MINUTES
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
CITY OF REDWOOD FALLS, MINNESOTA
TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2023
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the Redwood Falls City Council was called to order in the Municipal Chambers on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at 5:00 p.m.
Roll call indicated Mayor Tom Quackenbush and Council Members Matt Smith, Denise Kerkhoff, Jim Sandgren, Larry Arentson, and John T. Buckley were present, constituting a quorum.
Also present were City Administrator Keith Muetzel, Finance Director Kari Klages, City Attorney Trenton Dammann, Public Works Project Coordinator Jim Doering, and Deputy City Clerk Caitlin Kodet.
A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Buckley to approve the agenda. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Kerkhoff and seconded by Council Member Arentson to approve the May 2, 2023, minutes as presented. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Buckley to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda.
1. Asphalt Roller Purchase
2. Electric Department Crew Cab Pickup Purchase
3. Street Department Pickup Purchase
4. Water Department Double Cab Pickup/Utility Box Purchase
Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Parks & Recreation Director Ross Nachreiner introduced Resolution No. 27 of 2023 – A Resolution Accepting A Donation To The City.
Mr. Nachreiner stated Resolution No. 27 of 2023 is to accept a financial donation in the amount of $3,000.00 from the Redwood Area Junior Olympics Volleyball Association. The donation will be put towards the purchase of volleyball nets and various volleyball equipment that will be used jointly by the department and association. Staff is requesting approval to accept the financial donation from the Redwood Area Junior Olympics Volleyball Association.
A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Kerkhoff to waive the reading of Resolution No. 27 of 2023 – A Resolution Accepting A Donation To The City. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Buckley and seconded by Council Member Smith to approve Resolution No. 27 of 2023 – A Resolution Accepting A Donation To The City. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
Kathy Lund, Sr. Director of Regulatory and Customer Operations with Nuvera was present to give an update on the Nuvera Fiber Expansion Project. Nuvera is planning for a two-year build plan with the first year of construction starting June 1, 2023 and ending in December 2023. Once the new fiber is installed, customers will need to schedule in-home installations with Nuvera. Existing customers must transition to the new fiber network. Non-existing customers will need to notify Nuvera if they would like to have the new service.
Public Works Project Coordinator Jim Doering introduced the Approval of Plans and Authorization of Bid for the Fourth Street Reconstruction Project.
Mr. Doering stated the total Engineer’s Estimate for construction is $4.99 million with contingency. Per Council-approved Task Order 2023-1 on January 3, 2023, Bolton & Menk Inc. (BMI) have put together the advertisement for bids, bid specifications, and plan set for the 2023 Fourth Street Improvement Project per the scope of the Task Order 2023-1. BMI and Staff are waiting for final federal authorization to bid due to the federal grant component. Staff are recommending approval to expedite the bid process.
Mr. Doering stated the project by utility is included in the proposed 2023 budget with a project estimate of $4,990,566.00. Expected Revenues of $1,540,910.00 up to $1,968,296.00 in Federal STIP funding and up to $1,156,374.00 in State MSAS funding with a local utility match of $1,865,896.00. The estimated project expenses consist of the anticipated construction costs, contingency, engineering, and legal/administrative costs. Upon Federal authorization, the earliest contract award would be at the June 20th Council meeting. If Federal approval is delayed, the bid wouldn’t be on the Council Agenda until the following Council Meeting on July 18, 2023.
A motion was made by Council Member Sandgren and seconded by Council Member Kerkhoff to approve the plans and authorization to bid for the Fourth Street Reconstruction Project. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
City Attorney Dammann introduced Resolution No. 28 of 2023 – Authorization to Execute Contract for Conflict Prosecution Services with Redwood County.
Mr. Dammann stated Minn. Stat. Sec. 484.87, subd. 3 requires that the prosecution of certain petty misdemeanor, misdemeanor, and gross misdemeanor violations of state law be handled by the Redwood Falls City Attorney. Under certain circumstances, such as the prosecution of an alleged offense involving City employees, Council Members, or when conflicts of interest may exist that would preclude prosecution of an alleged offense by the City Attorney, the City may need to involve an outside prosecutor to provide prosecution services on behalf of the City. Staff have determined that it is best practice to have a Conflict Prosecution Attorney retained by agreement prior to the need for such services to dispel any notion of bias when selecting another attorney to perform the functions of the City Attorney as a criminal prosecutor.
Mr. Dammann stated Redwood County, through the Redwood County Attorney’s Office, is willing to provide Conflict Prosecution Services as the Conflict Prosecution Attorney on an as-needed basis to the City. The Agreement memorializes the scope of work, fee arrangements, duties, and responsibilities of both parties during the term of the Agreement.
Mr. Dammann stated a sentence was added to Section III. Files and Records, after the original agreement was provided to Council. The change is regarding records retention for the Redwood County Attorney’s Office, in case of an audit. The addition is not a significant change to the agreement.
Council Member Kerkhoff requested the correction of a spelling error on page three of the agreement.
A motion was made by Council Member Smith and seconded by Council Member Sandgren to waive the reading of Resolution No. 28 of 2023 – Authorization to Execute Contract for Conflict Prosecution Services with Redwood County with the noted changes. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
A motion was made by Council Member Arentson and seconded by Council Member Buckley to approve Resolution No. 28 of 2023 – Authorization to Execute Contract for Conflict Prosecution Services with Redwood County with the noted changes. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
City Administrator Muetzel introduced Agenda Item 9E – Establish City Council Work Session Agenda.
Mr. Muetzel stated the next City Council work session is scheduled for May 30, 2023. In order to prepare for the meeting and ensure adequate time is allowed for each agenda item, Staff is requesting Council formally establish the work session agenda. The following items have been suggested as agenda items:
1. Law Enforcement Update
2. Downtown Business Owners Group Update
3. Reflection Ridge Business Park Development Options
4. Golf Course Board Ownership Options
A motion was made by Council Member Kerkhoff and seconded by Council Member Smith to approve the City Council Work Session Agenda as presented. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
City Administrator Muetzel stated the wastewater system did see an increase in flow following recent heavy rains. The flow into the system prior to receiving 2.65 inches of rain was 1.3 million gallons per day. Following the rain, the flow increased to 2.4 million gallons per day. An additional 2.9 inches of rain caused the flow to increase to 3-4 million gallons per day. The increase in flow to the wastewater system following rain reiterates the need to focus on the Inflow and Infiltration inspections and increasing compliance of both public and private sanitary sewer systems.
Public Works Project Coordinator Doering stated as part of the Great Plains Natural Gas pipeline replacement project, Great Plains will be televising the City’s main sewer pipes and providing the City access to the footage.
Police Chief Cotner stated there were some concerns with vehicle traffic and pedestrians crossing on Bridge Street but no major issues at the NightFalls event. NightFalls was heavily attended with an estimated 8,000 people participating throughout the three nights.
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 Smith and seconded by Council Member Buckley to adjourn the meeting at 5:48 p.m. Motion passed by unanimous vote.