CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2022
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Tasha Dahl, City Council Members Jacob Klejeski and Hunter McGovern. Council Members absent: Deb Ellis. There is 1 vacant city council seat.
City staff and others present: City Clerk/Treasurer Elizabeth Sorg, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, City Engineer Derek Olinger, and First Responder Director Casey Dahl.
A Request for Action was added to agenda at the bottom of New Business. Motion by McGovern to approve the agenda as amended, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
None
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda consisted of: Minutes of the May 3, 2022, City Council Meeting. Motion by McGovern to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by Klejeski 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
Evan Brown applied to be on the First Responders. Motion by Klejeski to approve Evan Brown to the First Responders, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
EDA
Nothing at this time.
PARKS COMMITTEE
City Engineer Derek Olinger got a rough estimate of $25,000 for gravel for a 10’ wide walking trail out to and around the storm water pond (approximately 3/4 mile) between the railroad tracks and new Highway 14. Olinger is waiting for an estimate for mulch. Administrator Brown is searching for some grants. The council talked about just mowing a path out and around it until the council can see how often it is used and if there are any issues. The parks committee will set up a meeting to discuss further.
The land donation for the ball field is now officially finished. Mayor Dahl, Administrator Brown, Bryon Wolf, and Chris Pluto met and started discussing the project. The Chamber will head the fundraiser in the amount of $400,000. The Chamber will make large donations in multiple increments to the city and the city will pay the bills as it will be a city park. The property will need to be rezoned. The work will probably begin in 2023. Until then, grass seed will be planted.
PEOPLESERVICE
The Operations and Maintenance Agreement with PeopleService states a maximum annual maintenance/repair expenditure amount, monthly compensation, and the base amount for chemicals the city pays for are to be adjusted each May based on the CPI-U plus 1%. The change to the CPI-U was 7.5% making the total 8.5%. So as of May, the city’s maximum annual maintenance/repair expenditure amount will be increased from $6,144 to $6,666, the monthly compensation increased from $10,445 to $11,333 and the chemical base amount will increase from 19,866 to $21,555.
Last month, the council discussed a broken injector pump at the wastewater facility and approved buying a new pump to replace it. PeopleService has a temporary solution working right now. The pump that was approved to be replaced (the broken one) has become a thing of the past as it’s expected service life is relatively short and it is expensive. Engineer Olinger is checking into another option that is more common at $5,000-$6,000, half of the replacement pump. The council agreed to not buy the new pump and table the issue until next month to get more information on the alternative option and MPCA’s approval.
CITY ATTORNEY
Nothing at this time.
CITY ENGINEER
One bid was received for the 2022 street improvement project from Rochester Sand and Gravel. The bid was $144,270.77 and the engineer’s estimate was $111,178.00. The city has a savings of $34,000 from previous street assessment projects. Assessments will be applied per the Assessment Policy. There is also money for street improvements not used from 2021. Motion by McGovern to approve Resolution No. 22-18: Resolution Accepting Proposal, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
The council and Chamber President Schuette have been discussing moving the former Claremont city sign that was south of old Highway 14 to north of new Highway 14 as close to the south of the railroad tracks as permitted and on the west side of County Road 3 facing south. The sign proposed is 14’ high x 12’ wide. Schuette had previously said the sign would be installed at the height of mature corn, which would be 8 – 10’ then an additional 14’ high, the council is worried about safety of the sign being 24’ high. A zoning permit also needs to be filled out. Council will invite Schuette and discuss next month.
NEW BUSINESS
Municipal Pipe Tool proposed a 5-year sewer maintenance contract. The minimum amount of work is $3000 per year, with a 3% increase annually. Olinger said it is a good price and Sorg said there are areas in town that she was notified that need to be cleaned. Motion by McGovern to approve the 5-year Municipal Pipe Tool Contract, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
A water usage rate was recommended to be added to the current fire call fees. The 1st 1,000 gallons of water will not be charged, but after the first 1000 gallons the rate will be charged at the current city bulk rate. Motion by Klejeski to approve Resolution No. 22-17: A Resolution Fixing Fees for the Claremont Fire Department, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Administrator Brown proposed a cell phone stipend instead of having city cell phones, which would save approximately $24 per month if the stipend was $40. Attorney Rahrick advised against it due to data privacy concerns. Sorg did say the city cell phones should be updated as they are several years old.
Motion by Dahl to approve the Hogfest Liquor License for August 5-7 with the fee waived, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
Bryon Wolf with the Claremont Insurance Agency requested use of the Fire Hall on August 13 from 4 – 8 p.m. They rented it in the past and made a donation to the department for the use. The consensus of the fire department was that they are OK with it as a few members of the fire department will be at the event. Motion by Klejeski to approve the Request to Use the Fire Hall, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
The normal July council meeting would be July 5. Since it is the day after a holiday it was requested to consider changing the date. Motion by McGovern to move the regular council meeting to Thursday, July 7 starting at 6 p.m., second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Derrick and Dora Nelson submitted a Request for Action asking for the “opportunity to sell bottled water, freeze pops and pop at Memorial Park Pavilion during June 2022 to the end of September 2022. We believe this would be a great way to provide other services to the community when visiting Claremont or the community residents that do not have transportation and just need a quick cool down while spending time with their family.” Attorney Rahrick said since no food is being prepared no state license is required. Motion by Dahl to accept the request providing that they only sell from 12 noon to 6 p.m., at Memorial Park/pavilion unless when the pavilion is rented then sales are prohibited, no sales on the sidewalk, they must obtain a Merchant Permit and pay for it, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by McGovern to adjourn the meeting at 8:27 p.m., second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
Elizabeth Sorg, City Clerk/Treasurer
Tasha Dahl, Mayor
