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6.1.2021 Finance Minutes

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Called To Order

President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 3:30 PM.

Roll Call

Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Bishop, Commissioner Erickson (3:40), and Commissioner Gulmon.

Department Reports

Electrical Superintendent Senf reported one outage.  Finished up the underground in Webster Subdivision.  Finished the alley rebuild and will be getting some locates called in Donny’s subdivision.  Bad news is that our downtown sub, one transformer is out of commission.  Waiting for a quote from HDR.  I would like to convert it to a 115 line vs the 69 line so reinsulate some new poles and possibly a transformer.

Sanitation Supervisor Swart reported the numbers for clean-up week.  We brought in 164.10 tons of garbage since September’s clean-up week and inert was 77.74 tons.

Kevin Jacobson reported for the street department.  Stated there was a little bit of a pressure problem but that’s worked out.  Seemed to be a bad PRV.  We’re working with Grotberg on getting the fire pumps up on both Crestwood and the Industrial Park. 

Water Superintendent Hesch reported the demand for water is going up.  We trying to let people know if they are going to water, please do it in the morning or evening so it can soak into the ground.  Try not to water every day.  Your grass needs to learn to handle the stress in case there is a reason any restrictions have to go on in the future.  Also, for those that fertilize your grass with your hose, get a vacuum breaker on your hose so there isn’t any chance of the fertilizer getting sucked back into the hose and ending up in the system.

Fire Chief Magnuson stated the Fire Department will be holding their Dedication Ceremony June 19th.

Police Chief Hatcher reported they did some interviews for the open position.  We now have two open positions as another officer has submitted her resignation.  We’ve worked through a few junk areas with the Street Department.  The notices are going out and we’re notifying them and have been trying to work with them to get it cleaned up.

Review monthly bills/reports   

We have just under $1.3 million in bills and expenditures for May.

Discuss NDDOT Urban Grant Program

Chad Petersen from KLJ we have tapped into this program with the Phase I project on Central Ave along with the current project on Main Street.  This is a competitive grant program.  When we started we were just looking at using it for the Streetscape project but there are other components that are in the focus area that could benefit from this.  I wanted to see if there is interest in pursuing this.

Discuss Change Orders for 7th and 2nd

City Administrator Crawford stated change orders will be presented differently than before.  Instead of just one lump sum of a change order at the end we will discuss the change orders as we go so everyone can understand where they are coming from.  The first one is us contracting out removal of trees in order to get to the services.  The next one was the manholes.  We had to go up sizes on the pipes and make the manholes bigger because of the pipes.  There’s no way to know this until you get down to in there to see it.  The next was we knew how many services we had but we didn’t know a lot of the PVC pipe went from a house to clean-up.  There were about 14 services that looked like they would be PVC but when they got in there it was clay tile.  Approval was given for the clay tile being replaced with PVC. 

Discuss 2nd Ave SE in Front of Senior Center

City Administrator Crawford stated this was actually going to be done last fall with the project on 5th but with the plant shutting down early due to the snow it didn’t get done.  Now we have two different projects going on with two different companies that we’ll get quotes done and then it will be done in October.  The money had already been set aside but we may get a better deal this year.

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4.6.2021 Finance Minutes

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Called To Order

President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 2:30 PM.

Roll Call

Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Bishop, Commissioner Erickson, and Commissioner Gulmon.

Others present: City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Finance Director Richter, Deputy Auditor Klein, Public Works Accountant/Manager Jacobson, City Assessor Hansen, Fire Chief Magnuson, Police Chief Hatcher, Chad Petersen from KLJ, Electrical Superintendent Senf, Operations Superintendent Klemisch, Sanitation Supervisor Swart, Water Superintendent Hesch

1.  Commission Topics

            b. Discuss Housing Incentives.

            Discussion took place around Housing Incentives.

            a. Discuss Funds for Dam Signage.

            Discussion took place regarding the City Engineer position.

2.  Department Reports:

            Water Superintendent Hesch reported we have been getting updated rules on the lead and copper     revision.  There will be more testing and a big part of it will be doing an inventory of each house in       town.  We’ll have to see what their feed is into their houses.

            Electrical Superintendent Senf reported only one outage due to a squirrel last month.  The guys are   pulling the underground lines for the Fine Arts Building.  We had an issue with the rolling black outs.      The downtown sub worked perfectly, the south sub we have a bank of batteries and when the power       goes out the way it did we have no way of controlling the breakers.  When they kicked us on, everything came on at once and we saw a spike in our peak.  Presented the three quotes for batteries. Cable and transformer quotes and stated his recommendations.  Electrical Superintendent      Senf also requested increasing his spending limit.  The quotes are only good for seven days and by the        time it goes through for approval it’s passed that time.

            Sanitation Supervisor Swart reported we have a new employee, Troy Redding, and are now fully      staffed.  A couple of reminders on the 24 hour collection site.  We have seen an increase of wood            going instead of just trees.  It is for grass and leaves on the east side and branches on the west side.  Also, do not put dirty wood chips or anything in the wood chip pile.  That’s for residents to come and    take and use and we have had people dumping sawdust, scrap pieces of wood, gravel and dirt.  We do      have cameras are picking up some of this.  We had a gentleman that dumped fence posts in the tree branches and he did have to come back and clean it up and haul it into the landfill.  Clean up week is   May 24th-28th.  Please make sure garbage is out by 7AM and keep the areas clean around the            dumpsters. 

            City Administrator Crawford added starting cleanup week early is not allowed.  If there are couches,               other items out on the curb they will be sent a letter asking to clean it up or we will go ahead and do            that for them but it will be at a 2-person lift fee which is $35.

             Operations Superintendent Kelmisch reported the well has been drilled and the stem is in place.       Our plan is to go straight west from the well and tie in the pipe we have there.  We don’t have a date            yet, it will probably be another month or so.  The old site will be capped and we plan to use the panel           for the new one.  We started crack sealing Main Street for the upcoming seal coat this summer.  After          that we’ll probably move on to painting to freshen up Main Street and some other down town areas.

Fire Chief Magnuson reported fire extinguisher services have been great.  We got back into our training program which is good.  It’s been nice to have everyone back together.  We picked our new officers for the year, I will get that emailed.  We met with the County Commission this morning about the building.  They basically declined the dollar amount and now want to work on a rental agreement.  They did extend the burn ban with the stipulations that they will enforce the penalty.  It was relayed to the Sheriff’s office to write a $1500 ticket if you are burning. 

Police Chief Hatcher reported the windows have been put in the police station.

