Meeting Minutes for August 02, 2010
MINUTES
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
AUGUST 2, 2010
Mayor Skalko called the City Council meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. with the following members present: Joe Prebeg, Jr., Tony Zupancich, Alan Stanaway, Ed Roskoski, and Mayor Gary Skalko. Also present were: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Jill M. Anderson, Municipal Services Secretary; and Rod Flannigan, City Engineer.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
1. Approve the minutes of the July 19, 2010, special closed meeting as submitted.
2. 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.
3. To acknowledge the receipts for the period July 16-31, 2010, totaling $734,092.41, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Prebeg to approve the minutes of July 19, 2010, regular meeting minutes with the following correction: Page 3, first paragraph, “…presented by Gary Giroux of Walker, Giroux, and Hahne. It was moved by Roskoski to amend the motion to have City Staff implement the auditor’s recommendations as soon as possible. The amendment failed for lack of a second. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period July 16-31, 2010, totaling $640,248.43, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Prebeg, yes; Zupancich, yes; Stanaway, yes; Roskoski, no; and Skalko, yes.
The Mayor updated the Council on the following:
– Saint Louis County Tax Contact. He gave the audience contact information to contact the County Auditor’s office in Duluth, 1-800-450-9777, extension 2382, for tax information.
– Enterprise Funds. These funds are totally separate from the property taxes.
– Summer Recreation Programs. He commended all of the Summer Programs; he said that he had received a lot of positive feedback regarding the programs. He thanked the coaches, volunteers, and summer recreation workers. He personally thanked the coaches of the Majors, Brian Wilson and Mike Erickson, they had 17 players on the team and they played all of the children equally.
Councilor Roskoski invited the public to attend the Merritt Days events beginning August 11-14, 2010.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Zupancich to approve the consent agenda policy as follows: The Council can make a motion to approve the consent agenda which, when the motion receives a second, is then open for discussion without the removal of individual consent agenda items for separate considerations, discussion and action. An up or down vote on the consent agenda would then take place. The purpose of the consent agenda is to shorten meetings by block consideration of routine items. The above-outlined procedure would theoretically reduce the length of the meeting and would still allow for discussion of the specific items contained within the consent agenda. This policy would replace the existing policy which allows for removal of specific items from the consent agenda for separate action. The motion carried with Roskoski voting no.
The Administrator clarified some information that was circulating regarding the City of Mountain Iron’s debt. He said that the information was from the 2009 city audit report. He said that the debt responsible to the Mountain Iron tax payers was $3,300,000. Other debt was in the Enterprise Funds: Water Fund, $650,000; and Wastewater Treatment Plant Fund, $599,000. He also said that a portion of the debt was voted on by the people of Mountain Iron.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Stanaway to authorize payment request number two for the Locomotive Park Landscape Improvement Project in the amount of $26,159.00. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Zupancich, yes; Stanaway, yes; Roskoski, no; Prebeg, yes; and Skalko, yes.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Zupancich motion to authorize payment request number two for the Energy Park Phase Two Project, Utility Extension and Mass Grading, in the amount of $119,020.75. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
During the Liaison reports, Councilor Stanaway reported on the July activities at the Library.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Stanaway to adopt Resolution Number 06-10, authorizing the City Administrator to make application to the Iron Range Resources Public Works (FY11) Grant Program for the Mountain Iron Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrade, (a copy is attached and made a part of this application). The motion carried with Roskoski voting no.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Roskoski to authorize the Special Events Coordinator to block off streets for the Merritt Days events on August 13 and 14, 2010. This would be blocking off the top portion of Mountain Avenue and one block south of Mountain Avenue and Main Street. The motion carried.
The Mayor said that the, “Management Evaluations and Negotiation” item on the agenda would be tabled until the next regular meeting. He announced that the Council would continue with a Committee of the Whole meeting on August 16, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. and a closed session would be held for discussion of negotiations.
At 7:14 p.m., it was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.
Submitted by:
Jill M. Anderson, CMC
Municipal Services Secretary
www.mtniron.com
COMMUNICATIONS
1. Minnesota Department of Revenue, a letter concerning reduction to aids/credits payable in 2010.
2. Iron Range Youth in Action/PARTNERS, a letter of thanks for a recent contribution.
