Meeting Minutes for July 05, 2006
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
JULY 5, 2006
Mayor Skalko called the City Council meeting to order at 6:33 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; Larry Nanti, Recreation Director; Don Kleinschmidt, Director of Public Works; Rod Flannigan, City Engineer; and Wade Rasch, Sergeant.
The Mayor welcomed the audience and the television viewing audience to the meeting.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Nelson that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
Add to the following items to the agenda:
D. 2. Minnesota Border to Border Triathlon
V. B. Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for the American Legion
C. Air Conditioning for the Library
Approve the minutes of the June 19, 2006, City Council meeting with the following corrections:
Page 3, paragraph 10, include the following sentence in the minutes: “Also, according to the representatives, Unity Drive may be brought up to compliance with plastic roadway dividers and County Road 102 would require a quad cross arm configuration to bring it up to the standards.”
Page 3, paragraph 11, “The motion carried with Councilors Irish and Roskoski voting no.”
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 June 16-30, 2006, totaling $164,812.22, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period June 16-30, 2006, totaling $270,179.97, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
Jamie Niska, Manager of the Iron Range Tourism Bureau, thanked the Council for inviting her to the Council and she distributed information that they use to promote the area and updated the Council on tourism in the area.
During the Mayor�s report, the Mayor thanked the Recreation Director on the work completed on the South Grove Playground and 4th of July celebration and to advise the Recreation Staff that the he appreciates the employees that worked on the 4th of July holiday. The Recreation Director said that the wood chips came today for the South Grove Playground and the playground should open on July 6, 2006. The Recreation Director said that the paint was picked up today for the locomotive and the sandblasting would be started this week.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Nelson to authorize the Director of Public Works to blacktop the parking lot at the City Garage. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Nelson, yes; Irish, no; Roskoski, no; Prebeg, yes; and Skalko, yes.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Prebeg to replace/repair the sidewalk in front of the old City Hall and the Senior Citizens Center in Downtown Mountain Iron. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
The Director of Public Works advised the Council that the costs for the large trash service were not yet available and he would supply additional information for the next regular meeting.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Irish to authorize the purchase of a 72,000 BTU convection oven from Superior Products at their quoted price of $6,376.40 for the Senior Center by AEOA with the City reimbursing AEOA for one-half of the costs, $3,188.20. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
Councilor Roskoski asked why there was digging being completed by Gulbranson Excavating on Nichols Avenue. The Director of Public Works said that he thought they were abandoning the house located there and needed water for asbestos removal, then demolishing the house, and then U. S. Steel would be digging back to the watermain and disconnecting the water line at the corporation.
The Recreation Director said that the Park and Recreation Board did not have a quorum for their meeting to make a recommendation on the light for the Downtown Park. He said that the Board will be meeting on July 26th to make a recommendation to the Council for the first meeting in August.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Prebeg to allow the Minnesota Border to Border Triathlon to use the West Virginia Park on Wednesday, July 26, 2006, for their event. The motion carried.
The Sergeant updated the Council regarding a break in that occurred in the Downtown Mountain Iron area at the Barber Shop and the Library.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Skalko to approve payment request Number three to Hibbing Excavating Incorporated in the amount of $12,461.15 for the Mountain Iron Drive Storm Drainage Improvements. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Prebeg, yes; Nelson, yes; Irish, yes; Roskoski, no; and Skalko, yes.
Councilor Roskoski updated the Council regarding a meeting He and Councilor Irish had with the City Attorney regarding special assessments. He said that the City Attorney would be researching the questions regarding the calculations for the special assessments for each side of frontage roads.
Councilor Roskoski advised the Council regarding the Locomotive painting project. He said that he had asked some questions regarding using some different types of paint or possibly constructing a cover over the locomotive to eliminate the costly maintenance of painting it. No further action was taken on the matter.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Prebeg to authorize a tax abatement for ten (10) years for the new addition to the L & M Supply facility. It was moved by Irish and supported by Roskoski to amend the motion to include the abatement at $10,000 per year to a $100,000 maximum abatement. The amendment to the motion failed on the following roll call vote: Nelson, no; Irish, yes; Roskoski, yes; Prebeg, no; and Skalko, no. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Irish, no; Roskoski, no; Prebeg, yes; Nelson, yes; and Skalko, yes.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Roskoski to adopt the Credit Card Policy, Policy Number 2006-01, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Prebeg to direct City Staff to call for quotes for the air conditioning and electrical upgrades for the Mountain Iron Public Library. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Prebeg to approve the application and permit for a temporary on-sale liquor license for the American Legion for August 10, 2006 at the Mountain Iron Community Center pending approval from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The motion carried.
Councilor Roskoski said that he spoke with the City Engineer regarding the street classifications to use in the City of Mountain Iron for road restrictions. The City Engineer recommended that the City adopt the County�s policies regarding road restrictions and post the perimeter roads in Mountain Iron stating that the City follows the same road restrictions.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Nelson to direct City Staff to research the location of the Centennial Drive sign on County Road 7 and, if necessary, to place a sign on the west side of County Road 7. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish that handicapped crossing ramps crossing Locomotive Street from Mountain Avenue to the Locomotive Park sidewalk be put in by City Personnel in conjunction with the sidewalk in front of the Senior Center and Benchmark Engineering, so they will be up to code. Councilor Roskoski amended his motion to have City Staff to check on the legality of the crosswalks if it does not meet the needs, then the City would add the swales, for ADA, otherwise just paint the crosswalks. Councilor Irish supported the amendment. The amended motion carried with Councilors Prebeg and Nelson voting no.
Councilor Roskoski questioned City Staff regarding the fill being hauled from the brunt dump. City Staff said that the materials being hauled were from the Economic Development Authority�s (EDA) property. It was the consensus of the Council to have the Administrator direct the question to the EDA.
Councilor Roskoski said that the Mineral Avenue curb painting had already been taken care of by City Staff. No further action was taken on the matter.
The Council reviewed the list of communications. Councilor Roskoski questioned the information received from the Minnesota Association of Small Cities regarding the new wastewater infrastructure funding being available and funding for failing septic systems for possible use in the Spirit Lake area. The City Administrator said that he would check into the funding to see if the City would qualify for any funding. The Administrator said that he thought the funding was usually based on income levels in the area.
During the open discussion, Councilor Irish requested the City Administrator to forward a copy of the tax abatement estimate for $10,000 per year on the L & M expansion to him.
During the open discussion, Councilor Prebeg requested that the Council look further into the sidewalk on Unity Drive.
Also during the open discussion, Councilor Roskoski addressed the Mayor�s comment at the last meeting regarding P & H MinePro leaving town. Councilor Roskoski stated that he never advocated for P & H to leave town, all he wanted P & H to do was to apply for the necessary conditional use permit and modify their present operation to comply with our City Ordinance to limit their impact on the Westgate and Ann�s Acres neighborhoods.
The Council reviewed the notice of filings for City Offices. Filings will be accepted from July 5-18, 2006.
At 8:37 p.m., the Council recessed the regular meeting to hold a closed session.
At 8:45 p.m., the Council opened the closed session of the meeting to discuss contract negotiations with AFSCME Local Union #453 with all Council members present.
At 9:10 p.m., it was moved by Nelson and supported by Skalko that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.
COMMUNICATIONS
Virginia Regional Medical Center, a thank you for the contribution to the Capital Campaign Fund.
Small Cities Update, June 21, 2006.
