There were no public hearings, no bid lettings and no open forum.

Transcription

1 Jackson, Minnesota November 20, 2018 The Jackson City Council met in regular session in the Council Chambers of City Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 with the meeting called to order by Mayor Wayne Walter. On the roll call, the following persons were present: Mayor Wayne Walter, Aldermen Matt Madden, Larry Anderson, Ken Temple and Dave Cushman, City Administrator Matt Skaret, City Attorney Brad Anderson, Street Superintendent Phil Markman, Water/Waste Water Superintendent Tony Oxborough, Engineer Greg Mitchell of Bolton and Menk, Community and Business Development Specialist Thomas Nelson of Community and Economic Development Associates (CEDA), Jackson County Sheriff Shawn Haken, Jackson Fire Chief Mark Temple, Helen Mekosch, Shirley Miller, Sarah Anderson of Lutheran Social Services, Senior Dining Site Coordinator Brenda Bruse, Pastor Steve DeKok of the First Baptist Church in Jackson, Amy DeKok, Justin Lessman of the Jackson County Pilot and Dave Schmidt of KKOJ/KUXX Radio. (Aldermen Brandon Finck and Donnie Schoenrock were absent.) (A quorum of the City Council was present.) CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Wayne Walter called the regular meeting of the Jackson City Council to order. On the roll call, Mayor Walter noted all Council Members were present except for Aldermen Donnie Schoenrock and Brandon Finck. There were no public hearings, no bid lettings and no open forum. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Walter asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. TEMPLE/MADDEN moved and it was unanimously carried to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. There were no unscheduled guests who attended the meeting. 1

2 Council Discussion Items FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 96 PERTAINING TO THE TRIMMING AND MAINTAINING OF TREES AND SHRUBS SECTION 2 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF JACKSON, MINNESOTA City Administrator Matt Skaret said discussion was held at the November 5 th City Council meeting regarding the City s tree trimming policy that stemmed from a Street Committee meeting that was held in late October. Skaret explained through his research he found there was an ordinance regarding the trimming of trees and shrubs that was in an old City ordinance book. However, Skaret said that language did not get transferred over to the new ordinance book when it was updated in Skaret said he worked with City Attorney Brad Anderson to incorporate the language from the previous ordinance into the existing Code of Ordinances. He explained the ordinance basically requires property owners to trim and maintain their trees, bushes and shrubbery a minimum of 8 feet above the sidewalk and a minimum of 14 feet above the streets. Skaret further explained the ordinance is designed so no low hanging branches or shrubbery interfere with any street equipment or City equipment that s operating in the City s right-of-way. Skaret explained this was first consideration of the ordinance by the City Council. He said second consideration of the ordinance would be held at the Council s December 4 th meeting. ANDERSON/CUSHMAN moved and it was unanimously carried to approve first consideration of Ordinance No. 96 pertaining to the trimming and maintaining of trees and shrubs Section 2 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Jackson, Minnesota. DISCUSS PURCHASE OF NEW FIRE TRUCK Fire Chief Mark Temple explained when the Jackson Fire Department has a fire truck that s 20 years old; they replace it to maintain the City s ISO rating. He said they have a 1997 fire engine that s due to be replaced. 2

3 Temple said the Fire Department has been looking at replacing the 1997 fire truck with a new truck that s called a tanker/pumper that actually holds 3,000 gallons of water. He said the Fire Department s current fire engine holds 1,200 gallons of water. Temple said the pump and other items on the new truck would remain the same as they currently have. Temple said with the money the City has set aside along with the money the Fire Department currently has, there s a total of approximately $264,000 available to go towards the purchase of a new fire truck. He said a new fire truck is estimated to cost anywhere from $350,000 to $400,000. Temple said if the 1997 fire truck was replaced, it would then be sold for an estimated $25,000 to $30,000 with those proceeds also going towards the purchase of the new truck. Temple explained if the new truck was ordered right now, it would be a 13 month process for the truck to be built and delivered. He said it would be January or February of 2020 before the truck would actually be available. Temple said there is approximately $53,000 left to be paid off on the Fire Department s current three trucks. He said those trucks will be paid off in October of Skaret explained the Fire Department started with a $365,000 loan from the Electric Fund back in He said at the time, the Fire Department was behind in purchasing trucks and purchased three new trucks in one year. Skaret said the $365,000 loan has been paid off over the years with the franchise fees through Minnesota Energy Resources. He said the loan should be paid off by October of Temple said that about $264,000 will be available to go towards the purchase of the new fire truck. He noted a new truck will cost between $350,000 and $400,000. Temple also pointed out if the 1997 truck is sold, proceeds from that sale will also go towards purchase of the new truck also. Temple said that would leave approximately $100,000 to $136,000 to come from the City. He noted the price of the new truck may also come in less than $350,000 but that s unknown until they receive bids. Alderman Anderson asked if there was anything wrong with the 1997 truck. 3

