Photo by Melissa Vander Plas
The Canton City Council began its meeting on August 10 by filling the empty seat on the council created when council member Cindy Shanks became mayor. Kristy Ziegler took the oath of office and joined the council immediately to handle the remainder of business on the Canton agenda that evening.
Shanks had been appointed to the office of mayor in July following the resignation of Nick Prestby, creating a need to fill her seat on the council until a special election can be held in November for the two remaining years of her term.
The council had advertised the council position and asked interested candidates to contact the city to be considered for the seat.
In her letter of interest, Ziegler noted that she attends most meetings and tries to stay current with issues the city is experiencing.
“I am a wife and mother of two children,” she wrote. “My daughter is grown, however, I wish Canton will be a community that she will want to return to. My son is still in his formative years and this community is a wonderful area to watch him grow.”
Ziegler works full-time as a manufacturing electrical engineer for Collins Aerospace in Decorah.
The council unanimously voted to appoint Ziegler to the council.
With former acting mayor now serving as mayor, the council also designated Carl Ernst as acting mayor when Shanks is absent or unable to serve.
The council and audience was reminded that the candidate filing period for the November election is now open until August 16. There will be four council positions on the local ballot. The first will be a two-year term for mayor. The second and third positions will be four-year terms, currently held by Ernst and Josh Nordsving. The fourth council seat will be to fill the seat formerly held by Shanks, and now Ziegler, and will be a two-year term to fill the original term through 2024.
Nuisance properties
Following the June property inspections by council member Josh Nordsving and a Fillmore County Deputy, the city had sent letters notifying 26 residents of 43 ordinance violations on their property. These concerns included issues of nuisance parking and storage, inoperable motor vehicles, building maintenance and appearance and weeds.
The letters sent requested that residents voluntarily address these issues and come into compliance by July 31.
Nordsving explained that follow-up inspections were completed on August 3. Of the original issues noted on the properties, the majority had been addressed and only 19 violations were noted at nine different properties.
Of the nine remaining properties to come into compliance, only one resident has contacted the city with a plan going forward.
Bergey noted that the nine property owners with violations are also “repeat offenders.” Each of these had also been sent letters in previous years.
It was noted that some have shown some effort, but others have made no changes and have even gone as far as to tell city staff that they would not be making any improvements.
The council members discussed giving some leeway to the property owners who have shown effort for improvement, but citing the others. “I think we can be a bit more gentle with those who are showing some work is being done,” said Ernst.
It was also suggested that a follow-up letter be sent to the nine with an explanation of the next step, which would be for the city to issue a citation.
“I’m not sure that sending another letter is going to accomplish anything with this group,” Gossman said. “Everyone knows what we are trying to do and they are just balking it.”
Bergey also noted that it takes a lot of staff time to send the letters and document the cases through photos and Nordsving pointed out that sending out more letters also requires him and the deputy to do another follow-up inspection, delaying any action until at least September.
“I don’t agree with spending money on court costs, but they don’t give us any other options,” Gossman said.
The council also discussed efforts the city made earlier this year by offering a clean up day. “We gave people an option to reach out for help, but not a single person did,” Bergey said.
After more discussion about whether to show leniency to those who were attempting to come into compliance and citing the remainder, the council ultimately decided to cite all nine properties that were still in violation of the nuisance ordinance. The citations are misdemeanor charges.
In a related matter, property owner Randean Pastwa attended the council meeting to discuss her property on the south edge of town.
Pastwa acknowledged the home and other structures on the property are in disrepair, but she does her best to keep it mowed and keeps her taxes paid.
“At this time, I just don’t have the money to tear it down,” she told the council about the house. “I will get it done, I just don’t know when.”
When the council asked if she would consider selling, Pastwa said she has, but offers have been lower than acceptable due to the condition of the house and the costs associated with tearing it down.
She also mentioned a desire to keep the property for her children, who might like to build a house on the land to use for a getaway in the future.
The council was very open to working with Pastwa in her efforts to deal with the property. Bergey thanked her for keeping it mowed and showing some care to the property.
Nordsving cautioned that with the house in its current condition and the probability of further deterioration, it could potentially get to the point where it is a safety hazard.
