i think it is 7 o'clock So we're going to call the meeting to order We will begin with the pledge of allegiance I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and
justice for all All right Um we're going to start with the approval of the agenda Does anybody have anything to add just that PA report I would Okay Yeah we'll put MMPA under utilities What' she say we're adding an
MMPA report just under utilities I have nothing Anything Jenny nope No Okay Um someone like to make a motion approve the agenda Motion by Ed second by Jenny Any discussion any discussion any discussion all those in favor please
say I I Opposed motion carried Okay Um next we're going to have public hearings So we need a motion to open the public hearing please I'll make a motion to open the public hearing please Is there a second i'll second Motion by Jenny second by Martha Um we will declare the
public meeting open First up is the proposed changes to chapter 9 in our statutes updating storage containers Um looks like we have Mike Henderson to speak Okay
Um so I guess um originally this was brought up because somebody said something about there being an issue with possible lead issue in involved in
um shipping containers And uh first of all I guess I would like to point out that the city has at least two of these on their properties So if there's a lead issue with them they should be removed from there I would think Um and one of those
containers that the city owns actually was used for um cooking at this last fireh hall meeting when with the pork chop supper So it kind of really throws a red flag there Um
anyways as far as um you know one container per one year of time [Music] um I guess it doesn't uh I guess I don't
see too much sense in that because people build houses out of these things and most most places don't have a problem with them I don't know why we would all of a sudden change our city codes to do this
Um I guess that's all I'd say at the moment Okay So that's the that's the only person we have That's only one making public comment Okay Um and I think council level discussion can wait till
it's later on the agenda Yep All right Um then we can move on from that one Next we're going to be on the 3.2 debatement hearing for the property at 304 North Henipin Street Um I have Mark
Sanman to speak Okay With everyone's permission I would kind of like to merge the two properties together 304 and 101 And initially I just I I just want to understand
generally how the process works for mailing fines or handing out fines and ticketing people in this city because when we door knocked last fall I thought we had turned into a homeowners association with everybody
telling me about all the tickets they got or telling Martha So what what is the process is it cops police drive through streets and alleys and they decide what's going to get ticketed and
then that gets mailed How does it work we have ordinances in place So that's where it starts The ordinances clearly lay out what is reason for citation and then just like there's
there's you know there are laws and ordinances about speeding So if you violate if you're going 40 and a 30 the the police will stop you and can ticket you for that Um if our and you know Heather or Aaron feel free to jump in
too Um if our you know we have city ordinances that say you can't have a dozen vehicles parked in your yard If if you have seven or eight or a dozen vehicles parked in your yard if that it goes against the city's
um ordinances then the the police can issue you a citation Okay So essentially um how they're kind of like laid out is there are ordinances that were obviously passed by council at one point
Um typically we try to have one person that handles the ordinances more than others so it's more consistent across the board Um and then with that um dependent upon how many times the person has consistently been an
ordinance violator like so typically we would first start off by sending out some sort of a warning letter heads up Hey you have X Y and Z that need to be addressed Um if you need an extension um call this number We're
willing to work with you So that's usually what's primarily sent out Um if you're a habitual person every year that you're consistently having ordinance violations and it's usually the same ones we don't do a warning letter So the
warning letter would usually be the first step Then after so many days if they didn't contact that officer and say "Hey I have questions about this," or "Hey I need some more time I've got this going on," or whatever um then the
citation would be issued If we see that the violation hasn't been resolved if person calls and is like "Hey I've got this going on I need this time." I'm like "Okay cool So when do you think that you could have this problem addressed by?" and then I leave it up to
them to contact me in between that said time that we agreed upon to resolve the issue If at that said time that the issue is not resolved and they have not communicated with me within that time zone saying hey something else came up
um can I have however many more days like we're willing to work with people and that's why we put it in these warning letters to contact us if you need um an extension for some of these places that I that the two specifically
have been known people that continuously violations at their house I have been in phone conversations with them I've talked to them in person They have received warning letters I mean at what point like does the city step in or you
know they just continue to keep you know they'll see they'll call or they'll see they want to work with you but then they never make any effort after that said conversation I mean so a property gets targeted or
identified Let me rephrase that And then something is mailed to them or is there a door knock hey can we have a conversate how does that That's kind of what I was wondering It sounds like something gets mailed to them typically Yes Okay I'm not going to go to every single house and um speak to a person
about an ordinance violation That's unheard of And a letter is is a better trail of it literally like and that my documentation record of Yeah Yep And it'll point out like A B C of all the
things that it wants addressed And then it says you're hereby ordered to remove by such and such date If you feel you'll need additional time please contact Windsor Police Department for um an extension Failure to comply will result
