Based on the context provided, here is the transcribed townhall meeting with speaker names assigned. [0:04] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** I'd like to call the regular city council meeting for March 12th, 2025 to order and start with the pledge of allegiance. 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. [0:40] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Is there any additions or corrections to the agenda? If I get a motion to approve the agenda, there second. [0:50] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen:** So moved. [0:51] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** Second. [0:52] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? [0:55] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Consent agenda have the minutes from the February 12th, 2025 regular city council meeting and the financial reports for the city council payable February 2025, city financial statement February 2025, and the liquor store profit and loss statement for February 2025. [1:22] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** There any questions or comments on the consent agenda? Can I get a motion to approve? [1:25] **Council Member Kris Huso:** So move. [1:26] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** I get a second. [1:27] **Council Member Walter Lower III:** Second. [1:28] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** All in favor? Aye. Next is public comment. Uh for each member of the public intended to speak during the public comment portion of today's meeting, please approach the podium microphone and state your name and city residence before proceeding with your statements. I would ask that decorum is observed in the following ways during the portion of the meeting. [2:03] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** All statements should be addressed to me as the chairman of the meeting and not to any particular member and you may take up to three minutes with your statement. I now invite our first speaker to approach microphone public comment. Um are you on the agenda? [2:23] **Tammy Gus:** You're on the agenda. Okay. Sorry. Yep, you're fine. You said my address, your name and your city of residence. Tammy Gus. Well, whatever. I'm here um because I put in a formal complaint to the city about the defamation of character packets that are being mailed out by one of your city employees. [2:45] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** I'd like to stop you there. Your statements during an open meeting of the city council related to a city employee matter are out of order as they involve private data under the Minnesota government data practices act Minnesota statute 13.43 subdivision 4 and open meeting law which legally generally cannot be discussed at an open meeting. So please refrain from making such statements. If you have anything you would like to state about such matter, you must state those to the city administrator. [3:17] **Tammy Gus:** Okay. In these packets, some of the facts are not factual. Um prices are not the same. And it says in this person's opinion. [3:28] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Once again, I have to stop you because it's— [3:31] **Tammy Gus:** So, can I give you some examples of being a bartender? So, say she ordered a drink and then said, "Give that gentleman a drink, too, please." She took the money from that particular person. This person wasn't ready. So, I waited until that person was ready. And then when he was, then I go over and I give him his drink without no money being exchanged. I can use that for an example. Um is this investigation—I did not see— [4:20] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Once again I have to stop you. [4:22] **Tammy Gus:** It's not in the city council minutes the investigation. [4:25] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Yes, any complaint um that has been um presented to the city is in due process and is under consideration right now. [4:38] **Tammy Gus:** So then how did somebody get if it's not done yet? How did they get the papers to send it out? [4:45] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** I'm referencing the complaint you submitted to the city, but this investigation against Megan is not in the city minutes. Once again, it's data practices and our attorney. [5:09] **Tammy Gus:** Then how did how did um when I had a meeting with you, you stated to me that two people involved in— [5:17] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** It's a they made a data request through the city and that was processed but it's not efficiently done. Is there anything else? [5:34] **Tammy Gus:** Okay. Um, so with you being short-handed up top, I've got people that will sign affidavit that the mayor's been working. Isn't that a conflict of interest? [5:50] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** I did work there in the emergency situation and I did one for like three hours one day. [5:58] **Tammy Gus:** Isn't that a conflict of interest or liability? [6:04] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** I do not believe so. [6:07] **Tammy Gus:** When um Elaine was working and was short-handed, she wanted to get Mark back on and you said or—that was prior to my being in this position, but it's still the city said no that he couldn't because it was a liability. [6:31] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** So it's not—well before my time. [6:40] **Tammy Gus:** Is there going to be an investigation into anybody sending these? [6:44] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** That is part of the complaint and that is in due process. We're working on that. [6:56] **Tammy Gus:** Thank you for your time. Yep. Thank you. Oh, I'm