A regular meeting of the Wykoff City Council was held on March 12. Members in attendance were Rocky Vreeman, Mary Tjepkes, Mayor Al Williams, City Clerk Becky Schmidt and Richard Gleason. Mary Sackett and was absent.
Nathan Prechel asked the council if his water/sewer bill could be adjusted, since he had a leak for a couple of months which nearly doubled his bills. The council agreed to do as has been done for others in such situations, which is to adjust the sewer portion of the bill to the homeowner’s average monthly amount. No adjustments are generally made to the water portion of the billing.
Prechel also voiced another concern, stating, “I do have one other issue with the water bills, though. In February my bill was due on the 12th with a grace period of the 16th. I work in construction, and sometimes we’ll get laid off or I don’t get a 40-hour week all the time, so I had to let the water bill slide. And about the 24th of February, I get a notice in the mail that my water’s going to be shut off by March 8… And I feel that’s completely unfair because it wasn’t even 30 days past the due date… four days even before the next bill would be due… It just seemed a little fast to me.” Becky Schmidt explained the timeline that she follows, according to city ordinance. Prechel and the council discussed the situation, and although no action was taken at this time, there was discussion about possibly updating the city’s procedure to be in agreement with state guidelines.
Linda Jacobsen spoke to the council about concerns with Waste Management’s billing for garbage pickup. She said some citizens have gotten late charges after not receiving a bill until after the due date. She said she’d called Waste Management about the issue, but also wanted to council to know. Others said that garbage pickup has sometimes been late. Mayor Williams replied, “I think we need to get Waste Management up here for the next meeting and discuss some of these problems.”
Rick Whitney gave an update on operations at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, and Mark Arndt gave an update on the fire department, with the council approving the hiring of two fire fighter applicants, pending background checks.
Becky Schmidt informed the council that she’d discovered a number of old silver coins in the city’s safe deposit box, and she guessed they would be worth several thousand dollars. She said there appeared to be no records of when or how the city obtained them. It was suggested that the city get a broker to give an approximate value for the coins, and then to hopefully sell them so the city would use the funds. As Schmidt pointed out, the coins are doing no good currently, and are not gaining any interest. The council agreed to have Schmidt and Mayor Williams go to the bank to make an inventory of what coins are there. Schmidt also asked if the council would approve not rolling over a CD for $318,000 so that those funds would be available for the street project, and the council agreed to this.
Mayor Williams shared a handout from the League of Minnesota Cities, entitled “Role with It: Individual Versus Council Authority” and reminded the council that at least two council members are required to sign-off before contacting the city attorney for any legal advice or services.
The council tentatively set a public hearing on the 2018 street project for April 4, contingent on the zoning map being updated by then. Notices of the public hearing will be made according to standard practices.
The council discussed the need to get a new salt spreader, since the old one is badly worn out. Pricing options and best equipment options to meet the city’s needs will be obtained so a new unit can be purchased before next winter. The council also discussed the options for a new salt building. Schmidt said she’d found an option that’s much more affordable than what the city had previously been expecting. She said rather than about $25,000, Wykoff could buy a structure similar to what Spring Valley has, for about half that total cost. She said it would have a concrete base and sides. Firm pricing and options will be obtained so the city can move forward.
The council discussed the upcoming street project, and the associated costs and assessments. After discussion, the council chose to have the city pay 80% of the cost, with the remaining 20% to be assessed to affected property owners. It was pointed out that this is Wykoff’s standard practice for such projects.
After hearing from Jonathon Eickhoff, the council also chose to put the city’s “retired” ambulance up for sale by sealed bids. Eickhoff said he will do all of the necessary modifications (removal of emergency lights) prior to sale to a private party. The council’s next regular meeting will be Monday, April 9 at 7 p.m.