Oath of office at Mabel council meeting

Newly elected Mabel council member Valerie Arnold, returning council member Tina Bakke and Mayor Adam Wilder took the oath of office on January 11 during the council’s regular monthly meeting.

Others in attendance were Kirsten Wyffels, Cory Wilson, City Clerk Karen Larson and Public Works Director Bob Mierau.

The council unanimously approved the minutes from the December 14 regular city council meeting. Before the council approved the payables totaling $186,156.88, Larson explained some of the payments to the council’s new members.

Mierau explained that the MMUA 2022-2023 Safety Contract should have been renewed last year and it has not been done. “There were some questions as far as the renewal and the cost. We haven’t got that ironed out yet,” stated Mierau. “We hope to get things ironed out next week so we can move forward with them or without them.” MMUA’s cost for the safety program was $6,000 and they increased to $14,000 for the same program. Wyffels spoke up and stated that a safety program affects the city’s insurance and Larson added that OSHA has certain requirements that must be met.

Mierau provided the council with an update on the electric meters. He noted that the staff has some fact finding to do and will be meeting with a couple metering companies before the council’s February meeting.

The city attorney told Larson that the schedule of fees should be updated and approved by the council every year, which has not happened. Larson noted that the list she found on the computer was from 2005. Larson emphasized that nothing has changed, it was just reformatted, so it is more user friendly. The council approved adopting the schedule of fees and charges.

Hacker Nelson will be on site to conduct the city’s 2022 audit on January 18 and 19. Larson noted that “they are good to work with.” This year Larson will upload everything to Hacker Nelson.

Dairyland Powerland Cooperative announced last fall that they expected their increase to range from 6-7%. MiEnergy Co-op’s increase was 6%. Larson explained that the city buys its electricity from MiEnergy emphasizing that Mabel was fortunate to get a 1.4% increase, as some cities saw a 7% increase. Larson recommended not doing anything with Mabel rates at this time. Larson and Mierau both gave Mabel residents kudos for helping keep the city’s costs down. “Keep it up.”

Reminder, pet licenses are due the first of the year. The fee is $10, two pets per household – cats and dogs.

Three hours before the council meeting, the city received a letter from Viking Automatic Sprinkler Co. Due to the short time frame, the council tabled Viking’s request until more information can be gathered.

Wyffels reported that all loans are current, and the board decided not to advertise in the wedding guide this year. EDA is looking for a new board member. There are also two from the council and three from the public on the committee. Sue Morken and LeeAnn Wickett’s terms were renewed for another three years.

The city experienced a water leak in front of city hall this past month. Kudos to the Sheriff’s Deputy for noticing it and contacting Larson, who contacted Mierau, who reached out to local plumber to fix it.

In other business, the council:

•Approved the 2023 committee appointments with the addition of a personal committee;

•Approved a 3% raise for the city’s ambulance director;

•Approved adding a camera to the outside of the Community Center facing the EV station;

•Building permits from Brian Street and Chad and Chris Loppnow, were both approved by the council;

•Approved submitting a letter of intent to the Small Cities Development Program (SCDP), a grant program.

The next regularly scheduled Mabel City Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, February 8 at the Mabel Community Center, 201 South Main Street, Mabel. For questions, contact City Clerk Karen Larson at (507) 493-5299 or karen.larson@cityofmabel.com. The meeting is open to the public.