The Spring Valley City Council met September 14 with all members present (Luan Ruesink, Chris Danielson, Mike Hadland, John Dols, and Mayor Tony Archer). Also attending was City Clerk/Administrator Deb Zimmer.
Zimmer brought up that the council could consider a pay increase for themselves. She said if a pay increase is implemented, it would be effective after the upcoming election. Zimmer also pointed out that the council’s two most recent pay increase were in 1981 and 2003, and that while council members formerly got additional pay (a per diem) for committee meetings and special meetings, that is no longer the case.
Several council members asked if the matter could be put to voters, by adding it to the ballot, but Zimmer said she doesn’t believe this is something that can be on the ballot. Some members then shared their opinions that they view serving on the council as just that, a matter of public service, so they did not feel a pay increase was needed. When asked if the budget has room for a pay increase, Zimmer said that if the increase were modest, the budget could support it. The council voted unanimously to leave their pay unchanged.
The council also discussed a proposal regarding her position. She has been serving as Spring Valley’s City Administrator and Clerk/Treasurer. Zimmer explained that, “Those were two positions. But again, to try to conserve money, they were put together. The administrator also did EDA and Planning & Zoning.” She stated that the proposal is for Chris Hahn to have a second day per week to work on EDA and marketing matters for the city. Zimmer said if this plan is implemented, the net cost increase to the city would be $4,167 annually.
Luan Ruesink asked, “I guess what I would like to see if the current job description for what you do right now, and what you’re proposing your new position would be responsible for.” Zimmer replied that, while it is not required for a city to have an administrator, “The clerk/treasurer is a statutory requirement. You do all the statutory stuff, which would be all the financial stuff, the state reporting, licensing,…” Although some council members said the plan sounds good, the council chose to table the issue until the next meeting, so that the council can review the applicable job descriptions.
Park & Recreation Director John Fenske addressed the council, asking if they would approve Fall Youth Football, for kids in grades four through six. He stated, “Now, the state high school league is practicing for 12 days, and then their season is going to be in the spring. And we’d like to do something similar to that.” Due to COVID-19 concerns, some council members voiced reluctance, with Chris Danielson stating, “I don’t feel right about it.” Mayor Archer shared his opinion that, as flu season begins to ramp up, along with ongoing COVID-19 trends, “That just increases our risk.” The council voted to wait for spring 2021 to potentially offer football.
Regarding the previously discussed safety concerns at the intersection Highways 63 and 16 (at the corner next to Dairy Queen in Spring Valley), Mayor Archer said, “I was on the phone today with MnDOT, and had a long conversation about what they’re going to do for us. They are right now, in the midst of looking at two or three options… they want to do something in four weeks… either a four-way stop, the stop signs that have lights on them. Another one was a roundabout…” Mayor Archer said MnDOT is interested in hearing feedback from the council, and he pointed out that the intersection seems small for a roundabout. Archer summarized that he’s glad something is finally being done to improve the safety of that intersection.
The next regular meeting of the council will be Monday, September 28, 6 p.m., at the community center. The public is welcome.
Leave a Reply