CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2026
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Acting Mayor Krystal Sultze and City Council Members: Deb Ellis, Donna Gregory, and Ethan Johnson. Absent: Mayor Jared Sultze.
City staff and others in attendance: City Administrator Elizabeth Sorg, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, Jamie Sultze, Bret Nordstrom, Carter Behnken, and Denice Baier.
AGENDA
Two items will be added to the agenda at the end of New Business: a resident’s water bill and an email request from a resident. Motion by Johnson to approve the agenda with the 2 additions, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
Denice Baier asked the council the following: Why does maintenance need a new truck? Why is Maintenance Dahl burying fire hydrants when plowing snow? Why can’t the city put up snow fences along 3rd Street like they had in the past? When Anita Kern was City Clerk she worked from 8 a.m. - noon. Council Member Ellis should resign from the council or her position as Assistant City Clerk because of a Conflict of Interest. She also said hearing and visual effects at the meetings are not in compliance with ADA. City Attorney Rahrick will check on the ADA requirements.
Carter Behnken explained that as far as cranes go, what is listed as total pounds of lift is when the crane is often only 4 to 6 feet from the center of rotation, depending on the specific crane model.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda included: Minutes of January 6, 2026, Regular City Council Meeting and Resolution No. 26-05: Resolution Expressing Acceptance of and Appreciation of Donations. Motion by Ellis to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by Johnson to approve the financial reports, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to approve the payment of bills including the added bills, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
PARKS COMMITTEE
At the March council meeting, the council will pick a date for the Parks Committee to gather resident input on what they would like to see in the parks in the future.
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE (Health, Fire, Police, Weeds)
The Fire Relief Association has joined the Statewide Volunteer Firefighter Fund, so they had to make a few minor changes to the Bylaws, such as joining the SVF and the benefit level changed to $1300. The Fire Relief Association and Fire Department have approved the Bylaws. Motion by Johnson to approve the Fire Relief Association Bylaws, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
EDA
Nothing at this time.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Administrator Sorg informed the council that the Local Board of Appeals and Equalization will be held at Claremont City Hall with the Dodge County Assessors on April 20, 2026, from 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. This is a time for residents to ask for a reassessment of their property values.
Kurita/Tonka was here and trained the maintenance workers on the water treatment media. The media usually lasts 20 years, the current media is 15 years old. The city is hoping to get another 5 years out of it. If all of the media needs to be replaced it costs $120,000. The maintenance workers took a test of the media on February 4th. The test will show how well the media is working.
CITY ATTORNEY
Nothing at this time
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Previously, the council chose every other year for a city-wide cleanup day. Someone mentioned having a city-wide rummage sale also. Administrator Sorg asked Skjeveland if May 18th would work and an estimate. May 18th works for him and he quoted $100 per ton and $200 per hour for trucking and labor. Motion by Ellis to approve Skjeveland Enterprises to pick up items on the curb on May 18th, second by Johnson. Ellis withdrew her motion. Motion by Ellis to approve Skjeveland Enterprises for the city-wide clean up on May 18th with Skjeveland calling the City of Claremont when he nears a $5,000 mark with an update of how much is left. All excessive loads will be refused, a list of not acceptable items will be furnished by Skjeveland, and the total cannot exceed $6,000, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
The city will hold city-wide garage sales on May 15th and 16th. If residents have clothes left, Community Pathways in Owatonna accepts most clothing and Furnishing Hope of Owatonna accepts furniture.
Maintenance Supervisor Dhal suggested if the city bought a truck with a crane, it would save the city money as they could pull the pumps and maintain them. Currently, they call a company to do that, and the cost is just under $1500 and on average 3 times per year. If the city sold the 2016 Ford, they could get $12,000 which could go towards a service truck. The council asked them to measure the distance from where the truck would be parked to where the pump is to see if the crane has the power to pull the pump and still have a little capacity.
They discussed a snowplow also as the current plow is hard to maneuver around corners and starting to nickel and dime the city in repairs. The council tabled the snowplow to ensure they get one that is big enough but still able to handle corners and smaller areas.
Triton Community Ed requested use of the ballfield for t-ball and also summer leagues. Motion by Johnson to approve the use of ballfields for Triton Community Ed and other leagues, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Administrator Sorg summarized Ellis’ annual performance review. She has worked for the city for 2 years as the Assistant City Clerk. It was recommended that Deb Ellis be given a $2.00 increase making her wage $20/hour, so that it is more in line with the current market. Ellis abstained from discussion. Motion by Johnson to approve increasing Ellis’ wage to $20/hour, second by K. Sultze. Ayes: Johnson, Gregory, and K. Sultze. Nay: None. Abstain: Ellis. Motion carried.
City Administrator Sorg’s annual review will be held March 3, 2026, at 6:30 pm which is ½ hour prior to the City Council Meeting.
Resident Donna Gregory’s water bill for last month was $343.44 due to a cracked pipe resulting in 24,000 gallons of water used. She requested the council adjust the bill using her average sewer use. Motion by Johnson to approve the adjustment of the sewer bill to her average use, second by Ellis. Ayes: Johnson, Ellis, and K. Sultze. Nay: None. Abstain: Gregory. Motion carried. No adjustment to the water.
City Hall received an email request from a resident that had 31 questions she wanted written answers to. City Attorney Rahrick said that the questions weren’t data requests. He said if the requests would have been a request for data, the request would need to be in writing on the city data request form. Since what was submitted was not asking for specific data the council or administrator is not required to comment on them.
FINAL WORD
Bret Nordstrom thought that since the city is looking at a service truck and a snowplow maybe the city could make the snowplow into a service truck since it is too big to plow with.
Motion by Ellis to adjourn the meeting at 8:06 p.m., second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
Deb Ellis, Assistant City Clerk
Jared Sultze, Mayor
