September 9, 2024, Meeting Minutes

Posted: November 1, 2024

City of LeRoy MN – Council Meeting Minutes, September 9, 2024

 

A regular meeting of the LeRoy City Council was called to order by Mayor Ed Koppen on Monday, September 9, 2024, at 6:30 PM at the LeRoy Community Center with the following members present:  Mayor Ed Koppen, Council Members Brian Thiel, Harold Shipman, Gerald Payne, Ashley Huntley, Maintenance Employee Cole Wilcox, and City Clerk Patty White.
Also attending: Devin & Nicole Wallace, Hunter Johnston, Cletus & Arlene Bastian, Diane Whalen, Axel Gumbel, Terry Free, and Deputy Katlynne Fisher.  All stood and recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Consent Agenda:

  • Council reviewed the items included in the consent agenda. Thiel, as being assigned as the council rep on the LeRoy Public Library Board, reported that libraries have to glean books every so often.  He noted there were many books that had been gleaned; these books had been left in a corner and have now been put out on the cart to get rid of them.  The library will continue to periodically glean books based on how often they are checked out.  Thiel noted he feels the library is well managed and a huge asset to the city.  Thiel also requested the balance sheet to be included in the Wildwood Grove reports.
  • Motion by Huntley, second by Payne to approve the consent agenda. Motion carried 5-0.

Police Report:

  • Deputy Katlynne Fisher reported deputies spent a little over six hours per day here in LeRoy over the past month. They responded to 82 calls; 16 of those calls were medical calls, and 11 were traffic stops.  She reported the firearms complaint is still under investigation.  Council thanked Deputy Fisher for her report and her service.

Public Input Time:

  • Hunter Johnston introduced himself to council and noted his father is the owner of the Parkside Mobile Home Parks here in town. Johnston reported there had been a water leak in the west park caused by an underground water pipe break.  This water leak did not have any water go through the city sanitary sewer system.  Johnston had compiled the average sewer bill over the past 12 months; he requested of council to forgive the difference between the total sewer bill from the water leak and the average sewer bill he had compiled.  Motion by Payne, second by Shipman to make this adjustment.  Motion carried 5-0.

Standing Committee Reports:

  • Shipman reported he is waiting for Steve Kime to come and pick up three or four of the Wheels-to-Go bikes; these bikes will be used for a program in Austin. Payne also noted he would like to check with the LSS homes to see if any of their residents could use a bike.

State Highway 56 Project:

  • The project is progressing
  • Huntley reported that Cristi Masters of A Gift to Gab was without street access for 39 days. They did open a back drive through their property for their personal use and the use of patrons to her business and for kids to have access to the school.  Payne felt MnDOT needs to be contacted to address this situation to see if there is some type of compensation for her and her business.  Thiel felt this request to MnDOT needs to be firm.  Payne reported Mrs. Masters had been originally told they would have access to their property through the school lot.  This access was eventually closed due to safety reasons.  Koppen noted that he and White would talk directly to Jim with MnDOT about these concerns and report back to the council.

 

Lake Louise State Park-Shooting Star Trail-Tourism:

  • Koppen reported two letters were sent out. One letter was addressed to the Office of Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan.  This letter addressed the Grand Meadow Chert Quarry, the Wanhi Yukan Trail, and the proposal to Prairie Visions to support the extension of the Wanhi Yukan Trail from the Chert Quarry south to connect with the Shooting Star Trail and then to continue south to connect with the Wapsi-Great Western Line Trail.  The second letter was addressed to Scott Roemhildt, the Regional Director for the southern region of the MN DNR.  This letter addressed concerns expressed about Lake Louise State Park.  No response has been received from either letter.

Appointments to Administrative Ordinance Board (3 People):

  • Payne reported he had made contact with some people that would consider being appointed to the Administrative Ordinance Board. Those individuals are Rita Hiller, Jan Whisler, and Steve Klostermann.  Motion by Payne, second by Thiel to appoint Steve Klostermann to a one-year, four-month term, to appoint Jan Whisler to a two-year, four-month term, and to appoint Rita Hiller to a three-year, four month term.  Motion carried 5-0.  It was noted these appointments will run with the calendar year.

Citizen Notifications & Alerts:

  • Axel Gumbel reported he put this proposal out on the City Facebook page; he received great response from people interested in this texting notification service. Gumbel reminded council the annual fee for this service is $1,500; there is a $500 initial setup fee; with a three-year contract.  He also suggested accessing the marketing materials for this service for a cost of $250.  White noted she included the funds for this in the proposed 2025 budget.  Gumbel noted this fee is good for up to 10,000 messages.  Additional messages can be purchased for an additional fee.  Council questioned if this could be approved now and not be implemented until in January, 2025.  Council also questioned if this contract can be cancelled prior to the initial three-year contract.  Gumbel will gather more information on this and report back at the October meeting.

Update-LeRoy Medical Clinic Property:

  • White reported that a letter was submitted to the listing agents of this property requesting the restriction of having medical use at this property be lifted. White did receive verbal confirmation that Mayo would lift this restriction.  Thiel noted he has reached out to both Howard County Regional Health Center and Mitchell County Regional Health Center.  He noted he has received positive response from both entities.  Koppen noted he had also reached out to Howard County Regional Health Center.  Council noted they want to be judicious with this possible purchase; they don’t want to purchase this property if the city is not able to get medical services in that building.  Council noted that other services such as a dentist or physical therapy would also be beneficial to the area residents.  Council noted they may want to make an offer contingent on 30 to 60 days to try to bring a medical practice to the community.

