New Richland City Council
By JESSICA LUTGENS
Contributing Writer
The New Richland City Council held its second meeting of the month Monday, February 24 at 6:30 p.m. All were present except councilperson Tony Martens. The agenda was approved, followed by the consent agenda. Resolution 14-05, which certifies delinquent property charges to be collected with 2015 taxes, was approved with no further discussion.
The first report presented was by the Maintenance Department. It was stated a wastewater license needs to be renewed at the cost of $23, with a request that the city pay the cost. It was approved.
A discussion about the possible replacement of radio read meters followed, due to the fact that half are outdated and no longer working efficiently. If the meters were replaced, it would cut down on manpower as well as provide more accurate readings. The city of Chaska will be replacing their meters and is looking to sell them, which the Maintenance Department requested the purchase of at a fair price. The department expressed the issue should be resolved sooner rather than later, as prices will only go up. After some discussion, City Clerk Wayne Billing agreed to look into possible grants for the project, but no final decisions were made.The next order of business, of which much of the meeting’s discussion revolved around, addressed the large number of frozen pipes this year due to continuing sub-zero temperatures. This issue is statewide, and there are various solutions cities are using.
It was decided that, in order to prevent future freezing, citizens should check the temperature of their water with a thermometer (a meat thermometer will work), and if the temperature is less than 34 degrees, to run a pencil-size stream of cold water. Of course, this will cause larger water use and bills, which the city also agreed to compensation for only after the New Richland Fire Department has verified the temperature of the water to prevent water overuse. To verify the temperature and use, citizens will be asked to call City Hall before they begin running their water.
Citizens will be informed further on this issue via an advertisement in the newspaper, postings on the city website, and flyers at local businesses. It was said that most people should not have a problem, but precautions should be taken. An official motion was made by John Hullopeter, which agreed, “To compensate for water use after verification and notification by the Fire Department.” The motion was seconded by Amy Ihrke and approved. The maintenance report was approved.
The People’s Service Report was presented and briefly reviewed by the council. It was approved.
The New Richland Care Center presented the last report. A new Certified Dietary Manager, Michelle Selbrade, was recently hired. A brief discussion regarding CTS for a new phone system followed, which was reviewed at last month’s meeting, and the council approved it at the cost of $16,204.16.
Also presented was the audit of the Care Center; in summary, the Care Center is doing very well financially and with their management. The council approved the report.
The council discussed the upcoming county road construction in New Richland, Waseca and Janesville, which will have a major impact on property tax here in town. A motion was made for a more equitable and cautionary arrangement, stating that, “If the impact on taxes is too much, the city council can stop the project.” The motion was approved.
A request was made by the NR Fire Department for purchase of replacement gear, which the council approved at a cost of $8,288.36, which leaves a fair amount in the uniform budget.
The NR Ambulance requested the purchase of new pagers, which was moved to the next meeting after some discussion. Four applications for employment with the ambulance were reviewed and approved pending background checks for the following people: Sarah Sundve, Cary Firch, Sam Morgan and Stacy LaPlante. Discussion then followed regarding an underage person who expressed interest in taking a First Responders class and participating in a ride-along program, and the process was approved and tabled to the next meeting.
Editor’s Note: More information on any of the topics discussed can be found at www.cityofnewrichlandmn.com under the "City Government-Mayor/Council- Agendas" on the left.