The January 11 Peterson meeting highlighted a welcome to the new council, including Councilor Kristina Grindland and Mayor Chris Stenzel, who served as a councilor since 2020. They join Councilors Gail Boyum and Tracy Seelbinder.
With Stenzel’s recent election as mayor, his former council seat was declared vacant. The council will appoint a resident to fill that seat at the February 8 meeting. There are no restrictions on the council for filling a vacated seat and they can appoint a replacement at their discretion.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Public Works Director Tim Hallum, Planning Commission member Loren Rue, residents Joel Kochen, Pete Erickson, Desirae Halvorson, Caitlin Speece, Steve Paulson, and Justin Simon.
Stenzel kicked the meeting off, thanking the city for the support. “I will do my very best to represent you,” he said while encouraging residents to contact him with any concerns.
Stenzel also addressed public comment procedure. As was set some time ago by city policy, public comment will be limited to three minutes per individual allotment, used only once and during the public comment portion of the meeting. New to the procedure is a requirement for those speaking. They will stand at the podium and address the council, announcing their name and address for the record before speaking.
Another new procedure is Stenzel’s plans to meet personally with any resident on the fourth Wednesday of even months, at 6 p.m. at city hall. The purpose will be to have open discussion with the mayor about concerns or suggestions. He asked for one additional council member to attend these meetings and suggested all councilors rotate in this duty. The first open meeting with Stenzel will be February 22. A notice regarding the forum will be in the city newsletter.
“It’s an option to come in, nothing formal, and we’ll talk. I’ll listen to your comments. Hopefully, we can take care of any issues at that time,” added Stenzel. “If you’re willing to come to that, I appreciate it.”
The council set several annual appointments and designations at the meeting. The majority will remain the same as in 2022. Seelbinder was selected to serve as acting mayor in the absence of Stenzel. Grindland and Seelbinder will serve as Finance Committee. The filling of additional committees will happen when the fifth council member is selected.
Stenzel requested addition of a Personnel Committee to review and negotiate with city staff, including Hallum and City Clerk Chris Grindland. Stenzel and Seelbinder will serve on the committee.
Rates and fees for 2023 remain the same as in the previous year. Sewer fees may need an increase later in the year due to increased supply and testing costs. Sewer rate review will happen after the clerk meets with the auditor.
The council discussed several public works issues, including the lack of a heated facility for storing vehicles and equipment. The heating is currently out in the public works building, but is under repair. However, it highlighted the lack of space and a number of other issues for the department. Hallum is able to use the vacant Chuck’s Feed & Grain building to use the shop to store some equipment, at no cost to the city, in exchange for snow clearing. There is another small building behind the post office, but after speaking to the city’s insurance provider, this won’t address all the needs.
“There’s no place in town, in the winter, to clean up equipment and no drainage in the garage next door or in the building next to the post office. What if we build a pole shed that was heated and could include a drain?” asked Boyum. After contacting the US Department of Agriculture, it appears the city could potentially utilize a grant for up to 55 percent reimbursement of building construction.
There is a lot already owned by the city behind the museum, but it will need to be staked out this spring to see if the right size building could be put on the space. If not, the funding could assist with the cost of purchasing a new lot as well.
“We would qualify if money is available,” she added. “This is only stage one. We’re not putting in the application, just providing a description to the Department of Ag and finding out what it would cost.” Sentenced to Serve, which the city has worked with many times, would likely be utilized for some of the construction work.
The council approved moving forward with preliminary work on the project and appointed Boyum and Seelbinder to work with Hallum on it as the Building Committee.
The council also approved the ordering of high-visibility apparel for public works, particularly for when the department and others working with them are mowing or reading meters.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Wednesday, February 8, at 6 p.m. at city hall. The public is encouraged to attend.
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