President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.

Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Erickson, Commissioner Bishop and Commissioner Gulmon

Others City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Deputy Auditor Klein, Administrative Assistant Johnson

Pledge of Allegiance

Approval of Agenda

Changed ORD 1 to a Public Hearing

Add N8

Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve the minutes from the August 16, 2022 Commission seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Consent Agenda

Approve Monthly Reports from the Fire Chief, Electrical Superintendent, Building Inspector, Finance Director and Municipal Judge.

Approve Application for Raffle for the following:

• Barnes County Senior Citizens Council from the dates of September 9, 2022 to June 30, 2023 at the Barnes County Senior Center.
• Valley City Lions Club on September 20, 2022 at the Eagles Club.
• Valley City USBC Association from the dates of November 13, 2022 to May 7, 2023

Approve Application to Block off Central Ave from 3^rd St. SW to 4^th St. SW for a 100^th Anniversary Celebration at Connect Church on October 8, 2022 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Approve Application for Parade for VCSU Homecoming on September 17, 2022 at 10:30 am.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion passed unanimously.

Public Hearing

Public Hearing for Meadow View Estates

President Carlsrud declared the public hearing open.

There were no public comments.

Commissioner Bishop moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson. Motion passed unanimously. 

Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1113, an Ordinance to Rezone and Amend Zoning Map (Meadow View Estates).

This will change this from R1 to R2 which was recommended by Planning and Zoning.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve seconded by Commissioner Magnuson. Motion passed unanimously.

Ordinance

Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1112, an Ordinance to Amend and Reenact Subsection 4 of Section 8-06-06, Subsection 5 of Section 8-06-16, and Sections 11-02-08, 11-06-07, and 11-06-20 of the Valley City Municipal Code Related to Location of Plantings and Fences in Yards.

City Attorney Martineck stated the originally came before the PZ Commission as a variance when someone wanted to put a fence on a corner lot in a front yard.  The issue is the definition of what is considered a front yard on a corner lot.  PZ is recommending instead of having two front yards, you have a front lot line where your residential address is and you have secondary lot line where it is facing the street.  There would be restrictions on placement.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approve Frist Reading of Ordinance 1108, an Ordinance to Amend and Reenact sections 8-07-02, 11-06-16, 14, 10-49, and 14-35-04 of the Valley City Municipal Code Related to Parking.

City Attorney Martineck stated we will do more work on 11-06-16 prior to the second reading. At this time the most changes that took place were changes to the RV parking section and setting the parking at 72 hours to make it more consistent with our other parking ordinances.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1114, an Ordinance to Amend and Reenact Section 14-06.1-06 of the Valley City Municipal Code related to Fees for Noncriminal Traffic Violations.

City Attorney Martineck stated this is to separate speeding violations from the definition of moving violation which is consistent with state code.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.

Roll Call:          Magnuson-aye  Erickson-nay    Gulmon-aye     Bishop-aye       Carlsrud-aye

Motion passed.

Resolution

Approve Resolution 2372, a Resolution Approving the Sale of GE Transformer No. F961679.

Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson. Motion passed unanimously. 

New Business

Approve Monthly Bills for the City and Public Works in the Amount of $2,355,850.48.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approve Appointing Brenda Klein as Finance Director for Valley City as of August 11, 2023.

City Administrator Crawford explained that Finance Director Richter has set her retirement date as August 11, 2023.  Appointing Brenda Klein as the Finance Director is the plan of succession to help with a smooth transition.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approve Appointing Brandy Johnson as Deputy Auditor for Valley City as of August 11, 2023.\

City Administrator Crawford stated this is another step in the succession plan.  We are doing this now to allow for proper training and hire on a replacement for Brandy in the spring and allow some training for that too.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson. Motion passed unanimously.

Approve Site Authorization for ND Wildlife Federation at the at the Valley City Eagles Club on April 1, 2023.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson.  Motion passed unanimously.

Consider Valley City-Barnes County Development Corporation Request for Funds in the Amount of $20,000 for Small Projects Funding.

