##VIDEO ID:b7N571BdKY8## call the meeting to order ask you to join us in the pledge of allegiance to of the United States of America to the rep it stands one nation under God indivisible liy and Justice tonight's consent agenda is extremely long so we'll get started item a authorized city council work session scheduled for Tuesday January 7th 2025 to be rescheduled for Wednesday January 8th 2025 at 5: p.m. Item B authorize a regular city council meeting scheduled for Tuesday January 7th 2025 to be rescheduled for Wednesday January 8th at 2025 at 6 p.m. item C adopt resolution r- 2441 authorized in pursuit of an active trans Transportation infrastructure grant for the construction of a multi-use trail along State Highway 1 and the in the city of Winstead item D adopt resolution r244 providing consent to delegate cannabis regulations registration and compliance to McLoud Cony item e authorized the mayor to execute an agreement for Consulting planning services for the year 2025 with Municipal Development Group LLC item F authorize the city administrator to purchase no fault sewer backup insurance coverage for the 2025 property and casually insurance contract item G authorize the city administrator to execute a land lease with &n Structures Incorporated to rent land adjacent to the property with identification number 21 period 06610 in the amount of $1,200 in expiring December 31st of 2025 for Material Handling purposes item H authorize the city administrator to execute a quote from Northern Air Corporation to install seven new bav controllers at Winston City Hall for an amount not to exceed $88 item I affirm that uh properties with property identification description p 21.1 4.030 and 1.23.1 0 continue to qualify for inclusion in the rural Service District at the same tax ratio as stated in ordinance Z 0- 21-04 section 151 .052 item J adopt resolution r- 2443 accepting a contribution from gambling proceeds from the church of Holy Trinity in the amount of $2,500 to be dedicated the city's Park fund item K adopt resolution r244 accepting a donation from Mason Toran for the Winston Police Department item L adopt resolution r- 2445 to accept a donation for the Winston Police Department in the amount of $100 to be dedicated toward the Winston Police Department fund item M adopt resolution r- 2446 to accept donation for the Winston Volunteer Fire Department the amount of $100 to be dedicated towards the winon volunteer fire department Capital Improvement fund item n authorize a solid waste hauler license for mord San sanitation expiring December 31st 2025 item o approve a solid waste huler license for Republic Services expiring December 31st 2025 item P approve a solid waste H hauler license for Waste Management expiring December 31st 2025 itm Q authorized PMA financial securities and 4m fund to invest the city of Winston's 4M Fund in those Investments pursuant to Minnesota state statutes for the year 2025 item R authorize Northland Securities Incorporated to invest the city of Winston's funds in those Investments pursuant to Minnesota state statutes for the year 2025 item authorize authorize updated signature cards account among agreements and authorize Mr Mr Jeff Elber mayor and Mr Jesse caffy Deputy Mayor access and authority to the City of Winston to count at the following financial institutions effective January 9 2025 4M fund International City County management association Northland Securities and Security Bank and Trust Company item T adopt the recommended 2025 Compensation Plan item U accept the voluntary resignation of Miss Madison Stillwell from the Winston volunteer fire department effective November 6 2024 item v approved the pledge Securities that Security Bank and Trust company has purchased for the city Winston for the month of November 2024 item W approved the building permit report for the month of November 2024 item X approved the financial report for the month of October 2024 item y approve the claims list for December 17th 2024 item Z Point miss Emily vasy to the position of full-time police officer with the Winston Police Department at grade seven step three of the compensation scale a contingent upon passing a criminal criminal background check and a drug and alcohol test item AA appoint Mr Travis Wickfield to the pos position of full-time police officer with the Winston Police Department at grade s step four of the compensation skill contingent upon passing a criminal background check on a drug and alcohol test item BB B approve an application to conduct excluded bingles submitted by the wi Arts C Council on April 6 2025 at the blue blue note Ballroom uh Winston Minnesota contingent upon the Winston Arts Council providing all necess necessary documentation to the state of Minnesota gambling control board I think that's it that's the consent agenda do we have a motion for approval Mr May no go ahead uh Mr Mayor I make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented we have a motion do we have a second second a second all in favor I I opposed motion carod I'd be out of breath if I was you uh yeah um we're going to move the department report up before we go on with the rest of the meeting that'll be Troy fire chief good evening ladies and gentlemen of the council I present to you the annual Council report for the Winston fire department I myself as uh fire chief Trey shering my first assistant chief is Todd cook second assistant chief is Aaron melbour first Captain is Brian shell second captain is Matt Maron