March 10, 2010 council meeting minutes
REGULAR MEETING – DANUBE CITY COUNCIL – MARCH 10, 2010
Mayor Gene Allex called the regular meeting of the Danube City Council to order at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Councilmembers present: Sharon Lothert, Ryan Bentley, and Bob Simpson. Absent: Al Strunc
Also present: Police Chief, Les Schneider
A motion was made by Lothert to approve the agenda with the following additions:
Old Business: Police Chief Evaluation and Salary
New Business: Street sweep repairs; Wastewater system cleaning
Simpson seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
A motion was made by Bentley to approve the minutes of the regular council meeting of February 24, 2010. Lothert seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
There were no updates on the Mahoney lawsuit.
Police Chief Les Schneider was present to give his monthly employee report. Danube Police Department statistics for February 2010 are as follows: 63 calls, 30 reports, 37 traffic stops, 15 citations, 25 mutual assists, and 2 home security checks. Other information discussed:
· There are activities still going on 5 days a week at the school gym. The roof above the Tri-Valley offices was leaking. West Central Roofing came to fix the problem because it’s a guaranteed part of the roof.
· Schneider will be attending the ETI Conference in April.
· Schneider has applied for the title for the forfeiture vehicle. It will be put by the highway with a for sale sign and bids will be accepted.
· The alarm system at the school may need to be adjusted to accommodate only one phone line rather than two lines, as Tri-Valley is canceling one of their phone lines.
· The Great Plains Interruption call list will be modified to include the following: Dan Kaufenberg, Lonny Davis, Les Schneider, Jr., and Gene Allex.
· The water tower alarm list needs to be updated.
· Allex asked Schneider if he had changed the message on his non-emergency cell phone. He has not done this because he needs to get a new phone since his does not always ring. He has had the phone for 10 years.
· Allex asked Schneider if he carries a pager from the Sheriff’s office. Schneider does.
· Lothert asked if the kids at the school were staying more contained and Schneider says things are better there.
· Schneider changed a fuse after he received a low water level alarm at the water tower.
According to Allex, the Danube Lions came to him and said they have decided that they would like to finance the entire playground project in the park because it is the “Lion’s Park.” Allex told the council that the Lions said the City should keep the donations and put them towards to the new equipment and then the Lions will pay for the balance of the project. The Lions will put a sign up at the park acknowledging the organizations that donated. Lothert attended the last Lions meeting where the Lions said they want to sponsor the whole project and want their money
back. Lothert told them that she wasn’t sure if the money could be given back. Allex asked if the City wants to put money towards the project or if preparing the location should be their donation. He said sand can be used under the equipment and it needs to be 10 inches deep.
A motion was made by Lothert to donate $1,000 towards the playground equipment for the park in Danube and to be involved in the prep work for the area that the equipment will sit on, including removing the old slide and the dirt that is there now and putting the new sand in. Simpson seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
A motion was made by Lothert to accept a $500 donation from the Danube American Legion to help purchase playground equipment for the Danube park. Simpson seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Mark Erickson is reviewing the zoning and building permit ordinance that the Clerk faxed to him.
The lease for Tri-Valley expires April 1. Allex, with the help of Strunc via phone, have been working on terms of a new lease. Tri-Valley likes the building and the location.
Lothert mentioned that now the men’s bathroom at the Community Center is leaking. Barth did not attempt to fix it last summer. Lothert had Mike Pennings look at it and he said he couldn’t even give an estimate at this point because it needs so much work. There is water damage inside the bathrooms.
A special meeting will be called in the near future to review and update the personnel policy.
Discussion took place again about the clerk’s schedule. Bentley asked about the clerk’s recent absences which included a funeral for her grandfather and her kids being sick. The clerk responded that a majority of the time, if she is out with sick kids it is only for part of a day because her mother will take off from work to stay home with her kids. Simpson asked Lothert if she feels the clerk needs an extra day in the office. Lothert is the clerk’s direct supervisor. Lothert explained that she does think the clerk needs an additional day and referenced the city auditor as saying that he doesn’t know how the job could be done in less than 32 hours a week. Allex said he contacted a couple other cities similar in size to Danube. One has a clerk that works 24 hours and is seriously considering adding another 8 hours. The other city he contacted has a 40 hour a week clerk and is considering cutting back to 32 hours. Bentley asked if the clerk was asking for more than just extra time. The clerk responded that from the beginning she has requested holiday pay for days that she is supposed to work that fall on a holiday and pro-rated vacation.
A motion was made by Lothert to allow the clerk to work 32 hours per week on a 6 month trial. The holiday and vacation pay will be looked at when the council updates the personnel policy. Simpson seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
The council reviewed the upcoming Community Center and school gym rentals. Kluver’s have an event at the Community Center on March 13 and MinnWest Bank will use it on March 16. The Smelt Fry will take place March 19 & 20. Allex told the council that someone from Renville had commented that Danube has a very usable Community Center.
Bentley purchased a security system with 4 cameras in a sealed bid from the sugar beet plant. The council discussed where to put the cameras at the school. Facing the gym doors or facing the street (from inside the glass doors) were two options discussed.
A motion was made by Bentley to approve the bills as submitted in the amount of $8,575.18. Simpson seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
A motion was made by Lothert to approve the door between the Community Center and Miller’s on Main be open on March 13, 19 and 20th and April 16 for events taking place in the Community Center. Bentley seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
The council was given handouts for their information on Les Schneider, Jr.’s health coverage and the 2010 Census, along with the minutes from the last Renville County HRA/EDA meeting.
The council reviewed a quote from MacQueen Equipment for doing repairs on the street sweeper. The quote included work to repair the steering, the sprayer system and the main broom and side broom at a cost of $1,708.18.
A motion was made by Bentley to have MacQueen do the repairs as quoted. Lothert seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
The council was given a quote from J & R Wastewater to clean the wastewater system. They will review it in more depth when the Public Works Director is at the next council meeting.
At 9:15 p.m., a motion was made by Bentley to close the meeting for employee evaluation discussion on Les Schneider. Simpson seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
The clerk left at this time.
At 10:20 p.m. a motion was made by Bentley to reopen the regular council meeting. Lothert seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
A motion was made by Bentley to give Les Schneider, Jr. a pay raise of 5%. Simpson seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
At 10:21 p.m. a motion was made by Lothert to adjourn the meeting. Simpson seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully submitted: Sara Wilson, City Clerk