3.-6. Were covered in Electrical Superintendent Senf’s department report.   

7.  Discuss Forester-Employee vs Contractor.

            City Attorney Martineck stated it will be a little more than that.  To start with the Forester is a                   position.  We’re expected to pay him about $7,200 this year plus the cost of tools and      reimbursement for a couple of training programs.  When we looked into it more it seemed like            there would be some overlapping on what we would have an employee do compared to an      independent contractor and he’s really bordering on an employee.  There’s a proposed salary     schedule if we created a part-time, seasonal employee.  We created an E21 Forester position.  It      would be step 1 to step 25 like every other position except instead of a step increase every year, it          would be a step increase every 5 years.  There would still be a COLA increase every year as long as approved by the Commission.  We would be looking at 350 hours/year max so we’d be well           below where we’d have to pay health insurance or any other benefits. In order to get it at            approximately the $7,250 where he’d be contracted at, we’d probably place the current forester at step 10 or 11 which would be $21/hr.  At 20 hours a week from May 15th –September 15th there     would be about 348 hours and then he also said he would be willing to do some work in the off             season which is expected to be under 10 hours.  Over the course of the year if you paid him at      $21/ hour is would be about $7300 versus $7250.  The only other changes would be a slight   increase to WSI and then the employment taxes.  Also wanted to touch on 2 other positions.  The        first is the seasonal Public Works laborer.  It’s been starting at $11/hr.  It’s not competitive       anymore.  The proposal is to add a new position with a formal job description.  Put it on the           salary schedule stating at $14 max of $16.  There would be a COLA increase annually if          improved by the commission and we would give credit to those that come back.  The other is an   increase to the Sanitation Specialist I.  There would be a new A13 level for people that get their        Class A CDL.  The idea is to add a level where a sanitation employee with a Class A CDL would        get a $1 differential per hour.

8.  Discuss Road to Landfill Coop. 

            City Administrator Crawford stated there was discussion on the road to the land fill.  The township said at one time there was an oral agreement no one has any proof of anything so we            said let’s move forward.  We came to the agreement that the City will put the gravel on the road           and the cost for that will be split in half.  The County will grade it and we will be adding chloride        and the cost of the chloride will be split.  The chloride for year two will be provided by the City and going forward everything will be equally split.  This will only be up to the landfill gate.

9.  Quarterly Review of City Engineer Contract.

            City Administrator Crawford stated she took the engineering invoices and compared them to what            our contract for the year will be and for the quarterly report.  For now everything is still in      accordance with what we are looking.  Going forward we may swap the planning portion of what        their max is and the general engineered but as long as the full portion is still $87,000 that’s the most important part.

10.  VCFD Building Update-covered in Fire Chief Magnuson’s department report.

11.  Discuss Utility Bills Staying with the Property.

            PW Manager Jacobson reported we have customers that don’t want to pay.  Looking back to     2017, since then we have turned over $71,700 of bad debt to our collection agency.  In our    current process the fees we pay if they collected everything for us would be $25,000 that we     would be out of the money that we shouldn’t have been.   Currently we have collected just over     $17,000.  Even if we collect it or they collect it, if we sent it to them they still get their fee.  We          still have $54,000 remaining in debt and the older it gets the less chance there is of us collecting. 

            City Administrator Crawford continued that a lot of this comes from people moving out and not   paying their final bills.  I would like to propose that we do an ordinance change that the bills stay        with the property.  So if someone rents the home and moves out and doesn’t pay the bill that is on            the homeowner, not the City.  If you’re looking at it from a taxpayers viewpoint, that’s $70,000   that could have been going through the City helping with other things.  The other part is that if          someone gets their water or electricity shut off and no one lives there for a couple years that has         to get caught up before it gets turned back on so you’re guaranteed to get that money back.    Another thing that may be a little different is if a realtor is looking to sell a certain property they   would call over to check if there was an outstanding balance on utilities and put it as part of the        closing. 

12.  Discuss Resolution for Modifications to the Electric Rates.

            PW Manager Jacobson stated that we are asking for a change to the resolution on the electric       rates.  We are not asking to increase the rate.  We just want some housekeeping type changes.  The only change to a rate is on page 3.  We’re asking to change the Green Energy Adder rate.     Moving it from 0.5 cents per KWH to 0.1 cent per KWH based on what we are getting charged from MRES.  The other changes are just to wording on the lighting rentals and putting back in wording for the large power demand credit.

            City Attorney Martineck added that the last paragraph of the resolution should be taken out.

Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at ­4:24 PM.

Minutes Available text with City of Valley City Logo above

5.18.2021 Commission Minutes

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President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.

Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Bishop, Commissioner Erickson, and Commissioner Gulmon, City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck.

Pledge of Allegiance

Approval of Agenda

No Changes

Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve the minutes from the May 4th meeting seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

public hearing

Open Public Hearing regarding the Rezoning of the undeveloped land located west of 8th Ave SE and south of 10th St SE west of Waterfront Meadows Addition.

President Carlsrud declared public hearing open.

Commissioner Bishop move to close the hearing, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1080, an Ordinance Rezoning the undeveloped land located west of 8th Ave SE and south of 10th St SE west of Waterfront Meadows Addition.

Commissioner Gulmon move to close the hearing, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Ordinance

Approve Second and Final Reading of Ordinance 1079, an Ordinance Amending and Reenacting Section 12-02-01 of the Valley City Municipal Code re Property Maintenance definitions. 

City Attorney Martineck stated there were no changes from the first reading.  This is an ordinance to expand the definition of junk.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Approve First Reading of Ordinance No. 1081, an Ordinance Relating to the Annexation of Territory.

City Attorney Martineck stated we received a petition for annexation for Meadow View Estates.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

            Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1082, an Ordinance approving Hidden Ponds Estates Planned Unit Development.

            City Attorney Martineck stated the Planning and Zoning Committee received an application to     create a PUD.  They Committee recommended approval with several conditions listed.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.

Roll Call:  Gulmon-aye Magnuson-aye  Erickson-nay    Bishop-aye       Carlsrud-aye

Motion carried.

Resolution

            Approve Resolution No. 2295, a Resolution Approving Final Plans & Specifications for        Master Lift Station Upgrades and Authorizing Engineer to Advertise for Quotes/Bids.

            Chad Petersen from KLJ stated plans are included in the packet.  These have been reviewed with Public Works.  As part of the engineering contract we did have Moore Engineering do a peer      review.  They have been submitted to the NDDEQ for approval before we can go for bids.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried

            Approve Resolution No. 2296, a Resolution Approving Final Plans & Specification for West End Lift Station and Authorizing Engineer to Advertise for Quotes/Bids.

