Based on the context provided and the dialogue in the transcript, here is the formatted version with speaker names identified. *Note: While the provided list identifies Jeff Giefer as Mayor, the transcript explicitly refers to the chair as **Mayor Huber** and identifies **Jeff Giefer** as a voting Council Member. I have followed the roles as established in the meeting audio.* [0:02] **Mayor Huber**: All right, next on the agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance, please. [0:05] **All**: (Recording in progress) 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. [0:25] **Mayor Huber**: Thank you. All right, moving on. We've all had a chance to take a look at our regular agenda for this evening. Do I have a motion to approve our regular agenda? [0:30] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: I’ll make that motion. [0:31] **Mayor Huber**: Thank you, Ben. Second? [0:32] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Second. [0:33] **Kristina Handt**: Jeff? Kim. Council Member Carr? [0:35] **Council Member Carr**: Aye. [0:36] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member [Giefer]? [0:37] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Aye. [0:38] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Cornette? [0:39] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Aye. [0:40] **Kristina Handt**: Mayor Huber? [0:41] **Mayor Huber**: Aye. Thank you, Kim. And next, approval of our consent agenda. We've all had a week to take a look at our bill list and the other things that we're paying. Do I have a motion to approve that consent agenda, please? [0:48] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Motion. [0:50] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Carr? [0:52] **Council Member Carr**: Aye. [0:53] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Cornette? [0:54] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Aye. [0:55] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Giefer? [0:56] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Aye. [0:57] **Kristina Handt**: Mayor Huber? [0:58] **Mayor Huber**: Aye. Thank you, Kim. Let's move right into our staff agenda items. Our city engineer, Brad Reifsteck, is first going to talk to us about the consideration of our 2024 Street maintenance contract. Brad, are you up there? [1:15] **Brad Reifsteck**: I am, Mayor. Good evening to you and the council. How are you? [1:18] **Mayor Huber**: Very good, Brad. [1:19] **Brad Reifsteck**: Good, I'm glad you can hear me. Yes. So tonight I'm looking for a motion to award a contract for the 2024 pavement Management program in the city of Grant. Um, as you know, we have a 10-year CIP that we are following for the maintenance of these streets. And this year's streets that were included with the 2024 project are Epsilon Avenue, Epsilon Court, Dellwood Road Court, Dellwood Road Lane, Joliet Avenue, and Justin Trail South of Dellwood Road, and then Keswick Avenue and 65th Street. So this year's project will include patching, crack repair, and fog sealing for all of the streets that are on the list there. Any patching that would be required would be completed by the city's bituminous patching contractor, Asphalt Restoration Company, prior to doing the fog sealing. We did receive two quotes—actually, we did receive one late last Tuesday—but the one that I submitted for recommendations, Pearson Brothers in the amount of $37,500, was the lowest bidder. This year's project's budget is $48,144. So City staff is recommending a contract award to Pearson Brothers Inc. in the amount of $37,300 and with that said, I would be happy to answer any questions. [2:50] **Mayor Huber**: Okay Brad, looks like regular maintenance, keeping the cracks filled and sealing up. I just have a quick question, if no one else does, on the parameters of the project. I'm looking at the Juliet Avenue North map. Where are you stopping on Joliet Avenue North? Right at the gravel? [3:12] **Brad Reifsteck**: Yes. Juliet Avenue south of Dellwood, Highway 96 there. [3:19] **Mayor Huber**: Okay, all right, real good. [3:20] **Brad Reifsteck**: And then I should mention to you also that we did have—you know, we typically have neighborhood meetings for all the neighborhoods that are within the street program, the pavement management program. We did have a virtual meeting a couple months ago; we had representation from all these neighborhoods and they all decided that they didn't want to go any further into a street assessment or a full road reconstruction project. So we are doing our due diligence there as far as seeing if residents want to use these maintenance dollars to do a rather significant road reconstruction project. [4:05] **Mayor Huber**: Yeah, you headed me off at the pass there, Brad. That was my next question. Nice job. I like the... thank you. Yeah, headed me off at the pass. Anyone else? Tom? Gentlemen? [4:18] **Council Member Tom**: No, I mean, seems reasonable under our budget, so yeah. [4:21] **Mayor Huber**: We're saving money, that looks good, Brad. It's about the only thing—we just got done with our budget meeting—it's about the only thing that came in under budget. Everything else... [4:29] **Brad Reifsteck**: Glad I could help. [4:30] **Mayor Huber**: Everything else is sky-high. So looking for a motion on this then. [4:32] **Council Member Tom**: I'll move. [4:33] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Second. [4:34] **Mayor Huber**: We've got Tom and Ben. [4:35] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Carr? [4:36] **Council