A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of International Falls, Minnesota was held in the Council Chambers of the Municipal Building on the 17th day of May, 2021 at the hour of 5:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Councilors Buller, Ditsch, Krause, and Mayor Droba.
Councilor Holden, Media and public via BlueJeans Conferencing. All members noted they could hear the others and the discussion.
MEMBERS ABSENT: None.
| APPROVED agenda as presented | MOTION by Councilor Krause to approve the agenda as presented. Motion seconded by Councilor Buller and carried unanimously. |
| APPROVED minutes of the Monday, May 3, 2021 special Committee-of-the-Whole meeting | MOTION by Councilor Ditsch to approve minutes of the special Committee-of-the-Whole meeting of May 3, 2021. Motion seconded by Councilor Krause and carried unanimously. |
| APPROVED minutes of the Monday, May 3, 2021 regular City Council meeting | MOTION by Councilor Buller to approve minutes of the May 3, 2021 regular City Council meeting. Motion seconded by Councilor Krause and carried unanimously. |
| APPROVED minutes of the Monday, May 10, 2021 regular Committee-of-the-Whole meeting | MOTION by Councilor Ditsch to approve minutes of the regular Committee-of-the-Whole meeting of May 10, 2021. Motion seconded by Councilor Buller and carried unanimously. |
| APPROVED minutes of the Monday, May 10, 2021 22nd Street Public Hearing meeting | MOTION by Councilor Buller to approve minutes of the May 10, 2021 22nd Street Public Hearing meeting. Motion seconded by Councilor Ditsch and carried unanimously. |
| ADOPTED Resolution No. 32-2021 approving transfers, payment of claims, and accounts payable | MOTION by Councilor Krause to adopt Resolution No. 32-2021 approving transfers, payment of claims and accounts payable for the second monthly City Council meeting. Motion seconded by Councilor Buller and carried unanimously. |
CLAIMS
| A. W. Kuettel & Sons, Inc | City Hall-Heat Pumps, Garage-Remodel | 3,600.00 | 71007 |
| A+ Pest Management | Pest Control | 2,305.00 | 71008 |
| Acme Tools – Grand Forks | Tools – Parks & Rec | 351.12 | 71009 |
| Alcopro Inc | Alco Sensor Mouthpieces – Freight | 25.00 | 71010 |
| All Season Equipment Inc | Chainsaw/Chainsaw Oil | 800.88 | 71011 |
| Amazon Capital Services | Supplies – Fire/Housing/Hazmat | 228.44 | 71012 |
| Aramark Uniform & Career Apparel | Cleaning Service | 944.50 | 71013 |
| Big Fish Print Solutions | Consent Search Form/Env-Admin | 257.88 | 71014 |
| Border Boxes | Shipping – Water Plant | 113.50 | 71015 |
| Bound Tree Medical LLC | Ambulance Supplies | 155.89 | 71016 |
| Brian Jespersen | Police Benefit | 150.00 | 71017 |
| Brian Youso | Police Benefit | 150.00 | 71018 |
| Cenex Voyager Fleet | Gnds/Pol/House/Amb/Wtr Plnt/Wtr | 3,780.73 | 71019 |
| City of Int’l Falls – Fund 401 | Water/Sewer Funds Transfer | 66,666.66 | 71020 |
| City of Int’l Falls – Fund 403 | Water/Sewer Funds Transfer | 25,760.42 | 71021 |
| City of Ranier | Water – City Beach | 11.55 | 71022 |
| Core & Main | Hydrant Adap/Holiday/Hwy 53 Water | 3,687.59 | 71023 |
| Department of Human Services | 2021 Ambulance Supply Payment | 14,933.00 | 71024 |
| Display Sales | Supplies – VNP | 410.00 | 71025 |
| Earl F Andersen | Maint/Repair – Park/Rec | 393.95 | 71026 |
| Expert T Billing | Ambulance Transports | 3,480.00 | 71027 |
| Falls Lumber Company | Supplies – Street | 29.18 | 71028 |
| Friend’s Garbage Service LLC | Monthly Garbage Service | 1,760.96 | 71029 |
| Frontier | Monthly Telephone Service | 2,495.62 | 71030 |
| Galls, an Aramark Co., LLC | Clothing Allow.-Wherley/Ambulance | 413.66 | 71031 |
| Gopher State One – Call | Monthly Billing | 186.30 | 71032 |
| Graybar | Supplies – Street Lighting | 8.64 | 71033 |
| Hawkins Inc | Chemicals | 2,167.65 | 71034 |
| Koerter’s Amoco | Grds/Str/Elec/Strm Sew/Wtr/Sew | 2,802.83 | 71035 |
