Meeting Minutes for July 07, 2003
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
JULY 7, 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; and Rod Flannigan, City Engineer.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
Add the following item to the agenda:
VI. P. Resignation of Allen Nelson from the Housing and Redevelopment Authority and the Parks and Recreation Board
Approve the minutes of the June 16, 2003, City Council meeting as submitted.
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 July 16-30, 2003, totaling $74,335.85, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period July 16-30, 2003, totaling $485,748.31, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote
During the public forum, Leone A. Graf spoke to the City Council regarding working on the preparation of the registration form for the Mountain Iron Library to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Skalko to place Leone A. Graf on retainer to have her prepare the application for the Mountain Iron Library to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places and also to work with City Staff to work on obtaining historic and other types of grants for the renovation of the Mountain Iron Library. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Nelson, no; Irish, yes; Roskoski, yes; Prebeg, yes; and Skalko, yes.
Also during the public forum, Wilbert Johnson was present and asked City Staff what the status of the blight issue at 5619 Nichols Avenue was.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Irish to direct City Staff to obtain additional information from the Blight Officer and the City Attorney on the progress of the blight complaint at 5619 Nichols Avenue and bring the information to the July 21, 2003, City Council meeting. The motion carried.
During the Mayor�s report, the Mayor advised the City Council that he received a letter from the Virginia Regional Medical Center thanking the City for the gift of $2500 for the capital fund. He said he also received a letter from the City of Virginia regarding having a common assessor for the Quad Cities area. He also received a letter from the City of Virginia regarding several issues regarding the Biosolid Authority.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to approve the Temporary On-Sale Liquor License for the American Legion on August 2, 2003 at the Mountain Iron Community Center pending approval from the State. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Irish to table the request of Jay Ryan Mohlenbrock, Inc., dba Sawmill Saloon and Restaurant, for a 2 a.m. Liquor License application and seek additional information from surrounding towns and from Sergeant Stewart and bring the additional information to the July 21, 2003, City Council meeting. The motion carried.
The Council requested that the City Administrator draft an ordinance regarding the 2 a.m. Liquor License application.
Councilor Roskoski informed the Council that Tom Cvar had approached him regarding purchasing a triangular piece of land from the City that is adjacent to his property. The City Administrator advised the City Council that this issue had come up before and he said that he wanted the lot if the City vacated the right of way between the lot and his property and the City was not ready to do this.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Nelson to accept the recommendation of City Staff and approve the low quoted price of RESCO for underground distribution primary cable for a cost of $0.923 per foot purchasing 11,000 feet for a total of $10,153.00. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Irish and supported by Prebeg to authorize City Staff to contact Leadcon to paint the Water Treatment Plant for a cost not to exceed $1500 with this amount including labor to prepare the building for painting and paint the building. And further, Leadcon would provide some of the primer or paint that is left over from the water tower projects. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Roskoski, yes; Prebeg, yes; Nelson, no; Irish, yes; and Skalko, yes.
It was moved by Irish and supported by Skalko to authorize the payment of the bill to Mesabi Bituminous for the demotion of the Bon Air for a total cost of $11,830.00. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Nelson to authorizing the blocking of streets for the Merritt Days Celebration on August 8th and 9th, (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 the payment of $3,000 to the Merritt Days Committee for funding for the annual celebration. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to authorize payment request number one to Rajala Construction Company, Inc. for work completed on the Mountain Iron-Commercial Forty in the amount of $110,177.20. 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 Roskoski to accept the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission to approve the variance application for B.G.�s Bar and Grill for a variance from the setback regulations for parcel 175-0014-00035. The motion carried.
The Council discussed the assessing services request. No further action was taken until other proposals could be heard.
The Council discussed the Northland Annexation issue. No formal action was taken on the matter.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Irish to direct City Staff to contact Mr. Ron Potter and seek additional criteria from him regarding proposals, sizes of land, parks and trails for ATV and snowmobiles. The motion carried with Councilor Nelson voting no.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish to accept the following summary into the official record:
On June 26, 2003, the Mountain Iron City Council met in a closed session, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 13D.05, subd. 3, to evaluate the performance of its City Administrator, Craig J. Wainio. The conclusions reached by the Council were that it required better information and communication by Mr. Wainio�s office to keep the Councilors informed of the ongoing projects and developments in the City of Mountain Iron. Additionally, the Council will require more prompt attention to the implementation of Council directives. The meeting was adjourned with the evaluation to be re-assessed in six months.
The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish to have City Staff complete the following at Locomotive Park:
remove all of the sand that has accumulated on the stub street, cleanout the gutter areas around stub area, and the area around the tire and bucket, remove and trim weeds that are along the sidewalk along the north part of Locomotive Street and the short little part of sidewalks along the stub street in the Park, have the two benches painted that are located in the park, have the interior cab of the locomotive sanded and repainted with gloss black to match what was there, have the shovel bucket be given a coat of flat black on the interiors and exteriors, and have all of this work completed before the August 8th and 9th Merritt Days Celebration.
