CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2022
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Tasha Dahl, City Council Members Deb Ellis, Hunter McGovern, and Jacob Klejeski (Klejeski arrived at 7:23 p.m.). Council Members absent: None. There is 1 vacant city council seat.
City staff and others present: Interim City Administrator Jim Brimeyer, Clerk/Treasurer Elizabeth Sorg, First Responder Director Casey Dahl, City Engineer Derek Olinger, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, County Engineer Guy Kohlnhofer, Bryon Wolf, Mike Klemmensen, Amber Ward, Alec Vaughn, and Holly Vaughn.
Mayor Dahl opened the Public Hearing for the street assessments. The street improvements are finished, and the total cost of the project was $262,146. Residents Klemmensen, Ward, Vaughn, and Selthun suggested that the communication of the project could have been better. Hearing no other comments, Mayor Dahl closed the Public Hearing. Motion by McGovern to approve Resolution No. 22-28: Resolution Adopting Assessments, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to adjourn the Special Assessment Public Hearing at 7:29 p.m., second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was called to order at 7:29 p.m.
AGENDA
An applicant to the fire department and first responders was added to the agenda under Public Health. Motion by McGovern to approve the agenda as amended, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
None
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda consisted of: Minutes of the October 4, 2022, City Council Meeting and Resolution No. 22-27: Resolution Establishing Polling Place. Motion by Ellis to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Since City Hall is now closed on Fridays, the Employment Policy needed updating. Columbus Day was added as a holiday and the Friday after Thanksgiving was removed. For city staff who have a 4-day work week, if a holiday falls on a Friday or weekend, either the Thursday before or the Monday after can be taken for the holiday. Also, a paragraph for military leave was added to follow the guidelines from the League of MN Cities and state law. Motion by McGovern to approve the revisions to the Employment Policy, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
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 McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE
Administrator Brown drafted Standard Operating Procedures for the Fire Department, which the Fire Chief and Interim Administrator Brimeyer have reviewed. Brimeyer would like to review a few more items in it and present to the council at the December meeting.
Matthew Pike applied to be on the Fire Department and the First Responders. Motion by Ellis to approve Matthew Pike to the Fire Department and First Responders, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
EDA
Claremont Service Center applied for a façade improvement program in the amount of $2500 for new cement in their parking lot. Motion by Ellis to approve the façade improvement application, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Robert Harris, CEDA Specialist, just received notice of a $6000 grant for soccer nets at Henning Park. He also submitted a memo of the items he has been working on.
Motion by McGovern to approve the 2023 CEDA Contract for Professional Services in the annual amount of $6748 for 8 hours per month, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
Nothing at this time.
PARKS COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
PEOPLESERVICE
Their reports were in the packet.
There is a pump at the pumphouse that is not running right. Repairs for the pump were almost as much as a new pump. It takes 4 weeks to get it and it is $13,000. Motion by Klejeski to approve the new pump purchase, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
There was a fire at the wastewater plant that burned the effluent sampler. A new Optima sampler is $9225 and if the refrigerator part breaks it can be repaired. A new Isco sampler is $9269 and if the refrigerator part breaks the whole unit would have to be replaced. Motion by Mayor Dahl to approve the purchase of the Optima sampler, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
CITY ENGINEER
Only one bid was received for the Sewer Outfall Project. It was from Minger Construction for $217,700, which was above the engineer’s estimate. City Engineer Olinger has discussed the bid with Minger in detail, compared it with other similar projects, and reviewed the overall market trend. The result is that the bid is representative of the market price and he does not believe rebidding will result in lower pricing. Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 22-29: Resolution Awarding Bid for WWTP Outfall Sewer Improvements, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Maintenance Director Brian Styndl, Administrator Brimeyer, and the excavator that built the Julia Street retention pond visited the site. It was determined that nothing further should be done at this time. The issue could be revisited after the ground freezes and some dredging of the pond could prove to be beneficial Additional evaluation will take place in the spring.
Gravel has been put down around the walking path and it is very deep in some areas. It will be graded out better and spread further down the path (to CR 3) before more gravel is brought in.
CITY ATTORNEY
City Attorney Rahrick has contacted the surveyor for survey of the property south of the Fire Hall and he said he has handed it off to another surveyor, but Rahrick hasn’t heard back yet.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Bryon Wolf with the Claremont Insurance Agency went over the city insurance policy renewal. The cost for the insurance renewal this year is $29,118. The city usually receives a dividend back from the company. Currently, there is a $500 deductible. The council would like to check out the rates for a $1000 deductible and the next highest deductible amount. Last week they did an appraisal on the properties. The work comp renewal was $11,139. Motion by Ellis to accept the insurance renewal proposal, second by McGovern. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Dahl to not waive the tort liability, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
County Engineer Guy Kohlnhofer explained the plans to do street improvements on County Road 3 from old Highway 14 which is now CSAH 34 to County Road 30. It will be 12’ lanes with 4’ paved shoulders, 2’ gravel shoulders and improved railroad crossings with cross bars and lights instead of stop signs. It is scheduled for 2024 but depending on funding it could occur in 2023. Prior to this project, 630th Street between CR 1 and CR 3 will have asphalt put down and traffic will be rerouted down that road. Being that part of CR 3 is in city limits, the county needed a resolution of the city approving the project. Motion by McGovern to approve Resolution for Project No. 020-602-015 for CR 3 improvements, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Chamber President Dean Schuette received a comment about getting another lighted community sign. So he was checking with the council on whether there was a lot of interest for one. At this time it was unsure where an ideal location would be and unsure if it is worth the money for the usage it gets. If they get more interest from people wanting it, they will revisit it again.
There were 165 voters at the November 8 election. The council as the Canvassing Board stated Tasha Dahl was re-elected as Mayor for 2023 and Hunter McGovern re-elected as council member and Krystal Sultze receiving the most write-ins for council will be appointed as a council member also. Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 22-30: A Resolution Certifying Results of the November 8, 2022 Election, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Ellis to approve the Abstract of Votes Cast, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Administrator Brimeyer reviewed the 2023 budget with the council, investments, and cash flow. The proposed 2023 levy was approved at 10%. The council will discuss the budget and levy at a workshop on Wednesday, November 30th starting at 5:00 p.m.
Administrator Brimeyer plans on being in City Hall on Tuesdays with city staff zoom meetings on Thursdays.
Motion by McGovern to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 p.m., second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
Elizabeth Sorg, City Clerk/Treasurer
Tasha Dahl, Mayor
