February 3, 2025, Meeting Minutes

Posted: April 4, 2025

City of LeRoy MN – Council Meeting Minutes, February 3, 2025

 

A regular meeting of the LeRoy City Council was called to order by Mayor Ed Koppen on Monday, February 3, 2025, at 6:30 PM at the LeRoy Community Center with the following members present:  Mayor Ed Koppen, Council Members Harold Shipman, Ashley Huntley, Paul Apenhorst, Chastidy Sweeney (left at 6:56 PM), Public Works Supervisor Nick Sweeney, and City Clerk Patty White.
Also attending: Terry Free, Axel Gumbel, Pat Newman, Deputy Katlynne Fisher, and Deputy Matt Mueller.  All stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Consent Agenda:

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

Police Report:

  • Deputy Fisher introduced Deputy Mueller to the council. Deputy Mueller noted he has been with the Mower County Sheriff’s Department since December, 2024.  Council welcomed Deputy Mueller.
  • Deputy Fisher reported deputies spent 6.21 hours per day here in LeRoy over the past 28 days. There were 53 calls for service.  Of these 53 calls, 14 were traffic calls and 16 were medical calls.  Council thanked Deputy Fisher and Deputy Mueller for their service and for this report.

Public Input Time:

  • W. Supervisor Sweeney presented information on a service agreement for the two civil defense sirens. One siren is located near the water tower; the other siren is located near the city shop building.  Sweeney would like to have these sirens set up with a preventative maintenance program.  The cost for this would be $550 per year per siren ($1,100 per year for both sirens).  This could be done with a one-year contract, three-year contract, or five-year contract.  Any length of contract would lock in these prices for the term of the contract.  The contract would include annual inspections and labor but not the cost of any needed parts.   Sweeney noted the city wants these sirens to be in good working order when they are needed.  Motion by Shipman, second by Huntley to enter into a five-year contract plan with Emergency Communication Systems.  Motion carried 5-0.

Standing Committee Reports:

  • Huntley questioned what the council wants to see in a report from the ambulance service. Koppen noted he would like to see the total number of calls for the year and by each month.  It was noted that other information could violate HIPAA.  Huntley reported there were 239 calls for service in 2024.
  • Shipman and Koppen attended the January Prairie Visions meeting. Prairie Visions is working on a work plan.  It was noted Prairie Visions has to work with four different city councils and the Mower County Commissioners.  Koppen noted Prairie Visions is working on the connection of the Shooting Star Trail to the Chert Quarry and to the Wapsi Great Western Trail.

State Highway 56 Project-Sidewalks-Trees:

  • There was no new information to present on this item.

Lake Louise State Park-Shooting Star Trail-Tourism:

  • Koppen noted that he and White had met with Bob Storlie, DNR from Forestville State Park. Storlie provided a contact list for different DNR people.

 

 

Update-LeRoy Medical Clinic Property:

  • Koppen reported he had attended a RHSHC management meeting on January 20. RHSHC is working through the guidelines and requirements to bring medical services to the clinic building.  He note it would be at least a year after the clinic is in operation before home health care and hospice care could be added to their services.  Koppen noted he wants to make sure the building is fully cleaned and tidy prior to an inspection.  Council concurred to allow additional help, if needed, to make sure the building is fully cleaned.

Library Board Appointments:

  • Council reviewed the names for library board appointments. Apenhorst noted there had been some discussion if a current part-time employee of the library could also serve on the library board.  White noted that previous library boards had a part-time employee on the board.
  • Motion by Huntley, second by Shipman to approve Laurette Kasel, Vada Dahl, and Shirley Miller to the LeRoy Library Board. Motion carried 5-0.  Other members of the board include Lisha Hindt, Jessica Fraser, Georgia Eastvold, Laurie Schmidt, and Apenhorst as the council rep.

Name Official Signatories for City Accounts:

  • Motion by Sweeney, second by Apenhorst to name Edwin Koppen, Harold Shipman, and Patty White as official signatories on the City accounts. Motion carried 5-0.

City-Wide Cleanup:

  • Council consensus to offer a city-wide cleanup on Saturday, May 10, 2025, from 8:00 AM until 10:00 AM.

Pay Equity Report Review:

  • White reported the Pay Equity Implementation Report has been filed with Minnesota Management and Budget. The Notice of Pay Equity Compliance has already been received.

Land Use Permits:

  • There were no land use permits for council review.

Communications File:

  • Council reviewed a letter from the L-O Forever committee. Council noted they cannot make a monetary donation to this cause due to statute, but this function will be held at the LeRoy Community Center at no charge to the committee if the building is fully cleaned following the event.

North Park Improvements:

  • Huntley will work with Brent Dohlman on preparing a plan for improvements. It was noted the ice rink has been very well received and has been used by people of all ages.

Service Award Recognition:

  • Koppen recognized the EDA Board; he noted they are very professional in all they do and handle many different responsibilities.
  • Koppen also recognized the LeRoy Library; he noted he received a tour of the library from Librarian Kiefer. He noted the library is a very nice facility which is very functional and up-to-date with learning areas for kids, a large-print section of books, the audiobook section, plus much more.
  • Axel Gumbel recognized Alice Kempe for the 25 years she has taken a choir to the Eagle’s Cancer Telethon to perform and for all her work with the LeRoy Community Theater.

 

 

Vacant & Nuisance Properties:

  • White reported she has sent a letter to the owner of record of the property located at 219 East Lowell. Council reviewed the information and guidance provided by the city attorney.  Apenhorst questioned if the attorney has reviewed the proposed verbiage for an ordinance amendment.  This information has not been sent to her yet.  Koppen requested of council to review this information for further discussion at the March meeting.

Housing Incentives Discussion:

  • Apenhorst noted he has spent much time reviewing the information compiled by Brian Thiel. He reported the $20,000 cash incentive is superior to the cash abatement program.  He felt any cash incentive provides a stronger net return to the city over a 10-year time frame.  Council was reminded of the amount of construction that would need to be completed prior to a cash incentive being paid out by the city.  Huntley noted she would be in favor of a program that the city employees do not have to monitor or police.  Shipman felt someone from LeRoy Lumber could do the initial inspection, for a fee, to establish where construction is at.  This will be further discussed at future meetings.

EDA & WWG Report:

  • Koppen noted WWG net operating income as of 12/31/24 showed a loss of $24,031.18; this is an unaudited figure. Shipman reported LSI Consulting began their duties at WWG as the management company as of February 1, 2025.  It was noted the EDA has high hopes with this working relationship

Being no further business to come before the council, the meeting was adjourned on a motion by Huntley, second by Shipman at 7:35 PM.

 

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