August 3, 2026 City Council Minutes

·         Monday, July 20, 2026, special Committee-of-the-Whole meeting

·         Monday, July 20, 2026, regular City Council meeting

Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner and carried unanimously.

·         Approve the 2026 license renewal for Back of the Woods LLC, as presented.

·         Approve and allow necessary expenses for the Deputy Administrator to attend the Caselle Conference in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, September 9-10, 2026.

Motion seconded by Councilor Holden and carried unanimously.

The ceremony was scheduled for Friday, August 28, 2026, at 11:00 A.M. The mayor agreed to attend and serve as master of ceremonies.

Nagle stated that KTI meets the first Wednesday of each month at 9:00 A.M., with remote participation available, and that technical expertise is not required because the purpose is to ensure community representation and information sharing.

MOTION by Councilor Kalar to appoint the City’s contracted information technology representatives Austin Schaff and Ryan Tomczak to represent the City on Koochiching Technology Initiative board.  Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner and carried unanimously.

MOTION by Councilor Buller to adopt Resolution No. 46-2026 approving application and permit for a 1-day to 4-day temporary on-sale liquor license for the Rotary Club, for the Giniw Collective concert at Irvin A. Anderson Amphitheatre on August 15, 2026.  Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner and carried unanimously.

Chief Wherley explained that the power shift is a flexible 40-hour-per-week position, frequently scheduled from 8:00 P.M. to 4:00 A.M., but assigned to other shifts as operational needs require.

Councilor Wegner reported that City and County officials had toured the former Law Enforcement Center, identified desired renovations, and expected the work to be advertised for contracting.

MOTION by Councilor Holden to approve filling the vacant patrol officer position. Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner and carried unanimously.

MOTION by Councilor Kalar to approve the request. Motion seconded by Councilor Wegner.

Discussion addressed coordinating recordings with KCCTV and/or posting them on the city website.

Motion failed 2-3 with Mayor Dill and Councilor Kalar voting “yea” and Councilors Buller, Holden, and Wegner, voting “nay”.

Heikkila explained that accessory components, air-wash systems, media, nozzles, process piping, electrical work, instrumentation, chemical equipment, blowers, doors, and related improvements still needed to be installed. The first two filters were expected to be operational near the end of October after testing, filtration-to-waste procedures, and Minnesota Department of Health review. Filters three and four were expected to be installed around November and placed online by late spring 2027.

Heikkila reported that the project remained on schedule and within budget.

In response to questions about recent cyber incidents affecting other Minnesota water systems, Heikkila reported that International Falls was not affected. Heikkila explained that the system uses a firewall, password protection, and additional authentication for the SCADA system, and that remote users may view but cannot directly change plant operations.

At the warning stage, water suppliers are asked to review usage and voluntarily encourage conservation. Potential measures for later phases could include odd-even lawn watering, limiting watering to morning and evening hours, and working with the largest water users to reduce consumption.

City Administrator Bergstrom shared that a public information flyer was being prepared for social media and other communication channels. No mandatory restrictions were imposed at this time.

City Administrator Bergstrom reported that the city had submitted the notices within the timeframe required by state statute, but the newspaper failed to publish them because of an internal miscommunication. The newspaper subsequently published the notices with a disclaimer acknowledging the error.

Lois Lundin, 2222 3rd Avenue East, read the July 22, 2026, letter submitted by Lundin, Ed Bates, and Bobby Bernath requesting that Budget and Finance Committee meetings be recorded and made available to the public. Lundin noted that 2027 budget meetings were scheduled for weekday mornings beginning August 11 at 9:00 A.M. and expressed disappointment that the motion failed.

Reynold Calder, 1901 6th Avenue East, asked about the Police Department relocation. The Council stated that the City and County had signed a lease agreement. Calder also asked when police vehicles would receive updated graphics. Chief Wherley explained that existing vehicles would not be re-lettered because of cost; newly acquired squad vehicles, expected to begin the following year, would receive a new design developed in collaboration with the Council.