            Chad stated this is the same as the last one but for the West End Lift Station.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.

Roll Call:  Magnuson-aye         Bishop-aye       Gulmon-aye     Erickson-nay    Carlsrud-aye      Motion carried.

            Approve Resolution No. 2298, a Resolution Approving an Application to Amend a Planned Unit Development (PUD) and Replat land located between 3rd Ave NE, and between 4th St            NE and 5th St NE (Outlot Y Harvest Valley Townhomes Subdivision-a Replat of Lots 5-8         Block 2 Original Townsite).

            City Attorney Martineck stated the Planning and Zoning Committee received an application to     replat some lots with in the PUD for the purpose of building some additional residences and   parcel off the garage sites.  Planning and Zoning is recommending approval with several        conditions listed.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

New Business

Approve Site Authorization Renewals for Valley City Hockey and Figure Skating Club at Youth Sports Complex and Valley City Town and Country Club from 7/1/2021 through 6/30/2022.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Approve Valley City Barnes County Development Corporation request for funds.

Jennifer Feist from VCBCDC stated the request is in order for us to help secure engineering services to address a pretty significant issue in the SE corner of the community.  There is a portion that is experiencing hill sliding.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Amendment to Engineer-Owner Agreement for Construction Engineering for 5th Ave NW Reconstruction. 

Chad from KLJ stated this project was to be completed in 2020 but the contractor did not complete the work in time.  Our contract was based off salary work up to Oct. 17th.  They started back up in April.  There will be approximately 4 weeks of time that was added.  That’s what the request is for which is $32,750 which is an hourly request.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson. 

Roll Call:  Bishop-aye  Gulmon-aye     Erickson-nay    Magnuson-aye  Carlsrud-aye

Motion carried.

Discuss Urban Roads Project on 12th St N from 9th Ave NW to 5th Ave NE and 8th Ave SW at Winter Show Road.

Chad from KLJ stated back in December of 2016 the City requested a mil and overlay be programmed on 12 St N. in 2021.  Since that time other projects have happened so we reprogrammed that to 2022.  As part of the Petro Serve project turn lanes were supposed to be installed but were not.  Those will be added to this project.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon. 

Roll Call:  Magnuson-aye         Bishop-aye       Gulmon-aye     Erickson-nay    Carlsrud-aye

Motion carried.

Approve MOU for Sheyenne River Water Trail.

City Administrator Crawford stated this is to make sure everyone is on the same page.  The City has no responsibility.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Approve Site Authorization renewal for the Thundering Saints, Inc. at Boomer’s Corner Keg and Woodland Steakhouse from 7/1/2021 through 6/30/2022.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Approve Request for Concurrence of Award.

Chad from KLJ stated the DOT opened bids for the seal coat on Main.  The estimate that was programmed for this project was approximately $140,000 the total project cost is approximately $121,000.  The City is required to pay approximately 10% which is about $12,000 with about $6,000 being special assessed.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Approve purchase of future Public Works building.

City Administrator Crawford stated she had Clint layout what they were looking at for the cold storage. 

Operations Superintendent Klemisch stated this is a need.  Everyone will be under one roof. 

Commissioner Gulmon questioned why the layout of the building ran from east to west rather than north to south. 

OS Kelmisch stated it worked better this way to get the storage building in salt tank in there.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Department Reports

City Administrator Crawford reported there is a lot of construction going on.  The first week of any project is learning curves.  We do have meeting with everyone on the project so we can try to make sure some of the bumps are covered.  We’ve added extra communication by sending press releases to Kay and Jennifer and MaryLee so they can use their contacts to help get the word out.  There are about four properties that will be affected for clean-up week but Clint has a plan.

Included in the packet are designs from the Sheyenne Valley Career & Tech Center students.  These are the final three designs and locations they will be placed.

We received the signed purchase agreement for 5th and 5th so that will be started this fall with the school.

Cold storage meeting last week.  There weren’t questions so I think they saw the value of it.

At the department head meeting last week we discussed the garbage on the boulevard.  We understand some have been there for 20 years but there have been some new ones being added it doesn’t look nice.  In order to take care of it we have to be fair if we make one move we have to make them all move.  So you will probably get calls.  It is in our ordinance that we aren’t supposed to have anything in our boulevards for longer than that day.

Police Chief Hatcher reminded pet owners if your pet is not in your yard or dog park you need to have a leash on them.  The fee is $20 for a tag.  It can also help you get your dog back faster and not have the vet fees if we have to impound your dog.  The current cycle right now, if you pay $20 per animal it will expire March of 2023 and that $20 would be in lieu of a $50 ticket if we catch your dog out and about or if they are not on a leash.  $50 for the first offense and $100 for the second.  The licensing fees go to the Friends of Animals so you are also helping them out.  The Peace Officer Memorial Day was Saturday, remembering all those that have fallen.

Chad Petersen from KLJ updated that every two weeks we are inviting the business owners to construction meetings to they can be informed and ask questions.

Commissioner Gulmon stated the April financial report shows the City is strong.

Commissioner Erickson reminding everyone clean-up week is next week.  Please separate your piles.

Commissioner Bishop thanked the VCFD and VCPD.  Stated he did received a request to leave the four way stops in place of the lights.

Mayor Carlsrud thanked everyone for all the extra work being done.  We grateful to all of our employees.  Clean up week, please respect the requests to the items can be picked up easily by our crew.  Thank you to Brenda and Avis for their advancements at the NDLC Leadership Training.

Adjourn

Meeting was adjourned at 5:43 P.M.

Minutes Available text with City of Valley City Logo above

5.4.2021 Commission Minutes

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President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.

Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Bishop, Commissioner Erickson, and Commissioner Gulmon.

Others present:  City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Deputy Auditor Klein, City Assessor Hansen, PW Supervisor Jacobson, Fire Chief Magnuson, Police Chief Hatcher, City Engineer Chad Petersen, John Hill, Amy Pederson(VCPR), Mike Strom(KLJ).

call to order

Meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM

Pledge of Allegience

Approval of Agenda

Add N11.

Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve the minutes from the April 13th and April 19th meetings, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Arbor Day Proclamation

Approval of Consent Agenda

  1. Approve Monthly Reports from the Fire Chief, Building Inspector, Auditor, Municipal Judge and Public Works Accountant.
  • Approve Monthly Bills for the City and Public Works in the Amount of $3,519,166.04               

1.  Approve Application to Block Off Street for VCSU-VC Activities Board from 3 PM to Midnight on May 5th for the End of Year Street Dance on 2nd Ave SW, East Side of the Student Center and Library.

