PRESENT: Mayor Todd Evavold, Council Member John Harris
ALSO PRESENT: Public Works Steve McDowell
Approval of Agenda:
MOTION: Motion to approve the Agenda as presented.
Motion made by Councilor Harris, second by Mayor Evavold
Ayes: Harris, Evavold Nays: None
Approval of Consent Agenda:
A) Regular Council Meeting minutes of June 14, 2023
B) Payment of Claims dated: June 19, June 26, July 6, and July 19, 2023
MOTION: Motion to accept consent agenda as written.
by Councilor Harris, second by Mayor Evavold, motion passed unanimously.
Open Council Seats:
RESOLUTION 2023-04: Resignation of Council Members Carri Turi and Jennifer Schwab:
MOTION: Motion to accept the resignations of Turi and Schwab by Councilor John Harris, second by Mayor Evavold, motion passed unanimously.
RESOLUTION 2023-05: Appointment of council member to fill vacancies.
Kevin O’Brien applied for the position of Council Member. The Council considered and discussed the application.
MOTION: Motion was made by Council Member Harris, seconded by Mayor Evavold to approve Kevin O’Brien as Council Member, motion passed unanimously
NEW BUSINESS:
Tree Removal Bids:
Council discussed removing a cluster of trees behind the Schiels building on property line. Bid was received from Flom Tree in the amount of $2,756.32.
MOTION: Motion was made by Harris, seconded by Evavold to approve the bid from Flom Tree for the removal of the trees. Motion approved unanimously
The City received four bids for the bids for tuck pointing City Hall. Mayor Evavold contacted all of the companies and discussed with them the tuck pointing only west and north side of building including west side ground flashing before winter since there are holes in the mortar.
MOTION: Motion was made by Council Member Harris, seconded by Mayor Evavold to accept the bid from Owen Masonry for $34,172 to tuck point the west and north sides beginning in September of 2023. Funding will be from the ARPA money the City had received.
Motion passed unanimously
Sredding of City Documents:
Mayor Evavold discussed the Visa bill from Veterans Shredding out of Burnsville hired by the previous city clerk. There was no notice to council or mayor. There was also no record of documents shredded as required by Minnesota Statutes 138.17, Subd. 7.
Old Business:
Mayor Evavold updated council that Steve McDowell and himself had a meeting with Bollig Inc. The meeting regarded information that Bolling would need to proceed with being the City Engineering firm.
Report of Public Works:
• Streets-Bonde Farms sprayed for wild parsnip on Kielmeyer Ave. The spray didn’t seem to work well, so it was decided to mow it down and spray again. The ditch has been mowed and it will continue to be monitored.
• Farm Street-Land surveyor has staked out the various parcels and will be getting the survey to the city which will then go to the city attorney for further details to complete legal documentation of land parcel swapping and easements.
• Gravel-Gravel will be put down on Poplar Street to Maple Street as well as the west dead end of Second Street North. Alleyways are looking good.
• Transfer Station Pump 1 - Steve has rebuilt the pump
• Transfer Station Pump 2 – Oil has been changed
• Water Department – A chemical delivery was made
• Pot Holes – Steve patched pot holes around town with cold patch as well as some larger holes with gravel. Another spot on the alleyway east of Poplar was brought up and Steve will take care of.
• Drainage issues – The ditch needs to be cut so drainage can happen near the downside of Third Street. Need drainage improvements on the north side of the Methodist Church and possibly on the south end of Poplar.
Mayors Report:
• Water Tower - Mayor Evavold met with a representative from McGuire Inc. inquiring about getting a bid to sandblast and repaint the water tower.
• Temporary Clerk – The mayor reported that the temporary clerk has been getting city business processed on average of 8 hours per week thus far.
• Comparative Positions- The mayor contacted the city of Dennison who has 8 less households than Nerstrand and they have been paying their clerk 20 hours/week for the last 14 years. This includes both the financial and city business aspects. The city of Hampton was also contacted about their two person arrangement for clerk and financial responsibilities. This arrangement does not require a yearly audit due to the self-audit nature of their paperwork documentation. Nerstrand’s most recent annual financial audit cost the city $16,720. The city will look into the possibility of eliminating this expense. The city of Hampton has a population of 747 and their clerk is hired for 25 hours per week and their financial person is hired for 5 hours per week. Hampton will be putting together their procedure list of how they carry out this two person arrangement. The mayor anticipates a 16 hour work week plus separating out an additional 5 hours for financial work. There was further public discussion on making sure all aspects of the future city clerk position are considered and nothing is missed when determining the weekly work schedule.
Adjourn:
MOTION: Motion by Councilman Harris, second by Mayor Evavold to adjorun. Motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted by Mayor Todd Evavold in absence of City Clerk
Todd Evavold
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Mayor Todd Evavold
