On February 13, the Mabel City Council held a regular city council meeting. Members in attendance included Gary Morken, City Clerk Karen Larson, Mayor Jim Westby, and Terry Torkelson. Kirsten Wyffels and Adam Wilder were absent.
The council chose to set citywide clean-up day for Saturday, May 11, from 8 a.m. to noon. The event will run as in years past. Council members agreed that it’s worthwhile, since it clears out a lot of junk, and sends a good message to all citizens regarding the push to keep Mabel clean and beautiful.
The council heard from Fire Chief Orel Tollefson regarding the process of recruiting and replacing firefighters who retire. Tollefson explained, “I was approached by one of our firemen, and he’s going to to retire, but it’s going to be about a year out.” He asked if the council approves the city advertising such vacancies before they actually become vacant, to allow more time to get a new firefighter trained and ready to start. The council agreed this seems like a good idea, and they asked that in such cases, Tollefson try to get the best estimate of when the retiring firefighter would be done, knowing that occasionally those decisions are made on short notice. Tollefson said he will encourage any firefighters to give at least two or three months’ notice, if at all possible.
Tollefson also spoke about the city’s 3,000-gallon tanker truck, saying, “Nobody’s been real happy with it, and the reason is it’s too long (for the garage where it is parked). So what we’re proposing to do is to put that truck up for sale… and to get a truck like we just got.” He explained that if the council approves this plan, the tanker would be sold, for no less that the city’s purchase price, and only then would the crew work on finding a different truck to purchase. After several questions and discussion, the council approved Tollefson to move forward with this plan. He said used tanker trucks are hard to find, so he expects the city will have very little trouble finding a buyer.
Larson spoke about a concern regarding firefighters who occasionally drive the ambulance, so that the trained ambulance crew can focus on providing cares. She said there are liability concerns if anyone who is not a current city employee drives the ambulance, so she suggested limiting the practice only to current firefighters. She stressed, “In no way is this personal.” The council approved this change in practice.
Mayor Westby pointed out that the city has roughly 80 cats and dogs in the city that should be licensed, and so far about half have gotten licensed for 2019. There was also discussion of the 10% late fees that will soon be added to utility bills from the city. The first such fees will be incurred starting at 3 p.m. on March 4. Any citizens with questions about this are welcome to contact the city clerk.
There was discussion of the city’s parking rules during snow season. Council members said there are a number of citizens who are frequent violators of the ordinance, and they seem to only comply when they know enforcement is happening. Mayor Westby said he will meet with the sheriff to ask for more enforcement.
The council approved the 2019 Ambulance Subsidy Contract, which Larson said was unchanged from 2018. Next, the council discussed whether or not to order the 2019 Minnesota Basic Code of Ordinances. She said a hard copy costs $400, and the CD version is somewhat cheaper. She said it is suggested that the city have a hard copy, and provide it also to the city attorney and Sheriff’s Department. She said it’s possible the attorney and sheriff could use the CD version. The council approved her to make the purchase.
The council’s next regular meeting will be March 13, at 7 p.m. at the community center. The public is welcome.
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