2. Approve Application to Block Off Street for Sheyenne Valley Soapbox Derby Association for the Soapbox Derby Race held from 6 AM to 6 PM on June 5th, Central Ave from 3rd St to 9th St.

3.  Approve Raffle Permit for Bridge City Cruisers.

4.  Approve Raffle Permit for Fraternal Order of Police James/Valley Lodge #4.

Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Ordinance

Approve First Reading of Ordinance No. 1074, an Ordinance enacting a new section of the Valley City Municipal Code relating to Wireless Telecommunication Facility Guidelines.

City Attorney Martineck stated no changes from the first reading.  This allows the Auditor Department to determine when the contractor licenses are due.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Approve Second and Final Reading of Ordinance No. 1078, an Ordinance to Create and enact Section 15-01-12.1 re Tax Assessment of Unpaid Utility Charges.

City Administrator Crawford stated this is the ordinance we spoke about that if an account hasn’t been paid we will put it on the property.  We are still working out the details but the ordinance would be okay the way it is. We would also give notice to the land owners so they have until January to get everything figured out.

City Attorney Martineck stated no changes from the first reading.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Approve Second and Final Reading of Ordinance No. 1074, an Ordinance Enacting a new section of the Valley City Municipal Code relating to Wireless Telecommunication Facility Guidelines.

City Attorney Martineck stated a few minor changes since the first reading based on comments received from our City Planner, Joel Quanbeck.  Administrative changes in wording and also clarification that this does not apply to WiFi businesses provide to their customers.  There was a provision for a noise study to be done at Commission request.  It was originally stated that within 20 feet of a residential structure they could request a noise study.  We got rid of that and now they can request a noise study within any distance.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried. 

Approve Second and Final Reading of Ordinance 1075, an Ordinance Amending and Reenacting Sections of Titles 7 and 11 of the Valley City Municipal Code Related to Building Permits and Zoning Code Violations.

City Attorney Martineck stated no changes from first reading.  This is giving some more avenues for our Planning and Zoning committee to enforce.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1079, an Ordinance Amending and Reenacting Section 12-02-01 of the Valley City Municipal Code re Property Maintenance definitions.

City Attorney Martineck stated in our ordinance we have various definitions for what junk is.  We are trying to expand the definition a bit for some things that are out on private property like old tools, tires, ashes and debris etc.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Resolution

            Approve Resolution 2294, a Resolution Authorizing Filing of Application with NDDOE for Clean Water & Drinking Water Loan.

Deputy Auditor Klein stated this is just to get the ball rolling on this application.  It’s a low interest loan for what we assess the property owners for the sewer, water and storm sewer.  It gives us a better interest rate that we can pass on to the property owners.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson.  Motion carried.

New Business

Approve Designating Funds from the Cares Act Relief Funds in the amount of $25,000 for Lights to Place on the Elks Foot Bridge and in Veterans Park and $5,000 for the VC Park District to add concrete corn hole games to Chautauqua Park.

City Administrator Crawford stated we want to make sure that the $25,000 is for lights and other decorations so if we don’t use it all on lights we can use it in other places.  There are currently 12 horseshoe games and you would be changing out 4 of those for cornholes and the reason you are coming to the City is because of the large loss you had last year due to covid.

Amy Pederson from VCPR stated right now if people wanted to rent bags right now the plan is to have them at the Wellness Center.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve with the addition off the additional decorations to be added with the lights, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Approve Recommendation from Renaissance Zone Authority Board to approve application from John Hill for the 5 year property tax and 5 year income tax exemption up to $300,000 and designate it as VC-128.

Deputy Auditor Klein stated this is approved by the RZ Board for a new home John will build.  John is here if you have any questions.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Recommendation from Renaissance Zone Authority Board to approve four applications from Legacy Developments for the 5 year property tax and 5 year income tax exemption up to $300,000 each, contingent on receiving their Certificate of Good Standing, and designate them as VC-129, VC-130, VC-131 and VC-132. 

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Amend City Administrator’s Contract.

City Attorney Martineck stated the purpose of the contract is to correct a discrepancy in the original contract so City Administrator Crawford will get her entire allotment of vacation at her anniversary date and start accruing annual leave like every other employee.  

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Bluescope Contract.

City Administrator Crawford stated she would like the Commission to approve the contract that was provided in the materials.  It has the final amount, the only thing that might change is if there is anything to do with the additional 12 feet. Carl has sent it to our Zoning Official to make sure everything is correct.

Commissioner Erickson motioned to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Amend Resolution 2292, a Resolution Approving Plat of Hyland Park District.

City Administrator Crawford stated there was just some clarity that needed to be made.  One of the parts that was very important to the P&Z is having sidewalks as the ordinance has stated.  They were understanding that they didn’t need any there because they didn’t go anywhere.  Bruce has found a way to add the sidewalks so we are asking for the amendment.

Commissioner Magnuson motioned to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Approve offer for purchase of property located at 476 5th Ave NE.

City Administrator Crawford stated there was an offer for that property for $5000, they are aware that it is in a floodplain so there will be some restrictions.  They will be working with the school so the Vo-Tech will be building that on the land.  They are also aware that the water and sewer have concrete in them, they were not just blocked off.

Commissioner Gulmon motioned to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

Approve Preliminary Design Engineering Agreement for Water/Sanitary Sewer Extensions to Nextera Addition.

Chad Petersen from KLJ stated included in your packet is a contract as well as a location map where the extensions are.  Basically it’s taking the water and sewer from the north across interstate.  The contract prepares the detail plans and specification for bidding purposes as well as the permits from the NDDOT for the interstate crossing and utilities.

City Administrator Crawford stated the reason she asked Chad to bring this agreement today was they will not be doing the work until this is done.  The day it’s finalized we don’t have any extra time.  Right now there was a traffic study that was done from their engineer turned into the DOT, the DOT went to the state and there were some discrepancies that are not okay with the current owner.  They’re trying to work through those and negotiate that.  We do thing that we’ll be able to find a solution but that’s been holding things up and as soon as we’re ready to go, it’s going to go fast.  If everything goes right we want the walls up before winter and they can work inside during the winter.  We had meetings with the owners and Barnes Rural Water as well and got them to agree to give use those easements as long as everything moves forward.

Commissioner Bishop asked if they will put sleeves under the interstate.

