SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, July 21, 20088
7:15 PM
Council Chambers
Present: Mayor McConnell Councilmen Silbernagel, Spooner, Anderson, Wangler, Tillisch and Sinner.
Also Present: Public Works Supervisor Kevin Mayer, City Auditor Brandy Pyle.
Audience: Amanda Gades.
Mayor McConnell opened the meeting and welcomed Ulteig Engineers.
Ulteig Engineers John Green, Dan Hanson, and Dain Miller presented information about their firm regarding history, experience, fee structure, building permits and references.
The Council thanked them for their time.
Meeting adjourned.
Brandy L. Pyle
City Auditor
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, July 28, 20088
6:30 PM
Council Chambers
Present: Mayor McConnell Councilmen Silbernagel, Spooner, Anderson, Wangler, Tillisch and Sinner.
Also Present: Public Works Supervisor Kevin Mayer, City Attorney Brad Burgum and City Auditor Brandy Pyle.
Audience: Amanda Gades.
Mayor McConnell opened the meeting and welcomed Kadrmas Lee & Jackson, Moore Engineering and Lightowler Johnson Associates.
Each firm presented information about their firm regarding history, experience, fee structure, building permits and references.
The Council thanked them for their time.
Meeting adjourned.
Brandy L. Pyle
City Auditor
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, August 4, 2008
REGULAR MEETING 7:00 P.M.
Council Chambers
Present: Mayor McConnell, Councilmen Anderson, Silbernagel, Spooner, Wangler, Sinner, and Tillisch.
Also Present: Public Works Supervisor Kevin Mayer, City Attorney Brad Burgum, City Engineers Kyle Meyer and Kyle McCamy, Sergeant De Wayne Nitschke and City Auditor Brandy Pyle.
Audience: Rick Lane, Robert Kapaun Sr., John Green from Ulteig, Gary Sporel, Lynae Sims, Cass County Reporter Amanda Gades.
Sinner made a motion seconded by Tillisch to approve the minutes of July 7, 21, 28; City Attorney's Report, Police Report, Municipal Judge's Report, and the delinquent utilities list. All voted aye on roll call; motion carried.
Tillisch made a motion, seconded by Wangler, to approve the following bills, water deposit refunds and salaries for the month of July. All voted aye upon roll call vote; motion carried.
| Adapco Inc | $6,367.80 | North Dakota One Call | $58.28 | |
| FLAC | $122.12 | Xcel Energy | $97.17 | |
| Ameripride | $95.15 | Officemax | $153.95 | |
| Avesis | $92.50 | OK Tires | $102.00 | |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield | $3,421.30 | Opp Construction | $157,678.64 | |
| Border States Electric | $69.95 | OrbitCom | $276.60 | |
| Burgum Law Firm | $1,083.33 | Ottertail | $3,192.97 | |
| Brokers National Assurance | $267.00 | Casselton Parks | $10,189.88 | |
| Eugene Camas | $792.00 | Powerplan | $129.30 | |
| Cass County Heating | $518.50 | Reed Construction | $273.78 | |
| Cass County Reporter | $558.21 | Sanitation Products | $657.00 | |
| Cass County Treasurer | $9,358.00 | Scheels Home & Hardware | $27.99 | |
| Cass County Electric | $455.26 | Sensus Metering System | $1,320.00 | |
| Casselton Lumber | $597.01 | John Siverson | $704.52 | |
| Casselton Library | $5,000.00 | SRV Inc | $161.00 | |
| Cass Rural Water | $27,849.28 | Sturdevant's | $170.26 | |
| City of Fargo | $2,895.40 | Julie Tamble | $100.00 | |
| Casselton Cold Storage | $800.00 | Titan Access Account | $478.50 | |
| Dakota Tire Service | $355.59 | US Bearings | $143.88 | |
| Renee Didier | $100.00 | USPS | $222.00 | |
| arl's Repair | $10.40 | Verizon Wireless | $108.44 | |
| Ferrell Gas | $3,696.00 | Wangler Foods | $10.39 | |
| Fargo Freight Liner | $113.81 | American Welding | $6.60 | |
| Governors' Inn | $237.00 | City of West Fargo | $140.00 | |
| Hardware Hank | $215.40 | Cass County Sheriff | $300.00 | |
| Hawkins Chemical | $903.69 | ND State Plumbing Board | $25.00 | |
| Ignus Technologies | $80.00 | Bremer Bank | $4,867.05 | |
| Innovis Health | $22.00 | UBS | $1,190.65 | |
| IDT | $30.75 | USPS | $286.85 | |
| Johnson Pest Control | $110.00 | ND Disbursing | $427.38 | |
| ND League of Cities | $65.00 | Casselton Community Network | $105.55 | |
| Lightowler Johnson | $8,195.25 | PC Anywhere | $19.95 | |
| Moore Engineering Inc | $13,200.00 | Pizza Ranch | $7.25 | |
| Harbor Tools | $42.38 | Cool Beanz | $7.37 |
Anderson made a motion, seconded by Tillisch to approve and file the financial reports. General Fund $292,543.24; Special Revenue Funds $603,974.37; Debt Service Funds $53919.00; Construction Funds $75,346.89; Special Assessment Funds $933,952.90; Enterprise Funds $873,758.42; Trust and Agency Funds $130,495.94 for a total of $2,963,990.76.
