This transcript features a regular meeting of the Moose Lake City Council. Based on the context provided, here is the attributed transcript. *** **[0:06] Mayor Jim Michalski:** To help in the meeting, I’d like to welcome everyone to the regular Moose Lake City Council meeting for Wednesday, February 10, 2016, and I'd like to start with the Pledge of Allegiance, please. **[0:26] All:** 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:** Thank you. First item is the agenda. Do we have any additions or changes to the agenda? And appearing none, do you have a motion to accept the agenda? **[0:55] Council Member:** I solemnly accept the agenda as written. **[0:58] Council Member:** I have a second. **[1:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Second. Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. **[1:05] Council Members:** Aye. **[1:07] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. Move on to the consent agenda. Two days of the minutes: number one is the January 13, 2016 reorganization and regular city council minutes; number two is the January 25, 2016 special Moose Lake City Council minutes; number three is the January 20, 2016 regular Water and Light meeting. Do you have any discussion or questions on the minutes? Hearing none, do I have a motion to accept the minutes? **[1:44] Council Member:** I'll make that motion. **[1:46] Council Member:** I'll second it. **[1:48] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further questions or discussion? Hearing them, all in favor say aye. **[1:52] Council Members:** Aye. **[1:54] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. Under consent agenda 2B, we have the financial reports. Number one is the city accounts payable for February 2016. Number two is the city financial statements for January 2016. Number three is the liquor store profit and loss statement for January 2016. Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, do we have a motion? **[2:09] Council Member:** Make that motion. **[2:11] Council Member:** I'll second it. **[2:13] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. **[2:17] Council Members:** Aye. **[2:19] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. Moving on to number three: public comments. This time is reserved for comments from the public on matters not listed on the agenda. Please keep comments to three minutes. If you have one, please state your name. **[3:00] Public Speaker:** [Name unclear], I visit the Moose Lake Township; also I'm an employee here in the city. I just understand that during the appointment for the boards in the city, I just want to express my support for Kurt York for the power board. He brings a sense of rounds to the whole board because he's been a business owner, he's been a union member and leader, so he knows about the Penn Nationals. I just want to express my support for his reappointment to that position. I think he'd be a good one for the next three years. Thank you. **[3:46] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Thank you, appreciate that. Any other comments from anyone? Hearing none, we'll move on to Department reports. Number four A: Public Works Superintendent. **[4:05] Phil Entner:** Yes, sir. All right, we have a report on Safe Routes to School and number two, a letter. I guess there's been a problem with Safe Routes to School; the sidewalks aren't cleared off. I checked the sidewalks on that Safe Routes to School and found that while some have been kept clear all year, there are a lot that haven't been. Starting with Fifth Street down to the school, those have been completely cleared off. Then the Cedar Avenue portion of it that meets Fifth—there the sidewalks from First to Fifth are half cleared off and half are not. The Lakeshore Drive sidewalk is maybe half cleared off. And the Falls Boulevard sidewalk coming down on the Sioux Hill—the DOT has been cleaning it in the last week and they've made it down to Hickory Avenue, but they still have three blocks to go. I talked to Steve [from DOT] and he said they would try and get to it and get that finished cleared off. Really, those guys are better equipped to handle the clearing of that state highway; they have proper signage and lights and all that to really do it safely. But I guess in a pinch, we could try and attempt it. I see they have trucks and a front-end loader and other stuff to get all that... it's a process. **[5:54] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Yeah, it's a process. **[6:00] Phil Entner:** Yeah, and he said they wish they'd get to it more often, but it has been all winter and they're just clearing it off now, so it's pretty deep. **[6:06] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Is it the city's responsibility? **[6:08] Phil Entner:** Yeah, they start at the top and they work down. The city does have an ordinance on number 91 that states that sidewalks are to be kept clean of weeds and snow. If we were to enforce that ordinance and require homeowners to keep their sidewalks cleaned off, you know, it would save us having to try and attempt it. I know that's quite a process. **[6:36] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Do you have any idea how long it would take to clean some of these if the