A regular meeting of the Ostrander City Council was held March 6, with all members in attendance (Pam Kunert, Mayor Pat Nesler, City Clerk Wendy Brincks, Heidi Jones and DJ Start). The council discussed plans to fill the council seat vacant since Erin Volkart’s departure. Two citizens voiced an interest in filling this seat (Vernon Thompson and Stephanie Start), and both were in attendance at the meeting, so the council conversed with them.
Both Thompson and Start answered questions regarding their reasons for wanting to serve on the council, and the experience they would bring to the position. The council also talked about the general timeline of the process, which will include appointing someone this spring to fill the seat, and an election in November 2018 to elect someone to fill the remaining two years of what had been Volkart’s term. Pam Kunert voiced her concern that she would prefer not to have two council members from the same family, to avoid any problems. The council chose to table the issue, and will wait until the April meeting to appoint someone to fill the seat.
On behalf of the engineering firm of Bolton & Menk, Brian Malm addressed the council, sharing details on the four bids that were submitted for the well house and well improvement project, ranging from $983,000 to $1,026,000. The lowest bid was from Wapasha Construction. Malm said the Engineer’s Estimate was $994,500, and, “We would recommend, if you choose to move forward, awarding the contract to Wapasha. We’ve worked with them on several projects.” He also suggested that if Ostrander awards the contract at this time, it should be contingent upon Rural Development concurring. After brief discussion, the council voted to accept the bid from Wapasha, with this contingency noted. Malm also noted that the “Preconstruction Meeting” will be held on March 14, and the city’s “open house” to explain the project will be Thursday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m.
The council also discussed a suggestion from the owner of the Wolfs Den, that Ostrander consider getting recycling containers for citizens to use. Harter’s Quick Clean-Up has provided a quote that shows they could provide two eight-yard containers and every other week service, at a cost of $149 per month. Mayor Nesler said the city already contracts with Waste Management for recycling. No action was taken on the issue at this time.
Wendy Brincks updated the council on water billing for the city. She said there had been glitches in the city’s water billing, and there have been a number of accounts significantly overdue. She said, “The potential write-off at this point is $536,” and she added that two properties are scheduled for water shut-off on March 19. She concluded, “Otherwise, everyone that is in arrears, I’ve made contact and they’re making payments.”
Deputy Leif Erickson gave a monthly report of police activity providing to Ostrander by the Fillmore County Sheriff’s department. He said in February, there were 14 calls total. Dustin Johnson gave an update on the fire department, saying there was just one call in February, and it was actually a false alarm at the care center. He also asked the council to consider buying two new 800 megahertz radios for the fire crew, since there is currently grant funding available to pay half the cost. The council voted to do this.
Tommy Thorson addressed the council regarding the alley behind the apartments, saying, “The parking space, when it was built, was built so it slanted out toward the alley and down south. And over the years, every spring when you put more gravel on, and thank you for doing that because you fill up a lot of holes, but it has built up,” and he explained it now causes pooling of water. So he asked if the city could grade it back down this spring. Mayor Nesler said the city will look into this. Thorson also gave praise for everyone who helped make Uff Da Days a success.
The council approved spending roughly $40 to replace a mirror that was broken off Wendy Brinck’s vehicle when the windsock fell from the wastewater treatment plant. The council approved paying a $2,440 invoice from Bolton & Menk. Council members signed an annual Conflict of Interest form. The meeting adjourned about 7:30 p.m. The next regular meeting of the council will be Tuesday, April 3, at 6:30 p.m. The public is welcome.
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