Meeting Minutes for January 06, 2014
MINUTES
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
JANUARY 6, 2014
Mayor Skalko called the City Council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. with the following members present: Joe Prebeg, Jr., Susan Tuomela, Tony Zupancich, and Mayor Gary Skalko. Absent member included: Alan Stanaway. Also present were: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Jill M. Clark, Municipal Services Secretary; Michael Downs, Director of Public Works; Rod Flannigan, City Engineer; Sally Peterangelo, Librarian; Brian Lindsay, City Attorney; and John Backman, Sergeant (entering at 6:36 p.m.).
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
- Approve the minutes of the December 16, 2013, 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, 2013, totaling $749,458.17, (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, 2013, totaling $740,368.75, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried on a roll call vote with Stanaway absent.
No one spoke during the public forum.
The Mayor reported on the following:
- Fire Hydrants. He requested that residents in the City assist by clearing snow from around the fire hydrants to keep them accessible.
- Acknowledgement. He congratulated Jim Jenko for offering barber services for the past 60 years in the area. He wished him well in his retirement.
- Acknowledgement. He acknowledge the deaths of Kenneth Jacobsen and Scott Williams, both were 89 years old. He expressed condolences to the families.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich to appoint Alan Stanaway as Deputy Mayor for 2014. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela to designate the Trenti Law Firm as the City Attorneys for 2014. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to designate Benchmark Engineering as the City Engineer for 2014. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich to appoint the Hometown Focus as the official newspaper for the City of Mountain Iron for 2014. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela to set the regular meetings for the first and third Mondays at 6:30 p.m. for 2014. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg 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., Morgan Stanley, Northland Securities, Northland Trust, First National Bank of Buhl, and Federal Home Loan Bank, for 2014. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich to re-appoint Tim Johnson to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission with his term expiring on December 31, 2016. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela to re-appoint Victoria Juntunen to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission with her term expiring on December 31, 2016. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to re-appoint Reynold Renzaglia to serve on the Utility Advisory Board with his term expiring on December 31, 2016. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to appoint Harvey Hellyer to complete the unexpired term of Kevin Squillace on the Utility Advisory Board with his term expiring on December 31, 2015. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich to appoint Brian Wilson to the Park and Recreation Board with his term expiring on December 31, 2016. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich to appoint Joe Prebeg, Jr. to the Park and Recreation Board with his term expiring on December 31, 2016. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela to appoint Gerry Golobich to the Park and Recreation Board with his term expiring on December 31, 2016. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela to re-appoint Jeremy Jesch to the Economic Development Authority with his term expiring on December 31, 2018. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela to re-appoint Carolyn Olsen to the Library Board with her term expiring on December 31, 2016. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich to re-appoint Mildred Babbini to the Library Board with her term expiring on December 31, 2016. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to re-appoint Alan Stanaway to the Public Safety and Health Board with his term expiring on December 31, 2015. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Tuomela to re-appoint Tom Cvar to the Cable Commission with his term expiring on December 31, 2016. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
The City Administrator informed the public that the skating rinks were now open and being staffed. He also mentioned that the rinks were temporarily closed due to the extreme cold weather.
The Director of Public Works informed the Council about the water outage on December 22, 2013. He said that the water outages were caused by two main line breaks at the same time causing low water pressure, one was in West Virginia and the other at the General Electric building.
The Library Director/Special Events Coordinator reported on the following:
- Monthy Report. She reviewed her December 2013 statistics.
- Storytime. The program would be beginning on January 22nd and she had invited the Mountain Iron-Buhl choir to kick off the program.
- Skating Rinks. She is trying to coordinate with the Mountain Iron-Buhl School and the YMCA to utilize the rinks.
- TOPS Program. She advised the Council that a TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Chapter will be starting in Mountain Iron.
The City Engineer thanked the City Council for reappointing their firm for 2014.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Tuomela to re-schedule the next regular meeting from Monday, January 20, 2014 to Tuesday, January 21, 2014, at 6:30 p.m., due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
At 6:53 p.m., it was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Tuomela to recess the regular meeting and enter a closed meeting to discuss disciplinary action against an employee. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
At 7:00 p.m., the Mayor called the closed meeting to order with the following members present: Joe Prebeg, Jr., Susan Tuomela, Tony Zupancich, and Mayor Gary Skalko. Absent member included: Alan Stanaway. Also present were: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Joe Pershern, Local #453 Representative; and Brian Lindsay, City Attorney.
At 7:25 p.m., it was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Tuomela that the closed meeting be adjourned and reconvene the regular meeting. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
At 7:30 p.m., the regular meeting was reconvened.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Tuomela that the employee discussed in the closed meeting would continue to be on suspension without pay indefinitely and to schedule a hearing to occur at a closed meeting on January 21, 2014.
At 7:31 p.m., it was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried with Stanaway absent.
Submitted by:
Jill M. Clark, MMC
Municipal Services Secretary
COMMUNICATIONS
1. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, a letter that acknowledge that the City of Mountain Iron had completed the corrective actions regarding the November 13, 2013 violation.