sorry. No. Is the city paying for this investigation? Was the person that did this investigation about the the um female in here that keeps redacting her name, was she asked by the city to do this? Did she get paid by the city to do this? Because this is a lot of hours and time and the only way to get this information is off a city computer. [7:56] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Okay, you're at three minutes. Is the next person—? [8:09] **Renee Gaffne:** My name is Renee Gaffne and I live in Ottawa. And I just have a series of questions because I'm new to this um process. Um I was a recipient of one of the packets and I also have multiple packets that local businesses have had and local customers that have had. So there have been two batches according to the post office stamps. Um I'm curious on who has access to the information, who printed it off and mailed it. Um there was a formal request... [8:45] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** There's no—I have to go back to a statement that your statements during an open meeting of the city related to city employee matter are out of order as they involve private data under the Minnesota government data practices act Minnesota statute 13.43 subdivision 4 and the Minnesota open meeting law which generally legally cannot be discussed at the open meeting. So please refrain from making such statements. If you have anything you would like to state about such matter, you must state those to the city administrator. [9:21] **Renee Gaffne:** I was just asking a question. I wasn't making a statement. I was asking a question. But you could just say that that's not allowed or that's yeah. Um because I'm not exactly sure how this works. Um but some of the information in here I was—just another question that I have is how thorough the investigation is. If it was just a time-specific um viewing of that— [9:51] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** That question we can't answer it. [9:54] **Renee Gaffne:** Okay. Um the accuser. Um I was told when I was— [10:00] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** We can't go into that because that's data practices. [10:06] **Renee Gaffne:** Well, before you say that, let me finish my sentence so you can tell me whether or not it's allowed. Um I was told when I called to try to get on the agenda that this is public information. Um that everything in this packet was public information. Anybody that walks into the municipal—could you clarify that please? [10:29] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Yes, please let me clarify. Um my statements were that I have not seen the report that you were speaking of. Um I can confirm that the city has fulfilled data practices act per our obligation to do so in those requests and that anything that was distributed was public data and that the redaction occurred through our attorney and with facilitation of city process. Okay. I have not seen the reports that you're speaking of. [10:52] **Renee Gaffne:** Okay, that's fair enough. With the redaction with the customers and the employee, um what would qualify as redaction? What information would be held out that would be redacted? [11:10] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** That's probably something that we can't discuss in an open meeting. I would have to guess. [11:16] **Renee Gaffne:** Okay. Could you disclose who requested the formal information or the report? [11:22] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** I myself don't know. [11:24] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** I'm not sure. I don't know if we can or not. That's something we— [11:32] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** So, I think we're at the point right now where if additional information is desired, a public data request should be submitted. Um, anything that the city can provide and is legally obligated to provide, they will. Um, outside of that, any additional complaints, uh, if you'd like to submit them to myself. Um, the one that I have received is in process under consideration. Um, I did also make it clear when I was contacted that there are many items we cannot discuss and will not discuss. And so we do need to follow um, that obligation as an employer as well. [12:11] **Renee Gaffne:** Absolutely. I agree completely. I didn't have necessarily a formal complaint. I just have questions about this process because I find it odd that just in my neighborhood, I have all these packets that were mailed out to fellow business people and customers and things like that. So I as a taxpayer and I own seven businesses and things like that. I just have questions about the process and how do I gather information and it seems like there's some roadblocks there and I if there is an open investigation um information in these packets and things like that I'm willing to share what we received and things like that because if it is an investigation then I think that all evidence should be presented on both sides things like that. So, I have more questions than accusations or formal complaints. So, that's kind of where I'm going with on that one. [13:00] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Um, you have about a minute left. [13:12] **Renee Gaffne:** Okay. So, I guess I'm not exactly sure. Again, mine are more like questions. Um if the accuser um or the person that brought some of this stuff to um shed some light on there. Has there been any investigation on is this a retaliation? Is this you know just kind of devil's advocate? [13:35] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** That's something we can't answer. [13:40] **Renee Gaffne:** Right. Okay. So my next question is just for information on the investigation—if these