Jennifer Feist stated this is an annual request for paying some of the property taxes on the industrial and technology park.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion passed unanimously.

Consider Valley City-Barnes County Development Request for Funds in the Amount of $60,000 per year for 3 years from October 1, 2022-Septmeber 30, 2025.

Jennifer Feist stated this is to support the recruiting and retention position.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop. Motion passed unanimously.

Approve 2021 Eide Bailly Audit Report.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion passed unanimously.

Authorize City Staff to Negotiate and enter into Agreement with KLJ for the Purchase of Equipment for the Elks Building.

City Administrator Crawford stated this is to correct the issue by the Elks building.  This is so we will purchase the materials for warranty purposes and get reimbursed by KLJ.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion passed unanimously.

City Administrator’s Report

City Administrator Crawford reported that our flood wall was hit last week. KLJ will have a structural engineer do an assessment and will determine at that time if anything further is needed.

Viking Court is supposed to have a resolution of how we are going to do the first stage by fall. Interstate Engineering is working on some design adjustments due to delivery and price concerns however they believe the complete storm drainage will be done this year.

City Updates & Commission Reports

Deputy Auditor Klein stated on September 14^th there will be a special assessment hearing for 7^th Ave N and 2^nd Ave NE and also Central Ave South that was in conjunction with Streetscape II.

Police Chief Hatcher stated there will be a parade on Thursday heading northbound for the Summer Vikes on Central and encouraged participation.

Chad Petersen from KLJ provided an update on construction projects. 12^th St N pavement marking is being wrapped up and one last driveway that is being worked on.  Petro south half is complete and will switched to the north half next week. Marking will be complete the end of September.  The clay removal is complete, top soil is complete and the seeding will be taken care of in the next few weeks. 6^th Street seeding will be taken care of soon; the contractor did spray for weeds so in the next week or so they will take care of the seeding.

Commissioner Gulmon reported the cashflows are strong and reserves are within policy. The city received the final disbursement of the American Rescue Plan funds which are limited to infrastructure projects.  Sales Tax revenue was down about 4.5% and the Food and Beverage Tax was up about 6%, the Hotel Occupancy Tax was up about 14% and the highway tax was up about 2%.

Commissioner Erickson reported that Dustin in Public Works received his CDL.

Mayor Carlsrud thanked Jennifer for all she does and the team that helped with the audit. Brenda and Brandy, thank you for stepping up in the succession plan.  School is back in session and traffic patterns change so please be careful and safe and encouraged attendance at Summer Nights on Central.

Adjourn

Meeting was adjourned at 5:37 P.M.

President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.

Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Erickson, Commissioner Bishop and Commissioner Gulmon

Others City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Deputy Auditor Klein, Administrative Assistant Johnson

Pledge of Allegiance

Oath of Office for City Assessor Tina Current

Approval of Agenda

No Changes.

Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve the minutes from the August 2nd, 2022 Finance, Commission and Budget Meetings, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Consent Agenda

Approve Application for Raffle Permit for Barnes County Ducks Unlimited on September 29^th, 2022 at the VC Eagles club.

Approve Application for Parade for VCHS Homecoming on Central Ave. on September 30^th.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion passed unanimously.

Public Hearing

Public Hearing for Application for Property Tax Incentives (PILOT) for H&G Holdings, LLC.

President Carlsrud declared the public hearing open.

Deputy Auditor Klein stated this was published and we received two letters in support and no other written comments.

George Gaukler gave an overview.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Commissioner Bishop. Motion passed unanimously. 

Approve Resolution 2369, a resolution approving Property Tax Incentives (PILOT) for H&G Holdings, LLC.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve seconded by Commissioner Bishop. Motion passed unanimously.

Receive Tax Increment Financing Development Plan and Review the Timeline.

George Gaukler stated there is a need for additional housing in the area and single-family housing was too expensive so they decided to go with twin homes.

Jennifer Feist commented that she spoke with the BND and they believe that TIF would be a suitable use of funds and they could finance, pending the documentation being submitted, through the city.