4 Temple said there s nothing wrong with the current truck. However, Temple said as far as the ISO ratings go, every 20 years you either have to refurbish the whole truck from the ground up or otherwise purchase a new truck. Cushman asked Temple to talk about the third truck that will following the 1997 truck. Temple said the third truck is the one that s due after the 1997 truck and is due next year. He said he also spoke to the Finance Committee about the third truck that will be needed and may be three years down the road. Alderman Anderson asked Temple how many tanker-pumpers the Fire Department currently has. Temple said they don t have any. He said the Fire Department has currently three engines. Temple explained the Fire Department is looking at purchasing a tanker-pumper so if they fight a fire in the farming community they will have 3,000 gallons of water on it. He said then they also have two tankers that each holds 2,000 gallons of water a piece. Temple said the tanker-pumper holds everything the engine does. He noted the tanker-pumper is a big truck. Temple said the purchase of another truck down the road after replacing the 1997 truck is due to the 20 year cycle of replacing trucks. Madden asked if a loan from the Electric Fund is being considered for the purchase of a new truck to replace the 1997 fire truck as was done in the past. Skaret explained if things go accordingly, they would be looking at getting a much smaller loan from the Electric Fund this time probably in the neighborhood of $65,000 to $100,000. Skaret said going forward it s planned to set some money aside each year into the City s Capital Improvement Fund so when the next fire truck needs to be purchased, there s at least some money set aside so there s not a need to rely on the Electric Fund for everything. Alderman Anderson asked Temple if he has an estimate on how many times the proposed new truck might be used per year or how many fire calls the Fire Department has in the County compared to in the City. 4

5 Temple said he didn t have the number of fire calls in the County compared to within the City available, but in 2017 the Fire Department had a total of 42 fire calls and so far in 2018 they have had 38 fire calls. He said the proposed new tanker-pumper truck would be one of the first trucks that leaves the Fire Hall when there s a fire call. Temple pointed out all the equipment at the Fire Department is used for both City and County fire calls. Madden asked if the Finance Committee has discussed the Fire Department s request to purchase a new fire truck. Cushman said the Finance Committee s recommendation was to authorize the Fire Department to solicit bids on a new tanker/pumper truck but to use prudence and be very frugal in their purchasing, this wasn t a blank check. Skaret added the Finance Committee s position was to have the Fire Department get what they need not necessarily what their dreams are. Cushman said they also talked in the past about an aerial truck but that s probably on hold for now unless grant money becomes available. He said the tanker/pumper would meet the Fire Department s needs but just wouldn t give that aerial capability which we will just have to live without. Cushman said the purchase of another fire truck in two years could maybe spread out to three years or five years which would allow for funding to build up. Temple noted the cost of a fire engine is the same price as a tanker/pumper in the $350,000 to $450,000 price range. Cushman asked if the Council approves a motion to proceed, would the Fire Department still come before the City Council to report on what they have found. Temple said that would be correct. Alderman Anderson pointed out the Council is not authorizing the purchase of a tanker/pumper but authorizing the Fire Department to seek bids and report back to the Council. Temple said that was correct. MADDEN/TEMPLE moved and it was unanimously carried to authorize the Fire Department to solicit bids for a new tanker/pumper truck. 5

