January 14, 2026 Regular Council Meeting Minutes

Call to order:

The regular Randolph City Council meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by Mayor Marie Jacob

Roll Call:

Present were Mayor Marie Jacob, Council Members Randy Ferguson and Keith Sande, Treasurer Sandy Nicolai and Clerk Mary Haro.

Council Member Tony Price was absent.

Approval of Agenda:

Motion to approve the agenda was made by Jacob and seconded by Ferguson.

All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.

Public Comments:

Luke Dubbels asked about assistance with paying for his repairs when the valve broke at his residence in December. The pipe that was repaired previously broke again. He checked with the plumber that installed the valve and they only warranty the work for 12 months and this happened 12 months and 27 days later. They also went to the valve company and they indicated it was not their valve. McNamara originally pulled the pipe out of the wall and hired a plumbing company to fix it. McNamara blamed the plumbing company and the plumbing company put the blame on the valve company. The valve cracked right after the meter. Luke indicated that they did not replace the valve as they just used the same valve that was there before. Matt indicated that he will look into it. Luke asked if we have a parking ordinance during the winter months. We indicated there is no official ordinance to tow if they park on the street if it snows. He noted almost every other city has an ordinance regarding no parking when it snows during certain hours. We will look at this as we have other ordinances that we need to review.

Prior Meeting Minutes

A motion to approve the December 10, 2025 regular council meeting minutes was made by Ferguson, seconded by Sande.

All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.

Treasurer's Report and Payment of Bills:

On the list of payments, we need to remove the $320 check to Marie from the claims as Sandy thought she was reimbursing her but realized she used the credit card for the purchase of the television. We need to add Metro Sales for $75.64 for our copy machine. Also there was a check for $5,000 that was a donation from the Ferguson Foundation that we transferred and made payable to the Randolph Hampton Fire Department. Also Clerk Haro noted that the $522 check to Bolton & Menk should be scratched and that invoice was voided. Motion to approve the payment of bills was made by Jacob, seconded by Ferguson. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.

Old Business

Pete Schaeffer – Permit Fee

Clerk Haro checked with Mark our building inspector and he indicated that the fees are correct. Mayor Jacob indicated she looked through our ordinances and noted it does not specify a fee for each building and she agrees that there are some items that need to be reviewed. She noted to him that he started this project without a permit and if he would have gotten the permit prior to the work being done none of this would be an issue. He indicated that he did not redeck the house so he should not have to pay that as well as the penalty. We indicated that he told us that he did do some redecking and he did indicate a few sheets. He indicated that it indicates in our fee schedule that work between $0 and $500 is a $29 permit. Pete does not believe the invoice is correct. It seems there are a few different things happening here – one is that the ordinance itself is not as clear as it should be so we should look at that so it is clear and besides the wording of the ordinance is sounds like you have a problem with the redecking as you indicated that you did not do that. Everyone has been charged a fee per structure for permits. When Mark showed up the roof was done, so he wants to know how he can charge for redecking. We will table this until next month and ask Mark our building inspector to attend the meeting.

New Business

Deputy

A Deputy stopped in before our meeting and noted that there have been cars being broken into so a reminder to lock your doors.

Jessica Willems – Lot Split

Jessica Willems indicated she wanted to purchase a small piece of property from the Ferguson due to a fence issue. A previous owner put up a fence on the property without getting a survey. They found it out from Dakota County when they were out surveying that the fence was not on their property. It was noted that the property owner needs to either move the fence to their property line or Ferguson’s need to sell them some property so that the fence will be on their property.

Motion to approve Resolution 26-01 Approving the Property Split of Dakota County Parcel Identification No. 32-00700-75-010 in Randolph, Minnesota was made by Mayor Jacob, 2 seconded by Sande.

All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 3:0.

Council member Ferguson abstained from the vote.

