April 28th, 2008

Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the regular meeting of the Crosby City Council was held on Monday, April 28, 2008 in the Crosby City Hall Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m.  The Pledge of Allegiance was given. 

Mayor Dale Sova presided with Member Erwin “Buzz” Neprud, Member Debra Shankle, Member Edward Vukelich and Member David “Butch” Ferrari present. 

Also present were City Attorney James Gammello, Fire Chief Charles Leonhardt, Police Chief Kimberley Coughlin, and City Engineer Mike Rude of WSN, Public Works Foreman Steve Perpich and City Clerk-Treasurer Cindy Nelson.

Public Forum –

-                      City Resident Joan Hallada appeared before the council to present an idea of putting up flags on Main Street with the area servicemen/servicewomen’s names on them.  The council asked that the information she had be given to the City Clerk to research further and then report back to the council.

-                      Carla Lueck appeared before the council and stated that she was out walking and fell on a sidewalk and broke her finger and glasses along with other scrapes and was wondering what kind of sidewalk policy the city had for the repairs of the sidewalks in town. Mayor Sova asked that the give her accident information to Clerk Nelson to be turned into the insurance company for the City.

-                      City resident Rick Schafer appeared before the council about his sidewalk also, he was instructed to meet with Working Foreman Steve Perpich on the repair of his sidewalk.

-                      Dale Carry and Jim Traylor appeared before the council regarding the ATV Ordinance and made some suggestions to the ordinance and they were instructed to meet with Attorney Gammello to finalize the ordinance and then bring the completed ordinance back to the whole council.

Unfinished Business –

-                      The sound system for the council chambers and the City Administrator position were tabled.

-                      Michele LeMieur & Laura Roberts of Project Play presented a plan for improving the beach along with Laughlin Landscaping.  They are giving $10,000 of the funds raised from Project Play towards the beach improvement and are asking the City to contribute $10,000 towards the beach improvements. 

MOTION BY MEMBER VUKELICH AND SECONDED BY MEMBER SHANKLE TO CONTRIBUTE $10,000 FROM THE PARK FUND OR CAPTIAL IMPROVEMENT FUND TOWARDS IMPROVING THE BEACH PER THE PLANS THAT WERE SUBMITTED BY LAUGHLIN LANDSCAPING ALONG WITH $10,000 FROM PROJECT PLAY FUNDS.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

-                      Discussion was held on upgrading the park electrical and it would be better to raise the park fees instead of installing meters on the pedestals and asked Clerk Nelson to put this item on the next agenda.

New Business – 

-                      A letter was received by MN Dot regarding the purchase of a small parcel right-of-way on Oak Street.  They asked that we send a $1,000 non-refundable deposit check to them towards an appraisal and other items.  It was decided not to pursue acquiring that parcel.

-                      A bid from Anderson Brothers was received for tarring approximately 560’ at the cemetery in the amount of $19,944.01 and it was decided to have Working Foreman Steve Perpich obtain another bid.

-                      A bid for $1,225 for a tar patch in the park where the new culvert was installed was received from Anderson Brothers.

MOTION BY MEMBER NEPRUD AND SECONDED BY MEMBER VUKELICH TO ACCEPT THE BID FROM ANDERSON BROTHERS IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,225.00 TO REPAIR THE ROAD IN THE PARK FROM WHERE THE NEW CULVERT WAS INSTALLED.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

-                      City Clerk Nelson received a resignation letter from Marilyn Hesch of the DMV/Clerk’s Office effective April 30, 2008.

MOTION BY MEMBER VUKELICH AND SECONDED BY MEMBER NEPRUD TO ACCEPT THE RESIGNATION WITH REGRETS FROM MARILYN HESCH OF THE CLERK’S/DMV OFFICE EFFECTIVE APRIL 30, 2008.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

-                      Tony Maucieri of Maucieri’s Restaurant and Pizzeria submitted an application to sell wine and strong beer at his new restaurant.

