CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2024
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Tasha Dahl, City Council Members Jacob Klejeski, Deb Ellis, and Krystal Sultze. Council Members absent: None. There is 1 vacant seat.
City staff and others present: Administrator Elizabeth Sorg, Maintenance Director Casey Dahl, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, City Engineer Derek Olinger, People Service Operator Nick Viker, Deputy Purdue, Ryan Hedberg, and Donna Gregory.
AGENDA
Motion by Ellis to approve the agenda, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
None
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda consisted of: Minutes of the January 2, 2024 City Council Meeting, Minutes of the January 8, 2024 Special City Council Meeting, Resolution No. 24-05: Resolution Expressing Acceptance of and Appreciation of Donations, Resolution No. 24-06: Resolution Expressing Acceptance of and Appreciation of Donation, Resolution No. 24-08: Resolution Expressing Acceptance of and Appreciation of Donation, and Renew CD for 12 months. Motion by Sultze to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by Klejeski to approve the financial reports, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to approve the amended list of bills to be paid, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE
The Dodge County Ambulance have been meeting with cities, townships and emergency personnel regarding funding and staffing issues. At the last meeting, the Ambulance wanted to know if the city would consider a taxing district or a joint powers agreement, and if so which one they preferred. After discussion, the council prefers a taxing district. The council hasn’t heard what other cities and townships would like.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
EDA
Nothing at this time.
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
Nothing at this time.
PARKS COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
PEOPLESERVICE
Their monthly reports were in the packet. There is a broken valve under the ground at the wastewater plant that needs to be repaired. Council asked PeopleService and Engineer Olinger and get a list of what needs repairs and in the order that they should be repaired.
CITY ENGINEER
There are repairs needed at 2 lift stations. The Hayes Street lift station has had milky oil for the past 3 years, indicating a bad seal or other potential issues with a pump. Other than the oil issue the pump appears to be working at the same flow rate as the other pump. Both pumps are about 20 years old and have reached the end of their expected service life. Quotes were received from MN Pump Works and Quality Flow Systems. Three options were in the quotes: to repair one pump, replace the one pump, or replace both pumps. Due to the price to replace 1 or 2 pumps (approximately over $24,000 per pump), the recommendation is to repair the pump. It is uncertain how much more life there would be by repairing the pump or even if they repair the pump that more problems might be detected. Despite the risks, the short-term savings would allow for more expensive repairs on the Oak Street lift station. Motion by Ellis to move forward with Quality Flow Systems repairing the pump at approximately $4,800, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
The Oak Street lift station pumps are about 35 years old and there are various wiring issues with the current control panel. Based on the age and condition of the setup, replacements or repairs are no longer an option and a complete rehab of the station is needed. There is no risk of immediate failure and may run for another year or so but based on the unsafe electrical conditions and the fact that there would be no substantial advantage to wait another year, the work will be done this year. MN Pump Works estimates $52,500 and Electric Pump estimated $55,000 to rehab the lift station. The funds will need to be taken from sewer reserves. General standards for lift stations now are to have a generator receptacle in case the electricity goes out. The generator receptacle is $4,160, which is included in the $52,500 quote. Motion by Mayor Dahl to approve MN Pump Works quote for the Oak Street life station rehab with the work being paid with sewer reserves, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
The Local Board of Appeals and Equalization will be April 22 at 2 p.m.
The audit was January 11 and 12 and it went well.
Maintenance Director Dahl has been busy painting the inside of City Hall.
CITY ATTORNEY
Nothing other than what is on the agenda later.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Council Member Hunter McGovern turned in his resignation effective January 31 due to an unexpected move out of town. Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 24-09: A Resolution Accepting Resignation and Declaring a Vacancy to the City Council, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously. The council will take applications for the open seat until March 11 and at that council meeting, they will appoint someone. Council asked Administrator Sorg to post the vacancy on the city’s website, City Hall window, Post Office and Facebook. Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 24-10: Resolution Relating to Procedures for Appointing a Person to Fill the Vacant Council Position, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Klejeski to approve Resolution No. 24-07: Resolution Appointing Election Judges and Rate of Pay. The head judge will receive $14 per hour and regular judges will receive $13 per hour, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Sultze to approve the 2024 Assessment Agreement Between Dodge County and the City of Claremont for $3300, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Claremont Hogfest Committee requested to have a foam party on Front Street for Hogfest and Dodge County has approved the use of Front Street for Hogfest. They have requested the use of the ballfields and also requested having the garden tractor pulls on East Street as they have in the past. Included in the request was a mention of a softball tournament. The council said Henning Park ballfield will not be there anymore and Claremont Field the council can’t approve at this time because they don’t know if it will be ready and usable at that time. Administrator Sorg will inform them the foam party and the use of East Street for the garden pulls as they have in the past is fine, but the ballfields are unknown at this time.
The council will have Sorg’s annual performance review March 11 at the end of the regular city council meeting.
Administrator Sorg summarized Ellis’ Annual Performance Appraisal. Ellis has worked for the city for 1 year and works on average 1 day/week. Ellis “met expectations.”
Motion by Ellis to adjourn the meeting at 7:58 p.m., second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
________________________________ ____________________________________
Elizabeth Sorg, Administrator Tasha Dahl, Mayor