their Captain is Brandon Posh and our secretary is Lorie quas our current members ship we are at 28 members our full roster is 30 we have two auxiliary members on top of that we hired three new members this year one resignation and we are currently accepting applications uh call reports for 2023 we had 333 calls 10 of those were fire calls 265 were medical emergency calls 11 of those were hazardous materials calls or or service calls general for smoke removal and assisting police um 31 were um dispatched and canceled and Route and 12 were false alarms um 2024 as I just ran the calls before I came here we're at 200 or sorry 330 calls this year um nine fire calls 250 rescue calls and a few Mis lanus other calls so we are on track to beat our current record of 333 calls projects completed in the past year we have upgraded some uh interior rooms of the fire hall uh including our SCBA room installed a new SCBA air compressor and gave an update with new paint and shelving and organization and then we also put in service our brand new grass rig with is a uh 2024 F350 with a high pressure pump and 200-gallon water tank with 10g foam tank trainings this year we uh we do an annual training with our medical director comes out and gives us new updates on protocols and such we started doing more grain bin Rescue Training and Technical rope Rescue Training for the agricultural items in our area we do Contin continuing EMR trainings uh we are currently working on our 2025 uh fire training plan we like to stay up to date on that and well in advance and we uh members of the fire department have completed over 12200 hours of trainings this year already but we like to stay proficient in our skills as far as public education goes we have uh Rose hro does a great job with our Public Safety as far as going in visiting the kids in the school bringing them to the fire station for fire prevention week and then we the fire department also continues to host the uh Winstead night out which is also including law enforcement and LifeLink and other agencies in the area some achievements that we've done this year is uh we've raised our call percentage to 15% along with raising our retirement to $2,500 per service here and we are Staffing um the meat raffle at the Uptown Bar in Waverly some events that we do annually is June we host our spaghetti dinner and then August we do our pancake breakfast at the Winston fire station any questions good thank you thanks Troy thanks for what you guys do y night night you don't want to stick around okay we are going to have a public uh ordinance hearing right now um what we'll do is Neil will will I'll make a motion to open the meeting public hearing and then Neil's going to go through this uh V schedule uh then anybody in attendance wants to come up and talk about that we'll we'll have that section then we'll make a motion to close the works of the open meeting and then the council will have a chance to have anything they want to add or any questions and then we'll make a motion one way or another so that's the layout so I'll make a motion we open the public hearing we have a second I'll second motion a second all in favor I motion carried we'll start with Neil go ahead so at least annually the city council adopts the U City win to fee schedule in the form of an ordinance and there's multiple various fees that come along with the municipal code and including liquor licenses um some things for the an or airport animals brush site um other facilities Police Department Services and then uh water and sewer so when going through I'll give you a quick overview of some of the uh proposed fee changes looking at um increasing the hanger lease per foot by 10% or 2 cents per foot and uh the late payment fee to go up to $20 if that isn't paid uh diseased animal termination per animal $75 plus v charges and and um talking about the brush site and possible access charges there um just having it on the fee schedule for now for future use more to come on that in the future removing some of the things here as far as Appliance Recycling and things that the county is uh no longer helping fund um the vulmer room rental going away as well as you know that we have turned that into an area that is being utilized by our seniors more often and getting more utilization out of that room and the parking U I'm sorry the no parking downtown 2: a.m. to 6: a.m. be going up to $35 from the $20 previous just to match the rest of our our parking violations and then the water and sewer the big one here U sewer charges are going up five and six% and um when residents see their bills for the water bill it is increasing by about 34% on the minimum and um this one here is about uh 15 or 25% on there but it's it is uh we're removing the maintenance charge per month and removing the water debt fee per month and really putting that into the minimum so while the minimum fee was $9 11 the minimum fee was really closer to $18 and uh 20 so just getting rid of some lines that'll be on that bill that's all I have Mr Mayor anybody in uh the audience have anything they want to ask questions on if so step up to the podium stage your name and address for the record and have had it looks like we haven't anybody that wants to talk so looking for a motion to close the public hearing make a motion to close the public hearing we have a motion do we have a second second have a motion a second all in favor I motion carried public hearings included and uh does the council have any questions