##VIDEO ID:3pFrragH0FE## call the Mee to order I ask you to join us in the pledge of allegiance of the United States of America to the rep for it stands one nation God indivisible with Li and justice for all before we get into the Mee of the meet meet of the meeting will uh we have the years of service recognition for City employee and that would be John schor um this evening we have a privilege of honoring our one of our Public Works employees John schlect for 20 years of service with city of winad City winad wishes to express its sincere thanks and gratitude for his years of dedicated service and for reaching his milestone in his career congratulations John um you're about halfway right eight more feel thank you thank [Applause] you thank you next item is U every year the city uh Awards a Winston Pride award and uh the Winston Pride award recognizes the residents and businesses for enhancing the aesthetic quality of the property in the City of Winston above and beyond acceptable standards one award is presented each year in the in the residential category and one in the business category these properties usually exceed codes and design standards and they display exceptional maintenance standards their hard work and dedication to their properties offer major contributions to the overall enhancement of the city's image the improvements and maintenance create sense of Pride throughout the community on behalf of the city Winston I would like to congratulate the 2024 Winston Pride Award winners uh Dave and Jamie muers who are not here tonight uh that's for the residents and we have cofy CL so I know we have them here [Applause] and we have one more presentation of of types uh the both of office for the Winston police officer Adam Santana Adrian I was think of the rock [Music] [Laughter] band I'll read to you and after me unless I stut I Adrian me Square I will support United and the constitution of the state of minnes and to discharge Faithfully duties the off police office City Winston Minnesota for the best of my judg so help me guys [Applause] me the date F Adrian used to sell ice cream he knew he knew this day was coming yeah he knew was coming anybody who wants to leave now will be the time uh you don't have to stay wait a minute anybody here everybody can leave okay with that we'll move on to the consent agenda tonight that consists of a approve the minutes of the following city council work session August 6 city council regular meeting August 6 Item B schedule a public hearing for Tuesday October 15 2024 at 6m in the city council chambers at Winston City Hall to consider ordinance amendments to chapter one of the municipal Winston Municipal Code relating to city council wages item C schedule of Truth and Taxation public hearing for Tuesday December 3rd 2024 6 p.m. in the city council chambers at Winston City Hall I D authorized the city administrator to draft a joint poers agreement with the city of Lester Prairie to merge police departments and provide Public Safety Services to the respective cities item e declare 33 street street light poles and pictures as Surplus equipment and eligible for sale as recommended by the public works lead and authorize the city administrator to determine the process and best method for sale of the equipment item F adopt resolution r- 24-27 accepting a donation from maror priz Financial on behalf of Ivon Kramer to be dedicated the Winston Police Department fund item G adopt resolution r- 24-28 accepting a donation from a maror prize Financial on behalf of Von Kramer to be to be dedicated the winon volunteer fire department fund item H accept the voluntary resignation of Miss Madison fi as Utility Billing clerk effective September 6 2024 item I approved the pledge ities that Security Bank and Trust company has purchased for the city Winston for the month of August 2024 item J approved the building permit report for the month of August 2024 item K approved the financial report for the month of July 2024 item L approve the claims list for September 17 2024 item M authorize the mayor and city clerk Treasurer to execute a land exchange agreement with Yukon Land Company LLC and Bridgeland development company according to resolution r- 24-26 and subject to terms and and contingencies outlined in the agreement with an updated valuation the park parcel in section 1.3 of the agreement that's the consent AGA I'm looking for somebody to make a motion for approval Mr Mayor a motion the approval of the consent agenda as presented and I abstain from voting on item I we have a motion do we have a second I'll second we have a motion of second all in favor I I oppos motion carried uh under new business tonight uh well number four emergency repairs Neil you want to start us off yes so recently we've had well number four um has been out so we've been running on well number one we had uh different parts that need to be ordered basically we had the the pump had gone out and we while they were researching that found a lot of pitting and um we ended up getting a emergency repair ordered so to speak and now hopefully will be done by next week anything you'd like to add Chris y we're running on well 3 right now Mr Neil we're still as a city able to keep up with the demands of the city in terms of water needs yes we are at this time yeah okay any other questions if not looking for a motion make a motion to cons uh uh to authorize the city administrator to execute a quote with TR companies provide the materials and labor necessary to make emergency repairs to well number four in the city of Winstead for an amount not to exceed 46,000 $300 we have a motion do we have a second all second we have a motion and second all in favor I oppos motion carried next item is well number five award recommendation Neil want to start yep so uh this Project's been in the works for a little while here um I have asked Jake from Bolton M to join us and uh give a little presentation on why it is necessary thank you good evening Mr Mayor members of the council so yeah bids for well number five received um the city currently has three other Wells two of those Wells are quite old installed prior to 1960 and those are both shallow drift Wells so they produce less water than a mount Simon well and then of course the other well is aging and requires maintenance as you just heard from your the previous Council action item well number four is currently down that's the primary source of water for the