packets are being passed out in multiple counties um as a taxpayer or anything like that just financial question is that going to cost the city of Moose Lake or the county members or anything like that for a change of venue if things are just in the process of the investigation or the legal standpoint? [14:13] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Uh, it's a question that we can't answer at this time. [14:18] **Renee Gaffne:** Okay. Okay. All right. I guess that is all the questions that I have. [14:26] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Okay. All right. Thank you. [14:30] **Renee Gaffne:** Thank you. [14:35] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Is there anybody else would like to speak? Seeing none at this time, we'll end the public comment portion of the meeting. We'll go with department reports. Carlton County Sheriff's Office. [15:00] **Deputy Doug (Sheriff’s Office):** All right. Good afternoon. Uh here to present the activity report for law enforcement activity report for February 2025. Uh so we had 118 calls for service by the contract deputies. 85 additional calls for service handled by the county deputies. Uh self-initiated contract deputies with 20 extra patrol details. 39 traffic stops. 24 business checks. Two community engagements. Four on public assist and one paper service. Uh other county deputies completed 34 additional traffic stops, three on view public assist, nine paper services, and nine stone guard controls. There were an additional 29 calls for service handled by uh the contract deputies. An additional 30 calls for service handled by the other county deputies for the month of February. [15:55] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any questions or comments for Doug on the service report? Thank you. [16:01] **Deputy Doug (Sheriff’s Office):** Thank you. [16:03] **Phil Entner (City Superintendent):** Phil Entner, City Superintendent. Mayor, members of the council, Administrator Owens, starting the water department. Water department distributed 5.7 million gallons of drinking water the month of February. Uh frozen water and sewer line policy—I know it's nice outside today, especially last week. It does not mean the frost is out of the ground. Does not mean shut your water off if you were running it to prevent from freezing. Um we actually had another one freeze up two days ago. So, even though it's nice and beautiful outside, freezing utilities are still happening. Um, if there's any questions about that, frozen water sewer line policy, please reach out to me, the city office, the public workshop. Call somebody. If you don't understand it, please reach out to me. I'll walk you through it. We would much rather go down that path than have you freeze up and have some issues. [17:01] **Phil Entner (City Superintendent):** Sewer department uh the month of February uh collected 9.4 million gallons of waste water. Uh we are going through uh the beginning steps of our first discharge of the wastewater facility. Um there'll be more to come on that next month. Street and right-of-way department pretty much just pothole filling right now. We're going to be doing a little bit of right-of-way clearing that we didn't get done last fall. Um the new skid steer that was approved in January is here now and that is in service. Um cemeteries—we have a couple of things to button up there from winter burials just to finish those things up. Um campground is obviously still shut down for the winter. We are starting to uh dig into our beach house renovation that was a capital project for 2025. We're just in the early stages of that. That'll be continuing to happen. Um other than that, I got a few more things to touch on later in the meeting. So, any questions on what I touched on right now? [17:50] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any questions from council? No. Thank you. [17:56] **Phil Entner (City Superintendent):** Yep. [17:56] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Municipal liquor store report. [18:07] **Liquor Store Manager:** Mayor Michalski, Administrator Owens, reports of the council. Uh, let's see here. Things are going great down at the liquor store. We completed our first category audit. Brenda Viznovic from the MMBA was there. Uh we're working together now to put together a perpetual inventory tracking report and that'll just aid us in that process. Um I distributed a handout. Uh we're going to participate in the 11th annual MMBA pet drive. So for the month of April, people can come down to the MUN, donate some cash or other goods that will go to pets, and it's 100% to the local animals. So, pretty cool event. Uh, let's see. This Saturday from 7 to 10, we have Up North Smoke for entertainment. So, things are happening down there. [19:04] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any questions for him on the liquor store report? Okay. Moving on to the technology and library department. [19:15] **Technology/Library Representative:** Yeah. So, as far as the IT goes, I'll jump right into um Garrett from the League of Minnesota Cities, the loss control agent that comes down. Um this time we focused on cyber security. They had a really comprehensive checklist. Uh you'll see in the report we passed with flying colors. He was really impressed. The one thing he said that we should be probably thinking about at least is um a cyber security response plan. So I've already started drafting that um and then I'll bring it forward whenever that gets complete but it's on my list of things to do. And then you'll see a quote—two quotes in your packet for some Apple iPad Pros. Um, if we go through our third-party consulting IT department, um, it'll be a little over $4,000 more than if I just get them myself. So, I