Towards the November 13 meeting’s opening was a visit from representatives from Choppers Motorcycle Club. As mentioned previously in the Fillmore County Journal, City of Wykoff presented the club with a check for $100 for their participation in a citywide cleanup event. Club President Luke Morgan appeared at Monday’s meeting and informed the council, “that’s not what we do it for,” explaining that “it was really just an act of goodwill, a return for the courtesy and the community’s acceptance of us in the town.” “There is an obligation to civic duty I think,” he continued, “and that’s part of why we do it too, and I think that encourages effective citizenship, and we’re about that.” In conclusion, Morgan stated, “What we would like to do is void this check and keep this,” holding up the check, “and then put it up on the wall, and just mark our collaboration and our partnership.”
The council briefly discussed the mayor’s recent meeting with Sheriff John DeGeorge regarding the 2024 Fillmore County Sheriff’s Department contract with the city of Wykoff. According to Mayor Breckenridge, Sheriff DeGeorge recommended that the city move down from two hours of contracted service time to one hour, a similar recommendation he recently made to the Ostrander City Council. According to the mayor, this would save the city budget $24,000.
Mayor Breckenridge also spoke of visiting St. Johns school to speak with the students about city government. The visit coincides with the “Mayor for a Day” statewide essay event, in which elementary school students from all over the state will be submitting essays to League of Minnesota Cities, answering the prompt, “What would you do if you were mayor for a day?” City of Wykoff members have chosen to take the essay contest a step further; the council will select a winner and runner-up, and the winner will be offered the chance to be “mayor for a day” at either the summer parade or next year’s Wykoff Fall Fest. The runners-up will accompany the winner as “city council members for a day.”
Following last month’s prompt by Mayor Breckenridge to the council to begin considering ordinances for the regulation of public cannabis use in Wykoff, it was resolved this month to hold a special meeting November 15 to discuss the issue. The meeting was set to be held in the city council room, and was to be open to the public.
The final fax levy for 2024 was also approved by the council this month. The amount described as “Total Levy” is $221,799.00.
The topic of the State of Minnesota’s new sick and safe time law was also raised. According to materials provided by the council, “Effective Jan. 1, 2024, Minnesota’s earned sick and safe time law requires employers to provide paid leave to employees who work in the state. An employee is anyone who works at least 80 hours in a year for an employer in Minnesota, but does not include independent contractors.”
Resolution 2023-12 was approved for the Preliminary Plat for Mundfrom First Addition, a new housing development which is set to include duplexes, or as they were described in the meeting, “twin homes.” City of Wykoff ordinances require a certain amount of space between homes which is greater than the space which would be between said duplex-style homes, and accordingly, a “platting variance” from ordinance was approved by the city council at Monday’s meeting.
The council also passed a resolution to approve an off- and on-sale liquor license for Shooter’s for January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
Last month the council discussed managing the overgrowth of the four Norway maple trees on Gold Street. At this Monday’s meeting, the council reviewed and approved a bid by Maier Tree & Lawn of Rochester to prune the trees, trim as needed to provide walking clearance, and inject paclobutrazol in the soil around root flares to “regulate growth and improve vigor.” The contract describes said chemical treatment as being “effective for three years,” and includes the descriptor “can expect minimal damage to neighboring/understory plants.” The total cost of the contract is $601.30.
Window treatments for the city-owned Jail Haus B&B have continued to be discussed over the past few meetings. This month, the council reviewed two bids for replacing window blinds on the historic bed & breakfast. One, by Budget Blinds of East Rochester, quoted $3,237.36, while a second, by Hangman Window Treatments of Chatfield, quoted $2,295.68. The council opted for the latter option.
The next Wykoff City Council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. December 11, at city hall.
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