or statements concerns that'll be the time to State them before we put it to a vote nobody well I have a a small issue and that's only with the water bill the rest I don't have any problem with the rates going up and the water rates um are going up substantially and it's going to be a huge impact I think there was ways that we could defer it or make this this um a little bit smaller this time and one that one thing is something the Auditors don't like us to do and that's to dip into the reserves for and the those are operating funds for at least six months in case uh something went to crap in the country we'd still be able to run our our city um I would have lik to seen us take at least dip in and take a month's worth and apply it towards this water bill uh the increase and uh this is something I know I don't disagree with why we're doing it uh we have to do it and I think Neil will I'll touch on that when I'm done um we did spend a lot of time on this and the council did put a lot of time and we had very good discussions um but um I think I'm the only one who's going to be voting against this so I'll turn it over to Neil he can explain why and how yeah part of the reason there was a large increase uh this year they doing um McLoud County Road one they'll be doing a Mill and overlay of that and it allows us without having to rip up the road to put in three gate valves and five new hydrants the timing of it isn't great because as you know we are also putting in a brand new well and that is um needed just to ensure that we can continue to have provide water services to all of our residents and that comes at a hefty fee so while this is a big bite I'm hoping that our future looking forward we're not going to have to have those large increases looking into 2026 and Beyond any other comments or questions if not for a motion I'd make a motion to adopt ordinance number 0-24 d04 establishing the 2025 fee schedule for the city of Winstead we have a motion do we have a second all second a motion is second all in favor I oppose I motion carries uh under new business first uh item is resolution r24 d47 a minor subdivision on 421st Street North St John's Lutheran Church Neil yes so um St John's Lutheran Church has approached us about um they're actually just looking to sell off some of their old property as you know that they have built a brand new church and um looking to have the parsonage and church properties separated so in doing that they um this has already gone through the Planning Commission has also gone through Mr Anderson of Planning and Zoning the Planning Commission has recommended um this subdivision with a few conditions and variances that need to be approved again the Planning Commission did approve these variances and it was reducing the sidey yard setback and the backyard setback and and a variance for the church setback so a lot of um different variances due to the existing structures that are already there this is unlikely that this would have gone through if it was a um new structure but with the existing structure uh the Planning Commission looked at it as not being necessarily out of the ordinary for the neighborhood and um being in the best interests of the city and the church and I don't know if K you had anything to add unfortunately to okay and that was in the conditions as well so that won't necessarily affect um what the council will do here today but it will affect how St John's proceeds C have any questions and I guess I can go down to the picture here somewhere and you can see here's what the proposed split is right there so it' be the church no it'd be the the house and the the garage is goes with the church building or this garage I'm sorry there is a garage that is with the house as well yes done I'm done questions motion uh I'll make a motion to adopt resolution r- 2447 approving a minor subdivision of property located at 421st Street North we have a motion do we have a second I'll second have a motion second all in favor I oppos motion carries next resolution is r- 24-48 a minor subdivision Grass Lake Farm Third Edition okay so this one's on the last leg here for our our uh new park talking about swap cing of the Parklands that we've talked about quite a few times now now that we are further along in the process um win lease housing has approached us about doing a minor subdivision and breaking off the parcel that will become our new Parkland Here track C so I know we've been um talking about this multiple weeks here now so I don't know if there's any new information that I would have other than the fact that the Planning Commission has recommended this subdivision also have any questions okay we're looking for a motion then uh I make a motion to adopt resolution r- 24-48 approving the minor subdivision to create two Parcels from one parcel on of record on property located in Grass Lake Farm Third Edition development with a property identification number of 21 d131 0050 we have a motion do we have a second I'll second a motion to Second all in favor I I opposed motion carried next resolution recommended is a 2025 final property tax levy resolution r- 24- 49 deal you're up all right so on uh September 17th City staff recommended a preliminary property tax levy of 2,216 1826 an increase um from the as an increase to the final property tax levy from 2024 Cil opted to certify that recommended Levy and then continue discussions on how to reduce that amount that was necessary uh during a special city council