June 3, 2024, Meeting Minutes

Posted: August 2, 2024

City of LeRoy MN – Council Meeting Minutes, June 3, 2024

 

A regular meeting of the LeRoy City Council was called to order by Mayor Ed Koppen on Monday, June 3, 2024, at 6:30 PM at the LeRoy Community Center with the following members present:  Mayor Ed Koppen, Council Members Brian Thiel, Harold Shipman, Ashley Huntley (left at 7:40 PM), Maintenance Employee Nick Sweeney, and City Clerk Patty White.  Council Member Gerald Payne was absent.
Also attending: Mike Chicos, Diane Whalen, Russ Rudlong, Deputy Katlynne Fisher, and Axel Gumbel.  All stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Consent Agenda:

  • Thiel posed a couple of questions on the information included in the consent agenda. Motion by Huntley, second by Shipman to approve the consent agenda.  Motion carried 4-0.

Police Report:

  • Deputy Fisher reported deputies spent 5.68 hours per day here in LeRoy over the past month. They responded to 52 total calls.  The majority of the calls were traffic stops and medical calls.
  • Thiel questioned about the speed of trucks entering town and vehicles not stopping at stop signs. The particular area is the intersection of South West County Road and West Atkins Street.  Russ Rudlong questioned who is responsible for the grading of the gravel streets that are being used for detour traffic.  Sweeney noted he will address grading with the construction crew.  Deputy Fisher questioned about the installation of a blinking light and a flag on this particular stop sign.  She also questioned if there is a speed limit sign further south of this intersection.  Sweeney will look into a blinking light and flag.   Deputy Fisher was thanked for her time and service.

Public Input Time:

  • No one present had anything to bring forth during public input time.

Standing Committee Reports:

  • Thiel questioned about the dying or dead ash trees located on the boulevards. These trees in the boulevard are the city’s responsibility.  Shipman noted there are many dead or dying ash trees on private property that will also need to be removed.  White will check into any funding for the removal of the ash trees.  Sweeney noted he has been watching these trees and will address removal as time allows.
  • Huntley reported there are three new members of the LeRoy Area Ambulance crew. There are still four that need to take the EMT test.  Huntley recognized Bayly Bucknell for her dedication to the service; she is a great asset to the service.
  • Shipman reported the DNR is doing some bridge work on the trestle. Work on parts of the trail is still supposed to happen.  It was noted the brown state park signs need to be replaced; these signs have outlived their sign retro-reflectivity.

State Highway 56 Project-Detour Agreement:

  • Council reviewed the proposed detour agreement for the State Highway 56 project. Motion by Huntley, second by Thiel to approve the Detour Agreement for Trunk Highway No. 56 Detour and pass Resolution 2024-03, a resolution that the City of LeRoy enter into MnDOT Agreement No. 1053716 with the State of Minnesota.  Motion carried 4-0.

Jaguar Communications Settlement Agreement:

  • Council reviewed the Settlement Agreement with Jaguar Communications. Motion by Thiel to approve this Settlement Agreement.  Second by Shipman.  Motion carried 4-0.
  • Russ Rudlong questioned about the number of broken and missing hand hole covers. Sweeney reported Jaguar had gotten him seven covers; he used these up in a very short amount of time.  Council discussed how to address this.  Thiel suggested filling the holes with sand; this would provide safety if someone should step in one.  White was directed to withhold sending the settlement agreement until there is satisfaction with the hand hole covers.

Lake Louise State Park & Shooting Star Trail:

  • Koppen gave a brief history of Lake Louise State Park (LLSP) and some of the issues that have been addressed through the years. Koppen felt the best way to address issues with bathroom availability and other items is to start at the top of the DNR and move down the chain of command.  It was noted volunteers have become frustrated with what they can and cannot do.  It was noted Bob Storlie is the LLSP supervisor.  It was reported Lake Louise is located in the South Region; Forestville State Park is located in the Central Region.  Koppen recommended giving strong support to the volunteers.  He also noted the Mower County Commissioners need to be reminded of having a state park located in their county.  The proposed trail connection from the Shooting Star Trail to the Waspi Great Western Trail will also bring tourism to the entire county.  Koppen is not recommending any action tonight, but he would like the council to give this some thought.  It was noted there is very limited staff allocated to LLSP.
  • Koppen also reported it has come into question about the total ownership of the land that comprises LLSP. Some of the land still shows ownership by the City.  A question was posed if the City should just take LLSP back to entire City ownership.  Koppen gave a brief history on this and possible insurance implications.  Shipman noted the DNR is considering adding 189 acres to the park.