Member Carr**: Aye. [4:37] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member [Giefer]? [4:38] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Aye. [4:39] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Cornette? [4:40] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Aye. [4:41] **Kristina Handt**: Mayor Huber? [4:42] **Mayor Huber**: Aye. Thank you, Kim. Second up, Brad: the consideration of project financing for the Nolwood Drive Street Improvement project. Can you explain this in more detail for us and for the audience, please? [5:01] **Brad Reifsteck**: Yes, thank you, Mayor, members of the Council. Tonight I'm seeking a motion to approve project financing for the Nolwood Drive Street Improvement project. As you know, this project had gone through the special assessment process. We awarded a construction contract and declared the final cost for this project at the June 4th, 2024, regular council meeting. As you know, the project is funded using special assessments and City Maintenance dollars. The total cost of the improvement was declared by resolution 2024-08 to be $219,800. The city has already committed $16,430 to the total cost of the project using the Street Maintenance dollars allocated to those streets. The special assessments for the project are responsible for the remainder of the project cost, which is in the amount of $234,584. In previous projects, the city of Grant has self-financed using City reserves to initially finance such street improvement projects, but there are other options such as bonding. In either case, the city pays back the debt that they either borrow from themselves or borrow using bonds through the collection of the assessments. So for this particular project, the city staff is asking the council to consider self-financing for this project, but we would entertain any direction that the council is wanting to go in for financing for the Nolwood Drive Street Improvement project. So with that said, I would be happy to entertain any questions or comments from the council. [6:40] **Mayor Huber**: Gentlemen? Tom? [6:42] **Council Member Tom**: Obviously... when did Jeff Bridges become our engineer? I like this. [6:48] **Brad Reifsteck**: Can you see me? Oh, finally got... [6:52] **Council Member Tom**: Okay, Jeff Bridges. I get it. [6:54] **Mayor Huber**: You get it? All right. No, I think this is great. I think we should do it. Any ideas on, generally, Kim, how many people... I didn't ask my questions yet, I know what it is... how many people in general pay off these? [7:18] **Kristina Handt**: Sharon, the city treasurer, and her research says about 25%. [7:23] **Mayor Huber**: Oh, well, okay. So if I remember the number—we all had a budget work session just before this meeting—if I remember the number just generally, it was $176,000 was what you were projecting, is that correct? And some change. So the actual self-bonding on this with the projected 20 to 25% prepayment of these residents would be right around $176,000. It makes sense for the community. And the reason we're even going this route and discussing this instead of actually going out and floating a city bond is we save the money on the bonding process. It is not an inexpensive process. It's also a good investment for the city to use reserves in order to gain that 4 and a half percent back. So it is not a bad investment for the city; it saves us money on the bonding, and if we do get that 20%, the self-bonding would be around $176,000 and some change on the back of that. So we've done this, I think, three times before and it has always worked out very well for us. And as Sharon was telling us, our treasurer, during our budget meeting beforehand—and I think she's right—if interest rates come down a bit, I think some more people may be moving as their house becomes a little more salable with lower rates. And of course, when you move, you pay that off in total. So it could pay back a large portion of it more quickly, hopefully, than over the 15-year term. So Tom, it sounds like you're in favor of this? [8:55] **Council Member Tom**: Yeah, I mean, I think we've done it before. As you said, it's not a huge project, so the city's money won't be tied up in this. You know, if rates come up and you can make more money on CDs and stuff... so yeah, I mean, it's fine. [9:02] **Mayor Huber**: Yeah, we've done it four times, and this is, I think, the smallest one we've done, if I'm not mistaken. [9:06] **Kristina Handt**: Mr. Mayor, council members, just a little bit more background for consistency. You recall, especially the two of you, the 2019-2020 project, Joliet and other areas, which was a much larger project and we did bond for that. Last year, I believe there was a smaller project and the city did not bond, but we honestly and truly didn't even ask because that had been kind of what you'd been doing on the smaller projects. This time, because you didn't bond last year for this project, I asked Brad to bring this forward so you guys could make that decision. [9:45] **Mayor Huber**: Yeah, I think it's good practice to continue doing that as well. With even if at $176,000, I think it makes sense for us to discuss it at the table. Ben, do you have thoughts on this? [9:55] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: No, it seems pretty straightforward. Seems like something that we can do. I think we already have it propped in the... [10:01] **Mayor Huber**: Yeah, we did have some discussion on this