Caledonia City Clerk/Administrator Jake Dickson reported at the January 8 Caledonia City Council meeting that the city needs more election judges, as there are three elections in 2024.
“We have some election judges that will not be coming back and have reached out to the schools to find some student election judges,” said Dickson. Interested individuals should contact city hall if they are interested in becoming an election judge.
Mayor DeWayne (Tank) Schroeder called the first Caledonia City Council meeting of 2024 to order at 6 p.m. In less than 30 minutes the meeting was adjourned.
Mayor Schroeder led his fellow council members, city staff, and the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Council members in attendance included Robert (Bob) Klug, Amanda Ninneman, Mayor Schroeder and Ryan Stenzel. David Fitzpatrick was absent.
Others in attendance included City Clerk/Administrator Jake Dickson, and Kathryn and Dane Lamb.
The council unanimously approved the minutes from the December 11, 2023, regularly scheduled city council meeting, the December 21, 2023, special city council meeting, and the December 27, 2023, special city council meeting.
Councilman Klug motioned to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Councilman Stenzel. Motion carried. The consent agenda included the payments and disbursement, pay request no. 24 in the amount of $432,234.72 for work performed on the wastewater treatment plant, and designation of Merchants Bank as the official depositories of funds and the Caledonia Argus as the official newspaper of record for 2024.
In reply to Kathryn Lamb’s question regarding what her tax bill will look like now that the assessment has been changed, Dickson replied, “We do have the new assessment role completed with that 10%. We have our attorney drafting a statutory reassessment as I was directed, but there is a lot that I cannot and will not comment on because of the appeal notice that we received at the last meeting.”
“What is the status of the ice-skating rink?” asked Ninneman. It was confirmed that there are no skates left in the warming house, and there is no one to run it. In addition, the unusually warm weather is an obvious hindrance.
Under new business the council:
• Reviewed the mayor’s committee appointments, which are basically the same as last year. Klug will follow up on the two library seats that expired at the end of 2023.
• Approved implementing the proposed pay scale and approved a 3.5% to 4.5% increase for non-represented wage increases for the four non-represented full-time employees: Jake Dickson, Casey Klug, Mike Tornstrom and Kurt Zehnder and a 5% increase for non-represented liquor store employees.
• Reviewed the overtime reports for November 27 to December 10 and December 11 to December 27 before adjourning the meeting. With a snowstorm headed toward southeast Minnesota, the next overtime report will look a little different.
The next regular Caledonia City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 22 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at the city hall in Caledonia, Minn. The public is invited to attend.
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