Chris Opelt – Fire Department

Chris Opelt attended the meeting and mentioned that Chief Whitson officially retired on December 31, 2025 after 31 years on the department. Chris was voted in as the new Fire Chief in December and Jake Toledo will be the First Assistant Chief and Tom Gergen the Second Assistant Chief. They have 4 applicants for the captain/lieutenant positions. They want to work closer with the city on the JPA and approving their budget. They will also be working on a strategic capital plan for a 3 year, 5 year and a 10 year plan. They ask that we assist in that. Last year they went over a little bit on their budget of $170,000, however, they kept it at $170,000 but that meant that they usually take 20% and put it in a new truck fund but they were only able to apply $8,900 to the fund. Chris handed out the budget for 2026. There was an increase in the contract to all the cities and townships. They are planning to purchase 5 or 6 sets of turn out gear for new members and a new air monitor for station 2 which are some of the big ticket items for next year. They plan to come back in July to work on the budget for 2027 and then back again in November for approval of the budget. They want to work closer with the cities and let us know what is happening with the department. They did install cameras in the hall and they have a data surveillance policy which they gave us a copy. The Fire Chief will be the point of contact for any inquiries and their data retention is 30 days. They will be handing out calendars over the next several weeks so you will see the firemen out in the community. It was asked if someone was appointed to lower and raise the flag. Mayor Jacob will ask her husband, Larry, if he would be interested to do it.

Mike Slavik, Dakota County Commissioner

Clerk Haro asked about when the county plows their county road are they in charge of making sure the storm drains are open. Mike indicated that they usually use steamers in March to make sure they are open – usually when the thaw starts to happen. He indicated they may have to come up with a different way of doing things. He indicated that in Hastings they have people adopt a storm drain. They sign up and commit to being responsible to make sure the storm drains are open and the fire hydrants are accessible. He indicated that if it was really bad we could contact the county and they would send someone out. It was asked about the speed limit through the city. Mike discussed that they are working on the speed limit for the school zone. Since they have a school resource officer they can get it lowered when school is in session since law enforcement is a requirement. They hope to have this in place by the start of school year 2026-2027. Mike discussed the open house for Lake Byllesby improvements that was held at City Hall on January 7th. It was very well attended. Dakota County was granted lottery money and 3 they plan to do some restorations on the west end which includes a look out which they hope to start the work in the Fall. Mike noted that at the county level they are feeling pressure by the state and federal levels on shifts and mandates which are hitting the counties more than they are hitting the cities and local governments such as social services that were currently paid for by the state and federal government. One item that is required for food stamps or subsidized healthcare is that you either have to work or volunteer which was put into federal law but who has to verify it is the county. For healthcare it must be verified every six months. They must hire 70 new employees to do that. He indicated he will try to come more often. They are going to start on their budget next month.

Appointment of Committees

Acting Mayor – Randy Ferguson

Parks - Clerk Mary Haro, Mayor Marie Jacob and Council Member Randy Ferguson

Sidewalks - Council members Tony Price and Keith Sande

Streets – Council members Tony Price and Keith Sande

Wellhead –Clerk Mary Haro and council member Tony Price

Civil Defense – Keith Sande

Building Inspector – Mark Ceminsky, Beaver Creek Companies

City Attorney – Kennedy & Graven – Greta Bjerkness

Prosecution Firm for City – Campbell Knutson

City Engineer - Bolton & Menk

Official Bank - Merchants Bank

Official Newspaper - Cannon Falls Beacon

Insurance - Northfield Insurance

Motion to approve the list of appointment of committees was made by Clerk Haro, seconded by Jacob.

All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.

Sewer Project

Matt, Tony and Keith and a few other Bolton & Menk personnel had a meeting with NGE regarding the delay claim. NGE asked them to check in with MNDOT because of the funding of the project. MNDOT agreed where we were regarding the entitlement of the contract. Then they had another discussion with NGE regarding the update with MN DOT. NGE indicated they need to talk with their attorney and see what their next steps are. They have not heard back from them. Matt is asking for a schedule for this year and noted they still are under a contract.

Council Member Reports

Randy talked about the recent open house for the changes that Dakota County is planning around Lake Byllesby. They indicated there are 3 areas – (1) is the old Knox farm which will have a look out built and (2) is the Wachendorf area they plan to put some picnic tables 4 back there and (3) at the end of Dixie where the old railroad line was, they plan to put some rails up for a fishing area.

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Ferguson, seconded by Sande, the meeting was adjourned at 8:17 p.m. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.

Respectfully submitted, Mary Haro