The Spring Valley City Council met in regular session on Monday, January 23. Members present were Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Jessy Betts, Mike Hadland and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. No visitors had signed up to address the council.
Deb Zimmer informed the council, “We got a letter from Gold Cross (ambulance staffing service) that they want to terminate their contract, ending March 31.” After discussion, the council voted to accept the letter. Mike Hadland suggested setting up a meeting with Gold Cross to discuss what the city should do next. The meeting was set for February 1 at 6 p.m.
The council then considered a bid for a new snowplow, with a price of $223,837. Zimmer explained that the city had budgeted $175,000 for the plow, but prices have gone up since that amount was set aside. Regarding the plow listed in the bid, she stated, “There’s not a bunch of extra options on there, it’s pretty basic.” Mayor Struzyk asked, “What are the wishes of the council? We know we need a new snowplow. The old one is 30-some years old, 37 or 39, and we can’t get parts for it.” The council voted unanimously to approve the purchase.
Next, the council turned to a squad car bid of $36,428, for a 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe. It was pointed out that the state bid was slightly lower at $35,611, but the city prefers to buy locally when possible, and most state bids require the city to pay two people to drive to and from the Twin Cities metro area to bring a new vehicle back. The council voted to purchase the car from the local bid (Betts and Hadland abstained). The city expects the old squad car may only bring in around $2,000 when sold. Some accessories off the old squad car will be transferred into the new car.
The council then looked into a bid for a new fire truck, a 2017 Pierce Enforcer Pumper Aluminum Long Body, at a price of $495,587 after prepayment and other discounts are applied. Zimmer said, “The rural fire board has already approved for their share, they pay half.” Jessy Betts said he’s been approached by citizens, asking, “Has the fire department considered a lightly used truck from somewhere else?” Fire crew members said they’ve looked into this and have magazines with listings for used fire equipment, but there just don’t seem to be good used fire trucks of the type the city needs. The council OK’d the purchased as shown in the bid. The old fire truck will have a $35,000 trade-in value.
The council approved the HGACBUY cooperative purchasing agreement, which Zimmer stated is simply an annual renewal. The council also considered tobacco sales permits for Kwik Trip, Sunshine Foods, Fowler Oil, Casey’s, and Dollar General. Zimmer said all of the required paperwork is in for these, except that some forms are still in process from Dollar General. Todd Jones proposed approving the tobacco permits, pending all paperwork comes in. The council approved this.
Jenny Simon gave an update on events at the library, including the “Hot Reads for Cold Nights” promotion in February. She said, “I’m going to have an author come, Doug Allman will be speaking February 28 at 5 p.m.” Chad Hindt said his streets crew has been scraping streets, and is working on getting the composting site ready for spring. Mayor Struzyk asked about ice buildup on Huron Avenue, saying “It’s like a washboard.” Hindt said the city will continue to work on streets as temperatures and conditions allow. Struzyk also said, “I want to welcome Gary Peterson, our new county commissioner.”
The next regular meeting of the city council will be Monday, February 13 at 6 p.m.