Meeting Minutes for October 06, 2009
MINUTES
MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL
OCTOBER 6, 2009
Mayor Skalko called the City Council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. with the following members present: Joe Prebeg, Jr., Ed Roskoski, and Mayor Gary Skalko. Absent members included: Tony Zupancich and Alan Stanaway. Also present were: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Jill M. Anderson, Municipal Services Secretary; Don Kleinschmidt, Director of Public Works; Rod Flannigan, City Engineer; and John Backman, Sergeant.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg that the consent agenda be approved as follows:
1. Approve the minutes of the September 21, 2009, regular meeting as submitted.
2. 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.
3. To acknowledge the receipts for the period September 16-30, 2009, totaling $211,469.71, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to approve the following consent agenda item:
4. To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period September 16-30, 2009, totaling $431,938.43, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).
The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Prebeg, yes; Roskoski, no; Skalko, yes; Zupancich, absent; and Stanaway, absent.
No one spoke during the public forum.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Roskoski to accept the recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Commission and approve the Conditional Use Permit to allow the construction of a 32 foot by 44 foot accessory building for Russell Edman, 5449 Carnation Avenue, Mountain Iron, Parcel Code 175-0069-00950, with the condition that no business be operated on the property. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to accept the recommendation of the Street and Alley Committee and determine that the assessment rate for Heather Avenue from the southern end of Heather Avenue to Centennial Drive be set at a 75% assessment to the property owners and from Centennial Drive north to Unity Drive be set at a 50% assessment to the property owners. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Roskoski and seconded by Skalko to direct Benchmark Engineering to review the drainage and property lines on the west end of Cardinal Street and develop solutions to water pooling in the area and report back to the Street and Alley Committee as soon as possible. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
The Mayor updated the Council on the following:
– Entertainment/Convention Center adjacent to Holiday Inn Express. The facility would hold approximately 400-500 people, it will be privately funded, it will add 20 full-time jobs. The work on the facility may start late this Fall or early Spring.
– OktoberFest at the Mountain Iron Library. There will be a celebration this Friday, October 9th at the Mountain Iron Public Library.
– Councilor Prebeg. The Mayor addressed unsigned “onions” that were written in the Mesabi Daily News towards Councilor Prebeg. He said that the information was inaccurate regarding references to the City levy and the City Volunteer Banquet and he wanted to clarify that.
The City Administrator updated the Council on the following:
– Financing. The closing on the financing for the Wastewater Treatment Plant will be at the next City Council meeting and the rate will probably be 2.248%.
– Fire Prevention Week. Is being conducted this week at the Mountain Iron-Buhl School District by the Mountain Iron Fire Department.
– City Auditor. He will be meeting with the auditor on October 7, 2009, to review the post employment benefit and then either he or the auditor will present the information to the City Council at a future meeting.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to authorize the purchase of six 25 KVA transformers and box pads from Resco Incorporated at their low quote of $9,438.00 with the purchase funded from the Electric Enterprise Fund. It was moved by Roskoski to amendment the motion, that the Electric Enterprise Fund not make this purchase and that, since this is an Economic Development Project, the Economic Development Authority purchase the transformers and box pads. The amendment to the motion failed for lack of a second. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Roskoski, no; Prebeg, yes; Skalko, yes; Zupancich, absent; and Stanaway, absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to authorize the purchase of twenty 200 amp underground meter pedestal from Wesco at their low quote of $7,892.00 with the purchase funded from the Electric Enterprise Fund. It was moved by Roskoski to amendment the motion, that the Electric Enterprise Fund not make this purchase and that, since this is an Economic Development Project, the Economic Development Authority purchase the meter pedestal. The amendment to the motion failed for lack of second. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Prebeg, yes; Roskoski, no; Skalko, yes; Zupancich, absent; and Stanaway, absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to authorize the purchase of one Caterpillar Model 279C Compact Track Loader from Ziegler Incorporated from the State of Minnesota pricing contract #727-1206 in the amount of $52,996.44 with the funds being expended from the 2009 Electric Department Capital Outlay Budget. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Roskoski, no; Prebeg, yes; Skalko, yes; Zupancich, absent; and Stanaway, absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to authorize change order number one to the Digester Building Improvement Project increasing the contract amount by $5,605.00. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to authorize payment request number two for the Digester Building Improvement Project in the amount of $20,116.25. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Prebeg, yes; Roskoski, no; Skalko, yes; Zupancich, absent; and Stanaway, absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to accept the recommendation of the Parks and Recreation Board and hire Mr. John Winters, Landscape Architect of Frizzel Winter Associations to design the plans for the east half of Locomotive Park at a fee of $5,000 and 10% of any grants prepared by his firm. It was moved by Roskoski that the motion be amended to form a subcommittee with William Buria, William Riccio, Ted Newberg, Marvin Saari, Ray Saari, Roger Koski, Cary Satrang, and others to work with the Landscape Architect before he starts any specific planning or changes to Locomotive Park. The amendment to the motion failed for lack of a second. The motion carried with Roskoski voting no and Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Roskoski to accept the recommendation of the Public Safety and Health Board and authorize the City Attorney to review Chapter 113: Peddling, Hawking, Canvassing, Soliciting and Auctioneering of the City Code and compare that to the League of Minnesota Cities informational memo regarding the Regulation of Peddlers, Solicitors and Transient Merchants. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to accept the recommendation of the Personnel Committee and authorize the internal posting for the Equipment Operator’s position as provided by in the Union Contract. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
Liaison Reports:
– Street and Alley Committee. Councilor Roskoski said that they had met on September 29, 2009 and took care of three items of business, two of the items have already been presented to and taken care of by the City Council.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg to adopt Resolution Number 44-09, setting a public hearing for proposed assessments for 16th Avenue, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried with Roskoski abstaining and Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Skalko and seconded by Roskoski to adopt Resolution Number 45-09, ordering preparation of a report on proposed improvements to Old Highway 169, (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to authorize Walker, Giroux, and Hahne to perform the 2009 City of Mountain Iron audit at a cost of $18,900 for the Governmental Funds and $8,900 for the Enterprise Funds. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to authorize the Country Kitchen to sell liquor at the Mountain Iron Community Center on Wednesday, October 21, 2009, for a meeting for the Range Association of Realtors. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Roskoski and seconded by Skalko to waive the building rental fees for the AARP Tax Aide Program from January 10-15, 2010. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Skalko to authorize the purchase of an advertisement in the 2009-2010 Mountain Iron-Buhl Yearbook at a cost of $200.00. The motion carried on the following roll call vote: Roskoski, yes; Prebeg, yes; Skalko, yes; Zupancich, absent; and Stanaway, absent.
It was moved by Roskoski and seconded by Skalko to direct City Staff to add simple explanations to agenda items when our Council meeting agendas are posted on the Public Television Channel 7 bulletin board. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
The Council did not hold a closed meeting.
Councilor Roskoski forwarded a thank you to the City Staff who were responsible for cleaning up the weeds in the sidewalks in the West Virginia area.
At 7:24 p.m., it was moved by Skalko and seconded by Prebeg that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried with Zupancich and Stanaway absent.
Submitted by:
Jill M. Anderson, CMC/MMCA
Municipal Services Secretary
www.mtniron.com
COMMUNICATIONS
1. John Klarich, Superintendent of Mountain Iron-Buhl Public Schools, forward a thank you to the City for their assistance to help install the Hall of Fame plaque at the MI-B Football field.
