Gwen Reiss was next with her report on the Municipal Liquor Store. Riess stated the grill is open and going well. She also told the council that the MLS had served over 300 baskets last Saturday. Reiss has been accepting applicants for servers and had a recommendation for hiring. The council felt the MLS should proceed carefully and not hire too many at one time. The council did approve one new hiring.
Reiss reported the new tap beer lines were in and are very cold. Reiss also shared with the council some ideas she had for updating the bar in the future.
The fire department report was the next item for the council’s review. The department reported $3,300 income from fire calls. The fire department also had $1,518.22 in disbursements for the month. The council approved the report.
Mayor Engel next brought to the table the contract with Steele County for police protection. The council received the revised contract, which would have the city paying $3,166 per month. However, the contract did not address the language regarding the purchase of a vehicle. Mayor Engel said he would contact Sherriff Lon Thiele and the council could adopt the new contract at the next meeting.
The council approved the claims for the evening totaling $14,272.64.
The council reviewed the financial and investment statements and approved them.
The council also reviewed the disbursement register and approved it.
Clerk Louks started his report by telling the council the agreement with Alliant Energy has expired. The city has already received a new agreement for adoption. The council felt they would like to have City Attorney Kohl review the agreement before passage. Louks next brought before the council the proposal from Royal Lawn for the spraying of lawns for the city. The council approved having Royal Lawn apply two applications, spring and fall.
Louks then reported that a couple of lights in the Community Building will need some ballast replacement. Louks told the council he had gotten some communications from the City Auditor about a resolution that would require the city to have 20% of its on-hand cash in reserve. The council felt they would like to have someone from the auditing firm be present at a meeting to discuss this recommendation.
The council discussed the possibility of purchasing a prep table for the MLS. The council approved the purchase to assist the MLS in the kitchen.
The council had talked about the replacement of the city pick-up at its last meeting. The council will gather prices of trucks under $10,000 and make a recommendation at the next meeting.
The council approved the year-end thank you of Ellendale Bucks for city employees.
The next meeting of the Ellendale City Council will be February 9 at 7:30 p.m.