As part of the agenda at the regularly scheduled monthly city council meeting held on March 13, 2017, the Whalan council discussed the possibility of attending Safety and Loss Control training sponsored by the League of Minnesota Cities to be held in Rochester, Minn., on April 12, 2017.
Present at the meeting were mayor of Whalan, Minn., Marlys Tuftin, Council members Everett Johnson, Wyatt Berekvam and Kim Berekvam and City Clerk Lolly Melander. Council member Owen Lewis was absent.
Minutes
Minutes from the February 2017 meeting were read by Melander. Motion by W. Berekvam, second by K. Berekvam, to accept the minutes as read. Motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer’s Report and Bills Due were reported by Melander. Motion by Johnson, second by K. Berekvam, to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Bills Due. Motion carried.
Visitor’s comments
Wes Harding, who represents Whalan on Root River Trail Town committee, presented new Whalan brochures. The City of Whalan paid for half of the cost and the other half was paid for by the Whalan Taste of the Trail committee. Five thousand copies of the brochures have been received.
Harding puts copies of the brochure in various places including trail heads, visitor centers and many other local sites.
Harding also shared a copy of the Whalan landing page on the Root River Trail Towns website.
The council commented on how nice the brochure is and thanked Harding for his hard work in completing the project.
Harding welcomes anyone who is interested to join the Root River Trail Towns committee.
Old Business
Mayor Tuftin and Council member Johnson attended the Annual Rural Fire Department meeting, which was held February 13, 2017. Tuftin stated “they had a very nice presentation,” saying they handed out a lot of information on the cost for services, which will be increasing.
Cost for ambulance service from the Lanesboro Ambulance Service will increase by $16.00 per person based on census numbers. The census number used for Whalan is 65 people, which Tuftin noted is “probably a little more than we actually have,” but that is the number that will be used until the next census.
The cost for Lanesboro Fire Department service will be raised with a “pretty significant change” for Whalan, stated Tuftin. The rate will change from $28.01 per person in 2017 to $43.20 per person in 2018 and 2019, which will be added on to property taxes.
The tour of the city by the council was cancelled due to weather conditions. It has been rescheduled to Monday, April 3, 2017 at 4 p.m. The reason for the tour is to see if there is anything that needs to be fixed.
New Business
Mayor Tuftin brought up the council retreat so the council can “sit down and go over some city goals and needs,” she stated. The council has planned a two-hour retreat on April 10, 2017 at 3 p.m. which is immediately prior to the April regularly scheduled council meeting.
The council thanked Rory and Kim Berekvam who donated their time to take care of a downed tree on Everyday Rd. that was a hazard, as a branch was hanging over the road.
The next Whalan City Council meeting will be held on April 10, 2017 at 5 p.m. at the city hall.