Chad responded that they are working the details.  The material they used for the water main at Love’s the material used for that didn’t need a casing pipe so we’re going to look at that.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop. 

Roll Call:  Bishop-aye  Gulmon-aye     Erickson-nay    Magnuson-aye  Carlsrud-aye

Approve Site Authorization Renewal for Valley City Baseball Association at The Clubhouse Lounge from 7/1/2021 through 6/30/2022.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Discuss VCFD GMC Commercial Rescue Contract.

City Administrator Crawford stated the Rescue Department has found a vehicle that they feel they cannot pass up for the price.  Through the budget found that they could put the down payment on it this year and cover the rest next year when we receive the truck.

Commissioner Bishop stated he thinks it’s a good purchase for the FD given the fact that rescue calls are going up.  We all know that time means lives.  The more time that they have to find the equipment at the haul and load it in the back of the truck when all of it can just be stored on the truck saves a lot of time.

Commissioner Gulmon stated he was unsure of this project coming into this meeting.  We just spent a lot of money on the addition to the fire hall but after listening to the comments today and this money is in the budget, it’s hard to say no when it can affect lives so I changed my mind after hearing the conversations.

Commissioner Magnuson declared conflict and abstained from voting.

Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion carried.

City updates & Commission Reports

City Administrator Crawford reported we are still working on the policies and procedures working through for junk.  The police and fire department have stepped up for their portion of these and are all doing a great job and as we keep finding every day, there is something new that we have to take on.  Rest assured everyone is being treated the same.  There are actual policies in place so if someone thinks it’s not fair because someone else gets to do something, it just takes time for us to get to that portion.  It won’t happen overnight, we are taking care of things as they are brought to our attention.  Another thing that was brought to our attention was that we have some encroachments on Main.  First it started in 2009 than in 2011 it was brought up from the information and were working with Dave Anderson.  He had them identified and letters were written up, there’s just some question on what happened after that.  First were going to go over what we’re looking at and then we’ll have Lance start working on getting those cleaned up.  It affects your federal funding if it’s not cleaned up.  Some are as simple as a sign needs to be permitted correctly.  There was a list of 40 properties, we cleaned up 6 and added 4.  Some were as simple as moving a movable sign.

Also working on the policies on utilities.  Carl has some concerns on making sure we can actually move forward with enforcement and so we have some other cities we are working with that do the same thing so we just want to make sure our policy is correct. 

An update on the storage building, we signed a purchase agreement.  KLJ got the information to the State Water Commission for us so we cannot purchase anything until we’re approved for that.

City Attorney Martineck stated as far as ordinance changes, we’re looking at a couple different ordinances coming up.  There has been some ongoing issues with cleanup in our mobile home parks so we’re working on that.  There have also been issues with clean up for fire damaged properties.  Joel Quanbeck has some good ideas for updating our zoning codes so those will be discussed at our next PZ meeting.   

Deputy Auditor Richter stated we do have a meeting tomorrow night at 5:30 for the informational meeting for property owners within the storm sewer.  They all received a letter.

PW Manager Jacobson reported that we had around 950ish people sign up for emails so this will definitely help us in PW.

Fire Chief Magnuson thanked the Commission and everyone that helped with the addition to the building.  It’s really dry out.  No open burning in the city, you can have a fire pit but no burning in dikes or anything.  Please use an approved fire pit and have something nearby that can put it out if it gets out of control.

Chad Petersen 5th Ave NW moved in a week or two ago and got started on the concrete.  As of Monday all the concrete work has been completed on 5th Ave.  Right now they are working on repairs before the top layer of asphalt.  We’re anticipating by the end of May they should be wrapping that up.  7th Ave NW-2nd Ave NE project, they just had the preconstruction meeting for that project and they were anticipating starting a week or so ago but due to some delays in receiving some of their materials they have not started yet.  They are looking at starting Monday of next week.  Streetscape II project, we are looking at starting on the 17th so we will look at scheduling a preconstruction meeting for that.    

Commissioner Gulmon the Public Library stated appointments are no longer required but are encouraged.  They are increasing to 10 patrons allowed in the building at one time, 5 upstairs and 5 downstairs.  They will no longer quarantine returned materials.  Face masks are required, curb side service will continue.

Commissioner Erickson reminded everyone that clean up week is the end of the month, May 24-28.  Separate your piles.

Commissioner Bishop shout out to the city crews.  You notice that some paint has been put down, it really looks good.  I know I sound like a broken record but if you see a police officer or volunteer fireman, thank them.  They do a good job and a lot of times don’t get the thanks they deserve.

President Carlsrud the City County Health has vaccines available and they are taking walk-ins.  I encourage you to get your vaccines so we can get to herd immunity.  Thanks to everybody here and thanks to you that are watching.  In about a year, three of us will be up for reelection, consider running.

Adjourn

Meeting was adjourned at 5:48 P.M.

 

4.19.2021 Commission Minutes

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President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.

Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Erickson, and Commissioner Gulmon.

Others present:  City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Finance Director Richter, Deputy Auditor Klein, City Assessor Hansen, PW Supervisor Jacobson, Fire Chief Magnuson, Police Chief Hatcher, Operations Supervisor Klemisch, City Engineer Chad Petersen.

call to order

Meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM

Approval of Agenda

Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve the minutes from the April 6th meetings, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Approval of Consent Agenda

A.  Approve Raffle Permit for

            a. Valley City Education Association

            b. Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce

            c. Express Wrestling  

B.  Approve Block Off Street Request for the Valley City Area Chamber of Commerce for the Rally in the Valley Event held on June 19th 2021 beginning from 6AM to 5 PM.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Ordinance

Approve First Reading of Ordinance No. 1077, an Ordinance amending and reenacting VCMC section 8-01-02 re contractor license renewal date.

City Attorney Martineck stated this is a housekeeping change.  It allows the Auditor’s Office to determine the form of the application for contractor’s licenses and also the date they are due every year.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve First Reading of Ordinance No. 1078, an Ordinance to Create and enact Section 15-01-12.1 re Tax Assessment of Unpaid Utility Charges.

City Administrator Crawford stated this is what we discussed at our last meeting. This is to add it generally and we will put the rest in the policies as we go so everyone has enough notice.  This ordinance will be added but would not go into effect until January 1st. 

Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Approve Second and Final Reading of Ordinance No. 1076, an Ordinance to amend and reenact section 7-04-04 of the Valley City Municipal Code related to numbers on buildings.