The council suggested that Pastwa have a conversation with her children and look into possible options and costs for dealing with the house. The council then invited her to return and have another conversation with the council in a couple of months.
“We are willing to work with you,” Goassman said and he and the other council members thanked her for keeping them updated.
Employee handbook
The council held a discussion on updating the employee handbook and personnel policies. Bergey noted the current handbook dates back to 1995 and is not only outdated, but contradicts some of the city’s current practices regarding benefitted employees.
He presented a draft of a new handbook, using a template from the League of Minnesota Cities. There were areas that need to be defined, however, including which employees were eligible for benefits and how those benefits are determined.
“The current handbook defines benefit earning employees as someone who works over 30 hours – you have one of those, yet you have two employees who get treated as full-time,” Bergey explained.
The public works director works 40 hours a week and the clerk works 24 hours a week, both get paid time off (PTO), paid holidays and a stipend to help pay for private insurance.
“Because this is not consistent with what is in the handbook, I have coworkers who are not treated the same,” Bergey said. “Basically, I am asking the council to define who gets benefits, a leave schedule, insurance contributions. You can include or strike anything in this document.”
Gossman said he was not ready to vote on anything and wanted more time to review the document and understand what was being asked.
Ziegler asked if it would be possible for the personnel committee to meet and come back with a recommendation. She and Gossman are current members of that committee.
Bergey responded that was a possibility and clarified there was never an intention to have the council vote on the handbook yet, but rather he wanted to start the discussions and review some options.
As Bergey presented PTO comparisons from other communities, he noted that Jon Nordsving, the current public works director, has been with the city for nearly 20 years and maxed out on his PTO schedule 10 years ago and has not received additional vacation or sick time since then.
Ziegler proposed a new schedule for PTO, combining vacation and sick leave into one category. Under her proposal, employees would receive three weeks after a year through five years of employment; four weeks up to 10 years; five weeks up to 15 years; and six weeks up to 20 years. She also noted she would support 40 hours to be eligible to carry over into the next year and part-time, benefit-eligible employees would receive a pro-rated amount, based on the number of hours they work.
Bergey told the council this change would cost the city an additional $1,200 a year.
When Ernst and Gossman voiced opposition to the change, Bergey asked them to think about the message they are sending the city employees about appreciation and longevity.
As the discussion continued, it became apparent that the council would not reach an agreement on the issue. Josh Nordsving made a motion to table the issue until the September meeting.
Before moving on to another topic of discussion, Gossman stated he would like to resign from the personnel committee.
Reports
In her mayor’s report, Shanks thanked all the residents who voluntarily clean up their property, showing pride in their community.
She also thanked all those who adopted a downtown planter and to everyone who voted for the flowers and decorations in those planters during a recent Facebook poll. The winners were announced by Bergey in his report that followed.
More than 300 votes were cast with the top three planters being those created by Joleen Erickson, earning her a $100 prize; Paige Colsch, earning her a $75 prize; and First Southeast Bank, earning a $50 prize.
In his report, Bergey also noted that there are currently two active water service disconnects that total over $1,000 in past due accounts.
There are also 16 other delinquent accounts, totalings $1,975.
Bergey also told the council that the city website is now complete, based on the city’s initial plan. He said it has been a two-year process and that many have complimented the city on the website’s appearance and usability.
Other business
The council was asked to think of projects or possible purchases that should be considered for the general fund when creating the preliminary budget for 2023. Some items noted included a new roof on the park shelter, costs for a comprehensive plan and increased fuel costs. Bergey also noted that council members could contact him at city hall between now and the September meeting if anything comes to mind. He will put together some preliminary numbers for the September meeting.
The council discussed a possible increase to the council and mayor wages, currently $600 a year for council members and $900 a year for mayor. Shanks noted the wages had not increased since 2007. “We are again asking our tax payers to pay more,” said Gossman.
Shanks proposed either a $100 a year increase to both or a $200 a year increase.
“I may be too new to say anything,” said Ziegler, “but if we can’t come up with $1,200 to reward our employees with PTO, then how can we justify raising ours?”
The council chose not to pursue an increase in their wages.
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