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A regular meeting of the Council for the City of Crystal Falls was held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall on Monday, September 11, 2006, at 5:00 P.M. Central Time. Roll Call: Mayor Hendrickson, Councilors Heikkinen, Thrasher, and Valesano. Absent: Councilor Stachowicz Also Present: City Manager Nordeman, City Attorney Lawrence, and City Clerk/Treasurer Olson and various citizens. Mayor Hendrickson led the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance and then asked everyone to join in a moment of silence in observation of the 9/11/01 tragedy. Councilor Stachowicz seconded by Councilor Thrasher moved that the minutes of the regular meeting of August 14, 2006 and the special meetings of August 14 and August 30, 2006 and the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting of August 14, 2006 be approved as written. Motion carried. Iron County Chamber Director, William Leonoff, addressed the Council regarding the Iron County Travel Planner. He noted that he wanted to be sure that the City did not miss out on an opportunity to advertise in the planner. Councilor Valesano seconded by Councilor Heikkinen moved to take out a half page ad in the Iron County Travel Planner at a cost of $1,275.00. Motion carried. Bruce Forstrum, representing the Crystal Falls Men’s Golf Club addressed the Council regarding comments made about reduced rates during a recent tournament. There was no DDA report due to the lack of a quorum at the meeting scheduled for earlier in the day. Jeff Sjoquist of Coleman Engineering updated the Council on the water project noting that the water agreement is still in the hands of Rural Development. Mayor Hendrickson seconded by Councilor Heikkinen moved to retain Attorney Ron Basso to draw up a "Development Agreement" for any prospective Crystal Manor developer. Motion carried. Manager Nordeman advised of the hiring of Denise Martin to fill in at the golf course clubhouse this fall. The consideration of applications for assessor was postponed pending the receipt of expected applications. Attorney Lawrence advised the Council of his opinion that David Anderson did not need a variance for the placement of a garage on a lot adjacent to his home on Adams Street. Manager Nordeman announced that the City was successful in its application for the S2 Grant. Councilor Thrasher seconded by Councilor Valesano moved to accept the bid from Albert Smokevitch for a used computer in the amount of $110.00, and further, to reject the bid from Joe Ropiak in the amount of $250.00 for a used computer and offer the remaining two computers to Mr. Ropiak for $220.00 or a single computer for $110.00. (It being understood that if Mr. Ropiak does not want the 2nd computer it will be sold on a first come basis for $110.00). Motion carried. Councilor Thrasher seconded by Mayor Hendrickson moved to change the employee handbook to reflect the action taken at the August 9, 2006 meeting regarding the police department employees pay rates. Motion carried. Manager Nordeman and Clerk/Treasurer Olson were directed to proceed with the compilation of HIPPA and FMLA policies for consideration for inclusion in the Employee Handbook. In addition, Manager Nordeman will draft language regarding the Power Plant "On Call Operators" compensation. Mayor Hendrickson seconded by Councilor Heikkinen moved to accept the resignation of Kari Divine from the Crystal Falls District Community Library Board. Motion carried. Councilor Heikkinen seconded by Mayor Hendrickson moved to appoint Helen Barnett to serve the remainder of a term on the Crystal Falls District Community Library Board (said term will expire on December 31, 2006). Motion carried. Mayor Hendrickson seconded by Councilor Heikkinen moved to accept Amendment #1 to Consulting Agreement with Community Consulting Services, Linda Howlett, for additional services regarding the completion and revision of the Zoning Ordinance for the City. Motion carried. Councilor Valesano seconded by Councilor Heikkinen moved to accept the bid of $21,094.00 from Northern Concrete for the removal and replacement of sidewalk on the North side of Crystal Avenue beginning at N. 5th Street and extending West to Iron St. Motion carried. Councilor Thrasher seconded by Councilor Valesano moved to approve the purchase of a Model 904B Caterpillar loader with the following attachments: Skid Steer Style Pallet Forks, SG16B Stump Grinder, and SR17 67" Snow Blower. Total cost of this unit is $61,282.00. Motion carried. Councilor Heikkinen seconded by Councilor Thrasher moved to implement the following policy: Line Construction/Service Installation All electrical customers shall be billed the same, regardless if located
