City Council Minutes 030518

MINUTES

MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL

March 5, 2018

Mayor Skalko called the City Council meeting to order at 6:33p.m. with the following members present: Joe Prebeg, Jr., Alan Stanaway, Steve Skogman, Susan Tuomela, and Mayor Gary Skalko. Also present were: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Amanda Inmon, Municipal Services Secretary; Rod Flannigan, City Engineer; Bryan Lindsay, City Attorney and SGT John Backman, Sheriff’s Department. Absent: Tim Satrang, Director of Public Works

It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela that the consent agenda be approved as follows:

1. Approve the minutes of the February 20, 2018, regular meeting as submitted.

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 February 16-28, totaling $521,735.56(a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).

4. To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period February 16-28, totaling $230,612.22 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).

The motion carried.

Public Forum:

• No one spoke during forum

The Mayor reported on the following:

• Can’t sit quiet as the leader of our community, speaking for himself and not the City Council or City, but as a father, grandfather and teacher of 35 years, shootings affect everyone whether in big cities or small towns like Mountain Iron. While there have been shootings at other places such as malls, movie theaters, concerts as well as churches, schools seem to be the main focus or target. Mayor Skalko stated that he does not have all the answers, but that it is not a red or blue issue but instead a people issue. Mayor Skalko also stated that there has been talk in the news about universal background checks for buying guns and of banning of “automatic rifles,” Councilor Skogman corrected Mayor Skalko, stating that the AR-15 gun which was used by the Parkland killer, was in fact a semi-automatic and not a fully-automatic, which are already illegal, he also added that “AR” does not in fact stand for “automatic rifle,” but instead “armalite rifle.” Discussion ensued regarding the topic, with Mayor Skalko mentioning the issue of mental health playing a role in school shootings, Councilor Skogman stated “something has to be done regarding mental health issues within the country,” adding that there are not enough services provided. Both agreed that something needed to be done.
• Fire hydrant within neighborhood, please help out by shoveling around it
• Happy birthday to Lucille Fiola turning 90 years old on March 13^th
• Condolences to the family and friends of John Sainio
• Congratulations to Chad Salmela. Commentator on NBC for the Winter Olympics in South Korea
• Congratulations to the Mountain Iron-Buhl Girls basketball team, currently in playoffs
• Congratulations to the Mountain Iron-Buhl Boys basketball team, currently in playoffs
• Congratulations to the Virginia-MIB Hockey team on a good season, lose to Greenway in Section semi-finals, overall good season
• Councilor Prebeg read a newspaper article about his son who is currently serving in the Navy with 20+years and wanted to commend his other son for also serving in the Navy
• Mayor Skalko and the Councilors wanted to thank all those who served and are still serving in the Military

The City Administrator reported on the following:

• Reservations for West Two Rivers campground started March 1^st
  • Can be done online, in person or over the phone at City Hall
  • Check out website for more details
  • South Grove Rink is closed due to weather and deterioration in ice

Library Director/Special Events Coordinator:

• “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” book to movie, March 6^th, tickets still available at 2pm and 5pm
• Easter Egg hunt scheduled for Saturday, March 31^st at noon at the Merritt Elementary

Sheriff’s Department:

• No formal report

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to accept the recommendation of the Parks and Recreation Board and dedicate the ball field at the West Two Rivers Campground as the “Miriam Kailanene Memorial Field.” The motion carried.

It was moved by Skogman and seconded by Stanaway to adopt Resolution #03-18; approve the Resolution for the State of Minnesota Grant Contract and accept funding from and stating that the City will follow the guidelines set out in the Shared Services Grant application (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.

It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Prebeg to accept the resignation of Sally Yuccas as the Mountain Iron Library Director/Special Events Coordinator, effective November 6^th, with the amendment that the Personnel Committee be authorized to start looking for a replacement. The motion carried.

Councilors stated that Sally Yuccas will be hard to replace, will be greatly missed, she completed a large amount of work at the Library with events in the Community, as well as thank her for all of her work during her time working for the City of Mountain Iron.

It was moved by Skogman and seconded by Tuomela to authorize Mac’s Bar Inc. DBA: Mac’s Bar to serve alcohol for the McGregor/Overbye wedding scheduled for Saturday, March 17, 2018 at the Mountain Iron Community Center. The motioned carried.

Merritt Elementary PTA requests donation for “5^th Annual KID Fit” Carnival. It was moved by Skogman and seconded by Prebeg to donate $250 to the Merritt Elementary PTA’s 5^th Annual “KID Fit” Carnival to be held on April 27^th, monies to come out of the Charitable Gambling Fund. The motion carried on a roll call vote.

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to donate $250 to Quad City Food Shelf for their “Minnesota Food Share, March Campaign,” monies to out of the Charitable Gambling Fund, contingent on paperwork proving that they are a 501C3 non-profit organization. The motion carried on roll call vote.

At 7:11p.m., it was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.

Submitted by:

Amanda Inmon

Municipal Services Secretary

www.mtniron.com

Communications:

1. 2018 Local Board of Appeal and Equalization is scheduled for April 19, 2018 from 5:00-6:00pm at the Mountain Iron Community Center.