city did take some of that on? **[6:40] Phil Entner:** Well, I know it would probably be the lowest priority because you got to do the emergency routes, the streets, and the sidewalks at the parking arena and Depot parking lots. It would probably be three days after the storm before we could even think about it. Our loader bucket is over seven feet wide and most the sidewalks are four foot to five foot, so that really wouldn't work for that. **[7:10] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Well, that would be the problem. You'd almost need something like a skid steer, right? **[7:14] Phil Entner:** Something like that, which we really don't have. And then even a skid steer—as you go along and scoop, then you have to maneuver to dump it and you cook it off the sidewalk and tear up people's lawns and stuff too. They can do some damage. **[7:26] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Well, what about a Bobcat? **[7:28] Phil Entner:** That would be the same thing. So we still have the same problem. Although the bucket on a skid steer would work on a sidewalk, or a blower. A blower would be ideal, weightless. So the biggest problem is we do not have the equipment. **[7:55] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Okay. Because at some point, I'll have to talk to the Safe Routes to School people and to the school itself. They've set the routes up for the kids. **[8:05] Phil Entner:** We just don't have the equipment at this time and it would be the lowest priority. It would be a minimum of three days before you could even get to it. It's good to have the sidewalks cleared off even for just people that walk and stuff, right? But because really, I don't see any kids walking to school except within like three blocks of the school. I'll see kids walking to school there, but not from way up. It's concentrated on that area. **[8:48] Mayor Jim Michalski:** In that three-block area, is there a lot that would have to be done? **[8:52] Phil Entner:** Well, Fifth Street at the school is cleared off. They take pretty good care of their sidewalks. **[9:05] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Okay. All right. Phil, do you think you could dig up that ordinance and maybe put it on the agenda for the next meeting just to look at it? **[9:11] Phil Entner:** What we did is we put an article into the paper. It's being put in by the Safe Routes to School people stating the problem and the responsibility to have them cleared. **[9:25] Council Member:** The problem is the school opens in 2017. You know, we're not talking much about the rest of this year. **[9:35] Phil Entner:** Yeah, one more season. **[9:40] Council Member:** Even if the school's moving, the sidewalks should be open for whoever. It is something we need to look at. Some people do it and some people don't. **[9:55] Mayor Jim Michalski:** I think what we should do is have the Street Department committee look at that first and then come to the Council with your recommendations. **[10:10] Council Member:** I was just wondering if there's any teeth in the ordinance at all. **[10:15] Phil Entner:** It becomes real time-consuming because that’d be another door-to-door thing for our Police Department. In Duluth, they clear them off but they charge them, because why should the taxpayers pay for it if someone is shoveling and the neighbor isn't? If someone paid someone to clear their sidewalk off and then we come along and clear the neighbor's sidewalk for no cost to that homeowner, there might be some hard feelings about that. **[10:50] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Yeah, unless we enforce the ordinance and then charge them 200 bucks or something. That would get them out there and get them cleaning. **[11:00] Phil Entner:** There’s multiple problems too, because there's some senior citizens that physically can't, and there's some that leave the area. **[11:05] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Well, they make arrangements to have them shoveled. I know we'll run into all kinds of different scenarios. At first, I'd like to see the committee talk about it first. **[11:15] Council Member:** We can also be proactive. Let's put it on our website, let's put it on cable, get the message out in the bills we're sending out to the public. Let them know: "Ordinance 91, please keep your sidewalks done." Keep people informed. Just a reminder. **[11:35] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Good point. I know somebody was walking from Lakeshore Drive; they can take Elms, which is pretty much all cleared off right through downtown and then to Fifth. **[11:45] Phil Entner:** What’s considered the original safe route, like by the east side of the Sox home down there... yes, there's a sidewalk there, but nobody takes care of that. It would probably be their responsibility at the home. **[12:10] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any other questions from the Council? Very good, thank you. **[12:29] Phil Entner:** We have a retirement letter of resignation to the City Council. "Mayor, Tuesday, May 31, 2016, will be my final day with the City Public Works Department. Spencer Skelton." **[12:45] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Spencer, how