This transcript appears to be a Moose Lake City Council meeting. I have added speaker names based on the official list provided and the contextual clues within the dialogue (such as Kris Huso’s reference to owning a theater and Phil Entner’s technical reports). *** **[0:02] Jim Michalski:** And now to have a motion to accept the financial reports? There’s a second. Very good. All in favor say aye. Both. Motion carried. Number three, public comment. This time is reserved for comments from the public on matters not listed on the agenda. Please keep comments to three minutes. Gentlemen, decision... I’d really like to tell you some sort of attempt Rebecca today if we're gonna take one three minutes. All right, thank you very much, Sheldon. **[0:50] Jim Michalski:** Moving on to departmental reports. The Police Chief/Department report for June 1st to June 31st. Do you have anything? **[1:05] Kelly Lake:** No, other than the call log is in the packet. 166 calls—a very busy month. **[1:22] Jim Michalski:** Oh, if you have that, bugs, hooks, and books. **[1:29] Jim Michalski:** Number 4b: Public Works Superintendent report. **[1:33] Phil Entner:** Mr. Mayor, members of Council. Very, very busy month here. Water department distributed 5.8 million gallons of drinking water in the month of June. Well 1 is back in service as of today; it was out for servicing. Everything's already there. We must... huge, huge, and if you don't believe me, ask Greg Engels. **[2:15] Phil Entner:** Um, and what people understand is... Wow, it was between 250 and 275 gallons a day. It was almost enough to where our wells... I came up to the house and I got some really ugly looking parts still laying in the back of my truck if anyone would ever like to see them to just see what we have under their own in this town and how bad it is. I’m more than happy to explain it. Basically, I’ll show you exactly documents. Yeah, it was about... anyway. Sewer department collected 15.7 million gallons of wastewater. The June discharges were completed; all parameters were met to the MPCA standards. We did discharge 37 million gallons of wastewater. So people understand, there's just continuous work at the wastewater site. There's a guy out there going up reading these four days. We can then use odds and ends of maintenance and trimming and upkeep throughout the day; that's what he's extremely busy with. August 6th, Minnesota Rural Water is coming to town and getting doubles to another wastewater training. I said this last year too, and I really don't know if it’s a big deal, but it puts us on the map in a good spot. If what's out there is that we're trying, we want to be involved, we want to be included, we want to make things better. We want to help people come into the community and learn from our problems and our mistakes. We even pick some stuff up from other people. It's really a good thing. I can't say enough about Minnesota Rural Water; they're good. I think they're expecting almost 60 people in attendance to this. It's pretty good. Last year was heading for the Mid-Morris burger emergency response together, which we talked about in a couple of meetings. The only thing that's already hit... delivered the house here once they permit me... I should be up here next couple months. **[4:30] Jim Michalski:** How long have you been waiting for that? **[4:33] Phil Entner:** Like six or seven months. They found them and then they were trying to get a vendor to supply a bunch and they found this one. Yeah, and it'll be sitting at a table next to some Street department pothole filling. As always, you're going to touch on the surface, and then cemeteries look awesome. Marta and the crew are doing an unnatural effect, it’s crazy. This is 32 hours of going on mowing at the campground. We are trying to make up for everything that needs to be done. We're very, very busy when you have the six or seven people working. **[5:25] Jim Michalski:** Phil, did you mention vendors? **[5:27] Phil Entner:** I think there are eight vendors coming this year. Our actual officer from the MPCA is coming up tonight to give some updates. **[5:38] Jim Michalski:** And what are those dates again? **[5:40] Phil Entner:** The 6th of August. Everybody wants to stop in. **[5:46] Douglas Juntunen:** Well, I'd like to thank you guys for making it all nice for the 4th of July. Having the park cut, grass cut nice, and the boulevards looking good. And the crew at the campground, they did a nice job down there. It's nice to see that the city is looking nice for the 4th of July. **[6:16] Jim Michalski:** Moving on. 4c: Technology/Library report. **[6:22] Ellissa Owens:** For the library report, we decided to cut the hours on Monday from 8 o'clock to 7 o'clock. There wasn't a lot of people showing up in the later hours. They're trying to save some money there. And then Thursday, we'll be closing at 5:00. We've delayed that. There just wasn't a lot of people coming in at that time. We're trying to get the word out to people so they'll be aware of the time changes. Library has been putting on more events lately, which is nice. We're putting on some movies and having reading hours and things of that nature. That seems to be working well; people are showing up. Shelby's been working hard on that. **[7:32] Douglas Juntunen:** Just a question: When school is on