City of Randolph
Regular Council Meeting
August 10, 2022
The regular Randolph City Council meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Robert Appelgren.
Roll Call
Present were Mayor Robert Appelgren, Council Members Sarah Podritz, Jacob Friedrich and Todd Carlock, Treasurer Sandy Nicolai and Clerk Mary Haro.
Public Comments
Harlan asked if a company was buying water from the city and he was told yes they have permission to do so.
Minutes
A motion to approve the July 13, 2022 regular council meeting minutes was made by Friedrich, seconded by Haro. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Approval of Treasurer Report
Sandy indicated that Bryce got more meters installed. Once she gets the list back from Bryce she will update it to see how many are left to be installed. She also indicated that we took in approximately $22,000 in water payments.
A motion to approve the Treasurer's Report was made by Friedrich, seconded by Podritz. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Approval to Pay Bills
Motion to approve the payment of bills was made by Podritz and seconded by Friedrich. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Old Business
Arbitrage Services Contract
Ehlers reached out to Clerk Haro regarding the reporting requirements for tax obligations that need to be met regarding the bonds that were issued for the City. It makes sense to have Ehlers do the work since have been doing all of other reporting requirements.
Motion was made by Appelgren and seconded by Carlock to approve the Arbitrage Contract with Ehlers for arbitrage services that need to be done with the Internal Revenue Service regarding the bonds. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Recodification
Counsel Korine Land attended the meeting with her associate Greta Bjerkness who will work with her on our ordinance revision project. Korine went through the code that we purchased from the League of Minnesota Cities and there is a lot that does not apply to us. They prepared a notebook with a few of the ordinances for us to review prior to our next meeting and we should make notes of what we like and don't like. She asked how many members were on the park board which is currently at two. She also asked if we had an emergency director to which we indicated we do currently have one. She asked if it should be the Fire Chief. We will wait to decide on this until after we have a meeting with the fire department. Maybe we should have Dakota County do it until we decide who should handle this. There are some questions we should think about when reviewing the notebook, like: Do you want to have permits for parades? Do you want to regulate snowmobiles and ATV's? Make notes to bring to the next meeting.
We decided to meet twice a month to work on this project. We will meet immediately after our council meetings and on the 4th Wednesday of each month. On the 4th Wednesday we will start at 6 pm. So we will be meeting on September 14th after our regular council meeting, September 28th at 6 pm, October 12th after our regular council meeting and October 26th at 6 pm. We will see how far we get before planning dates in November and December because of the holidays during those months. She did indicate that the nuisance ordinance will take a lot of time so we will designate that one to a 4th Wednesday meeting.
It was asked how often we should review our ordinances to which Korine indicated we should review them at least every 10 years.
Clerk Haro will reach out to Hampton regarding their interest in scheduling a joint meeting with the fire department. This will be an open meeting.
Access to City Properties
We discussed who should have access to all of the city properties. We should have two people for safety concerns but we should have set rules and guidelines as to keep track of who has access and make decisions as to who gets access. We do need new locks on the gate at the water tower, Bryce does have new locks and they will be installed. We decided that the following individuals should have access:
City Hall – all members can have a key but only the mayor, city clerk and city treasurer will have the key to the office.
The pond – access will be given to the Mayor and Council Member, Sarah Podritz and to Otte Excavating as they are mowing inside the fence once a month. We need to get two new locks for the gate since the key cannot be located. The code will be different that the water tower.
The Water Tower – there are three locks (the front door and the back door locks needs to be fixed) and the combination will be the same for all three locks with access to Bryce, the Mayor and Council Member Sarah Podritz. If Northfield Wifi needs access to their equipment, they contact Bryce to gain access to the property.
The shed by the water tower has a lock that the fireman have and the mayor also has a key. We will keep this as is currently.
The old firehall is used by the firemen. There is nothing in it that is owned by the city.
It was noted that an emergency fix of a small hole in a pipe in the well house needed to be welded. Bryce deflected the water down so that it was not hitting the equipment and Bauer who came to fix the pipe by welding it made a recommendation to switch it to a stainless steel pipe which we should discuss.
New Business
Dakota County Deputy
Deputy Bohland stopped in during our meeting. We mentioned to him that someone has stolen one of our checks that was mailed for payment to a vendor and wrote it out for much more money. He indicated to call Dakota County and they will do a report and send it off to Cannon Falls Police Department where the vendor's business is located and do an investigation of where it was cashed but the charges will be filed in Dakota County.
It was inquired about their presence of several officers in the city a few weeks back and it was asked if it was a dangerous situation how they would relay that information to the public. He indicated that if there is an activity that is a danger to the public, they have a member bridge which will send a text message to any phone number that pings off towers in the area. Any cell phone that pings in this area will get a text message that indicates to shelter in place. He indicated that they will send out a text message through a ping off of the water tower to everyone within the vicinity of 1 mile of the city letting us know of any immediate situation.
Permit for Randolph School
Superintendent Mike Kelley was present to ask for a permit for the new school house to be built on a lot on Cynthia Path next to last year's school house. He met with building inspector, Mark Ceminsky, regarding the permitting. He also indicated that he called Matt at Bolton & Menk and left a message regarding this permit.
Motion by Podritz to approve the permits for the new school house pending approval by building inspector, Mark Ceminsky, seconded by Friedrich. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Mr. Kelley indicated that the old blue shed has been torn down in between the football and baseball fields and they plan to put gravel down for the time being and then pave it in the future and anticipates about 80 parking spots in that space.
It was also asked if he would have the pile of dirt leveled out on the empty lot next to Reed Kosir's residence. He indicated he will have this taken care of.
Joint Powers Agreement and Master Subscriber Agreement for Prosecuting Firm
It is necessary to have in place a Joint Powers Agreement and Master Subscriber Agreement with the State of Minnesota so our prosecuting attorneys can access court records from the State of Minnesota.
Motion by Friedrich, seconded by Carlock to approve Resolution No. 22-08 to approve State of Minnesota Joint Powers Agreement with City of Randolph and City Attorney and Resolution No. 22-09 to approve the Master Subscriber Agreement for Minnesota Court Services for Government Agencies . All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Podritz, seconded by Appelgren, the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Haro
