The City of Mabel held its annual Truth in Taxation Hearing on December 14 at 6 p.m. during the council’s regular monthly meeting. There were no Mabel residents at the hearing.
The council unanimously adopted next year’s $887,690 general fund budget. The final 2022 levy of $441,208 calculated as follows: $419,608 for the General Fund, $6,600 for the Ambulance Reserve Fund, and $15,000 for debit service was approved. This represents a 3.54% increase.
All council members were in attendance: Mayor Adam Wilder, Terry Torkelson, Kirsten Wyffels, Cory Wilson, and Tina Bakke.
Others in attendance included City Clerk Karen Larson, Public Works Director Jeff Rein, Deputy Jason Harmening.
The council unanimously approved the minutes from the November 9 regular city council meeting and payables totaling $67,235.20.
Deputy Harmening shared his report regarding the alley by the BP. Harmening noted that he informally surveyed the alley at various times and different days over the last month. During those times he only observed two vehicles meeting once in the alley. Council members agreed that residents might not be aware that the speed limit in all alleys is 10 mph unless otherwise posted according to state statute. Instead of changing the alley to one-way, a notice will be placed in the city newsletter informing residents what the speed limit is in alleys.
The city was notified that the electric meters on order will not arrive until July, plus there have been several changes since the company changed ownership. Therefore, the city has cancelled the order. Rein and Larson are looking into purchasing electric meters from Eaton. Larson noted that Iowa has been using Eaton since the early 2000s and is pleased with the service. After staff meets with Eaton and receives a quote they will come back before the council for approval.
Larson recommended raising the EV charger rate so that Mabel’s rate is “comparable to other cities.” The current rate is 16¢, and the council approved raising it to 17.3¢.
Wyffels expressed her appreciation to everyone who helped with Santa Day, including the Mabel Business Association and the businesses that donated goodies for the Santa bags. The indoor event was well attended. It was confirmed that next year it will be held on a Saturday. Unfortunately, this year there was not a Saturday available.
Friday was the first big snowfall. Rein thanked everyone for following the snow parking ordinance and parking on the right side of the street, “It went very well.” Continuing to explain, “It was extremely tough and took us a long time. We figured we hauled over 45 loads of snow.”
In other business, the council:
• Took no action on the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA) 2022-2023 safety contract;
• Authorized the transfer of city funds typically done at the end of the year;
• Approved the proposed ambulance billing rates.
Torkelson was thanked for his 20 years on the city council.
The next regularly scheduled Mabel City Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, at the Mabel Community Center, 201 South Main Street, Mabel. For questions, contact City Clerk Karen Larson at (507) 493-5299 or karen.larson@cityofmabel.com. The meeting is open to the public.
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