New Richland City Council

By JESSICA LUTGENS

Staff Writer

The New Richland City Council held its first meeting of the month on Monday, October 13. Members Sandy Neumann and Amy Ihrke were absent; the agenda and consent agenda items were approved.

Resolution 14-24, urging Waseca County Highway Department obtain approval to reduce speed limit and post no passing zone near St. Olaf Lake, discussed at the last meeting, was approved.

The NR Police Department report was viewed and approved. It stated the NRPD responded to 116 calls for service and had 49 additional contacts in September. Two felonies were reported, related to the same incident resulting in the arrest of an adult male.

The NR Ambulance Department report was presented by Interim Director Chris Schlaak. The ambulance had 25 runs in September and 8 runs as of Oct. 13, bringing the total number of runs for 2014 to 126. Two new members, Andy Hansen and Brad Sternberg, will be joining the ambulance crew pending background checks. Sue Erneste resigned.

Uniforms were discussed, and a motion was made by Tony Martens for the city to pay $53.30 for new jackets, which was approved. Plans for a possible moulage (mock trauma make-up) in the spring of 2015 were presented; to take place around prom time, students will be educated on distracted driving, such as texting/drinking and driving through different scenarios. 

Further improvements to the schedule/call board and organization of the ambulance department are taking place, and after a discussion about the regulations regarding what kind of transportation the ambulances are used for (emergency or non-emergency), the report was approved.

Jeremy Parpart presented the NR Fire Department report, with a request that was discussed and moved to the next meeting. The report was approved.

The budget was briefly discussed, along with animal ordinance changes – switching from a yearly pet registration to a lifetime registration – discussed at the last meeting. The replacement of 200 feet of sewer on Birch Ave. was again debated; potential cost to replace the sewer would be at least roughly $35,000, but likely more, causing further increases in residents’ water bills. Another option is removing the roots in the sewer, a temporary solution that could give another five years before replacement is necessary. The council approved root cutting and televising of the sewer at the cost of $700.

The meeting adjourned at 7:07 p.m.