Call to order:
The regular Randolph City Council meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Robert Appelgren.
Roll Call:
Present:
Mayor Robert Appelgren
Council Members Jacob Friedrich, and Todd D Carlock Present. Sarah Podritz Absent.
Treasurer Sandy Nicolai and Clerk Mary Haro
Public Comments:
A person asked what the ordinance was for having chickens in town. He indicated his daughter lives in Randolph and has been having problems with chickens roaming around her deck and making a mess. They do have a pen for them but they let them out of it. It was noted that they have roosters which are not allowed. Clerk Haro will send a letter to them with a copy of our ordinance and the license to complete. We have received several complaints about the chickens.
Prior Meeting Minutes
A motion to approve the June 8, 2022 regular council meeting minutes was made by Friedrich, seconded by Carlock. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.
Treasurer's Report
Sandy indicated she needed to add a few vendors to the list of claims and they are (1) Cannon Computer for $85.00; (2) Xcel Energy for $852.51; and two for the Randolph/Hampton Fire Department which are (3) Workers Compensation insurance for $4,222.00 and (4) the property casualty coverage for $2,295.50, for a total of $7455.01.
She also indicated she has been communicating with Castle Rock Bank and Ehlers regarding the payment due on the bond for the water tower repairs. The payment of $4,603.46 is due August 1st. She doesn’t know who the check gets made payable to. Castle Rock Bank is checking into it and will get back to us. We will include the payment with the bills. Once she is notified who the check is payable to, she will then prepare a check to be signed and sent.
There is a CD in the amount of $20,628.02 that matures on July 8th. Sandy will check if it automatically rolls over and what the interest rate is.
A motion to approve the Treasurer's Report was made by Friedrich, seconded by Appelgren. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.
Approval to Pay Bills
Motion to approve the payment of bills was made by Friedrich, including the payments to (1) Cannon Computer for $85.00; (2) Xcel Energy for $852.51; and two for the Randolph/Hampton Fire Department (3) Workers Compensation insurance for $4,222.00 and (4) the property casualty coverage for $2,295.50 for a total of $7455.01 and the payment of $4,603.46 for the bond payment when she is notified who the check is payable to, and seconded by Carlock. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.
Old Business
Mowing Contract
We received three bids from individuals for mowing the city properties: (1) Nick Sullivan for $800/month, (2) Delton Kolb for $250/week and (3) Tim Popp for $1250/month. Keith Sande is also interested but he did not submit a bid. Jake asked if he could mow it. He would have to do it at an hourly rate and also we might have to pay PERA for him if it goes over a certain amount. Otte Excavating will mow inside the fence once a month for approximately $300 a month.
Motion made by Appelgren to approve Nick Sullivan to mow the city properties, except the property inside the fence, for the remainder of this year at $800 a month, with proof of insurance, and that he trims every other time, seconded by Friedrich. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.
Carlock would like to get something in writing regarding mowing inside the fence.
New Business
Dakota County Deputy
Officer Jim O’Meara and a new deputy Ryan who came from Hennepin County came to our meeting. They noted they were in town checking on some properties. They discussed some thefts that have been occurring in Rosemount. They go around and check doors and when they find them unlocked, they go in and grab what they can and get out. If they grab keys they may come back later. They reminded us to lock our doors. We asked them to stop by a residence to discuss the chickens they have on their property due to several complaints of not following our ordinance. They said they will stop and discuss it with the homeowner.
Lot Split for Podritz/Duscher
When we passed the last resolution for the lot split between Podritz and Duscher, we did not have good exhibits with the resolution so our legal counsel, Korine, amended it by adding the exhibits to the resolution for the purchase of land.
Motion by Haro to approve Resolution no. 22-06 amending Resolution No. 21-16 approving the property splits for Parcel ID 32-00700-20-022, seconded by Friedrich. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.
Arbitrage Services Contract
Clerk Haro was contacted by Ehlers regarding arbitrage services that need to be done with the Internal Revenue Service regarding the bonds. Ehlers gave us a quote for the services. We need to check to see if our legal counsel handles this type of work. We will table this until next month and check with Korine regarding these services.
Resolution re Fee Acquisition for Sewer Project
Korine put together a resolution to begin the acquisition of the property we need for the stabilization ponds. Matt gave a summary of the project which included that it must be within 1-1/2 miles of city limits. They reached out to parties within that boundary to see if they were interested in selling the property for the ponds or to spray water on their fields. They did have an interest in the spraying of the fields but the cost of what they wanted done was too high. They reached out to the co-op who was an interested willing party but the land use for commercial was much higher than ag property and they could not reach an agreeable price. An appraisal needs to be done before they can approach any property owner. The appraiser will appraise the property and then will meet with the property owner to see if a settlement can be reached. If approved, they will then come in front of the council for approval. If it is not approved and condemnation if needed, this resolution approves them to move forward with that process. It was noted that the further away the land is, will require more piping and larger pumps. The property is zoned for agriculture and is near a road so access will be easier to get to the ponds. We would need to get a conditional use permit from Randolph Township. We could also annex it into the city but that is not a must have. We can put the ponds on the property as well as do the spray irrigation on the land. It was asked if there would be some agriculture land use left and available to use for agriculture purposes? There could be especially in the earlier years when not as much water needs to be distributed. When we own the land we control when the discharge will happen. He indicated that they would do a walk-through of the land with the MPCA staff to make sure they approve of it and don’t see any red flags.
It was noted that if we pay more than the appraised value, then we need to pay that extra amount out of our general fund and that amount will not come out of the bond. Matt indicated that is not necessarily true. We need to be in the same ballpark which leaves some flexibility with that number
Motion by Carlock to approve Resolution No. 22-07, seconded by Haro. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 4:0.
Recodification
Clerk Haro did receive the book with the codes from the League of Minnesota Cities, however, she did not receive a flash drive or an email with the document so that we can make changes. She was informed that was an additional $35.00 which she purchased and sent to our legal counsel. Our legal counsel is working on updating the ordinances so this will be tabled until next month when Korine will be in attendance so we can discuss setting up meetings to work on the ordinances as a whole.
Access to City Properties
Sarah asked that we discuss who controls the city properties, water tower, city hall, pond, etc. She asked our legal counsel about this and she indicated that "we have 2 employees, the City Clerk and the Treasurer. It would make sense to have the City Clerk be in charge of these things, although we could also choose someone else on the Council. Whoever we choose, the Council should officially delegate that authority of control to a person. If it's the Clerk, then we may need to review her position description and add it to the list."
Sarah asked that she be involved in the discussion so we will table this until next month. It was noted that the combination lock should be replaced on the gate as the numbers are worn off and is having difficulty in opening. Bryce usually replaces the lock and Mayor Appelgren will contact him to do so.
Bolton & Menk Sewer Update
Matt noted that he will be bringing a Joint Powers Agreement with Dakota County regarding the County Road 88 project to next month's meeting.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Podritz, seconded by Appelgren, the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.