6 RESOLUTION NO APPROVING SOUTH HIGHWAY PROJECT PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS Engineer Greg Mitchell of Bolton and Menk distributed plans for the South Highway Reconstruction Project. Mitchell explained the South Highway Reconstruction is a combined project involving the City and Jackson County. Mitchell said the information provided to the Mayor and Council Members included two sets of the full construction plans for both the utility portion which the City will complete and also the surface improvements that the County will do. Mitchell provided information showing the Mayor and Council the overall layout of the project. Mitchell reiterated the project is combined with the County. He explained the project includes the reconstruction of South Highway from River Street all the way up to CSAH 51. Mitchell said the County portion of the project is the surface improvements. He explained what the County is proposing to do is construct a 36 foot bituminous street with curb and gutter for the entire length except the curb and gutter is only going to go as far as Third Street. He said that last block to CSAH 51 will just be a rural section with gravel shoulders. Mitchell said the County s portion is the surface improvements and then part of the storm sewer. Regarding the storm sewer, Mitchell explained the information is sent to the State and the State makes a determination based on watershed as to how that will be divided up between the two entities. He said in this case the information was just received on November 19 th from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). Mitchell said MnDOT determined the City will be responsible for 45 percent and the County responsible for 55 percent of the cost of the storm sewer. He said that s the County s portion of the project. Mitchell explained the City s portion of the project is the utilities in South Highway which includes the force main which is a 14 inch force main that goes from Lift Station No. 2 all the way to Lift Station No. 4. He said there s also a small portion of 12 inch force main that s being replaced from Lift Station No. 2 back down to the bottom of the hill to River Street. 6

7 Mitchell said there s also gravity sanitary sewer that will be replaced from Third Street all the way to Lift Station No. 2. He noted the water main will be upsized to an 8 inch water main and also looping that into the existing water main on River Street. Mitchell reiterated that 45 percent of the cost of the storm sewer will be part of the City s responsibility for the project. Mitchell said the project will be completed in separate phases. He explained it s a fairly long stretch and they don t want the contractor to rip it up from one end to the other. Mitchell noted there are two apartment buildings and also one business that will have to maintain access so the project will be built in phases. Mitchell said the first phase will be to construct a new force main from Lift Station No. 2 all the way out to Lift Station No. 4. He said the reason for that is because the current configuration of the existing force main is in the same trench as the gravity sanitary sewer so they can t do anything with that sanitary sewer until the current force main is moved out of the way. Mitchell said that will be the first thing to do and then the next phase will be to start from River Street and work up to Barnel Road and then from Barnel Road up to just beyond First Street and then from First Street to Third Street and then the last portion all the way to CSAH 51. Regarding the estimated construction costs, Mitchell said the City s portion of the utility improvements, and then combined with 45 percent of the storm sewer ends up being $993,302. He noted that s just the construction portion of it. Mitchell said as far as the timing for advertising to seek bids, they are looking to advertise for bids on December 12 th and having the bid opening on January 11 th. He said it will be a good opportunity to get the attention of some contractors and it will be a good time for contractors to be looking at projects for the next year. Mitchell said the bids would be brought back to the City Council on January 15 th for final approval. As part of their requirements for the State, Mitchell explained the County needs a resolution from the City stating that the City is aware that this project is going to happen within the City s right-of-way. Mitchell said approval is also being sought to proceed with advertising and sending the plans out for bids. 7

8 Skaret noted this project was factored in the rate study that was done in Cushman asked if the cost of the total project was just over $2 million. Mitchell said that was correct. Skaret said as part of the project, which will be discussed at greater detail at a future Council meeting, will be the reconstruction of Lift Station No. 4. Mitchell said Lift Station No. 4 was initially going to be a part of this project but once they started looking at the condition of the existing structure it was determined that it would be more cost effective to replace the structure than to try and rehab the existing concrete structure. He said those plans were just reviewed on the morning of November 20 th and will probably be presented to the City Council at their first meeting in December for approval. Skaret pointed out the force main that was being talked about is one that broke twice in recent years and was noted in the Notice of Violation the City received from the MPCA regarding the City s discharges into the river. He said replacing Lift Station No. 4 and the old sanitary sewer force main would help the City on its path to remedying the problem. Cushman asked if the City Council would have the opportunity to revisit the project if the bids come in higher than expected. Mitchell said the Council would have an opportunity to revisit the project. Alderman Anderson asked Mitchell what his feeling was regarding how the bids will come in and whether the estimates are in the ballpark. Mitchell said he thinks so. He explained the estimates were put together based on recent bidding prices. Mitchell said the only thing they ve seen is some fluctuation in the cost of concrete pre-cast structures this past year. He said overall, bidding in January will at least get some contractors ready to go for next year. Mitchell said it s a good time to be bidding the project. Cushman asked how long the project will take to complete. 8