City Attorney Martineck stated there are no changes from the first reading.  This is the regulations for the size on the building and making sure they are consistent with building codes.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1075, an Ordinance Amending and Reenacting Sections of Titles 7 and 11 of the Valley City Municipal Code Related to Building Permits and Zoning Code Violations.

City Attorney Martineck stated this ordinance was reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Committee and their recommendation was to approve.  This gives the Planning and Zoning Committee the administrative authority to access fines and fees for violations of the zoning code and building without a permit.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Resolution

Approve Resolution 2292, A Resolution Approving Plat of Hyland Park Estates.

City Attorney Martineck stated the Planning and Zoning Commission received an application for a new residential subdivision in the NW part of town from Valley Realty.  The new development includes multifamily housing including an apartment complex and townhomes.  The Planning and Zoning Commission did recommend approval with some conditions.  The first is that the development proceed according to the guidelines for an R4 district, that sidewalks be included in the project, the storm water management plan be completed before the development proceeds and that there be a dedication of open space pursuant to code which is 12% of the land or cash in lieu of dedication of the land.  There were also some issues in whether or not there were sufficient easements and whether the plan for the project met city standards.  City Attorney Martineck stated he checked with staff and there weren’t any issues with the easements or infrastructure going into the project but we do need to discuss the storm water management plan, the dedication of open space, the sidewalk issue and the size of the apartment complex.  In our Zoning Ordinance it talks about the maximum number of units in a R4 district being 24.  Looking at the history of the ordinance, prior to the ordinance being changed in 2015 there was an identical definition of R4 multifamily housing except in the original ordinance it said any multiple family dwelling with more than 24 units requires review and approval of the Valley City Planning and Zoning Commission.  The interpretation at the Planning and Zoning meeting last week was that 24 was the maximum and there wasn’t any room to go over.  Reviewing the code you could go up to any number that was reasonable for the area.  We have done complexes up to 42 in R4 districts since the ordinance was changed.  If you were to approve the 36 units it would be the same as what has been done the last 4-5 years.

Bruce Hoyt stated in Fargo whether we do the storm management plan up front or at the end I can’t get a building permit or an approval, letter of occupancy until the storm water has been approved so I can do it either way that you like.  The 36-plex right now we would move a little bit to the south so we can increase a little bit more on the north for the storm water detention pond.  It compares exactly to the bigger complex.  Bruce also stated they can work the dedication of open space in.  As far as we’re concerned, if sidewalks are an absolute, we’ll do sidewalks.

Mike Strom from KLJ added that the storm water plan changes depending on the size of the complex so that can’t be completed until we know what can be built.

Commissioner Erickson expressed his concern with a 36-plex having more water coming off and the retention pond only being able to hold for so long.  You put a 36-plex up there will be a lot of run off and it will end up going over to the creek which will come back into town.

Chad Petersen from KLJ stated the pond has to be sized for whatever the build is so the intent is that the runoff won’t be any greater than what the preexisting conditions are.

Consensus was given that the storm water management plan is completed prior, to allow 36 unit and sidewalks are not needed on this project.  We will need to negotiate with the developer for the dedication of open space.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve plat with conditions agreed upon for a multifamily housing unit, maximum of 36 units, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.

Roll Call: Magnuson-aye          Erickson-nay    Gulmon-aye    Carlsrud-aye    Motion carried.  

Approve Resolution 2289, A Resolution Declaring Sufficiency of Protest for Paving Improvement District No.  122 (Main Street Seal Coat).

Finance Director Richter stated the protest period was published as required, letters were sent and we also held an informational meeting.  We had one person inquiring about the project, but no protests.  With that I recommend a positive motion on this to proceed.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

Approve Resolution 2290, A Resolution Approving Plat of Ingstad North Valley Subdivision.

City Attorney Martineck stated the Planning and Zoning received an application for a subdivision for three homestead lots on this plat and recommends approval.  

Commissioner Gulmon moves to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Resolution 2291, A Resolution Approving Petition for Vacation of Undeveloped Portion of 11th Ave SE.

The Planning and Zoning received a petition to vacate a very small portion of undeveloped land.  The recommendation is to approve.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Resolution 2293, A Resolution Approving replat of Lot 1 Block 3 Waterfront Meadows Addition.

City Attorney Martineck stated the Planning and Zoning Committee received an application to increase the size of one lot in the Waterfront Meadows Addition.  Approval is recommended with no conditions.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.        

New Business

Approve Valley City Barnes County Development Corporation request for $25,000.

Jennifer Feist stated this request is for securing architectural services in order to encourage development in the downtown area.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Special Alcohol Beverage Event Permit for Mark Ertelt Benefit at The Labor Club South Parking Lot, May 1st, 2021 from 2 PM to 2 AM.

Finance Director stated she visited with Police Chief Hatcher about the 2 AM closing.  He did sign off on it and said it was strictly the overflow.  Everything is inside but if there is an overflow of people they would like it approved.

Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Special Alcohol Beverage Event Permit for Celebration of Small Business at City Lights Parking Lot, July 23, 2021 from 6 PM to 11 PM.

Finance Director Richter stated she didn’t see any issues with this application and Bergans are on the call if there are any questions.

City Administrator Crawford stated she spoke with Tommy but they will want to fill out a road closure permit.  Clint thought it would be best since the road is a public road that drives through the parking lot.

Chad said that was fine and asked if the time is set in stone once approved?  Can we change it to 12AM?

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve with the 12AM time, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.           

Approve Special Alcohol Beverage Event Permit from The Clubhouse Lounge LLC for the Garrett McFadgen Benefit at the ND Winter Show, May 3, 2021 from 6 PM to 9 PM.  

City Administrator Crawford stated Kayla Coleman from the Clubhouse was on the call if there were any questions.

Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Housing Incentives.

City Administrator Crawford stated after the Finance Meeting we discussed what would be the best solution to move forward.  Commissioner Gulmon stated we discussed our existing which is $1600 upon closing and there’s a 2 year tax incentive up to $150,000 value of the property.  Our proposal is to increase that to a $5000 incentive.  We would like that to start in 2021 and would also like to budget $50,000 annually from the Public Works to continue this.  We would also like to create a fund for infrastructure for new developments that would bring the underground services to new developments.  Starting with $250,000 of Prairie Dog funds and then potentially in the future consider 10-15% of future Prairie Dog funds to go towards this account.

Commissioner Gulmon motioned to accept the proposal as presented in its entirety with a minimum of Prairie Dog funds being set at 10% with an option to review at that point, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Application for Property Tax Exemption for Improvements to Residential Building at 218 7th Ave NW. 