meeting and work session on October 29th Council reviewed the recommended 2025 budget and corresponding Levy All City I'm sorry City staff presented the recommended budget with a detailed review of revenues versus expenditures and as a result the council um staff recommends a final 2025 Levy of 1,995 410 or an increase of $1 17,921 compared to the adopted 2025 Le Levy um looking through and you you guys did see this in the truth and Taxation it's going to be an increase of approximately 5.72% uh as compared to the adopted 2024 Levy and um see what else would be in here um one of the the challenges that we had was property values did go down in the city overall which if that would not have happened we wouldn't have had even a 5.72% increase it would have been a little bit lower so we are actually taxing at a higher rate the 71.6% as opposed to 65.8 but the um main thing I think for home owners to be aware of is that we're looking at an increase of about $10.30 per month on the average home in in the city so City staff is recommending that we have a final 2025 general property tax levy of $1,549 n10 and a final debt service Levy of $445,500 Remember The Debt Service Levy is monies that we have already allocated for in the terms of bonding and do not have um much wiggle room there are any wiggle room in in those repayments so for a final property tax levy of 1,995 410 both looking either for comments or a motion I would make a motion to adopt resolution number r- 2449 certifying the final 2025 general property tax levy of $1,549 n10 and a final 2025 Debt Service Levy of $445,500 for a total final property tax levy of $1,995 uh 1,995 410 we have a motion do we have a second I'll second no motion second all in favor I oppos motion carried next uh resolution is the 2025 budget adoption resolution r245 Neil and so each year we go through a budget versus of of U revenues versus expenses and we take into account the airport fund the airport Improvement fund Capital Improvement fund Debt Service funds fire department operations and the general fund sewer fund and the water fund the recommend 2025 budget reflects additional cost pressures and Street Maintenance and utility infrastructure as well as um this is a different a little bit older one but um Vehicles so we end up having a budget of 5,329 470 in revenues along with 5, 351,000 $763 or um our expenses the should be reversed but in the end we have we will have roughly $88,000 to add to our um bottom line as budgeted that's it again looking for comments or [Music] motion I make a motion to adopt resolution number r- 24-50 adopting the recommended 2025 budget for the city of Winstead Minnesota we have a motion do we have a second second we have a motion to second on in favor I I oppos motions carries okay we're going to go to the open Forum section of the meeting if anybody in attendance wants to address the council step up to the podium name Mr Mayor members of the council thank you for having me just want to remind folks about the winter parking uh enforcement through the city you cannot park on the city streets any City Street between 2: a.m. and 6:00 a.m. without permission from the police department uh we've had great great uh communication with our residents and our residents with us where we do allow permission uh if you need it especially the holiday time coming up kids coming back from college um just give us a call we'll work with you we just ask that uh if you do get permission from us we ask that you move if we have plowable snow because that can create an issue um during that time and I just want to take this opportunity I wish he was still here but uh we're very fortunate Winston uh to have the fire department and the members we have um as you know we respond to all calls in the city of Winstead um and it is very reassuring I can speak specifically for me and my officers you have the uh fire officers and uh fire members we do have uh they're a committed group um just in the last uh uh one week so in a onewe period um we've had 13 calls just in town um that we've responded to which is that's that's just Medicals that's a lot of calls um in the time frame and Troy did explain that with their their call numbers probably going to be a record high this year so I just want to point that out um I see it firsthand my officers see it firsthand and uh it's sometimes I think we can take that for granted in a small town but uh yeah it's much appreciated so other than that that's all I got thanks Justin yep I got a question yeah uh um so the reports that you give us from time to time are you are you going to keep separate numbers on each Community or you going to put it all together it'll be all together and separate at the same time so I will track uh track um what we do in each community and then there'll be part of a larger report okay thanks thanks we have the open form City administrator update and announcements I just have a couple here uh we're closed we the city offices will be closed 23rd 24th and 25th as well as January 1st for the holidays and I uh just want to say thanks for your time and service to the community here is um I've really enjoyed my time you've really helped me come on board and and uh all the years that you've dedicated to the city is should be recognized and thank you very much I'll tell you later [Music] yeah okay I make a motion to adjourn we have a second with a speech before the speech no speech I'll second we have a second all in favor I meeting Jed [Music]