“As of May we will no longer have Harter’s garbage service,” stated Mayor Tuftin, during the City of Whalan’s April 2017 meeting. Tuftin went on to explain, “apparently Lanesboro went to a different contract and because of that they gave us 30 days notice that they will no longer be serving Whalan either,” so “we are being dropped,” she said. Due to this, the city must find another trash collection company quickly.
Present at the regularly scheduled council meeting on April 10 were Mayor Marlys Tuftin and council members Owen Lewis, Everett Johnson, Wyatt Berekvam and Kim Berekvam. City Clerk/Treasurer Lolly Melander was absent.
Minutes
Minutes from the March 13, 2017, meeting were read by K. Berekvam. With no additions or corrections deemed necessary a motion was made by W. Berekvam to accept the minutes as read and with a second by Johnson the motion carried.
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer’s Report and Bills Due were read by K. Berekvam. Motion by Johnson, second by K. Berekvam, to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Bills Due. Motion carried.
Visitor’s comments
Autumn Johnson, Mayor of Lanesboro, Minn., attended the April meeting of the Whalan city council to discuss the possibility of a hiking trail between Lanesboro and Whalan. The proposed hiking trail would not be sponsored by the City of Lanesboro and would not be a collaborative effort between Lanesboro and Whalan.
Johnson would personally “like this to happen” and wanted to get the Whalan council members thoughts on the idea. “I think it definitely would be appreciated by the community and the tourists and everyone in general,” stated council member K. Berekvam.
Wes Harding, who is a representative for Whalan on the Root River Trail Towns committee reported to the council that the breakfast held by the RRTT committee on Sunday, April 2,2017 went very well as they served approximately 120 people.
Harding explained to the council that the Root River Trail Towns Committee is comprised of representatives from each of the nine trail towns. Harding handed out further information on the committee and its purpose of promoting tourism and more.
Old Business
After cancelling a previously scheduled city tour due to weather, the city council began its tour of the city on Monday, April 3 and due to rain, they completed the tour on Wednesday, April 5. “We looked at all the city-owned areas to determine what kinds of things need to be done and we have quite a list we have prepared,” stated Mayor Tuftin.
“We are going to prioritize what we need to start on first and we have pretty much decided we are going to work on the city park first because the Stand Still Parade is coming up soon, so we wanted to get that in order,” added Tuftin.
If anyone would like more information or is interested in volunteering their time to help with the “to do list,” please contact one of the council members.
New Business
Motion by Johnson, second by W. Berekvam, to donate $100 to Lanesboro Post Prom. Motion carried.
Motion by K. Berekvam, second by W. Berekvam, to donate $400 to the Stand Still Parade. Motion carried.
A building permit was granted to Marlys Tuftin for a 10×12 three-season porch.
Motion by K. Berekvam, second by Lewis, to approve a pay raise for City Clerk/Treasurer Lolly Melander from a rate of $13.41 per hour to $20.00 per hour, which would be retroactive back to January 1, 2017.
Melander, who puts in 32 hours per month, has worked for the City of Whalan for 16 years and “has not had a wage increase in a long time,” stated Tuftin. “We have kind of looked at the numbers in other communities of similar size and similar duties” and “we felt it was in order to offer her an increase in salary,” explained Tuftin. Motion carried.
Motion by K. Berekvam, second by Lewis, to adjourn. Motion carried.
The next regularly scheduled Whalan city council meeting will be held on May 8, 2017.
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