WALKER CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
WALKER FIRE HALL MEETING ROOM
MONDAY, OCTOBER 3RD, 2016
CALL TO ORDER –Mayor Shaw
Ø Mayor Jed Shaw called the regular scheduled meeting to order at 6:00p.m.
Ø Pledge of Allegiance
· Council members present: Haefele, McMurrin, Senenfelder, Shaw and Wilkening
· Council members absent:
· Others present during portions of the meeting included:
Terri Bjorklund, City Administrator John Valen, City Attorney
Pamela Smith, City Employee Wayne Tennis, Chief of Police
Travis Baker, Police Neil Lange, Public Works
Cindy Wannarka, Chamber Dean Morrill, Pilot Independent
Otto Ringle, Art-in-the-Garden Arin Grinde, Self
Adam Anderson, Self Kristen Holly,FOP
Erica Frizzell, FOP Shannon Pfeiffer, FOP
Theresa Bilben, Self
CONSENT AGENDA-Mayor Shaw
M/S McMurrin/Haefele to approve the Consent Agenda Items 1 thru 11 as follows, waving the reading.
1. Approve Walker City Council regular minutes of September 12th, 2016.
2. Review and file draft of Walker Library Board Meeting Minutes of September 21st, 2016.
3. Review and file draft of Walker Park Advisory Board minutes of September 27th, 2016.
4. Review and file Friends of the Park Meeting minutes of September 2016.
5. Review and file draft Walker Planning Commissions/Board of Adjustments regular meeting minutes of September 26th, 2016.
6. Review and file August Zoning Administrator report.
7. Review and file Walker Police Department Monthly Report.
8. Review and file Public Works Committee minutes of September 28th, 2016.
9. Approve Cash Balance Report as of August 31st, 2016.
10. Review and file Thank You letter from the Leech Lake Chamber of Commerce regarding Ethnic Fest.
11. Approve request from the Accounting Department to transfer funds in the amount of $107,000 out of the Liquor Store Checking Account to the following accounts as approved at the September 12th, 2016 Council Meeting:
· General checking fund 101 checking- $59,175 for 2017 levy reduction
· Park Capital Projects fund 502 checking- $22,400 for park capital projects
· Trail Maintenance fund 503 checking- $10,700
· General fund 101checking- $12,925 for budgeted dues and donations
· General fund 101checking- $1,800 for rock garden labor
Motion passed (5-0)
SCHEDULED CITIZEN PRESENTATIONS –Mayor Shaw
Ø Otto Ringle-Circle of Time & Lakes North Chorale
Ringle states that he is here also representing Art-in-the Garden. He speaks of the success of the Aug Art-in-the-Garden event-25 and urges the council to grant approval of weekly basis Rock Garden use. He also states that in order to apply for a grant he needs a letter of support from the City granting permission for the events in 2017.
CITY STAFF COMMENTS – Administrator Terri Bjorklund
None.
PERSONNEL, BUDGET & ADMINISTRATION – Councilmember Senenfelder
1. M/S Senenfelder/Wilkening to approve of Claim #52879 to Claim #52978 including Voided Check Numbers 52909 and 52910 and bank drafts in the amount of $1,431,253.89.
Motion passed (5-0)
2. M/S Senenfelder/McMurrin to approve of Resolution 42-2016, a resolution certifying past due Walker Water Works account to the 2017 tax roll.
Roll Call: Ayes: Haefele, McMurrin, Senenfelder, Shaw, Wilkening Nays: None
Motion passed (5-0)
3. M/S Senenfelder/Wilkening to approve of Resolution 43-2016, a resolution accepting donations made to the City of Walker thru fiscal year 2016.
Roll Call: Ayes: Haefele, McMurrin, Senenfelder, Shaw, Wilkening Nays: None
Motion passed (5-0)
4. M/S Senenfelder/McMurrin to approve to pay Invoice No. 60128 from Ulteig in the amount of $123,924.16 for professional services through August 31, 2016 for the 2016 Southside Street and Utility Improvements.
