CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2026
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Jared Sultze and City Council Members: Deb Ellis, Donna Gregory, Ethan Johnson, and Krystal Sultze.
City staff and others in attendance: City Administrator Elizabeth Sorg, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, City Maintenance Worker Rich Klindworth, Jamie Sultze, Nick Sultze, and Denice Baier.
AGENDA
Motion by Ellis to approve the agenda, second by K. Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
None
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda included: Minutes of December 2, 2025, Regular City Council Meeting, Resolution No. 26-03: Resolution Expressing Appreciation of a Donation, Resolution No. 26-04: Resolution Expressing Appreciation of a Donation, and 2026 Assessment Agreement with Dodge County. Johnson asked to move Resolution No. 26-04 to the last items under New Business. Motion by K. Sultze to approve the Consent Agenda excluding Resolution No. 26-04, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by K. Sultze to approve the financial reports, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to approve the amended list of bills to be paid, second by K. Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
PARKS COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE
Motion by Johnson to approve Casey Dahl as Fire Chief, second by K. Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
EDA
Nothing at this time.
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
Nothing at this time.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Administrator Sorg notified council of an upcoming Coffee Conversations with Triton Superintendent Luke Lutterman. In an effort to continue and enhance open communication, Lutterman will be hosting Cobra Coffee Conversations. They will be informal meetings, and all members of the community are invited to attend. Superintendent Lutterman will be in Claremont City Hall on February 24, 2026, at 7:30 a.m. for the Coffee Conversations in Claremont.
The auditors were in the office on Tuesday and will be working on the audit all week.
Administrator Sorg signed maintenance worker Rich Klindworth up for the MN Rural Water Association Conference. On the last day of the conference he will take the Class D Water Test. The training will be March 3-5, the cost is $350 and he will be staying at a hotel.
CITY ATTORNEY
Nothing at this time.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
The council chose The Messenger as the legal newspaper. Mayor Sultze appointed Krystal Sultze as the Acting Mayor and appointed the 2026 committees:
Finance: Mayor Sultze and K. Sultze
Parks: Ellis and Mayor Sultze
Personnel: K. Sultze and Johnson
Planning and Zoning: Gregory and Johnson
Public Health and Safety: Ellis and Gregory
EDA: Mayor and Council Members
The mayor is an alternate member of the committees. Motion by Motion by K. Sultze to approve Resolution No. 26-01: Resolution Stating Annual Designations, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 26-02: Resolution of 2026 Fees, second by K. Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
A Luminate Bank CD matures on January 27. Motion by Johnson to approve Automatic Renewal of the CD, second by K. Sultze. Ayes: Ellis, Johnson, K. Sultze, and Mayor Sultze. Nay: Gregory. Motion carried.
The February 3 council meeting needs to be rescheduled due to it being a caucus night and no city council meetings can occur after 6 p.m. Motion by Johnson to reschedule the February Council Meeting to February 4, second by Ellis. Motion carried unanimously
Due to the rising costs of living, recommendation to have an across-the-board COLA of 3%, similar to other cities. Motion by K. Sultze to approve a wage adjustment of 3% for the 4 employees beginning January 5, 2026, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Ellis to approve Resolution No. 26-04: Resolution Expressing Appreciation of a Donation, second by Mayor Sultze. Ayes: Ellis, K. Sultze, Gregory, and Mayor Sultze. Nay: None. Abstain: Johnson as he is the Chairman of the Hogfest Committee. Motion carried.
FINAL WORD
Maintenance Worker Klindworth informed the council of the items that he is finding in the waste treatment pumps. Residents continue to flush items that are not flushable, such as baby wipes, Tampax, plastic grocery bags to name a few. These items cause the pumps to stress and then fail. The pumps cost $4,000 - $5,000 to rebuild. The only other option is to purchase a grinder pump that would be placed at the Hayes Street Lift Station. Cost of that pump would be around $40,000. The residents need to stop flushing items that are not flushable. Administrator Sorg will put this information in the newsletter and on the City of Claremont website.
Gregory mentioned that with the snow piled next to the green building at the corner of Front and Wheat Street the water could get into that building and also that area is the owner’s property. Mayor Sultze explained that the area she is talking about is city property and showed a map of the property lines. The council asked the maintenance workers to push the snow somewhere else from now on.
Motion by Ellis to adjourn the meeting at 7:30 p.m., second by K. Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
Deb Ellis, Assistant City Clerk
Jared Sultze, Mayor
