REGULAR MEETING – DANUBE CITY COUNCIL – JULY 8, 2009

Gene Allex called the regular meeting of the Danube City Council to order at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 2009.  Council members present:  Sharon Lothert, Al Strunc, Les Schneider, Sr., and Ryan Bentley.  Absent: None

Also present:  Police Chief, Les Schneider

A motion was made by Ryan Bentley to approve the agenda with the following additions under New Business:  “Non Working Water Meters” and “DHS Gambling Permit.”  Sharon Lothert seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

A motion was made by Sharon Lothert to approve the minutes of the regular council meeting of June 24, 2009 with one minor correction.  Ryan Bentley seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Police Chief, Les Schneider, Jr., was present to give his monthly employee report.  Police activity was down from this time last year, but the calls were of a more serious nature than normal.  The statistics for June 2009 are as follows:  Calls: 48; Reports: 29; Traffic Stops: 26; Citations: 6; Mutual Assists:  44; Home Security Checks: 2.

Other items covered by Officer Schneider were as follows:

·         The ACLU continues to call for a taser use report.  The Danube Police Department does not use tasers.  Les has asked them to stop calling. 

·         For Danube Fun Days, the City will borrow approximately 15 barricades from the City of Olivia; Dan Kaufenberg will purchase some new snow fence because some of the old fence is falling apart; Julie Krueger requested to use the warming house to store kids carnival games during Fun Days.

·         Regarding blighted properties, 14 properties have been cleaned up and 6 have shown improvement.  One property is listed as commercial and therefore cannot be ticketed.

·         Les is working on talking to unlicensed dog owners and confirming who has dogs and who doesn’t.

·         The 2 new members of Danube First Responders should be done with their classes by the end of July; First Response training was held on June 25.

·         POST board continuing education reimbursement request is due by August 3.

·         Tri-Valley will be holding their annual vehicle fair for the kids at their school on August 7 at 10 a.m.  The Danube Police Department, Fire Department and First Responders will have vehicles there.

·         The Consumer Confidence Report was published in the Renville Register on June 25.

·         Pump house 5 had a chlorine issue and is being watched.

·         The City has continued to spray for mosquitos.

·         A forfeiture fund has been established for a controlled substance money forfeiture.  The Danube Police Department will retain 70% of the money and must use it for Police Department equipment purchases.  The Renville County Attorney will receive 20% of the money for prosecuting and the State of MN will receive 10% of the money to put in their General Fund. 

·         Broken glass found in the parking lot behind the Community Center was discussed.  Les will keep an extra eye on that.

No updates were available on the following agenda items:  school building discussion, Mahoney law suit, Sunrise Place, streets, false wall in chlorine room, FEMA plan, phone rates, and Highway 212 update.

The clerk has received back 6 of 8 letters that were sent to property owners along 2^nd Street East regarding the possibility of paving.  She will contact the remaining 2 property owners.  General discussion regarding the procedures to get the road paved took place, but without all the letters back from property owners, no further action can be taken.

Les Schneider, Sr. spoke with Jeff Johnson at Great Plains Natural Gas about the $1,610 curtailment charge bill that the City of Danube received from Great Plains.  Johnson agreed to write off that amount as long as the City of Danube pays the $40.07 usage charge that was incurred during the time that the school building was supposed to be running on an alternative heat source.

Delinquent utility bills were discussed as well as the time frame allowed before shutting off a resident’s water access.  The clerk was asked to keep a close eye on the payment dates promised on delinquent utility bill payment arrangements.  If the payment isn’t made on a promised date, the water needs to be shut off the next morning. 

Schneider, Sr. called Bev Raske with the Friends of the Arts to let her know that the school gym would be available for their use this winter.  Raske stated they no longer needed the gym.

A motion was made by Les Schneider, Sr. to approve the bills as submitted in the amount of $12,107.23.  Ryan Bentley seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

In discussing CDs that are maturing in the near future, Les Schneider, Sr. made a motion to put the money from both CDs into the City’s money market savings account at HomeTown Bank, providing that the clerk cannot obtain a higher interest rate on a CD.  Sharon Lothert seconded and the motion carried unanimously. The current money market savings account interest rate is 2.27% APY.

The council reviewed a thank you letter from Renville County Heartland Express and a 2008 population and household estimate from the Minnesota State Demographer. 

The City’s lawn mower was discussed. It broke down again.  The clerk will put lawn mower replacement discussion on the agenda in November.  Buying a new mower after the mowing season is over may get the City a better deal.

Les Schneider, Sr. brought up discussion of the City’s insurance coverage.  The League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) appraised all of Danube’s city owned buildings.  The City of Danube is under insured according to the LMC.  The water tower will be insured at 100% of replacement value and the rest of the City owned buildings will be insured at 80% of replacement value.

The council received a list of non-working water meters in Danube.  Dan Kaufenberg has been given the list and will be asked to talk to Les Schneider, Sr. about it.  Kaufenberg may also ask for more hours for part-time summer maintenance to allow for time for help with replacing the meters.

A motion was made by Les Schneider, Sr. to approve a raffle exempt permit for the Danube Historical Society.  Ryan Bentley seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

At 8:35 p.m., a motion was made by Ryan Bentley to adjourn the meeting.  Sharon Lothert seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully submitted:  Sara Wilson, City Clerk