MOTION BY MEMBER SHANKLE AND SECONDED BY MEMBER FERRARI TO APPROVE THE APPLICATION BY TONY MAUCIERI OF MAUCIERI’S TO SELL WINE AND STRONG BEER AT HIS NEW RESTAURANT.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

Fire Department – Fire Chief Charles Leonhardt reported on the following:

-                      There have been 5 runs since the last meeting.

-                      The Fire Department participated in a mock helicopter crash training at the hospital

-                      Chief Leonhardt will meet with Working Foreman Steve Perpich about the cement at the Fire Hall.

Police Chief – Kimberley Coughlin reported on the following:

-                      A letter of commendation to Officer Savor, Officer Heffron and Officer Smith for their help in solving a burglary from a resident’s garage.  She stated that the letter will be put in their personnel file.

-                      Chief Coughlin is looking at storing the forfeited vehicles at the bus garage, but nothing has been finalized at this time.

-                      Officer Koop handed out a modified parking plan in the park for review and Clerk Nelson was asked to put this on the next agenda.

Mayor Sova and Member Neprud attended a luncheon to honor Chief Coughlin who was named The Minnesota Association of Woman Police Officer of the Year.

Library Report – Head Librarian Peggi Beseres reported on the following:

-                      The volunteer’s of the Library put in over 104,000 volunteer hours last year at the Library with 55 active volunteers at the Library and there were 410 people served  in 2007 by AARP to help prepare taxes and in 2006 there were 178.

All council members were given the “Hallett Harold” which is a new publication of the Library.

Mayor Sova called for a brief recess at 7:00 p.m.

Mayor Sova called the meeting back to order at 7:06 p.m.

Public Work’s Department – Working Foreman Steve Perpich reported on the following:

-                      McQueen was here and inspected the street sweeper and some repairs are needed and Mr. Perpich was authorized to have the repairs made and to get a quote for a new sweeper.

-                      A resident wants some trees removed from their property and it was noted that the trees did not belong to the city and if they wanted the trees trimmed, the city would trim them, but if they wanted them removed they would have to pay for the removal of the trees themselves.

-                      Clarification of the newly installed gate in the park to make sure that it is to remained locked at all times, and it is to remain locked on a daily basis.

Member Neprud presented a drawing for a sign for the entrance of the park in granite at a cost of $7,200 from T-Signs.

MOTION BY MEMBER NEPRUD AND SECONDED BY MEMBER SHANKLE TO INSTALL A 10’ X 6’ GRANITE WELCOME SIGN AT THE ENTERANCE TO THE PARK AT A COST OF $7,200.00 FROM TIM KOSTAL OF T-SIGNS.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

Mayor Sova stated that there is a tar patch needed on 4^th Street SW across from the high school.  Mr. Perpich will look into this needed repair.

Engineer’s Report – City Engineer Mike Rude reported on the following:

-                      WSN submitted a proposal for the construction portion for engineering on the Cuyuna Senior Campus project in the amount of $15,900 with payment coming from the developers according to the signed developer’s agreement.

MOTION BY MEMBER VUKELICH AND SECONDED BY MEMBER NEPRUD TO AUTHORIZE WSN TO PERFORM CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING INSPECTIONS ON THE CUYUNA SENIOR CAMPUS WITH PAYMENT BEING MADE BY THE DEVELOPER ACCORDING TO THE DEVELOPER’S AGREEMENT.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

-                      Mike Rude updated the council on the 2008 Street & Utility project – 4^th Street NW is moving along well and they will be starting on 2^nd Street SW this coming week.

-                      Mike also reported meeting with representatives of the Serpent Lake Association regarding storm water runoff, obtaining a topo survey and getting a design in place.  The cost for the City will be $6,600 and the Serpent Lake Association has received funds from the DNR for the other portion.

