The Garretson City Council met in regular meeting on April 5, with all councilors in attendance. The meeting consisted mostly of updates to ongoing projects, but the council heard an initial proposal to add solar-run flashing lights to warn of a school zone and discussed the mask resolution that Garretson has in place.
The meeting began with an update on Natural Gas. The community is still reeling from the effects of the energy crisis that occurred in February, as the City paid out over $400,000, which is many times over their normal monthly winter price. All residents subsequently saw an enormous jump in their utility bills. City Finance Officer Anna Uhl stated that prices are back down to normal, at $0.95 per Ccf. Council member Dave Bonte asked how much of capacity was contracted, and Uhl responded that 70% of the previous year's usage had been locked in.
However, because so much more gas was used during the cold snap, the City had to pay market price for the overage, and market prices skyrocketed. Council member Tom Godbey asked what the total cost would have been if the 70% hadn't been locked in, to which Uhl responded that it would have been another $250,000 above what was paid. She said she had been in conversation with Clayton Energy's President Bill Lindley, who said he was working on something that would prevent this sort of thing from ever occurring again. Natural gas companies and electrical companies throughout the Midwest felt the bite of that energy crisis, and there were calls to investigate whether market speculators had broken any laws in driving up prices, but Uhl was unaware of what that project may be that Lindley was working on.
The council approved the prices as recommended, and moved on to new business. They discussed the request of a resident to place a stick-built modular home, but since there was no property for them to attach a variance to and it technically doesn't require one since it's a stick-built home, the council took no action.
Mayor Greg Beaner then talked about a request by the Garretson School Resource Officer to have the City place four flashing lights to warn people of a school zone. The Sheriff's deputy had requested two be placed on Main, one be placed on 2nd Street, and one be placed on the other side of the truck stop on Depot. Often, they only flash during school opening and school closing times, to remind drivers to slow down to 15 mph, and can be set to flash during the school year only. Initial estimates were for radar-feedback, which show the driver's speed. The cost for two signs was $6,800. Further estimates were being sought for non-radar signs, with the hope they would be less expensive.
Council member Greg Franka inquired about the life expectancy of the signs, to which City employee Jordan Doane responded was at least four years. He was unsure how long they last before replacement, but noted that Tyndall, SD had had their signs up for at least four years without an issue.
The council then inquired about flashing lights at the top of stop signs. The corner of Dows and Main has been an issue for some time, with travelers ignoring the 4-way stop there. Despite using other measures, including painting the road, spinning wheels, and smaller signs placed at bicycle height, roll-through incidences continue to occur. City Maintenance Supervisor Craig Nussbaum stated flashing stop signs are $1600 each, and the council appeared to lean towards installing those. Doane said he would check into final pricing for both types of signs and whether a bulk discount could be applied, and the council agreed to have him move forward on obtaining an estimate.
Mayor Beaner next brought up a potential change in moving the meeting date for the City Council. A few years ago, Mayor Tim Mullin had proposed moving the meeting date to the first Monday of the month, so that City Council and School Board meetings would not fall on the same evening. This would allow council members to attend School Board meetings if so desired. However, the early date of the council meeting meant that City Finance Officer Anna Uhl had not always processed all the bills for the month, and was having to approve the bills on her own, which the council should actually be doing. Changing the monthly date has to be done via an ordinance, which would have its second reading at the May meeting. If approved, the first date that the new meeting would occur is in June.
At this time, the council moved into old business, starting with the sale of the ball field from the school to the City. Some of the confusion had been surrounding the storage building and the land it was built on, which are owned by the Blue Dragon Foundation. The school had requested continued use of the building as part of the sale. The Foundation voted to sell the building and land to the City at the same time as the field, to help clear up confusion and to allow the City to negotiate a rental agreement. The Foundation agreed to continue to manage everything in regards to the field, including the concession stand, scheduling ball games, and infield maintenance. Further details of the sale are likely to be a lengthy process, according to Mayor Beaner, but he stated that it did appear that it would move forward.
