Ellendale City Council
By SCOTT GROTH
Contributing Writer
The Ellendale City Council met January 12, 2012 with Mayor Engel, Councilmen Helland, Rieter and Groth present. Absent was Councilman Goebel. Also attending was Clerk Louks, Maintenance Supervisor Swearingen, Gwen Reiss and Chandler Anderson.
After approving the agenda for the evening, Mayor Engel went right into the City appointments for the New Year. The Star Eagle will remain the official newspaper and the First National Bank of Ellendale will be the official depository. All other appointments will remain the same as the previous year. The resolution was made and passed on the appointments.
Swearingen was next with his monthly report. Swearingen started by telling the council he would like the council to consider adding one more outdoor warning siren. Swearingen said the city still has one siren that will work from the ones that were purchased previously. He noted the placement of the siren could be by the #1 manhole in town. Swearingen next told the council he had been in contact with a garage door company to look at the door on the Mobil property. Swearingen noted the door is in real bad shape. The council asked Swearingen to get another quote for the project and bring the figure to the next meeting.
Swearingen updated the council on the 8th Ave. lift station, saying work will begin next week to update some of the controls. Sewer lines by Radel Court have been cleaned and Swearingen said he hoped that more could be done this spring. Swearingen told the council that the plow truck will be going in for DOT inspection next week. Swearingen asked the council to approve some shelving for the maintenance building. The council approved the request with a limit of $200 for the shelving. Swearingen pointed out to the council that the city pickup is getting in tough shape. He would like to see the council start the process of replacing the truck. Swearingen told the council of one truck in town that was for sale. The council will start the process.Gwen Reiss was next with her report on the Municipal Liquor Store. Reiss started out by telling the council that the kitchen in the MLS has passed all inspections and is very close to opening. Reiss told the council the target date is Saturday the 21st. Reiss introduced Anderson, who is an artistic painter. Reiss showed some samples of his work to the council. Reiss’s idea is to maybe do some murals on the walls in the MLS. Reiss went over several details for the MLS opening for food.
The council approved the minutes from all previous meetings.
The council reviewed the claims for the evening. The total for the evening was $39,985.99. The motion to approve the claims was made and passed.
The council will be doing employee reviews in February.
The next meeting for the city council will be January 26th with a public hearing being held at 7 p.m. The regular council meeting will follow at 7:30 p.m.