New Richland City Council
By JESSICA LUTGENS
Staff Writer
Due to multiple reports of suspicious activity in March, the New Richland Police Department is asking the community to report anything that seems out of place around town, according to Chief of Police Scott Eads at the city council’s first meeting of the month on Monday, April 11. All members were present.
Instances reported involve vehicles’ gas tanks being opened overnight but nothing taken and “lurkers” being spotted in an area. If any local residents see something suspicious, be sure to report it to the police department.
Residents have also reported phone calls from a party claiming to be the IRS. If you are a recipient of one of these calls, disregard them; tell the caller not to contact you again, and do not give out any personal information. You can also register your home and mobile numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry (donotcall.gov), and report phone scams to the FTC (ftc.gov/complaint).The NRPD responded to 74 calls for service and had 60 additional contacts/activities in March. Recently hired part-time officers have been working out well, said Eads while presenting the police report. It was also stated that local residents can report street light outages to the city clerk’s office, where they will work on notifying Xcel. The report was approved.
Chris Schlaak presented the ambulance report; there were 19 ambulance runs in March and four so far this month, bringing the total for 2016 to 54. EMS week is May 15-22, and plans for the week will be discussed at the next meeting. On May 4 there will be an “Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response” (ARMER) class for new crew members and old members who would like a refresher. Purchases of $845.08, for Jr. Epi pens at $627.42 and Glucogan kit at $217.66 from NR Drug, and $45 for rig supplies were approved.
Plans for building living quarters in the ambulance building for members, particularly out-of-town crew
members, were presented and discussed briefly with the council. The report was approved.
Two proposals for library and city hall cleaning were received, and the council agreed to table the item until the next meeting on Monday, April 25.
On the topic of recycling, clerk Wayne Billing said he contacted Thompson’s to again ask if they would take glass as a recyclable, which they will not. Waste Management was also contacted; a one-year contract would be required if WM is chosen, with a monthly contract price of $131.67 for two eight-yard containers ($1,580/year). Options for a surveillance camera for the recycling drop site were discussed, with the favored choice at a cost of roughly $3,800. The item was tabled until the next meeting, with no decisions made.
A request from Brad Field for the city to cover $428.50 to Luke Dobberstein for rip rap rock to repair pipes on the northeast edge of town was approved. Resolution 16-04, appointing Adeline Reese to serve as Commissioner of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of New Richland for a term of five years, was approved, along with the agenda and consent agenda items.
No further contact has been received from the property owner of the lot on 420 2nd St. SE, and a motion was made and approved for clerk Billing to contact the city attorney.
The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.