This transcript has been formatted with speaker names based on the context of the Moose Lake City Council meeting roles and the dialogue provided. [0:03] Jim Michalski (Mayor): [Music] To the regular meeting of the Moose Lake City Council for Wednesday, October 12, 2022. I'd like to start with the Pledge of Allegiance, please. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [0:43] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Guests here tonight? Yeah, the first item is the agenda. We do have one addition under new business number six, and this is the item M M, and this is a Historical Society request. [1:11] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Are there any other items for the agenda, changes, additions? Hearing none, do we have a motion to accept the agenda? You have a second? All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carries. The next item is a consent agenda number two. We have 2A: the minutes for the regular city council meeting September 14, 2022; the second one: joint meeting minutes for Moose Lake City Council Water and Light Commission September 8, 2022. Any discussion or corrections to the minutes? [2:03] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Do I have a motion to accept the minutes? You have a second? All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carried. Under consent agenda 2B: Financial reports. Number one: the city council favor for September 2022. Number two: the city financial statements September 2022. And number three: the liquor store profit-loss statement for September 2022. Any discussion or questions on the financial reports? You have a second? [2:49] Jim Michalski (Mayor): All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carried. Moving on to number three, this is public comment. This time is reserved for comments from the public on matters not listed on the agenda. Please keep your comments to three minutes. We have none tonight. Moving on to number four: departmental reports. For 4A, Police Chief. [3:29] Darren Gould (Police Chief): Members of the council, Administrator Owens. In your packet, you'll see a copy of the police report for September totaling 283 calls for service: 100 looking for extra patrol, 49 traffic stops, 24 community engagement, 13 assists to other agencies, 96 calls for service, and one medical. It's been pretty busy lately. It just seems to be picking up more and more and more. I think we’re running four calls behind yesterday between the two of us, so a lot of different things going on. You're all aware of construction; we're short-staffed at the moment. I just wanted to bring a copy of one of the reports out there—we’re linked to Wi-Fi and that now—so we ended up doing CPR on a person. [4:15] Darren Gould (Police Chief): And you can see it in here, like we're showing that the officer was in the "green" on every single one of the parameters on the CPR. So it's just one of those good things that's come out of it for the tracking, and that really helps us to make sure on that stuff. So just for your info—jumping ahead because I know we've got a busy thing tonight—we have two things on the agenda here: a Joint Powers Agreement with the state of Minnesota. If you're looking through a few things, there's been a few things that were never taken care of for the police department for us to be running things through the BCA and accessing court data records. We have to have these Joint Powers Agreements signed with the state. The second one you'll see under there is an amendment to that, which is for court data. So any type of that stuff that we want to access—criminal history or even our driver's license checks—those are the things that are going to pop up under there. [5:01] Darren Gould (Police Chief): Alyssa’s got copies of those. On one of the sections, there's a signature for me to be out there as the head for our department, and then we're going to need to pass a motion tonight for these, correct? (Ellissa Owens: Correct). One of the resolutions later on in the agenda is a requirement for these as well. And then some of it's like, for us to access—we have direct access to the BCA and it's run through a VPN whether through our computer in the building or through our squads—and for us to do that, the BCA charge is $50 a month. For the other Joint Powers Agreement, I believe it is $600 per year. But those other things we're mandated to do and have. A while back when they were having a lot of the lawsuits for people running different plates and things like that, they restricted that. [5:47] Darren Gould (Police Chief): This is one of those things that's put in place that if you're violating those things, we as an agency could be shut down as far as accessing those records. So it just lists out everything that we're going to follow in that Powers Agreement so that we can be current and up to date and access that information. I don't know if you have any questions for me. I think you guys have all those in your packet and they're kind of wordy, but that's basically what it is just to make sure. So both of them are covered on the two resolutions later. [6:26] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Okay, we're good. That's all I got. Do you have anything for me? No, thanks. Thank you, appreciate it. Thanks. City Superintendent. [6:53] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): Mr. Mayor, members of the council, Administrator Owens. So crazy busy this month trying to get ready for winter and like Darren said, we got a lot to talk about. I’ll just kind of sit through this. Water department: 7.4 million gallons of drinking water sent out in September. GIS mapping system is underway; the engineers, myself, and Alyssa have had a little bit of discussion on some of that. We got a hydrant removal to do on Lakeshore Drive that decided to start leaking and blow apart on us; we'll be doing that next week. We've got a gate belt to be replaced tomorrow on Industrial Road. Hydrants are all flushed and winterized before the winter. [7:13] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): Sewer