Motion passed (5-0)
5. M/S Senenfelder/McMurrin to approve of to pay R.L. Larson Excavating, Inc. $446,264.35 for partial payment No. 5 for project No. R15.00604 dated September 24th, 2016 for the 2016 Southside Area and 5th Street North Utility and Street Improvements.
Motion passed (5-0)
6. M/S Senenfelder/Wilkening to approve to send up to seven staff members and all City Council members that wish to attend the guest speaker presentation on Networking and Development at the Northern Lights Casino on Thursday October 27th, 2016; please RSVP to Terri Bjorklund by October 3, 2016.
Motion passed (5-0)
7. M/S Senenfelder/Wilkening to approve of the request to send Officer Baker to a Towards Zero Deaths Conference in Duluth November 16th-17th, 2016 at a cost of mileage, meals and wages. (The room has to be paid for but will be covered by the grant after reimbursement.)
Motion passed (5-0)
8. M/S Senenfelder/McMurrin to approve of Resolution 44-2016 to call for a Public Hearing on October 20th at 5:00 p.m. to consider FOG Firearms Minnesota Investment Fund application request.
Roll Call: Ayes: Haefele, McMurrin, Senenfelder, Shaw, Wilkening Nays: None
Motion passed (5-0)
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/LIQUOR STORE & AIRPORT –Councilmember McMurrin
1. M/S McMurrin/Wilkening to approve of Walker Planning Commission/Board of Adjustments regular and public hearing minutes of August 29th, 2016.
Motion passed (5-0)
LIBRARY, PARKS– Councilmember Haefele
1. M/S Haefele/Senenfelder to approve of the Walker Park Advisory Board meeting minutes of August 23rd, 2016.
Motion passed (5-0)
2. M/S Haefele/Wilkening to approve of hydro-seeding proposal from Sunshine Lawn to donate the area around the playground.
Bjorklund noted that donations of hydro-seeding were received by Sunshine Lawn, another person donated the black dirt and the staff leveled it all. Once the Park Advisory Board does more work to develop a plan of exactly what they are going to do around that area then we will come back with prices for the other areas. Wilkening clarified that we are accepting Sunshine’s ‘no-charge’ quote at this time.
Motion passed (5-0)
3. Discussion/action on request of The Circle of Time and the Lakes North Chorale, working together using the Walker Area Foundation as their fiscal agent, have permission to use the public space adjacent to the Walker City Rock Garden on a weekly basis and on specific dates yet to be determinedduring the summer months of 2017.
Wilkening stated that approving this does not mean that we are approving the size of the pavilion in the picture they included which is 20x16. It has doubled in size.
Senenfelder adds that there is a draft letter included in the Council packets that Otto would like permission to have signed in order to apply for a grant.
M/S McMurrin/Senenfelder to approve the Mayors signature on the letter of support for the Circle of Time and Lakes North Chorale so they may apply for grant funding for the purpose of supporting musical entertainment and promoting public art for the year of 2017.
Motion passed (5-0)
4. Discussion/action approval of the recommendation of the Park Advisory Board to form a Walker Culture Commission.
Wilkening-there isn’t a group other than a Park Board. I don’t know if you want to include all that under Park Board. He questioned Valen if anything would prohibit it as far as Statutes.
Valen-If you are speaking of an advisory group that you don’t delegate anything to then there is nothing that would prohibit this.
Senenfelder stated the way he understood this, it would act the same way Friends of the Park did; as an advisory committee to the Park Board.
Otto notes that this would be similar to the Airport Commission. It would be a commission of representatives that have to do with art, music and history and it would be chaired by a member of your Council.
Shaw believes this doesn’t have to be any more of a committee than the Friends of the Park are to the City. Noting that they have proven to be very effective in fundraising and get some other projects done.
Haefele clarified what Otto was speaking of; that the Friends of the Park could dissolve if they wanted to, there is nothing keeping it in place except the people that are there. If you form a Board it continually puts the City in a position to grow the arts in our community.
