Ellendale City Council
By JIM LUTGENS
Publisher
Will the city of Ellendale finally sell the Municipal Liquor Store?
That issue was discussed as the city council met for its regular meeting Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Ellendale Community Building. Mayor Russ Goette and council members Steve Engel, Scott Groth and Stephanie Kibler were there for the 7:30 p.m. start. Councilman Duane Goebel arrived later. No visitors were present.
The issue of the Muni came during the mayor's allotted time.
"Any conversation or interest in the liquor store?" asked Goette.
Kibler reported that a realtor from Berkshire-Hathaway did a walk-through of the business and came away very impressed.
"They're interested in listing it," said Kibler.
She said a professional photographer may be hired to photograph the inside and outside of the business, and a drone may take some fly-over pictures for potential buyers.
According to Kibler, the realtor believes selling the business should not be a long process. One concern, however, is the quantity of liquor currently on inventory at the Muni. It's too high, which could cost the city money in the long run. Another issue is Ellendale voters approving an initiative of whether to allow the city to issue a liquor license to someone who is not a business owner, thus allowing it to sell the Muni. A special meeting was held Oct. 17 to discuss people's questions on the matter.
The council passed Resolution 10-11-18-01, adopting the Minnesota General Records Retention for Cities guidelines. Some of the city's records are too old or not needed, according to Hojberg, but before they can be discarded the guidelines must be followed, including notifying several agencies of exactly what records will be thrown away.
"We have boat loads of stuff that is older than old," said Hojberg.
Josh Otto presented the maintenance report, which consisted mostly of discussing a new snow plow to be purchased by the city. The council approved the purchase of an 8-foot stainless steel plow from Curt's Truck and Diesel Service Inc. for the cost of $7277.85, which was the low bid.
Goette asked if the old plow had any trade-in value and was told no. He suggested selling it as scrap metal or possibly to Misgen Auto Parts.
Otto also brought up the issue of a generator that needs a new control panel. After discussing the cost of labor, it was decided to have the serviceman perform the task when he's in town for regularly scheduled fall work.
Goette had a couple other items for Otto.
The first involved expressing his appreciation for picking up after recent severe weather.
"I do want to say thank you for all the clean-up around town," he said.
Goette also asked Otto to keep an eye on some pavement that's breaking up along a road near a manhole. Leaves and other debris tend to gather there, he said, not allowing for proper drainage and further damaging the pavement.
The council scheduled a work session for Monday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. to discuss the city's codification manual dealing with new ordinances.
Hoijerg pointed out that November's regularly scheduled second meeting would be on Thanksgiving. When that happened in the past, she said, the meeting was either held a week later or canceled altogether. No action was taken at this time.
The council approved claims for payment, the finance/budget reports and the minutes from the Sept. 27 and Oct. 3 council meetings, with Kibler making a correction on the Sept. 27 minutes.
Groth broke sad news of an overnight fire at the home of Dick and Becky Lassahn, which severely damaged a garage and caused smoke damage in the house.
"It was pretty intense," said Otto, who was on the scene.
Groth asked if Becky Lassahn, a city employee, might possibly need some time off to clean up from the fire.
Also discussed was the possibility of placing stones from the old school in the city park. The stones are flat and inscribed with the words "School District 30," and were originally above doors at the school. It was agreed that the stones should be preserved, though it was suggested they may be more appropriate for school property.
The meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m.