will need a vote on that to know which way you guys want to go. [20:25] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** The one that uh you found yourself, that's for $10,098? [20:30] **Technology/Library Representative:** Yep. [20:31] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** And the other one was $15,000? You got it. [20:32] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen:** I'll make a motion that we go with the $10,098. [20:35] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Is there a second? [20:36] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** I'll second that. [20:37] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** All in favor? Aye. Opposed? [20:45] **Technology/Library Representative:** Um I might just add in too that um the iPads that are being replaced, any of them that are still serviceable, we're going to repurpose and reutilize in other areas of the city as well. I think that's it. [21:01] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Thank you. Thank you. City engineer report. [21:05] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Um, a lot was covered this month for engineering. A couple of items that I wanted to point out specifically was that um the city did submit a project request to Congressman Stauber's office. Uh we've also worked with the county lobbyist um as far as discussions about city projects that are ongoing. So we do have um from a county perspective boots on the ground at the legislature which is exciting. Um and so we're working hand-in-hand with the county on that. Um in addition the trail is moving forward. Um the trail project. We are hoping to have a bid out here—there's the time frame posted in here—um in the next two months, so to speak, as far as a construction bid is concerned. Um in addition, we are continuing to monitor our grant applications. We have one more grant with the MPCA that we have not heard back on yet and we'll continue to work on that. Um the city did submit a project on the PPL list. As far as um the clean water fund is concerned, uh we have submitted our lining project on that list. And from a state perspective, any type of um bonding requests, it's preferred that you be on that list. Um, so we're making sure we do our due diligence in the background as well, um, to increase our chances of receiving monies through a bonding bill. And I think that's it. [23:00] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** There's a lot going on. Um, our agenda is up to six pages now. If you have any questions when you're reviewing, please feel free to let me know and I can go over anything specifically. Otherwise, we'll continue to keep council updated on a monthly basis and/or through additional communications if necessary. [23:07] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any questions on the engineer report? [23:10] **Council Member Kris Huso:** Was there some discussion—I'm looking for you, I can't see it, but uh—about a trail from the school to the Quick Trip area? [23:25] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Thank you for asking. So some of the forward projecting ideas that we have is if the residential development comes to fruition, we would like to seek monies through Safe Routes to School or something of that nature in order to connect the residential development to the school property. So in our planning and platting, we're currently in the platting phase which we'll discuss a little later on in the meeting. We are making considerations within the project design to accommodate a trail from the development to the school property. [24:04] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Thank you. Any other questions? Okay. Chamber update. [24:10] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Um the chamber has a lot going on. Um the visitor guide is going to be available here in the coming weeks. That's really exciting. Um planning is underway for all events that are spring, summer, and fall related. Uh all of the event information is available on the website. In addition, they're continuing their membership drive. And so they shared today that um they have only 50 unpaid memberships in comparison to last year for a total of 134 members. And so they've been working really hard on that membership drive and things are going well. Um again, lots of upcoming events that we'll touch base on and provide information for just prior to additional meetings. [24:56] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Questions or comments? Okay. Well, we are in the previously discussed business, the Moose Lake gravel pit updates. [25:05] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Uh yeah, I just wanted to provide council with an update regarding where we're at with the gravel pit. And so um internally the city has had multiple meetings with the engineers regarding permits and things of that nature. Um in the past month we've kind of identified what permit track that the city will be pursuing um for a mining permit so to speak. So in the packet there was the information that was provided to us regarding permit fees, permit options. Discussions have occurred regarding general site layout, overburden stockpiles, material stockpiling, things of that nature. Um and so I provided the memorandum and a little bit of one of the meeting minutes just to give additional information to council regarding where we're at. [26:03] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Is there the possibility that it could be up and running this year? [26:07] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** So the timeline tentatively that we've discussed with the engineer firm is May. Uh we are pushing for May. I'd say realistically we might be looking at