city so by adding this new well um we would increase the capacity of the system above what is recommended by the state it would allow for system reliability it would allow for adequate fire flow um and it would allow for any potential development or growth to occur within within the city so uh two bids were received uh low bid was minger construction at a price of 1,79 912 um with that bid this includes a raw water line and the drilling of a well and as mentioned the well is a Mount Simon well so it's a higher capacity well so it would serve the city well into the future um and then the the subcontractor for them the driller is the same company that uh the city administrator just referenced uh trout uh so they would be doing a portion of the work as well underneath minger so have you worked with manger before we have yes they do they do specialty type work trenchless drill well they do all kinds of work but they they they do a lot of that specialty work that's a little harder to find and in this case we're drilling the raw water line underneath uh roadway to reduce restoration cost so that's right up there um so with that recommend Award of a Construction contract in the amount of 1,799 12 to minger construction companies what um we we have a bond or or loan so we we have the option for a PFA loan so the public facilities Authority through the state so the city gets to tap into the State's bond rate um if that were to close today it looks like that loan rate would be 2% that's obviously going to fluctuate but yes we would provide those documentations we that the documentation needed for that and then we deal with Neil and Raquel if we're going to act on that but yes that option is in play okay other questions all the work that you have done up to this point if if this project was shelv let's say and we waited 5 years down the line would your work have to be redone or uh I would up it say no the only possible thing to check would be to do another utility locate just to make sure when we're drilling that there's nothing in the way that maybe a private utility Crossing's changed or something like that but otherwise the design would still be would still be valid okay yeah the soil boing information all valid the Topo you know we're not going to be doing any Street work through there so everything would be fine with the possible exception of utilities but that would be a minor but if we did wait what risks do we run um well the city currently does not meet the firm capacity so meaning when like currently now when well four is down um you're running on well 3 which has a capacity of about 350 GPM and that number gallons per minute yeah sorry gallons per minute yes so that number is supposed to be above your max day demand so on your busiest day so that varies throughout the season but your busiest day historically has fluctuated from about 100 gallons per minute above that and below that so you're kind of in the middle of that so about half the time uh in the summer time you would not meet that so you would have difficulty fighting a fire and then if it's a uh if it were to be a drought season with irrigation going on you would have difficulty providing enough water for your residents or growth or growth yes and then the growth piece is another yes factor that obviously more growth takes up more water and that that that buffer that you have shrinks okay Jake in the event that we would push this down the road would we subject ourselves to Future regulations imposed by the state and our federal government just your best so so this is a Mount Simon well that's proposed currently metro area communities meaning the 7 County Metro cannot get Mount Simon Wells without added scrutiny they're very difficult to obtain so if we were drilling couple miles to the east here this project would not be able to be authorized that would be my biggest fear I haven't heard anything of that happening but if that if that uh restriction were to expand you know Winstead is one of the closest communities to the Metro that can even get a m Simon well so that would be my fear but I have not heard of that happening but it it would it's possibility the water restrictions in the Metro are becoming more and more stringent every year but technically Winstead's not a Metro Community what a little scary to me is I mean essentially uh pump number well number four goes down that takes out two Wells right I mean that that that is correct yep well well number two cannot be run without well number four so well four goes down as the current situation you're only running on well number three which is about 65 years old and well number one is abandoned at this well number one is no more correct and well to had the Arsenic correct yeah the only good well depends you to find good but the only good well the city has is well number four so hopefully after this maintenance work it'll be in good shape for a while but any other questions for Jake if not look for a resolution a motion to award a contract in the amount of 1 Milli 79,90 the minger construction companies Incorporated provide all materials and labor necessary to construct a mount Simon aquafer well along with approximately 1,600 ft of raw water main in the city of Winstead contingent upon approved financing we have a motion we have a second I'll second no motion a second all in favor I oppose motion carried we'll get working on the financing then and then proceed with construction contracts thank you J thanks Jake thanks Jake we've come to a preliminary property tax Lev certification deal you're up all right so going through our preliminary 2025 property tax and general fund budget going to give you a little bit of an overview of the process um significant budget changes uh you know we're sticking with the 5-year budget model that's been in place for quite some time now and talking about the preliminary 2025 property tax levels General and Debt Service and then just some real General discussions talking on the timeline July and August we started to prepare the proposed 2025 budget um August 20th we had the city council work session review the recommended 2025 general fund budget and preliminary general fund um we did not need these two additional dates so I had cross those off and then obviously we are here tonight talking about it and need to certify it before the 30th each year of September on October 1st we would have an additional work session and the 15th will be the same