in X Y and Z Okay So I mean I I try to be as working with people to avoid the citation but they need to be able to work with us as well and make that effort I would much rather like do it
that route than site So I would I I guess I would just encourage to change the process and identify the property knock on the door and try to have that conversation
initially Don't just mail off a letter Don't just mail off a fine Just have a conversation What's going on how can we help you and maybe maybe there's some extenduating circumstances that are Well all they have to do is communicate with Aaron if there's an extenduating
circumstance We don't have to call Is this my time go ahead We got a semi-trail sitting on the old Dairy Queen lot and sat there for two years Okay Isn't that
bluis isn't it abandoned is there an ordinance sir is there a spec I would have to look at the ordinance it's a commercial property I'm trying to step on any two years So what did you say Michael it's a commercial property
That's a commercial property That's why the trailer is there And I like I said I don't want to step on anybody's toes but that's that's why it would be allowed to be there And the bottom line is I would prefer to live in a city where properties are cleaned up instead of worrying about rodents or rats or
whatever else Well I think I would just echo what Aaron was saying too that we we do we do try to work with people Um I know that the the police officers who work with before it comes to the council level they work with individuals When it's come to the council level before we
have we have worked we have made um extensions people have said you know what I have I have a contractor hired or I can't get a contractor right now Um we have issued you know extensions of 30 days or 90 days depending on the on the project It's it's not a
completely arbitrary thing You know it's not that you got a citation and within 30 days this is enforced no matter what it we I think we do make a real effort to work Yeah The mail party on the highway couldn't get a contractor We gave him an extension He got a
contractor He got it fixed Aaron how many do you send out say in a month um it depends like I mean over the winter area it's usually a little bit slower because obviously I don't have the expectation that somebody's going to
be able to go and stand out in the freezing cold and address certain stuff So if I see them in the winter I make note of it and then typically I'll touch base once it starts to warm up Um so I guess it just kind of depends We
normally really hone on a major part of like the blight stuff during like the spring up until fall area So it just kind of depends I feel like um it obviously isn't as much as what it
has been just because people are being more compliant with following the city code Um so so far recently it hasn't been I wouldn't even say 10 in a month Um but a lot of that stuff like I'll
drive by too and I just make note and I'm like "Okay so obviously this person put a used couch out you know like they're probably putting it out there so that if somebody wants it they can take it." Well if after seven days nobody has
taken said couch nobody's probably going to take that said couch because it's been rained on snowed on whatever like the expectation is is you should be able to dispose of that you know so so follow up If you send 10 out in a month or in a in a month how many of those 10 become
compliant on a typical I would say it's getting better more people are um now like when they get the violation are actually making the effort to call especially if they need like clarifying questions for anything um or
you know whether they're having some sort of family thing or health thing or you know whatever more people are actually starting to reach out which is nice Good So thanks And also last last summer or spring whenever when I was uh
driving a bus with the garden club and the ladies on the bus were talking about the improvement in city properties and I know I told Aaron that people are noticing Like I said I prefer to live to
live in a city where it's clean Okay So not It's also good to not have to be harassed about things that haven't changed over the course of 20 years too Like what uh well for example and and I'm not trying to whatever I'm just pointing out
a few little nitpicks that mark a little bit Um like Roger Han had something in his backyard and it had been sitting there for 15 years And you know that's fine Like if if it if he cleans it up that's a trailer Was it a tractor or was
it wasn't it mattress springs i think it was um it wasn't uh Well he probably had more than just one thing and you would know better than I Um I I don't remember what I I mean I hear this stuff from everybody too Well and I just
I mentioned that because he specifically had said like that's been here since however long and I was like "Right but like what was your need for you know mattress springs like just laying where it was you know and he was like "Well I didn't even think of it and blah blah
blah," you know So it's Yeah I would say it's very situational And I've heard you know situations that were handled very well and situations that you know got a little muddy or whatever So and and I'm sure you guys don't have a fun time dealing with people that don't want to
deal with you and you know there's but there's also people that will cooperate and and you know want to work with the system So yeah it's buting heads on both sides probably their property They clear
up their property There's no problem Just a reminder this is supposed to be about 304 North Henipin Street and it's kind of So are we That's everybody who would sign up to speak on 304 Okay let's move on to 101 North Henipin Street Mark did you want to speak again or are you No I
just wanted to understand generally how this whole process works Okay Um I have an AJ Johnson Did you want to speak go ahead Okay And then Rain Johnson Good Then we have no one We have no one Okay So if we have no one to speak on that we
can have a motion to close the public hearing portion of the meeting Motion by Jenny Is there a second second by Don All in favor uh I opposed Same sign Motion carried Um moving on then to the consent
