Minutes of the
City of Franklin Board of Appeal and Equalization
Meeting
Monday, April 11, 2011
A
Board of Appeal and Equalization Meeting was held on Monday, April 11, 2011,
from 2:00-2:30 p.m. at the Franklin City Hall.
Present were: Barb Trochlil,
Renville County Assessor; John Thompson, County Appraiser; Ted Domeier, City
Assessor; City Council Members-Degner, Hoffman, and Lyon; City
Staff-Pederson. Guest present was John Goelz.
At
2:00 p.m. Mayor Degner called the meeting to order.
Goelz presented his parcels of farm land within the city
limits and wondered how to get out of the city limits as he is taxed at the
city rate. Pederson noted that she is
unfamiliar with the de-annexation process.
Trochlil added that the city council would have to allow the
de-annexation and probably would not as it needs the tax dollars. Pederson noted that all of his parcels are
included in the Rural Service District and are taxed at a 1:7
ratio. Goelz
purchased the land from Mike Sullivan, some of the land is zoned R-1
Residential and the majority is zoned Agricultural. It was noted that all tillable acreage
increased 10% in value throughout the county.
As no other citizens
presented themselves, at 2:30 p.m. Mayor Degner called for
adjournment, with Hoffman motioning to adjourn, second by Lyon, RCV-3 Yes, 0
No.
Respectfully
Submitted by
Wendy Pederson, City Clerk/Treasurer
MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR FRANKLIN
Monday,
April 11, 2011
A Regular Meeting of the Franklin City Council
was held on Monday, April 11, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. Council members present were: Degner, Hoffman, Lyon, Schacher, and Wiese
(arriving late). Staff Department Heads
present were: Degner, Kokesch, Pederson,
and Birkemeyer.
Guest present was: Melinda Buss.
At 7:00 p.m., Mayor Degner called the meeting to
order with roll call showing Wiese late.
Mayor Degner requested approval of the
agenda. Hoffman motioned to approve the agenda, second by Schacher, RCV-4 Yes, 0 No.
Mayor
Degner called for approval of the minutes of the March 14, 2011 Regular Meeting.
Schacher motioned to approve the minutes as presented, second by Lyon,
RCV-4 Yes, 0 No.
No citizens requested to be addressed.
Pederson reported on the
EECBG grant noting that two state reimbursements remain outstanding. It was also noted that the roof of the burner
building needs flashing installed as it leaks causing the pellets to get wet;
the auger does not go to the bottom of the floor which needs to be
remedied. Reek will not be paid until
these problems are corrected.
Kehren and Kokesch met
with the Department of Health regarding the well site and the meeting went
fine. The project is still pending.
Ordinance No. 33.02 was
reviewed by the attorney and presented for approval. Schacher
motioned to approve Ordinance No. 33.02, Criminal Background Checks of
Applicants for City Employment, second by Hoffman, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No. A summary of
Ordinance No. 33.02 for publication was motioned for approval by Wiese, second
by Hoffman, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
The financial status of
the city was reviewed. March receipts
totaled $26,804.93; current bills were presented for payment in the amount of
$48,976.12. Wiese motioned for approval of the bills and financial report as
presented, second by Schacher, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
Department Heads were addressed. Birkemeyer reported
on the Ambulance Dept. and North Ambulance’s roll. The ambulance service is required to provide
24/7 coverage, there have been numerous staffing issues and North has responded
to the shortages with a dual-paging system, the intercepts cost $225 each but
are billed at a higher ALS rate.
Basically, changes needed to be made because even with 18 EMT’s, there are only 2 people available to respond during
the daytime hours. Options include: contract with North for daytime coverage;
apply for a “Hardship Variance” and use a First Responder and an EMT on transports;
or change to a First Responder system.
Buss, EMSRB, noted that many communities are experiencing these issues.
Schacher noted that there is simply not enough staff to respond during the day;
Lyon added that EMT’s need to be accountable as it is too costly to train them
if they don’t go on runs. Hoffman motioned to enter into a six-month
contract with North Ambulance for daytime coverage (ambulance dept. to
determine hours of coverage), Monday through Friday, second by Lyon, RCV-5 Yes,
0 No. Hoffman
motioned to pay ambulance staff $10 for responses during the daytime hours, second
by Schacher; Hoffman amended her motion
to include that payment would be while on contract with North, Schacher
seconded the amended motion, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
Kokesch reported that he will be opening the parks soon; the pumps
at the ponds are not working and should be under warranty as they had only been
installed for 4 months, a temporary system is currently in place; there is an
excess of ground water and we are pumping more water than we should be; the
surveyors should be here this week; the pellet building requires continuous
maintenance and needs a sloped floor and roof repairs. It was noted that the Fire Hall is too hot, this is due to the pipes emitting heat. Chief Degner noted that Third St. is in poor
shape due to the frost coming out; received authorization to purchase a
computer with police supply budget dollars; will be getting a free laptop
computer from the state but will have to pay the wire fee of $30 or so; he will
begin flushing hydrants soon. Pederson
reported that Franklin’s 2010 census population is 510, and that Franklin is
the only city in Renville County that grew; the 2010 audit will be on April 18th;
she will be on vacation later this month; the clerk’s conference was especially
good this year; the KMS Ride will be on August 13th with the same
events as last year; there are 3 utility customers scheduled for disconnection.
No new zoning permits
were issued.
There is not enough funding for the park bathroom
project.
Jill Deinken
will be the Summer Recreation Coordinator.
Jill is planning a 6 week program and splitting the activities among
three age groups. A fee of $20 per child
will be charged and may be reduced if a parent volunteers to assist the
program. Deinken
asked for $1,000 to coordinate the program; Schacher suggested a performance
based bonus following the program’s completion.
Swimming lessons will be included with Summer Recreation and will be
held at the Morgan Pool. It was noted
that if the Lower Sioux Community is part of the program, they should also be
making a monetary contribution.
The city does not have a
compost site. This issue had been
visited and researched prior and it was found that the city does not have any
options for a location or enough staff to man a site; it is felt there are enough
options for people with area fields.
Kokesch added that the burn-site is not for leaves or grass and it will
be locked if people begin dumping there.
SW Dust control will
apply magnesium chloride for a cost of $83.36/100 feet. Dust control will be applied to Third Street
and to the part of First Ave. that will not be part of the construction
project.
Councilor requests
included Mayor Degner requesting approval to attend the LMC Annual Conference
in Rochester. Lyon motioned to approve Mayor Degner to attend the LMC conference,
second by Wiese, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No.
At 8:35 p.m., Mayor
Degner called for adjournment, with Wiese motioning for adjournment, second by
Hoffman, RCV-5 Yes, 0 No. The next regular city council meeting will be
held Monday, May 9, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
Respectfully
Submitted by
Wendy Pederson, City Clerk/Treasurer