New Richland City Council
By JESSICA LUTGENS
Contributing Writer
The New Richland City Council held its second meeting of March Monday evening. The meeting began early, and those interested were given a short tour of the new fire department building at 6:15. The meeting was then called to order, and all members were present.
The agenda was approved, then the consent agenda, with slight adjustments.
Before the reports were presented, the Council reviewed Resolution No. 14-07, which will set a date for a hearing on Jones, Haugh and Smith’s proposed assessment prepared after receipt of the acceptable bid for the upcoming improvements of 3rd Street/County Road 12. They agreed to decide the date of the hearing at the next council meeting.
The Care Center report was up first. The hiring of an interim MDS Coordinator was approved, and it was explained that said person will be employed at the Care Center for one to two months at $90/hour.
A Summons to the City of New Richland and the New Richland Care Center was briefly discussed. The report included the letter from Great American Insurance Company, which states that an initial complaint from August 2012 was made by Karen Karsjens against the center for wrongful termination, and on February 7, 2014, Karsjens filed an amended complaint against the City and the Care Center in MN State Court. According to the letter, “The plaintiff was employed [at the center] as a nurse for over 20 years. The Amended Complaint alleges that the defendants wrongfully terminated the plaintiff in retaliation for her reporting a violation of patient rights and safety.” The letter goes on to state that both the Vulnerable Adults Act and the Minnesota Whistleblower Act were allegedly violated, and the complaint “seeks unspecified money damages, including front and back pay, as well as punitive damages, fees, and costs.” The discussion involved an insurance issue; because although the Care Center is owned by the City and is covered by Great American, the City has no insurance coverage, which could cause future problems as the matter unfolds.Before approving the report, the CTS proposal to finish the telephone work project, which will replace analog with digital, was debated. The original quote for the work was roughly $16,000; now, due to unforeseen extra work, that number has jumped to about $26,800. The council agreed that the work will be put on hold until the issue is resolved. The Care Center report was approved.
Next was the Peoples Service report. Options for the removal of roots, primarily in two locations, that are closely adjoined to the 3rd Street/County Road 12 project. Because the engineers associated with the project do not want side work getting in the way of the project, the best solution currently would be to cut out the roots. However, this is only a temporary solution. The Council agreed to wait on a decision until quotes for root removal options are found and compared.
The Maintenance Department report consisted of a very lengthy discussion on the purchase of new water meters, and costs were reviewed, although no actual decisions were made. A request for the purchase of mix to fill potholes was approved at the cost of $373.50. The report was approved.
Finally, the ambulance report was presented. The report stated that 13 runs were made by the ambulance in February, and four members signed up for a First Responders class. An application for said class was received from NRHEG senior Laura Ranniger, which was approved. The following requests for funds were made: $4,946 for 10 new pagers, approved; $200 for a paper shredder, denied – a suggestion for a “lockbox” was made; $1,400 for clothes, which was reduced to the purchase of sweatshirts for new members that don’t have them. EMS week will be from May 18-24th this year, and activities and events for this were discussed. The ambulance report was approved.
The Council then debated about hiring another Maintenance worker for quite some time, and a motion was made to advertise for “part-time help for maintenance work up to 20 hours per week at Ryan’s discretion,” which was approved.
The purchases of two new administrative computers (with one additional monitor and Microsoft Office 2013) and a new router plus extender, to increase Internet access speed, which severely lacks due to the concrete walls, were requested, as well as switching the payroll software to provide direct deposit, which will save $160/year. The total cost equals $3,522.82, and the purchases were approved.
The Council then approved the lifeguards for the 2014 season. The last order of business, the concession stands at St. Olaf Lake and Legion Field, also involved quite a bit of heated discussion, although no decisions were made. The meeting was adjourned, after almost 2.5 hours.