prior during a budget work session, but very little. Jeff? [10:05] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Okay. [10:06] **Mayor Huber**: Are you looking for a motion on this, Kim? [10:07] **Kristina Handt**: Mr. Mayor, council members, I am looking for a motion that the city council has determined to self-fund this project. [10:14] **Mayor Huber**: Very good, thank you Kim. Do I have a mover? [10:16] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: I'll make that motion. [10:18] **Mayor Huber**: Mr. Giefer. Do I have a second? [10:19] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: I'll second. [10:20] **Mayor Huber**: Mr. Cornett. [10:21] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Carr? [10:22] **Council Member Carr**: Aye. [10:23] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Giefer? [10:24] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Aye. [10:25] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Cornette? [10:26] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Aye. [10:27] **Kristina Handt**: Mayor Huber? [10:28] **Mayor Huber**: Aye. Thanks, Brad. Appreciate your time tonight. You look like you're going to have a great night, so I'll let you go. And we'll talk to Jennifer... Oh, I'm not going to talk to Jennifer. No action items for Jennifer, our City Attorney. Moving into new business: accepting the 2023 audit. Kim, do you want to handle this, or Sharon, or... [11:06] **Kristina Handt**: Very simply, you all received the audit via email electronically. The city council is required to accept it. You do not have to agree with it; you don't have to approve it. The city is required to have an annual audit at a large cost because that's determined by population and/or if your clerk-treasurer is the same position, right? So because of your population, you are required to have an annual audit. All the findings came in. Sharon does so much work on it, it's ridiculous. And you need to accept it. It has already been submitted to the state. As you recall last year, we were what, six months late? Just because of all the new auditing standards that they had put in place through no fault of our own; that audit was held up through new GAAP rules. [12:00] **Mayor Huber**: I did go through the audit fully and I believe there is a copy here in the back, if I'm not mistaken. Someone may be perusing it... there it is. No significant findings other than the findings we have had for the last 10 years, which are basically segregation of duties. We're such a small city that it's hard to segregate our duties; we have one employee. So segregating duties can be hard, but as Kim had just mentioned, our treasurer is separate from our administrator, and all of our investments are handled by another. So we separate where we can. I review all the checks before they're signed. And of course, that full audit is right back there in Mr. Schafer's hands and I'm sure he'd share that with you if you'd like to do that. So any questions, gentlemen? A motion? [12:50] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Yep. Motion to accept the 2023 audit. [12:53] **Mayor Huber**: Do I have a second, gentlemen? [12:54] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: I'll second it. [12:55] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Carr? [12:56] **Council Member Carr**: Aye. [12:57] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member [Giefer]? [12:58] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Aye. [12:59] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Cornette? [13:00] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Aye. [13:01] **Kristina Handt**: Mayor Huber? [13:02] **Mayor Huber**: Aye. Thank you very much. Next under new business is the consideration of an endorsement of Celia Worth to Brown's Creek Watershed District, which she has been on for the last several years representing the city of Grant. Celia, to my knowledge, has done a good job and I see no reason not to put forward an endorsement of Ms. Worth. Unless there are questions or concerns? I'll move. [13:30] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Second. [13:32] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Carr? [13:33] **Council Member Carr**: Aye. [13:34] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Giefer? [13:35] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Aye. [13:36] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Cornette? [13:37] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Aye. [13:38] **Kristina Handt**: Mayor Huber? [13:39] **Mayor Huber**: Aye. Thank you, Kim. Moving on to unfinished business. We did have a tabled motion for our assessor appointment last month. We were hoping to get some additional quotes on that; unfortunately, those did not appear. So we are left with two: one is the County and one is a private assessor. The County is significantly more expensive and we are trying to, of course, save as much money as possible here and be as frugal as possible, consistent with solid services. So Kim, do you want to talk about our assessor a little bit in terms of cost or in terms of anything else? [14:24] **Kristina Handt**: Mr. Mayor and council members, you've had all the information from the County; you've had information from this independent assessor. I will just note that we had a discussion last time about going a month without an assessor, and that did cause an issue. I couldn't fully explain that because the assessor answers to the County and, of course, the