November 1, 2021 Regular Meeeting
The Lakota City Council held its regular meeting November 1st, 2021, at the City Hall. Mayor Brad Hooey called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. All Council Members were present; Member Hess was on speaker phone. Barry Glienke, Brian Quam, Kevin Walford and Elaine Brooks were the audience members. City Auditor Amie Vasichek, City Employee Jesse Schuh and City Superintendent Josh Ulland were also in attendance.
The council and audience stood and conducted the pledge of allegiance.
Member D. Mattern made a motion to approve the October 4th, 2021, regular council meeting minutes seconded by Member R. Mattern. Motion carried.
Mayor Hooey recognized Elaine Brooks. Mrs. Brooks stated she was in attendance to discuss the community meeting with Roger Brooks that recently took place. Mrs. Brooks stated she was disappointed how Mayor Hooey spoke out against tourism and felt his views hurt the retail industry of Lakota. Mrs. Brooks stated the mayor needs to represent all views of Lakota not just his own. Mayor Hooey stated his personal view is he is against out of staters on hunting and fishing but agreed with Mrs. Brooks that he should represent Lakota as a whole.
Mrs. Brooks left the meeting at 6:04pm.
Mayor Hooey recognized Mr. Quam and Mr. Walford.
Mr. Walford stated that they were in attendance to present the estimate to purchase a new mini excavator. Mr. Walford spoke a little about the piece of equipment and stated he is available for any questions.
Mr. Quam and Mr. Walford left the meeting at 6:09pm.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Mayor Hooey wanted to table the sidewalk concern topic as bids have not been received by contractors to complete the work and revisit it in the spring.
Supt. Ulland stated the crew has been using the rented vactron recently and it has been working out well. Supt. Ulland proposed offering $5,000 to North Holt in addition to absorbing the $2,500 repair bill from SSR Pump. Supt. Ulland stated North Holt had originally wanted $9,000 for the equipment but thought this offer would be fair.
Member Vasichek made a motion to offer $5,000 to North-Holt Electric for the Vactron equipment with a maximum of $9,000, seconded by Member Fahey. On a roll call vote, all members voting in favor. Motion carried.
Auditor Vasichek provided the council with estimates to improve the design of the city website. Auditor Vasichek stated the content of the website is updated frequently but the design is outdated.
Member Vasichek made a motion to approve the expense of $6,700 to improve the city’s website design, seconded by Member R. Mattern. On a roll call vote, all members voting in favor. Motion carried.
The council discussed the golf course manager’s wage for the 2022 season. Currently, the wage is $18,000/year and has not been increased for a number of years. Member Solberg stated he would propose increasing the wage to $20,000/year as that is more than a 10% increase.
Member Vasichek stated the COL increase for 2022 is currently at 5.9% and the position is due for a substantial increase.
Member Solberg made a motion to approve an annual salary of $20,000 for the 2022 Golf Course manager, seconded by Member Fahey. On a roll call vote, all members voting in favor. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Mayor Hooey stated he would like to improve the exterior doors at the community center. Mayor Hooey stated that is something the committee could discuss with the community center group recently formed with the school.
Auditor Vasichek stated she would like to explore improving the fixtures in the community center bathrooms and water fountains to be touchless options. The council approved the task to get estimates for improvements.
Auditor Vasichek gave a review of the Destination Nelson County program. Auditor Vasichek stated she would like to know what the leadership wants as a whole for the future of Lakota. The council agreed to continue with the program and that they will support it.
Member Vasichek made a motion to approve the State Bank of Lakota’s pledge of securities, seconded by Member Solberg. All members voting in favor. Motion carried.
Member D. Mattern made a motion to approve the resolution adopting the 2021B Series Bond for improvement, seconded by Member Fahey. On a roll call vote, all members voting in favor. Motion carried.
Auditor Vasichek stated the council will have employee evaluations on the agenda for next month and reminded all to complete their evaluations prior.
Engineer Glienke stated he has the Master Service Agreement to be signed for the council and discussed the task orders to design the Hulstrand property development and the industrial park. The council decided to hold off on plans until the property to the North of the Hulstrand property is figured out. Mayor Hooey stated he will speak with the property owners to find out what their intentions are.
SUPERINTENDENT REPORT
Supt. Ulland provided a list of work completed the previous month.
Supt. Ulland stated he will need to order more electric meters from Border States.
