Last month it was reported that the October Wykoff City Council meeting would be held Monday, October 9. Meetings are normally held the second Monday of each month, but this month was held Tuesday, October 10 in observance of Monday’s federal holiday.
The first order of new business on October 10 was Rebecca Schmidt’s job title change from city clerk to city administrator. The job title change is mostly that, titular, as it was said that Schmidt already performs all the duties associated with the latter title. It was explained that city clerks are not meant to speak in city council meetings, and the job title change would simply classify Schmidt’s employment capacity more accurately. She has not asked for a raise.
A motion was passed to award a contractor with the job for replacing the Wykoff Community Center wood flooring. Floor boards were acquired from the federal government by the city of Wykoff, and the council has been searching for contractors to carry out the job. The job was awarded to Jayson Osterhaus for the price of $5,200. It was said that the bid was by far the least expensive of the four received; this was attributed to Osterhaus working alone and taking more time than the other bids would have. It was said that Mr. Osterhaus has 30 years in the business.
The purchase of two street signs for St. Johns school was approved by the council. Two yellow “SLOW SCHOOL” depicting an image of a running child will be purchased at the price of $39.95 each. The signs will be installed on Line Street.
At last month’s meeting, the intent to purchase land north of Fillmore Street was discussed. This month a motion was passed to purchase the property. The property will be purchased by the city of Wykoff from RCRCT Investments LLC for the price of $111,570. The size of the property is approximately 11.757 acres. As part of the purchase, the city will continue the lease with the current tenant, Andrew Baker, but will be entering into its own lease with Baker the terms of which include, but are not limited to, the payment of rent in the amount of $125 per acre which is approximately $1,495 per year and the requirement that Baker pay the real estate taxes. Mayor Breckenridge and Clerk Schmidt were authorized to execute the real estate documents on behalf of the city of Wykoff. The purchase will not be finalized until January 15, 2024.
Regarding the recently discussed issue of cannabis ordinances, Mayor Breckenridge directed the council to give thought over the next month to what kind of ordinances they would like to see for Wykoff. Councilman Jeffery Hare expressed the wish to “make sure we don’t have it where we don’t want it.” The intent was expressed to decide on a city ordinance during the next city council meeting.
The council also spoke of finding a local tree trimmer to clean up some downtown trees, some of which are getting “huge.” The wish was expressed to trim the trees at the right time and prevent them from rubbing on buildings rather than having them taken down altogether. At least one group will be reached out to for a bid request.
The meeting closed with a brief discussion of a local group of ghost hunters’ wish to investigate the historic Jail Haus B&B and Ed’s Museum. Allegedly, the group performed a preliminary investigation of the buildings, but did not have their full range of equipment on hand. The group will tentatively investigate Ed’s Museum the night of November 18 until 2 or 3 a.m., then stay the rest of the night in Jail Haus B&B.
The next Wykoff City Council meeting will be held Monday November 13. A public hearing willl be held the first 15 minutes of the meeting to discuss the platting of a new housing development. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. in the city clerk’s office, Wykoff, Minn.
Leave a Reply