many years have you put in? **[12:48] Spencer Skelton:** Well, I started in '75 on that CETA program—it's a government program—and then they took me on in '76 full-time. **[13:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** That's many years! You've got to change this! Well, that last month we'll have to have you in here one more time before you go out the door. **[13:14] Spencer Skelton:** For sure. I've got some photos to share with you. Thank you very much for everything, appreciate it. **[13:20] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Thank you. On a serious note, you’ve just been outstanding for the people here in town. **[13:30] Spencer Skelton:** I've enjoyed it. It's been a great career. **[13:35] Mayor Jim Michalski:** You're going with a lot of knowledge. I hope that you don't just dump it because we'll need some of it! Great job, Spencer. Thank you very much, it’s appreciated. We need to do a formal acceptance on the resignation. Do I have a motion? **[13:58] Council Member:** I'll make a motion to accept the retirement on May 31st. **[14:03] Council Member:** I'll second it. **[14:05] Mayor Jim Michalski:** All in favor say aye. **[14:07] Council Members:** Aye. **[14:09] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. A lot harder to go than to come in, Spencer! **[14:15] Spencer Skelton:** I said it's a lot easier to go than when you come in! **[14:20] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Did you start the process to...? **[14:25] Ellissa Owens (City Administrator):** The next item with that is if the Council would like to start the process for... we should... did you bring the job description? No? What we have in our personnel policy... I guess the question is to look within first to make a recommendation to move an employee up. **[15:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Let Ellissa explain that. **[15:05] Ellissa Owens:** It's just in our personnel policy that gives the opportunity for promoting from within first. I think we just need a motion to go ahead and start the process of filling Spencer's position, whether through advertising or from promoting from within. I think we should be doing an internal posting for 10 days and then also have a posting outside depending on what we find within that internal posting. We should also be reviewing the job classification and make sure that there aren't any updates needed for that position. **[15:55] Council Member:** So that is the motion? **[16:00] Ellissa Owens:** That’d be the motion. **[16:03] Council Member:** Do I have a second? So we're looking at inside first? Correct. Okay, yes, I'll second that. **[16:15] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further discussion or questions? You know, it's really nice when you can promote from within. They started the job and I think this is a good way of doing it. So, is the position description updated? **[16:45] Ellissa Owens:** I'm not sure. We’ll have the Personnel Committee meet with Spencer and update it. **[16:55] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Very good. Is that all part of the motion? **[17:00] Council Member:** No, I’ll make that part of it. The motion is to proceed with the process of looking within on an internal 10-day posting. **[17:15] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Well, that does not mean that I'm not in favor of once that's done, that we look outside as well. I understand that's the first step. Any other comments or questions? All in favor say aye. **[17:35] Council Members:** Aye. **[17:37] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. And I guess the second part is if the Administrative Committee would meet with Ellissa and Spencer to review that position description and update or create one. Any other items that we didn't miss? I think we covered everything there. Moving on to 4B: Police Chief. Item number eight: police report for January 11, 2016, through February 7, 2016. **[18:22] Kelly Lake (Sheriff/Law Enforcement Lead):** Another pretty steady month this last month; a lot of calls. A couple of the things Ellissa asked me to look into is the fee schedules for the pond ordinance, and I did research with Pine County and Cloquet and gave my recommendations to Ellissa. I also was asked to look into the gambling permit for the Hockey Association, and I recommend that they be issued a permit as far as the background check went. "Mugs and Hugs" is coming up on Saturday, February 27th. It's a change of venue this year; it's going to be at Marketplace Foods. It's a fun event for kids and families. Our Masonic Lodge is going to do the "Operation Kids ID." That's where you can bring your kids to get fingerprinted, a DNA kit, and audio and visual recording of them that the parents keep just in case of an emergency situation. It's a good program, no cost to the kids or the parents. We'll have a police car there, I'll be there, and a fire truck will be there. They have lots of different goodies and treats for the kids. **[19:56] Mayor Jim Michalski:** What day is that? **[19:58] Kelly Lake:** It’s Saturday the 27th of February from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Marketplace Foods grocery store. Very good, thank