December 22, 2010 council meeting minutes
DANUBE CITY COUNCIL
Regular Meeting
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 7:00 PM
Danube City Council Chambers
A regular meeting of the Danube City Council was conducted on December 22, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. with Mayor Gene Allex presiding. Council Members Ryan Bentley, Bob Simpson and Al Strunc were present. Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg and City Clerk-Treasurer Sara Wilson were also present, along with Al Grosklags and the media. Council Member Sharon Lothert was absent.
Approval of Agenda
Council Member Strunc moved and Council Member Bentley seconded a motion to approve the Agenda with the addition of the Ken Buffy Family. The motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Minutes
Council Member Bentley moved and Council Member Strunc seconded a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting of December 8, 2010. The motion carried unanimously.
Open Forum
Al Grosklags was present to mention that the water flow in his house in town has slowed down. Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg agreed to meet Grosklags at the house on Thursday.
Mayor Allex also brought to the attention of the council that someone had asked if the City could forgive the water/sewer/garbage bill for the Ken Buffy family when the rent the Grosklags house. Buffy’s home was destroyed in a fire. The council decided that they could not forgive the bill because that could cause others having financial hardships request free water and sewer from the City. The council wanted to make note that if anyone wants to help the Buffy Family, donations are being accepted at MinnWest Bank.
Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg
Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg was present to give his monthly employee meeting. Kaufenberg reported that he has enough plastic pipe to put under the road to install a new water line to feed the Sam Lang house.
The fire hydrant has arrived to replace the one that was run into by a vehicle. Kaufenberg has to line up a time for Sam Smith to come to town to dig up the old fire hydrant and also the water shut off by Beckendorf’s building that was run into.
The sander on the plow truck got bent while Kaufenberg was on vacation, so there hasn’t been salt/sand put down on the streets recently. The plow truck also has a hydraulic leak that needs attention.
The Water & Wastewater Annual Conference is coming up in March. Kaufenberg and Schneider would like to attend. The cost is $175 per person and Clerk Wilson will register them and get the hotel room booked.
There are a couple of steam traps at the school that need replacing, otherwise everything is in good order there.
The skidloader needs new tires. The current tires are almost 2 years old. Kaufenberg will check on prices.
Employee Evaluation
At 7:30 p.m. Council Member Simpson moved and Council Member Bentley seconded a motion to close the meeting to give Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg his employee evaluation. The motion carried unanimously.
At 8:05 p.m. Council Member Simpson moved and Council Member Bentley seconded a motion to re-open the council meeting. The motion carried unanimously.
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 has gathered information for them. This item can be removed from the agenda for now.
Mahoney Lawsuit
No updates.
2nd Street East
City Engineer Lee Elfering cannot be present at the 2nd meeting in January. The council requested that the Clerk check to see if he could come to the first meeting in January.
Snow Removal
The Clerk asked if something still needed to be done about Kaufenberg’s request for a 3rd truck to help with snow removal. The council said to just leave it as is for now.
Approve Bills
After reviewing the Xcel Energy bill and the TDS Telecom bill, Council Member Strunc moved and Council Member Simpson seconded a motion to approve the bills in the amount of $21,416.81. The motion passed unanimously.
Set Part-Time Police Wages
At a previous meeting, Chief of Police Les Schneider recommended giving the part-time police officers a raise of 50 cents per hour. The council discussed this and decided, percentage-wise, that was not comparable to the rest of the raises given to City employees.
Approve 2011 Wages for City Employees
With the motion carrying unanimously, Council Member Simpson moved and Council Member Bentley seconded a motion to approve the 2011 wages for City employees as follows:
· Chief of Police Les Schnieder - $22.00/hour
· Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg - $16.40/hour
· City Clerk-Treasurer Sara Wilson - $13.40/hour
· Community Center Custodian Sharon Lothert - $10.00/hour
· Part-time Police Officer Dan Hotovec - $13.71/hour
· Part-time Police Officer Marcel Krueger - $11.68/hour
Final Tax Levy payable in 2011
Council Member Simpson moved and Council Member Bentley seconded a motion to adopt the 2010 tax levy payable in 2011at $140,196. The motion carried unanimously.
2011 General Fund Budget
Council Member Strunc moved and Council Member Simpson seconded a motion to adopt the 2011 general fund budget for the City of Danube. The motion carried unanimously
Adjournment
There being no further business before the council, Council Member Bentley moved and Council Member Strunc seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. With all members voting in favor, the meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: Sara Wilson, City Clerk