CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL
MEETING
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2025
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Jared Sultze and City Council Members: Ethan Johnson, Krystal Sultze, and Donna Gregory. Absent: Deb Ellis.
City staff and others present: City Administrator Elizabeth Sorg, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, City Engineer Derek Olinger, Jamie Sultze, Ed Krenke, Elle Leeper, Hannah Behnken, Carter Behnken, Alec Vaughn, Jim Zylstra, Ryan Hedberg, Robin Hedberg, and Elise Ness.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
AGENDA
Motion by K. Sultze to approve the agenda, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
Jim Zylstra stated he heard CHS was leaving town, and he is urging the council to make sure their property is checked for any residual chemicals before they leave.
Ryan Hedberg said the goal of the special election was for the mayor’s seat and since it is a city council seat the taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for a special election.
Alec Vaughn agreed with Hedberg stating the election would have been pertinent for a mayor’s seat but not a council seat.
Jim Zylstra stated the people should have a voice and a special election should be held.
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda included: Minutes of the April 1, 2025 Regular City Council Meeting and the Minutes from April 21, 2025 Local Board of Appeal and Equalization and Special City Council Meeting. Motion by K. Sultze to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
2024 AUDIT
PRESENTATION
Layne Kockelman with Abdo presented the 2024 audit. The audit shows that the city should review water rates as the operating costs exceed the receipts.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PERSONNEL
COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by K. Sultze to approve the financial reports, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Johnson to approve payment of the bills including the added bills, second by K. 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
Ethan Reed wasn’t able to be present but submitted a memo to the council on what has been planted at the Food Forest and the maintenance he has done and will be doing. There are some chives that are ready if anybody wants some. There are also some wild grapes growing out there and he asked if he could put some posts there to help support them. The council is in support of that as long as he stays on city property.
Last year the city council discussed having a dedication or open house for Harmer Park once it was ready to be played on. The council asked Sorg to plan the first or second Friday in June at 6 p.m. She will check on the best date so that the Chamber can attend.
PEOPLESERVICE
The contract with them expired April 30.
CITY ENGINEER
Bids for the 2025 street and utility improvement project will be opened June 4th. A special meeting will be held on June 9th at 6 p.m. to award the project and call for an assessment hearing. Motion by K. Sultze to approve Resolution No. 25-14: Resolution Approving Plans and Specifications and Ordering Advertisement for bids, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Maintenance Supervisor Dahl ordered a bench and picnic table for the walking trail. They have been put together and are out there now.
The last council discussed installing inclusive playground equipment in Henning Park. Sorg applied for a grant for 4 nature-themed outdoor musical instruments at Henning Park.
Memorial Park needs more base under the playground equipment. The maintenance department tried to “fluff” it up but there isn’t really anything there to work with. The playground mulch is $48/yard from McNeilus. Maintenance will haul it and spread it around the play area spending approximately $200.
The scoreboard at Claremont Field will be going up soon.
When PeopleService was the city’s water/wastewater operators, they should have been checking the flow meter at the lift station to make sure it doesn’t get wet as it is in a pit. It wasn’t checked, it got wet and is now damaged. Calibrations and Controls (C&C) submitted a quote to fix it, and it is $10,495. C&C will submit information on how it got damaged. The council will bill PeopleService for the repairs.
The transition from PeopleService to the city has gone smoothly. Administrator Sorg asked the maintenance department to make a list of the things they did in April and a list of daily and weekly chores that need to be done at the water plant, wastewater plant, and general maintenance. Both employees have been working 35-40 hours every week. Per City Policy, an employee working 32 hours or more is considered full-time. Before PeopleService, the city had 2 full time employees in the maintenance, water, and wastewater operations. There is a savings of over $66,000 with the full-time status vs PeopleService. Since Rich Klindworth is working over 32 hours, motion by K. Sultze to move Klindworth to a full-time status, second by Johnson. Ayes: K. Sultze, Johnson, and Mayor Sultze. Nay: Gregory. Motion carried.