| Kooch County Treasurer | Solid Waste Service Fee/SWSF VNP | 2,430.00 | 71036 |
| Laursen Asphalt Repair Equip LLC | Hot Box Rental/Falcon Asphalt Recycler | 14,650.81 | 71037 |
| Lawson Products Inc | Supplies – Electrical | 331.89 | 71038 |
| Macqueen Equipment Inc | Supplies – Sweeper | 4,851.56 | 71039 |
| Melanie Clarity | Sewing – Ambulance/Sweney | 52.00 | 71040 |
| Menards International Falls | Tool/Sup-Grds/Plant/St/ M&RO-Storm | 372.63 | 71041 |
| Michael Musich | Police Benefit | 150.00 | 71042 |
| Minnesota Energy Resources | Utilities | 3,547.92 | 71043 |
| Minnesota Industries | Safety Eq-Water/Strm Sew, Tools-VNP | 223.32 | 71044 |
| Minnesota Power | Utilities | 26,911.96 | 71045 |
| MN Fire Service Cert Board | Firefighter II Certification | 360.00 | 71046 |
| MN Pollution Control Agency | Hazardous Waste Annual Fee | 668.89 | 71047 |
| N Kooch Area Sanitary District | Effluent/Backwash/Surcharge | 142,393.95 | 71048 |
| NAPA Falls Supply | Supplies/Parts – Garage/Street | 401.05 | 71049 |
| Northern Lumber & Hardware | Sup-Fire/P&R/Str/Elec/VNP | 228.59 | 71050 |
| Northstar Apparel Company | Masks And Gaiters | 3,100.00 | 71051 |
| Office of MNIT Services | Wide Area Network(Wan) Services | 260.00 | 71052 |
| O’Reilly Automotive Inc | Parts/Supplies-Gar/Pol/Str/Fire/Grds | 1,356.28 | 71053 |
| Praxair Distribution Inc | Oxygen – Ambulance | 794.26 | 71054 |
| Rainy Lake Medical Center | Medical Supplies | 235.75 | 71055 |
| Rainy Lake Oil | Fuel – Water Dept. | 702.22 | 71056 |
| Robert Bahr | Top Soil | 2,500.00 | 71057 |
| ServiceMaster of Intl Falls | Cleaning Services – VNP | 3,500.00 | 71058 |
| Shannon’s Inc | Building Permit Refund | 415.63 | 71059 |
| Shawn Kelly | Class C License Renewal | 23.00 | 71060 |
| Small Town Tech Inc | Wireless Mouse/Keyboard – Admin | 29.99 | 71061 |
| Terry Christie | Police Benefit | 150.00 | 71062 |
| Terry Wood | Police Benefit | 150.00 | 71063 |
| The Dent Shop | Prep & Paint Street Lights | 2,765.00 | 71064 |
| The Journal | Agenda/Minutes/Ord/Tax Abate. | 3,593.58 | 71065 |
| Tom Lynch | Police Benefit | 150.00 | 71066 |
| UHL Company Inc | Bldg Maint – VNP | 3,726.00 | 71067 |
| Willi Kostiuk | Police Benefit | 150.00 | 71068 |
| WMG Lyfjaberg LLC | Medical Director | 300.00 | 71069 |
| Xerox Corporation | Maint/Monthly Charge – Water Plant | 27.20 | 71070 |
| Ziegler Inc | Parts – Water Dept/Sanitary Sewer | 1,221.06 | 71071 |
| The following checks were issued under blanket authorization: | |||
| AFLAC | Supplemental Insurance | 225.04 | 100966 |
| AllState – American Heritage | Supplemental Insurance | 9.64 | 100967 |
| Bremer Bank NA | Federal Withholding | 37,874.56 | 100968 |
| I.U.O.E. Local Central Pen Fund | Retirement | 4,121.10 | 100969 |
| City of Int’l Falls | HRA – Police/Fire | 546.00 | 100970 |
| City of Int’l Falls | Health Insurance – 49ers | 154.00 | 100971 |
| IAMAW District W33 | Union Dues | 1,744.50 | 100972 |
| Intl Falls Ambulance Service | Dues | 154.00 | 100973 |
| I.U.O.E. Local 49ers | Health Reimbursement | 875.00 | 100974 |
| Justin Franz, Sec/Treas | C.O.P.S | 120.00 | 100975 |
| MN Child Support Pmt Center | Wage Assignment | 614.39 | 100976 |
| MN Department of Revenue | State Withholding | 7,245.26 | 100977 |
| Empower Retirement | Deferred Comp | 8,450.00 | 100978 |
| PERA | Life Insurance | 128.00 | 100979 |
| North Kooch Area Sanitary Dist | Health Insurance | 425.00 | 100980 |
| PERA | Retirement | 33,241.58 | 100981 |
| AUDIENCE | None. |
| PUBLIC HEARING | None. |
| OPENING BIDS:
REJECTED the only bid from J & J Contracting for the International Falls Building Improvements in the amount of $256,800, as it is approximately $156,800 over the engineers’ estimate |
MOTION by Councilor Buller to reject the only bid from J & J Contracting in the amount of $256,800, as it is approximately $156,800 over the engineers’ estimate for the International Falls Building Improvements. Motion seconded by Councilor Ditsch.
