January 2, 2024 City Council Minutes
MINUTES
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
January 2, 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., 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; SGT Grant Toma, Sheriff’s Department and Mark Madden, Mountain Iron Fire Chief.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria the consent agenda be approved as follows:
- Approve the minutes of the December 18, 2023, 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 16-31, $1,107,438.51 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
- To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period December 16-31, totaling $506,356.88 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried (Yes: Stanaway, Prebeg, Buria, Anderson; No: Roskoski).
It was moved by Roskoski and seconded by Prebeg to amend the motion , so that the wrong recorded votes on the motion on the bottom of page 3 and the 3rd motion down on page 4, be recorded correctly in the future amended minutes. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski to amend the motion, to remove the Parts City bills in the amount of $348.00 and the Napa Auto Parts bills in the amount of $107.00 from the consent agenda for separate consideration. The motion failed due to lack of support.
Public Forum:
- No one spoke during the forum
The Mayor reported on the following:
- No formal report
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria to table the appointment of Deputy Mayor for the 2024 year and City Advisory Board and Commission appointments until the next City Council meeting in two weeks. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Roskoski to designate The Trenti Law Firm as the City’s Attorney for 2024 year. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to designate Benchmark Engineering as the City’s Engineering Firm for 2024 year. The motion carried.
It was moved by Buria and seconded by Prebeg to appoint the Hometown Focus as the official newspaper for the City of Mountain Iron for 2024 year. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski to amend the motion to also include the Mesabi Tribune as the official newspaper, like many other area Cities and School Districts. And publish the Mountain Iron’s official complete City Council meeting minutes in both newspapers or at least the Hometown Focus as many other communities. The amended motion failed due to lack of support.
It was moved by Buria and seconded by Stanaway to set the official City Council meetings for the first and third Mondays of the month at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall in the Mountain Iron Room. The motion carried.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Buria to designate the City’s official depositories as the American Bank, Frandsen Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, US Bank, Twin City Federal, League of Minnesota Cities 4M Fund, Miller Johnson Steichen Kinnard, Inc., Morgan Stanley, Northland Securities, First National Bank of Buhl, and Federal Home Loan Bank, for 2024 year. The motion carried.
City Administrator:
- No formal report
Director of Public Works:
- Trucks out over the weekend due to the light snow and rain
It was moved Roskoski and seconded by Prebeg for City Staff to contact Hibbing Renewable Energy Center to see if they would be interested in taking take waste wood to burn, to make free energy as they call it. The motion carried.
Library Director/Special Events Coordinator:
- Winter Reading program
- January 8th – February 29th
Sheriff’s Department:
- No formal report
City Engineer:
- No formal report
Fire Department:
- Overall quiet winter thus far due to weather, due to warmer temperatures
It was moved by Roskoski and seconded by to accept the Fire Department report as presented. The motion failed due to lack of support.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Prebeg to approve the recommendation of the Public Health & Safety Board and approve the Fire Department training and Equipment Policy as presented. The motion failed.
It was moved by Roskoski to have the Mountain Iron City Attorney review the Fire Department training and Equipment Policy proposal as presented, in regard to legality and provide a report as soon as possible. The motion failed due to lack of support.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Roskoski to table the recommendation of the Public Health & Safety Board for the Fire Department training and Equipment Policy as presented and have the City Attorney review and re-presented at the next Council meeting. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to reschedule the January 15, 2024, City Council meeting due to the Martin Luther King Holiday to Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 6:30pm. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria to donate $250 to the St. Louis County Agricultural Fair Association, for the 2024 St. Louis County Fair, monies to come from the Charitable Gambling Fund. The motion carried on roll call vote.
Announcements:
- Louis County Public informal meeting regarding proposed sidewalk
- Monday, January 8th @ 6:00pm
At 7:09p.m., it was moved by Buria and seconded by Prebeg that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.
Submitted by:
Amanda Inmon
Municipal Services Secretary
