Council Minutes, September 3, 2020

Posted: September 3, 2020

City of LeRoy MN – Council Meeting Minutes, September 3, 2020

A special meeting of the LeRoy City Council was called to order by Mayor Brian Thiel on Thursday, Septenber 3, 2020, at 6:30 PM at the LeRoy Community Center with the following members present:  Mayor Brian Thiel, Council Members Ashley Huntley, Jan Whisler, Harold Shipman, Daisie Fox, and City Clerk Patty White.
Also attending: Axel Gumbel.  All stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Thiel read the due call for this special meeting, “The purpose of this special meeting is to discuss personnel reviews, to discuss the 2021 budget and levy, and to discuss CARES Act funding and funding requests,” and opened the meeting at 6:30 PM.

CARES Act Funding:

  • Thiel reported he has investigated the installation of special filters in the air handling systems at the LeRoy Community Center, City Hall, and the LeRoy Public Library. These filters would need to have a MERV 13 rating which is capable of trapping virus carriers.  The system could also include UV-C light sanitizers in the duct work that could kill the virus before the air is distributed.
  • Huntley reported the ambulance service had also received CARES Act funds.
  • White suggested laptops or tablets for individual council members to allow the ability to attend council meetings virtually.
  • Thiel presented a list of requests from L-O Schools. Their requests could be up to $40,000.  White had attended a webinar and question and answer session earlier in the day where some school districts were receiving funds from their respective county.
  • Items for elections have been purchased.
  • The public library has requested funds for additional book carts and an additional camera. These carts would be used to accommodate the cycle that returned books go through before being returned to the shelves.
  • Funds could also be appropriated to the LeRoy EDA to be used as business grants to local businesses.
  • Huntley prioritized funding requests in the following order:
  • Air handling systems at the community center, library, and city hall
  • Book carts for the library
  • Laptops or tablets for council meeting accessibility
  • Internet hot spot for the community center
  • With any funds left over, she proposed assisting local businesses first and appropriating any balance of funds to the school requests.
  • It was questioned if any funds could be appropriated to LeRoy City Lines. LCL has been mostly idled since March 27, 2020.  Safety items like a fogger or Plexiglas would help in sanitizing the buses and protecting the driver.
  • Needs for non-profit groups and the local churches were also discussed.

Personnel Reviews:

  • Thiel noted the three city employees (John Jones, Nick Sweeney, Patty White) should have personnel reviews completed. He noted Librarian Rhonda Barnes has her personnel review completed by the library board.
  • Options for the reviews were discussed. Huntley noted she favored a more casual review with having the reviewer doing a summary of the review that would be placed in the employee file.
  • Fox offered to sit in all the reviews. Huntley and Fox will conduct White’s review; Whisler and Fox will conduct Sweeney’s review; and Shipman and Fox will conduct Jones’s review.
  • Thiel would like all the reviews completed to be reviewed at the November council meeting.
  • Whisler noted there is an opening on the EDA board. He recommended Audrey McCarthy and made the motion to appoint Audrey McCarthy to the open seat on the EDA board.
  • Thiel reminded those present that McCarthy is an employee of Wildwood Grove; the EDA oversees the operations of Wildwood Grove; this would be a conflict of interest. Whisler stood by his motion.  White reminded those present this item is not listed in the due call for this special meeting.  Motion by Fox to put an ad in the newspaper advertising for this open board seat.  After further discussion, both Whisler and Fox withdrew their respective motions.  This open EDA seat will be discussed at the September 14, 2020, regular council meeting.

2021 Budget and Levy:

  • Council reviewed the information provided showing balances in the city’s investment funds and the current checking balance. Motion by Huntley to transfer $60,000 from Cleanup Fund to Street Department Fund in the investment account.  Second by Shipman.  Motion carried 5-0.
  • Whisler read excerpts from the contract between the EDA and Comfort Health. He noted that Comfort Health will provide consulting and employee services.  Further discussion about this contract followed.  The waiver program at WWG and occupancy levels were discussed.  A budget for WWG was also discussed.
  • White noted the present levy does have some cushion in it with funds being appropriated to future infrastructure projects. It was suggested that some of these funds could be transferred to WWG, if necessary, to assist with cash flow issues.

Being no further business to come before this special session, the meeting was adjourned on a motion by Huntley, second by Shipman at 9:10 PM.

– Brian Thiel, Mayor

– Patty A. White, City Clerk-Treasurer

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