A resident has applied for a food truck license and asked to park at the old school for visibility reasons. She didn’t state if she wanted to be on Front Street or East Street. The council concurred that she could go on East Street in the parking spots, as long as the owner of the old school is fine with it.
The Dodge County Ambulance received the new 2025 ambulance they ordered a while ago for $249,000. They will be setting up another meeting in June or July. Currently, the price will be $63 per household to support the ambulance.
Deb Ellis, Assistance Clerk, is currently off on a leave. Sorg has PTO that she likes to use in the summer, so some days City Hall might need to be closed. It will be posted well if City Hall will be closed.
CITY ATTORNEY
The council previously asked City Attorney Rahrick if they could put a question on the election ballot of whether the council should hold a special election for vacant council seats. Rahrick’s opinion is that it is not allowed as there are statutes that allow special questions on the ballot and that question is not one of them.
OLD BUSINESS
The city council held a special meeting on April 21 to review City Council Code of
Conducts and Sorg drafted one as council discussed. Motion by Johnson to approve the City Council Code of Conduct. Ayes: Johnson, K. Sultze, and Mayor Sultze. Nay: Gregory. Motion carried.
Alec Vaughn spoke for the Advisory Committee on information on microphones and video cameras for meetings. Mayor Sultze donated a Meeting Owl to the city which will do audio and visual recordings. Vaughn did check into putting the media on YouTube, but then YouTube could sensor it and the city would lose rights to it. He briefly checked into other cloud solutions or trying something to subscribe by paying a subscription. The Mayor suggested trying Go To Meeting or something similar. The Owl will be set up and more information will be pulled together.
Sorg met with the SOS Office and the Dodge County Election Official regarding the special election. She prepared a calendar of important dates that City Hall would need to do for the special election. Council Member Sultze said she has not heard from anybody that wants excess resources to go towards a special election for such a short time for that council seat. There would be wages going towards a ballot board and judges. City Hall has not received any comments in support of a special election. Sorg stated some weeks she will be working overtime to get the special election duties done in addition to her normal work.
Council Member Gregory stated she has talked to many people that want the right to vote, and they want change. Council Member Johnson personally felt that the council has gone this far so they might as well continue. A visitor asked if the people felt so strongly about having the special election, why aren’t they at the meeting in support of it? Another visitor asked if the council could take a poll on whether they want to have it or not. The SOS Office stated they must know by May 7 (tomorrow) if the city will proceed with the election or not. Johnson stated he has only heard of 1 person for it and a lot of people against it. Motion by K. Sultze to not hold the special election, second by Mayor Sultze. Ayes: K. Sultze and Mayor Sultze. Nay: Johnson and Gregory. Motion failed. Motion by Gregory to approve Resolution No. 25-16: Resolution Declaring a Special Election and Setting Forth Deadlines for Said Special Election, second by Johnson. Ayes: Gregory and Johnson. Nay: Mayor Sultze and K. Sultze. Motion failed.
Rahrick prepared a resolution approving and appointing Ethan Johnson to the council that states “Ethan Johnson is hereby appointed to fill the vacant council seat until such time as the seat is filled by a special election.” The words “a special” will be removed. Motion by K. Sultze to approve Resolution No. 25-15: Appointing Person to Fill Vacant Council Seat with the words “a special” removed, second by Mayor Sultze. Ayes: K. Sultze and Mayor Sultze. Nay: Gregory. Abstain: Johnson. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Triton Summer Recreation requested financial support and use of the ballfield on Monday evenings June 16 through July 21 for t-ball. Motion by K. Sultze to donate $500 and approve use of the field, second by Johnson. Motion carried unanimously.
Attorney Rahrick was requested by the council to research information on a complaint that a resident submitted regarding a fence with symbols on it and some fence posts that may be taller than allowed.
FINAL WORD
A resident spoke regarding the council and residents needing to support each other, work together, and support principles (like the Declaration of Independence).
Motion by Johnson to adjourn the meeting at 8:56 p.m., second by K. Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
Elizabeth Sorg,
City Administrator
Jared Sultze, Mayor
