The Spring Valley City Council held a regular council meeting on July 12 at city hall, with all members present (Luan Ruesink, Chris Danielson, Greg Brooks, John Dols and Mayor Tony Archer). Also attending was City Clerk/Administrator Deb Zimmer.
The council approved several requests for the upcoming Ag Days event, including a temporary liquor license (for the Chamber of Commerce), street closures, dance and fireworks. Ag Days will be held the weekend of August 20-22.
Some of the events planned include fireworks, to be held at South Park on Friday, August 20. On Saturday, August 21, the Little Husker 1K kids run will be held, as will a corn and hot dog feed at the fire department. The parade will use a route that starts at Sunshine Foods and travels down Broadway and West Main Street. A dance will be held Saturday evening. On Sunday, a kids’ tractor pull will be held near the swimming pool.
The council heard a request from Mike Hadland, representing the sheriff’s department. He asked the council for permission to check into pricing for two suggested upgrades for squad vehicles, including a storage unit (for stop sticks and other emergency equipment) and step bars. Regarding the step bars, Hadland stated, “Jordan’s or mine (vehicle) doesn’t have them, and if you handcuff somebody, and with that smaller half cage, it’s going to be hard to get somebody in there without them stepping on something.” The council approved Hadland to seek a couple of prices for each requested item, and to bring that information back to an upcoming council meeting for consideration.
Sue Puffer and Deb Zimmer explained a request to allow the ambulance service to buy new ambulance cots. Zimmer said, “Sue, this is going to come out of your donation fund, but because it’s over $2,000, you guys (the council) would need to approve it.” Puffer added, “We don’t have all the funding yet, but we’re working on the funding.” She added that upcoming fundraiser events, and several grant opportunities, are expected to help cover the remainder of the cost. The total cost is listed as $35,057.74, from Stryker Medical. The council voted to approve the purchase as requested.
EDA Director Chris Hahn addressed the council, stating, “The EDA did approve a $30,000 loan for Valley Butchery. This will help them complete their remodel upgrade… And we were able to get them an extension on their Minnesota Department of Agriculture grant for $42,000 as well. So between their normal financing and their grant,… they’re all set. They’re just literally waiting on the last approval from the state of Minnesota at this point.” The council formally approved the loan.
Reporting on emergency management matters, John Dols shared that, “We’d like to put that old ambulance out on bids. We’re not going to invest the money to make it road-worthy.” The council agreed. Quarterly ambulance “write-off’s” totaling $335.17 were approved. Chris Danielson gave a reminder for citizens to refrain from leaving grass clippings on city streets.
The council’s next regular meeting will be Monday, July 26 at 6 p.m., at city hall. The public is welcome.
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