agenda Um we have the minutes from um last month financials and sewer adjustment I would entertain a motion regarding consent agenda So moved Motion
by Dawn to accept Second Second by Jenny Any discussion i do have a question on the financials Um so uh the first two for Adam Pago Can you just explain to me what those are
those are reimbursements for um the the memorial stuff that the retired firefighters got Okay So they're plaques Yeah Okay That's And then um there's another one halfway or in the middle of the
second page the feasibility study So that's for the 24860 Who's the chimorn that's for the advanced water reuse project streams project Oh I didn't know that we were paying in anything into that yet Okay
Yeah we've all cities have um all the cities budgeted or approved a certain amount Y um and I I believe we are the fiscal agent So the money from all the cities comes to us and then we pay him
Okay Okay So that's not just our portion No no that would be the It comes out of the pot that the city's paid in Okay And then um Marco Technologies what is that is our copers So we have one at the
police department and we have one here Okay And let's see And then I just didn't know if Ed should abstain for this because he's listed on here under the refresher course like as
approving I didn't know if that was kind of a legitimate We usually don't make them Yeah I don't think because that's such a I mean there are some times where at the end of the year we're all right on the list So I think if unless it's a
cuz like Kelly obstained a couple or two months ago when that was him personally I mean it was something he brought to the council but I think in this instance where most of the employees when they get cut checks through here it's a expense
reimbursement which we have policies Yes Yep All right Those were my questions on that Good questions All right Any further discussion on the consent agenda any further questions then I will call
for um all those in favor please say I I Opposed same side Motion carried We have our consent agenda finished Moving on to new business Um the first item is approval of ordinance 2025002 amending chapter 9 of our city
code regarding the shipping containers Um you all have the the new or the proposed um wording for chapter 9 Um this was recommended by planning and zoning Yeah Either Don
you're on planning and zoning Heather do either wanna Well not only was this this was also the attorney Yeah worked us through that also I mean it wasn't like we just came up with whatever but the attorney walked us through it with us
how to how to work it how what we wanted We told them when we had our meeting we told them what we wanted and then he came back with this So this I mean it in most simple terms it does allow storage containers under
certain circumstances but there it allows for setbacks so they're not impeding on their neighbors property or other street And just to clarify this is just the first reading of it Um this is just to
either have council move it forward or send it back to planning and zoning for rethinking Would this be the time to address what Mike said about the city having two containers and because I'm not sure where those are I know the fire
department has one that Yeah they've been using storage because they had to clear out stuff from the old fire barn but it was condemned So but what this So this is for any new containers coming in The old ones are
grandfathered in There's nothing we can do about those ones But this would be if any new ones come into the city Oh okay I couldn't get that Okay Oh you got to leave that open Mark Those have to stay open Oh they do yeah
cuz it's a public meeting Oh I think it's noise Oh yeah Hopefully that'll be over soon I think Yeah Yeah they're about wrapping up I So anything that's out there now shipping containers are they could sit grandfathered in
but doesn't mean I mean you still have to abide by the the ordinances You have to keep it up around it You have to otherwise then cuz there's one at JB the old JB Lor's building that's been there for few years Yeah
That's what it was It was grandfathered in right i don't know I don't think we talked about that one I'm pretty sure they were We can double check on that but I'm pretty sure Yeah And the other thing was when when you were talking about um the time limit we we as a planning and zoning said if you needed
more time or somebody needed more time they would just have to come to the city and ask for it It's not like we're going to at at 30 days say to somebody it's got to go I mean that wasn't the plan We if you come to us if there's circumstances you know if uh if you're
doing construction and there the construction is behind because of weather but we said that you got to come to the city kind of like the ordinances you got to come to the city and talk to us if you don't come and talk to us right we don't knowate we don't know we're we're not driving around to see
what's going on on people's properties at least I'm not but you know but I mean that we're not just going to 30 days go give them a you know give them a ticket or whatever because it's not off their property on day 31 You
know we'll we'll work with people Well and it seems to me when I read this that the intention is that a storage container is not a permanent structure in your yard It's it's meant to be something for storage while you're
building something or for short-term storage but not something that's going to be there for 10 or 20 years All right So um we are just pretty much it's the first reading today So it's the first reading but we do need whether council wants it to go forward or back
to planning I'll make a motion to move it forward Second reading Motion by Ed to continue moving forward Is there a second i'll second Second by Dawn Any discussion any further discussion any further
discussion all those in favor please say I Oppos same side Motion carried Um 4.2 um the ordinance amending chapter 9 planning and zot You want to give us some background Heather or
Dawn you want it or you want me to take it uh you can take it I trying to figure out what this was So this is for updates to the code compliance in chapter 9 Um I don't know if you remember but we had an incident earlier about 60 days and how