The motion carried with Councilor Nelson voting no.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish to direct City Staff to contact Vidmar Iron Works to look at the tire and request that they calculate a cost to fabricate a stand for the tire, lift up the tire, and fill the area where the tube is. And further, to have this cost estimate available for the July 21st City Council meeting. The motion carried with Councilor Nelson voting no.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Roskoski to direct City Staff to contact US Steel Corporation to possibly fabricate a rack, donate a tire, and any other pieces of equipment/tools that could also be displayed at Locomotive Park and bring the information back to the City Council for further consideration. The motion carried.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to adopt Resolution Number 22-03, accepting quote, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Roskoski, no; Prebeg, yes; Nelson, yes; Irish, yes; and Skalko, yes.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Roskoski to direct City Staff to send a letter to abutting property owners from the list of proposed street improvement projects advising them that the City could possibly be making improvements to their street and supply them with a assessment estimate for the footage that they own. The motion carried with Councilors Prebeg and Nelson voting no.
The City Administrator went on record saying that he does not recommend the City submitting assessment estimates to abutting property owners and he also stated that the League of Minnesota Cities also does not recommend following this procedure.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to adopt Resolution Number 23-03, receiving report and calling hearing on improvement, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). It was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg to amend the Resolution to have the hearing scheduled for September 2, 2003. The motion and the amendment to the motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Nelson and supported by Roskoski to set a public hearing for Monday, July 21, 2003 at 6:30 p.m. for the Community Development Block Grant application. The motion carried.
At 9:37 p.m., Councilor Roskoski left the meeting.
At 9:39 p.m., Councilor Roskoski returned to the meeting.
It was moved by Prebeg and supported by Nelson to direct City Staff to work with the City Engineer to develop a list of proposals and costs to eliminate the ground water overflow and ask the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency if they are looking for something else for the City to do. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Prebeg to submit the June 10, 2003 response letter to the compliance and monitoring survey conducted on April 24, 3003, a copy of the current sump pump ordinance, and the motion that the City made regarding looking for proposals for eliminating ground water overflow to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Skalko to allow a pop machine to be placed in the Senior Center and have the profits from the machine to be given to the Senior Citizen Group. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Prebeg to direct the Blight Officer, the Sergeant, the Zoning Administrator, the City Administrator, and the City Attorney to prepare a revised Blight Ordinance that would streamline the system. The motion carried.
The Council requested that the Wacootah Overlook Grant in the amount of $5,000 be put on the July 21, 2003, City Council agenda.
The City Council discussed the 2002 Street Department deficit.
The City Council discussed the Downtown playground equipment.
At 10:00 p.m., Councilor Prebeg left the meeting.
At 10:02 p.m., Councilor Prebeg returned to the meeting.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Nelson to direct City Staff to obtain other mowing policies from surrounding cities. The motion carried.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Irish to direct City Staff to have City Council meeting tapes duplicated at Perpich TV with the expense to be paid by the requestor of the tape copy. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Irish to direct City Staff to set up an orientation for Newly Elected Council Members to include tours of major public facilities, packet of information for projects that are started by previous council and not completed and that this be completed by January 1st of the year they take office. The motion carried with Councilor Prebeg and Nelson voting no.
It was moved by Roskoski to direct City Staff to have the City Crew paint the following intersections with crosswalk markings: Mesabi Avenue and Locomotive Street; Unity Drive and County Road 7; Daffodil Avenue and Unity Drive; Carnation Avenue and Unity Drive, Bluebell Avenue and Unity Drive; Aster Avenue and Unity Drive. The motion died for lack of support.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Roskoski to direct City Staff to ask the City Employees to submit ideas on how the City can save money and request that the information be submitted to the Mayor at the City Hall by August 1st. And further, advise them that the ideas do not have to be signed. And further, direct City Staff to forward the chart indicating utility rate percent increases developed by Councilor Irish to the Utility Advisory Board. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and supported by Prebeg to accept the resignations, with regret, of Allen Nelson from the Housing and Redevelopment Authority and the Park and Recreation Board and forward a letter thanking him for his years of service to the City. The motion carried.
Councilor Nelson indicated that he does not want a plaque for his years of service on the Boards.
During the open discussion, Councilor Roskoski advised the Director of Public Works that the Summer Labor Employees should be mowing grass on Marble Avenue on the east side of the street north of Jerry Kujala�s storage building.
Also during the open discussion, Councilor Roskoski said that he checked further on the Arrowhead Library System (ALS) utility connections. He said that the electrical service used to be overhead and now it is underground. He also said that the waterline was small to service a residential home and ALS would require a larger line to service a sprinkler system. He inquired on the charges and he said that the City, for the additional utility items, charged nothing out. The Director of Public Works said that the City did not charge ALS because their own contractor completed the upgrades and he also said that the City does not charge to put electrical lines underground.
At 10:34 p.m., it was moved by Nelson and supported by Prebeg that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.
COMMUNICATIONS
Bill Jensen, Director of Operations, Mediacom, a letter informing the City of a rate increase effective August 1, 2003
Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, a memorandum concerning the budget and assessments for 2004.
