On November 8, the Ostrander City Council held a regular meeting. Members in attendance included Vernon Thompson, Pam Kunert, Mayor Pat Nesler, City Clerk Wendy Brincks, and DJ Start. Heidi Jones was absent.
The council discussed how to fill the upcoming vacancy when Heidi Jones leaves the city council at the end of this year. Wendy Brincks said, “Heidi was elected Fillmore County Auditor/Treasurer, so her spot becomes open January first. League of Minnesota Cities states that we should replace her before her term, before she leaves. She has the right to vote on who will fill her position.” She then listed the citizens who got “write-in” votes for city council, and she suggested that the city handle it as was done for the most recent council vacancy (when Erin Volkart left). She stated, “My thought is we should use those that wanted a position, or those that were written in, and find out if any of them would like to fill that spot.” She suggested that those citizens be asked to attend the city council meeting in December, so the council could ask questions of them. But, she added, “It’s open to anybody.” DJ Start suggested letting the 2019 council members deal with filling the vacancy, but after discussion, the council agreed to have Brincks contact the city attorney and the League of Minnesota Cities to clarify the best way to proceed. Brincks will also put a notice in with city water bills, informing citizens of this opportunity for any interested citizens to be considered for joining the council.
There was discussion of whether or not homeowners are expected to take care of snow removal from sidewalks, or if the city would take on this responsibility. After considering the options, the council agreed to handle this issue as most cities do. Ostrander will continue with the current ordinance, which stipulates that homeowners are responsible for keeping sidewalks cleared of snow. If necessary, the city will hire someone to clear a sidewalk, and that homeowner will then be required to pay the cost.
Brian Malm spoke on behalf of the engineering firm of Bolton & Menk. Regarding the ongoing infrastructure project, he explained that, “There was a milestone completion date in the project for October 31st, and that involved completion of all work except for the paving next year. And later in the agenda, we have a change order to modify that date, primarily because you recall we did a generator addition at the lift station. We kind of knew that might cause a delay,… and that’s what happened.” The council approved the change order as submitted, with a modified date of December 15. The council also approved two invoices regarding the project.
There was discussion on the communication between Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Ostrander, regarding MPCA’s expectation for Ostrander to start meeting guidelines on the amount of nitrogen in the water. Malm explained that, in a nutshell, Ostrander has stated that this expectation cannot be met with the existing water treatment plant, and a new plant would be too expensive while the city is still paying off the current plant. MPCA has written back asking for a more detailed explanation. Malm shared the draft of a letter he is proposing to send. The letter explains that the two options would be building a new plant, or piping the city’s water to another city for treatment. It estimates the cost of both options, and shows how each plan would be an unreasonable hardship for Ostrander. The city would ask to be allowed to pay off the current plant before meeting the nitrogen guidelines. The council approved the letter to be sent.
The council approved liquor license renewals for Wolf’s Den and Susie’s Roadhouse, contingent on all necessary paperwork being submitted. The council also approved a price quote from Kruegel’s for 4,300 gallons of propane. Purchase of a new furnace for the fire station was approved, as was repair of lighting fixtures there and at the community center. The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m. The next regular meeting of the city council will be December 4 at 6:30 p.m. The public is welcome.
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