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Walnut Grove,
MN
July 14, 2008
The City
Council met in a regular session on the 14th day of June at 7:00
PM in the Council Room.
Present:
Greg Hansen, Donald E. Johnson, Leonard McLaughlin, Xiong Yang
and Todd Harrington
Also Present:
Tom Hansen, Travis Schaar, Deb Johnson, Wes Bell and Leigh
Steffen
Mayor Hansen
presided at the meeting.
Tom Hansen
gave the maintenance report. The basketball and tennis courts
have been seal coated. He has painted the tennis court and will
get the basketball court done this month. A letter was received
from Quam Construction stating that the defective gate valves
and manhole covers would not be covered under the warranty. Tom
talked to the engineer from the project and he believes that
these items should be covered and will talk to Quam
Construction. Tom will keep the council updated on this.
The Bar &
Grill report was given by Deb Johnson. A brief discussion was
held about putting Lottery into the Bar & Grill and it was not
approved. Discussion was held about the drink tickets and gift
certificates at the bar. It was decided that both should be
numbered and Deb will have the employees sign and date the drink
cards when they are purchased. Also, Deb will have sales keys
put on the register to track the sales for the cards. Deb
reported that the combination refrigerator freezer under the
counter in the kitchen needs to be replaced. They no longer
carry the combination unit but she can order one of each and
they will fit. Motion by Donald E. Johnson, second by Todd
Harrington to order a refrigerator and a freezer for the
kitchen. All voted in favor, motion carries.
Wes Bell gave the Water / Wastewater
report. Discussion was held about the number of curb stops that
do not work. The curb stops are owned and maintained by the
property owner. The decision was made to make sure curb stops
are in working order on any property that is being sold. If it
is not working, the property owner will need to have it repaired
or the city can repair it for them and bill the property owner
for the work. In addition, if a property needs to have the water
turned off and it is discovered that the curb stop is not
working, the owner will be required to have it repaired, or the
city will repair it and bill them for the work. Motion by
Leonard McLaughlin, second by Todd Harrington to check and have
repaired, any curb stops that aren’t working when a property is
for sale, or when there is a need to shut off service to a
property. All voted in favor, motion carried.
The Police report was given by Travis
Schaar. There have been a few complaints about live poultry in
town. Travis explained that many Hmong residents use chickens
in religious ceremonies. Xiong Yang confirmed this and stated
that in most cases, the resident would not have any live poultry
at their residence for more than 24 hours. Travis reported that
the computer in the Police Department Office is not working.
Discussion was held about purchasing a replacement. Motion by
Donald E. Johnson, second by Xiong Yang to have Travis order a
new desk top computer with a printer through Dell at the cost of
$1551.71.
All voted in favor, motion carried. Travis
informed the council that Mike Zeug needed two new short sleeved
uniform shirts. The council approved the purchase of these.
Discussion was held about the Walnut Grove
Cemetery. Currently the city pays Benson and Sons $25 to locate
a grave site. This expense was calculated into the price of
lots at the cemetery and the city will continue to pay this
expense. It was also decided that the city will open up four
additional rows that they will sell sub lots on. The city will
allow only flat stones to be used on the front sub lots, 5, 6,7
& 8 and these will sell for $375 each and the back sub lots, 1,
2, 3 & 4, will be sold for $475 and either raised or flat
monuments can be used. Also, it was decided that up to three
cremation urns can be buried in a single sub lot and that up to
two urns can be buried on top of a vault. If the person
arranging the burial of an urn is a private party that has
possession of the ashes after cremation, the city office will
need copies of the disposition permit and the cremation
certificate and then can help arrange for the burial of the
urn.
Discussion was held about what options are
available to the city regarding assessments on properties that
are delinquent on their property taxes. If the property becomes
5 years delinquent and it goes to public auction, it is not
likely the amount the property is sold for will cover delinquent
assessments. The city has the option of suspending the
assessments for a period of time on delinquent properties until
after they have gone to auction and again are current on the
taxes. This will be discussed further at a later meeting. No
decisions need to be made until October for next years
assessments.
Motion by Leonard McLaughlin, second by
Donald E. Johnson to approve the Land Use Permit for 540 2nd
Street to put up a Carport. All voted in favor, motion carried.
Motion by Leonard McLaughlin, second by
Todd Harrington to approve a resolution to allow the Walnut
Grove Area Jaycees to have a charitable gambling event in the
city park on Saturday July 19, 2008. All voted in favor, motion
carried.
Motion by Leonard McLaughlin, second by
Todd Harrington to approve the use of the Community Center by
the Red Cross for emergency shelter if the need should arise.
All voted in favor, motion carried.
The council agreed to make a contribution
to the Southwest Arts & Humanities Foundation in the amount of
$150. This is the foundation that helps fund the Family
Festival in the City Park. Motion by Donald E. Johnson, second
by Leonard McLaughlin to approve the donation to the Southwest
Arts & Humanities Foundation. All voted in favor, motion
carried.
Motion by Todd Harrington, second by Xiong
Yang to approve Claims #29234 through #29351. All voted in
favor, motion carried.
Motion by
Donald E. Johnson, second by Todd Harrington to approve the
Minutes for June 9, 2008. All voted in favor, motion carried.
Motion by
Donald E. Johnson, second by Leonard McLaughlin to adjourn. All
voted in favor, motion carried.
Paula McGarvey
Clerk-Treasurer
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