you. **[20:20] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Someone was a very busy week again, too. What was it, 152 calls? That's a lot of calls. **[20:30] Kelly Lake:** It was a really long day at the DCRC too. They had to hear like 20 different cases. That is something that the prison definitely needs us to do. Usually once a month there is an Incarceration Review Board where the offenders are given a level of predatory offender status. By statute, you have to have a police officer on the board and historically we've provided that. Usually, it's four to five hours a month; this one was quite a bit longer for some reason. **[21:24] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Thank you. Thanks to the officers, too. Good job. Do you have any update on when your squad's going to be up and running? The new supply? **[21:40] Kelly Lake:** Well, when I ordered it—which was around the first of the year—they said it'd take about three months to get it built. After it gets here, I’m taking a couple weeks to get all the equipment installed. So I'm hoping realistically by April. **[22:09] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Thank you. Because the old vehicle—is that totally stripped when it happens? **[22:15] Kelly Lake:** It is stripped and sold at auction. I talked to the auctioneer; he said there's a pretty decent market right now for used squad cars. He anticipates getting $4,000 to $5,000 in that range for it. **[22:45] Mayor Jim Michalski:** That's decent. Please don't hold me on that! I’ve been watching the auctions and I guess $4,000 would be good. Thank you, appreciate it. Under 4C... Steve? Oh, I'm sorry, Steve, we do have a few more items. I jumped ahead real fast. Under B(b): Re-adopt Ordinance 159 regulating pawn brokers with fees. Suggested fees are in yellow starting on page 50. **[23:50] Council Member:** I make a motion that we re-adopt Ordinance 159 with the updated fee schedule. **[24:00] Council Member:** Do I have a second? I'll second it. **[24:05] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. **[24:10] Council Members:** Aye. **[24:12] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. Under B(c): Moose Lake Hockey Association requests to renew gambling permit. On page 59. Moose Lake Hockey Association is requesting to continue gambling at the Moose Lake Municipal Liquor Store from March 1, 2016, through February 28, 2017. Motion by the Council? **[24:45] Council Member:** I'll make the motion. **[24:48] Council Member:** I'll second it. **[24:50] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any questions or discussion? All in favor say aye. **[24:55] Council Members:** Aye. **[25:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. Under B(d): Add ten-dollar DVD fee to fee schedule. Ellissa, want to explain? **[25:10] Ellissa Owens:** It's just when they make copies of DVDs for lawyers or the county. It’s just to charge the cost of making the DVD that they're requesting. **[25:35] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Very good. Do you have a motion by the Council? **[25:40] Council Member:** I so move that we add a scheduled fee of ten dollars to make the DVD. **[25:45] Council Member:** Second. **[25:48] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further question or discussion? All in favor say aye. **[25:52] Council Members:** Aye. **[25:54] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. Thank you. Steve [IT/MCD Project Representative], we have an update on the MCD contract and update on phone costs, city website, and the Blandin Foundation Grant. **[26:15] Steve (IT/MCD):** What you're getting there is the letter that MCD gave to us last month. I just wanted to go through that. Number one and number two are still completed. The security access door—they were installing that at the end of January, but they ran into an issue where the hardware was not functional, so they needed to send that back to the manufacturer to get it replaced. Number four: the citywide surveillance is still ongoing. What's listed in there about the fiber from Moose Tech—that has been completed. That refers to the arena and the Public Works building. That also coincides with number seven, which is the media converters. Those were needed in Public Works and the arena to get the fiber to our switch. That has also been installed. We found out we need to have Moose Tech put in fiber patch cables from the demarcation spot in the building to those converters. I talked to Harlan this morning to see if Tim is capable of doing that. If Moose Tech can do that... **[27:40] Steve (IT/MCD):** As far as the cameras for the Highway 27/73 intersection downtown and the Park Place Drive camera, we found out that the power is not continual on those poles because they're just for streetlights. Harlan will be able to make the downtown intersection power continual, and with the Park Place Drive, we'll have to install a new pole just for the camera that we can go to the transformer that's right there. Harlan said they won't be able to get to that until April when the ground thaws a little bit. Number five: the Police Department switch is done. The Council Chamber camera is installed and working; it's not hooked up to our broadcast system yet, but that