City Commission Finance Meeting
Valley City, North Dakota
Tuesday, June 4th, 2024
2:30 PM
Called to Order
President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 2:30 PM.
Roll Call
Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Bishop, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Erickson, Commissioner Gulmon.
Other present: City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Finance Director Klein, Administrative Assistant Hintz
New Items
A power point presentation on the Red River Water Supply Project was given with discussion following.
Department Reports
Sanitation Department
Sanitation Supervisor Swart reported on a few items. 2024 Cleanup week brought in 158.65 tons of garbage and 66 tons of inert materials. The electronic recycling brought in 4736lbs of materials. Residential container count is up for the month of May. Thank you to Mike & Gwen for the treats and to Gwen, Joy & Jackie for their assistance during cleanup week. Cameras have been a wonderful addition.
Water Department
Water Superintendent Hesch shared that the numbers are up due to additional flushing this year. They have also turned down the outlets due to all the rain. Administrator Crawford asked about people pumping from the river. Research will need to be done if permits are required.
Electric Department
Corey Buck filled the Commissioners in on the happenings in the Electrical Department. There were 3 outages for the month of May, 1 due to high winds & 2 due to squirrels. Continuing to work on the lights around town. Keeping up with the construction needs and working with the contractors. The camp by the Fish Hatchery is now completely underground. Working on getting all the easements caught up and filed.
Fire Department
Fire Chief Magnuson went through his run sheet and calls report. The sirens have all been updated to dual power. A test will be run on Tuesday, June 11th. Working on the garbage & grass issues around town. A look into the process for these violations need to be looked into and a possibly ordinance change needed.
Police Department
Police Chief Horner discussed a bit on the body cam quotes and grants. A new restraint was shown to the Commissioners called “The Wrap”. This was donated by City/County Health and is used by the Jail & the Sheriff’s office so it is interchangeable. The department was also given iPads to use for mental health emergencies. Parking and Code Enforcement is out in full force on past violations and getting current junk violations taken care of. Chief Horner introduced Kim Jorissen as the new Records Manager for the Police Department.
Street Department
Operations Supervisor Klemisch reported that they are working on the hydro flushing around town. A new batch of water nodes have come in and are being replaced a quickly as possible. Lift stations were checked and are all in good condition. Hot mix for repairs will not be in until mid-June and then repairs will start.
Administration
City Administrator Crawford shared the Terracon report for the Service Center. It was decided to go with all the sites for boring. The first meeting was held today on the new Service Center. Discussion on Mark Olson’s retaining wall at 6th Ave NW that is located in the right of way. The home owner would like to have the wall replaced but with the new construction there is no need for the wall and the storm sewer main will go. Much discussion was held on this concern. City Engineer Peterson, City Administrator Crawford and Commissioner Erickson will reach out to the home owner for discussion.
New Items
Discussion on the Alley’s maintenance and up keep. Operations Supervisor Klemisch shared the information that he found on this topic. He shared what the City of Fargo was doing and then made some changes to make it work for Valley City and our challenges. He also located an Alley Paving and Reconstruction project application and again made a few changes to make this work here in Valley City.
Changes will be made to the document presented and it will be brought back for discussion and then proceed with the process.
City Attorney Martineck shared with the Commission the fact that Court has not been functioning for a while now. He has been receiving complaints from Various people, Police Officers and Clerks of Court that this is not working for them. The current Judge is not able to be in the court room and he is the only candidate up for re-election in a couple weeks. He shared the two options that could be a possibility but feels that neither is a great answer. One would be to write an ordinance that makes the position an appointed position or pass a resolution to adjust the salary of the Judge. The main goal would be to have something that will work for the City and not just the Judge. Code states the Municipal Judge position is an elected position but an opinion made by the Attorney General about 20 years ago states that because Valley City is home ruled, we could make it an appointed position. Changes made must take affect prior to the new term starting. Add topic to the 6.18.2024 Commission Meeting.
Agenda Topics 4 – 8 will be moved to the 7.2.2024 Finance Meeting.
Discuss City Mobile Home Regulations
Employee Policy on Generative Artificial Intelligence usage
Recycling Contract
Clean-up Week Debriefing & Follow-Up
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 5:03 PM.