DRAFT MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR FRANKLIN
Monday,
August 8, 2011
A Regular Meeting of the Franklin City Council
was held on Monday, August 8, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. Council members present were: Degner, Hoffman, Lyon, Schacher, and
Wiese. Staff Department Heads present
were: Degner, Kokesch, Pederson, Birkemeyer, and Sullivan.
Guests present were: Darin Haslip
and Andy Kehren.
At 7:00 p.m., Mayor Degner called the meeting to
order with roll call showing all council present.
Mayor
Degner called for approval of the agenda.
Hoffman motioned to approve the agenda as presented, second by Schacher,
RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
Mayor
Degner called for approval of the minutes of the July 11, 2011 Regular Meeting.
Wiese motioned to approve the minutes as presented, second by Lyon,
RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
No citizens requested to be addressed, all
present were on the agenda.
Darin Haslip, State
Certified Building Inspector, presented the city council with inspection
options dealing with sub-standard and hazardous buildings. Haslip charges $50/hour his services. Haslip stated he prefers to give people a
chance to comply before beginning formal proceedings. The council chose to give his proposal some
thought.
Andy Kehren reported
that the Well #5 project was awarded to Ervin Well company and they have been
given the contracts which will then go to the city attorney and finally to USDA
for approval. The CSAH #29 project is
still in progress and he is waiting to get an exact figure on the cost sharing
with the county. It is hoped that the
well project and the CSAH project be substantially completed yet this
year. The plans for the water treatment
plant renovations are being sent to Rural Development, nothing can be done with
the plant until the after the well is dug.
Kehren, Kokesch, Schacher and Wiese will meet regarding the rest of the
improvements and will prioritize the areas of work prior to calling for an
improvement hearing. A formal letter has
been sent by the city attorney to Gaub’s bond
insurance company and he is awaiting a response.
There are two parcels up
for tax forfeiture. Chief Degner noted
that the minimum bid on a forfeited property is the market value, he recommended
the city contact the county to determine if the market value is accurate or if
it should be lowered in hopes that someone will buy these properties rather
than having them revert to the state.
Pederson will contact Commissioner Fox and the county.
The 330 First Ave.
property was advertised for sale and no offers have been received. Wiese
motioned to lower the cost of the 330 First Ave. property to $2,500, with the
same stipulations as previously, second by Hoffman, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
Hoffman reported that the playground equipment at
the tennis court park needs work.
Kokesch noted that wood chips were sought but were not available due to
Farm Fest. The council consensus was to
get more wood chips and to leave the equipment as is. Kokesch will work on the boat landing
equipment.
The financial status of
the city was reviewed. July receipts
totaled $118,462.53; current bills were presented for payment in the amount of
$49,556.80. Wiese motioned for approval of the bills and financial report as presented,
second by Schacher, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
Department Heads were addressed. Kokesch reported that he will be inspecting
sidewalks again and noted that there are some in need of repairs; Catfish Days
went well and there were no complaints about the bathrooms; the fire hydrant by
the ball park broke during Catfish Days-MN Rural Water is going to look at it
and hopefully repairs won’t be too costly, perhaps the waterball
could be run off of the tank instead as hydrants are very expensive to
repair. Sullivan reminded the council of
the 2012 narrow band compliance requirements and noted that the county did not
get the grant it had hoped to so more funding will be the city’s
responsibility. Birkemeyer
requested council approval to replace a radio at a cost not to exceed
$650. Wiese motioned to approve the purchase of a radio, second by Schacher,
RCV-5 Yes, 0 No. Birkemeyer
also reported that an ambulance committee is meeting to discuss setting up a
call schedule. Pederson presented copier
options, noting the city could buy or lease and a maintenance contract is
optional. The lease costs (60 month term) including a maintenance contract were
from $109.90 to $113.92/month with a
2500 copy minimum/month; Schacher
motioned to lease a copier from Marco, second by Hoffman, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No. Pederson also reported that Richard Nordby would be willing to sell his acreage east of 7th
Street to the city for a compost site, but the city would need to buy two acres
at market value and negotiate a release of Prairie Agra Fuels 5 year purchase
option; on August 30th Claudia Hoffacker, from the League of MN
Cities, will be job-shadowing Pederson to observe a small city office; there
will be a publicity event on August 23rd for the USDA Rural
Development funding.
