CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2021
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Tasha Dahl, City Council Members Deb Ellis, Heather Grey, and Jacob Klejeski. Members absent: Hunter McGovern.
City staff and others present: Clerk/Treasurer Elizabeth Sorg, Maintenance Supervisor Glen Hvitved, First Responder Director Casey Dahl, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, and Curt Oeltjenbruns.
The agenda will be amended by adding a first responder applicant and setting a date for an EDA meeting. Motion by Grey to approve the agenda with the two additions, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
None
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion by Ellis to approve the Consent Agenda which included Minutes of the November 9, 2021, Regular City Council Meeting, Minutes of the November 23, 2021, Special City Council Meeting, and Resolution No. 21-21: Resolution to Accept the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Established Under the American Rescue Plan Act, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
CITY ENGINEER
The street projects for 2022 will be 2nd Street from Main to Wheat, East Street from 4th to the alley, and an overlay on the west end of Front Street. The county will be overlaying the west end of Front Street, but the parking lanes will be the city’s responsibility. In order to proceed with special assessments, the city is required to prepare a feasibility report, hold public hearings, prepare and receive bids, and construction. Bolton and Menk estimate the engineering cost for the scope of work to be approximately $7500. Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 21-27: Resolution Ordering Preparation of Report on Improvement, second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously.
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by Grey to approve the financial reports, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to approve payment of the bills, second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE
The fire department unanimously voted to recommend the city council approve David Matejcek as Fire Chief for 2022. Motion by Klejeski for David Matejcek to remain Chief for 2022, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Robert Ott applied to be on the first responders. He is currently a fire member, and he has his EMT certification. Motion by Ellis to approve Robert Ott to the First Responders, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
EDA
The 2022 CEDA contract is for 8 hours a month at the rate of $6427. Motion by Grey to approve the CEDA 2022 Contract for Professional Services, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Since there has been difficulty finding volunteers to be on the EDA commission, motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 21-28: Resolution Designating the City Council as the Governing Body of the Economic Development Authority, second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously.
PARKS COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
Maintenance Supervisor Hvitved suggested the purchase of a snowblower attachment for the skid loader to help clear alleys, big snow piles blocking driving vision, and cleaning up where needed. He got 3 bids: SkidPro is an 84” for $8998, QuickAttach Attachments is a 79” for $10,798 and Northland Farm Systems said they couldn’t beat either of those. There was $90,000 budgeted for the snowplow but only spent $70,000 so the excess money could go towards the snowblower. Motion by Klejeski to purchase the 84” SkidPro snowblower, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Council requested the farm property along 3rd Street be contacted next year for a corn row snow fence.
The council discussed different ways to sell the old snowplow. Motion by Klejeski to sell the plow on MNBid with a $4000 reserve on it, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
CITY ATTORNEY
Nothing at this time.
PEOPLESERVICE
The monthly expenditure report was in the packet.
OLD BUSINESS
James Herrick submitted a written request to adjust his water and sewer bill as he had a high water bill for October’s usage of 32,000 gallons. Sorg checked the meter a week (Nov. 9) after the high usage and again on November 30 and it doesn’t appear to be leaking since. Motion by Klejeski to adjust the bill to their average of 3,000 gallons and waive the late fees as he has always paid on time, second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously.
In order to have both the City Attorney and City Engineer at the council meetings the date when the council meetings are held will be changed. Motion by Grey to approve Ordinance No. 21-01: Ordinance Adjusting the Regular City Council Meeting Time, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously. The regular council meetings will now be on the first Tuesdays of the month at 7:00 p.m.
NEW BUSINESS
Motion by Ellis to open public input for the 2022 proposed budget and levy, second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously. Curt Oeltjenbruns addressed the council on his property taxes. The council explained the proposed tax levy was set at 3% but after approval tonight, the levy will not increase as it will be set at a 0% increase. They also stated if he had more questions on the tax rate, he can call Dodge County for clarification. Mayor Dahl called for any more input and having none, motion by Klejeski to close the public input, second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Grey to approve Resolution No. 21-22: Resolution Adopting the 2022 Tax Levy and Budget, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously. The council worked hard to have a 0% levy increase.
Due to the severe deficit every year in the sewer fund and a small deficit in the water fund, motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 21-24: Resolution Adjusting Water and Sewer Rates, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Grey to approve Resolution No. 21-26: Resolution Certifying Past-Due Bills to Dodge County for Collection with 2022 Property Taxes, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Since 221 4th Place was bought by a family that did not meet the income qualification required by the TIF District, motion by Klejeski to approve Resolution No. 21-23: Amending the Boundaries of Tax Increment Financing District No. 1-4, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Grey to approve Ordinance No. 21-02: Assigning Southview Drive, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
The Dodge County Expo sent a letter asking if the expo were held again this year would the city participate. After discussion, the council decided to decline this year.
Motion by Grey to approve a subscription to Claremont Messenger at the rate of $20, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
A written request was submitted by a resident at 401 2nd Street as a tree in the boulevard is buckling the sidewalk and leaning towards the road. Since it is on the city boulevard the tree will be removed and the stump will be ground out. The sidewalk chunk is not cracked and will be moved to place back once the tree and stump are gone. Hvitved and Sorg will contact 2 companies to get the lowest quote. Motion by Klejeski to take the lowest quote and have them remove the tree, grind the stump, and put the sidewalk chunk back, second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously.
CEDA Specialist Matt Durand requested council set up an EDA Meeting to discuss possible future development opportunities. Motion by Ellis to hold an EDA Meeting on Tuesday, December 28th at 6:00 p.m., second by Grey. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to adjourn the meeting at 8:33 p.m., second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
Elizabeth Sorg, City Clerk/Treasurer
Tasha Dahl, Mayor
