Meeting Minutes for November 19, 2007
MINUTES
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
NOVEMBER 19, 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; Sam Aluni, City Attorney; and John Backman, Sergeant.
It was moved by Skalko and supported by Prebeg that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
1. Add the following items to the agenda:
V. A. Friends of the Library
B. Friends of Mountain Iron
Move the following item on the agenda:
VI. C. Temporary Liquor License to III. A.
Delete the following item from the agenda:
VI. D. Additional IRR Grants
2. Approve the minutes of the November 5, 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 November 1-15, 2007, totaling
$192,031.10, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
5. To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period November 1-15,
2007, totaling $291,783.84, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion failed on the following roll call vote: Prebeg, no; Zupancich, no; Stanaway, no; Roskoski, yes; and Skalko, no.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to approve the consent agenda, as previously presented, excluding the Colosimo, Patchin, Kearney and Brunfelt bill in the amount of $73.00. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Zupancich to reduce the rental rate by one/half of for the fee due from Range Mental Health for December 10-13, 2007, to hold a Christmas Party for underprivileged families. The motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Zupancich to authorize the Northgate Café and Catering/Magic Bar to serve alcohol at the Mountain Iron Community Center for Wednesday, December 5, 2007. The motion carried unanimously.
The Mayor updated the Council on the following:
– Thank you. The Mayor expressed his thanks to the City Staff for putting up the Christmas decorations in Mountain Iron.
– Mesaba Curling Club. The Mayor said that the Curling Club was recruiting for new members for curling. He said that on November 24, 2007, there was a free open house for people to try the sport of curling.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to donate $100, for the specific purpose of purchasing prizes, for the Senior Citizen’s New Year’s party. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Roskoski to direct City Staff to contact Qwest or DEX to get the proper Mountain Iron area addresses listed for the phone book published in 2008. The motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Zupancich to direct City Staff to check with the Postal Service to gain the identity of Mountain Iron for the areas that are addressed with other area addresses. The motion carried.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Stanaway to reschedule the Committee-of-the-Whole meeting for Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the 2008 budget. The motion carried.
At 6:57 p.m., Councilor Roskoski left the meeting.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Prebeg to approve the 2007 Audit Proposal from Walker, Giroux, and Hahne, as presented, in the amount of $25,800 for both the General Fund and Enterprise Funds. The motion carried with Councilor Roskoski absent.
The City Administrator reported on the following:
1) South Grove & Downtown Pavilions. He said that he spoke with the company building the pavilions for the City. He said that they would save the City $1,800 by building and shipping them at the same time.
2) Mountain Iron Billboard. He informed the Council that he is getting phone calls regarding the billboard on Highway 53 regarding retail space and hotel/motel development. He said that this is through the developers from Park Ridge Development and they have not informed the City as to what is being developed.
At 6:59 p.m., Councilor Roskoski returned to the meeting.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Roskoski to authorize the agreement with Saint Louis County for residential and commercial recyclable materials for the period 2008 through 2012, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.
The Council reviewed the Alley Pavement Feasibility Report. The Mayor asked if the Street and Alley Committee would be meeting before Christmas to review the report.
The following items were discussed during the Liaison Reports:
– Economic Development Authority. Councilor Zupancich advised the Council that the EDA has approved the Housing Development Project south of South Grove.
Councilor Roskoski asked what the arrangement with the Developer was. Councilor Zupancich said that there are 19 lots available and the developer would pay $1,300 per lot as they are sold.
– Library Board. Councilor Stanaway informed the Council that last week the Mountain Iron Library had an unexpected visitor. He said that the Minnesota State Librarian visited our local library. The State Librarian said that she was very impressed with the newly renovated Library and she would be writing an article on the building. Councilor Stanaway also informed the Council that Rhonda McConnell’s term on the Library would be expiring on December 31, 2007, and she was not interested in being re-appointed to the Library Board.
– Park and Recreation Board. Councilor Roskoski asked what the reference in the minutes regarding the Wolf Park and the skating rinks was about. Councilor Prebeg said that the Board is considering relocating the archery range to Wolf Park due to the proposed housing development. Councilor Prebeg said that they were reviewing the amount of manpower needed to run the rinks with regard to the usage of the various rinks.
– Utility Advisory Board. Councilor Roskoski said that the UAB is looking at possibly extending the summer sewer rates to include May and September. Councilor Prebeg said that the summer sewer rate issue has been brought up several times, but the UAB was not doing anything with the rates at this time. The Mayor advised Councilor Roskoski to address the UAB with his issues with regard to rates.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Skalko to direct City Staff to work with the City Attorney and City Auditor to prepare the necessary paperwork to form the “Friends of the Library” group to develop a 501 C 3. The motion carried.
It was moved by Roskoski and seconded by Zupancich to direct City Staff to look into what needs to be completed to form the “Friends of Mountain Iron” group when they are researching the “Friends of the Library Group”. The motion carried.
It was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Stanaway to adopt the Injury Management Program Policy Number 2007-04, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried unanimously.
It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Zupancich to approve the Library elevator service contract with Schindler Plus, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried unanimously.
At 7:38 p.m., it was moved by Skalko and seconded by Stanaway to recess the regular meeting and open the closed session to discuss management negotiations. The motion carried.
The Council recessed until 7:45 p.m.
At 7:45 p.m., it was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Roskoski to go into closed session to discuss management negotiations. The motion carried.
All Council members were present during the closed session along with Louis Russo, Consultant for the Council, and Sam Aluni, City Attorney.
The Council discussed the status of the management negotiations in the closed session.
At 8:40 p.m., it was moved by Zupancich and seconded by Stanaway that the closed session be adjourned and the regular meeting be reconvened. The motion carried.
At 8:41 p.m., it was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko that the regular meeting be adjourned. The motion carried.
Submitted by:
Jill M. Forseen, CMC/MMCA
Municipal Services Secretary
www.mtniron.com
COMMUNICATIONS
1. League of Minnesota Cities, a letter outline questioned raised by Councilor Roskoski on November 7th and 8th.