should be done by next month. The new pole for the school is up—thank you to Harlan for getting that done. The camera's not up, but I talked with MCD this afternoon. They're hoping to get that camera, the camera at the chamber, and the camera outside of this building for Elm Avenue up and operational end of this week or very early next week. That still is not before the February 1st deadline, so we've talked with Ellissa and she's sent that to Marguerite [City Attorney]. **[29:45] Mayor Jim Michalski:** I have a question on number four, Steve. Are you able to give us a timeline? I was over at the Police Department and they have 16 cameras that have been the original 16 cameras since we started this process. Do you have a timeline when we're going to get the whole corridor done? Do you think that we'll actually be able to see vehicles? **[30:00] Steve (IT/MCD):** We’ve got 20 now. They may not have refreshed the camera system in a while, but there are 20. I know there's none showing the corner through the arena; we don't have those cameras up. The one for the chamber—which would be the 27/61 intersection—that camera is up on the chambered building. It just has not been up and going because there was a backordered part from Panasonic for the antenna. The wireless is up on the water tower. So, MCD is saying end of this week or next week. The other two we won't get until about April. **[31:00] Steve (IT/MCD):** For the update on the phone system: Ellissa and I have been talking. I've talked to CenturyLink on some options. They got back to me late this afternoon. We're going to still work on that. I know we have some options of maybe going back to digital or analog phone lines and keeping some of the same features. Once we get some prices, we'll bring that forward. **[31:40] Ellissa Owens:** You did say if we can switch back, it’ll benefit us. **[31:45] Steve (IT/MCD):** The phones seem to be working pretty good the last month. I don't think there's been any glitches, but we're having a little bit of a problem with our fax machine, especially from dispatch. But that sounds like a problem on their end with some kind of a setting. **[32:20] Steve (IT/MCD):** City website: Ellissa had asked me to give some analytics of site usage. Our new site has been up since mid-to-late August. Site visits are about 1,300, while we're at about 9,400 for our old website for that same time period. I know Ellissa wanted me to get that information together because a bill came in for the coming year. I also put the contract information as far as cancellation on page 62. We can cancel anytime with a 60-day written notice. One thing we brought up was shutting down the old site or putting a link to the new site on the old site, which would bring more traffic to the new site. We're not updating any information on the old site; it's all six months old. **[33:55] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Oh, let's definitely do it. And then give it another six months or so to evaluate the usage. Can you do that link yourself? **[34:00] Steve (IT/MCD):** Yes, I can do that. I can't automatically forward it because we don't own our old website—that's still with Genesis Wireless and they won't give it to us. All I can do is put a link. **[34:40] Steve (IT/MCD):** Last thing: we found out at the end of January that we were awarded the Blandin Grant for the digital messaging system that we applied for back in November. I don't think we were expecting to get awarded the grant because it wasn't county-inclusive like they wanted, but they did give it to us. That was to put four digital messaging systems in various places: the Arena, the Police Department, Healthcare Center, and Hospital. It gives them the ability to do site-specific information on TVs but also ties into our city system for emergencies. I got a new quote from AVI. Blandin awarded us $5,000, so the remaining cost would be $5,887.84 for the city. This supports five years of work. **[36:20] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any cost after that? **[36:25] Steve (IT/MCD):** There isn't any cost for installation. I'm sure those locations have someone who can put them on the wall. **[36:45] Council Member:** Just a quick deal back to the website. The fees for the second, third, and fourth year are $2,837? **[37:10] Steve (IT/MCD):** That is for maintenance, support, hosting, and backup. All our agendas and minutes are stored on their server. The first year was the whole creation, which was about $18,000. **[37:45] Council Member:** Is there some point where you'll be familiar enough where you could do the majority of that ourselves? **[38:00] Steve (IT/MCD):** They do have an hourly service fee. So far, everything has been running fine. They took the first four years, added them together, and divided by four because we didn't want to make that whole payment up front. If for some reason we’re comfortable enough to do it ourselves except for that hourly fee, they would make that adjustment for us. **[38:55] Mayor Jim Michalski:** How comfortable are you right now? **[39:00] Steve (IT/MCD):** Right now? Not so much. But maybe in a year. We do still have some training hours available to us. **[39:20] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Okay, let's