No action was taken at this time.

Consider 12^th St NW Expansion Proposal.

City Administrator Crawford stated there would be 10-12 lots and there is discussion for more growth. They are requesting we extend the roadway, watermain and sanitary sewer to this section. The area is in our utilities in electric but we have to check on water.

Commissioner Magnuson motioned to use Prairie Dog funds with the balance remaining coming from federal funds with a developer’s agreement between H&G Holdings and the City, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion passed unanimously.   

Public Hearing on Dangerous Building Located at 925 2^nd St SE.

President Carlsrud declared the public hearing open.

City Attorney Martineck stated Fire Chief Magnuson has been working with the owner of the property and there was an agreement to have it cleaned up and it is still not.  Pursuant to the code it comes before the commission.

Fire Chief Magnuson stated we have been watching this since spring has gotten here and nothing has been done. Neighbors are questioning why nothing is getting done.  We need to move forward and get it cleaned up and recommending no longer than 30 days to give them time to get it cleaned up.  If it’s not done at that time we go out for bids and assess the cost to the property.

Property owner Gary Staudacher stated he doesn’t have the funds or energy to clean it.  Requested the city take it but they want it cleaned up.

City Administrator Crawford asked City Attorney Martineck if they could give it to the city if there was an owner on there that had passed away?

City Attorney Martineck stated they would look into the process of the sale of the property since there is more than one owner.

Commissioner Bishop moved to close the public hearing, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson. Motion passed unanimously.

Approve Order on Dangerous Building Located at 925 2^nd St. SE.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson. Motion passed unanimously.

Ordinance

Approve Second and Final Reading of Ordinance 1110, an Ordinance for Contractor Licenses.

City Attorney Martineck stated the paragraph that defines public contract and adding language as far as the dollar limitation as to when a license is required which will match state law.

Commissioner Magnuson commented he doesn’t feel the need for contractor license when they are already licensed and bonded by the state.  Is it better to request the information on the permits?

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve following state ordinance, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.

Roll Call:  Magnuson-nay         Erickson-nay    Bishop-aye       Gulmon-aye     Carlsrud-aye

Motion passed.

Approve Second and Final Reading of Ordinance 1111, an Ordinance to Amend and Reenact Subsection 17 of Section 14-10-49 of the Valley City Municipal Code Related to Parking in Public Parking Lots.

City Attorney Martineck stated no changes from the first reading.

Commissioner moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion passed.

Resolution

Approve Resolution 2370, a Resolution Amending the Master Fee Schedule (Contractor License). 

City Attorney Martineck stated based on the approval of ORD 1110 we need to add the contractor fees to the schedule.  It will be $100 for initial and $50 for the renewal and anyone that is currently doing work in Valley City it will be $50.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.

Roll Call: Magnuson-nay          Erickson-nay    Bishop-aye       Gulmon-aye     Carlsrud-aye

Motion carried.

Approve Resolution 2371, a Resolution to Approve the Replat of Meadow View Estates. 

City Attorney Martineck stated this was submitted to the PZ Commission and was approved with the conditions listed on the resolution. 

Mayor Carlsrud asked about sidewalks.

City Attorney Martineck recommended that we can move forward with this authorizing the City Administrator to take care of it as part of the developer’s agreement.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve authorizing the City Administrator to make the decision on the sidewalks as part of the developer’s agreement, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.  Motion passed unanimously.

New Business

Approve Agreement with Engineering to Evaluate Road Quality. 

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approve Application for Property Tax Exemption at 460 6^th Ave SW.

Commissioner Magnuson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson. Motion passed unanimously.

Approve Agreement between the City of Valley City and Barnes County Development Corporation.

Jennifer Feist stated there were no changes other than the new expiration of the date and ORD number. Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson. Motion passed unanimously. 

City Administrator’s Report

City Administrator Crawford reported that the levees have started to be removed.  They are working to get the VCSU area cleaned up with college moving in this Friday. Everything should be done no later than September 21^st.  If you have any damage, let us know and that will be addressed in the next step.