June. Um but May is our goal and that's what we're pushing really hard for. [26:21] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Okay, that's good news. Are there other questions on that? No. And moving on to new business, the Moose Lake Power utility easement approval. [26:38] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Oh yes. So what council has in their packet is easement information regarding a utility easement for Moose Lake Power. And I did provide a communication in there from their superintendent, Jim Pederson. Um, essentially as a utility, Water and Light cannot own any property. And so because they're under the city umbrella, essentially they're seeking approval of this easement via council as the property would technically be an asset of the city. [27:23] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Motion or discussion? [27:24] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen:** I'll make that motion. [27:26] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** I'll second. [27:28] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Is there any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Carried. The J&M Displays Fourth of July fireworks proposal. [27:34] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Oh yes. Um in the packet, council received the proposal for the annual fireworks display. Um the amount allotted within the proposal is the same amount that's been spent in previous years. Um the Moose Lake Area Chamber annually has done a wonderful job of fundraising and then making a donation to the city regarding the fireworks display. Um and so those processes are underway right now with the chamber. Um but essentially looking for approval on the fireworks display for the 4th of July. [28:14] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Discussion or motion. [28:22] **Council Member Walter Lower III:** This is the typical amount that's correct? [28:27] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** I believe it's been the same amount for three years. Um, possibly four, but yes. [28:30] **Council Member Walter Lower III:** Do we remember what the chamber was able to raise last year? [28:35] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** It's the highest it's ever been, I think. [28:38] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Correct. It was over $10,000. Yeah, it was close to the total. Very close to the total. They make a fantastic donation to the city. Um, and so, you know, hopeful for that. However, this is an item that the city budgets for. Okay. [28:50] **Council Member Kris Huso:** I'll make that motion to approve. [28:53] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** I'll second. [28:55] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Carried. Memorandum of understanding with the hockey association lease agreement. [29:00] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Yes. Council received in their packet the memorandum of understanding between the Moose Lake Area Hockey Association and the city of Moose Lake. Essentially, this is in addition to our current lease agreement. Uh the discussions that have been had internally are that what are the ways that the city and the hockey association can collaborate in order to provide revenue generating opportunities for the association as they have financed a portion of the debt related to the new compressors. One thing that has been discussed is the opportunity to extend out. Um and so what would happen during this time frame is we'd like to try to see if there is a demand for utilizing the arena. And so the hockey association would essentially cover the volunteers—maintaining the ice, cleaning the building, things like that, the insurance that's discussed in the MOU. In addition, they would have the opportunity to then sell ice time. Um and so they could use it for camps, they could sell some ice time, just trying to essentially get a feel for what the demand really is and if this is a viable opportunity and a way to collaborate. So, this MOU discusses March 1st through April 30th of 2025. If all goes well, we might be looking to do the same thing in the fall. [30:55] **Mike (Hockey Association):** May I add something? So, we've already gotten plenty of requests for camps and things like that. So—sorry, my name is Mike. I'm with Moose Lake Hockey Association. Um, so a lot of our kids, being in a small town, we don't have—we can't pick and choose the kids, you know, we don't have tryouts. We get the kids that we get. And uh, one of the biggest things that the kids struggle with is going to get power skating. A lot of these camps are in other towns and a lot of the kids that are locally just either can't afford them or it takes a lot of time. So, we have had a huge demand and we've got a lot of people that are willing to do camps here. Um, I got most of April booked already if you allow us to have the ice. So, it's something there's definitely revenue that we can sell ice. And then also too, we can make improvements on the building such as the mats and things like that once we are able to pay off our compressors. So, there's plenty of good opportunities and good things that we can do with the rink instead of just letting it sit empty. And I did talk to the scheduler—they didn't have anything going on till May 10th. So, we could definitely be done by April 30th, shut off the compressors and have a 10-day gap to be able to clean. [32:10] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** So, you're talking this April? [32:11] **Mike (Hockey Association):** This April. Yep. [32:12] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Okay. Did this come before the park board? [32:15] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Thank