January 7, 2019 City Council Minutes
MINUTES
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
January 7, 2019
Mayor Skalko called the City Council meeting to order at 6:31p.m. with the following members present: Councilor Joe Prebeg Jr., Alan Stanaway, Steve Skogman, Julie Buria, and Mayor Gary Skalko. Also present were: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Tim Satrang, Director of Public Works; Amanda Inmon, Municipal Services Secretary; Anna Amundson, Library Director/Special Events Director; Rod Flannigan, City Engineer; and SGT John Backman, Sheriff’s Department.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
- Approve the minutes of the December 17, 2018, regular meeting as submitted.
- 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, totaling $721,404.16 (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 $443,212.13 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried unanimously.
Public Forum:
- No one spoke during the forum
The Mayor reported on the following:
- Condolences to the family and friends of Tom Rukavina
- Happy birthday to Marion Sutich turns 93 on January 21st
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to appoint Steve Skogman as Deputy Mayor for 2019. The motion carried with Councilor Skogman abstaining.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Skogman to designate The Trenti Law Firm as the City Attorneys for 2019. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Stanaway to designate Benchmark Engineering as the City Engineers for 2019. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to appoint the Hometown Focus as the official newspaper for the City of Mountain Iron for 2019. With the addition that announcements, notices, promotions and advertisements can be placed in Mesabi Daily News. The motion carried (No: Skogman Yes: Prebeg, Stanaway, Buria & Skalko)
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Stanaway to set the regular City Council meetings for the first and third Mondays of the month at 6:30 p.m. for 2019 at City Hall in the Mountain Iron Room. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Skogman 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., Northland Securities, First National Bank of Buhl, and Federal Home Loan Bank, for 2019. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to re-appoint Steve Skogman to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission with his term expiring on December 31, 2021. The motion carried with Councilor Skogman abstaining.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Stanaway to re-appoint Barb Fivecoate to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission, with her term expiring on December 31, 2021. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Skogman to re-appoint Steve Hunter Jr. to the Park and Recreation Board, with his term expiring on December 31, 2021. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to re-appoint Natalie Pankratz-Leff to the Park and Recreation Board, with her term expiring on December 31, 2021. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Stanaway to re-appoint Peter Zattoni to the Economic Development Authority, with his term expiring on December 31, 2023. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skogman and seconded by Buria to appoint Gary Skalko (Council Appointment) to the Economic Development Authority. The motion carried with Mayor Skalko abstaining.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Stanaway to re-appoint Kathy Witzman to the Library Board, with her term expiring on December 31, 2021. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to re-appoint Steve Skogman to the Public Safety and Health Board with his term expiring on December 31, 2021. The motion carried with Councilor Skogman abstaining.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Skogman to appoint Julie Buria (Council Appointment) to the Buildings and Grounds Committee. The motion carried with Councilor Buria abstaining.
The City Council wanted to give a big thank you to all the individuals that accepted the re-appointments to City Boards and Committees.
City Administrator:
- Presentation at the Community Center at the CDBG-next phase of slip-lining sewers
- Congratulations to the 8th grade Basketball team and coaches for winning the Big Fork Tournament
It was moved by Skogman and seconded by Stanaway to accept the recommendation from the Shared Services Study and modify the positional analysis for Firefighter. Originally, the position analysis has the position title as Volunteer Firefighter; revised description modifies title to read only Firefighter. The motion carried.
Director of Public Works
- No formal report
- Please be aware of crews clearing snow piles
- City Crews dug to repair emergency water main break near the Recycling Center, which lead to the Water Tower, which occurred on Friday, January 4th
- Big thank you to all employees for their hard work
- Thank you to the City of Virginia for their help
Library Director/Special Events Coordinator:
- January 2nd – March 31st Winter Reading program for Adults and children
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Skogman accept the recommendation of the Library Board and extend an offer of the position to Mrs. Anne Grierson for the Assistant Librarian to replace Mrs. Roxanne Reed, position pending a physical, drug testing and a background check. The motion carried.
Sheriff’s Department:
- No formal report
City Engineer:
- No formal report
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to approve Pay Request No. 2 – Final for the Downtown Sanitary Sewer Improvement project, in the amount of $4,431.39 to Insituform Technologies USA, Inc, Chesterfield, MO. This amount releases the 5% retainage. The motion carried on roll call vote unanimously.
It was moved by Skogman and seconded by Stanaway to accept the recommendation from the Shared Services Study conducted, as well as to adopt and recognize the study as the first step of implementation. After action, the Council should begin to contemplate the establishment of a committee tasked with implementing the plan and meeting with the City of Virginia. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skogman and seconded by Prebeg to reschedule the January 21, 2019 meeting due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday to Tuesday, January 22nd at 6:30pm at the Mountain Iron City Hall. The motion carried.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Skogman to accept the resignation of Keith Altobelli from the Mountain Iron Fire Department effective January 1, 2019. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skogman to donate $500 to the Mountain Iron-Buhl High School Class of 2019 for the “32nd Annual All-Night Chemical Free Graduation Party,” monies to come from Charitable Gambling Fund. The motion carried on roll call vote.
The council reviewed the list of communications.
At 7:24p.m., it was moved by Skalko and seconded by Skogman that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.
Submitted by:
Amanda Inmon
Municipal Services Secretary
COMMUNICATIONS
- Thank you from the 2018 Mountain Iron-Buhl Football team for the generous donation from the student-athletes and Coaches.
- Thank you from the Mountain Iron-Buhl School for helping make the bridge for the School forest a success, allowing students, teachers, and the community to have a better access to the School forest.
- Thank you from the Minnesota Rural Water Association to the City and Staff for hosting the “Safe Drinking Water Act,” training on December 5, 2018 at the Mountain Iron Community Center.
