Mabel’s City Council met on January 13. Terry Torkelson was absent, but the rest of the council was in attendance (Mayor James Westby, Adam Wilder, Kirsten Wyffels, and new member Cory Wilson). Also participating were City Clerk Karen Larson, Brooke Harmening, and Jeff Rein. Wilson took the oath of office, as he replaces Gary Morken on the council.
One agenda item that generated a fair amount of discussion was “grace period on utility bills.” Brooke Harmening explained, “Right now, we have a 10-day grace period, on our bills, after the due date… So what I’m running into is, I’m holding up all the bills because I’m waiting to put on late fees.” She said the vast majority of those who pay after the due date do so within the first five days of the grace period, whereas only a very few pay during days 6-10 of the grace period. She summarized, “So I’m pretty much holding up all the bills for just a few folks that are always going to pay late.”
Harmening, Larson and the council discussed whether to shorten or eliminate the grace period. Mayor Westby stated his opinion that, “To me, if you don’t pay your taxes on time, the next day it’s 50 bucks. And if you don’t pay that credit card, guess what, you’ve got a 20% interest rate.” He said he favors making a change to help the city’s billing cycle run more smoothly. The council voted unanimously to shorten the grace period to five days, effective in March.
Larson gave a reminder for citizens to pay their annual pet license fees. She noted that more and more citizens are using GovPay, which allows them to pay from home. Larson also reminded citizens that Mabel has a limit of two pets per household, and that pet owners must provide proof of current vaccinations and pay a $10 fee per pet.
Jeff Rein shared that the city snowplows have encountered a challenge with citizens whose mailboxes are improperly positioned. He said this makes the mailboxes much more likely to be damaged by piles of snow when the plows come through. City staff will consult with the local postmaster to find out the official proper height and positioning of mailboxes, so the city can determine any mailboxes that are out of compliance. Rein pointed out that the plow drivers use care to avoid mailboxes, but accidents do happen, and he does not feel the city should have to pay to repair or replace mailboxes that become damaged during plowing, if they were improperly positioned.
Adam Wilder brought up a concern, stating, “I did have a community member come up to me and ask about the trailer park.” He explained the citizen’s concern related to cleaning up the trailer park area. Mayor Westby stated, “I think what we need to do is have the sheriff’s department take some photos of the properties.” Westby said there are a number of trailers that are in very bad condition. Larson said after the problem areas are identified, the city attorney could help draft letters to ask the owners to address the concerns. Westby summarized, “Then if it ain’t done, why then, we’ll take care of it, and bill it, because it’s just garbage down there, it’s bad.”
Larson brought up the previously discussed topic of water disconnections. She explained that the council previously chose to table disconnections to give people more time, but that time is up. She stated, “So now we’re at the timeframe where doorknockers went out this week, and disconnects, if not paid, would be tomorrow… So I want to confirm… if they don’t pay by 10 a.m. tomorrow, do we want to disconnect these two waters?” The council consensus was to move forward with water disconnections according to the city’s guidelines.
The council approved the list of annual appointments. The majority of those appointed to the various committees stayed unchanged. A few notable changes included Adam Wilder as acting mayor (if Mayor Westby is not available), Jeff Rein as zoning administrator, and the regular meeting time for city council meetings was changed from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m., beginning with the council’s next meeting, in February. The council also voted to eliminate the animal control position, as a cost savings measure. The council’s next regular meeting will be February 10, at 6 p.m. in the community center.