At the November 15 meeting, Rushford Village Council received an update from City Clerk Mary Miner and City Attorney Joe O’Koren regarding the ongoing overhaul of the hall rental agreement. The hall closed to rental in early 2020, due to the pandemic, but lifted those restrictions in March of this year.
Revision of the agreement came about following a request to rent the hall for an event at which alcohol would be present. Similar past requests were council approved with a public insurance certificate naming the city as a covered party. However, the village determined that may not be sufficient liability coverage. After looking into it, the city was made aware of League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) recommendations which showed current village terms were subpar.
“Insurance is the sticking point here,” said O’Koren. The league recommends the village require a $1 million host liquor insurance liability. The city was previously requiring only $100,000 of coverage. “You’ve been underinsured here for years. The lower the insurance the higher the risk for the village. I hate to see residents not renting, but if the league recommends this, can’t recommend you go against that,” he added. The league also recommends the insurance certificate be provided seven days before the event to allow the city to review the policy.
Miner indicated a three-step process: the application, rules and regulations, and insurance. While the council would adopt official rules and recommendations, particular details of each rental agreement could be tailored to each instance if needed.
Councilor Mike Ebner, serving as acting mayor in the absence of Mayor Dennis Overland, asked the ramifications of a renter indicating no alcohol, but bringing it regardless.
O’Koren indicated the added hold harmless clause would come into play. “They could still come after the village. You’d still have to defend yourselves. That’s always going to be a problem no matter how strong the language is.” The draft agreement does indicate the serving of alcohol must cease 30 minutes prior to the end of the event.
The LMC does offer one-time insurance to individuals through a Tenant User Liability Program. “If insurance costs too much, the league has come up with an option,” noted O’Koren. “That’s food for thought to address cost concern.”
“I don’t want to make this so restrictive that no one wants to use the village hall, but our skin in the game goes up extremely high once there’s liquor on the premises,” added Ebner.
Minor changes to the draft agreement will be made. They include condensing the signatures to allow Clerk Miner to sign off on events that meet all other criteria. Additionally, definitions of half and whole-day rental will be included. The final agreement will be presented at a later date for council approval.
Employee Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) was also discussed. Councilor Roger Knutson sought clarification on whether or not COLA was tied to an employee anniversary or an annual review.
Miner responded that it is not and that step increases in the employee-policy are typically tied to job improvement such as garnering additional licenses or training. “The two are separate. You can do one, both, or neither,” she added. The topic was tabled for further discussion with full council present.
Public Works Supervisor Trenten Chiglo provided an update of meetings with city representatives and both McFarland and Dakota Supply companies for water meter replacement. “Both were pretty good. McFarland was half the price of the other,” he noted. The city would need to hire or subcontract with an installer for the new meters.
Ebner stated he’d contacted other municipalities and it was suggested the city spend the funds to put a shutoff on the line side of the meter. “It saves us from having to go do a curb stop shutoff if a plumber wants to work in the house. The price on that is really minimal,” he added. “Our plan is for the committee to make a few phone calls and check on the vendors.” GSD has provided a subcontractor price, but the committee will also be looking at Plumber’s Mechanical and one other company. A recommendation will be ready at the next meeting.
New Public Works employee Jeff Michel was also present at the meeting. “I’m just here to defend myself on fixing the 450,” he began. He detailed the work he’d done on the truck brakes, showing the broken parts to the council. “They were real bad. When one is bad, the other is soon to follow, especially a truck with a heavy plow,” he said. Additionally, he described how the back rotors were cracked. “If you’re braking hard, you’re in trouble.
According to Michel, the trailer brakes were not working with the truck because of the failing brakes on the truck. For me, I take this stuff personally,” he added. “It’s my job. I’m not throwing anybody under the bus. He’s [Chiglo] got his hands full. But, if I see something broken, I’m gonna fix it.”
“We’ve got a good thing going here with employees. We need to find a good route of communication,” responded Ebner. “It’s a big thing in this organization. We need communication. We all need to be talking. It’s a work in progress and we just need to find a happy medium here.”
“That’s how we’re gonna move forward here and get things done,” said Knutson. “We need to be proactive as much as we can.”
The council also canvasses election results. Of 586 registered voters in the village, 434 voted in the November 8 election. Mayor Dennis Overland ran unopposed and received 391 votes. Councilor Robert Hart received 355 votes and will retain his seat. Candidate Travis Link received 242 votes and will take over the seat of Knutson, who did not file for reelection.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is Tuesday, December 6, at 7 p.m at the village hall. The annual Truth in Taxation meeting will be held prior at 6:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.
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