DANUBE CITY COUNCIL

Regular Council Meeting

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 7:00 PM

Danube City Council Chambers

A regular meeting of the Danube City Council was conducted on October 26, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. with Mayor Gene Allex presiding. 

The following Councilmembers were present:  Ryan Bentley, Dave Maurice, Phil Standfuss, and Al Strunc.

Councilmembers absent:  none

Others Present:  Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg, City Clerk-Treasurer Sara Wilson, Wayne Smida and media. 

Approval of Agenda

Councilmember Bentley moved and Councilmember Standfuss seconded a motion to approve the Agenda with the following additions: Under Old Business:  Snow Removal Contracts and Under New Business: Brush Site and Meeting Dates & Frequency .  The motion carried unanimously.   

Approval of Minutes

Councilmember Maurice moved and Councilmember Standfuss seconded a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting of October 12, 2011.  The motion carried unanimously. 

Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to approve the minutes from the Assessment Hearing on October 12, 2011.  The motion carried unanimously. 

Open Forum

Wayne Smida of 209 Maple Street was present to address the council about a concern.  He lives right next to the alley that goes south to Pine Street.   He said there are 3 neighbors that have garages on the alley and he thinks they all go out the north end of the alley.  Mr. Smida’s concern is that the concrete between the street and the alley is very rough.  He asked if the City could smooth it out in any way.  The council instructed Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg to look at the area and see if he can repair it. 

Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg

Public Works Director Dan Kaufenberg was present to give his monthly employee report.  He reported on the following:

Kaufenberg reported that he noticed new signs were put up at the brush site.  He needs more signs.  Every day he’s taking branches out of the brush pile and vice versa.  People are dumping in places other than the designated areas.  Signs don’t necessarily mean people will obey them.  He’s talked to Chief Schneider about going back to regular hours at the brush site and having the officer on duty lock it up at night.  Mayor Allex said he’s seen and heard of people from other towns dumping at the Danube brush site, therefore he requested that the police department locks the gates at the posted times.  Councilmember Maurice got signs donated by Creative Details that say ‘Danube Residents Only.’  He kept an eye on the brush site after he put the signs up and it seemed that there wasn’t any dumping going on after that.  Kaufenberg said the best solution to the problem would be to hire someone to sit at the brush site during the open hours to monitor and direct the traffic in and out of it.  Having set hours isn’t going to solve the problem of people leaving bags out there and dumping in wrong spots.  Cameras installed would allow Kaufenberg to see who is causing the problem.  Maurice thinks things should be left as is for now since the season is almost over.  Kaufenberg requested that the police patrol out there a little more.  When Strunc asked what the biggest problem is, Kaufenberg replied branches in the brush pile and garbage left at the brush site.  He said he’d leave it open through the end of the leaf season and then close it up for the winter and deal with this again next spring.

Other issues discussed:

·         The water tower overflowed when Pump 3 got stuck on.  Kaufenberg doesn’t know wh this happened so he’d like Sullivan Electric to look at it. 

·         Kaufenberg is doing a discharge that will be finished up on Monday.  It should be the last one of the year.

·         The park bathrooms are winterized and locked up for the winter.  They were completely full of sand and rocks and had to be plunged.  Kaufenberg requested that the park gets patrolled by the officer on duty when kids are getting on and off the school bus. 

·         Zach Kopel agreed to drive the skidloader when Kaufenberg is gone, in case of a snow emergency.

·         Sam Lang will drive the City truck again this winter for snow clean up. 

·         The boilers are now running at the school.

·         Dakota Pump fixed a meter on the lift station.

·         The City pick up needs tires before winter.  The will cost about $600 from Danube Auto.

·         Hurley’s was planning to be in town this week to do some work on the trees.

·         Pete Peterson of the City of Renville Maintenance Department had asked if the City of Danube would be interested in purchasing their old water meters.  Kaufenberg said they aren’t the same style.

Councilmember Maurice moved and Councilmember Bentley seconded a motion to purchase new tires for the City pick up for approximately $600 from Danube Auto Sales.  The motion carried unanimously.

Discussion of 2010 Audit Report

The council discussed some of the overages on the 2010 audit report.  They thought that maybe the Fire Chief should come to a council meeting once per quarter.  They would like the fire department categories on the budget reports to match the categories that the City budget uses.  The council wants each department to get a report with their categories listed on it.

Storm Repairs at School

Tabled

EDA Theft

On October 21, 2011 at the pre-trial hearing, Sharon Lothert accepted the plea agreement of one felony theft charge and misconduct of a public official, which is a gross misdemeanor.  She will be required to pay back full restitution.  Councilmember Standfuss asked how the theft occurred, so the situation was summarized to him.  Sentencing will take place on December 2, 2011.

Snow Removal Contracts

Councilmember Maurice indicated that the snow removal contracts clearly state that the equipment owners need to provide their own insurance.  In the past, Art Nyquist’s tractor has been insured by the City.  Perhaps it would be possible to lease the tractor from Nyquist.  Maurice will talk to Nyquist.

Approval of Bills

Councilmember Standfuss moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to approve the bills as submitted in the amount of $24,352.74.  The motion carried unanimously. 

Mn/DOT Snow Removal & Street Sweeping Rate

Councilmember Strunc moved and Councilmember Maurice seconded a motion to set the hourly rate for snow removal and street sweeping for Mn/Dot at $100/hour.  The motion carried unanimously. 

Lead/Copper Tap Water Monitoring Report

The City Council received a copy of the recent lead/copper tap water monitoring report based on water samples collected by Dan Kaufenberg at five local residents.

TNT Meeting

The Truth in Taxation Meeting will be held during the regular council meeting on December 14, 2011.  Danube Residents will have the opportunity to ask questions about the 2012 budget. 

Hoffman Lawn Service Bill – Depot

Jerry Jahnke asked Al Strunc if the City would pay for seeding the property known as Mueller’s Park at the Depot.  It is City property and the Council is happy with what the Historical Society brings to the City of Danube and supports what they do.   They would like things like this brought to a council meeting ahead of time for pre-approval in the future. 

Councilmember Maurice moved and Councilmember Strunc seconded a motion to pay Hoffman Lawn Service for seeding Mueller’s Park in the amount of $562.22.  The motion carried unanimously. 

Brush Site

The council requested that a thank you note be sent to Creative Details for donating signs to the Brush Site.

Council Meeting Dates/Frequency

Councilmember Strunc asked the council to consider going to one council meeting per month.  He said maybe there would be a few more special meetings during the year.  He stated this would save the City a little money.  The topic will be put on the agenda for the next meeting.

Adjournment

There being no further business before the council, Councilmember Bentley moved and Councilmember Standfuss 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