Agenda and Minutes

City Council

Sep 24, 2008

CITY OF UPSALA
UNOFFICIAL MINUTES
Special Meeting
September 24, 2008

Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council of Upsala, MN met in special session on Wednesday, September 24, at 8:00 p.m. in the Upsala Fire Hall. In Attendance: Mayor Dan Cheney; Council Rollie Johnson, Robert Maciej, Dan Hovland, & Bethany Malisheske. Staff: Michele Caron. Visitors: Joyce Larson, Don Bartkowicz, Bernice Koester, Randy Pepin, Brian Pepin.

Meeting called to order by the Honorable Mayor Cheney at 8:10 p.m.

Agenda Review-Motion by Hovland to approve as written, second by Johnson; unanimously carried.

Cemetery-
• Randy and Brian Pepin attended to propose a clean up of the Baptist Cemetery land on highway 238 south of town. Brian would be completing it as an Eagle Scout project. Dan Hovland gave some back ground on the property. In 1998 a group of people went in and raked and cut brush. There is one grave stone, but records indicate more people are buried there. The cemetery’s ownership is with a Baptist Church that no longer exists, and the deed states if abandoned would become the property of an adjacent owner who is specified in the deed. The city thanks Brian Pepin for his initiative, but it is not an issue for the city to decide at this point. Perpetual maintenance of the property and who ultimately would be the rightful owner is a larger issue. No action taken.

Recreation Board-
• Council reviewed the current ordinance and made the following changes:
31.50
From Title and (A)
Strike park add building to clarify this ordinance is only for the recreation building
From (B)
change five members to seven to accommodate members from organizations that use the building
strike resident population to allow members from outside the city to serve
clarify staggered term language to include 2-1year terms, 2-2 year terms, 2-3 year terms until they even out to eventually become three year staggered terms.
From (C)
change every to every other for minimum meetings required by ordinance as every other month is adequate
From (D) delete entire section and replace with compensation language
Add Compensation to pay members the same as the current commissions to offset expense of attending meetings and a scheduler position will be created with compensation on a per event basis to cover meeting with people who rent the building, contacting clerk, filling supplies, etc.

• In other action the council made a list of items that would be added to the first agenda of the new board’s meeting once appointed by the council at the October meeting. These items will be forwarded to the council for recommendation of approval.
1.Which members will have specific terms
2.Set a regularly recurring day for meetings
3.Set up scheduler position, have them on the charge for farm store supplies, determine compensation
4.Finalize rental agreement, fees
5.Other items recommended by Dan Frank of Initiative Foundation mission, goals.
List of interested people in the board membership is Joyce and Mel Larson, Don Bartkowicz, Bernice Koester, Steve Salzl, and Dan Kremers.

Zoning question on Property-
•Clerk had a call from a person asking if the property at 204 Basswood was zoned commercial because a business is run out of the shed. It is not zoned commercial and the clerk will call the owner to determine when the shed was built and if variances were approved for a business.

•Revisited sewer permit issue from another property that indicated it did stop dispensing grey water, but apparently has not according to a realtor that visited the property recently. Clerk will get a copy of the permit from the county that was signed off on. Clerk will also review sewer ordinances.

Meeting Adjourned 9:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Michele Caron, Clerk

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