residents, but their guidelines and their deadlines are very strict. At this point, we are a month behind. The assessor—there's going to be some catch-up, and that is why the contract goes back. It will be, if you approve, in effect July 1st. We just have to do it that way. It is only a one-year contract just to see how it goes for both the city and the assessor—the workload, that sort of thing. You know, I would prefer the city to put in a little bit more long-term contracts and get the costs stated down for three years, but I would recommend [this] because I couldn't find anybody and I think I've talked to Patrick [Poshek] several times; I think he will be a good fit for Grant and I think that we should give him a shot. [15:40] **Mayor Huber**: Yeah. Tom? [15:41] **Council Member Tom**: Are we getting him or, as you said before, somebody that works for him? [15:45] **Kristina Handt**: He's going to have somebody that's doing fieldwork, but he's in charge. [15:49] **Council Member Tom**: Okay. [15:50] **Mayor Huber**: Yeah, I will note—just so that everyone's for everyone's comfort level—this is a one-year contract. We do prefer longer contracts; it's hard sometimes for small cities to find personnel, especially on a short basis like this where you don't have a lot of time to look. But we're going to do it for a year, see how it works out. And with every Grant contract that we sign, we have an early termination clause with a 30-day written notice if it isn't working out for whatever reason. But in this case, if there are no further questions or concerns... [16:25] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Mr. [Mayor], I'd like to make a motion to appoint Patrick as our assessor. [16:30] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Second. [16:31] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Carr? [16:32] **Council Member Carr**: Aye. [16:33] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Giefer? [16:34] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Aye. [16:35] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Cornette? [16:36] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Aye. [16:37] **Kristina Handt**: Mayor Huber? [16:38] **Mayor Huber**: Aye. Yeah, still here... You’re in! This is Celia Worth for everyone who has not met Celia Worth, our Brown's Creek Watershed District representative. She does a good job and we just endorsed her, so here she is. Thank you very much. Everyone say hi to Celia. [16:53] **Council**: Hi, Celia! [16:54] **Mayor Huber**: Consideration of Community Festival? [16:55] **Kristina Handt**: I can take it. Yeah, John [Rog] talked to me; he was not able to get enough momentum behind his desire to do it this year. So for this year, he's asked me to request that we don't move forward. However, he also asked me to put some money in the budget—we'll talk at our budget time—for the budget for next year so that if he can get it going for next year, there's budget money in there for that, which will be an ongoing discussion. But for now, just make a motion... [17:31] **Mayor Huber**: I'd make a motion to withdraw the consideration of a committee festival for this year. [17:36] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Second. [17:37] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Carr? [17:38] **Council Member Carr**: Aye. [17:39] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Giefer? [17:40] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Aye. [17:41] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Cornette? [17:42] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Aye. [17:43] **Kristina Handt**: Mayor Huber? [17:44] **Mayor Huber**: Aye. Thank you very much, Kim. Moving on: discussion items. Any staff updates? Brad? Attorney? Staff updates? Nothing? All right, city council reports. Anything you guys would like to discuss or in terms of putting on the agenda for next time, or anything that has occurred here, gentlemen? And Mr. Giefer, I believe it is your turn to read the community calendar in your sonorous tones. [18:15] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Oh, Ben wants to do it. No? [Reading] School board meeting Thursday, August 22nd, District Education Center, 7:00 PM. Stillwater Public Schools board meeting Thursday, August 8th, Stillwater City Hall, 7:00 PM. Washington County Commissioners meeting, Tuesdays, Government Center, 9:00 AM. Primary election, August 13th, 2024, Woodbury Lutheran Church, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. [18:48] **Mayor Huber**: And everyone show up to your primary election, please. I hate to be a big booster here, but people don't show up to the primaries and then they're upset when they get the wrong people in the actual election. So showing up to a primary is how we avoid that; we get the right people in. Anyone like to make a motion to adjourn? [19:07] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: I'll make a motion to adjourn. [19:09] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: I'll second that. [19:10] **Mayor Huber**: Took a while. [19:11] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Carr? [19:12] **Council Member Carr**: Absolutely. [19:13] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Giefer? [19:14] **Council Member Jeff Giefer**: Sure. [19:15] **Kristina Handt**: Council Member Cornette? [19:16] **Council Member Ben Cornett**: Aye. [19:17] **Kristina Handt**: Mayor Huber? [19:18] **Mayor Huber**: Aye. Thank you very much. [19:27] (End of transcript)