Meeting Minutes for August 02, 2004
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
AUGUST 2, 2004
Mayor Skalko called the City Council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. with the following members present: Joe Prebeg, Jr., Allen Nelson, Dale Irish, Ed Roskoski, and Mayor Gary Skalko. Also present were: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Jill M. Forseen, Municipal Services Secretary; Don Kleinschmidt, Director of Public Works; Larry Nanti, Director of Parks and Recreation; Karen Luoma, Librarian; and Rod Flannigan, City Engineer.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Irish that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
Add the following items to the agenda:
III. A. Planning and Zoning Commission
1. Conditional Use Permit-Wilkins
2. Variance-Prebonich
F. City Engineer�s Report
1. Payment Request-Hardrives, Inc.
Approve the minutes of the July 19, 2004, City Council meeting as submitted.
That the communications be accepted, 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 July 16-31 2004, totaling $430,674.06, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period July 16-31, 2004, totaling $151,057.43, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Roskoski to accept the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission and approve the Conditional Use Permit application for Rebecca Wilkins to construct a 36 foot by 30 foot accessory building on parcel 175-0057-00150. The motion carried.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to accept the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission and approve the Variance application of Joseph Prebonich to construct an accessory building on parcel 175-0071-00885. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish that the City of Mountain Iron mowing guide be modified to include the following:
1. the Quad City sign/monument site on State Highway 169 near the County Highway 137/Spirit Lake Road intersection will be mowed at intervals to keep the area neat and the sign/monument visible;
2. the “Welcome to Mountain Iron” sign and taconite monument site on State Highway 169 and 53 and Old Highway 169/County Road 102 intersection, will be mowed at intervals to keep the area neat and the sign/monument visible to passing traffic; the area to the east of the City Hall/Community Center will be mowed 36 feet wide to the east of the paved/gravel parking lot; and on Enterprise Drive South, the north shoulder area will be mowed to a width of 12 foot from the curb top, straight in a westerly line to Emerald Drive and then turn north and mow up to State Highway 169 right-of-way.
The motion carried with Councilors Nelson and Prebeg voting no.
The Mayor advised the Council that the City was awarded a Library grant in the amount of $113,500 from the State of Minnesota. He thanked the City Council members who voted for the grant, the City Staff, the Residents of Mountain Iron, the Library Staff, the Library Board, and the Handicapped Residents that attended the public hearing.
Councilor Prebeg reviewed the discussion with the Mountain Iron-Buhl School District regarding the land exchange. He said that the School Board will act on the agreement on August 9, 2004 and the agreement will be presented to the Mountain Iron City Council on August 16, 2004.
The Mayor advised the Council members that there was a meeting scheduled for September 15th in Virginia regarding grant funding through the Minnesota Department of Transportation for lighting in the Downtown Mountain Iron area.
The Mayor said thank you to the Director of Public Works and City Staff regarding how nice the flowers in the Downtown Mountain Iron area look.
The Mayor advised the City Council that there is an Open House at Mountain Manor on Wednesday, August 4, 2004 from 4:00-7:00 p.m.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Nelson to approve the application for a temporary on-sale liquor license for the Laurentian Arts and Cultural Alliance on October 22, 2004 at the Mountain Iron Community Center pending final approval from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish to appoint the following to serve as election judges for the September 14, 2004, Primary Election and the November 2, 2004, General Election:
Precinct #1-City Hall, Wacootah Room Precinct #2�City Hall, Iroquois Room
Caroline Kujala, Head Judge Marilyn Perpich, Head Judge
Gertrude Buria Margaret Florip
Sheri Johnson Linda Strukel
June Ross Barb Fivecoate
Alternate: Debbie Klander
And further, authorize them to be paid $7.50 per hour for training and election hours and provide a hot meal to the election judges on election days. The motion carried.
Councilor Roskoski questioned the amount of Administrative Staff working at the City Hall at any given time. He was concerned with the safety of City Staff working alone at the City Hall.
The City Administrator advised the Council that the walk-in refrigerator at the Senior Center was in need of repairs. He advised the Council that the costs would be approximately $5,000 to $6,000 to repair it and AEOA would pay for half of the repair costs and the Arrowhead Council on Aging may approve a grant to pay for the other half of the costs.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to approve the purchase of equipment from Burmeister Electric in the amount of $22,154.00 for switches for the electrical substation. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to approve the purchase power operators for the front entry of the City Hall/Community Center Building in the amount of $6,870.00 with a portion of the costs being paid for by funds from the Secretary of State Disability Access Grant. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Skalko that, as per procedures as laid out by the City Attorney, that the Parkville School property be posted as an eminent danger to the public and that the property be secured by covering the vent access on the east wall and securing the north door as per the report from Deputy Officer. The motion carried.
The Council discussed contacting the Saint Louis County Health Department regarding having the Parkville School building posted as condemned.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Skalko to allow the Recreation Director to seek quotes for the supplies and labor to construct the pavilion at the West Two Rivers Campground using funds carried over from 2003.
At 7:19 p.m., Councilor Roskoski left the meeting.
