City Council Meeting – January 2nd, 2019

MINUTES
ORGANIZATIONAL/REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
CITY OF REDWOOD FALLS, MINNESOTA
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2019

Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, an organizational/regular meeting of the Redwood Falls City Council was called to order in the Municipal Chambers on Wednesday, January 2, 2019, at 5:00 p.m.

Roll call indicated Mayor Tom Quackenbush and Council Members Matt Smith, Larry Arentson, Jim Sandgren and John T. Buckley were present constituting a quorum.

Also present were City Administrator Keith Muetzel, Director of Finance & Administrative Services Melissa Meyer, Public Works Project Coordinator Jim Doering, City Attorney Amy Busse and Council Secretary Caitlin Kodet.

Council President Buckley administered the oath of office to Mayor Tom Quackenbush.

Mayor Quackenbush administered the oath of office to Council Member – Third Ward, Larry Arentson.

Mayor Quackenbush administered the oath of office to Council Member At-Large, Jim Sandgren.

A motion was made by Council Member Buckley and seconded by Council Member Sandgren to approve the agenda. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

A motion was made by Council Member Buckley and seconded by Council Member ¬¬¬Arentson to approve the December 18, 2018, minutes as presented. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

Mayor Quackenbush called for nominations for Council President for 2019.

Council Member Sandgren nominated Council Member Smith.

Council Member Smith nominated Council Member Buckley.

A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Arentson to elect Council Member Smith as Council President. Motion passed by the following roll call vote.

AYE: Council Members Buckley, Sandgren, Arentson
NO: Council Member Smith

A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Smith
unanimously approving the following 2019 Commission Appointments:

Planning Commission
Reappoint Doug Prins to 3rd full term.

Port Authority
Reappoint Doug Prins to 3rd full term.

A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Buckley to approve the following 2019 Council Committee Appointments with the removal of “Hospital Commission Liaison”. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

Standing Committees:

Budget: John Buckley, Matt Smith and Tom Quackenbush
Personnel: John Buckley, Matt Smith and Tom Quackenbush
Public Works: Larry Arentson and Jim Sandgren
Port Authority: Vacant and Jim Sandgren

Issues:

Environmental (garbage, compost, wetlands): Jim Sandgren and Vacant

Individual Assignments:

Joint Powers/School: Larry Arentson
Airport Commission Liaison: Jim Sandgren
Library Commission Liaison: Vacant
Parks & Recreation Commission Liaison: Larry Arentson
Police Commission Liaison: Matt Smith
Public Utilities Commission Liaison: Jim Sandgren
Housing & Redevelopment Authority Liaison: Vacant

A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Arentson to appoint John T. Buckley and Melissa Meyer to the Redwood Falls Firefighter’s Relief Association Board of Trustees for 2019. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

A motion was made by Council Member Buckley and seconded by Council Member Smith to continue meeting on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. for the City Council Meetings in 2019; cancel the Tuesday, December 31, 2019 City Council Work Session; designate the City’s official newspaper to be the Redwood Gazette in 2019; and designate the City’s official depositories pursuant to MN Statutes 118A.02 and the City Investment Policy for 2019; designate the City’s official electronic funds transfers policy pursuant to MN Statutes 471.38, subdivision 3 for 2019; and designate Bolton & Menk as Consulting City Engineer for 2019. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

Mayor Quackenbush opened a public hearing at 5:16 p.m. to discuss delinquent utility accounts & maintenance charges.

Director of Finance & Administrative Services Meyer introduced Resolution No. 1 of 2019 – Resolution Adopting Assessments for Delinquent Accounts and Resolution No. 2 of 2019 – Resolution Adopting Assessments for Unpaid Maintenance Costs.

Ms. Meyer stated the proposed Resolutions are to adopt assessments for delinquent utility and maintenance cost charges that are more than 30 days past due. Similar resolutions are brought to the City Council on a quarterly basis in order to improve the time between the delinquent billing and the ability to disclose the information to new property owners. The delinquent account Resolutions will be presented each year at the first meeting in January, April, July, and October.

No one was present to voice any concerns.

Mayor Quackenbush closed the public hearing at 5:18 p.m.

A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Arentson to waive the reading of Resolution No. 1 of 2019 – Resolution Adopting Assessments for Delinquent Accounts. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Buckley to approve Resolution No. 1 of 2019 – Resolution Adopting Assessments for Delinquent Accounts. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Arentson to waive the reading of Resolution No. 2 of 2019 – Resolution Adopting Assessments for Unpaid Maintenance Costs. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

A motion was made by Council Member Buckley and seconded by Council Member Arentson to approve Resolution No. 2 of 2019 – Resolution Adopting Assessments for Unpaid Maintenance Costs. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

City Administrator Muetzel introduced a Downtown Commercial Rehab Loan Application for 120 and 126 E. 2nd Street, Redwood Falls.

Mr. Muetzel stated Jim & Joni Nieland submitted an application to request financial assistance with the second phase of renovating the commercial buildings located at 120 and 126 E. 2nd Street. The proposed renovation project consists of replacing exterior windows.

The total cost of the eligible improvements is $30,712.00. The applicant is requesting a $10,237 low interest loan and a $10,237 forgivable loan (grant) from the Downtown Commercial Rehabilitation Revolving Loan Program. The applicant will also provide a cash match of $10,237. The application complies with the funding guidelines and requirements of the loan program. Staff recommends approval of the request.

With the approval of this loan, the balance of the current loan fund is nearly depleted. If another application is submitted, funding would be delayed or the Council could choose to provide additional funding for the program.

A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Buckley to approve the Downtown Commercial Rehab Loan Application for 120 and 126 E. 2nd St. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

Director of Finance & Administrative Services Meyer introduced the Exchange Server/Email System Upgrade.

Ms. Meyer stated the current Exchange Server/Email System is shared with the Redwood Area Hospital. The system can no longer exist on the hospital infrastructure due to the separation of the two entities. The current Exchange system is in a failing state and needs to be replaced and upgraded. Thriveon compared pricing for hosting our own Exchange Server or utilizing a Microsoft Online Cloud Server.

Ms. Meyer stated the proposal from Thriveon outlines an Exchange Server in a hyper-v environment. The monthly managed services on the proposal are based on 10 email addresses needing encryption capability. It is likely 15 email addresses will need to use encryption capability at a cost of $10 per month per email address. For the software, license, and professional services implementation Thriveon quoted $29,374 for the Exchange Server upgrade. This project is part of the 2019 IS budget.

A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Arentson to approve the Exchange Server/Email System Upgrade. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

City Administrator Muetzel stated City Hall received applications for the Ward 1 City Council vacancy from Patrick Schwarz and John F. Madden. The application deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 18.

City Administrator Muetzel stated a change in the process of relaying the City Administrator’s Communication Notes. The notes will no longer be sent every two (2) weeks as part of the packet but instead they will be emailed to the Mayor and City Council Members as the information is received by City Staff.

Council Member Smith invited the Mayor, City Council and City Administrator Muetzel to the Redwood Falls Fire Department Annual Banquet. The banquet will be held on Saturday, January 12, 2019, at the Redwood Falls Fire Station.

Bills and Claims were presented to the Council for informational purposes. No questions, comments or concerns were raised.
There being no further business, a motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Buckley to adjourn the meeting at 5:35 p.m. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.

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