The Hampton City Council met on Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at the Hampton City Hall for the regular scheduled meeting. Present were Mayor Knetter; Council Members David Luhring, Jerry Huddleston, and Kati Evertz-Garcia. Council Member Victor Anderson was absent. Also present was Scott Qualle, City Building Inspector; Chris Meyer, City Treasurer; and Cory Bienfang, City Engineer.
Regular Meeting Called to Order - Mayor Knetter called the Regular Scheduled Meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Disclosure of Interest – None.
Approval of October 10, 2017 Regular Scheduled Meeting Minutes – Motion by Huddleston seconded by Luhring to approve the October 10, 2017 Regular Scheduled Meeting Minutes. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Approval of Disbursements – Motion by Luhring seconded by Huddleston to approve the November disbursements. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Public Comment – None.
Petitions, Requests, and Communications -
Huddleston mentioned that he and Anderson had met with the City Clerk and Treasurer to conduct the annual audit and confirmed all financials had been in order.
Reports of Officers, Boards, and Committees
Engineer Report – Cory Bienfang, City Engineer said that he would be working on the abandoned well project and would provide an update at next month’s meeting and also reminded the Council that the grant received was good until June.
Bienfang provided a final project summary for the Highway 50 Water Main Project and confirmed that the pedestrian ramp and final seeding had been completed. Cory explained that construction costs had gone over by $673.00 due to change orders including black dirt to modify the turf by County Road 47; exploratory digging to resolve questions on location of water service; and excavation by the alley to correct soils. The City Engineer said that his time had gone over the estimated 40 hours per week as time spent was closer to 50 hours a week. Bienfang requested a contract amendment to cover the additional hours for a total cost of $4,850.00. Motion by Luhring seconded by Huddleston to close out the project and approve final payment including the additional amount. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0. The Deputy Sheriff had no recent news or updates.
Water / Sewer Report – John Knetter confirmed that Marlin Reinardy and Josh Dixon had completed the discharge with samples coming back excellent and thanked them both for their dedication. Knetter mentioned that the wear rings and pump at the Main Street lift station would need to be addressed soon.
Luhring brought up an anonymous complaint regarding the smell in that area. Knetter said that they would be working on obtaining a monitoring canister which should assist in providing odor control.
Parks Report – Evertz-Garcia stated that construction had begun on the hockey rink and hoped to see it finished by winter.
Street Report – Luhring confirmed that the fall sweeping, patching and maintenance in the alleys had all been completed and felt that the City was prepared for the snow plowing season. Knetter agreed the streets were in good shape and commented on a high main cover in the turnaround by Little Oscars that may need to be addressed.
Unfinished Business – None.
New Business – MnSPECT Activity Report and Update
Kandis Hanson provided an activity and comparisons report and mentioned that the annual Department of Labor and Industry permitting report had been completed by the City Clerk.
City Building Inspector Contract –
Scott Qualle, City Building Inspector pointed out a few changes to the city contract that was up for renewal including the addition of an appeals clause appointing the State as the Appeals Court; conducting commercial plumbing plan reviews at a local level as allowed by the State; and adding the option of sediment erosion control inspection. Qualle provided an updated fee schedule including a minimal increase to cover a monthly technology fee of $25.00 which would enable residents and contractors the capability of on-line permitting.
Knetter requested additional time to consider the plumbing plan review. Scott confirmed that an ordinance could be adopted at anytime and explained that as MnSPECT has a Master Plumber available, it would provide a much faster turnaround than the State could. Knetter confirmed that the City Engineer conducted the SEC inspections. Luhring requested that they be observed closer and perhaps more often during the construction process. Motion by Huddleston seconded by Luhring to approve MnSPECT’s contract for two years without adding the SEC inspections. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0. Huddleston requested that the plumbing plan review ordinance be placed on December’s agenda for consideration.
City of Hampton Logo –
Wendy Carpenter, City Clerk provided the curved logo created by Josh Dixon that the Council had previously considered. Carpenter stated that to copyright a logo, the author would need to be determined and approval granted and that Dixon had offered the City his logo without any fees attached including any attorney costs that may come up. Knetter confirmed that the City did not want to spend any money on a new logo. Motion by Luhring seconded by Knetter to approve the new logo created by Josh Dixon. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0.
Adjournment - Motion by Luhring seconded by Huddleston to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor. None opposed. Motion passed 4:0. The meeting adjourned at 7:54 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Wendy Carpenter