you for asking. Um, it was sent out via consensus via email. There was no March meeting and we did have a majority of park board members respond in favor of this. Okay. [32:28] **Mike (Hockey Association):** And if you have any other questions... Thank you. [32:32] **Council Member Kris Huso:** Um I have a question about the park board. Yeah, I did go to the prior month's meeting and was appointed the park board but not as a voting member. Is that correct? [32:47] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** My understanding is that when former Mayor Shaw left, he increased the committee and board numbers. My understanding then is we can't change the voting dynamic or the quorum dynamic per board or committee and so um we have one elected official as a voting member but um it could be either or, or if only one is in attendance. Um, so we're working through those challenges in the background. [33:15] **Council Member Kris Huso:** Okay. So, you brought that up. So, if Lou couldn't attend April 10th and um I vote instead. Is that what we're thinking? [33:28] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Yes. Because we have it approved through our annual appointments as both elected officials documented as being on the board. Um, but for voting purposes and how the ordinance reads that establishes it, we want to make sure that there's only one elected official that's voting at any time. [33:53] **Council Member Kris Huso:** Okay, that sounds good. [33:55] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Is there any further discussion on the memorandum of understanding? If not, is there a motion? [34:02] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** I'll make that motion to accept the hockey lease agreement. [34:06] **Council Member Kris Huso:** I'll second. [34:09] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Carried. Next, we have the MPCA permit application. [34:20] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Yes. So, what council received in their packet is the NPDES permit for the Sand Lake Resort. Um, Mr. Lambert sent this over. Essentially, the city does need to sign off on it. Um we've had our engineers look at the permit and we've also had City Superintendent Entner review it. I have requested a couple of changes be made. Um and those changes occurred via that collaboration. Essentially, on the third page of the permit, it talks about the percentage of design flow capacity that the city's at. And so, the difference is we've updated that design flow to 82.8% versus what it was in the packet. Essentially, these are the figures from our most recent pond capacity memo that was sent out to council in January. So, we want to make sure we've done our due diligence that when the MPCA sees this application, they're seeing our updated capacity figures. Um, and so there shouldn't be any red flags because of the work that the city's been doing with the sewer lining and reducing capacity. [35:48] **Phil Entner (City Superintendent):** Yep. Under 2B, the administrator touched on 2C—the number retention of 410 would be our 410 million gallons per day. [35:58] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Yes. What was the percentage design flow number? [36:01] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** That was 82.8 is current. [36:03] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** You explain that to me. You hit it right on the head. That's our capacity. [36:12] **Phil Entner (City Superintendent):** Essentially. Yeah. Well, that's making improvements. We're doing good. [36:20] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Yeah. That used to be in the '90s. So, you're definitely moving in the right direction. [36:25] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Yes. [36:30] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Are there any questions, comments, motions? Motion required for this? [36:35] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Yes. [36:38] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** I'll make the motion that we accept it with the changes that the city administrator made. [36:45] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen:** Second. [36:48] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Carried. Short Elliott Hendrickson supplemental letter agreement for the plat development. [37:07] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Uh yes. So, council in their packet has the SLA for the platting of the residential development. Essentially, what's been requested from our engineers was to itemize out what's remaining from an expenditure standpoint as the city monitors our engineering fees and engineering budget line item for 2025. And so, essentially, they put together this supplemental letter agreement. This is for all the work that is needed in order to finalize the plat of the residential development. Essentially per our development agreement, the city has agreed to participate in the wetland application which we have already submitted and then platting. And so once this platting is complete, the city's engagement from an engineering perspective will be limited moving forward and any additional activities related to the residential development would come before council in another SLA for review. Kind of trying to have a clean boundary of city engineer engagement and making sure that we're monitoring our engineering expenses as well. [38:27] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Comments, questions, motions? [38:40] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** I assume we need a motion to accept that. I'll make that motion. [38:43] **Council Member Kris Huso:** I'll second. [38:45] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Further discussion? All