AKELEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
JULY 11, 2007
7:00 PM CITY HALL
The Akeley City Council met in a regular meeting Wednesday July
11, 2007 at 7:00 pm. Mayor Tom Moore called the meeting to
order. Council members present were: Tom Moore, Frank Lamb,
Cliff Johnson and Eric Sjolin. Brian Hitchcock was absent.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by the Council and attending
audience.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Frank Lamb and carried to
approve the consent agenda.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Tom Moore and carried to
approve to not waive the monetary limits on tort liability
established by Minnesota Statutes 466.04.
The Council selected Wednesday, August 1, 2007 at 7:00 PM as the
date for the Budget Work Session. The Weed Ordinance will also
be discussed at the work session.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Frank Lamb and carried to
approve to hire Don Moore as contractor to build the diving platform
to be used at the city beach.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Tom Moore and carried to approve
to hire Cina Pidde as contractor to clean bathrooms and the lobby
area of City Hall one day each week at $8.00 per hour.
Eric Klein spoke with the League of Minnesota Cities and DNR
regarding gun permits being issued by the City to eliminate varmints
on home owners’ property. They advised against it and
suggested that the ordinance read that all state statutes and DNR
regulations must be obeyed.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Eric Sjolin and carried to
approve to rescind the motion at the June 13, 2007 meeting of a
$5.00 permit, good for one year, which could be obtained at City
Hall allowing the property owner to dispose of varmints on his
property.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by _ to keep section (B) of §130.02
as originally stated and add to the last sentence of section (C) of
§130.02 “if he or she obeys all state statutes and DNR regulations
and accepts full liability.” ** Note: It was
unintentional that his motion was not seconded or carried for
approval and will have to be brought up for approval at the next
meeting on August 8, 2007.**
Police Report - Chief Eric Klein
· Eric congratulated
the Reserves on a job well done during Paul Bunyan Days and also
thanked the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Department for their
assistance.
· Reserves attended
mace training and Eric thanked Deputy Christianson who instructed
it.
· Eric stated that
reserves hired to do jobs by other agencies outside of the city
limits such as the VFW will be covered by that agency’s insurance
and liability.
· Eric asked if the
council would consider adding to the “Weed Ordinance” that property
owners who do not mow their grass after being notified of their
violation to the ordinance be billed for having it mowed by someone
else and if it isn’t paid that it be assessed to the property
owner’s taxes.
· Eric requested
permission to attend Taser Instructor Training in Shakopee which
would be paid for out of the training budget and a percentage of the
expenses would be reimbursed by POST since the training would count
as POST credits.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Tom Moore and carried to approve
to allow Eric Klein to attend Taser Training in Shakopee on July
16th and 17th.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Tom Moore and carried to approve
to pay minimum wage from the Community Fund to officers on beach
patrol working 4 to 5 hours a day 7 days a week not to exceed 30
hours per officer per week through Labor Day except in inclement
weather.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Cliff Johnson and carried to
approve to change Personnel Policy #19 to state that vacation time
will be accrued only on hours worked up to 80 hours per pay period
not including overtime hours.
Motion by Tom Moore seconded by Frank Lamb and carried to approve
to remove the last line of Personnel Policy #26.
Motion by Eric Sjolin seconded by Tom Moore and carried to
approve to give Wendy Klein the Step 1 pay increase as a result of a
satisfactory annual review.
Old Business
Frank Lamb asked if it was known when Howard’s Driveway was going
to repair the intersection of Pleasant Avenue and 2nd Street.
Frank Thelin will check with them to see when the street repair is
scheduled.
Tom Moore stated there is a tree in the City’s right-of-way near
Akeley Auto Sales which needs to be removed. Frank Thelin
received two bids which were $250.00 from Total Tree Service and
$300.00 from Rittgers Tree Service.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Tom Moore and carried to approve
to accept the bid of $250.00 from Total Tree Service to remove the
tree.
Cliff Johnson stated that he had talked to Dave Moore about
building a shelf for the Liquor Store office.
Discussion took place as Bob Winner shared information regarding
what would be required for an outdoor patio to be built at the
Liquor Store which would allow smoking. Bob will start
obtaining bids for the possible addition of a patio.
Discussion was held regarding the condition of the Paul Bunyan
Statue. The paint was to last 10 to 15 years but is already
fading on Paul’s pants and there are some damaged areas. Tom
Moore and Tony Hermes will talk to Dean Krotzer regarding the
statue’s condition.
New Business
Eric Klein stated he would like to put the trailer that had been
forfeited to the city up for sealed bids since the city has no use
for it. The ad to accept bids will be placed in the Northwoods
Press for two weeks.
Jon Johnson asked if Park Avenue and Carroll Street could be
closed during sporting events since there are more people present
and drivers have been going through the stop signs. The police
department will patrol that area more during the sporting events
rather than close off the streets.
Wendy Klein shared information regarding the Minnesota
Sesquicentennial Grant Program 2007 to 2008 available to communities
and organizations across Minnesota which is to emphasize or build
connections between the local community and the state as a whole and
may be historic, current or looking to the future. Wendy will
look into the grant application process since the deadline is August
15th.
Frank Lamb stated the “Welcome to Akeley” banners which are
usually placed on the light poles by the C&C in the spring and taken
down in the fall had not been put up this year.
Frank Lamb expressed his concern with the map of the area by the
Paul Bunyan Statue which was painted by his son who was an Eagle
Scout in 1980 and feels it needs to be repainted or taken down.
A suggestion was made that possibly an Eagle Scout looking for a
project could repaint the map.
Eric Klein stated the “Beach Rules” sign could be replaced since
the letters are coming off and only about every other letter can be
read. Frank Lamb suggested contacting Glen & Karen Stiffler
since they have made various signs in the city already including the
sign at the museum.
Tom Moore asked if Eric had heard any more from MN DOT about
extending the reduced speed zones on the outskirts of the City.
Eric stated the person in charge of this at MN DOT just returned
from vacation so is still working on it.
Frank Lamb asked if the Scenic Byway signs permit had been
renewed. Tom Moore said it had been renewed and that he and
Gary Hendricks had just finished the base rock work on Highway 64
south.
Eric Klein informed the Council that he had called MN DOT at
their request to find out if there were any stipulations about
routing water under the sidewalk onto a MN Highway but has not heard
anything so far.
Motion by Frank Lamb seconded by Tom Moore and carried to
adjourn.
Denise Rittgers
Clerk Treasure
City of Akeley
Wendy Klein
Deputy Clerk
City of Akeley
