City Council Minutes 050718

MINUTES

MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL

May 7, 2018

Mayor Skalko called the City Council meeting to order at 6:32p.m. with the following members present: Councilor Joe Prebeg, Jr., Alan Stanaway, Steve Skogman, Susan Tuomela, and Mayor Gary Skalko. Also present were: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Tim Satrang, Director of Public Works; Amanda Inmon, Municipal Services Secretary; Sally Yuccas, Library Director/Special Events Coordinator; and SGT John Backman, Sheriff’s Department

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

1. Approve the minutes of the April 16, 2018, regular meeting as submitted.
2. Approve the minutes of the April 19, 2018, Local Board of Appeal and Equalization minutes with the following correction “the property of Edmund Roskoski, 5409 North Court,” to “the property of John Roskoski, 5409 North Court.”
3. 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.
4. To acknowledge the receipts for the period April 16-30, totaling $185,367.73 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
5. To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period April 16-30, totaling $408,005.99 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).

The motion carried on roll call vote.

 Public Forum:

• Tim Satrang, Director of Public Works spoke regarding award received from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
  • Recognized employees Tyrel Hebl and Brad Bennett for their hard work, were instrumental in the City of Mountain Iron receiving an award from the MPCA for their work at the Wastewater Plant
• Ed Roskoski spoke regarding the City Wells south of the Iroquois mine, and recent activity
  • Tim Satrang explained that these wells in particular have had recent activity due to a failed pumps at two of the City Wells
    • current pump which failed was over 17 years old, unit was pulled
    • USGS and Health Department was asked to assist, take Radon samples, collect data regarding water

The Mayor reported on the following:

• Happy birthday to Gladys Johnson turned 99 years old on May 5
• Happy birthday to Larry “Skip” Murray turned 71 years old on May 5  
• Happy birthday to Vernal Lind turned 82 years old on May 5
• Condolences to the family and friends of Stan Sippola
• Condolences to the family and friends of JoAnn Hanson
• Quad City Food Shelf building/structure moving to old Fastenal building in Mountain Iron
• May is Mental Health Awareness month

The City Administrator reported on the following:

• Solar study kicked off-funded through CERTS (Clean Energy Resource Teams) Grant through the State, identify public buildings and prior structures suitable for solar installations
• Coaching positions still available for summer baseball program, contact City Hall for more details
• Iron Range Tykes Learning Center, location is across from Lake Country Power, soil borings completed, next step is purchase agreement

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to maintain the City of Mountain Iron’s current coverage, thus not waiving the monetary limits on municipal tort liability established by MN Statue Section 466.04, and to approve the Liability Coverage with the League of Minnesota Cities. The motion carried.

Director of Public Works:

• Pump failed at City Well site, roughly 17-18 years old
• Water line break last week on Recreational trail,
• Power outage affected West Virginia and Parkville area Saturday morning
• Construction on decommissioning of Nichols Township lagoon started again
• Residents encouraged to contact City Hall for yard work repair for damaged yards by snow plow during winter months

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skogman to hire the following as summer temporary employees:

Public Works/Public Utilities:          

Tevin Woinarowicz    Jordan Aho

Brody Bissonette        Arin Marks

Mary Burke                 Dylan Leff

Patricia Overbye

Parks & Recreation:

Austin Ulman             Casey Kitner                                       

Library:

Emily Kinney

Coaches:

Aidan Bissonette        Brody Bissonette

Jeff Tiedeman                         Rusty Dall

Jesse White                 Chris Primeau

Audrey White

Tennis:           

Raija Sarich                Jessica Kralich

Umpires:

Beau Tapio                 Ryan Wenzel                                  

The motion carried.

It was moved by Tuomela and seconded by Skogman to accept the recommendation of the Utility Advisory Board and approve the large trash pick-up for City of Mountain Iron residents with garbage service fee of $10.00, tentatively scheduled for first couple weeks of June. Complete form and payment must be turned in and paid for by June 4^th by 4pm, Utility accounts must be current. The motion carried.

It was moved by Skogman and seconded by Stanaway to discuss the matter of intersection of Ann’s Acres/Highway 7 with Streets and Alleys Committee for possible ideas and recommendations. The motion carried.

Library Director/Special Events Coordinator:

• Thursday, May 9^th at 10:30am “The Root Beer Lady, The Musical,” with Barbara Hall
• Tuesday, May 15^th at 10:30am “Cooking on the Oxcart Trail”
• Summer Reading program Theme “Reading takes you Everywhere”

Sherriff’s Department:

• No formal report

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Tuomela to accept the recommendation of the Personnel Committee and adopt the Tentative Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding between AFSCME Local #453 and the City of Mountain Iron. The motion carried

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to accept the recommendation of the Personnel Committee and adopt the Memorandum of Understanding for the Apprentice Program for Lineman for the City of Mountain Iron as presented (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Tuomela to accept the recommendation of the Personnel Committee and adopt the Cellular Telephone Policy, Policy Number 2018-01 between the City of Mountain Iron and City employees as presented (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skogman to the recommendation of the Personal Committee and transfer Mr. Curtis Schramm from the position of Maintenance, Job Class 16, to the position of Journeyman Lineman, Job Class 22, effective immediately. The motion carried.

It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Skogman to adopt Resolution #14-18; Ordering Improvement and Preparation of Plans. This Resolution directs Benchmark Engineering to develop the plans and specifications to meet the criteria for the Community Development Block Grant to slip-line the sewer main between Mountain Avenue and Mesabi Avenue from Locomotive Street to Mill Avenue (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.

The council reviewed the list of communications.

It was moved by Skogman and seconded by Prebeg to table the donation of money to the Northern Twistars Gymnastics, until further information can be collected and legal service can be provided. The motion carried.

At 7:12p.m., it was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to recess the regular meeting and go into a closed session for performance evaluations for management staff following a brief recess. The motion carried.

The Mayor Skalko called the closed City Council meeting to order at 7:14p.m. to discuss performance evaluations with the following members present: Joe Prebeg Jr., Susan Tuomela, Alan Stanaway, Steve Skogman and Mayor Gary Skalko. Also present was: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Tim Satrang, Director of Public Works; and Sally Yuccas, Library Director/Special Events Coordinator.

The performance evaluations were discussed along with proposed wage increases for the Director of Public Works, the Library Director/Special Events Coordinator, and the City Administrator.

At 7:59 p.m., it was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to adjourn the closed meeting to discuss performance evaluations and reconvene the regular meeting. The motion carried.

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skogman to approve the following salary increases for the management staff:

            Craig J. Wainio             2.0%

            Tim Satrang                 2.0%

            Sally Yuccas                 2.0%

With the increase being effective January May 1, 2018 for one year for salaried employees, insurance premiums and contribution will mirror AFSCME contract. The motion carried.

At 8:02p.m., it was moved by Skalko and seconded by that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.

Submitted by:

Amanda Inmon

Municipal Services Secretary

www.mtniron.com

Communications:

1. Thank you from Mountain Iron-Buhl Yearbook Staff for the support and sponsoring the yearbook.