CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Monday, May 1, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Tasha Dahl, City Council Members Deb Ellis, Hunter McGovern, and Krystal Sultze. Members absent: Jacob Klejeski.
City staff and others present: Interim Administrator Jim Brimeyer, Clerk/Treasurer Elizabeth Sorg, Fire Chief Casey Dahl, and City Engineer Derek Olinger.
AGENDA
Motion by Sultze to approve the agenda with one addition of a quote for mowing, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
None
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda consisted of the Minutes of the April 4, 2023 Regular City Council Meeting and Minutes of the April 24, 2023 Local Board of Appeal and Equalization. Motion by McGovern to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by McGovern 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
Nothing at this time.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
EDA
Clifford and Margaret Brekke applied for a façade improvement grant to replace the sliding garage door on their building on Elm Street and paint the front and rear of the building. The estimate is $3850, and the amount requested is $2500. Motion by McGovern to approve half of the project cost, which is $1925, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
Maintenance Worker Brian Styndl turned in his resignation. His last day will be May 4. Motion by Ellis to accept Styndl’s resignation, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
Interim Administrator Brimeyer updated the maintenance worker job description to use as a reference for Styndl’s annual performance review which was done in late April.
The council reviewed and made minor revisions to the job posting for the maintenance worker position. Applications will be accepted until May 22 and the minimum pay will be $25 per hour. Motion by Ellis to accept the job posting, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
Clerk Sorg reached out to someone to see if they were interested in mowing the grass until someone is hired and they didn’t respond. Corey’s Outdoor Services submitted a quote for $340 for mowing and trimming all the city-owned property. He will mow as needed and he is aware it is temporary.
PARKS COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
PEOPLESERVICE
Their reports were in the packet.
CITY ENGINEER
The water tower rehab project bidding process has started and bids will be opened May 25. Current cost estimate is $400,000-$450,000. Final costs for funding projections will be confirmed after bids are received. The project is estimated to take 8 weeks. Engineering services for this project are estimated to be $57,000 but the construction services portion (approximately $50,000) of that will be billed on an estimated hourly basis. Motion by McGovern to approve Resolution 23-12: Approving Plans and Specifications and Authorizing Advertisement for Bids, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Ellis approving the engineering proposal, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
Radio Link has antennas on top of the water tower that should be removed for the project. His lease is up April 2024. So if he is unwilling to remove the antennas this year, the project will be completed in 2024.
The city has been looking at city signs to be placed along Highway 14 but due to the cost another option was brought up. As an alternative to the large brick sign a 10’ x 5’ aluminum sign could be an option. They would be in the range of $15,000. Sorg will forward the information to the Chamber for their input.
Olinger shared an updated street map for chip sealing and crack filling this year. Request for quotes will go out this week and the quotes will be available at the June meeting.
The city and the railroad are currently negotiating insurance coverage for the outfall sewer project, then the project can start.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Interim Administrator Brimeyer is also a certified coach and strategic advisor with Skyehill. He submitted an Interim Administrator/Clerk Coaching Proposal. It is a 6-month coaching engagement that will be one hour coaching sessions every other week and it will help Sorg to deal with challenging issues and improve performance withing the organization. The cost is $3000 for the 6 months. Brimeyer will also be available for phone calls if she is looking for some assistance. Motion by Ellis to enter into this contract with Skyehill for the coaching proposal, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
At the April meeting, the council gave Brimeyer his 30-day notice per his contract so this May meeting is the last meeting Brimeyer will be at.
Motion by Sultze to name Liz Sorg as Interim Administrator/City Clerk, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
The council briefly discussed Evan Brown’s return to employment.
Interim Administrator Brimeyer updated the city administrator/city clerk job description to use as a reference.
Clerk Sorg will work with Council Member Klejeski to get gravel for some gravel roads in town.
CITY ATTORNEY
Nothing at this time.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Triton summer recreation requested financial support and use of Henning Park ballfield on Monday evenings for part of June and all of July. Motion by McGovern to contribute $500 to the program and use of the ballfield, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
In late April, Sorg went over Office Assistance Ellis’ 90-day review with her. Ellis stated the meeting could be open. Motion by Dahl to increase her pay by $1 to $16 per hour effective immediately, second by Sultze. Ayes: Dahl, Sultze, and McGovern. Ayes: None. Abstain: Ellis. Motion carried.
Motion by McGovern to adjourn the meeting at 8:32 p.m., second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
________________________________ ____________________________________
Elizabeth Sorg, Interim Administrator/Clerk Tasha Dahl, Mayor
