Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Hamburg City Council Minutes - August 16, 2012


Mayor Richard Malz called the Hamburg City Council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  Councilmember John Barnes, Councilmember Steve Trebesch, Councilmember Chris Lund, City Clerk Jeremy Gruenhagen, Deputy Clerk Susan Block, and Maintenance Worker Dennis Byerly were in attendance.  Councilmember Larry Mueller arrived at 7:04.  Fire Chief Brad Droege and Gary Marquardt (HFD Relief Association) arrived at 8:40 p.m.  Brian Eggers (Parkside Tavern) was also present.

Public Comment
  • No persons were in attendance for Public Comment.
Agenda Review (Added Items) and Adoption
  • Added – Updated Claims List
  • Added – Letter from Justin Black (S.E.H.) for awarding contract for 2012 Seal Coat Project.
  • Added – Updated Delinquency List
  • Councilmember Barnes moved to adopt the agenda with the noted additions, seconded by Councilmember Trebesch and motion unanimously carried.  All Council members were present.
Approve Consent Agenda
  • Approve Minutes for July 10, 2012
    • The July 10, 2012 minutes were not made available to Council prior to the Council meeting and were removed from the Consent Agenda.
  • Municipal Boundary Adjustment Unit (Joint Resolution for Orderly Annexations – Gamber Property & Storm Water Pond Parcel)
  • Local Government Aid for 2013
  • Time-off Request for Sue Block
  • Mediacom Video Rate Adjustments
  • Carver County Sign Replacement Project
  • MNSPECT Minute for August 2012
  • June Cash Flow Statement
  • Water Wells Usage/Water Consumption Reports for July 2012
  • Delinquent Utility Bills Report 
  • Employee Project Lists
·         Councilmember Lund moved to approve the Consent Agenda with the removal of the July 10, 2012 Minutes, seconded by Councilmember Barns and motion unanimously carried.  All Council members were present.

Parkside Tavern – Brian Eggers
·         Brian Eggers requested to have part of Railroad Street on the east side of Parkside Tavern closed for the 5th Anniversary of Parkside Tavern.  The celebration is scheduled to be held on September 22, 2012.  The celebration would include;
o       Cindy’s Concertina Band would play from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.
o       There would be no outside activities after sundown.
o       A fence would be placed from the bars main door along the sidewalk to the east side of Railroad Street and then south no further than 276 Railroad.
o       An outside bar would be set up within the fencing along with picnic tables and a few tents for shade.
o       There would be no activity on County Road 50 (Henrietta Ave).
o       Neighbors along Scheele Avenue and Railroad Street would be asked to sign a document allowing the closure of street from 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
·         Council discussed and decided to contact the cities attorney to make sure the Parkside Tavern’s liability insurance and liquor license would cover such an event and indemnify the City of Hamburg against any claims or liabilities.
·         Councilmember Mueller moved to grant Parkside Tavern permission to close part of Railroad Street for their 5th Anniversary celebration as long as everything is approved by the City Attorney Mac Willemssen, seconded by Councilmember Trebesch and motion unanimously carried.  All Council members were present.

Justin Black – City Engineer (S.E.H.)

2012 Seal Coating/Crack Filling Project
  • Justin Black (City Engineer -S.E.H.) sent a letter to Council outlining the bids for the 2012 Seal Coat Project. 
    • Pearson Bros., Inc. - $18,143.75
    • Allied Blacktop Company - $20,747.35
    • Southwest Paving, Inc. - $22,966.75
    • Caldwell Asphalt Co., Inc. - $33,047.00
  • Mr. Black did not find any reason to deny awarding the contract to Pearson Bros., Inc. and recommended to Council that they award the bid to this contractor.
  • Councilmember Mueller moved to award the 2012 Seal Coat bid to Pearson Bros., Inc. for the bid price of $18,143.75, seconded by Councilmember Trebesch and motion unanimously carried.  All Council members were present.
  • Council discussed and agreed to allow Pearson Bros. to put the granite rocks that they will be using at the end of George Street.
Overlay of County Road 50 – Punch List Items
  • Remove all millings from the sidewalks, curbs and gutters.
  • Check all manholes and gate valve to make sure they will open.
  • Provide a water usage report for the amount of water they used.
  • Replace catch basin that was damaged during the road construction.  The catch basin needs to be sawed out and poured back in.
  • Lower all gate valves that are higher than the roadway.
  • Inform the County Engineer of the inadequate communication between flaggers on traffic flow, misinformation that the road was closed, unable to go through town and blocking the street with their equipment, and informing the Ambulance crew they could not get through and they would have to turn around.
  • Pick up all signs and cones that are still around town.
Sanitary & Storm Water Improvement Project
  • Chard has not sent a final payment request and they are aware of the retaining fee.  Justin Black (S.E.H.) will make sure Chard has the final payment request ready for the September Council meeting.  
Private Property Service Lines (Illegal Connections/Replacement)
  • Maintenance Worker Byerly is having trouble televising the Huron Apartment service lines and will talk to Joe from Infratech when he does the line tracing training on Tuesday.
    • Council requested to have the Huron Apartment service lines televised by the end of August.