department: 10.4 million gallons of wastewater collected in September. Lining project is complete—well, it's 98%. I still have to review our televising reports and see that everything looks good. Our engineers are going through that now, and then there should be a final pay app in the next month. I stand here every month and I tell you how good this is working and how we're seeing results, and I see it because you can see it from the numbers. [8:01] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): Wastewater system coming in goes to the ponds, gets treated, we discharge. Typically, before we started this process, we were discharging between three and four times a year. We're only going to do one this year. So even from an operation standpoint, you can definitely see that this lining is definitely helping. To get hard numbers to get something to look at for capacity expansions—we obviously need the engineers—but something just to think about, we see it on the operation side too. So it's super important, definitely a good thing. The Bridge lift station is still waiting on those pumps to come in. The Campground lift station was lined Monday and Tuesday with that grant money we got from the Department of Health. [8:47] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): Administrator Owens and myself have some paperwork to finalize that grant, but other than that, that's pretty much it. Streets department: pothole filling being done once a month. Pothole truck and trailer out around town. We do have two patches left to do—one prepped on Second and Douglas that will be done tomorrow. Fourth Street project: I don't know, 98% done. Waiting on a couple of signs; for the most part, it looks really good. Turns out pretty well. Under budget on that, right? [9:32] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): Tracking under. We're also waiting on lighting and signage, just a couple of punch-list items and we're there. Cemeteries, Campground, Park: the park punch-list for maintenance items was updated from our last meeting. Now that list went from very few to super long, which we'll work on and pick those apart. At the cemeteries, the columbarium foundation is complete; the flatwork is all done. The unit is showing up in the middle of November. Hopefully, it gets set down, it looks amazing, and we all move on. [10:19] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): Campground is all winterized, all shut down for the year. Water lines blown out, bathhouses shut down, water heaters are up. However, with that being said, there is a lot of stuff left in our campground. There's a lot of stuff from seasonal campers left from year to year. Some of those things are decks, platforms, fridges, piles of firewood, yard decor, three-season outdoor seating areas—temporary ones. I'm not gonna lie to you: it looks terrible. It looks absolutely terrible for a public property. I guess I'm here tonight asking you guys what you want us to do. [11:05] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): The pictures provided were taken last week; everything that you're seeing in those pictures is still there. We did a bit of checking on other seasonal campgrounds, and a lot of them either have a fee for year-round storage or everything has to be removed because seasonal campsites are just that—seasonal. We’re definitely looking to see what direction the Council would like to take as far as removal or some type of fee schedule. But then also, even if it's approved for things to be there, what does that look like and what's allowed versus disallowed? Refrigerators, things like that—there's a liability piece. They have private property on public property and nobody is monitoring it. Kids could get hurt climbing on some of that stuff. There's an insurance liability for multiple aspects and like Phil said, it is not the best to look at either. [12:37] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Not only that, but all this stuff—if it floods, it can all end up in the lake, as it has in past years. I guess I would like to see it removed. Like you said, they're using it as storage space and there's liability concerns. You just never know when the lake is going to flood and all this stuff will be floating out in the lake again. Does the contract for the rental include anything for storage? [13:23] Kris Huso (Council Member): It was just a few years ago—I think 2013—they had to have everything out of there every year at the end of the season. I don't know how it snuck in where they were allowed to leave it. They either had to have it out of there or it was removed and thrown out. I don't know when this started again. It came to a head when kids were using the stairs as jumps with their snowmobiles in the winter. We had everything removed from then on. I think we have to go back to that policy. How many seasonal sites do we have? [14:28] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): We have about 30 seasonal sites, and there's stuff on everything. I imagine those people are in Texas or Arizona. We do have means to contact all of them. There was not permission requested by anybody to leave items in the campsites specifically. We could call, contact, email, or letter and just put a time frame down—you have so many days to remove these items or they will be removed. We do have means to provide an opportunity for them to communicate if they would just like us to remove it for them. [15:13] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Will it be destroyed? I mean, you can't store all this stuff. And then would there be a cost to them for us to have to haul this refrigerator? Is that like a couch and stuff in there? [16:02] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): I don't know if I saw a couch. There are all kinds of things that should not be left on there. [16:10] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): I think we also should limit what can be on a site because some of these sites look like—to be entirely transparent—some of what's down there would have required a building permit. We