EDA Resignation & Appointment:

  • Council reviewed the letter of resignation from Jan Dohlman. Council was reminded they had a letter of interest from Axel Gumbel.  Koppen questioned Mr. Gumbel if he was still interested in serving on the LeRoy EDA.  Gumbel noted he is.  Koppen recommended appointing Mr. Gumbel to the unexpired term of Jan Dohlman.  Motion by Shipman, second by Huntley to accept the resignation of Jan Dohlman, with regret, and to appoint Axel Gumbel to the unexpired term of Jan Dohlman.  Motion carried 4-0.

Land Use Permits:

  • Council reviewed three land use permits.
  1. Lot 11, Block 2, Olson Addition, 161 Penny Lane, Kaleb Janssen-install fence
  2. S ½ Lots 17 & 18, Block 11, Caswell & Lewis, 803 N East County Road, Sean Lohuis-install fence
  3. Lots 9 & 10, Block 11, Original Village, 111 E Main, Dawn Holmquist-install permanent stanchions around perimeter of property
  • Motion by Shipman, second by Thiel to approve these three permits. Motion carried 4-0.

Communications File:

  • Koppen presented information contained in working papers pertaining to a possible land sale to the City. Koppen noted this is in the very early stages.

Equipment Needs:

  • Sweeney presented information on a grapple bucket for the skid loader. A 72” wide bucket from Stinger Attachments would cost $3,315; delivery would be months out due to production issues.  A 72” wide bucket from Stout is available for $2,849 with free shipping.  Motion by Thiel, second by Shipman to approve the purchase of a grapple bucket from Stout.  Motion carried 4-0.
  • Sweeney presented information for a sonde for the locator. A sonde from Utility Logic, a FD20, in the amount of $720 is available.  Sweeney noted they would be able to locate to a depth of 14’ or more.  It was noted that authorization for this purchase had been made at the May council meeting.
  • Thiel questioned if council should consider some type of blade for snow removal on the much wider sidewalks that will be installed with the Hwy 56 project. Sweeney suggested a snow pusher box for the skid loader.  White questioned if a walk behind snow blower would be beneficial for snow removal from these wider sidewalks in front of city hall.
  • White reported she is still waiting for the delivery of the new marquee sign.

Water & Sewer:

  • Sweeney reported a resident had bumped one of the temporary water lines when they were mowing. The pipe separated from its connection.  Sweeney was able to repair this quickly.
  • Sweeney was commended for his work in the water department as was relayed in the annual Drinking Water Report.

Service Award Recognition:

  • Koppen recognized the L-O 4th grade class and their teacher Kylie Tart for their wax museum presentation. Koppen also recognized Ms. Tart’s efforts in the search of Greenfield, IA, tornado debris that was found.  Koppen also recognized the interaction of the older students with the students involved with the wax museum presentation.  Diane Whalen recognized Tonya Keim and the L-O Preschool for all they do for and with the residents at WWG.

Vacant & Nuisance Properties:

  • Council reviewed the information received from the city attorney on two different processes to follow in addressing these properties. White read the email she had received addressing the property located at 210 E Frederick.  White was directed to contact the county sheriff to see if someone from their department would come do a visual inspection of this property and give any direction in securing this property.
  • Shipman questioned about the pile of moldy grass on the trailhead parking lot. Sweeney noted school personnel need to figure out how to clean this up.  Shipman suggested sending a letter to the school requesting cleanup of this or charging them $500 if the city has to clean it up.  White suggested drafting the letter, hand delivering it to the school, noting this must be cleaned up by Friday, June 7, 2024, as 12:00 noon, or the city will clean it up for the $500 fee.  Council unanimous consensus to proceed with the hand delivering of this letter with the aforementioned timeline and fee.

Housing Incentives Discussion:

  • Thiel continues to gather information on this.

Strong & John Street-Right of Way Infringement & ARPA Funds:

  • There was nothing to discuss on either of these items.

EDA & WWG Report:

  • Council was reminded of the joint meeting of the Council, EDA, and L-O School Board scheduled for Monday, June 17, 2024, at 5:15 PM at the LeRoy Community Center.
  • Thiel noted it is good to see the Line of Credit at WWG continue to be paid down. He noted the WWG Balance Sheet is not accurate.  Koppen questioned if the WWG bookkeeping is being done on a cash or accrual method.  Whalen reported WWG is receiving a 44% increase in reimbursement for waiver residents; 80% of this increase had to be used for employee wages.  This increase is helping with cash flow with quite a number of units vacant.  Whalen noted that with the vacancies, they have cut back on float shifts and watching expenditures.
  • Whalen posed some questions on the upcoming filing period for the city council. White reported filing opens on July 30 and closes on August 13.  She also posed some questions about the time involved if serving on the city council and if the councilors are paid.

Being no further business to come before the council, the meeting was adjourned on a motion by Shipman, second by Thiel at 8:11 PM.

 

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