CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2023
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Tasha Dahl, City Council Members Jacob Klejeski, Hunter McGovern, and Krystal Sultze. Council Members absent: Deb Ellis.
City staff and others present: Interim City Administrator Jim Brimeyer, Clerk/Treasurer Elizabeth Sorg, First Chief Casey Dahl, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, City Engineer Derek Olinger, Rick Kroll and Jeremy Swenson with Midco, and Robert Harris III and Jennifer Howard with CEDA.
AGENDA
Motion by Sultze to approve the agenda with the addition of Resolution No. 23-11: DNR Grant and move the Interim Administrator Contract to the last item under New Business, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
Midco Communications is asking to extend the current land lease that their tower is on for 30 more years and offered $3000 per year. The city currently has a franchise agreement and lease agreement that both expire in 2031. Midco recently invested quite a bit of money updating the tower to provide bandwidth speeds to the underserved areas in Claremont township. A different tower company is interested in buying the tower. The council has concerns over the guidewires that are around the Fire Hall as it is hard to get the trucks in the Hall and makes it more difficult for street maintenance. Midco said they will check with a tower engineer to see if it would be possible to move the guidewires. The council would also like to know if any residents are using their service or if it is just township residents.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda consisted of the Minutes of the March 7, 2023, Regular City Council Meeting and Resolution No. 23-10: Resolution Certifying Past-Due Bills to Dodge County for Collection with 2023 Property Taxes. Motion by Klejeski to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by Sultze to approve the financial reports, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Klejeski to approve the amended list of bills to be paid, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE
The fire department reviewed and approved the final draft of the Standard Operating Guidelines. Motion by McGovern to approve the SOG, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
EDA
CEDA Specialist Robert Harris III has been promoted so Jennifer Howard will be taking over his position. Harris has submitted the DNR grant for the ballfield but the council will need to approve a resolution at this meeting to be included with the grant. The DNR grant is a matching grant for a project up to $700,000, so the city would incur $350,000. The grant will be awarded in June. They are researching grants for additional equipment in Henning Park and still reaching out to gas stations. The council asked if there was any information or grants on nonstandard park equipment, such as a musical area or sensory items.
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
Nothing at this time.
PARKS COMMITTEE
TruGreen and Corey’s Outdoor Service submitted proposals for weed control at the parks. Motion by McGovern to approve TruGreen’s proposal which is 2 applications per park for a total of $698, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
The council tabled getting a project manager for the new ballfield.
Motion by Klejeski to approve Resolution No. 23-11 for the DNR grant, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
PEOPLESERVICE
The Operations and Maintenance Agreement with PeopleService adjusts annually every May. The contract states that the adjustment is based on consumer price index plus 1%, although the letter stated they are not charging the 1% this year. This new Agreement is $144,696 for the year. Motion by Klejeski to approve the new Contract, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
CITY ENGINEER
City Engineer Olinger looked into funding the water tower project. Right now, the city is grant eligible with MN Public Facilities at 80% of the project costs. The total project cost is estimated at $425,000 of which $85,000 would be the city’s responsibility with the grant. So, it appears that a 23% increase in water/sewer rates would be necessary which is about $11/month for an average user of 3,500 gallons per month in order to get the grant. If the council would like to move forward with the project, the next steps would be updating the funding application materials with PFA, followed by bidding the project. The cost for Olinger to do that would be approximately $5000 or less. Motion by McGovern to move forward, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
A schematic is needed to get some quotes for city signs on Highway 14. Olinger said he will work with Bolton and Menk’s landscape architect to draft some basic dimensions and designs, with input from staff and council. Then they will reach out to some contacts for quotes. He will do that at the reduced rate.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Nothing at this time.
CITY ATTORNEY
Nothing at this time.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
A resident asked if there was going to be a clean-up day this year. The council discussed maybe doing it every other year, so it would not be done this year.
Terri Schuette submitted a proposal for planting flowers in the 12 pots to be placed in front of the main street businesses, the city park sign, and the 4 pots in front of the Fire Hall. She will donate her time for gathering the materials, planting, and weekly maintenance. The estimated cost is not to exceed $800, and the Chamber will pay half, providing the city pays the other half. Motion by Klejeski to donate up to $400 for the city flowers, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
There is a CD that matures April 6. Interim Administrator Brimeyer suggested not having it automatically renew. Motion by Klejeski to cash in the CD, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
Interim Administrator Brimeyer’s contract has a 30-day notice for termination by either party. There has been discussion for Clerk Sorg to start taking on more administrative duties. Job descriptions will be reviewed and updated and reviewed at the next meeting. The council agreed that this is Brimeyer’s 30-day notice in this type of roll. He is still willing to help on a call-by-call basis when needed.
Ellis’ 90-day training period ends May 8 and Maintenance Director Styndl’s annual performance review would be May 5. Council asked Sorg, along with Brimeyer, to do the reviews with the employees. Council will then hold a special meeting to discuss the reviews starting at 6 p.m. on May 2.
Motion by Klejeski to close the meeting for City Clerk Sorg’s annual performance review, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously. Motion to reopen the meeting by Sultze, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Council agreed that she can work between 32 – 40 hours weekly as she has been doing. Motion by Klejeski to raise Sorg’s hourly pay to $32 effective immediately, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by McGovern to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 p.m., second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
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Elizabeth Sorg, City Clerk/Treasurer Tasha Dahl, Mayor