Public Works Director Brokaw shared he only received one bid for the International Falls Building Improvements. Brokaw stated other contractors did not apply because they were not interested in all components of the project. Brokaw stated he asked J & J Contracting for a breakdown of each component as the bid was much higher than the engineers estimate. J & J Contracting stated they did not want to put any more time into the bid estimate. Public Works Director Brokaw recommended rejecting the bid from J & J Contracting and advertising for the International Falls Building Improvements by separate components. Motion carried unanimously. |
| AUTHORIZED advertising the International Falls Building Improvements as separate components – city hall stairway entrance with HVAC modifications, city hall landscaping around new stairway entrance, library doors and glazing, along with canopy with new LED light fixtures | MOTION by Councilor Buller to authorize advertising the International Falls Building Improvements as separate components – city hall stairway entrance with HVAC modifications, city hall landscaping around new stairway entrance, library doors and glazing, along with canopy with new LED light fixtures. Motion seconded by Councilor Krause and carried unanimously. |
| OLD BUSINESS | None. |
| CONSENT AGENDA | None. |
| NEW BUSINESS:
APPROVED city administrator application review committees recommendation to fill vacant City Administrator position, approve employment agreement with Betty Bergstrom and authorize signatures |
MOTION by Councilor Ditsch to approve the city administrator application review committee’s recommendation to fill vacant City Administrator position, approving employment agreement with Betty Bergstrom and authorize signatures. Motion seconded by Councilor Holden.
Mayor Droba stated they received 16 applications. The applications were scored and two people were interviewed on May 12, 2021. Betty Bergstrom was offered the City Administrator position on May 12, 2021 and on May 13, 2021 a benefit package was offered to her. Mayor Droba stated there were multiple qualified candidates to choose from. Motion carried unanimously. |
| ACCEPTED letter of resignation from full-time employment from Patrol Officer Michael Bounds effective June 1st, 2021.
Approved allowing Officer Bounds to remain as a part-time patrolman for the International Falls Police Department |
MOTION by Councilor Buller to accept the letter of resignation from full-time employment from Patrol Officer Michael Bounds effective June 1st, 2021 and allowing Officer Bounds to remain as a part-time patrolman for the International Falls Police Department. Motion seconded by Councilor Ditsch and carried unanimously. |
| ADOPTED Resolution No. 33-2021 establishing procedures relating to compliance with reimbursement bond regulations under the internal revenue code | MOTION by Councilor Buller to adopt Resolution No. 33-2021 establishing procedures relating to compliance with reimbursement bond regulations under the internal revenue code. Motion seconded by Councilor Krause and carried unanimously. |
| ADOPTED Resolution No. 342021 ordering improvement and plans and specifications for the 22nd Street & Main Avenue construction project in conjunction with BDPI Grant | MOTION by Councilor Buller to adopt Resolution No. 34-2021 ordering improvement and plans and specifications for the 22nd Street & Main Avenue construction project in conjunction with BDPI Grant. Motion seconded by Councilor Ditsch and carried unanimously. |
| AUTHORIZED advertising for bids for the 22nd Street improvement project, Industrial Avenue alley water main replacement, & Highway Lane water and sewer improvements | MOTION by Councilor Buller to authorize advertising for bids for the 22nd Street improvement project, Industrial Avenue alley water main replacement, & Highway Lane water and sewer improvements. Motion seconded by Councilor Krause and carried unanimously. |
| ADOPTED Resolution No. 35-2021 approving application and permit for a 1 day to 4 day temporary on-sale liquor license for Rotary Club of International Falls at Smokey Bear Park on July 3 – 4, 2021 | MOTION by Councilor Krause to adopt Resolution No. 35-2021 approving application and permit for a 1 day to 4 day temporary on-sale liquor license for Rotary Club of International Falls at Smokey Bear Park on July 3 – 4, 2021. Motion seconded by Councilor Ditsch and carried unanimously. |
| APPROVED additional 2021 licenses for Espresso Lane LLC dba The Library – On-Sale Liquor and Sunday Liquor effective May 17, 2021 | MOTION by Councilor Ditsch to approve additional 2021 licenses for Espresso Lane LLC dba The Library – On-Sale Liquor and Sunday Liquor effective May 17, 2021. Motion seconded by Councilor Krause. Motion passed 4-0-1 with Councilors Buller, Ditsch, Holden, and Krause voting ‘yea’ and Mayor Droba abstaining. |
| ADOPTED Resolution No. 36-2021 authorizing execution of Minnesota Department of Transportation grant agreement for Federal Airport Expenses Reimbursement | MOTION by Councilor Buller to adopt Resolution No. 36-2021 authorizing execution of Minnesota Department of Transportation grant agreement for Federal Airport Expenses Reimbursement. Motion seconded by Councilor Krause and carried unanimously. |
| Budget & Finance committee recommendations | |
| a. ADOPTED Resolution No. 37-2021 calling for a Public Hearing pertaining to the Northland Counseling Center Inc renovation project | MOTION by Councilor Ditsch to adopt Resolution No. 37-2021 calling for a Public Hearing pertaining to the Northland Counseling Center Inc renovation project.
Motion seconded by Councilor Buller. Motion passed 4-0-1 with Councilors Buller, Ditsch, Holden, and Mayor Droba voting ‘yea’ and Councilor Krause abstaining. |
| Committee-of-the-Whole committee recommendations | |
| a. INFORMATIONAL
City Staff continues to investigate the option of establishing participation in the International Falls Primary Service Area Emergency Medical Services Special Taxing District and creation of a Joint Powers Agreement with the political jurisdictions within the service area |
City Administrator Bergstrom shared they are moving forward with the process to set up a taxing district for the International Falls Ambulance service. City Administrator Bergstrom and Fire Chief Mannausau met with Koochiching County to discuss creating the International Falls Primary Service Area Emergency Medical Service Special Taxing District and creation of a Joint Powers Agreement. They are waiting for County Attorney to assist with the process before moving forward. |
| Public Works committee recommendations | |
| a. APPROVED publishing Notice of sump pump inspections that are required in accordance with the International Falls Sanitary Sewer Ordinance | MOTION by Councilor Buller to approve publishing notice of sump pump inspections that are required in accordance with the International Falls Sanitary Sewer Ordinance.
Public Works Director Brokaw stated the City of International Fall Sanitary Sewer Ordinance prohibits sump pumps and/or foundation drains that are connected to the sanitary sewer service and main lines, referred to as “cross-connections”. Sump pumps and foundations drains must be directed outside of homes/businesses onto lawns, street curbs, road ditches or into storm sewers. Beginning August of 2021, the City of International Falls will begin inspection of homes and business to verify compliance. A minimum of one hundred inspections a year will be performed. Motion seconded by Councilor Krause and carried unanimously. |
| b. AUTHORIZED sending letters to a minimum of 100 households/businesses annually to notify property owners of the Sanitary Sewer Ordinance and the need to direct sump pumps and foundation drains outside of the home/business onto lawns, street curbs, road ditches, or into storm sewers | MOTION by Councilor Buller to authorize sending letters to a minimum of 100 households/businesses annually to notify property owners of the Sanitary Sewer Ordinance and the need to direct sump pumps and foundation drains outside of the home/business onto lawns, street curbs, road ditches, or into storm sewers. Motion seconded by Councilor Ditsch and carried unanimously. |
| REPORTS:
Reports of the Administrator, Attorney, and Department Heads |
City Administrator Bergstrom shared that Police Chief applications closed on Friday May 14, 2021. Bergstrom stated she will be scheduling interviews.
City Attorney Shermoen updated the Council on the criminal blight cases. The City of International Falls had seventy one cases scheduled in one day on May 17, 2021. Two blight cases have been resolved. Most all blight cases are working with the City and making progress. Shermoen stated he will have the International Property Maintenance Code updates available for publication by Tuesday May 25, 2021 so it can be published on Thursday May 27, 2021. Public Works Director Brokaw shared that the detour signs went up today for the Highway 53 project. Brokaw stated there is confusion between a ‘Pedestrian Detour Sign’ and a ‘Vehicle Detour Sign’. The Blight written report dated May 17, 2021 was available for review. The International Falls Police Department April 2021 Activity Report was available for review. The Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force First Quarter 2021 Snapshot was available for review. The April 2021 Fire/Rescue/EMS Department written report was available for review. |
| Reports of Mayor and Council Committees | Mayor Droba shared they are in the planning phase for the 4th of July festivities. More people are needed on the committee. Next meeting is scheduled for May 26, 2021.
City Beach meeting is scheduled for May 19, 2021. Mayor Droba stated they have three candidates for the Police Chief position. |
| AUDIENCE | None. |
| ADJOURNMENT | Mayor Droba shared that the next regular City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 7, 2021 at 5:30 P.M. The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 6:21 P.M. |
Harley M. Droba, Mayor
ATTEST:
Betty Bergstrom, City Administrator