9 Mitchell said the project will take most of the summer. He said this past construction season was shortened due to snow in late April, a lot of rain during the summer, and the weather turned cold a little sooner than they would have liked. Mitchell noted there are other years when the weather cooperates. He said depending on what the weather does overall, it will kind of dictate the overall construction schedule. He said for the most part it will take most of the summer to get the South Highway Reconstruction Project completed. Regarding financing of the project, Skaret noted the South Highway Project was factored into the 2017 rate study that was done. He said the City will need to bond for the project. Skaret said the South Highway Reconstruction and the replacement of Lift Station No. 4 would be combined into one bond which would be paid for with utility revenues. MADDEN/TEMPLE moved and it was unanimously carried to approve Resolution No approving the South Highway Reconstruction Project plans and specifications. SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER CONCERNS Helen Mekosch said she was speaking to the Mayor and City Council regarding concerns about the Senior Citizens Center building. Mekosch said the roof is leaking and buckets need to be used to collect the water. She said there are big stains all over the ceiling. Mekosch said the building needs updating. Mekosch said the bathroom stools don t work half the time. She said the whole place needs to be updated. Mekosch added that the parking is not good for a lot of the elderly people especially in the wintertime. She said the sidewalk is shoveled but when the snowplow comes by it leaves snow piled onto the curb and people have to get over that snow. Mekosch said the building really, really needs some work done to it. She said it s in bad shape. 9

10 Regional Manager of the Senior Dining and Meals On Wheels Program, Sarah Anderson of Lutheran Social Services, explained they have an annual agreement with the City to provide the daily meals and meals on wheels service. She said roughly 20 to 35 meals a day are served out of the Jackson location. Anderson said the meals are prepared in Lakefield and are brought to Jackson by Senior Dining Site Coordinator Brenda Bruse. She said the meals are brought to Jackson in bulk and portions are served individually or packaged. Anderson said the ovens at the Senior Dining site are not used on a daily basis. She noted the ventilation system for the kitchen is not up to full code. Anderson said that s not an urgent item because they don t actually cook there, but it s been cited in their annual inspection by the Department of Health that it would need to be updated. She said the dining site s equipment and things are up to the food code according to the National Sanitation Foundation. Anderson said the flooring at the dining site should be replaced. She also said the dishwasher leaks quite often and the steam table that s used to keep the food warm is not maintaining the temperature all the time. Anderson said one of the concerns was the snow removal in the winter. She said snow is not being cleaned out very well from the rear of the building. Anderson noted the entrance doors don t have the push buttons for disability access. Anderson said in the 12 years she s been working with the meal program there s not been substantial improvements other than the front entrance has been enclosed somewhat. Shirley Miller said nothing has changed in the building since the 1980 s. Anderson said as part of the agreement with the City, Lutheran Social Services cleans up after themselves at the Senior Dining Site but they don t do the maintenance within the building or cleaning the restrooms. Regarding the roof at the Senior Dining building, Skaret said in researching the matter he found that a new roof was put on the building in January 1999 by Mid- States Builders of Spencer and there is a 20 year warranty on it. Skaret said he contacted Mid-States and they have indicated that they are no longer an authorized Butler Roof dealer and installer. He said they have notified BlueScope Buildings as they are the owner of Butler. Skaret said he hasn t yet received any information and is awaiting a response from them. 10