City Assessor Hansen stated the application pretty self-explanatory.  This is the 5 year exemption on just improvements.

Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Submission of a Loan Application to RDFC (Rural Development Finance Corporation) for the Partial Financing of the Addition to the Fire hall.

Finance Director Richter statedthis is a low interest rate loan. Upon approval they would approve up to 50% of the project cost with a maximum of up to $250,000 loan for 10 years.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion carried.

Approve Administration of City of Valley City’s local sales, use and gross receipts taxes by State Tax Commissioner for 2021-2023 biennium. 

Finance Director Richter stated this is a renewal of the contract we enter into every biennium.  The new contract is $41 less per month than the prior.  In order for the state to administer the sales tax it would be $720/month.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson.  Motion carried.

Approve Contract with NDDOT for Facilitating Installation of Small Cell Wireless Facilities in DOT Right of Way.  

City Attorney Martineck stated at the next commission meeting the commissioners will be reviewing the final reading of the regulations for installing small cell wireless facilities in our right of ways.  This contract with DOT allows us to accept permits for the DOT right of way and apply our ordinances to that particular area. 

Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion carried.

City updates & Commission Reports

City Administrator Crawford reported that one of the problems they’re having out of the landfill is people are bringing in their old wood chips and dumping them on the pile of new ones.  I would like to bring it back into the gated area so it can be monitored.  They are also working on signs for the landfill.  I went with Kendall to the Fargo landfill and they had some nice signs with arrows.  People don’t read wordy signs but if you have a couple of words with arrows they will and we feel that should help.

Fire Chief Magnuson stated the annual fundraiser is coming up on the 30thof April.  We had a group of firefighters test on Saturday, they did very well.  Our City Attorney drafted a rental agreement and we will be taking that to the County Commission.

Police Chief Hatcher stated a position was opened for a Police Officer.  This is a position that’s being filled due to a current officer taking a full time temporary position with the National Guard.  About 5 weeks until city wide clean up.  Now is a good time to assess your properties and think about what you need to get out to the curb when it’s time.  Also a reminder about the 72 hour ordinance for parking.  It’s 72 hours, it’s not once we give you notice 72 hours.

Chad Petersen KPH moved back in to start prepping for the sidewalk work on 5th Ave NW.  Roads will be closed on Wednesday.  Asphalt schedule is unknown, we are waiting on the restrictions to come off.  Guessing early May.  The preconstruction meeting for the Paving 119 and 119B was held.  The tentative plan is to start work next Monday.  The plan is to start on 2nd Ave NE between 5th St and 7th St.  Then they’ll bring in a second crew to start on 7th Ave West portion.  It will get pretty busy here in town.

Commissioner Gulmon thanked the Housing Committee that worked to develop the plan that we approved tonight.  This is a positive step towards building our community.

President Carlsrud commented on the landfill, it’s a pretty good service that’s provided there so please take care of it.  We’ve had a number of call periodically where neighbors have issues with one another but they haven’t talked to each other.  Please talk to each other.  Communication does a lot to help resolve conflict.  To all of our city employees, thank you.

Adjourn

Meeting was adjourned at 6:18 P.M.

6.13.2021 Mayor’s Message

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Hi Everybody,

  • Great News:  Valley City’s Annual Drinking Water Report is again “Top Notch”.  Our goal is to continually improve and maintain the quality of our water.  Along with providing high quality water, Valley City drinking water has been voted the best tasting water in the state as well.  Kudos to Wade and Sherry at our water treatment plant for all of their great work.
  • Having a pet is a blessing.  That said having a pet also includes the responsibility to feed, groom and pick up its “poop”.  People have mentioned that some pets are allowed to defecate in people’s lawns and it is left there.  I have seen feces left in several places on the shared use paths!  Please folks, SVFA and VCPR provide bags and dispensers, “PICK UP”.
  • If you are thinking a COVID Vaccination is not for you, will you please reassess a bit?  If your concern is physical, results seem to show risks are fewer than some other shots we take regularly.  If your concern is personal, consider that people without the vaccination can spread the virus to young or high-risk family and close friends.  If your concern is political, please weigh the political importance with importance of protecting your family and friends. Call 845-8518 for information.
  • “Rally In the Valley” is Saturday June 19th.  There are always a plethora of events for your enjoyment.  See https://valleycitynd.org/pages/rally for details.  Make plans with your family and friends to join you in Valley City for “Rally In the Valley”.
  • STOP by and see the Hi-Line Prairie Gardens & Orchard.  Many people have worked diligently making it beautiful, https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Park/Hi-Line-Prairie-Gardens-Orchard-1254425128059152/
  • * * Thank you to this week’s contributors
  • “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” (John Wooden) Blessings, Be Kind, Be Respectful and Pray,

Dave

Agenda Available

6.15.2021 Commission Agenda

Posted on by

The City Commission Meeting will begin on Tuesday, June 15th, 2021 at 5:00 PM CT, at the City Commission Chambers, 254 2nd Avenue NE, Valley City, ND.

The meeting is also available to view online https://zoom.us/j/99078997124 or listen by calling (1 346 248 7799) Webinar ID:  990 7899 7124.

Call To Order

Roll Call

Pledge of Allegiance (please stand)

Approval of Agenda

Approval of Minutes

Approve Minutes from the 6/1/2021 Meetings.

Approval of Consent Agenda

A.  Approve Block off Street Request Along 4th Ave SW from 4th St. to 6th St. SW for On the Move Let’s Walk Valley City Event held on July 19th, 2021 from 5PM to 8 PM.

Roll Call:          Gulmon           Erickson          Bishop            Magnuson       Carlsrud

Public Comments

Attorney General’s “A Citizen’s Guide to North Dakota Open Records & Open Meetings Laws” *A member of the public does not have the right to speak to the governing body at an open meeting.  The public is only entitled to see and hear what happens at a meeting, and to record or broadcast those observations.

  • No personal attacks to persons present or not
  • No inflammatory language used during time that you have the platform
  • 5 minute maximum or as directed by the chair
  • Thank you for participating in City Government.

PUBLIC HEARING

PH 1. Public Hearing to Consider Development Plan and Developer’s Agreement for Valley Plains Equipment (Nextera Properties) (City Attorney Martineck)

Declare Public Hearing Open.

Close Hearing.

