July 27, 2011 Council Meeting Minutes
DANUBE CITY COUNCIL
Regular Council Meeting
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 7:00 PM
Danube City Council Chambers
A regular meeting of the Danube City Council was conducted on July 27, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. with Mayor Gene Allex presiding.
The following Councilmembers were present: Al Strunc, Ryan Bentley, and Dave Maurice
Councilmembers absent: Bob Simpson
Others Present: Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg, City Clerk-Treasurer Sara Wilson, and media.
Approval of Agenda
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to approve the Agenda with the addition of “Garage at 507 Oak Street.” under Old Business. The motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Minutes
Councilmember Maurice moved and Mayor Allex seconded a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting of July 13, 2011. The motion carried unanimously.
Employee Report – Public Works Director
Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg was present to give his monthly employee report. Kaufenberg asked the council if Councilmember Simpson brought up ordering the lift station monitor after he and Simpson discussed it 2 weeks ago. The salesman from Electric Pump contacted Kaufenberg and said they were getting busy and wanted to know what the plan was for the City of Danube. The monitor was not discussed at the last council meeting.
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to purchase the Lift Station Monitoring System from Electric Pump for $3,350 for the equipment, installation, programming, wiring and testing. The motion passed unanimously.
Kaufenberg has been looking at safety equipment to use with the Sewer Eye Camera. He found a harness, tripod, gas monitor and blower for $2,870.
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to purchase necessary safety equipment for use of the sewer camera in the amount of $2,870. The motion carried unanimously.
Kaufenberg told the council that he checked into generators to run the Sewer Eye Camera equipment. He found a 2,000 watt portable Honda generator at Runnings for around $1,000.
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to purchase a 2,000 watt portable Honda generator from Runnings for approximately $1,000. The motion passed unanimously.
Kaufenberg asked the council what they want done with the items that didn’t sell on the recent auction. There are about 50 4x8 hockey boards taking up a lot of space in the shop. Councilmember Strunc said to ask Jeff Sindelir if he had a use for them, otherwise he could get rid of them. Councilmember Bentley will ask Fire Chief Dan Wersal if the rest of the old turn out gear can go to the landfill. There are some old furnaces that came with the building that Kaufenberg would like to take to the landfill. That was approved also.
Kaufenberg will be taking his next boiler licenses test in St. Paul on August 16. He also will have to be doing another pond discharge soon. Kaufenberg also mentioned that as soon as the brush site dries out, he will start burning.
Parking on Oak Street and 2nd Street East was discussed. There will be no parking on the 240 feet of Oak Street directly west of 2nd Street East because the street is too narrow there. Kaufenberg will look for signs for the north and south side of the road that say “No parking between signs.” There will be no truck parking on 2nd Street East and Kaufenberg will look for appropriate signs for that street. Curbs will not be painted yellow.
Councilmember Strunc again said that grass should be painted in front of the City Shop and a sidewalk poured going to the front door of the police department. Kaufenberg said that wouldn’t leave him anywhere to park and wash City equipment if it was grass in front of the building.
2nd Street Improvements
The council reviewed an email from City Engineer Lee Elfering which stated that the boulevards will be graded and seeded this year yet. The email explained that the final lift of blacktop will go down late spring/early summer of next year. There will also need to be an assessment hearing this fall.
Clerk Wilson suggested a workshop to discuss bonding on the street project. Councilmember Strunc voiced his disinterest on bonding stating that the City of Danube has enough cash on hand to finance the project internally. He said the City could earn 5% back on the assessments rather than the 1 – 1 ½ % currently available on CDs and savings accounts. Strunc also stated that bonding costs money. With that in mind, the council agreed to discuss this further when City Auditor Dennis Oberloh is present at the August 24th meeting. The council would also like City Engineer Lee Elfering at that meeting and the company that did the probing on the street to measure the thickness of the gravel. The council understands that a significant amount of extra gravel had to be brought in because the probing was not accurate. This will be an extra cost to the City. The council wants to know if this is a normal situation.
Garage at 507 Oak Street
Councilmember Bentley reminded the council that last fall Kathy Block approached the council on behalf of her son, Dan Block, requesting permission to wait until spring to take down the garage on his newly purchased property at 507 Oak Street. The previous owner had been sent a blight letter because the garage was in bad condition. Block had plans to take down the garage and put up a new one. The council approved the request. The old garage is still standing, so the council would like Clerk Wilson to send a letter to Dan Block reminded him of the plans that were told to the council.
Approval of Bills
Councilmember Maurice moved and Councilmember Bentley seconded a motion to approve the bills as submitted in the amount o $32,002.02. The motion carried unanimously.
Xcel Energy Substation address
Brian Mielke, who is Clerk Wilson’s contact at Xcel Energy regarding the upgrade at the substation on the north edge of town along County Road 1, called and asked for an address for the location. Clerk Wilson spoke to Chief Schneider and Sheriff Hable about the address and came up with 500 1st Street North.
Councilmember Maurice moved and Councilmember Bentley seconded a motion to assign 500 1st Street North as the address at the Xcel Energy substation. The motion carried unanimously.
Resolution to adopt State Record Retention Schedule
Clerk Wilson informed the council that the City of Danube has never adopted a record retention schedule. Resolution is attached.
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to adopt the State Record Retention Schedule. The motion carried unanimously.
Ordinance 99 – Parking Regulations
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Bentley seconded a motion to adopt the changes to Ordinance 99 relating to Parking Regulations. The motion carried unanimously.
Ordinance is attached, will be published and mailed out to residents along the affected streets.
Reimbursement Resolution
Clerk Wilson listened to a financial advisor speak regarding bonding at the Clerk’s Institute. He mentioned that a Reimbursement Resolution must be in place if a City plans to bond for expenses previously paid out on a project. Wilson contacted the speaker to get a sample copy of a reimbursement resolution. The resolution is attached.
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to adopt the proposed Reimbursement Resolution. The motion carried unanimously.
Building Permit for deck at 406 3rd Street
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to approve a building permit to build a deck at 406 3rd Street. The motion carried unanimously.
Approve Door Open Between Bar & Community Center – July 30
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to approve to have the door open between Millers on Main Bar & Grill and the Danube Community Center for an Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, July 30. The motion carried unanimously.
LGA payment delayed
The council was given a copy of a letter from Minnesota Revenue advising that the July 20th Local Government Aid payment will be delayed at least one week.
Transfer of City Funds
Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to transfer $50,000 from savings to checking. The motion carried unanimously.
Correspondence
A budget workshop will be held at in the City Council Chambers on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Adjournment
There being no further business before the council, Councilmember Bentley moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. With all members voting in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: Sara Wilson, City Clerk