something wasn't brought to council within 60 days This is just some amendments to that um ordinance to be in compliance with state statutes Make sure we're following the correct rules So it's basically just a language
update And again this is the same thing just the first reading need to know which way to go What we would run into sometimes was if we didn't and it was what happened We didn't take action at one month's meeting and by the time the next regular scheduled meeting rolled around we were outside of the 60 days
Correct So we need to have a way to work with that Um does anybody have any questions about that otherwise if someone would like to make a motion I'll make a motion to
approve that one or for the first reading Okay Motion by Jenny to approve the first reading Is there a second second Second by Don Any discussion any discussion last discussion All those in favor please say I I Oppos same side All
right Motion carried We will move those forward to our next meeting 4.3 Approval of the ambulance cadet program policy Everybody have a chance to look that over yeah I'll speak on that just a little
bit So we had a Nano group in the ambulance um come up with a proposed proposed sorry plan of action on how we're going to move our cadetses from being cadetses into being full-time EMTs
Um again this is kind of the first of a uh number of number of things that or things that we had to cover in order to get uh to get our our
students into uh the program It's kind of the first in the state too So we didn't have a lot to go on Uh we took some of the fire department language We took some language from um Jesse who was heading it up uh did did a lot of research and came up with a
lot of the the tech or the technical language and so forth Um once once it was approved uh once the committee approved it then Michael and Jesse and myself and Kristen
Mchugh so the executive committee with Michael we really fine tuned it honed it down and got it to what we wanted it to say Um and then it's been reviewed also by the attorney I believe and the league Oh and the league Yes Okay Yep And the
league doesn't have like any help on any of this because it's like you said it's the first and Yep So I would expect that our cadet program will get some usage across the state cuz it it was it was
very well done by the committee I say reading through it it was really good I mean it was pretty you know Yeah And you know a couple of things that I want to point out is you know we're we're making sure that in this policy they're not leaving school You know they can't have their pages in
school Um if you know if we have a mass casualty incident and I need those cadetses what whoever they are I can call school and have them released I can whatever you know So in in a sit it'll be a situational
thing but it's going to be a mass casualty where god forbid the ethanol plant blows up or something like that you know Um so I don't expect that to ever happen Um we're we want to make sure that they're um their grades are
good So if we have if we're worried about their grades we can ask them to give us a report card Um there's there's stuff in there about you know apparel when it when is it appropriate to wear the apparel and
things like that So again it was very well thought out very uh Jesse did a great job of managing the committee Um and then you'll see in there also there's a a cadet coordinator position that was developed Uh and Jesse is is
holding that position right now Uh so he's kind of coordinating the the efforts and making sure that you know if the cadets have a question they go to Jesse Jesse comes to us If we if he can't answer that question So um that's the that's the uh the basis for it We
had to have some idea of how we were going to move him forward and this is what we came up with I did have a question on one of the bullet points It's just the second page third one It says to provide one for ambulance service with at least two
years of service after the EMT certification is obtained So what if they're 17 18 and going off to college does it have to be consecutive so because it says 15 to 18 right yeah So
um we did have some some discussion on that We wanted to keep it the same as we have it with non-cadet numbers or non-cadetes So you know if you join the winter ambulance as a 30-year-old person and we pay for your class you're
expected to give us two years We wanted to have that same compliance there Now we're not going to be so rigid on it that we're going to force them necessarily to pay it back but some of our discussion was well if they're going to use that certificate if they're going
to use their EMT to serve another city then maybe we'll just allow them to do that Or like my daughter Katherine she lives in Mano She comes home every Thursday and every fourth weekend to work her weekends to make sure she's covers her two years period two-year
period of time So that was a At first we had it as a year Um I kind of pushed it to the two years so that we would be uniform across the service I mean a lot of kids do go out of state you know
across the country to college or whatever So I would think if they'd come home and Yeah And most of them are going to you know most of them are going to help us when they're back from college or whatever you know I I don't see that
as being an issue really More more of the fact if you know they get their EMT license and we never hear from them again type of a thing is when that's kind of right what it's more ready for
Yeah I don't know if maybe you could put some of that in there like we I mean because I agree this was excellently written It was covered you know covered a lot to change anything That situation
can be addressed one at a time Between Michael Jesse and Kristen and I that that topic was discussed a lot Um and that's where we settled on uh was to leave it so that it's exactly the same
as if another member comes to us Uh if if a 30-year-old person comes to Winthre and says "Hey I want to take the EMT class and they can't fulfill their two years we're going to treat them the same way." What's the situation you know and you know they may have to pay back a
portion of their class Invest quite a bit of money in the training of each individual I can see that Yeah Yeah So so I think it it helps to just reinforce that with sometimes you know it's not fair to pick on teenage kids