again in September, I don't know if the board has looked at the night time usage? That would be something to think about because that's when the students use it more. **[7:48] Ellissa Owens:** That makes sense. Regarding technology, internet access and connecting to our server down at the campground is not done. I think the phone is set as well... but other than that, that's the last piece. **[8:43] Jim Michalski:** 4d: City Engineer. **[8:47] Matt (SEH):** The minutes from the last meeting are on your table. A couple big things: one is the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) which we'll talk about tonight. Special assessment policy we'll talk about tonight. As far as the trail to the school, SEH is starting to work on putting together plans and routes for that trail. And then the next one is the water model project. Phil did some work with the PRVs (pressure reducing valves). Phil is going to do some testing with the booster station on July 15th to see if we can pump from the wells to the water tower without the booster station. We want to see if we still, in fact, need the booster station. Final results will be ready sometime after that. That will be a big one to see what exactly we need with our water system. **[10:10] Lou Ohly:** We have two wells? **[10:12] Matt (SEH):** We want to find out if we need to go from the wells to the booster station, then to the water tower, as it works right now. The pressure reducing valves... we have three, right? One goes to Mercy Hospital, which we needed to open all the way up for their fire suppression system. We have one on Sue Lane that is broken, so that one is not reducing anything. And the third one is in the boosters. So of those three, basically they're all open right now. We're not reducing anything. **[11:00] Jim Michalski:** Any questions by the Council? Thank you. 4e: Chamber of Commerce updates. **[11:15] Lois (Chamber Rep):** Thank you. Okay, this weekend is Aga-Bit time. Saturday we've got lots going on. There's Art in the Park that starts at 9:00. Music down the park starting at 11:00. Bluegrass jam session. We got the Stampede down on Elm Avenue at 3 p.m. People can come right in this room here for a rock identification presentation from 11:00 till 2:00. Or you can go out to the State Park. Free shuttle rides provided by Arrowhead Transit from 9:00 to 5:00 on Saturday between Art in the Park, the Agate Show, and the Stampede. Coming up is a triathlon on the 20th. August 2nd is a golf outing at the golf course. There was no "Moose Lake Days" in July this year. The Hockey Association was trying to get something going, but it was just too little too late, so they're gonna work on it for next year. I am starting August 10th... well, August 9 to 12. Lots of things coming up. Tomorrow is the Chamber meeting at the Chickadee. Any questions? **[14:15] Jim Michalski:** Thank you very much. Number 5: This is a public hearing for the Street and Utility Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). I'd like to open the public hearing. Motion? Second? All in favor say aye. **[14:40] Jim Michalski:** This was posted in the paper, on our website, on Facebook, and in the utility bills. Thanks for being here. Mr. Administrator, do you want to present? **[15:10] Ellissa Owens:** Matt and Tyler are here. This past spring we completed a capital plan for the city street and utility infrastructure. The purpose was to identify, plan, prioritize, and budget for future reconstruction projects. **[15:43] Tyler (SEH):** As far as what we looked at, we looked at the streets throughout the city, the sanitary sewer mains, and the water mains. We met with city staff, compiled data, and came up with ratings for each individual segment. For streets, we looked at conditions, drainage, and traffic. For sanitary and water, we looked at pipe material, size, and age. We combined them to get our priority list. This map here shows the Top 10 projects within the city. **[18:44] Matt (SEH):** You can use this to plan future projects and funding opportunities. **[19:51] Jim Michalski:** From my standpoint, this gives a top-level estimate of costs for these projects based on construction averages. This allows us to basically put together plans on timing. If we know the cost, we know how much is coming in from sales tax and the gas franchise fee, and we can back into the "gap" and how we are going to pay for it. **[21:23] Jim Michalski:** Any questions from the Council or public? **[21:35] Lou Ohly:** If you combined a couple of these projects together, do you save money on equipment? **[22:00] Matt (SEH):** There is definitely a savings on scale. You save on mobilization. **[22:21] Jim Michalski:** When we did 3rd Street and a little bit of Elm, Northland bid on that because they were already doing Highway 73. But when you're talking about going from say three blocks to four and a half blocks, you're not adding that much. Mobilization is the biggest thing. But the main thing is it breaks up that gap in funding. We can plan a project every three or four years. If we combine them, that's a six-year gap between projects. It would be nice if we are doing 4th Street to just go all the way to Birch. **[24:30] Jim Michalski:** At this time, I am asking that the Council approves just the CIP list itself. Not the cost or how we pay for them yet, just the list of projects. **[25:10] Matt (SEH):** And you should think about things like sidewalks and parking before you get to the first project. **[26:11] Phil Entner:** If you have an entire stretch of a block that doesn't have a catch basin in the middle of it, how do you want to handle it? Basically, there's a whole bunch of things that go into a road project once we get there. This is more about just a priority list. **[27:42] Douglas Juntunen:** Looking at 2nd Street, there is only a sidewalk on the north side. 3rd Street has it on both sides. 