can validate that permits were not pulled. So there's that issue as well. If you leave stuff like this at a regular trailer court, you pay for the year and I'm sure that helps cover insurance costs of materials left on site. [17:27] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): If we get forced to go in and clean it up, that’s time for our employees plus the disposal costs. If you’re taking refrigerators to the dump, that’s expensive. Furniture, tables, all of it. [18:12] Walter Lower III (Council Member): The only problem is if they haven't been told that they can't keep it there and they've been allowed to, and now we go ahead and remove it... they're gonna almost have to have it spelled out for them that they have to have that removed. If they don't, then they're going to be charged accordingly by the city. [18:59] Jim Michalski (Mayor): I think we should almost check with our law firm. Because we did not tell them to take it, but we allowed them to bring it. It wouldn't hurt to touch base to see what we're liable for as far as removal. It may be that we have to live with this this year and next year the policy is stated: at the end of next season everything is gone or it will be taken away. If we were to get rid of it this year and contact them, these people may be who-knows-in-what state; it'd be difficult for them to get back here this year to clean it all up. [19:46] Douglas Juntunen (Council Member): If we wait until next month, it may be snowed in. I think we should get a statement from the City Attorney. I guess my big concern at the moment, just because it's still fall and there's going to be trick-or-treaters out, is that refrigerator there. Is there any way you can contact them and find a way to secure that better so in case a child gets in? That’s really dangerous and it doesn't look like it's very secure. [20:32] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): We can absolutely reach out to that person and if we're not going to remove it, we can secure it somehow. We could also make a motion that we would act based on what the attorney says. [21:18] Jim Michalski (Mayor): I'll make that motion—that we would act on what the City Attorney says and give the City Administrator that ability to act based on the law. Do I have a second? (Council: Second). All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye). Thanks. [22:05] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): For the arena, Mike and his crew are working hard to get the ice in for hockey season. Ice has been painted and everything's pretty much tidied up. Police Department, our city staff, and the ATV Club are partnering together to put in another bridge to get ATVs off the road. Darren, you and I worked quite a bit on that. It's passable now; it looks great. [22:51] Darren Gould (Police Chief): Yeah, it looks very nice. It’ll help stop traffic in the city. [23:38] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): A couple more things: Nick Peterson passed his wastewater test a couple weeks ago, so hats off to him. And then training for Rural Water this month—all free trainings. Thank you so much. [23:55] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Moving on to 4C, Municipal Liquor Store department report. [24:28] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): The liquor store manager will not be in attendance tonight, so we will provide an update next month. We also have a liquor board meeting next week. Moving on to 4D, Technology and Library Department. [24:28] Library Director: The library has been going well. Foot traffic has slowed a bit now that kids are back in school, though the exchange of books between libraries has stayed stable. We had a few excellent programs—free movie night once a month was really well attended. Storytime continues every Thursday at 2:00. Finally, we did interviews for the library clerk. One of the ladies we spoke with has 18 years of experience as an academic librarian. I recommend that we hire Diane Coffee as the new library clerk. [26:52] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Do I have a motion for approval of the recommendation? Do I have a second? (Council: Second). [27:04] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): Just for additional information, some of the ways that we were going to make sure that we meet the budget standard for the library was adding in Saturday hours. This was approved previously by Council as far as posting the job. [27:51] Jim Michalski (Mayor): All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carried. When will this individual start? (Library Director: October 20th). Technology? [28:24] Ryan McKeon (Finance Director): You'll notice some new microphones in front of you. This is the new technology we purchased. We're still having some problems with communication; there's a gentleman here from Hunt Electric trying to get this worked out. At the end of it, we'll have a touchscreen that I'll be able to control each microphone or the whole room at the same time. Regarding city cameras: we contacted VC3. [29:58] Ryan McKeon (Finance Director): They went through all the city cameras with the help of Water and Light. Essentially, it's not in their wheelhouse anymore. They are going to refer us to a different company, DSE out of Duluth. We have some cameras that we need to replace or fix and it's not going to be done by our current software companies. Other than that, IT-related: I installed a new ethernet down at the Muni and I’m installing a new workstation for the DMV so they can do more testing. [31:31] Lou Ohly (Council Member): These cameras—is it because they're so old they don't support them anymore? And were we paying a monthly maintenance fee for that? [32:16] Ryan McKeon (Finance Director): They don't want to touch them. I don't know the answer to the maintenance fee question. [32:16] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): Citizens come to us based on seeing a city camera—if there's a hit-and-run or a car factor—and we haven't been able to produce footage. We're seeing how beneficial