Hector City Council Minutes
September 9th, 2013 – 7 PM
Hector Community Center
Present: Mayor Pro-Temp Janet Olson, Council Members Greg Radermacher, Chuck Gentry, Ralph Bergsma, Janet Olson. Absent: Steven Squibb
Also Present: Hugh Veit – Moore Engineering, Justin Kroeger – Flexible Benefit Administration, Marty Lawson, Brett Johnson, Larry Juhl
City Staff – Karen Neuman, Jerome Schueller, Patrick Callahan, Ken Rodmyre & Steph Whalen
The meeting was called to order at 7 PM by Mayor Janet Olson, followed by the pledge of allegiance. . Motion was made by Ralph to accept the agenda, seconded by Chuck – All voted for, none voted against – motion carried.
Chuck motioned to approve the consent agenda items as presented, Ralph seconded. All voted for, none voted against – Motion carried.
Mr. Hugh Veit took the floor at that time to discuss the on-going projects:
1) Hugh presented information regarding the Phase II part of the WasteWater Treatment project, including a request for approval of the Right Of Way (ROW) plan. Motion was made by Ralph to accept the ROW plan as presented, seconded by Chuck. All voted for, none voted against – Motion carried.
2) Hugh presented a request for payment regarding their services on the Phase II project work. Chuck motioned to approve the payment request as presented, seconded by Ralph. All voted for, none voted against – Motion Carried.
Mr. Justin Kroeger took the floor to review the cities employee health insurance policies and to request direction on how to proceed with the upcoming renewal period.
Ordinance 74 was presented for its second reading, however was tabled as a copy of the ordinance as a whole was not available. The ordinance covers the licensing and control of golf carts within the city limits.
Ambulance
Janet presented an update on the request for training reimbursement dollars from the EMS Regulatory Board. At this time, all of the paperwork for past years has been submitted, and should be reimbursed as the EMSRB completes the entry process for each year. There was discussion around the flow of this money, and designation of that money for ambulance usage including possible purchase of a chest compression device.
Police
Pat presented his monthly report and updated on the Trailer Court Issues
Public Works
The Public Works report was available to council for review, no major issues were noted. The discussion around any plan for a sewer & water rate analysis was tabled. Council requested an addition to the October agenda to review Comp Time.
Administration
1) The Police Forfeiture fund has in the past been handled and reported through the city’s general fund process; however the dollars collected through this are subject to a significant number of rules around what they can be used for. AEM has recommended creation of separate fund for this to ensure all rules are met. – Motion made by Chuck, Seconded by Ralph – All voted for, None Voted against – Motion Carried
2) The Pool Fund has for some time been handled as its own separate fund requiring yearly action by the council to transfer general fund dollars to the Pool fund in order to balance its actual spending. As this isn’t serving a specific purpose, it’s been recommended that we consolidate this to the General Fund. Motion made by Ralph, seconded by Chuck – All voted for, none voted against – Motion Carried.
3) Based on a review of the budget, the council has decided to set the preliminary levy at 3% (approximately $18,000), and so Resolution 13-33 is presented for approval. At this point, the levy amount can only go down from this amount, it cannot be raised. Motion by Chuck, seconded by Ralph; All voted for, none voted against – Motion Carried.
4) The Truth In Taxation hearing, after speaking with AEM and the City Attorney has been determined to no longer be a required ‘special meeting’, and can instead be conducted during a regular council meeting. Based on this, the Council has set the Truth in Taxation hearing for December 9th @ 7PM at the Community Center. Motion by Ralph, Second by Chuck; All Voted For, None voted against – Motion Carried
5) Budget meeting dates available were Sept 19th & Sept 26th (which ever worked for the group)
Ralph motioned to adjourn at approximately 8:30 PM, Chuck seconded. All voted for, none voted against – Motion carried
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Steven R. Squibb, Mayor