um sometime the week of the 21st to the 25th we'll have to schedule one to have our Enterprise funds which will include the airport funds uh Capital funds fire funds and then the general fund as well along with sewer and water so obviously in that third week in October fourth week there we're going to dive in quite a bit deeper into into what our overall cost will be uh on the 19th we have another work session um prior to the truth and Taxation then on the December 3rd we just scheduled here in tonight the Ruth and Taxation public hearing and then we will adopt the budget before the new year is up here so looking at the 2025 fund summary um taking into some assumptions considerations we have conservative revenue and expenditure assumptions the implementation of a new 2025 Compensation Plan the nine there's a 9% cost increase in employee benefits along with reallocation of our current resources based on needs and actual history so the budget's better adjusted to have uh actual expenditures from our previous year and and it supports compliment of our current full-time employees and one additional full-time employee we'll talk about here in a second um it supports the street Capital Improvement program has adopted in 2017 budget we will have Street projects coming up in 2027 here and that'll be a significant amount of money money so we're we're saving a little bit for that uh our Eda funding will continue we will be taking our own our taking ownership I guess of our lawn services instead of hiring that out that's where that extra FTE comes into play um so we'll be you also purchasing along with that uh a lawn mower and and uh making sure that we can cover those costs we're considering the increase in Council pay for me meetings and then this particular preliminary budget includes a merger with of the police department with Lester Prairie um our Capital Improvement plan funding would go up considerably when you look at um our different areas here we have facilities right now we have $5,000 budgeted for that we are starting to get to the point where uh building here is going to need a little bit of work so we're going to need a little bit more funds in that particular fund and Parks as you know we have that project for handling and trying to save money for that I just mentioned the streets Trails the $75,000 in Trails is not just Trails it's actually sidewalks as well so looking to improve on our our sidewalk so you can see there's a considerable amount of funding in that and um the equipment which the main thing would be the assortment of lawn items that is the reason that that went up all right so the 5-year budget model just allows the city council to better understand both General condition of the city's budget but also to examine the impact the particular decisions of financial position of the city all that is saying is that we are looking five years out at a time so what are we buying for five years um what do we expect in you know revenues what do we expect in expenses for those five years it makes some assumptions and know obviously they're just assumptions so we're seeing what is actually happening now getting into the actual dollars of it this this slide is pretty important per state law the city council must certify a preliminary property tax levy on or before September 30th 30th of each year the final property tax levy may be lower than the preliminary property tax levy but it cannot exceed it historically that is typically the case so the preliminary property tax levy is set higher because you cannot exceed it so if something were to come up in the next couple of months it gives us a little bit of flexibility here to work with so the city's property tax levity is comprised of two parts General Levy and the debt Levy and then that will equal the property tax levy uh some things that we have to consider LGA this year was um went up $554 so that is not keeping Pace with inflation so we do need to make up that money from somewhere because as you guys know from your own bills our costs have not gone down um this is The Debt Service Levy so The Debt Service portion is basically money that we've borrowed so these are loans or bonds that we have out that we have to pay so there's no room in this of of what we can adjust so you're looking at some of the old projects but these are like I said loans think of them as our mortgages but your bonds that you have to pay so we don't really have to talk too much about those CU that expense is there no matter what uh these ones are not included in this particular Levy because they are part of the Enterprise funds but they are still loans that we have to pay back so looking forward here for the 2025 the preliminary 2025 general property tax levy would increase 15.24% and the preliminary 2025 Debt Service Levy would actually decrease 2.94% just based on how we've been paying back those loans resulting in a total preliminary 2025 property tax levy increase of 12.91% these are just how we calculated those numbers again the preliminary 2025 property tax levy should provide the city council with maximum flexibility regarding future budget decision the final Levy may be certified at a lower amount but it cannot be higher than the uh preliminary property tax levy any questions so this was uh these this percentage is similar to last year's and then we ended up significantly lower than that correct correct yes historically this matches up with um what has been presented in the past and the actual last year was a little over 7% correct yep anybody else have any questions looking for a motion then i' make a motion to to adopt resolution number r- 24-29 certifying the preliminary 2025 general property tax levy of 1,685 617 in preliminary 2025 Debt Service Levy of $445 ,500 for a total preliminary 2025 property tax levy of $2,131 111117 we have a motion do we have a second second motion is second all in favor I I oppos motion carried we'll move on to the next item which is the organization report and tonight it's the win Arts counil uh good evening everyone thank you for allowing us to present to you this evening my name is Julie gamus I'm the president of the board of the Winstead Arts Council um we've had a a fun year the biggest project that we undertook or it's we undertook this a long time ago finally came to completion this year is the mural on the side of the Corner Bar we're really excited about that we thought it was um turned out great and we