MOTION BY MEMBER NEPRUD AND SECONDED BY MEMBER VUKELICH TO AUTHORIZE THE EXPENSE OF $6,600.00 FROM THE STORM DRAINAGE FUND TO WSN TOWARD A TOPO SURVEY AND DESIGN PLAN FOR STORM WATER RUN-OFF IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SERPENT LAKE ASSOCIATION AND FUNDS FROM THE DNR.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

Clerk’s Report - City Clerk-Treasurer Cindy Nelson reported on the following:

-                      League of MN Cities Annual Conference is being held in Rochester in June

-                      League of MN Cities Fall Regional Meeting will be in Wadena on October 8^th

-                      Request to hire 1 full-time and 1 part-time person in the Clerk/DMV office

MOTION BY MEMBER NEPRUD AND SECONDED BY MEMBER FERRARI TO AUTHORIZE THE HIRING OF 1 FULL-TIME AND 1 PART-TIME PERSON IN THE CLERK’S/DMV OFFICE.  ADVERTISE THE 2 POSITIONS IN THE COURIER AND BRAINERD PAPERS WITH APPLICATIONS BEING DUE BY MAY 21, 2008.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.

-                      A module is available for our software system for direct deposit for utility payments at a cost of $2,200 including training. 

MOTION BY MEMBER SHANKLE AND SECONDED BY MEMBER NEPRUD TO PURCHASE THE DIRECT DEPOSIT UTILITY PAYMENT MODULE FROM CIVIC SYSTEMS AT A COST OF $2,200.00 WITH PAYMENT FROM THE UTILITY FUNDS.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

Mayor Sova stated that there is an IRRRB meeting on May 21, 2008 in Mountain Iron if anyone is interested.

Mayor/Committee Reports –

-                      The Personnel Committee will be meeting to review the 3 Department Heads during the next week or so.

-                      Mayor Sova passed out a flow chart for the City for everyone to follow

Attorney’s Report – Attorney James Gammello reported on the following:

-                      Received request from Sanctuary on Serpent to release $45,000 of the letter of credit from the original amount of $81,300.

MOTION BY MEMBER NEPRUD AND SECONDED BY MEMBER FERRARI TO RELEASE $45,000 ON THE LETTER OF CREDIT FOR THE SANCTUARY ON SERPENT WHILE RETAINING $36,000.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

-                      A resident inquired if Daisy Avenue has been totally vacated or not, Attorney Gammello will write the property owner a letter regarding this matter.

-                      A Drainage Agreement from the City of Ironton was presented by Attorney Gammello and there was no action taken on this agreement.

Attorney Gammello asked that the regular meeting be closed for attorney/client privilege for pending litigation.

Mayor Sova called for a brief recess at 8:09 p.m.

Mayor Sova called the meeting back from recess at 8:14 p.m

MOTION BY MEMBER NEPRUD AND SECONDED BY MEMBER SHANKLE TO CLOSE THE REGULAR MEETING FOR THE PURPOSE OF ATTORNEY/CLIENT PRIVILEDGE TO DISCUSS PENDING LITIGATION.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

MOTION BY MEMBER NEPRUD AND SECONDED BY MEMBER SHANKLE TO CLOSE THE CLOSED MEETING AND RE-OPEN THE REGULAR MEETING.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  TIME WAS 8:24 P.M.

MOTION BY MEMBER VUKELICH AND SECONDED BY MEMBER FERRARI TO AUTHORIZE ATTORNEY GAMMELLO TO NOTIFY THE OWNERS OF THE TRAILER PARK TO HAVE THE TRAILERS ON THEIR PROPERTY BE REMOVED BY JULY 1, 2008.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.

MOTION BY MEMBER VUKELICH AND SECONDED BY MEMBER SHANKLE TO ADJOURN THE MEETING.  A VOICE VOTE:  ALL AYES.  MOTION CARRIED.  TIME WAS 8:27 P.M.

_______________________________________                  ________________________________

Dale J. Sova, Mayor                                                      Cindy S. Nelson, Clerk-Treasurer