in favor? Aye. Opposed. Carried. City tree discussion. [39:05] **Phil Entner (City Superintendent):** Yeah, I guess so. Um page 101 in your packet, you'll find communication from the City Gardener on a grant she is working for removing emerald ash borer trees through the DNR. Renee could not be here today—she is actually out of town at a family gathering. So, I said I would step in and do my best. She will be back next month to give a better update than what I'm going to be able to give you today. But in a nutshell, this is a grant to the DNR. Um there's the handout I passed out before the meeting as well which has a little bit of information. It's just those are a couple of maps of the areas of the tree survey and tree plan. But anyway, essentially what this is, it's a grant to the DNR that the city is eligible to receive to put together this comprehensive plan and then essentially get a tree inventory of all the trees in the city of Moose Lake. Uh the easiest way we did that was break it out in those four maps that are in your packets. This is just pretty much a communication letting you guys know where Renee is at with this to get your consensus to move forward with this. I would highly recommend it because I have no idea how we're going to treat this emerald ash borer thing when it comes to town and we have a pile of ashes and stuff. [40:37] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Um, so what we've also discovered throughout this process is once we have an established inventory, we can then have access to additional funding and additional grant opportunities. But a lot of the grant opportunities associated with tree treatment, planting, removal, require that you have a tree survey done. And so this is the first step. [41:00] **Phil Entner (City Superintendent):** Correct. So looking to engage in this through a grant to get the survey done and then we can utilize that information to then apply for additional funding. [41:12] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Okay. [41:18] **Council Member Kris Huso:** Would this cover some of the concerns that some of the people brought up like a year ago with some of the trees that we've cut down over the last few years that we have replaced? [41:25] **Phil Entner (City Superintendent):** We definitely help with some of those. Yes. [41:28] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** And through further engagement with the city gardener, we learned that there was a lot more tree planting going on than what was being shared at the council level. And so we've actually welcomed that Renee come give updates. We did some posts on social media. So our tree planting was occurring; it's just not something that was reported on, which I think is really important. So we're trying to re-engage with Renee. She does such a fantastic job. This is kind of another step. [42:12] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Okay, perfect. [42:14] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Then that leads us into um part of this is the city's actually supposed to have a tree committee as well. [42:25] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Go for it. I don't—I don't like committees. So, go for it. [42:43] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** It's actually great. Um the tree committee is a really good idea and a good way to engage. Right now on our annual appointments, we have a tree and weed inspector which is Mayor Michalski. Um we've talked about, you know, committee compensation and some of the items that Renee shared was having an elected official on the tree committee. Um we would then have the city gardener. We could have a city administrative staff member. We could have a public works staff member. Whatever that might look like. Um so we do need to establish a committee. So looking to see if there's engagement from a council perspective and that we can establish all parties involved, bring it back with our annual appointment document for formal approval, but looking for a member of council to be on the tree committee. [43:35] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Want to do it? [43:40] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** I would have some experience with tree committees elsewhere. [43:52] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Excellent. Lou for the win. Love it. Okay, Counselor Ohly. [44:03] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Once again, this is something that we have to do in order to be able to keep applying for these grants. This isn't just another committee the city is going to have; this is something we legitimately need to do. [44:10] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** You bet. So, then what we'll do in April is we'll get the other seat members filled and then bring the committee as a whole to council for formal approval. [44:20] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Anything else on that? City gardener job discussion. [44:25] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Uh yes. So internally there was dialogue with the personnel committee regarding some hiring needs. The first one is going to be the seasonal city gardener position. So in the past there's been two city gardeners. We have a primary and a secondary so to speak. We have a specific budget and as long as the gardeners stay under their wage budget all is well. With that being said, we have Renee—she's again fantastic. Looking for approval from council to post for a second city gardener position. The employee that held that position last year is not returning this year. [45:25] **Council Member Kris Huso:** I'll make that motion for city gardener job