September 5, 2023 City Council Minutes

 MINUTES

MOUNTAIN IRON CITY COUNCIL

September 5, 2023

Mayor Anderson called the City Council meeting to order at 6:30p.m. with the following members present: Councilor Ed Roskoski, Al Stanaway, Joe Prebeg Jr., Julie Buria and Mayor Peggy Anderson. Also present were: Craig Wainio, City Administrator; Tim Satrang, Director of Public Works; Anna Amundson, Library Director/Special Events Coordinator; Amanda Inmon, Municipal Services Secretary; Al Johnson, City Engineering; SGT Grant Toma, Sheriff’s Department; and Curtis Schramm, Mountain Iron Fire Captain.

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria the consent agenda be approved as follows:

 

1. Approve the minutes of the August 21, 2023 regular meeting.

 

2. That the communications be accepted and 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 August 16-31, $463,587.95 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes),

 

4. To authorize the payments of the bills and payroll for the period August 16-31, totaling $448,133.29 (a list is attached and made a part of these minutes).

 

The motion carried with Councilor Prebeg absent (Yes: Stanaway, Prebeg, Buria, Anderson; No: Roskoski).

 

It was moved by Roskoski to amend the original motion to remove the Champion Auto/Parts City in the amount of $436.00 from the consent agenda for separate consideration. The motion failed due to lack of support.

 

Public Forum:

 

• Cindy Kujala and John Lucas, residents of Woodland Estates, requested follow-up information regarding the covenant for the Home Owners Association (HOA) for the development in Woodland Estates
• Tracy Oksanen, Parkville resident, concerned about bike trail, currently no signs indicating the new Bike trail, only STOP signs located at the intersections on the trail, will there be signs indicating the new trail; still concerned about the relocation of the mailboxes back to their original locations; concerned about speed limit on road, currently 40MPH, however it is an extremely very busy street, most residential areas are 30MPH; why is there nothing on the west side of the street for those walking on that side, Daycare walks kids along that side, should be sidewalk on west side as well as Park Ridge/County 102

 

It was moved by Roskoski, that since there is a president in Mountain Iron with Residential mailboxes on the east side of County 7 by the sidewalk, that residential mailboxes that were originally on the east side of County 109/Nichols Avenue be placed back in their original locations on the east side of road shoulder, along the west edge of the paved trail connect. The motion failed due to lack of support.

 

• City Engineer, Al Johnson spoke regarding the mailbox situation, stating that a request was made to St. Louis County, since it is a County road, and are ultimately responsible for the maintenance. It would not be allowed, as it would be an obstruction in the roadway, liability to the County. Mailboxes would have to be either on the west side of the road or the east side of the trail.

The Mayor reported on the following:

 

• Thank you to City crew for the recent painting of the curbs and hydrants

 

September marks National Suicide awareness month and recovery month. Both suicide and substance use disorder affect people regardless of age, gender, race, orientation, income level, religion or background and both remind us that many of us fight our own battles. Deaths by suicide and drug overdoses in our County are on the rise. Perhaps if we shine the light on suicide support and the path of recovery we will bring hope to those in the dark places. This month let us be reminded of the importance of taking care of ourselves; the importance of connecting with one another; and the importance of taking care of each other. As a Community member, and your Mayor, I want you to know, you are never alone. Support is available 24/7 through the Suicide Crisis Life Line at 988 via call, text or chat. Our local Drug Treatment Centers and Detox are here to walk with you in your recovery.

 

City Administrator:

 

• Conversation with Representative Lislegard, regarding possible grants for the City through the IRRRB and possible bonding, encouraged to apply for possible electrical upgrades and main replacements; carry ball regarding more funding for South Grove in bonding bill

 

Director of Public Works:

 

• Study being conducted using megr-sensors on power system
• Information used on amperage and load, balance system
• Power outage recently on Mud Lake Road
• Parking lot project at Wolf Field starting soon by City Crew members

 

Library Director/Special Events Coordinator:

 

• Upcoming Library Events
• Story Times – Friday September 15^th
• After School Kids Book club – Wednesday, September 20^th  
• Friends of the Library Book Sale
• Thursday, September 28^th – Saturday, September 30^th
• Halloween Carnival
• Sunday, October 29^th
• 12:00pm – 3:00pm
• Messiah Lutheran Church hosting bake sale & concessions

 

Sheriff’s Department:

 

• No formal report

 

City Engineer:

 

• No formal report

 

It was moved by Buria and seconded by Prebeg to approve Pay Request No. 1 – 2^nd Street Reconstruction project for in the amount of $85,520.90 for Mesabi Bituminous Inc., Gilbert, MN. The motion carried on roll call vote (No: Roskoski; Yes: Stanaway, Prebeg, Buria and Anderson).

Fire Department:

 

• Emergency responses have stayed relatively the same, roughly 19%
• All five members in the Emergency Response Training class successfully passed

 

It was moved by Roskoski to accept the Fire Department report as presented. The motion failed due to lack of support.

 

It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Buria to approve the recommendation from the Public Health and Safety Board and authorize the purchase of nine (9) AED’s and seven (7) medical bags to outfit the new First Responders and to replace equipment scavenged from apparatus, in the amount of $14,400 for the AED’s, a cost of $1,600 each and approximately $2,700 for medical bags, a cost of $375 each. The motion carried on roll call vote.

 

It was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria to approve Resolution #11-23; Approving The US53 at CSAH 102 (Old Highway 169)/9^th St North Intersection Improvement Project (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried on roll call vote (Yes: Stanaway, Prebeg, Buria, Anderson; No: Roskoski).

 

It was moved by Stanaway and seconded by Prebeg to approve Resolution #12-23; Ordering Improvement and Preparation of Plans for proposed Drainage Improvement Projects (a copy is attached and made a part of these minutes). The motion carried on roll call vote.

 

It was moved by Buria and seconded by Stanaway to authorize Mountain Iron American Legion Post#220 to sell and serve alcoholic beverages at the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association membership banquet on September 16, 2023, to be held at the Mountain Iron Community Center. The motion carried.

 

Announcements:

 

• Congratulations on those that participated and won during the Merritt Day’s “Greg Peters Wooden Bat” Softball tournament
• Congratulations to the Merritt Days’ Treasure Hunt Winners, Car Show Winners and Raffle Ticket Winners

 

At 7:34p.m., it was moved by Prebeg and seconded by Buria that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried (Yes: Stanaway, Prebeg, Buria, Anderson; No: Roskoski).

 

 

 

Submitted by:

 

 

 

Amanda Inmon

Municipal Services Secretary

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