do that. We can then do another analysis at the end of the year. Council, any other questions? I guess that's something you'll need to decide if you want to fund or not. **[39:50] Steve (IT/MCD):** I am meeting with the Tech Committee tomorrow. It would be the Arena, the Police/Fire Department, Augustana, and Mercy. Those are the emergency response locations. **[40:40] Mayor Jim Michalski:** I make a motion that we pay $5,887.84 for the digital messaging equipment for the sites stated. Do I have a second? **[40:55] Council Member:** I'll second it. **[41:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further questions or discussion? All in favor say aye. **[41:35] Council Members:** Aye. **[41:38] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. Thank you, Steve. Under five: previously discussed business. Moving on to 5B: Minnesota Capital Investment Committee update. Any update, Ellissa? **[42:15] Ellissa Owens:** No, I thought you were just going to tell them that it had made the Governor's list but it wasn't funded. **[42:35] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Yes, in the capital investment grant that we applied for last year—this is for the Arena itself, doing an expansion to the south—it made it to the Governor's list but was unfunded. Part of the problem we run into with the legislature is they see all this funding coming to Moose Lake for the MSOP and the DOC [Department of Corrections]. We have an identity problem with the state facilities. The legislature sees this large number of millions going to Moose Lake, but it's actually for the state facilities. I think when it comes to the vote, they just see the name and the bottom line. We'll have to deal with it if we apply again. We’re probably at Plan E now. We'll meet again and discuss that with the Hockey Association and support board people. **[45:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Moving on to 5C: Considered an overdrive water main extension. Phil, any information you can give us? **[45:15] Phil Entner:** The only parcel that we identified that needs water right now is the one that we were going to do the whole project for. There is an option that he could directional drill a one-inch service down to that property within the city's right-of-way. That would be at his cost. He would go out and hire a directional driller to do it. Until we have other people that want water down there, that's what we should recommend to him. We figured it would be about 350 feet. That would be fine for a one-inch service; it's downhill and we have good pressure. It's up to him to get prices. Roughly, it would be less than drilling a new well, which he can't do anyway given the constraints of that parcel. If I owned the property, I would look at directional drilling. In the future, if the other houses needed water and the city chose to put in that main, we could look at it then. I would recommend that if he puts in his own service, he would not be assessed for the main later. **[48:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** I want to ask the Council for consensus to meet with the family and give them this information. If you could come with me, Phil? And if he needs help finding a contractor, maybe we can give him some names. **[48:30] Phil Entner:** Absolutely. We’ll ask him to come up to City Hall for that meeting. **[49:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Great, thank you. Moving on to 5D: Lakeshore Drive Street project. I have no new information; I think we're just waiting for the spring. Number 5E: Moose Lake Wastewater Treatment Facility upgrade. Number one: update on project memo is in your packet. **[50:10] Phil Entner:** Brian [from SEH] supplied his standard update. He’s pleased. We're waiting on the motor control center and the other control equipment—that's always the longest lead item. Work is proceeding well. **[50:40] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Moving on to E(2): Pay request number six from Magney Construction for $166,454.10. **[51:10] Phil Entner:** Mr. Mayor, construction occurred last month. Magney put in a pay request which brings them up to 57 percent complete. It’s been a decent winter for them to work. Brian has reviewed it and is recommending payment. **[52:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Council, for a motion? **[52:05] Council Member:** So moved that we accept the pay request number six for $166,454.10. **[52:10] Council Member:** Second. **[52:12] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any questions or discussion? All in favor say aye. **[52:15] Council Members:** Aye. **[52:17] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Opposed? Motion carried. That moves to E(3): The Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) reduction study. **[52:30] Phil Entner:** Mr. Mayor, in your packet there was a memo from Brian and myself concerning the metering effort done last year. If you go to page five, there's a list of where the meters were. Page seven shows what we found regarding dry weather versus wet weather flows. I'll pick on meter location six: Knollwood. There are 37 or 38 homes there. The metered water usage was 9,000 gallons a day, but our dry season