Next on the agenda was an update on the Event Center/Community Center/City Hall. At the last meeting, the council had mostly decided on one facility for all, and had requested an estimate on heating and cooling costs for a building of the size they are exploring. The size of the building will be impacted by what site is chosen, but the council had discussed having a facility large enough for 350 people. Mayor Beaner noted that the architect found only a $5,000 difference between the costs of heating and cooling a 10,000 square foot building versus a 15,000 square foot building per year. Council member Bonte asked about potential cash flow, and council member Bill Hoskins inquired about the debt service on the amount that may have to be borrowed to build the facility. Council member Richelle Hofer pointed out that the City needs to know if a 15,000 square foot building can even be afforded. Hoskins stated the council's goal should be to have a full idea of what needs to be budgeted by the July meeting so at least some of the costs can be included in the next fiscal year. City Finance Officer Uhl stated that some of the profitability was already included in many of the materials the council had received, so council member Hofer suggested a single file needed to be put together for council members to explore. She and Hoskins also noted that the CIP (Community Improvement Plan) is in need of an update so infrastructure projects can be prioritized.
After an update on the alleyway being purchased from Colleen Collier, which is waiting for a judge's signature due to an unplatted portion of land, the council discussed benefits for City employees. Council members Hoskins, Hofer, and Jodi Gloe had worked to re-word the benefits for the employee handbook. Council member Hoskins had relied heavily on the Minnehaha County benefits language for the re-wording. Mainly, the discussion revolved around overtime and PTO. The new benefits would eliminate compensatory time for salaried employees, but allow a choice between overtime or compensatory time for hourly employees. It would also merge together vacation and sick leave into one PTO package. Concerns revolved around employees losing current vacation or sick hours that have been accumulated, but the committee had organized it so that any hours over a cap would be placed into an extended leave bucket. This would allow the City to provide FMLA leave and have the capital to pay for it.
Council member Tom Godbey stated he was against the proposal, as he was for keeping vacation time and sick leave separate. Council member Hofer responded that the drawback to keeping them separate was that it penalized employees who did not get sick, as they would never be able to use those accumulated hours. If an employee leaves, they would be able to receive a payout on un-used PTO; whereas, if they were separate, the employee could only receive compensation for the vacation leave.
City Finance Officer Uhl spoke to the council in her capacity as an employee, saying that PTO and having the option for FMLA would be a weight off the employee's shoulders instead of worrying if they had enough sick leave should a medical issue arise.
The council voted to adopt the proposal, with all except Godbey voting in favor.
There was then an update on road construction regarding the truck route along Railroad and Essex, with City Maintenance Supervisor Nussbaum speaking favorably about the company doing the work. He stated that they started the week before the meeting and have a goal of finishing the work by mid-June.
Infrastructure Design's Chad Hanisch then gave an update on the 5th Street bridge, which is still awaiting final approval by the DOT. He stated that they were going to put a provision in the bid that would allow the contractor to start in 2022 if necessary, despite his wish that the work be completed in 2021. However, contractors are currently pretty full in their schedules, he noted, and the DOT delay meant that the provision is necessary. Mayor Beaner expressed some gratitude that the truck route project and the 5th Street bridge project would not overlap, as long as further deterioration wasn't too concerning. Hanisch responded that the new speed limit of 20 mph across the bridge was an important piece of maintaining its current status, and that one more year shouldn't make too big of a difference as long as it is followed and enforced.
The final item on the agenda was an update from City employee Jessica Fueston about the CityofGarretson.com website that is in development. She stated that the design has been approved and the site is currently in the programming phase. She was hopeful that the "dummy site" would be sent to her within the next week, with final approval coming soon. At that time, the VisitGarretson.com site would be retired by the City and formally adopted by the Commercial Club.
Mayor Beaner then opened up the floor for further business. Council member Hofer pointed out that Garretson still had its mask resolution in place, and stated that mask use during council meetings had been faltering. She pointed out that it should either be followed or rescinded. Mayor Beaner asked the council what their preference would be, to which the council responded that they would vote to rescind. The item will be on the May agenda for a vote.
Council member Bonte then discussed, on behalf of the Industrial Development, the option to place one more drive entrance off 5th Street near Highway 11. He estimated that while the drive entrance would be rather close (approximately 100 yards or 300 feet), it is outside the State DOT requirements, and it would be necessary to be installed in order to sell the remaining parcels of land. While the final decision would fall to the Industrial Development, he did want to ensure he had the support of the council for its installation.
Bonte also brought up continued non-compliance on the No Engine Braking ordinance, pointing out one instance where it occurred right in front of a law enforcement officer, who neglected to fine the driver. Mayor Beaner stated he would contact the Sheriff's Department.
At that time, the council went into executive session and adjourned. The next meeting of the City Council will be on Monday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Legion.