Sergeant Nitschke from the Cass County Sheriff's Department reported on the recent vandalism in town. There are on going investigations in these incidents. He reported that they have discontinued the D.A.R.E. program as it has become antiquated, costly and takes a lot of time in the school schedule. He noted they are in the process of assigning Casselton a new officer as Deputy Joe Crawford has taken a school resource officer position. Nitschke was pleased with the Summerfest turnout and reported that it has been pretty quiet in town even with the extra people working at the ethanol plant.
John Siverson reported that he has been out spraying mosquitoes.
Only one bid from Kaufman Construction was received to fix the sidewalk at 411 Langer Avenue North. Tillisch made a motion, seconded by Sinner to hire Kaufman Construction to fix the sidewalk at 411 Langer Avenue as the original contractor in 2005 didn't complete the job to standard. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed.
David Habiger appeared before the Council with a few concerns about ordinance enforcement.
Rick Lane from SRF Consulting appeared at the request of the Council to discuss the process of establishing a whistle free zone in the City. He presented the history of laws and how they have changed. The rail road crossings are analyzed over a couple of indexes- Corridor Crossing Risk Index, Quite Zone Risk Index, Nationwide Significant Risk Threshold and Risk Index with Horns to evaluate the risk at crossings. There are measures the City can take to lower the crossing risk. The result from the analysis can determine if the City qualifies for a quiet zone. A whistle free zone process typically takes about 2 years. Lane thought that the cost to the City could potentially be around a million dollars. SRF Consulting will give a proposal by next Monday to take a look at the option during the budget meeting.
Public Works Supervisor reported that there is a dog boarding operation at 172 3rd Street North. The other complaint received concerning dog breeding is at 1002 1st Street North. Current City ordinance reads that dog owners must pay $5.00 per dog if they are selling dogs. These types of businesses likely fall under a home occupation use, so conditional use permits are not required. Neighbors can call the Sheriff's Department or fill out a complaint from at Municipal Court to complain about the unlicensed dogs, dogs at large, barking or other issues. Dog owners will then be cited into municipal court. If a concerned citizen calls a Councilman, it is not considered a formal court complaint.
Discussion moved to the requirements for a building permit and whether the function of a structure is considered when approving a building or moving permit.
Silbernagel made a motion, seconded by Sinner to instruct the City Attorney to draft an ordinance to prohibit the commercial boarding and breeding of any animals including dogs and cats within the City limits. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed.
Before the City adopts the ordinance, Council will invite input from the Wildlife club and others affected by this ordinance.
Mayor McConnell recommended appointing Moore Engineering as City Engineer. Councilman Silbernagel noted that he felt that the Council should do a second interview of the top two engineering firms selected before making a final decision. Mayor McConnell noted that he didn't see a huge benefit to change engineering firms. He based his decision on the Council's concerns of cost, lack of communication, cost to change engineering firms, and miss-communication and mistakes on recent developments. He felt that Moore Engineering knows the City system, but all the engineering firms that interviewed were good engineers. Moore Engineering is the City Engineer for many communities Casselton's size.
Other concerns raised by Councilmembers included providing maps, building permits and building inspections.
Councilman Wangler, who has been a mayor in another North Dakota community and noted that the majority of the communication with the City Engineers was with himself, and that it had been the Mayor's responsibility to pass information along to the Council.
Wangler made a motion, seconded by Anderson to approve the Mayor's recommendation of appointing Moore Engineering as City Engineer. Wangler, Sinner and Anderson voted aye with Silbernagel, Spooner, and Tillisch voting nay. Mayor McConnell voted aye breaking the 3-3 tie. Motion passed.
Anderson made a motion, seconded by Silbernagel approved the list presented to for records retention and disposal. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed. The City Auditor followed the State guidelines for retention and disposal. State archives have been contacted with the list and are not interested in any files for preservation.
Tillisch made a motion seconded by Silbernagel to instruct Public Works Supervisor Mayer and City Engineer Meyer to investigate the road near 911 1st Street North, as the homeowner has concerns with the lack of drainage. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed. Council will also discuss the Langer Avenue drainage problem areas at the next meting as well so to get a better price.
Tillisch made a motion, seconded by Sinner to approve a raffle permit for ND Farm Bureau Raffle Permit- ND Farm Bureau. All voted aye on roll call vote.
