The Round Lake City Council met in regular session on Wednesday, November 14th at 6:15pm at City Hall.
Councilmembers present were Paul Cunningham, Court Baumgard, Walon Habben, Gary Larson and Mayor Doug Knuth. Others present were Bruce Bentele, Derek Nelson, Jennifer Rehnelt, Linda Koning, Clerk Elaine Walker and Deputy Brian Steffen.
Meeting was called to order at 6:15pm.
Additions to the agenda: Sign at the Pit Stop & Fire Hall
Motion by Baumgard, second by Cunningham to approve the agenda and the additions to the agenda. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Habben, second by Larson to approve the minutes from the October 17th meeting. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Cunningham, second by Baumgard to approve bills and receipts as presented. All ayes: Carried.
Deputy Brian Steffen asked the Council if there were any concerns in the community. Linda Koning spoke up and asked about the truck traffic on Main Street. She lives on Main Street and is concerned about the speed of semis when the park is in use by children. The drivers are not following the 15mph sign. Deputy Steffen is working on getting a speed sign to monitor the truck traffic. Chief Deputy Dybevick is also trying to find a sign that would be available for the City of Round Lake to borrow.
In the past, equipment was on a schedule to replace every so often. Current Councilmembers feel that mowers should be replaced based on the number of hours of operation and trucks will be traded in every few years, to keep the trade-in values higher to make it more economical for the City in the long run.
Motion by Habben, second by Larson to approve the engagement letter from Bradley R. Bergerson, CPA for the 2018 audit. All ayes: Carried.
Council had some discussion about possible places for new businesses to have a place to come to Round Lake.
Resolution No. 2018-11-14 – Resolution authorizing the Mayor and Clerk to enter into an agreement with the County of Nobles for bituminous surfacing in 2019 and that such agreement be a part of this resolution. Motion by Larson, second by Cunningham to approve the resolution. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Larson, second by Cunningham to approve the agreement between the City of Round Lake and Nobles County to do engineering services for the city and for the city work to be included in the 2019 contract for bituminous paving. This agreement allows the city the option to drop the project from the contract. All ayes: Carried.
Resolution No. 2018-11-14 (2) – Resolution Canvassing the Tuesday, November 6th, 2018 Municipal Election Returns and Declaring Results. Motion by Baumgard, second by Larson to approve. Councilmember Habben abstained from the vote, as he was on the ballot. All other members answered aye. Motion was carried.
Motion by Baumgard, second by Larson to approve Madsen Surveying finalize the survey with the new legal description for the property on Indian Lake that is currently owned by the City of Round Lake. All ayes: Carried.
Council is looking into replacing Bruce’s F350 truck this year. Quotes are in from Marthaler Ford and Chevy in Worthington and the Council instructed Bruce to contact Lyle Heath for an additional bid option. They want him to quote the same truck so it can be compared properly. The current F350 will be traded in on the new one. The plan is to replace Derek’s F150 next year.
The lawnmowers have high hours of usage and quotes were requested from Jaycox. After reviewing the quotes, the Council told Bruce and Derek to have Lyle Heath see if he can get quotes for new mowers and John Deere in Worthington. The plan is to replace one or both in 2019. They average 100 hours per season and a good time to trade-in is around 300 hours. They both have more than that, but now is a good time to start a schedule of replacing them as well.
Crystal Valley Coop contacted City Hall to inform Clerk Elaine that they are in the process of filling the paperwork out to have the permission from the State of Minnesota, to spread the pile of dirt that was contained until the fertilizer levels were low enough to be safely spread on the surrounding fields. They needed the approval from the City of Round Lake, Nobles County and the State of Minnesota. Clerk Elaine told her that our Council understood that Crystal Valley Coop would be spreading the soil as soon as safely possible and they were allowed to by the State of Minnesota. She was hoping to have it done by the end of 2018.
Southwest Minnesota Broadband Stream(SMBS) is having some issues. The feed we get from Georgia goes through another station between here and there and it’s having issues. Travis from SMBS is working on an alternative to eliminate the issues. If community members are having trouble, they need to contact SMBS at 507-945-0010 and report the issue.
The sign at the Pit Stop that is owned by the City is to be used by anyone in town that wants to put the letters up for an event. Letters are available during business hours at City Hall. If nothing is on the sign, both sides are available. If another group wants to use one side, it will be opened up for that group. The intention of the sign is to help promote any events that are being held locally.
The fire hall is in need of garage door openers, as well as the other building used by the Fire Department (formerly owned by Keith Tordsen). The fire hall is in need of new light fixtures in the bays, as well as the insulation and ceiling tiles that were damaged by water. Council suggested getting quote from a local contractor.
City Hall will be closed Thursday, November 22nd and Friday, November 23rd for the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
The next Council meeting will be on Thursday, December 6th and will start at 5:30pm to allow time for employee reviews and the Council meeting will begin around 6:15pm at City Hall.
Motion to adjourn by Habben, second by Baumgard. All ayes: Carried.
Meeting was adjourned at 7:55pm.