Celebrate Kennedy

Mayor Jon Turn called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Members present were Duane Peterson, Paul Larson, Arnold Christian, and Mary Ryden. Also present were Shannon Mortenson and Greg Mitziga.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Additions to the agenda: None.

The minutes were reviewed from the November Monthly Meeting. Motion was made by Christian, and seconded by Ryden, to approve the minutes. All in favor, motion carried.

Public Forum: None.

Clerk’s Report: None.

Treasurer’s report: The last half of the tax settlement was received from Kittson County. Council payroll will be completed this month. Motion was made by Peterson, and seconded by Ryden to move $5,000 from checking to Money Market in December. All in favor, motion carried. The Unpaid Bills sheet was reviewed; an additional bill was received for the Mayor’s Association for $20. Motion was made by Larson, and seconded by Peterson, to pay the bills as presented. All in favor, motion carried. Motion was made by Christian, and seconded by Peterson, to move any excess funds into the Money Market fund by years end. All in favor, motion carried. Motion was made by Ryden and seconded by Christian to pay the legal bill out of the EDA account for the foreclosure work done. All in favor, motion carried. Motion was made by Ryden, and seconded by Christian, to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented. All in favor, motion carried.

Maintenance Report: The Christmas lights have been put up. There has been a lot of garbage in the recycling bins lately. Four extra large "Anderson Sanitation" bags were used this past week. The first snow fall of the season was Dec. 1. The snowplowing of the streets went fine. The boilers were fired up at the school on Dec. 4. The air compressor froze but that has thawed. A steam pipe broke in the middle wing and was repaired. A water line under the kindergarten room has a leak. The plumber will return to fix that. There was roughly 6400 gallons of fuel oil to start the season. The water needs to be turned off at Robert Pearson’s and this will need to be a dig. The warming shelter roof collapsed during the summer. Council directed Mitziga to repair for the season at minimal cost and then plan to tear down next spring. The shelter will only be heated on weekends and Christmas vacation. Mitziga is planning on taking vacation December 22- January 4. Motion was made by Larson, and seconded by Christian to accept the Maintenance Report as presented. All in favor, motion carried.

Fire Dept. Report: One call to a vehicle rollover. Donation letters will be mailed this week.

Council Committee Reports: None.

Kennedy EDA: The foreclosure notice will be in the paper in the coming weeks. The property will be auctioned on February 1, 2010. The Kittson County EDA will participate in funding for the school project. Currently, that organization has $10,000 that they will loan to the Kennedy EDA for a 5 year term at 0% interest. Motion was made by Peterson, and seconded by Larson to approve loan paperwork and enter into a loan agreement with the Kittson County EDA. Christian opposed. Majority in favor, motion carried.

School Building: Lunseth did not get back to the city on how much to winterize the building. Mitziga talked to the Mike Johnson, a plumber from Strandquist, who fixed the leaks. He may be interested. Council would like him to do the work since he is local. Motion was made by Ryden, and seconded by Larson to hire Dakota Fire Equipment to drain the sprinkler system at a cost of no more than $1000. All in favor, motion carried. Mortenson will apply for the EECBG grant from the State when that is online to apply. This grant does not require a match. A steering committee is meeting tomorrow morning to begin the process of business recruitment for the Go Green Business Center.

Review/Approval of Bid Submission: Motion was made by Christian and seconded by Peterson to accept the only bid received from Next Generation Power Systems for the wind turbine. Motion included rejecting the solar component due to lack of funds. All in favor, motion carried.

Payment to Senior Meal Program: Motion was made by Christian, and seconded by Ryden to pay $1,000 to the program as budgeted. All in favor, motion carried.

Vacation Days: Motion was made by Ryden, and seconded by Larson, to allow employees to carryover unused vacation days. All in favor, motion carried. Clerk was directed to be sure to have council review this policy in 2010.

December Meeting Date: The January Council Meeting was set for Monday, January 11 at 7:00 PM.

There being no further business brought forward for the member’s attention, the meeting was adjourned at 8:31 PM by motion of Larson, seconded by Peterson. All in favor, motion carried.

Shannon Mortenson, Clerk (Attest) Jon Turn, Mayor

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