Meeting Minutes for August 04, 2003
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
AUGUST 4, 2003
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; and Karen Luoma, Librarian.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
Add the following items to the agenda:
IV. A. 1. Plumbing and Heating Direct
2. Resolution #23-03, Authorize Tax Exemptions
2. Approve the minutes of the August 4, 2003, City Council meeting as submitted.
3.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.
4.To acknowledge the receipts for the period July 16-31, 2003, totaling $356,480.03, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
5.To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period July 16-31, 2003, totaling $660,575.56, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
During the public forum, Carol Fox and Jo Johnson, Coordinators for a benefit for Nick Arntz on August 13th at the Mountain Iron Community Center, were requesting that the City Council waive the fees for the use of the facility and authorize a car wash to be at the Community Center. They said that this benefit would cover the lunch and dinner hours from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Skalko to waive the rental fee for the use of the community center on August 13th for the Nick Arntz Fund Raiser and authorize no charge for use of the water for the car wash, and have the City of Mountain Iron listed as a donor for the matching grant. The motion failed with Nelson, Roskoski and Irish voting no.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Prebeg to waive three fourths ($75.00) of the rental fee for the use of the community center on August 13th for the Nick Arntz Fund Raiser and authorize no charge for use of the water for the car wash, and have the City of Mountain Iron listed as a donor for the matching grant. The motion carried with Councilor Nelson and Irish voting no.
Also during the public forum, William Johnson asked for an update from the City Attorney regarding the Nordlund Home Business situation in Parkville. The Recreation Director said that he had not received any information from the City Attorney.
The Mayor advised the Council that there would be a Mayor and City Administrator�s meeting on Thursday, August 7, 2003 at 5:30 at the City Hall in Virginia. The meeting was set to discuss the possibility of sharing an assessor with Eveleth, Gilbert and Virginia.
The Mayor asked if the City Council would like to send a letter of recognition to Mountain Iron Students that have achieved high goals. It was the consensus of the Council to not start this practice because it would be difficult to monitor and be consistent.
The Mayor asked if there was some archeologist doing work at Mashkenode Lake. The Director of Public Works updated the Council regarding what he had heard regarding the archeological site on Mashkenode Lake.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Prebeg to direct City Staff to forward information regarding easements received from Randy and Tricia Cernohlavek, Plumbing and Heating Direct, to the City Attorney for an opinion on the matter. The motion carried.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to adopt Resolution Number 26-03, Authorize Tax Exemptions, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to authorize City Staff to add the indemnification provision to all City leases with U.S. Steel Corporation. The motion carried.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Roskoski to allow Ann Williams and Roger Klemm, Lot 3, Block 2, Unity Addition, a one-year building extension to December 7, 2004. The motion carried.
Councilor Roskoski questioned the City Administrator if he had obtained any grass cutting/mowing policies from other cities. The City Administrator said that he requested the information on a list service through the League of Minnesota Cities, but had received no responses.
Councilor Irish questioned whether the City has additional information regarding the grant application through the State of Minnesota for upgrading the Library. The City Administrator said that the Mountain Iron Library Board would have to approve the application and the Arrowhead Library System Director would have to sign off on it or the City would not have an opportunity to obtain any funding.
The Director of Public Works advised the Council that St. Louis County advised him that Butler Road would be overlayed this year. Also, the County would be upgrading the intersection of County Road 761 (Campground Road), between Old Highway 169 and New Highway 169.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish to direct City Staff to have “Suggestion Box” added to the utility boxes at the City Hall/Community Center and the Senior Center. The motion carried with Prebeg and Nelson voting no.
Councilor Irish questioned the Director of Public Works regarding ditching on his property by his back garage. He asked if the City could dig this out. The Director of Public Works advised Councilor Irish that the culvert he has isn�t big enough and this was not the City�s responsibility to fix.
Councilor Prebeg asked about signage on Dottie Lane. The Director of Public Works said that he would check the signage.
The Council asked if the Park and Recreation Director had received information from Vidmar Iron Works regarding fabricating a tire stand. The Recreation Director said that Vidmar Iron Works had not contacted him yet.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Skalko to direct the Park and Recreation Director to contact the Mesabi Range Community College to see if the welding class could fabricate a tire stand for displaying the tire at Locomotive Park. The motion carried with Nelson voting no.
It was moved by Irish and supported by Roskoski to direct the City Administrator to look into applying for future federal housing grants and forward the information to the Mountain Iron Housing and Redevelopment Authority for review. The motion carried with Councilor Nelson voting no.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to authorize payment request number 1-R to LeadCon Incorporated for the Water Storage Reservoir Rehabilitation Maintenance Project in the amount of $106,162.50. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to authorize payment request number two to Rajala Construction Company for the Mountain Iron Commercial Forty Project in the amount of $158,764.95. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Irish, yes; Roskoski, no; Prebeg, yes; Nelson, yes; and Skalko, yes.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Irish to authorize payment request 2-R to LeadCon Incorporated for the Water Storage Reservoir Rehabilitation Maintenance Project in the amount of $126,587.50. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to authorize payment request number three to LeadCon Incorporated for the Water Tank Rahabilitation Maintenance Project in the amount of $25,412.50. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
At 7:55 p.m., Councilor Prebeg left the meeting.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish to request, at their earliest convenience, representatives, Jim Johnson and/or Steve Jarvi, from the Mountain Iron Volunteer Fire Department Relief Association to discuss the financial situation of the Relief Association. The motion carried.
It was moved by Irish and supported by Roskoski to request that the Mountain Iron Volunteer Fire Department to submit monthly reports to the City Council indicating the monthly fire calls, where they were to, what the call was for, and how many firemen responded. The motion carried with Councilor Nelson voting no.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish to direct City Staff to contact Tina Flaim at the Mesabi Family YMCA regarding placement of “no parking today” signs by the YMCA when they have special events with authorization from the Sheriff�s Department. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Skalko to accept the budget of the Quad Cities Economic Development Authority for 2003. The motion carried with Councilor Irish voting no.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Roskoski to seek bids on Phase I and Phase II of the Mountain Iron Public Library Accessibility Project as per the preliminary schedule of events as presented by DSGW. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Nelson, no; Irish, yes; Roskoski, yes; Prebeg, yes; and Skalko, yes.
Councilor Prebeg stated that now that the Library Project is proceeding, it is mandatory that the City Council work with the Library Board and reestablish communications.
The Council discussed the drain tile situation at the Mountain Iron Public Library. It was the consensus of the Council to have the Architect review this issue.
At 8:54 p.m., it was moved by Nelson and supported by Roskoski that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.
