On January 8, the Ostrander City Council held its first regular meeting of the new year. All members were in attendance (Stephanie Start, DJ Start, Vernon Thompson, Mayor Pam Kunert, and City Clerk Wendy Brincks). Kunert started by thanking the citizens of Ostrander for entrusting her to fill the position of mayor. She added that, “We’re going to have a more formal setting, we’re going to follow… approving of the minutes, treasurer’s report, and the payment of expenses.”
Kunert then asked any citizens interested in filling the one council vacancy to make a brief statement. The council heard from Dan Hellerud, Trisha Marin, and Kim Nesler. A motion was made and seconded to appoint Marin, but the vote ended in a tie. A motion was then made and seconded to appoint Hellerud, and he was voted in. Wendy Brincks handed out packets of information for new and experienced council members, and she mentioned upcoming council trainings available for any members interested.
A lively discussion was held regarding whether or not Ostrander should purchase a used skid loader. Jeff Tart (City Maintenance) addressed the council, and asked that the council please take a vote to decide the issue. For new council members, some background information was shared, including the price, which Tart said is $19,900. Tart explained it could be used to clean up the brush dump, and for gravel in the back alley, as well as clearing sidewalks and intersections. Kunert added, “Unfortunately, now when we’re putting salt in the back of the pickup, he’s having to shovel it in by hand.”
Following statements that in the past some private citizens have helped clear snow from city property, Wendy Brincks said it’s fine if citizens want to help each other in this way, but if anyone wants to provide such a service to the city, there are liability concerns. Former mayor Pat Nesler spoke up, questioning the need for a skid loader. Mayor Kunert said, “Pat, I asked you not to… Our new ruling is if you’re not signed up, you don’t speak.” Nesler replied, “That rule’s always been there.”
Kunert stated, “I’m not going to sit here for two years and listen to you harass me every day just because you got voted out.” Nesler replied, “You’ve been harassing me for two years, what are you talking about? It’s your turn to take it.”
As Nesler and Tart engaged in disagreement about the need for a skid loader and how it could benefit the city, and Kunert then stated, “You know, I am done with this. Pat, if you want to speak, sign up next time.” He answered, “I will. I’ll sign up at every meeting.” Kunert said, “If I had a deputy here, I’d probably ask that this meeting be changed to a different day.”
Regarding the consideration of a skid loader, Wendy Brincks pointed out that new council members haven’t had a chance to review the equipment and paperwork, so she will get copies to council members so that a decision can be made at a future meeting. No action was taken at this time.
Rick Whitney (PeopleService) spoke to the council about the waterwater treatment plant, and explained that citizens had complained about “pretty nasty tasting water.” Whitney said the problem has been corrected, and he asked the city to contact him if problems persist.
The council discussed assigning a deputy mayor. A motion was made and seconded to appoint DJ Start, but the vote ended in a tie. A question was then asked about the mayor being able to vote, and Brincks responded, “I went through everything with the League of Minnesota Cities and spend a lot of time on it. The mayor gets the right to vote as part of a five-person council.” DJ Start then stated, “I’ll make a motion for Steph then. Since we’re going to table it, we might as well have some fun with it.” Stephanie Start was voted in as deputy mayor.
The council chose to continue with the same official newspaper (Bluff Country Reader), city attorney (Jennifer Gumbel) and prosecuting attorney (Lee Novotny) as in 2018. The council voted to approve paying a bill of just over $100,000 from Wapasha Construction. The council discussed a proposed Conflict of Interest policy as submitted by the city attorney. The council chose to table the issue until she can attend and explain the policy further.
Brincks shared what she called “exciting news” that the city’s request to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has been preliminarily approved. The city received a letter approving a timeline allowing Ostrander until 2044 to come into complete compliance with the new water standards, since MPCA agreed that it would be cost-prohibitive for Ostrander to meet the standards sooner. Brincks said additional reviews and approvals are still needed before this will be a “done deal.” The next regular meeting of the city council will be February 5 at 6:30 p.m. The public is welcome.
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