posting. [45:29] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** Second. [45:30] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further discussion? All in favor say Aye. Aye. Opposed? Carried. Seasonal part-time campground attendant. [45:47] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Uh yes. Same thing, we have a need in the campground. This was brought before the personnel committee. The recommendation was to post for the position. We do have one campground attendant not returning. [45:57] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** One? [45:58] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Yes. Yep. And so we do have a need to fill one spot for a part-time campground attendant and looking for council approval. [46:07] **Council Member Walter Lower III:** I'll make a motion for approval. [46:11] **Council Member Kris Huso:** Second. [46:13] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Further discussion. All in favor? Aye. Those carry and part-time motor vehicle clerk job posting. [46:21] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Yes. So again, this item was brought forward for discussion with the personnel committee. Essentially the city has been notified that there will be a retirement upcoming for one of our staff members in the motor vehicle department. We discussed the length of time that it takes for training and getting somebody up to speed. So those things were discussed at length with the personnel committee and the personnel committee made the recommendation to council that we post now. This gives us an opportunity to take time selecting a candidate and then introduce training in a timely fashion prior to the retirement of another department member. [47:25] **Council Member Walter Lower III:** Am I allowed to ask when the person is retiring? What month? [47:35] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Um, most likely, again, we're speaking in generalities because you just never know, but most likely the person would retire until the beginning of 2026. But with all the discussion that's been had, it takes a pretty lengthy amount of time to get somebody up to speed. We're looking at part-time, so we're looking at only a couple times per week and just kind of a slow process as far as getting acclimated. We do have limited space in the motor vehicle department, so we're going to be mindful of available workstations through training. Um, but it is a very difficult job to learn. And so, we're hoping that with posting now, we would give somebody seven to nine months of training prior to being on their own. [48:30] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any other questions, comments motions? [48:35] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen:** So moved. [48:37] **Council Member Walter Lower III:** Second. [48:40] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further discussion? All in favor say Aye. Aye. Opposed? Carried. [48:45] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Next, we have reports of correspondence. We have the Minnesota Department of the Administration, the Carlton County Attorney's Office, Carlton County Drug Prevention Coalition meeting minutes, MNDOT news release, the J&M Displays celebrating 250th birthday of the USA, and the 318 Hope Floats event flyer. Committee board meeting minutes—Lake Fire Protection District meeting minutes from January 14th 2025 and there was no March meeting for the parks board. Announcements: regular city council meeting Wednesday April 9th 2025 to 4:00 p.m. here. Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting Thursday, April 17th, 2025, 10:00 a.m. here. Moose Lake Economic Development Authority, March 19th, 2025, 12:00 p.m. in the conference room. Moose Lake Water Commission, Tuesday, March 18th, 1 p.m. in the Water Light office. Moose Lake Housing and Redevelopment Authority Board, Monday, April 14th, 11:00 a.m. at Hillside Manor. Moose Lake Fire Protection District meeting Thursday March 13th, 6:30 p.m. at the Emergency Response Center and the Moose Lake Park and Rec Board, Monday, April 7th, 5:00 p.m. here. Is there anything else? [50:42] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen:** Will we be having a discussion on the 250th anniversary of the nation about anything that might go on in the city? [51:00] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** You know, I suppose that could be a chamber discussion too and park board has historically handled the 4th of July and events like that. So, I think the park board is a great place for those discussions as well. I think it's a great idea. I wanted to get through the approval and submission of this year's fireworks proposal, and then once that's scheduled and the application is complete, then looking at next year. They're suggesting that we engage early. It's so hard to find a pyrotechnics company these days. It's really, really tough. This is the only one we've been able to engage with for a couple of years. [51:47] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Yeah. Yeah. [51:48] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** So, we also got some unique opportunities thrown our way about like drone shows and things like that. So, I mean we could get creative and have dialogue at the park board about all these different ideas and then start discussions regarding next year. [52:00] **Council Member Douglas Juntunen:** Okay. Thank you. [52:02] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** Anything else? Is there a motion to adjourn? [52:05] **Council Member Lou Ohly:** Motion to adjourn. [52:08] **Council Member Walter Lower III:** Second. [52:10] **Mayor Jim Michalski:** All in favor? Aye. Opposed. We are adjourned. Thank you. [52:15] **Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** Yeah. Thank you.