Public Works Supervisor Kevin Mayer reported that the Assistant Public Works position has been vacant since Larry Davis left. Mayer has evaluated his employees and has had several discussions; he feels that Gary Marier should fill the Assistant Public Works position. He recommended a raise for Gary resulting in a change in salary from $30,368.00 to $32,768.00 per year. When Gary becomes eligible he will be sent to schools for licenses. Sinner made a motion, seconded by Silbernagel to support the recommendation of Mayer to approve Gary Marier as Assistant Public Works Supervisor with salary change. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed,
Councilman Silbernagel noted that he would like to see a Capital Improvement Plan and would like to see to meeting with Moore Engineering to discuss. City Engineer Meyer noted that the maps of the recent improvement districts will be given to the city within 2 weeks in digital format.
The information concerning the cost of raising the dikes provided by Meyer. No action was taken.
Councilman Fred Wangler informed the Council of the Nuts and Bolts Seminar he attended with the League of Cities. He reported that they had many presentations from state agencies, and other officials. He noted that cities need to watch proposal 2 and 3 for voting in November as they could cause severe financial hardships on cities if they pass. He also reported that many cities are starting to do Capital Improvement Plans.
Regarding the lots just to the east of the cemetery in the Cottonwood Estates addition, there appears that the lot lines are very close to some head stones. Attorney Brad Burgum suggested that they add a covenant for those lots affected to have a 10 foot set back for fences.
The Governor's Park Committee requested a street Closing and Alcohol ban lift on August 27 for a fundraiser for park improvements in Governor's Park. Wangler made a motion, seconded by Sinner to approve the street closing and alcohol ban lift for August 27. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed.
Councilman Silbernagel presented information regarding the City Administrator position. He and the committee of Tom Sinner Jr. and Lynae Sims suggested a couple of options for funding the position. One option was to secure funding in 2009 budget, or the other possibility would be to secure funding in 2010 budget, but start the search now. Waiting until 2010 would allow for wider search period, and give the Council more time to look at the budget. They would like the City to use vehicles of advertizing that other communities have used. Lynae wanted to bring attention to the correspondence with other cities and individuals. Silbernagel noted that many communities and public entities are starting to do this. Sinner commended Lynae Sims on her dedication to this process. Anderson noted that there needs to be a lot of selling for this position for the community to support the idea. This will be revisited at the preliminary budget meeting.
Only one bid was received for the drain clean out from Jerry's Excavating for $3,500. This should cover about 2,000 feet. The Mayor recommended accepting Jerry's excavating. Sinner made a motion, seconded by Silbernagel to approve the bid of $3,500 by Jerry's Excavating. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed.
Swan Creek Diversion Project bid opening is for August 25, 2008. City Engineer Meyer explained the opportunity to obtain low interest financing with the State Revolving Fund. The City is not currently on the list, but should be after the board meets. Meyer foresees a timing issue as the SRF financing will not be in place right away. Therefore, the Water Resource board will use their funds first, then once the City's financing is in place, the City can draw its money. Moore Engineering is currently working on the SRF application and the Water Resource Board is working on a Joint Powers agreement which would cover the procedure for financing and the disposal of the extra dirt. Plans for the extra dirt were discussed. Council noted that adjoining property owners should be notified of the project. The Maple River Water Resource District should set the meetings as they are doing the project.
Sinner made a motion, seconded by Wangler to approve that the excess dirt from the Swan Creek Diversion Project on the east side of the Hwy 18 will be spoiled on the Cottonwood Estates Addition, some will also be reserved for city improvements, and the dirt from the west side of Hwy 18 dirt will be retained for future dike improvements and other projects. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed.
City Engineer Kyle Meyer presented bills to pay. The water main and sanitary sewer is completed in Improvement District #20 (Industrial Park). Storm Sewer and Roads will be done next. Tillisch made a motion, seconded by Silbernagel to approve Partial Payment #2 on Part 1 of Improvement District #20 to Opp Construction in the amount of $8,754.07 and to approve Partial Payment #1 on Part 2 of Improvement District #20 to Opp Construction in the amount of $148,924.57. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed. Wangler made a motion, seconded by Sinner to approve a Moore Engineering bill in the amount of $13,200 for work completed on Improvement District #20. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed. Meyer noted that the project has been going well.
Meyer recommended keeping retainage at 10% for Improvement District #19 (Cottonwood Estates) as the mowing has not been completed. Anderson made a motion, seconded by Silbernagel wait to see if mowing was completed and reconsider the bills at the August 11 meeting. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion passed.
Mayor McConnell reviewed the completed lists of 5 things to improve the City. City Auditor Pyle will put them into a spreadsheet.
Motion to Adjourn.
Brandy L. Pyle
City Auditor