Old City Business

Community Center Closet Door (Replace)
  • Council decided that when the door is received to have either Craig Glander or Dayton Weber install the new door.
Sign for City Hall/Township
  • The new sign is almost done.
Use of SHIP Monies (Handicap Access to Parks)
  • Two new paths have been installed, one at each Park for handicap access to the playground equipment.  The cost was around $5,800 to $5,900 with approximately $4,000 left over from the SHIP monies.
    • Council decided to have Wm. Mueller & Sons provide an estimate on how much it would cost to shape up the existing pathway in the park and report back to Council at the next Council meeting.  The remaining SHIP monies will be used to repair the existing pathway.     
Revised NIMS Training Program (Requirements)
  • Councilmember Steve Trebesch and Mayor Malz will do the training for NIMS when it becomes available in our area.

Public Works & Utilities Department Report

Liftstation Repairs
  • Two bids were received for repairing the Liftstation however they will have to be requested again.  Neither bid had the same items listed for repairs.  One bid was $13,000 and the other one was $5,000.
  • Council and Maintenance Worker Byerly discussed what type of repairs may be needed to fix the gate valves and check valves.  Council also asked Maintenance Worker Byerly to find out if by installing larger impellers the pipe carrying the water to the lagoons would be able to handle the extra flow.  Council requested Maintenance Worker Byerly to put the repair requests in writing so North Star and Electric Pump would have the same information when asked for the revised bids.
  • Maintenance Worker Byerly was asked to get information on the cost to repair the electrical box and add a dialer to the Liftstation.
Nuisance Letters
  • Mayor Malz will be driving the city streets to check on any nuisance violations and submit them to the city office to send out letters.
Fixing the Light Fixture in Community Center Storage Closet
  • Maintenance Worker Byerly was asked for an update on when the light will be fixed in the storage closet.  Maintenance Worker Byerly will call BLI to have them come out and fix the ballast. The light has been out for at least a month.
Community Center - Painting
  • Painting the inside of the Community Center is scheduled for completion this fall.

Fire Department Report – Chief Brad Droege

DNR Grant Application
  • Received DNR Grant for $1,200.
Ag Star Grant
  • Fire Department applied for a $1,000 Ag Star Grant.
National Night Out and Memorial Dedication for Public Servants (Protective Services) Update
  • Both events went very well.  Fire Chief Droege and Council were disappointed that the Norwood Times newspaper did not attend these events.
  • Council was asked to think about adding a Memorial Dedication Plaque to the Memorial.
Decorative Fountain for Park Pond (Donations)
  • The Hamburg Hunt and Fish Club donated $200 towards the fountain.
Hamburg Fire Department Relief Association – (Gary Marquardt)
  • The Relief Association received a notice from the State Auditor that their 2011 Reporting Year Forms had not been sent in.  Mr. Marquardt explained that the Relief Association has a new accountant and he did file an extension and the forms will be sent in with no penalties.
HFDRA Pension Increase
  • Chief Droege asked Council to consider a pay increase, last year they received a $25 increase.
Purchase New Hanging Street Flags
  • Chief Droege and Gary Marquardt informed Council that the current USA flags are tattered and the brackets are breaking.  They requested Councils approval to purchasing new flags with brackets.  The total cost for replacing all the old flags would be $1,611 with phasing in the new ones over a two (2) year period.
  • Council discussed and decided to add this to the Wish List for next year’s budget.

