CITY OF CLAREMONT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2024
7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Claremont, Minnesota was held on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. at Claremont City Hall.
Members present: Mayor Tasha Dahl, City Council Members: Jacob Klejeski, Krystal Sultze, and Ryan Hedberg. Council Members absent: Deb Ellis.
City staff and others present: Administrator Elizabeth Sorg, Maintenance Director Casey Dahl, City Attorney Mark Rahrick, City Engineer Derek Olinger, Matt Durand, Ethan Reed, and Donna Gregory.
AGENDA
Motion by Sultze to approve the agenda, second by Hedberg. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC INPUT
None
CONSENT AGENDA
The Consent Agenda consisted of: Minutes of the April 2, 2024 Regular City Council Meeting, Minutes of the April 22, 2024 Local Board of Appeal and Equalization, Resolution No. 24-14: Resolution Expressing Appreciation of a Donation, and Resolution No. 24-15: Resolution Certifying Past Due Bill to Dodge County. Motion by Klejeski to approve the Consent Agenda, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Motion by Sultze to approve the financial reports, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Motion by Hedberg to approve the amended list of bills to be paid, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE
Two people applied to be members of the fire department: Chas Schroht and Nathan Gustafson. The fire chief has already met with them and background checks have been done. Motion by Sultze to approve Chas Schroht and Nathan Gustafson as members of the fire department, second by Hedberg. Motion carried unanimously.
PLANNING & ZONING COMMITTEE
Nothing at this time.
EDA
The Agreement with Arden Homes having the option to purchase the RK&T lots expired in February. City Attorney Rahrick drafted a new Agreement extending the deadline to August 31, 2024. Motion by Hedberg to approve the Extension Agreement, second by Klejeski. Motion carried unanimously.
Matt Durand was present to give an update on his housing project. The building permits are ready and the houses are in the drywall phase. He will be breaking ground mid-May with the houses being brought in mid-June.
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
Maintenance Director Dahl will be starting to clean out culverts and filling potholes.
PARKS COMMITTEE
Administrator Sorg tried several times to contact a company that wanted to bid on the full-size basketball court in Henning Park, but they haven’t responded. She will try to get another quote from a different company.
Maintenance Director Dahl bought and planted more grass seed on the ball field. He contacted Hodgman Excavating for estimates to make the parking lot bigger for buses to get in and out and also put in a catch basin to drain a portion of it better.
A new 5 row bleacher was purchased and will be put together.
Sorg contacted National Fleet Graphics for a park sign design and prices.
Since the dugouts are not started yet and the grass is still being planted and growing the ball field might not be available for use this year.
Maintenance Director Dahl recommended 3 options for a scoreboard. Motion by Hedberg to purchase the Varsity Scoreboard 3312 which is an 8’ x 5’ x 8” scoreboard with Triton colors and will have “Claremont Field” printed on the top for $5192.00, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously. McMartin will be contacted for the electricity for the scoreboard and also set it up for field lighting in the future.
PEOPLESERVICE
Their monthly reports were in the packet.
CITY ENGINEER
City Hall received a letter from MPCA stating the city is meeting the new limit changes for phosphorus although they are proposing a new sulfate limit. The existing treatment is not capable of meeting the limit and upgrades to meet the limit are cost prohibitive. MPCA offered a 60-day time extension to draft a response and make a decision to either apply for a variance for
the new limit or create a schedule to come into compliance in the future. Motion by Klejeski to have Engineer Olinger request a 60-day extension, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
The sump pump inspections and water/sewer service line inspections have started; about 20% have been completed.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Sorg asked the County Highway Department about repairing County Road 1 and they mentioned it is not in the County’s budget to be done until 2027 or 2028.
Boyum Tree Service has been contacted about taking out 4 boulevard trees and stumps that need to be removed, 2 trees need to be trimmed and 1 tree is going to be evaluated for trimming or taken down depending upon the condition.
CITY ATTORNEY
Nothing at this time.
OLD BUSINESS
Ethan Reed handed out a permaculture setup for the food forest. It would be a circle with a fruit tree in the middle with berries, herbs, vegetables, etc. around it. He suggested he would be willing to try this out starting with 3 areas by the walking trail. Mr. Reed and Maintenance Director Dahl will go out Thursday and pick the best areas. He will buy most of the plants and the city will help out financially if needed. Motion by Hedberg to move forward with the food forest, including authorization for Mr. Reed to go onto the property with his 4-wheeler and wagon as needed, second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS
Terri Schuette submitted her proposal for planting flowers in pots to be placed in front of the main street businesses and in parks. She will donate her time for gathering the materials, planting, and weekly maintenance. The estimated cost is not to exceed $825, and the Chamber will pay half, providing the city pays the other half. Motion by Sultze to donate $412.50 for the city flowers, second by Hedberg. Motion carried unanimously.
The PeopleService Contract expires in 2025. Administrator Sorg briefly researched the city hiring a licensed water and wastewater facility operator who can also train employees so they can get their licenses. Council would like Sorg to get some more information and get a plan for the council to continue discussing.
Motion by Klejeski to adjourn the meeting at 8:27 p.m., second by Sultze. Motion carried unanimously.
ATTEST:
________________________________ ____________________________________
Elizabeth Sorg, Administrator Tasha Dahl, Mayor
