Starbuck City Council tackles variety of issues at June meeting
News | Published on June 27, 2022 at 12:53pm CDT
By Kris Goracke
The regular Starbuck City Council meeting held on Monday, June 13, consisted of a variety of people presenting before the council as well as approving street repairs, a new siren and the pulling of Starry Stonewort and Milfoil in the Starbuck Marina.
First before the council were Mark and Wendy Quinn, owners of The Tavern. Wendy requested the council approve the application by the Cyrus Fire Department for a charitable gambling license at The Tavern. The council approved the application unanimously.
Nick Koos from Widseth was next before the council. “The MPCA will have its final visit in July to inspect the lift station by the campground and conduct the final inspection of the 2020 Road Project,” he said. Mayor Swenson asked about the approach at Casey’s and the replacing of the pavers. “We have not heard back from MNDOT on those issues, but are hoping sometime the end of June,” he said.
Next item was the Broadway Pope Teigen Street project. “We are currently collecting data to get a cost estimate for adding pavement and curb and gutter on these streets. According to the city ordinance, the street needs to be 36’ wide with curb and gutter. There is a possibility that a storm sewer will also be needed. Currently, there is no sidewalk, so we won’t be adding that,” said Koos. Later in the council meeting Harvey Peterson of Starbuck gave an update regarding gathering signatures for the Broadway/Pope/Teigen project. “I sent out 20 letters and have received 11 responses. Eight are in favor and three are not in favor. I expect to receive more responses, but with the eight in favor we have met the 35% which is needed by the city to begin the project,” said Peterson.
Koos also told the council of Widseth’s pavement management services they offer. “The highlight of the plan is that it takes all the streets and rates them. The idea is to generate a priority for maintenance. With this service, the city can plan for annual costs in street repair. We have a video explaining the service or we are happy to give a presentation,” he said. The last item Koos addressed was the turf on the trail project stating there are still some rough spots and is contacting Ferguson Brothers to work on those areas.
Concern over the snake population and overall appearance of her neighbor’s residence, Lynn Slagter of Starbuck appeared before the council. According to Slagter, Leverson, who resides at 205 West Broadway Street, has grass as high as 3 feet and junk under and on his deck. “The high grass attracts snakes which not only are in his yard, but also are in my yard,” she said.. “He has scraps of lumber and empty beer cans on and under his deck as well as old junk. If there is anything you can do to get this property cleaned up, it would be greatly appreciated,” said Slagter. City clerk Kerkvliet updated the council on the matter stating a citation was sent to Leverson on June 2, 2022. In the citation, Leverson is requested to remove all loose junk and debris as well as trim weeds and mow the grass. If Leverson does not comply by June 15, a $200 penalty will be assessed, it was stated.
In the mayor’s report, Swenson stated the Krispy Kreme fundraiser was successful and are getting close to the city beach improvement goal. “We are still waiting to hear from the Gladys Brang Foundation regarding a donation. In addition, Eagle Bank and Hanson Communications both have donated $1000 to the project,” he explained.
There were 260 calls for service in the month of May, stated Starbuck Chief of Police Mitch Johnsrud. Other items in Johnsrud’s report included the need for a backup generator for the city building. Due to the power outage of the last storm, the siren was not able to sound off. “The need for a backup generator is needed not only for the siren, but if we are looking to use the community center as a central command location power is essential,” he said.
On another note, Johnsrud asked the council to consider the purchase of a third squad. His plan is to keep the current two squads and have a third added to the rotation of use. “We would like to have a third squad to take pressure off the two we have. With just the two squads it is too hard on them and often times we are down to one squad because one is in the shop. I am looking for approval to get estimates and perhaps order a third squad. What we are looking at is perhaps a new Dodge Durango which I am guessing to be around $50,000. Johnsrud’s last request was for the council is to consider hiring a fifth office. “We are paying a lot of overtime right now. I just want you to have something to consider as you work on the budget for next year.”
Then in an unrelated topic, Johnsrud addressed some needs of the softball/baseball diamond located in the city park. “We many games at the youth level at this field and I don’t know how many times I have seen fans injured from foul balls. The fence should be 8 feet and it is only 4 feet. In addition, the backstop shot and needs to be replaced. I did get a quote from Andi’s Fenceall and to replace the whole fence, including the backstop, is $20,000. I think this is a priority and we should put money in it.” The council suggested fundraising as an option.
A plan to repair and perform some preventative work on city streets was presented by city employee Randy Peterson. “I have an estimate and ask the council to approve the sealing of cracks in a number of our streets as well as doing some work on Northshore Drive and Ambercrombie to prevent potholes. The total cost is $62,000. When asked how much money was in the budget, Kerkvliet stated she would need to run a copy of the budget to answer that. council member Jill Hanson voiced her opinion stating, “I think we need a little time to see where we are with the budget before making a decision.” In response, council member Chris Taffe’s stated, “We haven’t done anything on the roads in the past years, and I think we need to go forward with the project. With the cost of petroleum, it isn’t going to get any cheaper.”
“I agree with Chris,” said council member Baukol, “I think we need to get rocking here.” The council approved to move forward with the street work.
Peterson also reported on the impact of the high-water level in the marina, “The water is really high and we spent a lot of time last week pulling poles out of the marina from the docks. And so, we moved the poles to the middle instead of the end, so we don’t lose any poles.”
The last request to the council was from the Starbuck Fire Department seeking the purchase of a new siren. Paul Hippe presented to the council and recommended a siren with a one-mile radius sound at the cost of $14,000. Taffe motioned to purchase the siren; motion carried.
Other items in new business:
• Approved resolution #2022-12 allowing the Starbuck Fire Department Auxiliary a lawful gambling permit at the Water’s Edge due to new ownership.
• Discussed transition to the Neptun 360 Cloud-based platform for utility meter reads.
This system does a reading of all the meters in town. What the city currently has will be obsolete in 2023. The current bid is $11,000. The council approved moving forward.
• Discussed the lease for the Environmental Drop Site with Pope/Douglas Joint Solid Waste Management Board. The council approved to move forward on the lease agreement once approved by city attorney.
• Approved the hiring of additional part-time help for the parks/streets department.
The council hired Alex Panitzke starting at $14 an hour; he will be helping with the watering of flowers and other work with the parks and streets department.
• Approved the hand pulling of Starry Stonewort and Milfoil in Starbuck Marina at the cost of $36,000. The city has a $20,000 grant that will be used toward the project.
• Approved a public hearing to be held on July 11, 2022, for a variance request for a new home on parcel #27-06360247/#27-0636-006.
