December 8, 2010 council meeting minutes
DANUBE CITY COUNCIL
Regular Meeting
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 7:00 PM
Danube City Council Chambers
A regular meeting of the Danube City Council was conducted on December 8, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. with Mayor Gene Allex presiding. Council Members Ryan Bentley, Bob Simpson and Al Strunc were present. Chief of Police Les Schneider and City Clerk-Treasurer Sara Wilson were also present, along with Jammie Schneider and the media. Council Member Sharon Lothert was absent.
Approval of Agenda
Council Member Bentley moved and Council Member Simpson seconded a motion to approve the Agenda. The motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Minutes
Council Member Strunc moved and Council Member Bentley seconded a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting of November 24, 2010. The motion carried unanimously.
Open Forum
Jammie Schneider was present to represent Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, the renter in the former school building. She told the council that Santa’s Closet has made a list of everything they borrowed from Tri-Valley and that they haven’t had any more problems with them. However, Jammie suggested that the two rooms that are being used by Santa’s Closet be re-keyed so Santa’s Closet can have two keys to those rooms and turn in the other inside keys that they have. Council Member Strunc advised the Clerk to have Torkelson’s Lock Service re-key the two rooms that Santa’s Closet uses.
Chief of Police Les Schneider
Chief of Police Les Schneider was present to give his monthly police department and employee report. Calls were down from last November and are as follows: 47 Calls, 29 Reports, 33 Traffic Stops, 16 Citations, 29 Mutual Assists, and 2 Home Security Checks.
Chief Schneider also told the council that the police department is once again locking the post office at 7:30 every night. Schneider reported that the school building gym is being used by various organizations almost every night of the week. When asked by Mayor Allex if the heat gets turned up when sports are played in the gym, Schneider responded that the heat stays on minimum heat. Schneider has talked to a couple people about getting their vehicles off the street for snow removal and he also told the council that the current attorney bill includes a few cases from July arrests.
Chief Schneider has spoken to Scott Hable about the upcoming new software system at the Sheriff’s Department. The County is paying for the system and setup and will most likely be charging each City an annual fee. Schneider also asked Hable about the possibility of forwarding calls to the Sheriff’s Department when nobody is on duty in Danube. Hable suggested changing the message on the Danube PD’s phone to tell callers to call 911 if there’s an emergency and to call the Sheriff’s Office if it’s not an emergency.
Chief Schneider recommended a 50 cent per hour pay increase for the two part-time police officers for 2011.
Schneider helped Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg put up Christmas lights in town on November 29.
The Danube First Response had 20 calls in 2010. That’s down 6 from last year. The total payroll for the year was $1,790.00. The focus for 2011 will be on getting new pagers.
Council Member Strunc asked Chief Schneider about the status of the new squad car, to which Schneider responded that he thought it would be here in January. Council Member Strunc also asked why the Police Department is so much over budget and why the department expenses are so much higher than they were in 2006 and beyond. Strunc commented that the Police Department is 25% of the City’s total budget. Schneider responded that past councils have told him not to worry so much about the budget and also that increased criminal activity and increased part-time officer hours on duty account for the budget overage.
Xcel Energy Contract/MMUA Updates
Mayor Allex has two people committed to starting a committee of concerned citizens regarding the possibility of a municipal electric service. The Clerk will get information together for them.
Mahoney Lawsuit
No updates.
2nd Street East
City Engineer Lee Elfering stopped in the City Clerk’s office on December 6 to see if there were any updates or if the City needs anything from him. Elfering suggested having another workshop to decide how much of the street to assess to the property owners, and how much the City will pay. He wants everyone to be on the same page. The next step after having another meeting with Elfering will be to have a public hearing to tell the public what the City wants to build, approximately how much it will cost and what the estimated assessments to each property will be. The Clerk will check to see if Elfering can attend the 2nd Council Meeting in January.
Permit for digging under Hwy 212
Council Member Strunc reported that a $2,000 surety bond would cost the City approximately $100. The Clerk has already signed the paperwork for the bond and Kaufenberg is getting supplies together for the project.
Snow Removal
Public Works Director Kaufenberg has requested a 3rd truck for removing snow from the City. He also would like someone hired on to help run the plow or skidloader. Don Lothert will drive the snowplow when Kaufenberg is on vacation.
Approve Bills
Council Member Simpson moved and Council Member Strunc seconded a motion to approve the bills in the amount of $13,558.99. The motion passed unanimously.
Miller’s on Main 2011 Liquor License
Council Member Simpson moved and Council Member Strunc seconded a motion to approve a on sale and off sale liquor license for 2011 for Miller’s on Main Bar & Grill. The motion passed unanimously.
ACTS, Inc Contract
Council Member Strunc moved and Council Member Simpson seconded a motion to approve the 2011 contract to purchase City garbage bags from ACTS, Inc. The motion passed unanimously.
Employee Evaluations
Employee Evaluations were postponed to Monday, December 13, 2010 at 3:30 p.m.
Adjournment
There being no further business before the council, Council Member Strunc moved and Council Member Bentley seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. With all members voting in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: Sara Wilson, City Clerk