but that might not have the same understanding of how much money actually was spent on their training that it reinforces this is this is a commitment Um and you know we we really appreciate their volunteering for the community But
and I also think now Lane is what sophomore right so Lane did it this year Well his two years he'll be a senior right if somebody is coming in on a senior a senior and if they know they're going to go to college out of state they're probably not going to do it They might wait and go do it somewhere else I
mean okay that's what I think I mean I guess as a senior if they know that they're going out of state to college they're probably not going to do the EMT course Yeah And in this group right now that's in right that's in the class right now all of them are of the age where
they will be able to serve their two years here Oh that's encouraging Okay Um I think somebody better be ready to uh do some what do you call them news
press release releases I'm serious I've heard so many comments from outside winter about this program Y I would just like to give a shout out to Jesse and Ed and Kristen especially who have put in a
lot of their own volunteer time coaching those cadets helping them before their exams They've spent a lot of evenings here a lot of Saturdays We're still going So I know I mean it's and and really that's just out of the goodness of their heart So um that really speaks
to community involvement and commitment Thank you Pass it on Yes please do So we are um looking at approval of the cadet program policy I'm making a motion to approve the policy Okay Motion
by Jenny I'll second Second by Don Any further discussion any further discussion other than thank you Thank you to the cadetses and the people facilitating it Um any last further discussion all those in favor please say
I I Opposed motion carried 4.4 approval of surplus policy So we didn't really have one and we have some stuff laying around that we would like to make sure that everyone has the same ability to
apply for as far as if they want to buy it Um the policy outlines the different levels of what we do for each one So like I think it's 0 to 500 can be just sold to someone
Anything 501 to Yeah just under 10,000 would go to auction and anything over 10,000 has to be a sealed bid I think I think this is a good idea I mean it's similar to what we've done in the past but it's good to have an actual
policy to follow We had a few individuals asking about some items so we wanted to make sure that we started something consistent and carried it through Should be fair That's that's good What kind of items do you have just that they have sitting i know
one thing that they've talked about recently is a four-wheeler that's sitting down in the impound lot Um the boys go through things and like we had some tool boxes that we could get rid of We had just different stuff that
the city doesn't use anymore but isn't exactly junk either Like somebody else could get use out of it All right I'd like to make a motion regarding the surplus policy I'll make a motion Motion I'll second
it and second by Jenny Any discussion any discussion or questions about that any further discussion all those in favor please say I I Same side Motion carried The fee schedule updates five
Recently in the paper the fee schedule was put so it was in their anniversary paper Yeah The one with the little blocks and it says how long people have been here Mhm It had listed that the city hall rental was $0 for
nonprofits which is not the case Back in February ordinance 2025001 was passed where it is $10 an hour for nonprofits Um and we just wanted to make sure that everyone was clear on that due
to the fact that it has come up and cussed a bit of a stir I don't know if anyone has any questions on any of that I think the just for background for anybody who's wondering about it the this room is much
more in demand than it ever was before Um the city pays for the utilities when people are here It's harder to find maintenance staff to to clean the building and regular you know heavy use of this this room requires more um
upkeep and maintenance Um and it's not unlike we check I checked with some other cities Um Lafayette charges I think I don't I can't I'm not going to say numbers because I don't remember all of them Lafayette charges Arlington charges I believe Gaylord charges um
quite a few of the churches will they have a fee if you're going to use their kitchen or their community spaces So um I don't think it's it's not meant to be a hardship at all Um I think it's just recognizing that this space is used and
and there is a cost to all the taxpayers when it's used Somebody has to be here to make sure the building's opened and appropriately locked up when it's all finished So um there are expenses involved in it which is the reasoning behind
it And honestly we have to train them on the heat up here because it's either on or off and nobody knows what that is And then we come back and we freeze meeting Yes Okay So that was basically justformational unless anybody has
anything else on that All right Um moving on then to 4.6 the deposit refund at 806 East 4th Street So we had an individual that had sent his
um utility payment to us several times and for whatever reason we didn't get the utility payment Um he states that he sent it in the mail but there were several times November of 24
January 25 February of 25 that we for whatever reason didn't receive it Um we did advise them back in November and in January and in February that you know there are several ways to make that payment You can go online you
can drop it in the box you can bring it into city hall we can automatically deduct it from your account if you want Um but he just kept you know wanting to send it through the mail and he had decided that he was going to change how
he had done his utilities He set it up so that his renter is actually responsible for the utilities now instead of him But he would like his $150 deposit back In the past if you are late that $150 deposit is forfeited It's
in our statement to everyone that signs up for utilities that you have to make 12 consecutive on-time payments and is up to council what they would like to do with it What would happen if you were sending a bill to your credit card company and