average coming out of there is 102,000 gallons! We're getting a lot more coming out than we are going in. There's a colored drawing showing what a typical house service looks like. Back in the '40s and '50s, a lot of builders put in drain tile systems around the foundation and hooked them directly to the sanitary sewer. We did inspections back in the '90s to make sure people weren't connected, but we're still seeing evidence of flow. **[55:10] Phil Entner:** The flood in 2012 was a big cause. The MPCA [Minnesota Pollution Control Agency] wants you down at that red line, which is 90 percent of your permitted capacity. We were above it in '12, '13, and '14. If you want to get a sewer extension permit, the MPCA won't issue it unless you show you're working on this. The only way we got it done for Kwik Trip was to start this I&I study. **[56:50] Phil Entner:** I’m not looking for action tonight, just starting the discussion. One idea is to clean and televise main lines. If someone has a foundation drain running, we catch those because you'll see clean water trickling from the service line. But if a sump pump isn't running when the camera goes by, you don't catch it. The cheapest way to go is to send a letter to residents informing them of what a sump pump should and shouldn't be hooked up to. Most people want to do the right thing; they just don't know it's wrong to hook it to the laundry tub. **[59:15] Phil Entner:** Step two would be to redo the inspection program. Knollwood is one of the worst areas. People might think we’re picking on them, but we have data that shows something is wrong down there. Should we hire an intern to do that work? **[1:01:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** What spots would you recommend? **[1:01:10] Phil Entner:** Number six is definitely one. I’d also say North Kenwood. There’s an ongoing rumor that we’re charging the Sewer District for I&I on that run, so we should do that area just to put that to bed. We should start the process now because you're getting into March. **[1:02:40] Council Member:** If you went through it in the '90s, Public Works did it, right? **[1:02:50] Ellissa Owens:** Yes, they just went over there. **[1:03:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Phil, we probably should have a special meeting next month where we sit down and concentrate on this alone to figure out what direction we're going. We have to get that number down, or the MPCA is going to tell us we have to expand the ponds. **[1:05:40] Phil Entner:** A letter first is a good start. **[1:06:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Let's get the letter out. Gene, can you work with Harlan to get it into the billing? **[1:12:15] Phil Entner:** The sooner we get the letter out, the sooner people might call in with questions. We can say the city would be glad to come in and inspect and tell you if it's okay or not. **[1:12:35] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Moving on to 5F: Park Place Drive. Steve, any new information? **[1:12:50] Phil Entner:** I drove through there tonight. It seems like the cold mix they put in last fall is still holding up. We probably won't know until the frost comes out. **[1:13:40] Mayor Jim Michalski:** 5G: Highway 73 project update. We have a stakeholder meeting at 10:00 AM on February 18th. **[1:14:00] Phil Entner:** She came back with a new drawing and it looked really good compared to the first ones. We’re down to very few driveway closures. We were supposed to meet this Friday, but we never heard back from her. I'll email her again tonight. **[1:16:35] Mayor Jim Michalski:** 5H: Local Road Improvement funding. The drop-dead date is July. It's a matching fund for $750,000. Even for the least expensive project, the match would be $50,000 or $60,000. We need to look at our priority list and see where that money would be best utilized. We shouldn't let that money disappear. **[1:18:40] Mayor Jim Michalski:** 5I: Considered a reimbursement for past HRA audits. That was tabled. 5J: FEMA flood update. Ellissa, no new information? **[1:19:15] Ellissa Owens:** No, just waiting for money. **[1:19:25] Mayor Jim Michalski:** 5L: Historical Society kitchen project update. We have a letter from Steve Olson. They thought they could get a $100,000 USDA grant, but they're only eligible for $35,000 and would have to hire an architect. They've decided to take a loan instead. They are asking the city to co-sign the loan. Ellissa? **[1:21:00] Ellissa Owens:** After talking about it, it doesn't make sense for the city to co-sign a loan on equipment going into a city-owned building. I talked to Marguerite [City Attorney] about the city doing the project and then having the Historical Society pay us back through increased lease fees. It’s hard for them to come up with such a large amount of money. We have money in reserves and we would get it back. Marguerite is looking into whether we would have to re-bid the project if the city takes control of it. **[1:23:20] Mayor Jim Michalski:** So consensus would be to move ahead with looking at the options. **[1:25:10] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Moving on to new business. 