Meeting Minutes for August 20, 2007
MINUTES
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
AUGUST 20, 2007
Mayor Skalko called the City Council meeting to order at 6:31 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. Forseen, Municipal Services Secretary; Don Kleinschmidt, Director of Public Works; Rod Flannigan, City Engineer; and Rick Feiro, Sergeant.
The Mayor asked for a “Moment of Silence” in remembrance of Larry Nanti, Director of Parks and Recreation, who passed away on August 15, 2007. The Mayor said that on behalf of the City that our thoughts and prayers go to his wife Marianne Nanti and to his family and friends. The Mayor said that he was a great employee and friend.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
1. Add/remove the following items from the agenda:
III. 1. Quad Cities Wastewater Treatment Facility Report
IV. 2. Discuss Planning and Zoning Commission minutes
VI. The Mayor referred items C through H to various Boards/Commissions as follows:
C. Storz Hydrant Connections to Public Safety and Health Board
D. New Archery Range Location to Parks and Recreation Board
E. Mott Pit Access Upgrade to Parks and Recreation Board
F. Spirit Lake atKinross Sanitary Sewer to Utility Advisory Board
G. Administrative Time-Off to Personnel Committee
H. Downtown Alley Paving to Street and Alley Committee
VI. J. Change the next regular meeting because of Labor Day
VI. K. Resolution Number 43-07, Charitable Gambling at Mac’s Bar
2. Approve the minutes of the August 6, 2007, 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 August 1-15, 2007, totaling $152,315.94, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
5. To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period August 1-15, 2007, totaling $416,529.00, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
During the public forum, John Jamnick, RLK Incorporated in Hibbing, reviewed the preliminary engineering report for the Quad Cities Water and Sewer Study.
Also during the public forum, Carolyn Olsen was present and followed up on the Old Highway 169 correspondence the City received from St. Louis County. She asked if there was a meeting set and expressed interest in attending a meeting if there was one scheduled. The Mayor advised her that Saint Louis County was not really interested in taking over Old Highway 169. Mrs. Olsen did not want the City Council to forget about the Kinross residents and would like the Council to follow up with Saint Louis County.
During the Mayor’s report, the Mayor updated the Council on the following:
– Thank you. He made a public thank you to Councilor Prebeg for doing the eulogy at Larry Nanti’s funeral.
– Merritt Days Committee. He expressed gratitude to the Merritt Days Committee for all of the work completed on the event.
– Street and Alley Committee. The Mayor requested that a meeting be set.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to contact the Mountain Iron-Buhl School Officials, City of Buhl Officials, and Great Scott Township Officials to schedule a meeting twice a year on the fifth Monday of the month with the first meeting being scheduled for October 29, 2007. The motion carried.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Stanaway to approve the West Two Rivers Campground Lease with United States Steel Corporation for the period of 10 years at a cost of $100 per year and authorize the additional insurance requirement of $5,000,000 for insurance coverage. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Zupancich to authorize Brent Henkel to remain with the City beyond his probationary period. The motion carried.
The City Administrator updated the Council on the following:
– Unity 2nd Addition. He advised the Council that the City has sold six lots of the 35 lots available.
– 2008 Budget. He advised the Council that they would be setting the maximum levy amount at the next regular meeting.
– Graphic Information System (GIS). He said that he has been working with John Shell, Arrowhead Regional Development Commission, regarding a grant to launch a GIS pilot program in the City. He said that approval for this would probably be on the next meeting agenda.
– City Bond Rating. He said that the Cities bond rating went from a Baa1 to an A3 because the City is in good financial condition.
At 7:30 p.m., Councilor Roskoski left the meeting.