5th Street does too. **[28:40] Phil Entner:** It's all over the board. Other similar communities are going to one side generally. **[29:20] Resident (Public):** I apologize for being late. I’m just wondering where Newberry is? **[29:30] Matt (SEH):** The frozen water lines were added to the ranking. If there was a cluster of frozen lines, that segment got a higher ranking. Newberry had a cluster, but the actual road condition was low. It jumped up at least 20 spots because of the frozen pipes. **[30:54] Resident (Public):** I understand what you're doing, but I’m looking for an estimated year. I need to go talk to a lawyer based on what the city is telling me. I’m here to be the "greasy wheel" so I’m not forgotten. **[31:55] Jim Michalski:** You definitely haven't been forgotten. This project wouldn't even be in consideration right now if we didn't have the sales tax system in place, because there has been no money for road projects in 20 years. Now we are in a good spot to say something is coming. The infrastructure is terrible in this town. **[33:13] Jim Michalski:** This is our guideline. The worst ranked is Number 1 on the list. We put the frozen pipes in there as well. **[34:48] Phil Entner:** The problem with your property is the main line is so shallow. **[34:55] Resident (Public):** Yeah, that's probably why it's doing what it's doing. Too shallow. I check the codes and the water lines are required to be at a certain depth. **[35:27] Phil Entner:** We did nine or ten feet on the recent one. **[37:44] Jim Michalski:** Motion to close the public hearing? Second? All in favor say aye. Next item is a motion to accept the 2019 Street and Utility CIP. **[38:30] Jim Michalski:** Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Opposed? Thank you, Tyler and Matt. **[38:48] Jim Michalski:** Next item, 7a. 2018 FEMA projects. **[38:55] Ellissa Owens:** All the catch basins from the 2018 flood have been completed. The contractor was paid. Money has been received from FEMA and Homeland Security. Everything has been paid. I just need to file some paperwork to close those projects out. **[40:15] Jim Michalski:** New business. 8a: LGA (Local Government Aid). **[40:32] Ryan McKeon:** Page 82 in your packet. LGA was increased this last session. For Moose Lake in 2020, the increase is $69,292. So just short of $70,000. This brings us back to roughly 2002 funding levels. **[42:34] Jim Michalski:** The next item is Number 6: Public hearing for the special assessment policy. **[43:57] Matt (SEH):** Thank you. I’m Matt Holt with SEH. The CIP identified funding sources, and one of those is a special assessment. State Statute Chapter 429 gives the Council the ability to assess benefited properties for a portion of the cost of improvements. To do this, you first need a feasibility study. Then you hold a public improvement hearing. Construction happens, and then you hold an assessment hearing where the public sees the final costs. In the draft, we set this up as a 30% assessment. Typically, once you get over 30%, you risk exceeding the actual market value benefit to the property. **[50:55] Matt (SEH):** Let's look at 4th Street as an example. Total project cost is about $506,000. At a 30% rate, the property owners pay $151,000 and the city pays $354,000. For a 100-foot lot, that’s about $19,000 total, or $105 a month on a 15-year term. If you drop it to 25%, the monthly cost is $88. At 15%, it’s about $53 a month. **[55:40] Matt (SEH):** This policy is a guideline. You always have the option as a Council to change the percentage for a specific project. **[57:58] Jim Michalski:** With our sales tax and gas franchise fee, we know what is coming in. The assessment helps fill the "gap." If we stick to 30%, we can do a road project fully funded every three years. If you back off that percentage, it stretches the time between projects to four or five years. **[1:01:03] Matt (SEH):** You should also look at a utility rate study in the future to see if you are charging enough to maintain what you have. **[1:01:53] Jim Michalski:** Let's look at the assessment period. We selected 15 years because that’s typically what we bond for. **[1:03:00] Lou Ohly:** I’d like to see a statement in there that if a property is already being assessed, they are not assessed a second time until the first one is paid off. **[1:04:12] Jim Michalski:** I agree with that. **[1:05:00] Jim Michalski:** Private developer projects. I suggest requiring the developer to pay 100% upfront. We’ve done this with John Brown Drive and Langhorst. **[1:06:50] Lou Ohly:** I think that’s the right way to write it down. **[1:07:34] Matt (SEH):** Corner lots. Right now, the draft says you get assessed 30% for each street, but only once for utilities. **[1:08:23] Lou Ohly:** If