Bjorklund question the Board if they could look into this and develop for when we do Council assignments in January.
Senenfelder suggested looking up Park Rapid’s web page to see what they have done with their committee on the community arts program.
5. M/S Haefele/Wilkening Park application request for Immanuel Lutheran School to host a Color Dash on June 27th, 2017 at the City Park and for all 2017 Park Use applications to not issue the Permit until January 2017; once a fee schedule is in place.
Bjorklund clarified that the Park Board would hold all 2017 applications, and not approve or disapprove of any of them until we decide on a fee schedule.
Haefele questioned if the applicant needed the approval before for planning purposes this could conflict with that.
Wilkening indicated that the Council would be approving the application, just not issuing the permit until a fee schedule is in place for 2017 for Park Use fees.
Motion passed (5-0)
6. Library Board is requesting an update on the Ordinance pertaining to Libraries.
Valen explained his rough draft. The basic problem with our current Ordinance is that it was written prior to becoming part of the Regional Library System. As you can read in the last section it states that you can join the Regional Library System. And we have joined the Library System. The biggest impact that that has is on Subdivision E. of 94.02 of our current Ordinance. There is a long paragraph of what the Library Board duties are and virtually all of that have been superseded due to the fact that we are now part of the Regional Library System. The statute governing Regional Library Systems the money that we now send to the Region replaces the quote Library Fund that is talked about in subdivision E. That Library Fund has been replaced by the Regional Levy.
Haefele questioned how that addressed the Fund that the City has. Valen stated that it doesn’t.
Valen-In the last paragraph of what I have proposed, I indicated that the Council would continue to control the local Library Fund. That is not my decision that is your decision. If I understand this right, aside from the money that goes down to the Region we have several funds, one for donations and others are line items within the budget.
Bjorklund explained that the City has a Library Fund. Within that Fund is the monies that we’ve levied that we send to Kitchi to operate to the standard with which we do. Also within that same fund is the monies for the maintenance and upkeep of the building. We have another fund which is donated funds to the Library for programing. If it’s for books that goes directly to Kitchi, if it’s for the building then it goes into the building fund.
Bjorklund reminds the Board that currently she has the ability to expend up to $2,000. And that has not been an issue for the Library Board to say we are going to spend ‘so-much’ on this programing or ‘so-much’ on this programing. I haven’t run across a problem with that. So in-fact the Library Board does have control up to $2,000.
Haefele questioned what the Library Board does. Right now they want to get a Library built. They can’t make suggestions for building a Library and getting some planning done.
Senenfelder-Why can’t they make suggestions?
Haefele- Because of the Library Building Committee? There is a Library Building Committee and the Library Board. And they were told at one time that they didn’t need to worry about the building that would be up to the Library Building Committee. Haefele suggested that the Library Building Committee dissolve and the Library Board takes it over.
Shaw questioned if the Library Building Committee was an entity of the City.
Bjorklund-They are a Board. Annie is the Councilmember that sits on that Board.
Haefele stated that it seemed ridiculous to have that both boards. They both are trying to get to the same goal, but there is nothing going on. I am just trying to make it as easy as possible. We have people on the Library Board that are willing to do the leg work and want to get a Library built, but feel like they can’t get anywhere because of the Library Building Committee.
Shaw questioned if the Boards were at odds with each other.
Bjorklund explained that she believed the sticking point is that the Council deemed that we get a cost to shore-up the building at one location and a cost to do the foundation if we were to build in the spot we are now. We have been unable to finalize that due to the fact that the engineer that was looking into that is in the hospital unable to work. Chris Thorson was going to search within the company to find someone with the same skill-set that could take his place and finish that project.
Shaw reiterates what Haefele was explaining. She wants to streamline the process whereas right now we have two committees that potentially can be making suggestions on the building’s location and what we are going to do with the buildings, etc.
Haefele reminds the Council that one of those Boards is currently inactive. We have an active Library Board that is excited and willing to do the work right now.