Time Capsule Location:

  • Koppen noted he had talked to Barry Reburn about the placement of the time capsule. Koppen suggested putting the capsule in a grassy area instead of under concrete.  Gumbel reported on the items Reburn has compiled to put in the time capsule and how these items will be vacuum sealed to further protect them from water.  Council consensus to proceed with having the time capsule buried somewhere in the grassy area west of City Hall.

2025 Proposed Budget & Levy:

  • Council reviewed the proposed budget and levy. White reported a 5% increase for all city workers was included in the budget; White noted this figure was used to compile the budget, but council will make the final determination on any wage increases.  Payne complimented all the city workers for the jobs they do.  Payne questioned what the proposed wage increase would have on the General Fund portion of the budget.  White noted the proposed increase would have an approximate $4,700 effect on the budget.  Motion by Huntley, second by Thiel to pass Resolution 2024-04, a resolution setting the preliminary levy for 2025 at $575,000 and setting the Truth in Taxation hearing for Monday, December 2, 2024, at 6:30 PM.  Motion carried 5-0.  Koppen noted there has not been a levy increase for at least the past four years.

Garbage Service Information:

  • White presented information on how other cities handle garbage service. Some cities contract with one garbage company and bill for the garbage service through the city.  Council discussed pros and cons of this.  After further discussion, council consensus to leave the garbage service as it currently is.

Land Use Permits:

  • Council reviewed three land use permits:
  1. Lot 8 & W 36’ Lot 7 Exc S 40’, Block 14, Original Village, 206 E Henry, Tanner Meyers- install pergola on existing cement pad
  2. E 25’ Lot 21, Lot 22, & W 15’ Lot 23, Block 1, Original Village, 213 E Luella, Paul Apenhorst-build garden shed
  3. Outlot 2 Exc .25 AC & Exc 1.29 AC, Original Village, 502 N East County Road, Gordon Holdeman-replace roof on house
  • Motion by Huntley, second by Shipman to approve said permits. Motion carried 5-0.

Communications File:

  • Council reviewed two thank you notes from the recipients of the Pangborn Scholarships. Those recipients were Grace Miller and Ashley Ness.
  • Council reviewed a letter from the Austin Area Foundation. They would like to do a presentation at a council meeting.  Council felt it better to promote the LeRoy Community Foundation.

Boulevard Tree Trimming & Tree Removal:

  • Shipman noted Kyle Stern Family Tree Service removed some trees and trimmed some trees at the North Park in a quick fashion prior to Summer Fest. Council had also approved the removal of two dead ash trees in front of Carol Richardson’s.  These trees have not been taken down yet.  Shipman noted there are over 60 dead or dying ash trees on city property.  Shipman felt council should be proactive on this and start removing these trees.  It was questioned if an RFP should be put out to get prices for the removal of these city trees.
  • Motion by Payne to put out an RFP for the removal of dead or dying city boulevard trees and dead or dying trees located on city property. Second by Thiel.  The RFP will be written that the removal includes all the cleanup and stump grinding.  Motion carried 5-0.

Standardized Sidewalk Program:

  • Koppen noted this would be a voluntary program that the city could coordinate when residents along one street would all want to replace their sidewalks. This would keep all the sidewalks a uniform width.  It was noted residents would be responsible for paying for their share of this work.

Service Award Recognition:

  • (1) Koppen recognized Jennifer Gumbel; Mrs. Gumbel is a former mayor of LeRoy, ran for state office, and took time to bring to council the information pertaining to the North Park basketball court. (2) Koppen recognized Brian Thiel for his well-written letter to the editor encouraging younger people to get involved in the local school board or city council.  (3) Koppen recognized the generosity of Eileen Evans for bringing the blood drives back to town and for leaving funds for future blood drives.  (4) Koppen recognized the cooperative ambulance training that has been conducted with crews from different communities.  (5) Koppen recognized Prairie Visions with the donation of the big red chair that was given in memory of Doug & Eileen Hutchins and Eileen Evans.  These people gave so much to the community and didn’t look for any recognition.  (6) Koppen recognized the L-O FFA for the time they spent at the Mower County Fair; this brought good recognition to them and the community.

Vacant & Nuisance Properties:

  • Payne reported 16 letters were originally sent out. Two letters were returned as undeliverable.  One parcel is zoned industrial and is in compliance with that zoning classification.  Four of the recipients of these letters did a tremendous job in addressing these concerns; they will be sent thank you letters.  Seven of the recipients have received partial approval and will be given additional days to address some remaining items.  Three recipients did nothing to clean up their property and will each be assessed a $500 fine following a public hearing.  Motion by Payne to call for a public hearing to address nuisance charges on Monday, October 7, 2024, at 7:00 PM.  Second by Shipman.  Motion carried 5-0.
  • Two additional properties were noted to be in non-compliance with city ordinance. Motion by Payne, second by Shipman to send letters to these two.  Motion carried 5-0.

Housing Incentives Discussion:

  • Thiel reported he will bring additional information to a meeting prior to year-end to further discuss this.

Strong & John Street-Right of Way Infringement:

  • This is being monitored.

ARPA Funds:

  • There was nothing new to report on these funds.

EDA & WWG Report:

  • Payne noted WWG is down in occupancy. Different ideas have been discussed to market WWG.  The line of credit has been paid down to $0.  WWG is still transferring funds to a savings account instead of the LOC to build up funds.  It was noted this is the first time the line of credit has been paid in full.  Thiel noted the revenues are holding steady for now.  He questioned if the revenues will decrease due to the low occupancy.  Diane Whalen reported cuts have been made, some layoffs have occurred, and expenses are being watched.

Being no further business to come before the council, the meeting was adjourned on a motion by Payne, second by Huntley at 7:57 PM.

 

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