inside or outside of the city limits. All new power line extension and service
installations shall be billed out to the customer at a time and material rate
for all equipment, labor, and material charges. Up to $500 will be credited
against these construction charges and absorbed by the City. Note this
construction credit shall be used to offset construction charges only and can no
be applied as a credit against energy charges. For construction of a common line used by multiple customers, each customer
will pay an equal fraction of the total cost of the line which is shared by
those customers. If a customer taps onto a line which had been built in the last
5 years, he shall have to pay an equal fraction of the total cost of that line
which is common to the customers. However, the total cost of the line
construction will be depreciated 20% for each year after construction is
complete. Every customer is required to provide the following for line extensions: Discuss and get approval from the electrical supervisor for the project. He can be reached at (906) 875-6650. Right of way clearing, brushing and leveling so that utility vehicles can move along the entire line and perform future brushing and maintenance services. Submit a utility permit: A permit form can be acquired at the City Clerk’s office. This permit gives the City future access rights in order to provide maintenance on the line. Procure and submit an easement – required only if the proposed line will extend over other people’s property. Trenching, backfilling with 3" sand (surrounding the cable), compaction, and surface restoration – required only if the line extension shall be underground and can not be plowed. Submit 75% of the estimated construction cost to the city prior to
construction and 25% upon the line getting energized. In addition, if the customer requires a new electrical service he must
perform the following: Submit a service application form – blank forms can be obtained from and then submitted to the City Clerk’s office. These forms are then forwarded to and approved by the electrical department supervisor. No construction should begin until after approval is granted by the electrical supervisor. Install and get the service inspected by the Iron County Electrical Inspector (see the Iron County Construction Code office). The City will not connect to the service until after the service in inspected and approved. Other Charges: All minor drops for cable TV line extensions shall be charged a straight fee of $30 with a one time charge of $30 for each additional installation required by that customer. For major cable TV line extensions (over 1 hour of time) the customer will be charged a time and material rate for the entire project. For a cable TV reconnect, a charge of $15 shall be applied. For power reconnect, a charge of $25 shall be applied. There is no charge for disconnects. Motion carried. Councilor Thrasher seconded by Mayor Hendrickson moved that the rate charged to Township cable TV customers be adjusted to be the same as that charged to the City cable TV customers (currently $19.00/month) and further, that this adjustment will become effective with the billing mailed to customers at the end September. Motion carried. Mayor Hendrickson seconded by Councilor Thrasher moved to adjust the 2005-2006 fiscal year budget to meet actual expenditures. Motion carried. Councilor Thrasher seconded by Councilor Valesano moved to approve the sale of surplus Police Department radios as proposed by Police Chief Sherwin. Motion carried. Mayor Hendrickson seconded by Councilor Valesano moved that the payrolls and disbursements in the amount of $462,040.76 for the month of August 2006 be approved, and the City Clerk is instructed to draw checks on the City Treasury in payment of same. Motion carried. Mayor Hendrickson seconded by Councilor Heikkinen moved to accept the following reports for the month of August 2006: Police Chief’s report indicating 276 complaints, 30 of which were closed by arrest and 2,502 patrolled miles. Joint Fire Authority report submitted by Fire Chief John Ahola indicating answering 5 fire calls; spending approximately 55 man-hours fighting fires; and holding 1 practice and training session. Chief Electrician’s report of department activities. Public Work foreman’s report on department activities. City Treasurer’s report on the monthly revenues. Motion carried. Councilor Heikkinen seconded by Councilor Thrasher moved to adjourn this meeting of the City Council. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.
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