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By Karen Fluegge
Staff Writer
COURTLAND -- Nicollet County's proposal for the reconstruction of Old Highway 14 was presented to the Courtland City Council, Thursday.
The proposal was presented along with a map of what they are suggesting. Joe Duncan of Bolton and Menk is asking to meet with the city to review what they want for the reconstruction.
Kraus explained that Nicollet County will give MnDOT information on what they would like to have done and then they will negotiate what they feel is necessary to do.
The proposal included changing the highway's width and possibly some boulevards. After a lengthy discussion, a motion was made and seconded to request that the street from 4th Street to 3rd Street be left as it is and not to narrow it.
Audit Report Clean
"The results of the audit show a clean opinion of the city's financial statements," said Craig Popenhagen, from CliftonLarsonAllen of Rochester. Popenhagen presented the Courtland City Council with the full results of the city's audit report at the Thursday, Aug. 3 city council meeting.
He presented the audit report including charts and graphs to show that the city's financials are on solid ground and in good shape. The city also has a good collection rate for property taxes.
Popenhagen also pointed out that the general fund is in good shape with a strong position. The water and sewer funds are also doing good. He said the city has good control over expendable expenses and a good cushion in the fund for things that might come up.
"In conclusion, the city is in a very good financial position across the board," said Popenhagen. Mayor Al Poehler added, "The council has done a good job of watching numbers regarding expenditures and for earning higher interest rates whenever possible."
Public Utilities
The council chambers were very warm as the air conditioning was not working. Dave Ubel said that they are working on fixing it but have been having problems because the refrigerant Freon is hard to get.
Ubel questioned what to do about diseased ash trees in the city. The council had a lengthy discussion on who is responsible for taking down trees that are in right-a-ways, boulevards, private property, or blown down onto the city's property. Poehler suggested a letter be sent to residents so they know what their responsibilities are regarding the ash trees. Justin Kraus and Pam Rodewald volunteered to check with other cities about how they handle trees.
Ubel said that two people have requested to fill in their ditches. No decision was made other than that the ditches should not be filled in.
Party and Fireworks
Rodewald explained that she received about fourteen complaints because of a party and fireworks recently held in the city. Discussion followed on how to handle future parties/disturbances that go into the early morning hours. Ralph Bents said, "When the Crow Bar closes, and if they have a band outside, they shut down too."
With no one to enforce the law in the city, it was suggested Nicollet County Sheriff's Office should be contacted to see what can be done and possibly contract some enforcement during days/nights when the city knows that a party will be held. Or, if that does not work, have the Sheriff's Office contact the people who own the property where the party was held even if it must be after the fact. Rodewald volunteered to contact the Nicollet County Sheriff's Office for ideas on how to handle this.
City Clerk
Julie Holm, City Clerk, explained that she has been checking an additional add-on to the current Banyon Utility Billing software. It is a municipal software that will help with billing residents. There will be an option for residents to set up automatic payments from their bank, and there is a $1.10 fee per transaction but could save residents money because credit card fees can be higher. The city could save too, if they do not need paper billing. Banyon will be sending her a proposal, and after discussion, it was decided to wait until next month to take a vote on this after Holm has more information.
Resolutions
The following resolutions were approved:
• Resolution 23-104 Establishing City Regulations Related to Counting of Write-In Votes;
• Resolution 23-105 Resolution Closing Funds 410 to 601 (water tower capital improvement fund);
• Resolution 23-106 Resolution Closing Funds 401 to 101 (an old capital improvement fund); and
• Resolution 23-107 Resolution Transfer of Funds to 4M Investments.
• The mayor and council (Paul Bode was absent) approved the minutes from the July 6 regular City Council meeting. Also approved were the bills submitted by City Clerk Holm for $32,187.69. The next regular meeting will be on September 7, at 7 p.m.