CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2024
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Tasha Dahl, City Council Members: Jacob Klejeski, Krystal Sultze, Deb Ellis, and Ryan Hedberg. Council Members absent: None.
City staff and others present: City Administrator Elizabeth Sorg, Maintenance Director Casey Dahl, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, City Engineer Derek Olinger, Jarrod Sultze, Patti Chiarini, and Donna Gregory.
AGENDA
Motion by Sultze to approve the agenda with 1 addition under New Business, Item C. Resolution #24-21: A Resolution Approving Publication of Ordinance by Title and Summary will be added, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
Donna Gregory said Hogfest was great.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda consisted of: Minutes of the July 2, 2024, Regular City Council Meeting and Resolution No. 24-17: Resolution Certifying Past-Due Bills to Dodge County for Collection with 2025 Property Taxes. Administrator Sorg said $613.29 was added to the Resolution to assess Claremont MHP for unpaid water. Motion by Ellis to approve the Consent Agenda with the added assessment on the Resolution, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by Klejeski to approve the financial reports, second by Hedberg. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to approve the amended list of bills to be paid, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
EDA
Nothing at this time.
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
Nothing at this time.
PARKS COMMITTEE
Three companies submitted electric bids for the scoreboard and lights. The bid request was to put the scoreboard in now and place conduit where lights will go for installation later on. Motion by Hedberg to approve Ripley Electric’s bid of $8,698.40, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
Maintenance Director Dahl will be getting a small storage shed to put in Harmer Park.
Hodgman Drainage submitted an estimate for expanding the ball field parking area in order for buses to come in and park. The council tabled the parking area expansion until 2025 in order to raise more funds.
PEOPLESERVICE
Their monthly reports were in the packet.
CITY ENGINEER
The 2025 street project will be:
• 3rd Street (Wheat St to East St)
• Oak Street (2nd St to Front St)
• Church Street (Julia St to McKinley St)
• 3rd Place (Julia St to Paukert Ave)
• Julia Street (Church Street to a point approx. 450 feet north)
• Oakview Drive (120th Ave to a point approx. 1050 feet south) & Oakview Place
The street project will be pavement improvements and utility improvements, as deemed necessary by the feasibility study. A neighborhood meeting will be held prior to the improvement hearing (a less formal setting for residents to learn about the project). Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 24-18: Ordering Preparation of Report on Improvement, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Bolton & Menk’s estimated engineering fees for the street project are $26,300. Costs will be billed on an hourly basis and won’t exceed without consent from the city. The engineering and designing fees will be reimbursed through the project financing package. Motion by Klejeski to approve the preliminary engineering proposal, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
The Oak Street Lift Station rebuild was completed July 31.
So far, one person has applied for the part-time maintenance worker position. Interview(s) will be Tuesday, August 27 at 6:30 p.m.
CITY ATTORNEY
Nothing at this time.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Motion by Ellis to open the Public Hearing for Administrative Fines, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously. There were 3 properties that received administrative fines and didn’t become compliant with city ordinances at the time the agenda was done: 300 E Front Street, 220 Church Street, and 411 N East St, Lot 239. Patti Chiarini from 220 Church Street was present and explained the reasons for the delays. The total amount of administrative fines she received was $1500. She did keep in touch with Sorg saying when she could get the violations taken care of and as of today is compliant with city ordinances. The Mobile Home Park has received $1500 in administrative fines and has not made any improvements. They have never communicated with City Hall since they bought the mobile home park. David Stein at 300 E Front Street has received $1500 in administrative fines and has not made any improvements. He has a building on his lot that has been deemed unsafe and a hazard by the building official. Motion by Klejeski to close the Public Hearing, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Hedberg to reduce Chiarini’s fine to $300, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Hedberg to hire Junk Recyclers, along with assistance of a Dodge County Deputy, to clean up the items at Lot 239, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Ellis for City Attorney Rahrick to prepare a Court Order in order to go onto 300 E Front Street to clean up the violations, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to open the Public Hearing to consider changes to Claremont’s Floodplain Ordinance, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously. Sorg has been working with FEMA to have Claremont listed as a No Flood Plain Area. In order for a business or resident to get assistance from the state or FEMA due to flooding, they must follow the city ordinance. Adopting the No Floodplain Ordinance might help residents get better insurance options and maybe reduced insurance rates. Motion by Sultze to close the Public Hearing, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by Ellis to adopt Ordinance No. 24-4.70 Floodplain Ordinance, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hedberg to approve Resolution No. 24-21: A Resolution Approving Publication of Ordinance by Title and Summary, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Klejeski to approve Resolution No. 24-16: Apply to Participate in National Flood Insurance Program, second by Hedberg. Motion carried unanimously.
In order to continue working on I&I issues once a property has been sold there will be an inspection to determine whether there are prohibited uses or connections to the sanitary sewer.
Motion by Ellis to approve Ordinance No. 24-0806: Regulating Public Sewer Inspections, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Klejeski to approve Resolution No. 24-19: Approving Summary Publication of Ordinance, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
Mayor Dahl and Administrator Sorg were present for a zoom meeting with DCA EMS Special Taxing District. A draft of the Joint Powers Agreement was reviewed, and they will be meeting again to find out what city council members would accept and their thoughts on the Agreement. As drafted currently, the taxing district would allow 1 council member or representative of each city to be on the board and have a vote. The cities participating are Claremont, Dodge Center, Kasson, and Mantorville. Each city’s levy will have a preset amount per house added to their levy. At any time if a city wanted out of the agreement, they would need to submit a resolution at least 2 years in advance. At the zoom meeting Kasson said they would want to have more votes on the board due to their population. The council discussed this topic thoroughly. The council didn’t want to restrict the uses of the levy to capital purchases or certain items. All council members strongly opposed Kasson, or any city, getting more than 1 vote. Since each property will be paying the same dollar amount, each city should get the same amount of votes.
Motion by Sultze to approve Resolution No. 25-20: Adopting the Proposed 2025 Tax Levy, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously. The total proposed tax levy is $588,130.
Motion by Klejeski to approve the 2025 Proposed Budget, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Sultze to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m., second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
________________________________ ____________________________________
Elizabeth Sorg, City Administrator Tasha Dahl, Mayor
