Bellechester City Council Meeting Minutes
October 18, 2023 @ 6:00PM
Regular City Council Meeting was called to order by Mayor Jody Gordon at 6:00 p.m.
Pledge to the flag.
Roll call was taken: The council in attendance: Mayor Jody Gordon, Council people Rich Majerus, Kyle Blattner, Mark Gerken, Jered Buxengard as well as treasurer Kyle McKeown and Edith Buck were present. City Clerk Lisa Redepenning and Engineer Matt Mohs were absent.
Minutes of September, 2023 regular meeting minutes were reviewed and motion was made by Mark Gerken with a second by Rich Majerus to approve the minutes. Motion carried.
Bills were reviewed and a motion by Rich Majerus with a second by Jered Buxengard to approve and pay the bills as presented removing Bolten and Menk bill due to questions on charge. Motion carried.
Old Business:
• Sewer Project Update
The city attorney completed his paperwork for this stage of the project and is mailing it to me. Matt will submit his paperwork and the map the city approved a few months ago to RD for processing. This can take 45 – 60 days. Now that the city attorney completed his part, Matt will resubmit our sewer lining plans to RD for final approval.
• Water Meter Project:
Matt has received the final documents from Rochester Plumbing and Heating. We should be able to finalize our planning for this project shortly.
New business:
• Xcel Energy Franchise Agreement – discuss and approve – Tabled. Request a meeting with representative to address replace poles in town.
• 2024 Polling Place Resolution – approve – Tabled. Council discussed mail in balloting and wants to discuss with the county to possibly move back to in person voting. Could we combine with a township.
• Dust Control at Ag Partners – Dust control has been applied in the past week. We need to contact them to have them do this on a regular basis.
Edith Buck – wants to put up a replacement shed and discussed what she needs to do. She will present a sketch of placement and size for next meeting to get approved. She also questioned another property and cement needing to come out and being replaced.
Engineer Report – None
Clerk Report - Quarterly Billing – was completed. Special Assessment warning letters were sent - They have until November 15th to pay before it gets assessed.
Rural Water Extension Certificate – I received from Rural Water a form to sign to extend the funds and it indicated that since rates have gone up, they were able to get 5.95% financing locked in for us. The form needed to be signed and returned by October 20, so I did so. Goodhue County Board of Equalization notice – we are set for Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 4:30 pm. Letter from Senator Drazkowski about mail in voting – FYI - I do not think he realizes that we have been mail in voting since 2017 and it was not a change only due to COVID. Quarterly Reports – have been filed.
Ordinance #30 – Xcel Energy Franchise 20 year agreement renewal. This is the same document approved in 2004. The only change I made was to replace the company name from Northern States Power to Xcel Energy.
Treasurer Report – Past due report was distributed.
Water/Wastewater/Facility Report – Wastewater inspection on November 1st. Lead/copper water samples there sent in were received and we are well below the acceptable levels.
Mayor Concerns: Fence installations
Council Concerns: Zemke will be plowing this season at the same rates as last year. We will need to find new mowing for next season.
Adjourn
Motion was made by Rich Majerus with a second by Kyle Blattner to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Meeting was adjourned at 6:45. Motion carried.
Submitted by Lisa Redepenning – City Clerk
Goodhue County Board of Equalization meeting for 2024 will be held on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 4:30 pm at the Bellechester Community Center