you’re on a corner lot, I think you should only be assessed for one side. **[1:09:11] Jim Michalski:** Well, the roadway benefits the front and the side. But if we can agree the side road is of no benefit, we could say only the front. **[1:14:21] Jim Michalski:** Page 10: Service lines. This is the fairness one. If we are doing a project and find your sewer service line is trashed, how do we pay for it? The way it's written is the owner pays 100% because it only benefits that house. **[1:22:14] Matt (SEH):** Some cities like Proctor have a "point of sale" policy where these must be fixed before a house is sold. **[1:23:01] Kris Huso:** You're talking about a half-million dollar project. Taxes are already high. You add $1,200 a year for the road and then $6,000 for a sewer line? I don't know how people are gonna afford this. We're going to force people to sell their houses. I think we just have to do projects as we have the money. **[1:25:24] Jim Michalski:** Let’s move to sidewalks. New sidewalks would be assessed at 30%. If a sidewalk is on one side of the street, my suggestion is to split that cost among all residents on that road because it benefits the whole neighborhood. **[1:27:44] Jim Michalski:** Finally, the assessment rate. Do we want to do this or not? **[1:28:16] Kris Huso:** I am very worried about our citizens. Rural America has not recovered from the last recession like the metro areas have. Our population and businesses are declining. While this has happened, city government has continued to grow. Past councils should have been setting aside money for decades, and they didn't. Now the infrastructure is falling apart. Times are tough. Over at the theater, I’ve had to cut employees and cut my own salary. I keep the heat at 55 degrees in the winter to cut costs. We can't just keep asking our citizens to pick up the tab. We have to manage the budget we have. **[1:39:55] Lou Ohly:** I agree there needs to be a commitment. But a 5% levy only brings in $24,000. You can't fix a $500,000 road with that. That's why we did the sales tax and the franchise fees. We now have an Economic Development Committee. We are giving tax breaks to people who move here and build here. We can't just push it down the road like everyone else did. I’m here to make the tough decisions, not win a popularity contest. **[1:43:57] Kris Huso:** Past councils didn't have to make these decisions because they weren't doing full reconstructions. They were just doing "blacktop and a prayer." **[1:46:50] Kris Huso:** I would suggest not making a decision on this policy tonight. Give it another month. **[1:53:44] Jim Michalski:** I agree. I would ask the Council or the public to give me a call or stop by City Hall to talk. **[1:56:03] Jim Michalski:** Motion to close the public hearing? Second? Table it and bring it back next month. All in favor? Aye. **[1:59:10] Jim Michalski:** 8b: Trail to the school. **[1:59:15] Ellissa Owens:** We received our third grant for the city trail—$150,000 from the DNR. We are at a total of $1,060,000 in grants now. **[2:00:30] Jim Michalski:** 8c: 2018 Audit. **[2:00:35] Ryan McKeon:** The final reports are on your table. Everything is the same as the draft we presented last time, minus a few adjusting journal entries. **[2:01:30] Jim Michalski:** 8d: Food shelf letter. This is a thank you to Elaine at the Muni and the community for raising $540 for the food shelf. **[2:02:40] Phil Entner:** 8e: Televising the campground sewer system. We want to make sure there are no leaks near where we are putting the new wells. **[2:03:01] Jim Michalski:** The low bid is from Visio. Motion? Second? All in favor? Aye. **[2:05:26] Phil Entner:** 8f: LED lighting estimates. This is for the arena lobby and concession area. **[2:06:12] Jim Michalski:** My plan is to bring this to the electric utility board to see if they will help pay for the fixtures. It will save us about 2/3 in power costs. Motion? Second? All in favor? Aye. **[2:08:57] Jim Michalski:** 8g: Carlton County prosecutorial services contract. I got a call from the new County Attorney. We haven't been paying for prosecution since 2009. **[2:10:00] Kris Huso:** I remember we requested the state help pay for the lawyer fees for the MSOP, and the money went to the County. At that time, the County decided not to charge us because they got that state money. **[2:12:01] Jim Michalski:** My suggestion is that we call our County Representative and ask them not to move forward with this. **[2:13:34] Jim Michalski:** 8h: Training. Kathy in the Police Department has requested to go to Sioux Falls for training on the "Zuercher" system. It’s for records management. Motion? Second? All in favor? Aye. **[2:15:40] Lou Ohly:** 8j: ATVs. I’m getting complaints throughout the city. Speeding, cutting corners, clouds of dust. People are almost running over others at the arena. **[2:16:41] Phil Entner:** Someone suggested putting a gate at the end of the road near the farmers market to stop them from going through that specific area during events. **[2:20:15] Lou Ohly:** We need a solution. Maybe we have the officers sit down there on Saturday mornings. We want the traffic in town for the gas and revenue, but we need to divert it away from the pedestrians. **[2:25:34] Jim Michalski:** Motion to adjourn? Second? All in favor say aye.