ENGINEER REPORT
No additional report provided.
SHERIFF’S REPORT
Sheriff Olson stated there were about 184 calls last month.
Sheriff Olson left the meeting at 7:21pm.
COUNCIL REPORTS
Member Hess stated he would like the city to focus on planting more berm trees. Member Vasichek suggested getting a package pricing for berm trees for the community to purchase at a discounted rate. Auditor Vasichek will contact Ivan Berg about pricing for spring trees.
Member Fahey suggested utilizing the west side of the community center parking area to renovate to an RV Park. The council stated they would like to look into the concept more.
Member Solberg questioned the status on the light pole by the park and the high school. Supt. Ulland stated he will need to contact someone to place a new pole for each site. Member Solberg stated the light pole by his shop still is not working. Supt. Ulland stated he needs to find the location of the break.
Member Solberg requested street sweeping to continue.
ADVISORY REPORTS
No report provided.
MAYOR REPORT
Mayor Hooey stated he would like the city to rent a skid steer for him to utilize at the property east of Cenex and create a drain decreasing the water build up on the property. Mayor Hooey stated he will conduct the work on his own and Cenex has agreed to donate $300 towards Gunny’s Food Pantry as a thank you. Member R. Mattern stated he will request the fuel to be also paid by Cenex.
AUDITOR REPORT
Auditor Vasichek’ s written report was provided and attached with minutes.
Auditor Vasichek stated Polar is going to be dissolving the live video of main street and the city office is receiving requests to replace it. Auditor Vasichek is looking into live streaming options similar to the city of Cavalier and hopefully will have something by next meeting.
Auditor Vasichek stated the city will continue to have the landfill open until the snow comes.
The council reviewed the financial and utility reports provided.
ATTORNEY REPORT
No additional report provided.
After review of the bills and vouchers, a motion was made by Member Vasichek to pay all the bills presented for payment and those bills paid prior to the meeting. Member Fahey seconded the motion. Motion carried, on roll call vote of 6-0.
Aaker Funeral Home $ 50.00
Advance Auto Parts $ 36.00
Advanced Business Methods $ 459.60
Agcom $ 2,886.48
American Test Center $ 950.00
Aramark $ 40.90
Benson Excavating $ 490.00
BCBS $ 6,070.28
Bolton & Menk $ 1,455.00
Cardmember Services $ 816.52
Dakota Business Solutions $ 244.95
Dakota Implement $ 279.99
Dept. of Environmental $ 45.00
Dietzler Electric $ 645.52
EFTPS $ 2,114.80
EFTPS $ 2,057.73
Farmers Union Oil $ 1,369.27
Ferguson Waterworks $ 1,195.68
GF Utility $ 44.00
Hawkins $ 822.72
Home of Economy $ 43.95
Interstate Billing $ 127.50
Interstate Power $ 648.17
Karas, Randy $ 40.01
Lake Region Pest $ 355.00
Lakota American $ 278.41
Lakota Golf Club $ 1,360.88
Lakota Hardware $ 2,995.22
Lakota Municipal Utilities $ 290.00
Lakota Municipal Utilities $ 406.49
Lakota Municipal Utilities $ 4.440.35
Lakota Sanitation Service $ 8,209.13
McLean, Gary $ 25.00
Mead & Hunt $ 1,482.20
MARC $ 1,928.00
MRES $ 879.00
MRES $ 23,537.47
MMUA $ 600.00
Naastad Brothers $ 2,000.00
Nationwide $ 217.50
Nelson County Sheriff $ 2,318.40
Neonlink $ 29.60
Nodak $ 2,044.63
ND Telephone $ 60.50
Office of State Auditor $ 430.00
Polar $ 680.24
Pro Turf Systems $ 3,965.00
Quadient Leasing $ 203.07
Quill $ 71.05
Rysavy Plumbing $ 2,600.32
Strata Corp $ 542.50
Tri-State Paving $ 7,250.00
United Laboratories $ 321.59
Verizon Wireless $ 222.64
Vigen, Craig $ 237.00
Wheeler, Ron $ 250.00
City Salaries $ 11,929.51
City Salaries $ 11,311.31
TOTAL $ 116,406.08
Next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday December 6th, 2021, at 6pm.
Member D. Mattern made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Member Fahey.
Meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m.
APPROVED BY: SUBMITTED BY:
Brad Hooey, Mayor Amie Vasichek, Auditor