Agenda and Minutes

City Council

Nov 10, 2008

CITY OF UPSALA
UNOFFICIAL MINUTES
November 10, 2008

Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the city Council of Upsala, MN met in regular session on Monday, November 10th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Upsala Fire Hall. In Attendance: Mayor Dan Cheney; Council Rollie Johnson, Robert Maciej, Dan Hovland, & Bethany Malisheske. Staff: Michele Caron, Frank Koopmeiners. Visitor: Mary Marana.

Meeting called to order by the Honorable Mayor Cheney at 7:00 p.m.

Minutes-Minutes of the October meeting were reviewed. Mm by Johnson, second by Hovland to accept as written; carried.
Agenda-Reviewed-Mm by Johnson, second by Maciej to approve with additions; carried.

Visitors, Request, Petitions-
• Mary Marana gave a presentation on Crisis Line and Referral Service. Their group is asking for a contract with the city in the amount of $250 for one year, as they provide service to a six county area. Mm by Hovland to approve the
resolution contracting with crisis line for one year, second by Johnson; unanimously carried. Clerk will make out a check for the amount of $250.
Mental health services provided are from police call-outs when police call them for consulting help in mental health crisis situations, school program suicide outreach, interfaith hospitality network, and community health based clinics. Data privacy does not allow them to collect unnecessary identifying information from callers, so they cannot provide information to the city if residents have ever used the service. They have qualified mental health professionals answering phones 24 hours a day at 1-800-462-5525. Information is posted at city hall in the window and can be obtained by calling the clerk.

Ordinances, Resolutions-
• Resolution 2008-23: Minnesota Basic Code Zoning ordinance clarification-City did not adopt ordinance150 Zoning of the basic code as they already had a zoning ordinance in place. Mm by Cheney to approve resolution, second by
Hovland; carried.
• Resolution 2008-24: Relief Association Pension reports presented to council. Mm by Cheney, second by Johnson to accept reports; carried.

Maintenance Report-Frank Koopmeiners
• Hydrants were flushed using 50,000 gallons
• Borgstrom House curb stop replaced
• Water main valve leak by Hwy 19-bolts rusting away-replaced with stainless steel-County road 19 was fixed by the county-may need more attention next spring, and a new curb will be installed.
• Frank will be at a free training by MRWA on November 13th to keep up license. Upsala City Council November 2008
• Discharging pond now and presented results report. Pond water sample is very clear.
• Fire Hall tank cap-parts ordered
• Pine Avenue leaking curb stop-fixed with a brass adapter prior one plastic
• Paul & Kathy’s supermarket-hole in parking lot-Rollie will contact them

Fire Department none

Planning Commission-Hovland/Cheney
• Minutes reviewed
• Building Inspector search continues-Rollie is aware Holdingford discontinued contract with theirs; he will ask the Mayor about the inspector.
• Boundary areas of the city were discussed
• Tower Road maintenance
• Next meeting Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Upsala Community Development Commission-Maciej/Malisheske
• Minutes were reviewed
• Lighting contest held again these year-requests will be made for a first prize of $100 and a second prize of $50 to area organizations. The usual rules will apply that the homes be within the city limits of Upsala, and that the first place winner of the previous year is not eligible to win in this consecutive year. There is no application necessary, but the deadline for being eligible to be part of the contest
is December 19, 2008. UCDC members will vote after that date and report their first three choices to the chair by Monday December 22nd.
• Positions up for renewal on the UCDC are: Malisheske, Juhnke, and Soltis.
• Next meeting Monday, December 1, 2008 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Recreation Building Board Report-Rollie Johnson
• No meeting since last city council, next meeting is December 2, 2008 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
• Pipes freezing solutions will be on agenda
• Clerk asked regarding new rates that were set by the board last month, and if a group rents the facility for two consecutive days, is the “per day” amount waived or is it the “per day” amount, and the deposit amount approved was $100. There is conflict with “past practice” charges being paid using the old amounts; have
board clarify which it is.
• Maintenance for the recreation building will be determined by calling Frank and he will decide if city staff will repair or a contractor.

Unfinished Business-
• Crisis Line referral Contract-see visitors
• Red Flag Rule for identity theft extended by six months
• Flags-Frank and Julian will take down when snowflake lights are put up. New flags will be put up later.
• Website Calendar Policy-Commercial owner requested a sale be added to the calendar-we will try to allow special sales, etc, and see how full the calendar gets. E mail to cityofup@surfsota.com for calendar events.
• Animal Ordinance-complicated but we do need to move forward; slowly to allow pet owners to get their pets vaccinated. Mayor will write up a survey for public input.

New Business-
• Resolution 2008-25: Canvassing of Election Results-
Mayor Dan Cheney 2010
Council Robert Maciej 2012
Lynda Tarbuck 2012
Special Bethany Malisheske 2010
Council
With regret and the receipt of a decline of the position from Lynda Tarbuck, the city council declares a vacancy in the second 2012 council position.
Mm by Maciej, second by Hovland to approve above resolution; carried.
• Business Retention and Expansion Techniques workshop Mayor will attend to learn how to keep and attract businesses to the city. $25 fee, clerk will get a check ready for the Thursday workshop.
• Delinquent Utilities certified to county will probably come in under $3,000 if promises to pay are kept. Notices will be sent one more time to all who are on the list that payment must be made by November 23rd to take the name off of the
list. A few residents continue to make payments to catch up and as long as they are doing so, will not be certified to county for payment. One past tenant that recently moved may be subject to collection under the new MN Revenue
recapture program.
• Snowmobile safety class requested use of the vacant city lot at regional services center location for their test when there is snow; everyone agreed that is o.k.
• Regional meeting attended by Maciej, Johnson, and Caron. Sewer back ups and city maintenance that prevents it. The jetting machine prevents most causes that would be city responsibility.

Financial Reports-Michele Caron
• Presented and explained reports presented
• CD’s vs. 4M fund rates discussed. Rates of 4M fund have not kept up with CD’s. Clerk is to transfer general, water and sewer to checking and find a CD to put the funds in. The balances will remain separate and recorded even though the funds are in the same CD. Liquidity seems not to be an issue at this time, so a 6 month CD will be purchased after searching several area
banks for competitive rates.
• Bills audited and ordered paid in the amount of $18,013.45.

Meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m. by Mayor Cheney.

Respectfully submitted: Michele Caron, Clerk.

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