it could be if everything was back up and running. [33:49] Jim Michalski (Mayor): I think the problem with technology is that in five years, whatever you have is obsolete. How many cameras are we talking about? [35:20] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): We had up to 20, but a few disappeared. The ones that are working, the PD has access to. VC3 is going to refer us to DSE. [36:06] Darren Gould (Police Chief): We get requests all the time for court, child exchanges, or stolen cars. It's nice to try to catch plates. Nighttime visibility is big. If you're going to get something, get the best quality, otherwise it doesn't pay to do it. [36:52] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Moving on to 4E, Motor Vehicle department. [37:11] DMV Representative: We had to start over on hiring, but we did interviews and chose Leanne Gibson for the position. We're very excited. We're just asking the Council for approval for the hire. We are required to do a background check because she would be able to process DLs and fast tracks. Traffic is slowing down a little, but we've done over 100 exams since the last time I was here. [40:36] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): We've determined there are a couple of things they wanted to implement as far as revenue-generating ideas. Manuals were one of them and it's going well. We acquired some cubicles and repurposed them from the library so we now have two testing stations at the DMV. [42:09] Lou Ohly (Council Member): I just have a question—the hours are the same? [43:17] DMV Representative: Yes, 10:00 to 3:00. Fridays are busy days. She may come in five days a week for training. [43:17] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Motion to hire Leanne Gibson for the part-time DMV position? [43:53] Douglas Juntunen (Council Member): Motion. (Council: Second). All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye). [44:20] Darren Gould (Police Chief): If you want our department to run the background check, let me know. We can run it through the BCA system. [45:07] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Moving on to 4F, Parks and Recreation department. [45:07] Ryan McKeon (Finance Director): Last year was a banner year, but this year is exceeding those revenue numbers. We’re about $6,500 ahead. "Camp Spot," which controls reservations, has a new analytics platform. We’re also working on official job descriptions for campground positions and background tests for accountability. [47:29] Taylor Hansberry (Deputy Clerk): We have signs in the arena advertising area businesses. We cleaned that up and reached out to 105 businesses. At the moment we have five new advertisers: Diamond Dance Studio, L Granite, Fine Insurance Agency, Junction Tire, and Kwik Trip. A small banner is $100 a year, and the larger board banners are $325 a year. [51:22] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): We narrow it down to three qualified applicants for the arena: Kimberly Ubernat and two others. This fills spaces that were previously full last year. We are actually reducing staffing hours a bit; the Hockey Association believes they might have volunteers to take care of Sunday open skates. [52:55] Lou Ohly (Council Member): Was this something mentioned where Essentia might partner with us on the building? [53:41] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): We are having discussions with a few potential community partners. Motion to hire the three individuals? (Council: Motion and Second). All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye). [54:28] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): For Engineering: 4th Street reconstruct is 98% complete. Sewer lining project is finished. Campground lift station lining is done. We’re working on GIS mapping. [56:54] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): From an engineering perspective, the Highway 73 Trail project cost is tracking at $1.177 million. We were 3% over with change orders, but otherwise below. Sewer line and 4th Street projects are both tracking under contract amounts. [58:25] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Back to the hockey arena: R22 refrigerant. That was taken off the shelf years ago. We're running on stock we find around the country. My other problem is the compressors. [59:10] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): We’ve had discussions with the Hockey Association about the parking lot and Wi-Fi. The compressors always come up. Our engineers are currently looking for grant opportunities. [1:00:48] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): Chamber of Commerce update: They are looking to repost their Executive Director position. MSOP is also looking to hire; they currently have over 400 employees and are very short-staffed. [1:02:17] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): 5A: Electric Utility expense update. There was a motion made by Water and Light to postpone electric utility payments from the city to Water and Light for two years starting January 1st, 2023. This is a $180,000 savings for the city's budget. [1:03:51] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): 5B: Proposed Budget. We are removing those electric utility line items and reevaluating. In addition, our liquor fund debt to the Sewer fund has been paid in full. This will be the first year we see a positive balance in the liquor fund. Regarding the Levy: if you lower your Levy after taking ARPA money, you might be subject to repayment. Our auditors recommend we do not reduce the rate. [1:07:41] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): The sewer fund is at $1.2 million, approaching the goal we wanted to make the fund self-sufficient. [1:08:28] Jim Michalski (Mayor): We should mention we are essentially doing a zero percent tax rate increase. This is the fifth year in a row that this Council has done a zero percent increase while maintaining the city. [1:10:49] Jim Michalski (Mayor): 6A: Conditional Use Permit request for Brandon Lundquist. [1:11:36] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): We