The Round Lake City Council met in regular session on Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at City Hall at 6:15pm.
Councilmembers present were Paul Cunningham, Court Baumgard, Walon Habben, Gary Larson and Mayor Douglas Knuth. Others present were Linda Koning, Tim Lynch & Chris Johnson from Weitz Construction, Chad Hastad & Vince Baack from New Fashion Pork, Arnie Meyer & Reinerd Bosma from the First Presbyterian Church, Nobles County Deputy Mike Schei, Bruce Bentele, Derek Nelson and Clerk Elaine Walker.
Meeting was called to order at 6:15pm.
Additions to the agenda: Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services.
Motion by Habben, second by Cunningham to approve the additions to the agenda and the agenda. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Larson, second by Baumgard to approve the minutes from July 11th meeting, August 1st special meeting and August 4th emergency meeting. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Larson, second by Cunningham to approve the bills and receipts as presented. All ayes: Carried.
New Fashion Pork: Chad Hastad and Vince Baack were in attendance for the update on the schedule of the feed mill construction. Tim Lynch and Chris Johnson from Weitz Construction explained to the audience what would be happening in the next few weeks. September 17th is the start date for the pouring of the slip. Cement will be brought in, from Ocheyedan, by two trucks running 24 hours for 7-8 days, shifts are from 6:00am-6:00pm and then new crews come in to run from 6:00pm-6:00am. There will be noise and lights on 24/7 during the pour. 50+ workers will be on the site and traffic will be more than usual. Rain or shine the pour will continue, once you start the pour it’s not economical to stop unless it’s a major storm and then it would still have a skeleton crew to continue the process.
First Presbyterian Church: Arnie Meyer and Reinerd Bosma were in attendance to ask for help from the City on the water issues they have been having in the church basement. Insurance coverage is now being affected due to the number of claims in the short amount of time. They have sump pumps in the basement, but they run into tiles that also have the roof water coming from the church and white house, ultimately going to the storm sewer. When the heavy rains came down it was too much for the sewers to handle and it was backing up, they would like help to figure out what to do to avoid future issues. It was suggested that they get the down spouts out of the tiles and reroute the roof water to the street to avoid the overload next time. The City agreed to keep thinking of options and to assist if it’s something that the City can do, but it appears to be the church’s responsibility, based on how the sump pumps and tile are setup.
Building Permit for Tarah Bomgaars – open porch on front of the house. Motion by Larson, second by Baumgard to approve. All ayes: Carried.
Building Permit for Nick Ober – build larger garage starting where existing garage is and build front and back decks 8’x10’ each on house. Motion by Larson, second by Habben to approve with the condition that the garage is not where any utilities are, if they need to relocate any utilities it will be at the homeowner’s expense. All ayes: Carried.
2019 Budget – Council was given rough draft of the 2019 Budget.
Motion by Larson, second by Cunningham to approve $100 sponsorship to the Nobles County Sheriff’s office for the National Child Safety Council materials that go to the Round Lake-Brewster School. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Habben, second by Cunningham to approve 2 handicapped stalls be painted on street by the Senior Center. One on Main Street in the front of the building and one on the north side either by the door or by the stop sign, whatever the county will approve. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Larson, second by Baumgard to approve the Professional Service Agreement for Assessing Fees with the Nobles County Assessor’s office. Contract dated July 1st, 2018 with 336 parcels being assessed at a rate of $12.00 per parcel, for the 2019 payable tax season. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Baumgard, second by Larson to approve adjustment of Greg and Sheila Olson’s water bill, they had a leaking water heater that has since been replaced. Clerk directed to adjust bill and let them know new amount due. All ayes: Carried.
Discussion started about having Councilmember Walon Habben and possibly a couple of the firefighters trained to be “On Call” for the public works department to relieve some of the pressure to always be close to town. Derek will setup the login needed for the modules.
Council directed Bruce Bentele to remove the fire hydrant behind City Hall as it is not going to be put back into service.
Derek Nelson requested the assistance of New Ulm for the gas leak survey of the entire town. Cost will be approximately $2,500. Leak surveys are done annually by Derek, but this will give new perspective as an additional safety measure. Council directed Derek to line it up with New Ulm for 2018.
Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services will be adding a new channel, Mayor Doug Knuth thought it was a public TV station.
Derek Nelson shared the letter from Northern Natural Gas regarding the change in procedures that will be implemented this drying season. Council suggested a letter be sent with a copy of this information to each of our grain drying customers. Clerk Elaine Walker will work with Derek to get the proper wording in the letter and to get the information sent out.
Clerk Elaine will be attending a workshop in Windom on August 15th about financial aspects of a natural disaster.
The next City Council meeting will be on Wednesday, September 12th at 6:15pm.
City hall will be CLOSED on September 3rd for the Labor Day holiday.
Motion by Habben, second by Baumgard to adjourn. All ayes: Carried.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:32pm.