December 16, 2024 City Council Minutes
MINUTES
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
December 16, 2024
Mayor Anderson called the City Council meeting to order at 6:30p.m. with the following members present: Councilor Ed Roskoski, Al Stanaway, Joe Prebeg Jr., Julia Buria and Mayor Peggy Anderson. Also, present were: Craig Wainio, City Administrator; Tim Satrang, Director of Public Works; Anna Amundson, Library Director/Special Events Coordinator; Amanda Inmon, Municipal Services Secretary; Sgt. Grant Toma, Sheriff’s Dept.; Al Johnson, City Engineer; and Bryan Lindsay, City Attorney.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria the consent agenda be approved as follows:
- Approve the minutes of the December 2, 2024, regular meeting.
- That the communications be accepted and placed on file and those requiring further action by the City Council be acted upon during their proper sequence on the agenda.
- To acknowledge the receipts for the period December 1-15, totaling $997,032.12 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
- To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period December 1-15, totaling $588,403.94 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried (No: Roskoski; Yes: Stanaway, Prebeg, Buria and Anderson).
It was moved by Roskoski to amend the original motion to remove the Parts City bills in the amount of $156.00, and the Napa Christenson bills in the amount of $181.00 from the consent agenda for separate consideration. The motion failed due to lack of support.
Public Forum:
- Justin Blazewicz, thanks the city for their information/documentation requested, however concerned that there was lack of discipline for those involved in his OSHA complaint
- Gary Skalko, resident and former Mayor, acknowledged and thanked Joe Prebeg for his 24 years of service as a City Councilor member
- Dan Gunderson, resident of South Forest Grove, requested information regarding plowing of community mailbox in their cul-de-sac
The Mayor reported on the following:
- Requested COW meeting to discuss the January 3rd J-Turn
It was moved by Buria and seconded by Prebeg to hold a Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Monday, December 23rd at 5:00pm at the Community Center to discuss the J-Turn. The motion carried.
City Administrator:
- Rink opening Wednesday, December 18th
- City employees ringing the bell at L&M Wednesday, December 18th for the Salvation Army
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Roskoski to approve the recommendation of the Parks & Recreation board to hire the following individuals to work as winter seasonal workers/rink attendants for the 2024-2025 season:
Tyler Johnson Carter Sandnas Jordan Rautio
Todd Korpela Blayne Wainio
The motion carried.
It was moved by Buria and seconded by Prebeg to approve the 2024 Audit proposal from Walker, Giroux and Hahne, in the amount of $29,675 for the Governmental Funds and $12,775 for the Enterprise Funds. The motion carried on roll call vote.
Director of Public Works:
- Water line break fixed recently and power outage in Downtown area
- Power voltage upgrades being completed in sections of Mountain Iron
Library Director/Special Events Coordinator:
- MIB Speech & Drama hosting
- “Candy Canes & Cocoa w/ the Grinch & helpers”
- Thursday, December 19th @ 5:30pm at the Mountain Iron Public Library
- Winter reading program starts on January 6th
- 5th Annual “Holiday Lighting Contest”
- Big thank you to Park State Bank, B2Bank and North Star Credit Union, gift card sponsors
- 2024 Grand Champion Holiday Lighting Contest – 503 Spruce Ave., Kinney
- Classic Christmas – 8794 Forest Drive, Mtn Iron
- Community Spirit – 601 Franz St., Buhl
- WOW Factor – 503 Spruce Avenue, Kinney
- Elegance of Design – 419 Culver Ave., Buhl
- Mountain Iron winners –
- 8794 Forest Drive – Category winner
- 8765 Merrit Place – runner up
Sheriff’s Dept.
- No formal report
It was moved by Roskoski and seconded Prebeg that Law Enforcement contact MNDOT staff on Hoover Road about having necessary speed limit signs put up on Highway 169 from Hoover Road down to the intersection at County 7/169, as soon as possible. People are getting stopped for speeding and getting tickets, but there are no signs. The motion carried.
City Engineering:
- No formal report
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria to approve Pay Request No. 2 – for the Drainage Improvement project, with an increase of $6,631.00 for 2 EZ, Inc., dba. Jola & Sopp Excavating, Eveleth, MN. The motion carried unanimously on roll call vote.
City Attorney:
- Updated Council regarding cease and desist with Superior Fuel
It was moved by Roskoski, that the City Attorney work with Benchmark Engineering and any other necessary government agencies, to determine the present ownership of all six dirt road routes in the Kinross area; in the meantime, the City of Mountain Iron will still maintain all the six routes, gravel, snow plowing, ditch work, culverts, whatever, all year round until official ownership is determined and this big problem gets solved once and for all. The motion failed due to lack of support.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Buria to table the enclosed management agreements for the City Administrator, Director of Public Works and the Library Director, and have a Committee of the Whole to discuss the agreements. Stanaway amended the motion and Buria seconded, to include that the Committee of the Whole meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 6th @ 5:30pm at the Community Center. The motion carried.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Buria to approve Ordinance #02-24; Amending Section 154 of the Mountain Iron City Code (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). Stanaway amended the motion to include the condition that it is contingent on verification of existing regulations and requirements. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and seconded by Prebeg to approve the Temporary Access Easement Agreement, between the City of Mountain Iron and Northern Learning Center, ISD 6076 as presented. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria to donate $250 to the St. Louis County Agricultural Society/Fair Association for the 2025 St. Louis County Fair, monies to come out of the Charitable Gambling Fund. The motion carried unanimously.
The MIB Hoops Club requests contribution for their 2024-2025 MIB Basketball Team. It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria to donate $500 to the MIB K-12 Basketball program for their 2024-2025 Season, monies to come out of the Charitable Gambling Fund. The motion carried unanimously.
Announcement:
- City Offices closed December 31st @ 11:30am & all-day January 1st
- Wednesday, January 1st garbage will be collected on Thursday, January 2nd
- Mountain Iron Merritt Days Planning Committee meeting
- Thursday, January 9th at 5:30 pm
- Mountain Iron-Buhl Highschool Commons area (use door #4)
At 7:40p.m., it was moved by Buria and seconded by Prebeg the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.
Submitted by:
Amanda Inmon
Municipal Services Secretary
Communications:
- Thank you from the Essentia Health Foundation, for the recent donation and support of the Festival of Trees event
