October 3, 2016
The City Council of Comfrey met in regular session Tuesday, October 3, 2016 at 6:30 PM in the community center with all members present. Attorney Matthew Muske was also present. Mayor Richter presided.
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was recited.
The agenda was approved as presented.
September 6, 2016 regular meeting minutes were approved on motion of Arnsdorf, seconded by Evers and carried unanimously.
The following bills were approved on a motion by Evers, second by Kastner and carried unanimously.
| Bolton & Menk, Inc | Engineer Fees- WTP/Tower project | $ 3,281.09 |
| Braun & Borth Sanitation | Garbage Pick-up - Sept | $ 2,194.97 |
| Brown County REA | Electricity - August | $ 2,251.67 |
| Choice Financial | Replenish Petty Cash | $ 102.10 |
| Clements Lumber | Airwick, cleaner | $ 37.94 |
| Comfrey C-Store | Fuel | $ 384.88 |
| Comfrey Fire Dept | Expenses | $ 3,661.16 |
| Electric Pump | Annual pump service at WWTP | $ 700.00 |
| Darfur Electric | Lift station repairs & fuses | $ 882.47 |
| Frontier | Telephone/Internet - Sept | $ 472.70 |
| Glens Auto Parts | WWTP - bulb | $ 6.60 |
| Gopher State One Call | 1 line locates | $ 1.35 |
| Hawkins | Tank demurrage, chemicals | $ 1,310.44 |
| Kelly, Tammy | Toner police printer/binders/mileage | $ 85.72 |
| LMCIT | Work Comp Audit Adjustment | $ 1,153.00 |
| Library | Bills and Wages | $ 6,592.52 |
| Mike's Market | Cleaning supplies, batteries, bags | $ 44.41 |
| MN Dept of Health | Water License Renewal - Moody | $ 23.00 |
| Mn Dept of Labor & Industry | Boiler License | $ 20.00 |
| Mn Dept of Labor & Industry | Air compressor check | $ 70.00 |
| Payroll Expense | Payroll Expense | $ 13,063.74 |
| T & C Service Center | Mower filter, oil | $ 29.00 |
| Utility Consultants, Inc | WWTP Tests | $ 293.62 |
| USPS | PO Box Rent | $ 66.00 |
| Verizon Wireless | Police Cell Phone - Sept | $ 78.42 |
September financial statement was reviewed and approved on motion by Arnsdorf, seconded by Kastner and carried unanimously.
The maintenance report was reviewed by Berberich. The water tower project is almost complete. The tower will need to dry a total of two weeks before it can be filled again. The main SCP failed at the WWTP due to a power surge so Automatic Systems was called in to repair.
Fire Chief Berberich reported the new turnout gear has started to come in with the remaining pieces being shipped in November. The department will also be going through an ISO audit on October 10th. This is an insurance audit for premiums.
The First Responder Captain Barnes reported Sandy Johns and Mike Wegner will be starting training classes. They will also be holding a training session in Comfrey with Mayo One on October 19th.
Chief Meyer reviewed the police report with the council.
The library board report was reviewed. Arnsdorf informed the council that Nathan Hesse who is the city appointed board member is running for school board so we will need to appoint another member by the end of the year. The library budget was reviewed and approved on a motion made by Schmitt, seconded by Evers and carried unanimously with Arnsdorf abstaining.
No additional information available on natural gas.
No action taken on the Cottonwood County tax abatement program.
A resolution expressing acceptance and appreciation for donations of $500 to the first responders and $500 to the fire department in memory of Deloris Kastner. The resolution was approved on a motion from Arnsdorf, seconded by Schmitt and carried unanimously.
Brad Eckstein was present to discuss the ag property affected by the rural service district. The rural service district rate is currently at .666667 to 1 and he would like to see that rate lowered as he feels taxes are very high on the farmland because it is within the city limits. A request will be made to the assessor to run some different scenarios to see how changes will affect other tax rates.
Andy Kehren was present and reviewed Partial Pay Request No 1 with the council. He recommends approval of $84,615.31 for the completion of the well sealing and work to date on the water tower. The pay request was approved on a motion made by Schmitt, seconded by Evers and carried unanimously.
Change Order No 1 was also presented by Kehren for the replacement of the riser pipe, the gate valve in the tower vault and the insulation around the riser pipe. The total amount of the change order is $58,422. Kehren went on to explain that our initial estimate on the well sealing was high so Change Order No 1 causes a net increase to the overall contract in the amount of $15,890.75. The change order was approved on a motion made by Arnsdorf, seconded by Kastner and carried unanimously.
As a condition of receiving state funds for the project, a Real Property Declaration must be filed with the County Recorder’s Office on the property being improved with the funds. The Real Property Declaration was approved on a motion made by Evers, seconded by Kastner and carried unanimously.
A motion was made by Arnsdorf, seconded by Schmitt and carried unanimously to approve the wage monitoring compliance for the project to be done by Bolton & Menk.
The meeting was adjourned on a motion made by Arnsdorf, seconded by Evers.