentation on dam to encourage fish spawning and increase fishing near the bridge to S Pembina—going to remove low head dam by creating a multistage rock dam and perhaps extend the greenway/walking paths/rock fishing platforms—US Fish & Wildlife to provide funding—cost estimated to be $1.76 million. Assured by Scott Gangl and Erik Jones there would be no cost to the City for this project. City will send letter of support contingent on the project not costing the City any money. Motion by Huttunen to go with the longer dam, provided it does not cost the City any money. 2nd by Watts. All ayes. Motion carries.
· Old Business
o City Cleanup Day—Huttunen to send Valley Landfill invoice to City Office
o Automated Water Meter Readers – 226 completed; 2 citizens working w Greg, 2 were billed the $50 non-compliance penalty on August billing, 2 are disconnected pending repairs.
o Generator Update—Found that only one of the generators was registered with Generac—other one & 2 switches have not been registered. Can’t get extended warranty on them without model and serial numbers for each piece of equipment. Koropatnicki to take pics of model & serial numbers and take to City Office to get extended warranties.
o DFA property at 601 W Stutsman—Rob to get repair order; any report from Eisenbeis on PVFD intent? Tabled to next month.
o Tree Pile—burn completed
o Fire Department- burn pile completed, went well, winds were in City’s favor; state radio transition going well; Eisenbeis went to Chicago for training; no updates on drop downs; radios still at about $54,000; a lot of fundraising going on in next couple of months
o Rec Board – August agenda attached—no meetings in June or July; A Schafer stepped down—who will take over?; Montez quit, need to find someone to clean campground restrooms
o 4th of July Committee – Steel Canopy & Table construction started? Fitzgerald to get w Stoiber about exact address. Need to get building permit.
· Employee Report/Concerns
o Greg: nothing right now, just need someone to help with mowing and other items as Norby is down, and summer help has left
· Engineer Report – Dustin Fanfulik
o Lagoon—working on funding, engineering design, etc. Plans wb good for several years. Looking into funding options, possibly SRF, maybe loans.
o Lidar Map update? Focusing on prints of the City, not surrounding areas. Will also give City a flash drive with the images on it.
· Attorney Update
o Storage Unit Leases/Liability—going to redo the lease, there won’t be a security deposit but there will be a sign on fee that will act as a security deposit. Huttunen discussed possibly raising the rents to $75/month. Tabled to next month.
o Applications for utility hookup—Motion by Huttunen: new residents/new builds to be charged $100 deposit to be held for 1 year. If they pay timely for that year, they will get their deposit back in the form of a credit on their bill. 2nd by Needham. All ayes. Motion carries. Next month discussion wb about deposits for chronically delinquent accounts and amount. Currently $250.
o Trailer Parks Leases—no change in rent amounts; no need to charge deposit for current tenants, but need to get all to sign updated lease.
o Professional Building Leases—increase in rents? Stoiber to get rent amounts and office sizes for October meeting.
o MidCo water tower lease changes/cancellation—letter to be sent this month.
o 241/251 N 2nd St owner dispute about mowing and weed killing: owner was in the wrong, policies were enforced; owner now will be getting letter regarding the requirement that the “basement hole” left behind from demo needs to be filled in.
o Discussion on disposition of Masonic Lodge—there is interest in it being purchased and used as a business; the blackboard from the 1800s is missing. Masons will clean out what they want by end of month, and disburse to interested entities.
o Discussion on utility disconnections verbiage for non-payment—tabled to next month
o Discussion on “late fees” on utility bills—There is a net (90%) and gross amount (100%) that is supposed to be on bills—currently it’s 1.75% discount, not the 10%. Stoiber to correct it for next billing cycle. The late fee is 1.75% on top of the 100%, and is a separate line item. Bills are prepared on or about the 25th of every month and mailed out by 26th. Payment is due by 15th; if payment is not received by the 15th of the month, the 10% discount will be added back onto the bills. Late fees (1.75%) wb calculated on 25th of every month. The net/gross only applies to the water portion of the bill.
o Frank Moll Will Distribution—first payment received and put in 9 month 4.75% CD towards purchase of street sweeper
o Frank Moll Memorial Plaque—was unable to locate any information on Mr. Moll.
