Members Absent:  

Others Present:  Becky Kuball City Clerk, Dave Osborne Police, Jack Schwichtenberg, Mark Kasma, Troy Dahle, Tim Minske, Mark Morris, Steve Nordmeier, Stephanie Culhane, Mark Rahrick, Herb Krueger 

A regular meeting of the Morristown City Council was called to order on Monday,  
August 2, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 402 Division Street South by Mayor Kurt Wolf. 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 

Motion by Karsten seconded by Flaten and motion carries to approve the minutes of the regular meeting held on July 6, 2010 and July 19, 2010 

Financial Report: Motion by Valentyn seconded by Karsten motion carries to accept the financial report ending June 30, 2010 as written  

Motion by Flaten seconded by Valentyn and carried unanimously to approve the Police Report and schedule for August 2010. 

Fire Department:  
Motion by Karsten seconded by Flaten and motion carries to accept the fire department report as printed. 

Maintenance Report: Minske reported that the crack sealing is done in town. The company came in at 11:30 and was done by 4:30. The job done looks good. 
Replaced a curb shut off at Jeff Wenker’s. There are a few more in town that still need to be replaced. Valentyn questioned how the new maintenance worker is doing. Minske said he is doing a good job, and is a very hard worker. 
Motion by Valentyn seconded by Flaten motion carries to accept the maintenance report as presented. 

Zoning Board Report: Morris requested that the city send out a letter to 2 property owners that have a third accessory building/structure on their property asking them to remove the third accessory building/structure, the city ordinances only allow for 2 accessory buildings/structures per residential lot. 
Motion by Karsten seconded by Valentyn motion carries to send out a letter to the property owners and that they are welcome to come to the zoning board meeting to discuss the issue. 
Motion by Karsten seconded by Lang motion carries to accept the zoning board minutes as printed. 

Comments and Suggestions: Nordmeier stated the DNR came and took some branches from the trees downtown that are dying. Possible reasons could be herbicides got in the cracks and are causing them to die. It could also be salt off of the road, or a bug that was in the tree that they have not identified yet. DNR suggested getting some Miracle grow  
Spikes to see if that helps them come back. Nordmeier was going to look into getting some. 

Ginny Dahle questioned who takes care of the sidewalks in town, if it is the property owner’s responsibility or the Cities responsibility. Some of the sidewalks in town really need to be fixed. She also questioned if you can have a trailer parked on the sidewalk, there has been a home in town that has had one parked in the sidewalk all summer. Valentyn questioned who would enforce an ordinance and if there is an ordinance that covers this. 
Ginny Dahle also questioned why city hall was closed most of last week. She thought the reason for the Deputy Clerk was to help cover hours when the City Clerk is not in the office. Karsten and Lang both agreed that the city offices should have been open more during Kuball’s vacation. Wolf will check with Kristalyn Morris and see why there were not any extra hours covered. 

Claims and Accounts: 
Motion by Lang seconded by Karsten motion carries to pay the claim and accounts. 
Motion by Lang seconded by Karsten motion carries to pay the late claims and accounts. 

Ordinance violation letters: No one attended. Lang questioned if that was the letter sent out to those who haven’t finished things on their properties. Morris confirmed that it was. Lang questioned if the property owners that have sidewalks that have been let go should also be in violation. Morris questioned who is responsible for fixing these. Lang said that if there is enough out there that need repair than the city could fix and assess the property owners. Mark Kasma said he will have Revering look into it when he gets back from vacation. 