At 7:32 p.m., Councilor Roskoski returned to the meeting.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to adopt Resolution Number 41-07 providing for the Issuance, Sale and Delivery of $1,455,000 General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 2007A, to pay a portion of the costs of local public improvements; establishing the terms and conditions therefore; creating a construction account and a debt service account therefore; and awarding the sale thereof, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried with Councilor Roskoski voting no.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Stanaway to award the bid for the bucket truck to Altec Industries for the Aerial Lift Body in the amount of $70,435.00 plus the fiberglass body option of $1,678.00 for a total of $72,113.00 and the truck chassis to Skubic Bros. for the State Bid price of $53,668.00 plus the 4 wheel drive option of $18,159.00 for a total bid price of $71,827.00. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
Councilor Roskoski asked when the dip on Emerald Avenue would be repaired. The Director of Public Works said that the contractor would be repairing the Emerald Avenue dip and the Nichols Hall parking lot soon.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Zupancich to let the carpet installation contractor handle the installation and disposal of the Public Library carpeting. The motion carried.
The Council reviewed the Sheriff’s Department Report for the month of June 2007.
Councilor Roskoski expressed some concerns with the work completed on Unity Drive. The City Engineer said that a walk through would be done and punch list would be prepared for the Contractor.
The Council reviewed the League of Minnesota Cities article on “Confidential Real Property Complaints”.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Zupancich to accept the recommendation of the Public Safety and Health Board to send the Fire Chief or designee to the Fire Chief’s Conference in Rochester at an approximate cost of $1100. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Skalko to accept the recommendation of the Public Safety and Health Board and authorize the following:
– Change two items in the Fire Fighter position analysis.
a. Volunteer to Paid on Call.
b. Add First Aid trained.
– Approval to allow the Fire Department to advertise and hire two additional Fire Fighters.
– To allow the purchase of five additional “automatic” defibrillators to be placed in the Library, Senior Center, Nichols Hall, the City Garage, and the West II Rivers Campground/South Grove Recreation Area.
– Approve two changes to the First Responders Articles of Organization:
#11 Carry a maximum of fifteen personnel.
#15 Replace current language with discipline will be handled according to current City Policy.
– Make an extension to November 1st for Mr. Michael Determan, 5741 Mesabi Avenue, Mountain Iron, to abide by the current agreement and City Ordinance #96.21.
The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich to have the City Attorney work with City Staff, mainly the Zoning Administrator, and check on the Tim Anderson Property at 5475 Heather Avenue, Mountain Iron, to see if they are complying with the conditions made on their Conditional Use Permit. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and seconded by Zupancich to have City Staff research the possibility of a cul-de-sac for the 4-5 lots between Fairview Lane and Arbor Lane in South Grove and report the findings back to the City Council. After further discussion, Councilor Roskoski withdrew his motion and Zupancich withdrew his second.
The City Administrator reported that Staff had been reviewing the Downtown Pavilion area to develop a plan for the pavilion replacement at the Downtown Park. The City Administrator said that this may be on the next City Council agenda.
The Director of Public Works said that City Staff have been unable to locate the swings that were removed from the Downtown Park and they are currently looking into options for replacements. The Director of Public Works said that this may be on the next City Council agenda.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Stanaway to adopt Resolution Number 42-07, Ordering Preparation of Report on Improvements to Main Street and Mountain Avenue for the TEA21 Grant, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Roskoski to reschedule the next regular meeting to Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. because of the Labor Day holiday. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to adopt Resolution Number 43-07, Charitable Gambling, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.
During the open discussion, the following items were discussed:
– Slate Street. The Mayor Skalko wanted to clarify that when the City Garage parking lot was paved a portion of Slate Street was also paved because it is the entrance to the parking lot.
– Surplus Equipment Policy. Councilor Stanaway requested that the City Council review and update the Policy.
– Park and Recreation Board. If the Downtown Warming House is not going to be used this winter, the First Responders would like to use the building for storage.
– Signage. Mayor Skalko said that there is $5,000 budgeted for signage and he would like the Council to consider having a billboard sign put up in the “Historic Downtown Mountain Iron” area.
– Agenda Items. Councilor Roskoski questioned putting items on the agenda regarding the items that were referred to Committees. The City Attorney said that he should work through appropriate Staff members to move items through the appropriate Committees and Boards.
At 8:18 p.m., it was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried with Councilor Roskoski voting no.
Submitted by:
Jill M. Forseen, CMC/MMCA
Municipal Services Secretary
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