they didn't get it three months in a row you acrew late fees yeah Yep And interest Yeah I have a really hard time believing that it show up for straight months I I think one one time um I can
understand because I know things do get lost in the mail but usually not all the time but they often show up Sometimes it's two weeks later If there's been three and not one of them ever showed up I I I have a hard
time believing that three in that quick succession didn't make it here And I did ask him too on a couple of them you know did it come back to you did was it address wrong because we do have a PO box He never got them back either as for
what he told me You know we do a lot we do a lot of stop payments at the bank because checks go out for credit card companies for utilities for all kinds of things and they never get it They get you know a
call saying "Hey you know where's your payment oh I mailed it." You know and I don't know I even Yeah So I mean I while three is a lot I I don't think it's that
far-fetched honestly But I think if he didn't on the first one he didn't we didn't get it Maybe changed and then all of a sudden in the second one he doesn't we don't get it and we contact him Now we're on the third one and he still hasn't Well after the second one common
sense would tell you to maybe So where does where does he live lafayette I believe Don't quote me on that but I know it is not city limits So he could easily drive up here and drop pay What's that
we get our payment Yes The the other thing that I think is good to recognize is that you know if it if if the policy says if you make your payments on time for 12 months you can get your deposit back For all the people
who did make their payments on time and fairly got their deposit back it it's not quite fair to those people who followed the rules to just say "Well if you missed a quarter of your payments and didn't get them on time that's
okay." I think I think that it's I think it's important to follow a policy If you had someone honestly if they said I you know we mailed that one and it was one I but then you'd think they that person would be quicker to double check the next time
especially two in a row January and February If I had a bill that was late I would want to make sure that it got taken care of All right Does anybody have wishes on that you want to make a motion is the account current now it is It got
switched over handled It's just a matter of this deposit Yeah Okay So what are you looking for Julia i believe we need a motion Yeah And what you would like if you would like it refund make a motion that we do not refund the $150
Okay Motion by Jenny to not do the refund Is there a second second Motion by Jenny second by Don Is there any discussion any further discussion any discussion i will call the motion
then All those in favor of not refunding the $150 please say I I Opposed okay Motion carried 4.7 resolution
2025009 abatement for Donszel property and building inspection Heather you want to give us some background or Erin or whoever's addressing that um so this one is one that we've had numerous ordinance violations throughout the property Um
there's usually littered with garbage um tubs there's um tires there's excessive like um machinery There's been sofas there's been mattresses there's mattress springs
out there um he sometimes will cut up the furniture and try to burn the furniture Um but in combination with that there is also like a case that we were working
that I can't go into details with that because it's pending other charges but we were also provided reports from two different entities on the condition of the interior of the home and how dilapitated it is Um so essentially what
we're looking for is to have a building inspection on the interior of the home to see um there are children that as of right now are not residing in that house but they did reside in that house and
the condition of busted pipes um no working heat um a multitude of other things that have been brought to our attention to seek for the building inspection And then um again this person has been one
where I have had personal conversations in person um letters um messages um all of that stuff where you're guaranteed that the issues are going to be resolved and they may make some progress but then they continuously
bring it back up to a significant amount of stuff So that's why we are seeking both the abatement of and the building inspection of the interior the exterior from the exterior if you're not a building code inspector like I don't see
anything that to me would be like a major concern but if you were to see the interior of it it is unlimitable So we're we you're asking us to address two things the building inspection to order the building inspection and then
abatement is a separate issue Correct Okay Um let's deal with the building inspection request first that Okay Y So you want to do you need just a you would like just an order from us or
motion to I'll make a motion to uh order a building inspection on this property I'm going to second it Okay Motion by Ed second by Jenny Is there discussion so is this like a welfare check or like
um There's a portion of it that was a welfare check but it stemmed from another investigation which led us into the house And then from there the condition of the house led us to another portion of our investigation
And then like I said two other separate entities that didn't have to do with my case then contacted us about the condition of the interior of the house on further inspection and are the ones that are telling us that um a interior
inspection by a building code enforcer should go through the house and determine um I'm not a professional I I I don't claim to be but with the magnitude of everything that is wrong with the
interior of the home I don't see any amount of money that is going to put this home into a livable condition for children to go back to or anything else which is it's not what we want but we also don't want to place children in
these conditions as well Okay Um any further discussion about the building inspection any further discussion all right I will call the question All those in favor of building inspection please