received a letter from Moose Lake Implement expressing concerns. The lot is too small for the requested business and the applicant has been using their private parking lot without permission. Also, a letter from Louise Halverson, a neighbor, concerning setbacks, fence encroachment, and potential flooding due to the amount of fill brought in. [1:13:55] Darren Gould (Police Chief): We've had complaints of vehicles parked in the street and close calls. I talked to Brandon the other day about a trailer being parked in the traffic lane. [1:14:42] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): I was on-site and the fill is 11 inches higher than the top curb of Industrial Road. That is definitely going to impact water travel. [1:16:14] Jim Michalski (Mayor): This work was done without going through proper channels first. It should have never happened until it had gone through the Planning Commission. [1:19:21] Brandon Lundquist (Applicant): Everybody’s concern is about the water. The reason it is as high as it is is to prevent water from the road flooding the neighbor's basement. I put 350 yards of dirt in there. Technically, her garage is one foot on my property. [1:22:24] Jim Michalski (Mayor): What do you have to say about the business saying you're using their property? [1:23:11] Brandon Lundquist (Applicant): That was when I had to get rid of the storage container. Normally I'm not there more than two days a week. I sold all my trailers in Barnum; I’m just trying to liquidate my stuff. [1:25:25] Lou Ohly (Council Member): When we have members of this community come and say they're against something next to their property, we have never gone against that. [1:28:11] Jim Michalski (Mayor): When you talked to the Planning Commission, you said nothing would be over the fence. Now that you've put four feet of fill in, you have a two-foot fence. It's a huge eyesore. [1:31:20] Douglas Juntunen (Council Member): I'll make a motion to deny. (Lou Ohly: Second). All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye). Opposed? Motion carried. [1:33:50] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): 6B: Conditional Use Permit for 700 Coles Boulevard. This is for the structure to be built on the lot. [1:36:15] Thompson (Applicant): Originally we talked about two parking spots out front and four on the backside. We're open to moving the building whichever way to satisfy the neighbor. [1:42:59] Lou Ohly (Council Member): I’ll make a motion to approve the conditional use and directions for the developer to work with Alyssa and the neighbor for placement within setback rules. (Council: Second). All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye). [1:43:54] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): 6C: Pay application number three for Kompay Inc, $57,272.93. (Council: Motion/Second/Passed). 6D: Sewer Lining Pay app number three, $9,673.76. (Council: Motion/Second/Passed). [1:45:16] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): 6E: Project Meter Billing. New commercial meters can cost $3,000. We want to discuss sharing costs with entities because we can't budget for how many requests we get in a year. [1:47:35] Phil Entner (City Superintendent): I recommend billing 100% of the cost. Residential is $150, but commercial is much more. [1:49:30] Jim Michalski (Mayor): Let’s put this as an agenda item next month and research if this should be part of the fee schedule or building permits. [1:51:04] Ryan McKeon (Finance Director): 6F: Natural Gas Franchise Fee. We charge two dollars a month plus a fee per therm. Most cities only charge a flat fee. Last year it generated $40,000. [1:53:23] Jim Michalski (Mayor): I would love more information next month on the users and how that breaks down. [1:56:29] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): 6G: Liquor Store Manager job description. We’re updating descriptions to provide accountability and clear expectations. [1:58:41] Lou Ohly (Council Member): I think we should have employees sign that they understand the job description. It protects both parties. [2:01:28] Taylor Hansberry (Deputy Clerk): 6H: City Online Presence. I’ve updated council minutes, agendas, board members, and city forms. I added a Public Works page and a new resident information page. We only scored 64% in accessibility for disabled people, so we are working on a design change for contrast ratios and text resizing. [2:07:39] Taylor Hansberry (Deputy Clerk): Regarding social media: we have six accounts. We’re drafting a social media policy because we need to make sure we’re not infringing on First Amendment rights or discriminating based on viewpoints. [2:13:18] Jim Michalski (Mayor): We should really have a master book that is locked up that has all the passwords for all the technology we have. In the past, we couldn't get passwords when someone was out. [2:15:35] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): 6I: Property Tax Split for ISD 97. Northern Lake Surgery Center is purchasing land from the school. (Council: Motion/Second/Passed). [2:17:16] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): 6K: Resolution 22.10.01 identifying election judges for November 8th. (Council: Motion/Second/Passed). [2:18:34] Jim Michalski (Mayor): 6L: Truth in Taxation meeting December 14th at 6:00 PM. 67: Historical Society request to plant trees. [2:19:21] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): They are requesting permission to plant a couple of trees at their expense. Public Works has been involved. (Council: Motion/Second/Passed). [2:21:07] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator): 7: Correspondence. A letter is going out to tobacco retailers regarding the new ordinance effective January 2023. [2:21:52] Jim Michalski (Mayor): We really need to adhere to that at the Municipal liquor store as well. Moving on to announcements. (Mayor reads dates for EDA, Water and Light, Housing, Fire District, and Park Board). Do I have a motion to adjourn? (Council: Second). All in favor say aye. (Council: Aye).