11 Skaret said Senior Dining officials should notify City Hall so the City can hire a plumber to do what s necessary to take care of the leaky toilets or other items. He said he would contact someone to look at the plumbing, toilets and heating system. Skaret asked Markman what the Street Department does at the Senior Dining site regarding snow removal. Markman reported the Street Department removes snow from the parking lot and the alley and the rest is contracted out to a private snow removal contractor. Markman said Highway 71 in front of the Senior Dining site is plowed by the State several times a day. He said the Street Department can clean up the snow that s there when they pick up the highway but if the State comes through again they will windrow the snow over and the Street Department doesn t have any control over that. As a general rule on the White Street side, Markman said the Street Department tries to get that opened up right away for the bus. He said there are times the snow is windrowed and they don t get down there until the next day. Markman said they try and get that open for the bus because he knows that s where the bus drops off people. He said it s also sometimes a matter of timing of when the snow quits. Mekosch asked if there was a chance to get a different building for the Senior Dining Program that would provide for better parking. Cushman noted five or six years ago a campaign was started to look at building a community center. He said part of that plan would have been to include the Senior Dining Program in the new building. Cushman said he met a lot of resistance from senior citizens who said they liked their building and didn t want to move. He said his argument was that there s no parking and it was a difficult building to get into. Cushman asked if there s been a shift in what people want or where they want to go. Mekosch said there s a lot of people that won t even come down to the Senior Citizens Center because of the way the building looks. She said it s an eyesore when you walk into the building. Cushman pointed out there are a lot of churches that have existing kitchens and asked if there s some way as a community we could come together and find one central spot that becomes a meeting point. He said he didn t know about constructing a new building when the community already has all these kitchens. Cushman said he certainly thinks every option should be explored. 11

12 Mayor Walter said he was a member of the group with Cushman and there was a lot of resistance when moving the Senior Citizens Center was discussed five or six years ago. Cushman said by no means was he proposing that a community center now moves to the forefront. He said maybe it s time to look at another place that the senior dining could be moved to that would be more user friendly. Cushman said before the City starts to retro the old building with poor parking, should we be exploring other options so we have all the facts together. He said there are some things like the plumbing in the current building that can be immediately addressed. Cushman said we should be looking at everything including the location. Sarah Anderson said Lutheran Social Services wants the Senior Dining and Meals on Wheels programs to be better used and more utilized. She said they are open to the conversation. Cushman said let s continue the conversation and keep this moving forward. Mekosch, Anderson, Bruse and Miller thanked the Mayor and City Council. Mayor Walter and Council Members thanked them for attending the meeting. AUDIT SERVICES PROPOSALS Skaret reported the City received four proposals for audit services. He said the last time the City did a Request for Proposals for auditing services was in Skaret said the City has contracted with Eide Baily since then. Skaret said the City received four proposals for auditing services. He pointed out the proposals ranged from a base price of $25,700 up to $34,310. Skaret said all four are good reputable firms. Skaret said the Finance Committee discussed the proposals at their meeting on November 19 th and it s their recommendation to approve contracting with Abdo, Eick & Meyers from Mankato. Skaret noted Abdo, Eick & Meyers have a very good reputation in this area and in the municipal government auditing field. Skaret said he s had prior experience with the company and they appeared to be very interested in working with the City of Jackson. He explained the contract is for one year with an option for years two and three. Skaret said for whatever reason if the City is not pleased with their service after the first year, the City can look for someone else. 12

13 Cushman asked if the proposal from Abdo, Eick & Meyers will be a cost savings to the City. Skaret said the new proposal from Abdo, Eick & Meyers will be a cost savings of about $6,000 a year. CUSHMAN/ANDERSON moved and it was unanimously carried to approve the contract with Abdo, Eick & Meyers of Mankato, Minnesota to provide auditing services for the City of Jackson for fiscal year 2018 with an option for 2019 and LIQUOR STORE SECURITY SYSTEM Skaret informed the Mayor and Council the Finance Committee discussed the security system for the new liquor store. He said the security system was not included in the contractor s bid for the construction of the new store. Skaret said the City has been using Heartland Security for the security system at City Hall and also at the current liquor store. Skaret said the Liquor Committee reviewed security system proposals at their November 19 th meeting and they recommended the City Council approve the proposal from Heartland Security for $6,725. CUSHMAN/MADDEN moved and it was unanimously carried to approve the proposal from Heartland Security for the Liquor Store Security System for $6,725. EDA CONTRIBUTION OF $25,000 TO THE JACKSON BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION DOWNTOWN FACADE/STOREFRONT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM Community and Business Development Specialist Thomas Nelson of Community and Economic Development Associates (CEDA) said the Downtown Facade/Storefront Improvement Program has been a couple months in the making. He said it was a collaboration between the Business Development Committee and the Economic Development Authority. 13

