REGULAR MEETING 7:00 PM
CITY OF CASSELTON
Monday, October 5, 2009
Council Chambers
Present: Mayor McConnell, Councilmen Anderson, Spooner, Sinner and Tillisch, Wangler arrived at 7:30pm.
Not Present: Silbernagel
Also Present: City Attorney Brad Burgum, Public Works Supervisor Kevin Mayer, City Engineers Kyle Meyer & Brandon Oye, Cass County Sheriff Deputy Arth, City Auditor Brandy Pyle, Administrative Assistant Denise Roster.
Audience Members: Diane Sporell, Gary Sporell, Ralph Nelson and Amanda Gades.
Anderson made a motion seconded by Sinner to approve the minutes of September 8 and 21; City Attorney's Report, Police Report, Municipal Judge's Report, and the delinquent utilities list. All voted aye on roll call; motion carried.
Sinner made a motion, seconded by Tillisch to approve the following bills, refunds and salaries for the month of October. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried.
| Action Truck & Trailer Repair | $1,282.50 | Holth Sand & Grave | $3,640.00 | |
| AFLAC | $144.62 | JOB AUTHORITY | $276.03 | |
| AMERIPRIDE | $1,065.24 | JOHNSON PEST CONTR | $55.00 | |
| AVESIS VISION | $78.70 | MAPLE RIVER WATER | $568,798.42 | |
| US BEARINGS AND DR | $322.38 | Medica | $2,856.57 | |
| Bruan Intertec | $165.00 | ND STATE TAX DEPT. | $1,282.57 | |
| BROKERS NATIONAL A | $397.90 | NORTHERN IMPROVEME | $110,654.25 | |
| BURGUM LAW FIRM | $2,315.52 | ND DEPARTMENT OF C | $750.30 | |
| CASS COUNTY REPORT | $443.57 | Ok Tires | $508.12 | |
| CASS COUNTY TREASU | $9,732.34 | ND ONE CALL, INC | $52.00 | |
| CASS COUNTY ELECTR | $396.89 | OTTER TAIL POWER | $3,523.67 | |
| CASS RURAL WATER U | $31,885.18 | Petro Serve USA | $1,349.26 | |
| CITY OF FARGO | $2,923.90 | POWERPLAN | $988.64 | |
| FARM PLAN | $32.95 | SECRETARY OF STATE | $36.00 | |
| Farmers Union | $50.00 | SRF Consulting Gro | $217.38 | |
| CASSELTON FIRE DEP | $4,231.00 | S & S LANDSCAPING | $466.66 | |
| Frontier Precision | $5,273.20 | STARION BOND SERVI | $84,691.00 | |
| FIRST STATE BANK | $16,000.00 | STURDEVANT'S INC | $368.62 | |
| SHEYENNE GARDENS | $161.00 | TEAM LABORATORY | $1,640.00 | |
| COTTONWOOD GOLF CL | $5,000.00 | VERIZON WIRELESS | $298.78 | |
| HARDWARE HANK | $534.35 | CITY OF WEST FARGO | $140.00 | |
| Haugen Cleaning Se | $378.75 | Wisnewski Tree | $1,000.00 | |
| HAWKINS CHEMICAL I | $909.85 | XCEL | $58.73 |
Anderson made a motion, seconded by Sinner to approve the financial reports for September. General fund $284,791.82; Special Revenue Fund $356,865.78; Debt Service Fund $186,214.13; Construction Funds $751,718.48; Special Assessments $402,799.72; Enterprise Funds $896,885.17; Trust and Agency Fund $13,407.89; total $2,892,682.99. All voted aye upon roll call vote; motion carried.
City Engineers Kyle Meyer and Brandon Oye updated the Council with a completion date for the Swan Creek Diversion as of November 1, 2009. Meyer also noted the warranty covers work completed up to one year from the completion date.
Cass County Deputy Jeff Arth reported that reserve deputies were in Casselton last weekend. The purpose of the extra patrol was to help with the ongoing vandalism issues. He explained it is hard to measure success of extra deputies, he felt the word of mouth amongst youth spread fast.