No new Zoning permits
were issued.
Residents and businesses
were notified of their address changes. Schacher motioned to approve Resolution
2011-7, Approving the City Addresses, second by Wiese, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
Catfish Days was successful and went well. Despite the poor numbers for the fishing
contest (due to the state shut down and the high river), the crowds were up and
there we no major incidents.
Kokesch noted that there are a number of ash
trees on city boulevards that are dying.
Some cities do not allow planting of trees on the boulevards. Kokesch will research trees on rights-of-way
and the city will remind residents that they are responsible for the trimming
and maintenance of boulevard trees.
Pederson presented a
preliminary 2012 budget, noting that capital outlay would have to be eliminated
to stay within the 7% increase parameters the council requested. After much discussion on what could be cut
from the budget, how the police chief’s hours are distributed, etc. it was
decided to hold a special meeting. Lyon moved to hold a special meeting on
Monday, August 29, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss 2012 salaries, fees, budget and
levy, second by Wiese, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
There were no councilor
requests.
At 9:07 p.m., Mayor
Degner called for adjournment, with Lyon motioning for adjournment, second by
Hoffman, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No. A Special
Meeting will be held on Monday, August 29, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall and
the next regular city council meeting will be held Monday, September 12, 2011,
at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
Respectfully Submitted by
Wendy
Pederson, City Clerk/Treasurer
Draft
MINUTES OF THE
SPECIAL FRANKLIN
Monday,
August 29, 2011
A Special Meeting of the Franklin City Council was
held on Monday, August 29, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. Council members present were: Degner, Hoffman, Lyon, Schacher, and Wiese. Staff Department Heads present were: Degner, Kokesch, Pederson, Birkemeyer, and Sullivan.
No guests were present.
At 7:00 p.m., Mayor Degner called the meeting to
order noting all council present and this special meeting was called to set the
2012 salaries, fees, budget and levy.
Hoffman
motioned to freeze all salaries, second by Lyon; RCV-5 Yes, 0 No. Schacher recommended there be no pay for first responders. Wiese motioned for the city to discontinue pay
for ambulance first responders, second by Schacher, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No. Lyon questioned the need for two paid lieutenant
positions on the Fire Department.
Hoffman
motioned to charge a $10 Swimming Lessons Fee, second by Schacher, RCV-5 Yes, 0
No. Chief Degner requested a fee for closing the streets. Hoffman motioned there be no fee for closing
the streets, second by Wiese, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No. Adjustments
to the 2012 Fees were made as follows:
Addition of ALS-2 Base Rate, $1,150.00; Addition of Facsimile (Fax) Fee
of $1.00/page; Fire Dept. Calls (set by the Rural Fire Association), $650.00
first hour and $100.00 each additional hour; Addition of Serving Papers Fee of
$50.00; Addition of Search and Rescue Fee of $650.00 first hour and $100.00
each additional hour; Summer Recreation Fee (set by 2011 joint committee),
$20.00; Swimming Lessons Fee, $10.00; Conditional Use/Variance Permits,
$125.00. 2012 Utility Rates were
adjusted as follows: Sewer Base Rate
$23.00/month, $69.00/quarter; Sewer Usage $4.25/1,000 gallons; Water Base Rate
$15.75/month, $47.25/quarter; Water Usage $3.50/1,000 gallons; Rural Water Base
Rate $30.00/month, $90.00/quarter; Unmetered Water Base Rate, $115.00/quarter.
The budget was reviewed with cuts being made
throughout. It was decided to pay for
the 2011 pick-up truck (on order) with reserves and to budget for one-third of
the costs in 2012-2014, with the money being returned to city reserves. There will be no portable toilet at the boatlanding. The
2012 Proposed Budget is as follows:
General Fund-Revenue $159,160, Expenses $407,642, Transfers in for Debt of
$70,300; Water Fund-Revenue $83,550, Expenses $51,350, Transfers out for Debt
$32,200; Sewer Fund-Revenue $96,500, Expenses $58,400, Transfers out for Debt
$36,100. The proposed 2012 Levy is
$164,295, and increase of 6.983% over 2011.
At 8:42
p.m. Hoffman motioned to adjourn, second by Wiese, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
Respectfully Submitted by
Wendy
Pederson, City Clerk/Treasurer