say I I Opposed motion carried Okay Then the second um part of that resolution would be the abatement of the property and that would move forward as most abatements do that we would be ordering that and then city staff could
be directed to to step in address it Yeah I think they have 10 days um after the abatement is we move forward with that to get into compliance or otherwise then the city can step in and abate the
new which is a good point That's a good thing to keep in mind This doesn't happen if we sign this tonight It doesn't mean that tomorrow morning someone's going to be there They have the the property owner is at the minimum 10 days Typically we do give more than 10 days but that's what I thought Yes
Did we update this property last year i it came up but I don't think we ever did it If we would have it would have been two years ago when I was on my last but I don't believe his did I don't think it ever got to the actual abatement I think we worked with him
back and forth for quite a while I don't think it ever actually got abated Good Okay Somebody like to make a motion regarding the abatement I make a motion that we go forward with the abatement Motion by Jenny Is there a second i'll
second Second by Dawn Any discussion any discussion any discussion all those in favor of the abatement for the Denzel property please say I I Opposed Motion carried All right Um moving on to 4.8
The resolution 2025-010 abatement for the Schwarz property This is the quote 304in Yep Okay So again that one would be
habitual Um we've had multiple in the last year Um I've been to their house personally Um I've talked to both of the individuals that live there Um I've spoke to the resident that lives there
and her mother who essentially owns the house Um letters have been sent to all Um I've we've had message conversations we've um went over like in the future if you
receive any letters or anything like that If there's something prohibiting you from being able to completed at times let me know I'll work with you And this varies from anywhere from blight stuff with mattresses that sit out for
months at a time furniture that sits out um another one that has garbage floating around the yard Um let's see We've had I believe we have abated this property before maybe about two years ago Um don't quote me on that
but I'm I'm pretty pretty sure that they did while I was out on my last maternity leave Um we've had junk vehicles that have had smashed out windows that have sat there that they haven't done anything with Um now we have a tree
that's um like falling down Um that's they've been talked to about um furniture laying in the yard that's been again sitting there through rain and um snow um and a bunch of different other
items that have been brought to their attention that have been listed out and we don't get calls back anymore They don't do anything with the citations Nobody fixes anything So we're asking to move forward
with the abatement Did people have bought a big huge motor home out of there last summer the city did that I don't think it was sitting there two summers ago Probably two summers ago But there was also like a vehicle that must have been in some sort of an accident
too And yeah it had expired tabs Plus the windows were broken out and All right Somebody like to make a motion regarding the abatement for the Schwarz property I would make a motion to move forward with the abatement for the Schwarz property Motion by Jenny Is
there a second second Second by any further discussion Any further discussion so I I do have one more question So um the abatement moves forward You clean up the yard or the city cleans
up the yard and then sends them the bill obviously Um so then what they don't pay it So then what happens so then it gets assessed to their taxes at the end of the year Okay Which we have hearings for them to contest as well So you'll see
that towards the end of the year when we have assessment hearings any unpaid citations unpaid unpaid utilities that are a certain amount all that stuff gets assessed on their taxes Okay All right Any other questions
further discussion any further discussion all right All those in favor of the abatement on the Schwarz property please say I I Oppose Same sign I'm going to say no on that one Yes sir Okay Uh that motion carried Martha voting
against All right Um then we can move on to the committee notices and updates So first is admin and EDA Heather do you have anything from Michael i don't Um just a reminder that we are getting to
the end of April April 30th is the last day for cold weather rule which is what helps citizens during the winter with their heating and electric And so just working with the citizens and getting them caught back up because May 15th
will be shutting off anyone who isn't working with us or caught back up Okay good to know Um and we can move on to fire department Do we have anything he was going to try
and come tonight but I don't think he had anything either Okay Um library Martha Okay I um need to miss the next board meeting because I'll be away but I did meet with uh Audrey library director
Audrey Shannon last Thursday Uh we went over the 2024 annual report um and I'll give you a few highlights from that We saw an increase in patrons and circulation even though there was a
decrease in the local population which would include the city of Winthre and the surrounding townships Inter library loans increased Both requests from our library and then also two other libraries Computer sessions increased
and self-directed activities increased by quite a bit and that would mean like scavenger hunts and reading programs craft time And Audra is continuing to apply for grants whenever possible Uh we
received a $1,700 grant from TBS for non-fiction books and that was part of a larger grant that was divvied up among other libraries based on population I think we were one of the smaller ones so we got a smaller
amount and then uh the library will be implementing summer hours again effective June 1st until August 31st uh the number of hours will remain the same so the staffing and costs of that
won't change Um they'll just be on different days And um I know Audrey's doing a great job with the programming and um pretty excited for that Like like the garden thing tonight She was very well
attended Very well attended Yeah All right Um thank you for that Public works Troy's not here Do you have anything to report i asked him earlier and he didn't have anything All right Uh planning commission We meet next week again