At 7:21 p.m., Councilor Roskoski returned to the meeting.
The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Skalko to authorize City Staff to advertise in the Mesabi Daily News High School Sports-Our School Section for 2004-2005 for six publications at a cost of $18.20 for each publication. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Roskoski, yes; Prebeg, yes; Nelson, no; Irish, yes; and Skalko, yes.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Irish to authorize payment request number two to Hardrives, Inc. in the amount of $26,700.03 for the 2004 street overlay projects. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
Councilor Roskoski questioned the City Engineer regarding paving problems on the corner of Oriole Avenue and Cardinal Street. He said that the pavement was spread thinly and then cracked. The City Engineer said that this intersection was not supposed to be paved at all.
Councilor Roskoski questioned the City Engineer regarding the east bound lane of Oriole Avenue having bumps about every six to eight feet. The City Engineer said that he would look into the matter.
The Council discussed the paving options for Locomotive Park. It was the consensus of the Council to have this item placed on the August 16, 2004 City Council agenda for further discussion.
The Council discussed the Spirit Lake sewer system proposal as prepared by the City Engineer in 1998. No further action was taken.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Skalko to direct the City Engineer to prepare specifications on Enterprise Drive North and Unity Drive for a possible overlay for 2005. The motion carried.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to have the Recreation Director obtain cost estimates to construct a weatherproof case to display the Locomotive plaque in Locomotive Park. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish that the following motion become part of the public record in regards to the North Court cul-de-sac paving completed on July 21, 2004. At approximately 8:00 a.m., a Hardrives tank truck sprayed tack coat oil over the south 2/3 of the North Court cul-de-sac, not the north 1/3 because there were small piles of class 5 material and milled asphalt material spread about. It originally appeared that the truck operator was going to spray the entire cul-de-sac area but the piles of dirt, milled asphalt and a curb construction trench full of rubble needed to be cleaned up. At that time during a conversation between Charles Rudstrom (Benchmark Engineering), Tony Clement (Hardrives), and Ed Roskoski (representing the North Court residents � Ed Roskoski, Terry Malmstrom, and Brian Hill) it was stated by Clement that the street would be swept and hand tack oiled before paving. During the day�s work the street never was swept, just scraped by a skid-steer loader. Approximately two gallons of tack oil was poured on the remaining dirt by the manhole area. At approximately 3:30 p.m., Tony Clement (?), operating a skid-steer loader, spread out what was left of a stock pile of hot asphalt/paving material over � of the dirt that was left on the northerly 1/3 of the North Court cul-de-sac. At approximately 4:00 p.m., there was a discussion between Rudstrom, Clement, and Roskoski about the amount of dirt (clay and rocks from class 5, some ground up asphalt) left on the northerly cul-de-sac area (30 some percent) and the lack of tack coat oil. The concern was/is would the overlay bond with the original 20 year old street surface. The comment from Clement and an unidentified Hardrives employee was “we pave over gravel all the time”. Rudstrom said, “In my opinion there should be no problems”. Roskoski said, “There still is the concern of proper bonding and future problems”. The main concern is, would the turning/pushing motion of heavy vehicles (delivery/service trucks) roll the new wear coarse (1″-3″ in thickness) much like a throw rug on a smooth floor or would some other separation may take place. Eight photos of North Court were presented and made part of the public record. The eight pictures were described as:
Photo 1 New extra asphalt spread over dirt material.
Photo 2, 3, & 5 New asphalt spread over dirt material � exposed dirt � spill of tack coat oil.
Photo 4 Close-up of total amount of tack coat oil for entire northerly 1/3 of North court cul-de-sac.
Photo 6 & 7 New wear coat being paved over dirty surface and spill of tack coat oil.
Photo 8 Final rolling.
The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Nelson to appoint the Director of Public Works as a City Construction Manager for the Library Construction Project and report back to the Council and Library Board. The motion carried with Roskoski and Irish voting no.
Councilor Roskoski questioned the Director of Public Works regarding seeking a new sites for dumping waste, i.e., concrete, clay, black dirt, etc. The Director of Public Works advised the Council that a new site had not yet been found.
The City Administrator advised the Council that the Governor changed his mind on the calculation of the Local Government Aid funds for 2005, the City should receive an additional $96,000 next year.
At 8:49 p.m., it was moved by Roskoski and supported by Skalko that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.
COMMUNICATIONS
MIB Girls Varsity Softball Team, a thank you for the contribution to the team.
Tara & Jeremy LaMourea, a letter concerning the use of Grant Drive and odors coming from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Mary Durward, St. Louis County Assessor, a letter advising the City of the State Board of Equalization assessment changes.
Minnesota Association of Small Cities, forwarding the small cities update.
Bruce Pomerantz, Library Development Specialist, MN Department of Education, advising the City that the Library Accessibility grant application suspension has been removed and they will proceed processing the grant agreement.
League of Minnesota Cities, forwarding the July 23, 2004, Friday Fax.
Ron Dicklich, Executive Director, Range Association of Municipalities and Schools, forwarding information regarding the interpretation of the Local Government Aid Distribution Law.