At the September meeting, the Fountain Councilor Colleen Fohrenbacher tendered her resignation due to a move out of city limits. The city sought interest from any citizens wanting to finish the remainder of her term. At the October 4 meeting, the council learned city hall had only received one letter. The interested person was former Councilor Ron Reisner, who took the oath of office at the meeting.
The council discussed only a few business items. In addition, four guests offered public comment on various issues.
First, the council learned City Clerk Mary Tjepkes and Public Works Director John Hanson are conducting inventory control cost containment. Mayor Tammy Danielson noted that after visiting about the budget, the two departments want to improve and reduce supply costs. They will inventory supplies and review all suppliers to help improve city expenses.
The council also briefly discussed the need for accurate job descriptions and task checklists for Tjepkes and Hanson’s positions. By gathering the information, they hope to determine whether or not the city needs to consider staffing changes. Hopefully, Hanson will pass his wastewater licensing test this coming March, affecting his time availability.
While seasonal differences in the workload can affect time management, a good layout of the jobs would ensure efficient handling of tasks should either Tjepkes or Hanson be unavailable, or someone new is needed to come into the role.
“I think that it’s critical, especially the checklists. We need to make sure those are noted,” said Danielson.
Danielson also told the council the city would be receiving Public Safety Funds from the state, which should be available this December. It needs to be clarified just how much Fountain will be eligible to receive. Every Minnesota city will be allowed access to the funds. They can donate to their police or fire departments, ambulance service, or all three.
The city also intends to go for a state grant for improvements and upgrades to its community center. Contractors have completed several urgent repairs, but more are needed. The city would also like to upgrade the space by opening up a wall to enlarge the kitchen and serving counter, creating larger restrooms, converting the existing restroom to a supply closet, and painting the interior. Danielson urged creating an itemized list of items to apply for in the grant and asked the council for suggestions.
During the time for public comment, the first to speak was Ben Strain. He sought some parameters in the possible residential development of 13 acres of land for sale east of First Street. Strain primarily asked for details regarding streets and utilities. Reisner is the zoning administrator and will work with Councilor Jordan Kerns and Hanson, who are also Planning and Zoning Board members. The city must rezone the area as residential before any development.
Resident Cori Larson alerted the council that the annual Pubkin Crawl will be held in the city on Saturday, October 28, from 2-5 p.m. Hosts are limiting it to the first 150 people to sign up, intending to rotate eventgoers and keep occupancy at each stop at roughly 30 people. Those interested in participating can contact Larson.
Lastly, Karst Brewing co-owner Eric Luoma spoke to ongoing noise complaints being made against his business by two complainants. “I believe this to be a matter of harassment,” said Luoma. The city has fielded complaints and ultimately asked complainants to call law enforcement to come to monitor and document the situation at the time of the violation.
Preston Police Chief Blaise Sass was also present at the meeting and stated officers’ reports indicated no violation of any city ordinance at the time of the complaint. Luoma said he’d purchased a decibel meter to ensure the sound does not exceed a comfortable level.
“We’re a brewery that is often visited by families. It’s a nice atmosphere, an enjoyable atmosphere,” added Luoma. “This is not a feud. That would suggest both parties are going at it. We’re trying to mind our own business.”
“Maybe it’s in the benefit of Karst that we haven’t found evidence of violation,” noted Sass. “As far as the ordinance, if you adjust from what it is, it leaves so much of a gray area. Be careful on that.”
Danielson also suggested the council refrain from modifying the ordinance. “It’s already subjective. There’s already room for interpretation. It’s going to get difficult to manage. We need to determine what our next steps are,” she said.
“I don’t want my customers to be harassed. If it keeps happening, I plan on offering them to come in. I want everyone here to know that,” said Luoma.
“Part of what’s considered reasonable and unreasonable, it’s contextual,” he continued. “It’s in a commercially zoned place that has been since 1869 that used to be a cafe. It used to be a lumberyard with trucks and forklifts. There used to be a grain elevator with grain trucks and tractors. If you go back to the 80s, there was a train. I didn’t plop this brewery in the middle of a housing development. I took existing commercial buildings, a couple of which were eyesores, I spent my life savings, quite frankly, in making these a place people want to go to in Fountain.”
Reisner suggested all parties involved come to an informal meeting, along with law enforcement, to discuss the issues and potentially come to a resolution. Sass stated he’d discuss the matter and officers’ findings with all parties involved.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Wednesday, November 1, at 7 p.m. at city hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
Photo by Kirsten Zoellner