DRAFT – Minutes are not official until approved by Council at the next regular meeting.

City of Effie September 14, 2009 Minutes Members in attendance were Mayor Matt David, Bill Hastings Lil Black, Liza Erickson and Tim Stewart. No one was absent. Also in attendance were Julie Aakhus and Chuck Almhjeld

Mayor Matt David called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Matt opened the public forum. As no one wished to address the Council, the public forum was closed.

Minutes: Motion to approve the minutes by Matt, seconded by Bill, motion carried unanimously (MCU).

OLD BUSINESS

Sewer Update: Chuck Almhjeld reported that the sewer plant is running well and is treating an average of 4,000 gallons per day. There was an issue with an electrical component which was repaired. Two lift stations have been plugged with what appears to be construction material. Almhjeld will have Ritter & Ritter clean those out when they are in the area for other work as well. As shown in the monthly reports, the fecal count has been going up and this month it exceeded the maximum allowed by the City’s permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The bulbs will be changed to fix this. Almhjeld noted that the tank before the bulbs should be pumped at certain times and he will write this information down in an operating procedure. There are some settings that have been changed and alum is being added to the system which he will also record in the written procedure. Almhjeld informed the Council that Joe Zimmer would be testing for his Class C wastewater license in December. Once he is licensed, he can take over the entire plant and the City will not need to contract with the City of Bigfork for Almhjeld’s services any longer. This could have a positive impact on the budget. Almhjeld will give a report on what the 2010 sewer budget should be at the next meeting. Storlie had emailed City Attorney Kent Nyberg about the Mann sewer connection but no response was received yet. Motion to table the issue by Matt, seconded by Liza, MCU. Joe Zimmer has requested sewer service to property he recently purchased. An ordinance setting the fee for new connections has not be passed yet and is currently being reviewed by Nyberg. The Council felt that $300 was an appropriate connection fee. Motion by Bill, seconded by Tim to set the fee at $300, contingent upon the attorney approving the rest of the ordinance, MCU. Motion by Bill, seconded by Tim to approve Zimmer’s permit application contingent upon passage of the ordinance setting the fee and to extend the permit time limit from 30 days to 60 days, MCU.

Housing Rehab: Kootasca has reported that there is one spot left to fill and an application for that spot was given out today. If that application is returned and accepted, all the spots will be filled.

Timber Sale: Itasca County is having property they own logged. The City owns an adjacent parcel and the County will give the logger doing their property the City’s contact information so that the City can work with them to get their property logged as well.

Rodeo Committee: Julie Aakhus noted that donations were not as high this year and the Committee still had two bills that needed to be paid so they were requesting that the City help out. Motion by Matt to pay the bills out of the Community Fund, seconded by Bill, MCU.

Community Center Committee: Liza reported that the Committee is meeting on the first Wednesday of each month. The Legion has requested to use all of the west wall for their display items. Motion by Matt to allow them to use the wall, seconded by Lil. Amendment to the motion by Tim to include that the Legion accepts all responsibility for the items displayed, seconded by Bill, motion carried with Liza abstaining. Liza reported that the Committee had discussed a proposed cleaning schedule where the City, Legion/Auxiliary and Saddle Club would each take a month to be responsible for cleaning of the Community Center, however now the Saddle Club’s inclusion on this schedule was being questioned due to the fact that they have no financial ties to or authority over the building. The Committee will discuss this issue again and possibly get quotes for an independent contractor to do the cleaning. There has been an issue with chemical residue in the kitchen sink which has ruined the stainless steel. Tim reported that the Legion is prepared to go ahead with the chimney repair as discussed at the last meeting and that they are willing to pay half of the cost for the repair. Motion by Matt to pay half the cost, up to $160, of the repair, from the Community Fund, seconded by Tim, MCU.

Fence: Tim reported that he would be picking the poles up from Ostendorfs. Matt reported that the new basketball hoop should be up this month. Motion by Liza to install the old hoop at the Community Center in a safe location, seconded by Lil, MCU.

NEW BUSINESS

Building Permit: Nick Francisco has applied for a permit to build a house and garage. Motion to approve the permit by Matt, seconded by Lil, MCU.

Preliminary Levy & Budget: Matt noted that the tax levy can always be lowered from the preliminary amount but not raised. Last year the preliminary levy was set at $30,000 and then lowered to $20,000 for the final levy. Motion by Liza to set the preliminary levy at $30,000, seconded by Lil, MCU.

Clerk Resignation: Angie Storlie has submitted her resignation as City Clerk. Applications were still on file from the time she was hired and one other application had been submitted. Storlie is able to stay on and train a new person in. Motion by Matt to accept Storlie resignation as of the end of September, to hire Jacqui Krueger as City Clerk at the current rate of pay and to have Storlie work on an independent contractor basis if/as needed after September, seconded by Liza, MCU.

Bill stated that crosswalks are needed on State Highway 1. Almhjeld stated that a MnDOT representative would be in Bigfork and he would inform them of Effie’s wishes.

Bills: Matt stated that a claim for $200 for gravel for the alley by Linder’s that was approved at the last meeting needed to be added to the list. Storlie noted that the checks for housing rehabilitation projects could not be sent until reimbursement from DEED was received. Motion to approve the bills by Matt, seconded by Liza, MCU.

Motion to adjourn by Matt, seconded by Liza, MCU at 8:44 p.m.

Angela L. Storlie City Clerk