14 Nelson said members of the Jackson Business Development Committee met and started searching and looking for ways they could contribute towards the community. He explained the sale of the EDA owned twin homes brought in a sizeable amount of funds into the 616 fund. Nelson explained the 616 Fund is not a revolving loan fund but is an Economic Development Authority fund for different projects and such. He said there is no cash flow through that fund and it s specifically set aside for projects. Nelson explained the Economic Development Authority had him reach out to the Jackson Business Development Committee (JBDC) and ask them to provide proposals to the EDA regarding some possible projects. With that, Nelson said the JBDC has developed two new projects. He said one of them is the business competition which will be announced at the beginning of the year and will be seeking to draw applicants to start a business within the Central Business District. Nelson said the other program is the Downtown Facade/Storefront Improvement Program. He explained the program was developed after looking at similar programs in Lake City, St. Charles, Stewartville, Eyota, Goodview and specifically Luverne which has had a program in place for several years. Nelson said the purpose of the program is to help improve the aesthetics specifically of downtown Jackson and make downtown a more inviting place and encourage new and current businesses to invest in themselves. He said the program would have a $5,000 maximum on any project with a dollar for dollar match. Nelson pointed out any of the projects would also still qualify for the EDA s Revolving Loan Program as well. He noted the Downtown Facade/Storefront Improvement Program would strictly be for improvements and aesthetics for the outside of the building and nothing indoors. He explained it would be a five year forgivable loan at zero percent interest. Nelson explained the request is to have the City Council allow the Economic Development Authority to make a one-time contribution of $25,000 towards the program. Nelson said the funding would come out of the 616 Fund. Nelson noted business or building owners would have to submit their project summary on what they would like to do. He said the JBDC, and in turn the EDA, will review and approve the projects that will really make a bigger impact and target the needed areas in town. 14

15 Alderman Anderson asked Nelson if he s had any discussions with any downtown business owners about the program. Nelson said he s met with a lot of different businesses in Jackson who have indicated an interest in program to help improve the looks of their business. He said business owners are excited the JBDC are adding some programs to try and help the downtown area. Mayor Walter noted the EDA Board was very happy to help the JBDC and unanimously approved contributing the $25,000 towards the JBDC s program. He said the JBDC has a very small budget. Nelson pointed out the JBDC doesn t have any holdings or revenue funds of their own and has a budget of just shy of $400. MADDEN/ANDERSON moved and it was unanimously carried to approve the EDA contribution of $25,000 to the Jackson Business Development Corporation Downtown Facade/Storefront Improvement Program. Other: Patrolling at the schools Skaret noted patrolling at the school crossings was brought up at the November 5 th City Council meeting. He noted Sheriff Haken was present at the meeting and asked if there were any extra patrols or what the Sheriff Department s current practices are. Sheriff Haken said they patrol at the schools and school crossings several times a week. He said it s probably their most common location to monitor. Sheriff Haken said the patrols are not there every day. Haken said he would notify his staff and will keep an eye on the school crossings. On another topic, Sheriff Haken reported the Sheriff s Department did a dual survey regarding speed about a month ago. He said the purpose of the survey was to see how the compliance was regarding yielding to pedestrians and also speed. 15

16 Haken said volunteers monitored between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. in front of the library. Haken said there were about 250 vehicles that passed by the library. He reported there were no speeding vehicles however there were a few issues of motorists failing to yield to pedestrians. Thank-you to the City Council Skaret said on behalf of the City employees he wanted to thank the Mayor and City Council for approving eight hours of paid time off for all full-time City employees on December 24 th in an effort to express appreciation to employees for their service to the City in He said that was very generous of the Mayor and City Council. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, ANDERSON/MADDEN moved and it was unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting. David A. Maschoff, Council Secretary 16

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