Council Minutes, July 6, 2021

Posted: July 6, 2021

City of LeRoy MN – Council Meeting Minutes, July 6, 2021

A regular meeting of the LeRoy City Council was called to order by Mayor Ed Koppen on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, at 6:30 PM at the LeRoy Community Center with the following members present:  Mayor Ed Koppen, Council Members Ashley Huntley, Harold Shipman, Daisie Fox, Gerald Payne, Maintenance Employees John Jones and Nick Sweeney, and City Clerk Patty White.
There were no members of the public present.  All stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Consent Agenda:

  • Council reviewed the items included in the consent agenda. Motion by Huntley, second by Fox to approve the consent agenda.  Motion carried 5-0.

Police Report:

  • Deputy Weiss was not in attendance, but he had provided a written police report. Council reviewed this report.

Public Input Time:

  • There was no one present for public input time. Koppen reported he had received several questions about what had caused the power outage a couple of weeks ago.  He noted the city used to get outage reports from Interstate Power Company and then from Alliant Energy.  The city does not receive notice when a power outage occurs.  White was directed to contact Freeborn Mower Electric Cooperative to question what the average power outage is for LeRoy.

Standing Committee Reports:

  • Payne reported the Wildwood Grove capital projects have begun. Payne reported that LeRoy City Lines has completed all service except for one charter scheduled for July 10.  The EDA is in the process of preparing the buses for sale.  Payne reported the EDA owned building at 127 West Main Street suffered a partial collapse in the east wall of the foundation.  All the bikes have been moved to a space at LeRoy Lumber; the balance of the bikes will be donated to a bike shop in Charles City.  Payne noted the EDA does not think the building is viable to repair.  Contacts have been made with LMCIT pertaining to insurance, the power has been removed from the building, and the EDA is waiting for the natural gas service to be removed from the building.  Koppen felt the direction of the EDA is the proper one; he did suggest making sure there is clear title on the building.

State Highway 56 Project:

  • Council discussed MnDOT’s recommendations for the East Y. Council expressed concerns about these recommendations and noted they are not comfortable with these recommendations.  Council will revisit the municipal consent resolution at their August council meeting.

Bob Olson Offer-Lot:

  • Koppen reported that not many people are in favor of a nature park. Residents expressed concern that a nature park could become rodent infested.  Other suggestions included a more child-friendly park.
  • Huntley questioned why a lot that is currently paying property taxes be taken from the tax rolls when a home could be constructed on it. Fox noted she has seen a park built with sidewalks and trails where kids could ride their bikes.  The possibility of skate park was also discussed.
  • White questioned how this donation of one lot would look to the LeRoy Lions Club that had worked for some time for an all-inclusive park on three donated lots that was then voted down by the seated council at that time.
  • Shipman noted that he felt people are brought to a community for better streets and a clean town, and not necessarily for the number of parks in the community.
  • Council would like this item left on the agenda for additional community input.

Resolution to Accept ARPA Funds:

  • White explained this program and some possible uses for these funds.
  • Motion by Huntley to pass Resolution 2021-05, a resolution to accept the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund established under the American Rescue Plan Act. Second by Payne. On a roll call of votes, all members voted aye.  Motion carried 5-0.

Land Use Permits:

  • Council reviewed one land use permit.
  1. Lot 4, Block 2, Hickock 3rd Addition, 302 E Benton, Brian Thiel-build 18’ x 20’ building
  • Motion by Huntley, second by Fox to approve said permit. Motion carried 5-0.

Communications File:

  • Council reviewed the thank you from Kelly Hanson for the Pangborn Scholarship she received.

Streets:

  • Jones reported the East County Road project is almost complete. Heartland Asphalt needs to pour the concrete around the manholes.
  • Sweeney presented information for a new zero-turn lawn mower. Harrington Enterprises provided information and quoted prices for both a 60” cut and 72” cut.  The mower would be a County Clipper.  He noted the John Deere would be kept for sweeping and other jobs.  Motion by Payne to proceed with the purchase of a 60” zero-turn Country Clipper mower from Harrington Enterprises with funds for the purchase coming from capital outlay.  Second by Shipman.  Motion carried 5-0.

Update on Community Center Floor:

  • Council reviewed the proposal from Hiller Commercial Floors. This proposal was to replace the flooring in the upper banquet room with either LVT floor covering or carpet tile.  White had talked to the Hiller salesman at the MCFOA conference about the floor.  The salesman told White that this type of flooring is made to be put on floors with moisture issues.  The proposal for the LVT flooring was in the amount of $16,451; the proposal for the carpet tile was in the amount of $10,457.40.
  • Motion by Huntley to proceed with the LVT flooring, Beechwood pattern, and request $6,451 from the LeRoy Community Foundation with the city covering the balance of $10,000 from the capital outlay funds. Second by Fox.  Council did discuss the fact of taking this business out of town.  Koppen noted that Hiller Flooring is a commercial flooring entity.  Motion carried 5-0.  Payne volunteered to make this presentation to the LeRoy Community Foundation.

Parks & Recreation:

  • Jones reported the new paper dispensers have been installed in the South Park restrooms. The restrooms will be reopened for Summer Fest.  Council discussed alternatives that could be implemented to keep the restrooms open including the installation of timed locks, a key check-out system, and/or security cameras.  Sweeney offered to research camera options and report back at the August meeting.

Service Award Recognition:

  • There were no nominations submitted.

Nuisance Properties:

  • Payne presented pictures and addresses of properties that may be in violation of the nuisance ordinance. Payne noted the city may need to spend funds on legal fees to get these properties cleaned up.
  • Payne reported he has talked to Rebecca Charles, CEDA, about the availability of funds for demolition of some of these properties. He noted there may be funds for this.  Payne suggested talking to the individual owners to see if they could be persuaded to tear these structures down.  Another option would be to have these individual owners deed the properties to the city; the city could then proceed with demolition and assess the properties for the cleanup costs.
  • Council discussed options and alternatives. Council would like to see an informational letter sent to each owner of record with expectations.  Payne will draft a letter for council to review at the August meeting.  Koppen will follow-through with personal contact with those with nuisance property issues.

North Speed Limit Sign:

  • The sign has been boxed up for shipment. Jones is awaiting the shipping label to return the sign to the manufacturer.

Chromebooks:

  • White is working with On-Site Computers to get these ready for distribution to individual council members.
  • Fox noted she would like to have the city council meetings broadcast on Facebook Live each month. This will be reviewed at upcoming meetings.

Being no further business to come before the council, the meeting was adjourned on a motion by Shipman, second by Huntley at 8:02 PM.

– Ed Koppen, Mayor

– Patty A. White, City Clerk-Treasurer

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