Ralph Nelson appeared before the Council to discuss the water drainage issue at the Cottonwood Golf Course. City Engineer Brandon Oye stated by adding an 18-inch wide and 130 ft long drainpipe that would empty into the Swan Creek Diversion, would alleviate the water issue. The cost of the drainpipe is estimated to be between $7,500 and $8,000. Discussion followed regarding how much the City should provide. Mayor McConnell suggested $5,000 out of the sales tax revenue; Sinner stated he was in agreement with the dollar amount.
Sinner made a motion, seconded by Anderson to approve a payment of $5,000 out of sales tax fund to Cottonwood Golf Course. All voted aye upon roll call vote; motion carried.
One bid was received for snow removal for the City property from Holt Landscaping Construction at $73.50 per time. Sinner made a motion seconded by Tillisch to approve the Holt Landscaping Construction snow removal bid of $73.50 per occurrence.
All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried.
The discussion moved to lawn mowing and landfill charges. The property owners did not appear before the Council to dispute the assessments. Lawn mowing assessments for the following properties:
Anderson made a motion to approve a resolution, seconded by Sinner to assess the charges to the following properties for unpaid lawn mowing charges:
* 351 9th Ave N in the amount of $525.00
* 744 4th St S in the amount of $862.02
* 221 9th Ave N in the amount of $222.50
All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried.
Tillisch made a motion seconded by Spooner to approve a raffle permit for Dollars for Scholars. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried.
Anderson made a motion seconded by Spooner to approve the following sales tax grant requests:
* $75,000.00 for updates to city hall
* $5,000 for technology upgrades for the Library
and to deny the request of $5,000.00 for assistance in moving the bookshelves out of the Library during the re-carpeting. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried. It was explained the request for $5,000.00 for the movers would be included in the city hall update request.
Sinner made a motion, seconded by Tillisch to appoint Paul Roster, Dan Weber and Jaci Sullivan to a two-year term on the sales tax committee. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried.
Tillisch made a motion seconded by Wangler to appoint Rachel Hofstrand and Brandy Pyle to a five-year term on the Tourism Committee. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried.
Wangler made a motion seconded by Tillisch to appoint Sheila Christianson to the Library Board to fill the remaining term of Ann Eveslage's. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried.
Tillisch made a motion seconded by Spooner to appoint Michele Rieniets to a four-year term on the Cemetery board. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried.
Discussion moved to the potential water retention pond. City Engineer Kyle Meyer noted he is still putting together cost estimates for a gravity fed versus a pump water retention pond. More information will be presented at the next City Council meeting.
Mayor McConnell requested Meyer to create a cost estimate to change the culvert through the overpass. Mayor McConnell noted the culvert was backwards.
Public Works Supervisor Kevin Mayer noted an inspection should be done on the old water tower in town to bring it into compliance with OSHA safety regulations. The safety inspection fee would be approximately $3,500.00. Mayer also noted the City intends to drain the water tower for the coming winter within the next few weeks.
Discussion moved to the Safe Routes to School Project. The City has been approved for a $150,000.00 grant. The estimated cost of the project of improvements to the sidewalks could be up to $450,000.00. City Engineer Kyle Meyer noted that the City would not be able change the scope of the project or it could lose a portion of the grant of $150,000.00. Meyer noted the City would need to approve a design specification and submit the design to the Department of Transportation for approval before construction begins. The Council would like to put the project out for bid in early 2010.
City Engineer Kyle Meyer noted one of sub-contractors for Improvement District #19 had not been paid. He noted that the work had been done but the general contractor had forgotten to include the amount in the final pay request. Meyer requested sub-contractor HDQ Landscaping be paid $7,500.00 for seeding work completed from the remaining funds in the project account. Spooner made a motion seconded by Anderson to approve payment of $7,500.00 to HDQ Landscaping contingent upon receiving a bill. All voted aye on roll call vote; motion carried.
Anderson noted he has received a complaint from a neighbor of 744 4th Street South regarding the uninhabitable state of the property. City Attorney Burgum noted for condemnation proceedings to occur, the City must first receive a condemnation letter by the Health Department or a building inspector before the process can begin. Burgum noted process would take several months. Public Works Supervisor Kevin Mayer will talk to Mark Housh at Moore Engineering regarding inspection of the property. The house has been vacant for almost two years and appears to have been abandoned. Auditor Pyle noted there are back taxes owing on the property.
Motion to Adjourn.
Denise L. Roster
Casselton Administrative Assistant