New Richland City Council
By JESSICA LUTGENS
Staff Writer
The New Richland City Council held its second meeting of the month on Monday, September 22. All members were present, and the agenda and consent agenda items were approved.
A request by the St. Olaf Lake Association was made, with Darlene Miller and Dr. Dennis Knudson in attendance to present the proposal and ask for the Council’s support for a no passing zone and speed restriction on 240th Ave., the road adjacent to the lake. With so much foot and vehicle traffic on the stretch of road from roughly 170th St. to the Steele/Waseca County line, a speed restriction would greatly reduce the possibility of an accident occurring. The Council approved the request for support, and the proposal will be presented to Waseca County Commissioners, the County Board and eventually the DOT before any action will take place.
Resolution 14-23 certifying delinquent property charges to be collected with 2015 taxes, totaling $1,414.97 in water/sewer charges for seven properties, was approved.
The PeopleService report was presented by Brad Field, who requested a purchase of one replacement blower for the Wastewater Treatment Facility as one of the two being used has failed. These blowers supply air to the solids contact basin, an important treatment process that is centrally located in the overall treatment process, according to Field. Both are necessary for normal scheduled maintenance. The Council approved the purchase at $1,744. The report was approved.
Ryan Nissen presented the Maintenance Department report. Last month, 18 delinquent bills/disconnect notices were delivered resulting in three shut offs; two of these are back on. The previously discussed leak in the city’s water tower is gone, the tower somehow sealing itself. Nissen suggested inspection anyway, just to be sure. A fire hydrant in town that is 73 years old will be replaced with a newer, 11-year-old hydrant, and the Council approved the installation of the hydrant for up to $400.
The possibility of more help with snow removal this winter was discussed before the maintenance report was approved.
Donald Alexander presented the NR Care Center report, stating that financials have been good, with the center making $26,000 last month. This is partly due to more Medicare residents than usual at the Care Center. Two purchase requests were made: $1000 for an employee handbook, as the current one is outdated and could cause legal problems if not updated.
This price includes legal assistance, and was approved. The second was for 10 new mattresses, which was approved at the cost of $3,440. The Care Center report was approved.
A more lengthy discussion followed the reports regarding the replacement of 200 feet of sewer main on Birch Ave. The sewer, if not replaced, will require maintenance over the next few years and will eventually need replacement. However, the cost is an issue, and the topic was tabled to the next meeting.
An amendment to the city’s current Animal Ordinance was discussed, with the possibility of switching the annual licensing of pets to a lifetime license to encourage owners to register their pets and provide a larger database. The issue will be addressed at the next meeting.
A purchase request for the ambulance, $1,200/year for online scheduling software (called EMS Manager) in order to reduce confusion and track changes regarding on-call hours, was approved.
New Richland’s new LED streetlights on Broadway were the last item of discussion; Xcel Energy requires the lights be metered, as 26 new fixtures use a fraction of the cost of six old fixtures. The meters are not expensive to run, but installation of the meters is $4,300 and was approved by the Council. The meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m.