Okay Um RS Fiverr has not met since our last meeting Although I do have sad news for anybody who knew the RS Fiber Joint Powers Board Jack Kicker from Fairfax was our our vice president for the as long as I've been on the board Um he was really fantastic he passed away really
unexpected last week So that was really I think a blow for everybody on that board So um that will be a real change because he was always um he kept everybody smiling during a meeting and had really common sense views about everything So we will miss
Jack Um moving on to utilities Do you have anything we talked about the cold weather rule I think Martha has Oh yeah MMPA Yes So I attended the um MMPA board board meeting in March and um this is the summary The
board of directors of the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency met on March 25th 2025 at Chesca City Hall in Chesca and via video conference The board reviewed the AY's financial and operating
performance for February 2025 Participation in the residential clean energy choice program increased by 57 customers Customer penetration for the program is
6.1% And the board discussed the status of renewable projects the agency is pursuing So that was absolutely fascinating being there Yeah Yeah There's a I've gone to some of their meetings and there it
really is weirdly fascinating You're right All right Um any other questions about that um ambulance Ed we kind of covered that Yeah we covered that Um the only other thing is uh night is the Thursday night was the
they had a public meeting or a public open house in Brmpton for uh street project at 212 and highway 15 or road highway project 212 and 15 in 2026
Um and I I specifically went there for uh to figure out what the detour was going to be and if they had if they were going to restrict other roads and they are not going to restrict other roads the detour is going you know that's a
truck run But but if if we need to go County Road 4 Mloud 13 and across up to Bratton we can do that Um or we can go the other direction around the other side So there is alternate routes otherwise that would been a good 20
minutes added to 20 miles added to our uh transport time if we went to Hutch So uh was good to see that they thought that through and yeah quite a few people there was a lot of people there attended So Mark and I went also there was there
was some people complaining about there going to be a roundabout there and um you know I'd have been that complainer about 5 years ago but going into Hutch now in the roundabout you you know you hardly ever stop So it's I I think it'll be a good
thing and again that's in 2026 and they're talking about a May start date Um and it'll take about 12 10 to 12 weeks I thought I would
surprise surprised I was worried about a three or four month thing but a five or six month thing but you know three months is doable Yeah that's awesome And that's going to take me a long time to get to work too
Yeah I'll have to adjust Yeah I'll have to get up earlier Yeah Okay Any other questions for Ed all right Moving on to police Logan's not here You got anything for us Aaron
no No Okay Um cable commission Yeah So we had our um monthly meeting on Thursday March 27th at the Gaylord Public Library All board members were present Uh we did vote to discontinue paying Mediacom a monthly fee just their
service is not being utilized and there's other ways to get internet Um letters will go out to the public schools libraries and parochial schools to apply for grants from the cable commission which we will begin to review
at next month's meeting and then we will also start looking at the budget next month and our next meeting will be in Gaylord on April 23rd Okay All right Any questions about any of that if someone would like to move to
a journ we can What about the park park Oh I forgot Park Sorry I didn't mean to gloss over it Park is park's a fun one Sorry Some of the splash pad equipment has come in Yeah Then they um when do the stones
come in for the memorial over by the tank um so they are here I say are they here they're here Um we have to do some concrete work in the area um put and as far as I know I believe we're ripping up the existing pavers and putting like a
actual all one level pad so that we don't have people you know stumbling or tripping or Yes And they said also with those pavers they would sink Yes And then then you're running into the problem with those marble stones Yeah We want those to be very heavy Yeah And
then to have to make those Oh some updates to the bathrooms too right is that Yeah they're kind of looking at that Um still planning it out Yeah but they're also going to start some of the infrastructure type stuff in the park Yep To deal with water and all
those things So Yep Yeah Storm sewer and storm sewer Did that permit we're still waiting for the We're still working on that It's an ongoing thing Yeah Okay Splash pad fun bunga is your Friday night Oh that's right Yes Bingo Yeah
Meet bingo Bingo out at the banana center All right Should be good Um does anybody else have any other questions now that we did cover everything sorry I didn't I mean gloss over the park Um otherwise I will motion to adjurnn Motion by Ed Is there a
second second We are adjourned Thank you all very much Thank you So excited about all that pad stuff coming in It's funny when it comes in cuz Canada calls and they're like "We have a
delivery We want to schedule a delivery." And I'm like "Schedule like we're What do you mean schedule?" They're like "Well what time on Tuesday?" I'm like "We're here all day Bring her down Come on down
You were gonna be around Yep Our torpedoes like weird So what did it was so we got I think we got the big thing that holds all the stuff like all the stuff Yeah And he came up to me at the egg breakfast and I said "Why didn't
get your splashback?" Yes Cuz for all the years that when I started to always bring it up and like and at that time they were just way too expensive ever I think you know Well there's the dome
thing that's coming up and stuff She did that to me while we were in the meeting and I Oh I should have said this and I did think about this I want to say do you want to live next door
i think I forgot