Roll Call:          Bishop             Magnuson        Gulmon            Erickson           Carlsrud

Approve Resolution 2303, a Resolution Approving Developer’s Agreement, and TIF for Valley Plains Equipment (Nextera Properties)

Roll Call:          Erickson          Bishop            Magnuson       Gulmon           Carlsrud

Ordinance

1.  Approve Second and Final Reading of Ordinance 1083, an Ordinance Approving the Annexation of Lot 2 Block 1 of Love’s Valley Addition.  (City Attorney Martineck)

Roll Call:          Magnuson        Bishop             Gulmon           Erickson          Carlsrud

2.  Approve Second and Final reading of Ordinance 1084, an Ordinance to Adopt and Enact section 12-01-11 of the Valley City Municipal Code re littering.  (City Attorney Martineck)

Roll Call:          Erickson          Magnuson        Bishop             Gulmon           Carlsrud

3.  Approve Second and Final Reading of Ordinance 1085, an Ordinance to Amend and Reenact Chapter 08-07 and Section 11-05-11 and to repeal Title 13 of the Valley City Municipal Code re Mobile Park Regulations.  (City Attorney Martineck)

Roll Call:          Gulmon           Erickson          Magnuson        Bishop             Carlsrud

4.  Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1086, an Ordinance to Amend and Reenact Subsection 2 of Section 15-01-19 of the Valley City Municipal Code re Responsibility for Utility Service Lines.  (City Attorney Martineck)

Roll Call:          Bishop             Gulmon           Erickson          Magnuson        Carlsrud

Resolution

1.  Approve Resolution 2301, a Resolution Creating Consolidated Sewer & Water District No. 59 (Nextera).  (City Engineer)

Roll Call:          Erickson          Magnuson        Bishop             Gulmon           Carlsrud

2.  Approve Resolution 2302, a Resolution Providing for the Issuance of City Sales Tax Revenue Bond, Series 2021, for the local share of Permanent Flood Protection.  (Finance Director Richter)

Roll Call:          Magnuson        Bishop             Gulmon           Erickson          Carlsrud

New Business

1.  Approve to Submit Application to the Bank of ND for loan for Fire Hall Addition.  (Finance Director Richter)

Roll Call:          Bishop             Gulmon           Erickson          Magnuson        Carlsrud

2.  Approve Appointment for the Following Committees and Terms (Finance Director Richter):

            a. Planning & Zoning Commission-1 opening, 5 year term

i. Bobby Koepplin

            b. Renaissance Zone Board-4 openings, 3 year term

i. Tyler Marthaler

ii. Shannon Little Dog

iii. John Paul (JP) Jones

iv. Jeff Nathan

c. Special Assessment Commission-1opening, 6 year term

i. Jim Knutson

            Roll Call:          Magnuson        Bishop             Gulmon           Erickson          Carlsrud

3.  Approve Quotes for Mill and Overlay on 2nd Ave SE.  (City Engineer)

Roll Call:          Erickson          Magnuson        Bishop             Gulmon           Carlsrud

4.  Approve Ending COVID 19 Emergency Resolution.  (President Carlsrud)

Roll Call:          Gulmon           Erickson          Magnuson        Bishop             Carlsrud

City Administrator’s Report
City Updates & Commission Reports
Adjourn

Construction Notice-Main Street

Posted on by

Thursday June 10th. The roadway will be open to traffic. Designated left turn lanes will be removed to allow two-way traffic. Left turn movements will still be permitted. Parking will be permitted on the south side of the street. Pedestrian traffic will be routed through sidewalk detours utilizing temporary ramps and crossings.
If you have any questions regarding the project, please contact KLJ at (701)-845-4980.

6.6.2021 Mayor’s Message

Posted on by

Hello Everyone,

  • Guess what, our grasses are tinder dry and we really need some good rains.  In the meantime, please be careful, our VCFD has had grassfire calls since the rains we had a while ago.  The heat and wind have facilitated combustibility.
  • To maximize your water, please see the following:  Watering lawns in the morning is best.  The grass plants are active and will absorb the needed water.  Extra water will evaporate, keeping the grass blades dry and preventing diseases.  Watering during the afternoon is not recommended since much of the water will evaporate before the plants can absorb it.  The worst time to irrigate is the evening since the lawn will remain wet all night, leading to diseases.  https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/yardandgardenreport/2014-08-04/summer-lawn-care
  • A case for our Municipal Power and Electrical Department.  Our power was “on” 100% of the time in April and 99.9999% of the time in May.  A “hungry Squirrel” caused the single outage.
  • Summer weather has more kids out playing in their yards and near streets so please be aware when you are driving.  One never knows when a ball escapes the yard and a young one runs onto the street so please, NO TEXTING while driving.
  • There have been many people utilizing facilities in Chautauqua Park and that it is so dry, it gets extremely dusty for them when people speed.  Please drive slowly as the speed limit is 5 MPH.
  • If you have yet to get your COVID Vaccine, please consider it further.  The vaccine has been successful.   Call 845-8518 for information.
  • “”Coincidence” is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”                           (Albert Einstein)                              

Blessings, Be Kind, Be Respectful and Pray

Dave

5.31.2021 Mayor’s Message

Posted on by

Hi Folks,

  • IT IS OPEN!!  The Barnes County Library, check out “Tails and Tales”! https://vcbclibrary.org/ & 845-3821
  • Your city staff was very busy last week with “Clean-up Week”.  When working Clean-up Week, “all hands on deck” is required to keep up with the volume of material collected.  Please say “thanks” to city employees when you see them as they do great work for us.
  • AAA of North Dakota, Dairy Queen and VCPD oversee the “I Got Caught” program.  The program rewards children for properly wearing helmets when riding bike, skateboarding, a scooter or skating and issuing a “ticket” for a small Dairy Queen Cone. Thank you.
  • *  Adults, please note it may even be more important for you to wear helmets.  If Mom or Dad sustains a “head injury” who will take care of your family? 
  • Thank you to the students at the Sheyenne Valley Career and Technology Center for the refreshing artwork on the traffic signal electrical boxes.  Thank you to the administrators who helped facilitate the project, it is a wonderful improvement.
  • Nine or ten days ago we had some nice rains and Friday the VCFD was called to a grass fire!  It is already dry again so please be careful with burning or with anything that could generate sparks and more fires.  BE SAFE.
  • * Twelve year-olds and older can be vaccinated for COVID. Let’s “Get’r Done” and move towards “herd immunity”.  CCHD: 845-8518.
  • Thanks to all who helped with this week’s article.
  •  “Life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”                                                                      (Albert Einstein)                           

Blessings, Be Kind, Be Respectful and Pray

Dave