CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2021
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Tasha Dahl, City Council Members Deb Ellis, Heather Grey, Jacob Klejeski, and Vickie Madsen. Members absent: None.
City staff and others present: City Administrator Connor LaPointe, City Clerk/Treasurer Liz Sorg, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, Sandra Thielen, Zach Thielen, Jack Boyd, and Deputy Breuer.
The agenda was amended by adding the E.O. Johnson copier agreement and scheduling a special meeting under New Business. Under the Consent Agenda, Item B states the Minutes of the May 24 Regular City Council Meeting, that should say Minutes of the May 24 EDA Meeting. The last change was moving Item E under New Business prior to the Committee Reports.
PUBLIC INPUT
None
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion by Ellis to approve the Consent Agenda: Minutes of the August 10, 2021, Regular City Council Meeting and the Minutes of the May 24, 2021, EDA Meeting, second by Madsen. Motion carried unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS, ITEM E., RESOLUTION NO. 21-15: RESOLUTION ASSESSING UNPAID WATER/SEWER BILLS
Jack Boyd addressed the Council. He is a real estate agent for Zach Thielen who recently purchased a house in Claremont. The property was a tax forfeited property that was sold by Dodge County to another party who then sold the property to Mr. Thielen. There were assessments added to the property from 2015 to 2018 that due to tax forfeiture were automatically removed by the County when it first sold. The City prepared a resolution to reassess the water and sewer charges of $2721.37 onto the property. It was not disclosed to Mr. Thielen of these assessments until closing on the property. Since he didn’t incur the bill and he is not benefitting from the assessments the Council didn’t feel the assessments would be fair. Motion by Grey to approve an amended Resolution No. 21-15: Resolution Assessing Unpaid Water/Sewer Bills with the removal of the 309 E Front Street property but keep the assessment for 113 3rd Street, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
CITY ENGINEER
The sidewalk and utility mapping should be ready for the next Council meeting.
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
The Employment Policy was updated by increasing the PTO accrual rate as the previous rate was not keeping pace with other cities, changing full time status from 35 to 32 hours, adding Juneteenth as a Holiday, the change of Mayor to the City Administrator regarding management structure and the Harassment Chain of Command. Motion by Madsen to approve the updated Employment Policy, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
The City Administrator position is not consistent with the Employment Policy as they differ in rules, so an Employment Agreement was created between the City and Administrator LaPointe. The personnel committee has reviewed the revised Agreement and recommended approval. Motion by Klejeski to approve the revised Employment Agreement, second by Madsen. Motion carried unanimously.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by Ellis to approve the financial reports, second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Grey to approve payment of the bills, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE
Mayor Dahl, Administrator LaPointe, and Sheriff Rose met and discussed the 2022 Law Enforcement Contract, parking issues, having more communication between the City and Sheriff’s Office and other topics of concern. The contract was tabled.
Three people applied to be on the Fire Department: Kyle Jorissen, Jacob Rislov, and Ethan Otterbein. The Fire Department recommends approval of the 3 members with the same probationary period as the previous members. Motion by Ellis to approve all 3 applicants pending a background check, second by Madsen. Motion carried unanimously.
Due to Due Process consideration of removing a member of the Fire Department will be tabled until the next Council Meeting.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
They will be having a meeting October 5.
EDA
They will be having a meeting September 27. Two façade grant applications were approved at their last meeting.
PARKS COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
CITY ATTORNEY
The closing documents for one of the RK&T lots will be signed by the Mayor and Clerk tonight.
PEOPLESERVICE
Charlie Dappen, the City’s contact, has accepted a new job. They are in the process of hiring a new person to take over his position.
ADMINISTRATOR
Administrator LaPointe went through his monthly report (which is attached).
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Last month, the Council adjusted 3 City fees: the water/sewer administrative fee, the water/sewer disconnection, and the water/sewer reconnection. Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 21-13: A Resolution of 2021 Fees, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
The Council set the proposed 2022 tax levy at $487,068 which is a 3% increase. Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 21-14: Resolution Adopting the Proposed 2022 Tax Levy, second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously.
At 8:18 p.m. Council Member Grey left the meeting.
Motion by Klejeski to have public input on the 2022 budget and levy on Tuesday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
City Administrator LaPointe and City Clerk Sorg met with Bryon Wolf with the Claremont Agency to go over the City insurance policy renewal. Motion by Klejeski to not waive the monetary limits on municipal tort liability, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
A water fund CD matures October 6. LaPointe recommended adding $5000 from the unused budgeted 2021 capital outlay to the CD and renewing it for 6 months. Motion by Ellis to renew the CD for 6 months with the addition of $5000, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Administrator LaPointe recommended taking $25,000 from the unused 2021 budgeted capital outlay in the sewer fund and open a 6-month CD. Motion by Klejeski to put $25,000 into a 6-month CD, second by Mayor Dahl. Motion carried unanimously.
A special meeting will be scheduled to discuss a MN Rural Water Loan for the wastewater treatment project. Motion by Madsen to hold a special meeting on October 4 at 7:00 p.m., second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
The current copier contract with E.O. Johnson expires at the end of the year. Administrator LaPointe has met with other copy companies but recommends approval of a new E.O. Johnson contract at a better rate than the current contract. Motion by Ellis to approve the new copier agreement with E.O. Johnson, second by Madsen. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Klejeski to adjourn the meeting at 8:26 p.m., second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Elizabeth Sorg, City Clerk/Treasurer
Tasha Dahl, Mayor
