The Spring Valley City Council met on Monday, September 12, 2016. Members in attendance were: Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Bill Bires, and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. Jeff Vehrenkamp was absent. The council approved minutes of the previous meeting, and Preliminary Accounts Payable. No visitors had signed up to speak to the council.
Zimmer spoke about Resolution 2016-26, Resolution Adopting Preliminary Levy. She and Mayor Struzyk pointed out that once it’s set, “you can always go down, but you can’t go up”. Zimmer said the levy will need to be decided upon at either this meeting or the next. She presented a comparison of operating budgets for the city’s various departments and funds for budget years 2010 through 2017, and pointed out, “The reason I did your comparison of multi-year for the operating is, the departments are really not increasing their operation; they’re trying to be more efficient.” She said it’s the capital expenditures and street projects that are responsible for budget increases. After discussion, the council voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2016-26 as submitted, setting the total levy at $1,125,118.
The council also heard details on a request for additional 800mhz radios to be ordered for the Fire Department. Using county grant funding, the request is to order radios at a total cost to the city of $9,826.90. The city had previously OK’d spending up to $7,000. Following discussion of the need for the additional radios, the council OK’d spending $9,826.90.
The council approved the Industrial Park Expansion Final Pay Estimate of $75,209.36, and the Lyndale/Fremont Improvement Pay Estimate of $188,196.33. The council also OK’d a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the Spring Valley Public Utilities Main Substation Expansion (Resolution 2016-25), as outlined in the public hearing on August 31. Zimmer also shared a resolution that will be considered at the September 26 meeting. It is to raise sewer rates by $.85 to the base rate and $.21 per 1,000 gallons, bringing the new rates to a base rate of $18.03 and $4.34 per 1,000 gallons. If approved, these rates will go into effect January 1, 2017.
Zimmer also shared a letter of appreciation that Spring Valley received from Minnesota Energy. It thanks the city and residents for cooperation during the seven-month process of upgrades to the natural gas distribution system. It also recognizes the prompt and professional response to the emergency situation/gas leak on August 24. The next regular meeting will be September 26 at 6 p.m. The public is welcome.