Meeting Minutes for September 20, 1999

MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL MEETING

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Mitchell Brunfelt with the following members present: Carolyn Olsen, Stephen Skogman, Joe Matanich, Curt Piri, and Mayor Mitchell Brunfelt. Also present were: Craig J. Wainio, City Administrator; Don Kleinschmidt, Director of Public Works; Larry Nanti, Recreation Director; Judy Seurer, Accounting Technician; Sam Aluni, City Attorney and Greg French, City Engineer.

It was moved by Olsen and supported by Matanich that the consent agenda be approved as follows:

Add F. Res. #46-99 under V. Unfinished Business

2. That the communications be accepted, placed on file, and those requiring further action by the Council be acted upon during their proper sequence on the agenda.

3. Authorize the payment of the bills and payroll for the period September 1-15, 1999, totaling $213,134.54, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).

4. Acknowledge the receipts for the period September 1-15, 1999, totaling $469,603.25, (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).

The motion to adopt the consent agenda carried unanimously on a roll call vote.

During the public forum Ed Roskoski asked permission to address the Council when the item , Street Renaming, comes up on agenda. The mayor granted permission to Mr. Roskoski.

Mrs. Erna Novak addressed the Council, speaking against street re-naming. She felt it was unfair to rename the streets in West Virginia, Westgate, Stony Brook and Lambert Addition when no one was notified about it except for a newspaper article some time ago. She felt it would be confusing, time consuming and costly to the residents.

The City Engineer recommended that payment request #1 from Louis Leustek & Sons be approved by the City Council.

It was moved by Skogman and supported by Matanich to approve Payment Request Number 1 from Louis Leustek & Sons, Inc. in the amount of $75,258.65 as recommended by the City Engineer. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.

The City Attorney had nothing to report. Councilor Piri asked the Attorney about the matter concerning Vern Paschke that Planning & Zoning had referred to him. No action has been taken.

No representative from the Sheriffs Department was present.

It was moved by Piri and supported by Olsen to approve the building permit requested by Mesabi Sign Co. for Sherwin-Williams to erect a sign on their property. The motion carried.

It was moved by Skogman and supported by Piri to approve Resolution #44-99, Preliminary Approval of Planned Unit Development (a copy of which is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried.

The City Administrator presented a comparison to the Council on the present cost of health, dental and life insurance and proposed costs.

Mr. Mick Giblin, agent for the Greater Minnesota Agency, Inc. was present to explain the health, dental and life insurance proposal from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota.

Discussion took place concerning the items the City would have to self-insure. Staff recommends changing to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota and self-insuring the difference in coverage.

It was moved by Brunfelt, and supported by Skogman that the City of Mountain Iron change the health insurance provider to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, the dental insurance provider to Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota and the life insurance provider to MII Life, Inc. according to the documents submitted by staff, effective October 1, 1999 and have staff work out the details. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.

It was moved by Skogman, noting that Sec. 2, Def. E. has been changed to a gathering of at least 25 individuals, and supported by Piri to approve Ordinance #03-99, Regulating Special Events. The motion carried on a roll call vote.

Ed Roskoski presented ideas on street/avenue name ideas and explained his handout. The Mayor asked for Council input on the renaming. Olsen recommended referring it to Planning and Zoning to have a public hearing and get more public input. Piri stated that the people he has talked to want tree names. Matanich agreed with Olsen�s idea. Skogman agreed with Olsen�s idea. More discussion took place with Mrs. Erna Novak and the Council concerning 911 requirements.

It was moved by Brunfelt and supported by Skogman to refer the street renaming issue to Planning and Zoning, have them hold a public hearing on the renaming and give a recommendation to the CC by 12/1/99 on how to rename the streets, and to give Planning and Zoning Ed Roskoski’s idea sheet. The motion carried.

The City Administrator talked with Jerry Kujala of the State Highway Department and sent a letter to him forwarding the Council�s request on the highway signage issue. Mr. Kujala will discuss the request with the District Engineer and come up with a plan. The Administrator will keep the City Council informed.

The Administrator presented a price list to the Council for the lots in the Housing Development. Mr. & Mrs. Richard Kinnunen were in attendance at the meeting, seeking to purchase a lot in the Housing Development. The City Attorney said it was permissible to sell a lot to the Kinnunens at this meeting. The City Engineer said it would be feasible for the Kinnunens to build before the City has completed its construction work in the housing development.

Mr. & Mrs. Kinnunen stated that they would like to purchase Lot 6 in the Housing Development.

The City Engineer said that he revised the layout of the housing development to change the shape and size of Lot 5 and Lot 6. Lot 6 would now have approximate acreage of .66 and Lot 5 would have approximate acreage of .65.

Discussion took place concerning the price list for the lots in the Housing Development and also the purchase price for the Kinnunens for Lot 6.

It was moved by Brunfelt and supported by Skogman to authorize City staff to enter into a purchase agreement with Mr. & Mrs. Richard Kinnunen for the sale by the City and the purchase by the Kinnunens of Lot 6 in the proposed housing development of the City of Mountain Iron with an acreage of .66 acres at a price of $14,494.29. The motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote.

It was moved by Brunfelt and supported by Matanich to approve and adopt the lot/acres/estimated price list for the lots in the Housing Development as submitted by staff, with the adjustments to Lot 5 and Lot 6 as proposed by the City Engineer, as a temporary guide until final prices are available (a copy of which is attached and made part of the minutes). The motion carried.

It was moved by Skogman and supported by Olsen to approve Resolution #46-99, Authorizing the Sale of Certain Properties (a copy of which is attached and made part of the minutes). The motion carried.

It was moved by Olsen and supported by Matanich to approve the surface lease agreement with USX Corporation as presented (a copy of which is attached and made a part of the minutes). The motion carried.

It was moved by Piri and supported by Skogman to approve Resolution #45-99, Charitable Gambling (a copy of which is attached and made a part of the minutes). The motion carried.

The communications were noted for the record.

The Mayor reported that the blastomycosis outbreak was handled adequately by the St. Louis County Health Department and the State Department of Health.

During the open discussion, Councilor Matanich agreed with the Mayor that the blastomycosis outbreak was handled professionally. Councilor Piri questioned what covenants will be placed on the housing development lots. The item will be put on the agenda for the next regular Council meeting.

At 7:35 p.m., it was moved by Piri and supported by Skogman to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried.