·         Monday, April 7, 2025, regular City Council meeting

·         Monday, April 14, 2025, Committee-of-the-Whole meeting

Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner and carried unanimously.

Tyler Weir, 1201 2nd Ave E had questions regarding the petitions.  Mayor Dill stated the City Administrator would be giving an update on the petitions later in the agenda.  Weir questioned City Attorney, Nelson regarding criminal and civil charges and who was attending and being paid for the trials from the law firm.  Nelson stated the city is billed separately for criminal and civil matters and the fee is the same whether someone else from the firm represented the City.

Eric Strand, 1831 4th Ave E stated the Kootasca building is a bad location for the Police Department.  Strand spoke of the initial Kraus-Anderson report which indicated that the building was in poor condition.  He concluded asking the question, “What is more important, clean water or more buildings?”

Reynold Calder, 1901 6th Ave E began with stating the city is dealing with some serious issues.  Calder stated the ambulance service was crucial along with the water treatment facility.  The situation of the PD is up in the air and he felt that as a community we could not add additional debt.  Calder asked if the city could afford two Law Enforcement Agencies, stating that city residents were paying for both a City Police Department and a Sheriff’s Department.  Calder expressed concerns with the tactical paint jobs on the police vehicles.

Mayor Dill read a letter he received from Shawn Mason, 1019 2nd St.  Mason offered the following concerns for consideration:

• The city’s overall financial condition is troubling.
• The ambulance service is financially unstable – ensuring this critical service remains solvent should be a top priority.
• There are other pressing Public Works projects that require attention, which deserve a transparent and comprehensive review.

Mason suggested pursuing a collaborative agreement with the county board for rent free use of the Law Enforcement Center.

Stephen Blair, 1307 7th Ave asked Mayor and Council if they had read the Star Tribune article that had been recently published.  Blair asked how the council could make a motion to approve a contractor from beginning to end to house the PD at the Kootasca building without any dollar amount.

Public Hearing on Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Bonds for renovations of the Public Works equipment garage and sewer vactor garage

Russ Nagle, 601 10th St questioned the cost of $2,755,000 to fix two garages.

Susan Wadega, 107 Park Ave asked if there was a place that the public could go to see what refurbishments will be included.

Joe Kantor, 1607 13th Ave W was not clear how much this project was and what the cost to the city would be.  Brokaw advised that the bond payment would be approximately $244,000/year for 15 years.

Stephen Blair, 1301 7th Ave commented that $500,000/year for street repairs should be used for street repairs.  Brokaw advised the projects for buildings fall under Capital Improvement and they would not be using “street money” to complete them.

MOTION by Councilor Holden to reconvene the City Council meeting.  Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner and carried unanimously.

Mayor Dill commented that he felt this project was very necessary and it had been discussed in the Public Works meetings.  However, with the current city issues he would be voting “no.”

Motion passed 4-1 with Councilors Buller, Holden, Kalar and Wegner voting “yea” and Mayor Dill voting “nay.”

Mark Thorpe stated this would be their 14th year and requested support of the city.  Thorpe stated they purchased a second grill as they could not keep up with the cooking.

Motion carried unanimously.

1. APPROVED signage change on Shorewood Dr and authorize city engineer to work with MnDOT on additional signage

MOTION by Councilor Buller to approve signage change on Shorewood Dr and authorize City Engineer to work with MnDOT on additional signage at the intersection of Hwy 11 and Shorewood Dr.  Motion seconded by Councilor Holden and carried unanimously.

MOTION by Councilor Buller to accept the Certificate of Clinical Excellence presented to the International Falls Ambulance Service.  Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner and carried unanimously.

MOTION by Councilor Wegner requesting the City Administrator draft a letter to Koochiching County to re-engage discussions to house the Police Department.  Motion seconded by Councilor Holden and carried unanimously.

Public Works Director Brokaw advised he was notified last week that Public Works had received a $532,000 grant from USDA for a new generator and 2 valves for the Water Treatment Plant, noting the valves were part of the rehab project and the generator was a wish list item.

Tyler Weir, 1201 2nd Ave E asked where he could get information on how to complete the petition forms correctly.  Bergstrom suggested starting with the City Administrator and the City Attorney.  League of Minnesota Cities is another option.  Weir asked if the Charter could be rewritten to include recall petition details.

Sharon Ball, 120 Cedar Rd stated that she had met with the county on several occasions stating they are willing to lower the lease fee for the Police Department.

Stephen Blair, 1301 7th Ave applauded the council for going back to the table with the county to discuss housing the Police Department.

Nancy Imhof, 339 3rd St had questions regarding petitions.  Imhof questioned why the recall petition was being denied.  City Attorney Nelson spoke to malfeasance and nonfeasance, as well explained case law.  Nelson stated date of birth is a Secretary of State requirement that was missing on the form and cannot be overlooked.  Imhof felt the Charter needed to be revisited as it wasn’t clear on recall petitions.

Susan Wadega, 107 Park Ave asked for the definition of “State Officers” as stated in MN Statute Chapter 211C Recall of Elected State Officials.  City Attorney Nelson informed 211C applies to all elected officials in the State of Minnesota and that information can be found in case law.

Reynald Calder, 1901 6th Ave E expressed his appreciation to Councilor Wegner for the motion to meet with the county regarding the Police Department.

Rhonda Benedix, 909 6th St thanked Mayor Dill for allowing her time to speak and for sticking up for the citizens.