August 21, 2023 City Council Minutes

 MINUTES

MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL

August 21, 2023

Mayor Anderson called the City Council meeting to order at 6:30p.m. with the following members present: Councilor Ed Roskoski, Al Stanaway, Julie 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; Al Johnson, City Engineering; and Bryan Lindsay, City Attorney. Absent members: Councilor Joe Prebeg Jr.

It was moved by Buria and seconded by Stanaway the consent agenda be approved as follows:

1. Approve the minutes of the August 7, 2023 regular meeting.
2. 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.
3. To acknowledge the receipts for the period August 1-15, $198,525.36 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes),
4. To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period August 1-15, totaling $200,463.06 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).

 The motion carried with Councilor Prebeg absent (Yes: Stanaway, Anderson, Buria; No: Roskoski).

It was moved by Roskoski to amend the original motion to remove the Napa Christenson Parts bills in the amount of $244.00 and the Taconite Tire bills in the amount of $577.00 from the consent agenda for separate consideration. The motion failed due to lack of support.

Public Forum:

• Cindy Kujala and John Lucas, residents of Woodland Estates, spoke regarding the possible lack thereof of recorded and finalized covenants for the Home Owners Association (HOA) for the development in Woodland Estates, discussion ensued regarding covenants and HOA, City Attorney will review file and provide answers

It was moved by Roskoski regarding the situation with Woodland Estates; the City Attorney will work with the City Administrator, Mrs. Cindy Kujala, Mr. John Lucas and the Klun Law Firm in regards to covenants for the HOA in the Woodland Estates. The motion failed due to lack of support.  

The Mayor reported on the following:

• Thank you to the all volunteers, City Staff, Sheriffs Dept, Businesses, participants and Merritt Days Committee members that made Merritt Days successful

City Administrator:

• Upcoming – preliminary budget set and submitted to St. Louis County by October 1^st

Director of Public Works:

• Thank to City Crew members, Merritt Days Committee members and Anna Amundson on successful and clean Merritt Days

It was moved by Roskoski, since there has been parking in the noted areas for over 50 years, that the two yellow painted-out parking spots in front of Spring Creek Outfitters and the two yellow painted-out parking spots in front of the Career Development Center, all four which are on Main Street; be repainted gray as soon as possible so they can be put back into “legal” use. The motion failed due to lack of support.

Library Director/Special Events Coordinator:

• Merritt Days
• All Merritt Days winners announced at next meeting, after reviewed by Committee
• Summer reading program finished

City Engineer:

• Parkville Mailbox update – conversation with Post Office, mailboxes can be located on either side, however it comes back to the City for maintenance as it is a County Road, and is maintained by the County; City would have to clear the trail
• 2^nd Street project by UPS started

It was moved by Roskoski, that a Contractor be instructed to locate the Nichols Avenue East side Residents’ mailboxes back to the East side of Nichols Avenue in their original locations between what was the shoulder and the now trail route. Pavement bangs in there but someone can get a concrete type drill, drill a hole, and put the mailboxes back where they originally were. The motion failed due to lack of support.

• Director of Public works stated that possibility of keeping the trail clean after snowstorms is that it would not be a priority, as the priority would be opening up the mail roadways, would probably be one of the last things completed. Question is though, is there any right-of-way where the snow can be pushed off into or would the City be pushing snow off into private property, would there be exposure of liability to the City

It was moved by Roskoski, because of many issues, that a Change Order be authorized to pave the Street portion of the 2^nd Street project with 6-7 inches of asphalt paving material; 16^th Avenue to UPS is now 6 inches thick, the new UPS building parking area is now 6 inches thick; MN Dot is not going to lower the Highway 53 area drainage ditch; the Telephone company box culvert is going to remain as is. Since the area is not going to have proper drainage, it will have a high water table soggy condition. Paving the street with 4 inches of asphalt will be a mistake, with 80,000 lb. 18-wheelers using the street every day. The motion failed due to lack of support.

City Attorney:

• Requested by Planning & Zoning Board and authorized by City Administrator to move forward with a Zoning enforcement action at 9602 Admiral Road

It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Buria to accept the recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Committee and approve the Conditional Use (CUP) for Anthony Vita. The Conditional Use is for the use of a shipping container to be used as an accessory structure. The property is legally described as follows:

Parcel Code: 175-0071-03796

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: PLAT NAME: MT IRON; SECTION 26; TOWNSHIP 58; RANGE 18; LOT -; BLOCK –

DESCRIPTION:  W 1/2 OF N 330 FT OF S 660 FT OF NW 1/4 OF SW 1/4

Address: 4952 Voss Road, Mountain Iron, MN 55768

The motion carried with Councilor Prebeg absent.

It was moved by Buria and seconded by Stanaway to authorize Curl Mesabi to serve alcohol at its “Annual Senior Men’s National Championship banquet,” on February 16, 2024, to be held at the Mountain Iron Community Center. The motion carried with Councilor Prebeg absent.

It was moved by Roskoski and seconded by Stanaway to reschedule the Monday, September 4, 2023 meeting due to the Labor Day Holiday to Tuesday, September 5, 2023 at 6:30pm at the Mountain Iron City Hall. The motion carried with Councilor Prebeg absent.

At 7:14p.m., it was moved by Buria and seconded by Stanaway that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried with Councilor Prebeg absent.

Submitted by:

Amanda Inmon

Municipal Services Secretary

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