City Clerk/Treasurer Report

Insurance Claims from June 18 & 19, 2012 Storms
  • All the insurance claims are almost completed except for 490 Brad this claim should be finalized next week.  The Hamburg Baseball Club is working on getting estimates to fix or replace the Baseball park fence, when received City Clerk Gruenhagen is to submit their claim.
Hamburg FD Sign
  • Council discussed the repair of the Fire Departments sign that was damaged during the June storms.  Council decided to have City Clerk Gruenhagen contact Willard Fuellner about obtaining a new plank and routing it out for installation on new pillars.
Primary Election – August 14, 2012
  • Out of 303 registered voters only 33 ballots were cast.
Filings for City Council and Mayor
  • Richard Malz filed for the Mayor position. (Incumbent)
  • Richard Odoms filed for one of the two open council seats.
  • Susan Block also filed for City Council, however, after extended thought she decided to withdraw her application.
Election Judge
  • The city is looking for one more election judge for the 6:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. shift.
    • Councilmember Mueller suggested asking Linda Mueller if she would consider being a judge.
Council Wages
  • If Council is considering Council wages then this has to be adopted by the November 6th General Election.
Policing Cost
  • The Policing cost from this year to next year is proposed to increase by $300.
Tax Forfeited Lot on Brad Street (PID #45.2000010)
  • Carver County is asking the City of Hamburg if they would wave the approximant $12,200 assessment on the property to get it back on the tax roll.
  • Council discussed and no decision was made at this time.

Property/Casualty Insurance Renewal
  • Council discussed and decided not to waive the monetary limits on Municipal Tort Liability established by statues.  This means that if not waived an individual claimant would not be able to recover more then $500,000 on any claim with the maximum Tort Liability of $1.5 million. 
  • Councilmember Barnes moved not to waive the Municipal Tort Liability monetary limit as recommended by the Hamburg City Attorney, seconded by Councilmember Mueller and motion unanimously carried.  All Council members were present.
Host Liquor Liability for Hall, Community Center, and Park Rentals
  • City Clerk Gruenhagen explained to Council the difficulty in obtaining Host Liquor Liability from insurance companies for persons renting city buildings.
  • Council discussed and decided to obtain quotes for the City to carry liquor liability insurance as a back up if any thing should happen.
Budget Workshop Meetings
  • Councilmember Lund moved to hold the Special Workshop meetings on August 28, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. and September 5th at 7:00 p.m., seconded by Councilmember Trebesch and motion unanimously carried.  All Council members were present.
City Sewer Backup Coverage
  • To continue to have sewer backup coverage for the City the insurance company would like the Council to draw up a city wide plan for cleaning out the city sewer lines over the following years.
  • Councilmember Mueller will obtain quotes for jetting out the sewer lines and report back at the next Council meeting.
City Council Meetings for 2012/2013
  • Council discussed having one Council meeting per month unless there is additional City business to discuss.  No decision was made at this time.
Community Hall Rentals
  • People renting the Hamburg Hall are requesting to gain access to the Hall sooner then the Council decided 12:00 p.m. (noon) on the Friday before the Saturday rental.  It is in the City Fee Schedule that if the renters want to get in earlier on Friday then there is an additional $200 charge for the extra day.  Several people are complaining that this is to high a price to rent the additional day.
  • Council discussed and decided to leave the Hall rental fees as they are now.

Approve DEBIT Payment for June 2012 Claims ($229.00)
Approve Added July 2012 Claims ($14,318.08)
  • Two ACH payments and claim number 15747 and 15748, claim numbers 15750 to 15770.
Approve Updated August 2012 Claims ($95,132.08)
  • Five ACH payments and claim numbers 15771 to 15802.
Councilmember Barnes moved to approve the Debit Payment for June 2012 ($229.00), the added July 2012 Claims List of two ACH payments and claim number 15747 and 15748 and 15750 to 15770 ($14,318.08), the updated August 2012 Claims List of five ACH payments and claim numbers 15771 to 15802 ($95,132.08), seconded by Councilmember Trebesch and motion unanimously carried.  All Council members were present.

City Council Reports

Councilmember Mueller (Sewer & Water)
  • Carver County Soil & Water verified that the City of Hamburg could receive the $10,000 grant to purchase a SAFL Baffle, however the City would have to commit to cleaning it out three times per year.
  • Council discussed and decided to check into who would be able to vacuum out the SAFL Baffle and what the cost would be before agreeing to the purchase.  At this time it is not known if there is a deadline on the grant.
Councilmember Lund (Streets) had nothing further to report.

Councilmember Trebesch (Buildings) had nothing further to report.

Councilmember Barnes (Parks) had nothing further to report.

Mayor Malz
  • Mayor Malz commented on the Countryside Vet bill for the two dogs that were picked up in Hamburg.  It is unknown who the owners were.

Adjourn City Council Meeting

  • Councilmember Lund moved to adjourn the Hamburg City Council meeting at 9:04 p.m., Councilmember Trebesch seconded and motion unanimously carried.  All Council members were present. 

Submitted by: 


Sue Block

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