City of Dennison
Meeting Minutes
February 6th, 2025
The February Dennison City Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Flaten on Thursday, February 6th, 2025 at 7:00 pm. Present were Councilors Nichole Schloesser, Caleb Voight, and Heidi Cooke and clerk Jessica Page. Councilor Diane Ruddle was unable to attend.
Councilor Cooke moved to approve the Meeting Minutes from the January City Council meeting. Councilor Schloesser second. Motion passed 4:0.
Councilor Schloesser moved to approve the Treasurer’s report. Councilor Voight second. Motion passed 4:0.
Goodhue County Sheriff: Deputy Trever Sullivan It was noted from various Council members that a lot of citizens are feeling targeted for being in the bar. Council members noted that people are asking if its retaliation for lowering the contract. Deputy is aware of this in Dennison and as well as other small communities. Deputy wanted to make it very clear that it is not retaliatory for the contract. There are a lot of new deputies on duty (upwards of 17 new deputies throughout the County). They are very eager to do their job. All of the city is being patrolled as multiple cities have asked them to cover the entire city instead of concentrating in one area. Traffic stop numbers are higher, he stated they have done the statistics on this. New Deputies can be more eager to do their job. Council members noted that multiple folks have stated they were pulled over for ‘no good reason”. If the people feel they have been targeted, they need to contact the sheriff’s office. Bars have noted that Sheriff’s cars are parked right on main street for hours. Sheriff will work to not have cars sitting in front of establishments for long periods of time. Deputy noted that there are fine lines between keeping people safe and the public feeling too much presence.
Todd Greseth: Todd has heard from 4 towns in his district regarding the issues with law enforcement. Starting meetings where they look at what they want to do for the future. Cannabis is moving ahead. LMC IT attorney was going to look at crafting a sample City Cannabis Ordinance. County gets lots of funding from state and fed levels, not sure what is going to happen with everything that is going on at the Federal level.
Old Business/Committee Reports/Building Permits:
David Koester had brought in the paperwork to request to split a parcel he owns. He brought in the survey, and application for it. The City will hold the Public Hearing for input on this land split on Thursday March 6th at 6:45
Administrative Issues:
1.Street projects for 2025. Previous council meeting, city council accepted proposals from Deutsch Excavating ( $37,270 ) and Dohmen Concrete Enterprises ( $35,500 ). Seykora Asphalt provided a proposal to do the asphalt street patching for $30,950.45. Mayor provided a map with all of areas to be fixed and also met with the owner, Brad, to drive around town and discuss everything in-person. Seykora also submitted a proposal for the concrete fixes, but the mayor didn't request a proposal for concrete from them. Construction would start after Dennison Days. City can wait until summer to look at selling bonds. Councilor Schloesser move to accept the bid from Seykora. Mayor Flaten second. Motion passed 4:0.
2. Rice County Emergency Services Director, and Nerstrand Fire Department Chief Joe Johnson, has asked the City to consider passing a resolution to endorse federal legislation to reimburse body armor costs for all emergency responders. Over the past 6 months, Rice County has been working with federal, state and local officials in attempt to change reimbursement rules for body armor to include Fire and EMS personnel, not just law enforcement. Councilor Schloesser move to pass Resolution 2-2025-01 for the Board of Action. Mayor Flaten second. Motion passed 4:0.
3. Update regarding City providing dental benefits for Jessica and Nate. With the paperwork that they would set up, the City can add folks and they will set us up to be able to have all the standard types of insurance.
4.Update regarding the metal fence posts on the right hand side of the road as you head up the hill towards Prairie View Drive. Letter sent to the Clutchmen's Car Club and the metal posts were removed from the ROW.
5.On January 6th, it was reported to the mayor that the fire hydrant on the corner of 2nd Avenue and 376th Street was having issues. It was observed that water was coming up from the ground and spilling onto the street. This had been occurring for at least a day, more than likely. The City was able to turn the top nut closed, stopping the water flow. Upon further examination of the inside of the hydrant revealed ice had formed. Nate purchased materials like heat tape and a heated blanket to work on thawing out the hydrant. A garbage can was placed over the hydrant to help with thawing. Need to figure out how to pay Bill Zimmerman for letting the City use electricity from his house. It was on for7 days, $3-5 per day. Councilor Schloesser move to pay Bill $35 for using his electricity to thaw the fire hydrant. Councilor Voight second. Motion passed 4:0.
6.LMC training for newly elected officials? The Alexandria cohort registration ends on February 9th. Cost is $350. Conference is February 28th-March 1st. Councilor Voight is unable to attend during those dates.
7. Pay Equity report: Clerk received notice that the report as it was submitted, puts us out of compliance. We have until March 11th to remedy the situation. Clerk thinks the way the report was interpreted due to the differences between the hourly wage of the one employee and the salary of the other employee, that the report can be reworked and would result in it being in compliance.
Citizens Issues:
Mayors Issues:
Utilities:
1.Update from Nate. Nate was unable to attend.
2.Progress on the DO meter?
3.MRWA Spring Conference March 4-6th. Two or Three nights of hotel accommodations? Cost of the conference is $350. Nate is checking with Travis to make sure that he reserved a hotel room for him. If no hotel room, there is always a Pond School in the fall that Nate could go to. Councilor Schloesser move to cover the cost of the conference and up to 3 nights lodging. Councilor Cooke second. Motion passed 4:0.
Councilor Schloesser move to pay the bills. Councilor Cooke second. Motion passed 4:0.
Mayor Flaten moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Schloesser second. Motion was adjourned at 7:55.
Next meeting: Regular meeting is Thursday March 6th, 2025 at 7:00. Public Hearing to be held before the meeting at 6:45 pm to hear input on the split of a parcel owned by Davis Koester.