· Update & Business: Mayor/Mike Fitzgerald
- Update & Business:CityAuditor/Teri Stoiber
o August Bills & Financials + cash balance report—see notes on balance sheet & p&l that need to be addressed. Motion by Carattini to accept as presented. 2nd by Watts. All ayes. Motion carries.
o Delinquent Accounts Update: city is not a bank. City needs to discourage late/delinquent accounts—was able to collect $250 from 271 N 2nd St. in Aug. CBP & BPS is current!!! Down to $4753.79 in delinquent accounts.
o Building Permit approval: The Bridgestone (retroactive); Shannon Cosley, Chad Snyder—motion by Needham to accept, 2nd by Carattini. All ayes. Motion carries.
o Use of City FEIN and State ID: Fitzgerald will speak with entities using City FEIN and State ID that shouldn’t be and explain they need to get their own. Stoiber can help them with the paperwork.
o City Ordinance 7.0224 states every person/entity that owns property within the City is to report all addresses they are in control of to the City Auditor and whether they are vacant lots ($13.20/month minimum/month) or residential/businesses ($68.12 minimum/month), for the purposes of utility billing. This is not currently happening. Have started sending out letters to property owners in preparation for software conversion, so we have current addresses & contact info and owned properties, and can bill appropriately.
o City Water/Sewer Utility Policy clarification—Fleming will get policy example to update records
o Have quotes for Professional Building Sign: Motion by Huttunen to get non-reflective sign. Rescinded. Discussion on pros/cons of reflective sign. Only a $15 difference, so Fitzgerald said that would be his choice. Huttunen amended motion for purchase of reflective sign. 2nd by Carattini. All ayes. Motion carries. Stoiber will get it ordered.
o Working on a dedication plaque for Professional Building
o There are still a few accounts (see notes on balance sheet) that need to be consolidated/cleaned up.
o Pembina County JDA 2024 Self-Help Program: up to $1500/project (2 projects maximum)—any suggestions as to projects as defined by the letter in paragraph 2? Anyone with ideas to send to Stoiber. Tabled to next month.
o Mosquito Fees (currently $1/month) and Lagoon Fees (currently calculating at 10% of water usage) may need to be increased as costs have increased. Huttunen motioned to increase the Mosquito Fee to $2.50. No 2nd. Motion died. Norby motioned the Mosquito Fee increase to $2 starting with the September bill. 2nd by Watts. All ayes. Motion carries. Lagoon Fees discussion tabled to next month.
o Building & Zoning Committee notes and questions about permits, codes, violations. Norby wants to set standards, what’s going to be enforced and by whom. The building permit needs to be updated and follow NDCC. Fleming going to investigate verbiage for new building permit. Stoiber to ask Zelda what types of items raises property tax values so building permit covers those items. Huttunen suggested that building permit be 2 pronged: does it affect tax evaluation and what is the minimum dollar value in order to pull a permit. Further discussion tabled to next month.
o 241/251 N 2nd St—City wants the basement from the demolition filled in. Since the hole left by the demolition of the building is a major hazard and safety concern, Fleming will be sending a letter notifying homeowner she has to fill in the hole in a reasonable time frame and if she doesn’t, she is subject to further fines.
o S Pembina Lagoon fees—City ordinances state all residences/businesses are to pay for the Lagoon fee. There is no stipulation/exception for those with septic tanks. All residents will pay the lagoon fee as per City Ordinances. It has been brought to the attention of City Council there may be illegal septic dumping in S Pembina. If this is proven to be true, the State Health Department will be called in to sample the soils in question, and penalties will be assessed at $500/day to the offending homeowner(s) until the soils are cleaned up.
o Ken Norby (Building & Zoning Committee): Sidewalks? Enforcement? 253/273 W Rolette and the School took out sidewalks without permission from City and without pulling building permits—tabled to next month.
o Ken Norby: Increase building permit fee? Enforcement? See above under Building & Zoning.
o Ken Norby: Building permits required for any project to be put on water bills—tabled to next month.
o Cosley culvert: In order to protect the city drainage systems and city right of ways, it is required to obtain approval and a building permit from the City or the culvert/drainage ditch will be removed and returned to original form. Fleming to get paperwork for culvert permits to Stoiber.
o City help application: Huttunen motioned to hire Bridell at $17/hour. 2nd by Sherri. All ayes. Motion carries.
- Motion to adjourn by Carattini. 2nd by Watts.