7:30 Public Hearing- Peddler Ordinance 2010-6 
Karsten stated that if we pass this ordinance then we can post notice on the edge of town and let people know that they require a permit to peddle or solicit anything in town. Hearing closed at 7:35 pm. 
Motion by Karsten seconded by Flaten motion carries voting by resolution Karsten-yes, Lang-yes, Valentyn-yes, Flaten-yes, and Wolf-yes to approve Peddler, Solicitor, and Transient permit ordinance 2010-6 

2010-6 Refunding Bond Resolution: Karsten stated that the EDA voted unanimously to move forward with refunding bond.  
Motion by Flaten seconded by Valentyn motion carries voting by resolution Karsten-yes, Lang-yes, Valentyn-yes, Flaten-yes, and Wolf-yes to approve the refunding bond resolution 2010-6 

Edward Jones: Karsten questioned if this was the same one that Kristalyn Morris referred to earlier. Wolf said it was not the same one. Motion by Valentyn seconded by Flaten motion carries to leave money in Edward Jones account. 

Meschke addition: Karsten explained that some property owners paid extra for their lots when they purchased them to include the final coat of asphalt and would like to know if there is anything they can do to avoid paying for the final coat a second time. 
Rahrick stated that normally you have a developer’s agreement; one of the reasons to have one is so that the developer can be held responsible for these kinds of issues, but it appears that there was not one signed for this last addition. Normally, property owners would be able to go after the developer to try and get them to pay to have the final coat put on, but because one was never signed it might be difficult to get the developer to pay. The city didn’t get the money from the developer, so the city could go ahead and put the final coat on and then assess the property owners to put the final lift on. To be fair, the city would have to assess everyone.  The down side is that the city can only assess a property if it will increase the property value of the home. Homeowners can appeal the assessments. They can make the city prove that this would increase the property value. If it were gravel, recommendation would be to leave it as it is, but because it has been started then it should be finished.  
Covenants are rules/guidelines generally enforced between property owners. The city has no involvement with them. The city enforces their ordinances. Culhane questioned when an amendment to the Covenant is done, shouldn’t everyone be notified of the proposed change? Larry Dahle questioned whether or not they can ask for lower property taxes based on the price that was paid for those properties. Rahrick said that was between the county and property owner. Owners would need to go to the county and ask for the reduction. The numbers are based on values of two  

years prior. Nordmeier questioned who enforces the Covenant and Rahrick stated it was between the property owners, and the city doesn’t get involved once the developer is out of the picture. Nordmeier stated that one property owner owns 7 properties. Morris stated that 51% of the owners can make a change in the addition. Morris questioned if the zoning board can issue a permit if it follows the cities ordinances but it does not follow the covenant. Rahrick said that as long as it follows the city ordinances then the permit can be issued. Rahrick said that there are a lot of other cities in the same predicament as we are. There was a question on the tonnage of the road when finished. How to keep the big trucks off of it so that it will not be damaged? Karsten stated that signs can be posted on tonnage and then they can be ticketed for being overweight on loads if needed. Rahrick said to work with the city engineer and make sure that the special assessments are done on the properties that are in the addition. Estimates have to be done on the cost of the final coat and bids need to be obtained.  

PeopleServices contract: Still in negotiations, Krueger stated he is still waiting for an answer from the council. Karsten stated current contract ends September 1, 2010. In September 2005 we started paying $9,255 monthly, currently we are paying $10,264 monthly. Proposed contract is $9,143. 
Lang would like everyone to look over the proposed contract and it will be discussed at the next council meeting. 

Morris Review: Karsten still waiting on 3 review sheets. 

Kuball Review: Will be ready at the next meeting. 

Correspondence and Announcements: Karsten is wondering if we can change the meeting date on the 16th of August to the 23rd of August.  
Motion by Karsten seconded by Valentyn motion carries to change the next city council meeting to August 23rd. 
Kuball will post the change of date for the meeting on the Channel 7 and put it on the website as well as at the post office. 

Lang would like to have a community get together at the park, a community night out. Karsten was going to suggest a Harvest Sale idea, like a farmer’s market, maybe they can be incorporated. Bolton and Menk will donate to help put on the community event. 

Minske would like a notice put on the cable channel that state you cannot blow grass onto the sidewalks and streets. The grass gets up into the street sweeper. 

Motion by Lang seconded by Valentyn motion carries to adjourn at 8:20 pm. 
 
 Becky Kuball 
                 City Clerk/Treasurer