The Round Lake City Council met for a regular council meeting on Wednesday, November 9th, 2016 at City Hall. Council members present were: Dennis Bucholz, Court Baumgard, Walon Habben, Gary Larson and Mayor Doug Knuth. Others present were: Fire Chief – Mike Smith, Bruce Bentele, Derek Nelson and Clerk Elaine Walker.
Meeting was called to order by Mayor Knuth at 6:15pm.
Additions to the Agenda: Bank building agreement with Ned Jones as realtor, Rosemary Schumann building permit, Street sweeper, Jim Obermoller gas easement, Tom Johnson – Café building, speed monitor on 2nd avenue. Motion by Bucholz, second by Larson to approve the agenda and the additions to the agenda. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Habben, second by Baumgard to approve the minutes from October 12th meeting and October 26th special meeting. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Baumgard, second by Bucholz to approve the bills as presented – Check #19855 thru 19877 and $410.81 to Minnesota Revenue for October withholding tax, $2,497.61 to EFTPS for October Employer tax, $1,512.10 to PERA for October payment, $3,513.00 for October Sales Tax for the City (all filed electronically). All ayes: Carried.
Bruce Bentele – High voltage lines at AGCO need to be replaced in the future, need to redo some roads in town in 2017.
Derek Nelson – AGCO replaced all of the gas lines and risers. The bill to repair the regulator and release was $693.00 cheaper than they quoted originally. Derek will be attending wastewater school December 13th-15th.
Gas easement location is in question on James Obermoller property. Council needs more information to determine next step.
Fire Chief, Mike Smith – There are two candidates to consider for new hire at the fire department. Chief, Mike Smith asked for council approval to do the background checks and continue with the hiring process. Motion by Habben, second by Baumgard. All ayes: Carried.
Motion by Baumgard, second by Larson to approve the Liquor License fees as documented: See attached fee schedule. All ayes: Carried.
November 25th City Hall will be closed as a paid holiday for the staff. Motion by Habben, second by Baumgard. All ayes: Carried.
The council decided to hold off on a new round of nuisance ordinance violations until spring. Still in discussion with Keith Stubbe and Jeff Markus about their properties, nothing has been done to bring them into compliance as of the date of this meeting. Clerk Elaine Walker will send another letter to Keith Stubbe and Jeff Markus to check on the status.
Resolution #2016-11-08 – Canvassing the Tuesday, November 8th, 2016 Municipal Election Returns and Declaring the Results. Motion by Baumgard, second by Larson to approve the results. Roll call voting is as follows: Bucholz – yes, Baumgard – yes, Habben – yes and Larson – yes. Carried.
Southwest Minnesota Broadband meeting on November 17th, will talk about a new video provider and they would like all council members and City administrative staff to attend the meeting. Council was presented with the RUS balance sheet, Statement of cash flows and RUS statement of revenues, expenses and changes in net assets reports.
Lease for the former bank building between the City of Round Lake and South Fork Wind, LLC was updated and returned with signatures to the City. The agreement will be for six months at $600 per month, renewable with the option to purchase at any time during the lease period. Mayor Doug Knuth and Clerk Elaine Walker signed the agreement to complete the process during the meeting. First payment is prorated at $300 for the month of November and is due November 15th and $600 damage deposit. Each remaining payment will be due the first of the month.
Rosemary Schumann – Building permit to build large dog house attached to the current red shed on her property. Motion by Baumgard, second by Habben to approve the permit with the stipulation of it being painted or sided by July 1, 2017. All ayes: Carried.
Street sweeper – Shine Bros gave a quote for the street sweeper based on its weight of $525.00. Motion by Baumgard, second by Habben to sell the sweeper for scrap. All ayes: Carried.
Bank building agreement with Ned Jones as realtor – Council decided to take the building off the market and request a bill from Ned for his services so far. If South Fork Wind, LLC does not purchase the building in the future, Ned will be first to get the opportunity to put it back on the market.
Emergency lights need to be installed in the Fire Hall and City Hall. 3 hurricane lights hardwired in was recommended.
Mayor Knuth has not gotten a response from Tom at the County regarding the café building.
Wally Habben would like to see the speed monitored on his road, Second Avenue. Trucks have been going too fast during harvest and it’s a safety concern.
City Hall will be closed Friday, November 11th for Veteran’s Day, Thursday and Friday, November 24th and 25th for Thanksgiving Day.
Nobles County Commissioners will be at the Pit Stop and Senior Citizen Center on December 14th to visit with community members.
Next Council Meeting will be Thursday, December 8th, 2016 at 6:15pm.
Motion by Habben, second by Bucholz to adjourn. All ayes: Carried. Meeting was adjourned at 8:12pm.