ended up using local artists which was a good thing Emily Victory who's from Watertown she has been a teacher in the school system around this area previously she's a working artist um she was the the the brains behind the project and then Nico Alexander another local artist who does a lot of um mural art all over the country actually he was the second on the project and they completed that beautiful mural um the mural was paid for by private donations um it's been funded by private donations we're now collecting dollars for a maintenance fund so we're still accepting dollars that'll be earmarked for um future mural maintenance but that's completed and we're we're really happy with the result we think it really captures the the spirit of Winstead um another project that we completed this summer U music in the park is something we've had for a few years and that's a lot of fun and um it brings people downtown it's a free event for people to attend we try to have a variety of Music we do it in July because in June you have windstock August there's Summer Festival July seemed to be the obvious time to have something down there the weather's generally speaking pretty good um we were supported by the southwest Minnesota Arts Council this year financially we obtained a grant to help pay the bands um so we had uh Clark mames from traveled ground he's a musician out of wonan is very well known in the area and he plays with his son um then a band called Rusty playground who they're basically based out of Minneapolis but those musicians come from All Points in the Twin Cities it's not just um the the Minneapolis area they were a lot of fun and they're friends with another local musician here in town so that was the connection there and then the last band of the season was L rebeles and they're from albertt Lee actually so they travel quite a quite a long distance to come play for us but this is the third time they've played for us they're super fun TexMex cunto kumria music um it's it's great to have them play for us and uh I wanted to recognize River of Life Church because they volunteered to you know grill for us for one of the events um we had Los Katrina's taco truck we had Mike's mini Donuts there it really was a fun event for um the community to have in their own backyard so um next year I would just encourage all of you to come enjoy the music down in the park it's it's really a great event and it's free to attend and it brings people together in person and I think we need more of those types of events um couple other things we do our house concerts um we'll have art classes periodically um if you have people that you know of who are artists or are Rafters or our dancers or our um authors any any type of arts and culture activity we would like to help Foster in the community so please send them our way the best way to reach us is through Facebook um you can message us we check that frequently it's a Nimble platform so that we can update things there more frequently than like a website or that type of thing um but we're we're plugging along and we've got some great things in store and and uh thank you for uh your support we appreciate it how many members do you have I don't have that data in front of me I'm sorry just curious I'd like to thank you for kind of being the driving force in a lot of these things and um the Arts Council does a lot to bring the community together and so thank you well you're welcome thank you and you know the city of Winstead sent a cohort to the Blandon Community leadership training program in 2007 and the Arts Council was born out of that program and I don't know if they still do that but I would I would encourage the city to investigate if we could send another group of people cuz I think it really energized a lot of people in town to get involved and to wasn't W up pardon wasn't W up born out of that too yes yep whatup was also born out of that um and it it just made a lot of really great Comm Community connections they may have an alumni program I'm not sure but if if they do have something I would really encourage you to investigate that further well the mural is certainly welcome and it's beautiful thank you GL you like it did you notice who's driving the train I don't think so somebody said it looks like Marty zitla yeah it does I don't I don't know if that was intentional or not um but yeah it looks like uh Marty said SL is driving the train right any other questions thank thank you we've come to the open Forum section of the meeting tonight if anybody wants to address the council step up to the podium name address he's he's at his time yeah you have hi I'm Diane Newman 520 Kingsley Street South I just wanted to make you aware um listening to Julie talk about that mural the corner down there I thought needed a little sprucing up so I took it upon myself to um put some flowers in there I also um carried water up every day four gallons to keep it watered and compost from my own garden well with that compost I now have growing acorn squash down there and butternut squash was wasn't planned but I'm hoping that I don't need a special permit or license because I wasn't planning on growing it I was just trying to beautify the corner we we didn't hear what you said I thought you thank you I thought you were planning to make us dinner or something I know I got well 15 of them so far so and they're not done growing but I just wanted to make you aware I've been doing this for 3 years now and I've never asked you for any money it's just something I wanted to do to try to sustain a HomeTown Atmosphere by just beautifying that area so um um I would be asking next year and I've talked to Chris but for the summer help to help water that down there depending upon what I'm growing next year and I would just like to be able to continue to do that for the city well thank you thank you thank you thank you very much thanks thank you we've come to the city administrator update and announcements Neil I've talked a lot today but uh last thing for me would be I'd just like to thank publicly thank Madison fi for her time here and wion and wish her good luck on her her future endeavors and let you guys know good news is we have had lot to applicants and looking to fill that soon that's all I have um do you have anything I do not no see no sir looking for a motion to adjourn make a motion to adjourn we have a motion do we have a second second all in favor I I I meeting adjourned