6A: Water and Light Board position. We received one letter from Mr. York and no others. I’ll take a motion to assign him. **[1:25:35] Council Member:** I so move to have Kurt York serve the three-year term. **[1:25:40] Council Member:** I'll second that. **[1:25:45] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Any further discussion? All in favor say aye. **[1:26:45] Council Members:** Aye. **[1:26:50] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Motion carried. Congratulations, Kurt. Next is the Park Board vacancy and Building Official. **[1:27:00] Ellissa Owens:** I haven't posted the Building Official yet. For the Park Board, we had no interest initially, but I was approached by someone recently. We’ll have to advertise that again. **[1:28:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** 6B: Friends of Animals Humane Society contract renewal. **[1:28:15] Bryce (Police Officer):** I ran the numbers. For 2015-16, we had 35 animal calls, but we only had two animals that we actually needed to bring to the shelter. Most were handled through social media or found their owners. They are billing us for 44 animals from Moose Lake Township, but only two of them came from the city. I just wanted you to be aware of the facts. It’s $2,000 per animal at this rate. **[1:31:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** If we didn't have the contract, what would happen to those two animals? **[1:31:10] Bryce:** We have an outside kennel and a little crate at the PD. We try to keep them for a day or so to find the owners because it costs us 75 bucks to have the shelter come and get them. **[1:32:30] Council Member:** Why do we have the service? **[1:33:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** To take the pressure off the Police Department so they don't have to deal with euthanizing them. But I'll call the shelter and ask where these 44 animals came from. Maybe we can do it per animal instead of a contract. Bryce, can you research the statutes regarding euthanizing and bring a report back next month? **[1:36:30] Mayor Jim Michalski:** 6C: Contribution fund donation request. The Chamber is requesting $150 for Easter eggs. **[1:38:20] Council Member:** I make a motion to approve the $150. **[1:38:30] Council Member:** Second. All in favor? Aye. **[1:38:40] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Next is the Moose Lake Post-Prom Committee for their party on April 23rd. **[1:39:30] Council Member:** I’ll motion for $150. Second? Aye. **[1:39:50] Mayor Jim Michalski:** 6D: Membership with Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. Dues are $2,825. **[1:42:15] Council Member:** I make a motion to table this. I'm not sure what the benefits are compared to the League of Cities. **[1:43:00] Council Member:** I make a motion that we send them written communication that we're no longer in need of their services. We can add that we're looking for a City Administrator and may reconsider next year. **[1:43:50] Mayor Jim Michalski:** I have a second? All in favor? Aye. Motion carried. 6E: Liability coverage waiver. **[1:44:30] Council Member:** I make a motion that we do not waive the monetary limits as suggested. Second? Aye. **[1:45:00] Mayor Jim Michalski:** 6F: Quote on flood insurance for Riverside Arena. The quote for $500,000 is $9,487. To get the coverage we currently have, the total premium would be $20,648. **[1:47:30] Council Member:** The cost to get the facility back after the flood was $60,000. Is it worth paying $20,000 a year for insurance? I think we should table this to think about it. **[1:48:10] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Consensus to table. 6G: Requested transfer of CD from Members Co-Op to Edward Jones. **[1:49:00] Ellissa Owens:** I was requesting we move the money. Members Co-Op isn't treating people like a local business anymore, and we’re not making much on the CDs. I’d like to see if Edward Jones can get a better return. **[1:49:30] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Consensus to research that. 6H: Trail connection from Park Place Road to Munger Trail. I'd like to open discussion with the school and Safe Routes to School to look for grants for a trail connection from where the bike trail ends along 73. **[1:51:30] Council Member:** I agree, you have to start somewhere. **[1:52:50] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Central Minnesota Housing Partnership pilot program. This is for information only. We’re trying to make an effort to advertise more within the target area. **[1:55:50] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Item 6J: Pipeline safety. This is for emergency planning. Phil, do you go to that training? **[1:56:15] Phil Entner:** I've gone for the last few years, so I'll be going this year. **[1:57:30] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Committee and board meeting minutes are in the packet. One thing, Steve Reed—at some point, we stopped getting the Library Board minutes. If we could start getting those in the monthly packet, it’d be appreciated. **[2:00:10] Council Member:** For next month, I’d like the liquor store being open on Sundays put on the agenda. **[2:00:15] Mayor Jim Michalski:** Thank you. Any other items? Motion to adjourn? **[2:00:20] Council Member:** So move. Second? Aye. Adjourned.