City Updates & Commission Reports

PW Manager Jacobson reported the 3^rd year of the recycling contract just ended in July.  The contract called for a base limit of 900 tons and Valley Recycling hit 1,230 tons. A couple of months ago we received a letter from the City of Fargo and the rates for hauling our waste to them is going up $5 and they may be adding a surcharge for anybody out of the county. 

Chad Petersen from KLJ provided an update on construction projects. 6th St. is pretty much wrapped up, sod will take place when temperatures cool down. 12^th St N mill and overlay will begin tomorrow and paving is scheduled for Thursday.  Temporary striping will be in place prior to school starting.

President Carlsrud stated we are into the fall season where timing is critical. Thanks to all of our city employees and commissioners for serving.

Adjourn

Meeting was adjourned at 6:24 P.M.

President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.

Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Magnuson via Zoom, Commissioner Erickson, Commissioner Bishop and Commissioner Gulmon

Others City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Finance Director Richter, Administrative Assistant Johnson

Pledge of Allegiance

Making COnnections through Block Parties Proclamation

Approval of Agenda

No Changes.

Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve the minutes from July 19th, 2022 Commission Meeting, seconded by Commissioner Erickson.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Consent Agenda

Approve Monthly Reports from the Fire Chief, Electrical Superintendent, Building Inspector Finance Director and Municipal Judge.

Approve Application for New Contractor License for J-Tech Mechanical, LLC for the period of June 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023.

Approve Application for Raffle Permit for VCSU from August 15, 2022- June 30, 2023.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion passed unanimously.

Ordinance

Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1110, an Ordinance for Contractor Licenses.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve following state ordinance, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.

Roll Call:  Magnuson-nay         Erickson-aye    Bishop-aye       Gulmon-aye     Carlsrud-aye

Motion passed.

Approve First Reading of Ordinance 1111, an Ordinance to Amend and Reenact Subsection 17 of Section 14-10-49 of the Valley City Municipal Code Related to Parking in Public Parking Lots.

Commissioner moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop.  Motion passed.

New Business

Approve Monthly Bills for the City and Public Works in the Amount of $1,295,553.85.

Finance Director provided breakdown of July expenses.

Approve Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Agreement with Barnes County.

City Attorney Martineck stated this is generally updating the previous agreement that was approved in 2014 with a couple of minor changes including the extraterritorial jurisdiction automatically extending if city limits are extended, providing a map to the county to keep them updated of the changes and providing language regarding subdivisions that are on the outskirts of the extraterritorial zone.

Commissioner Erickson moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Bishop. Motion passed unanimously.

Review Petition for Vacation of Four Bottle Drive and Approve for Further Consideration of Planning and Zoning Commissioner.

City Attorney Martineck stated there is currently a verbal agreement between the businesses on Four Bottle Drive and City Staff to vacate the length of that and turn if over to private ownership.  Details are being worked out but we wanted this approved so we can send it to PZ.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approve and Award Bid for Temporary Levee Removal.

Chad Petersen stated the bid opening was held on August 2^nd and 2 bids were received with the low bid coming in at $827,079.97 by Scherbenske out of Jamestown.  Strata had the other bid at $991,811.60. Recommendation is to award the contract to Scherbenske.  Once that is awarded the contractor has to start work within 14 days and the clay removal has to be completed within 3 weeks and 2 weeks after that the topsoil, seeding and restoration has to be complete.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Gulmon.  Motion passed unanimously.

Approve the City’s Selection to Purchase the DEF Tank Equipment from Dakota Plains Ag/CHS for the total of $1,872.24.

City Administrator Crawford stated this is in conjunction with another piece of the USDA grant but it took a while to get the bids in.

Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Erickson. Motion passed unanimously.

City Administrator’s Report

City Administrator Crawford reported after the work they did on Crestwood the supplies were $42,000 and the cost of the dig was $22,000 so we will work on getting that study done through our emergency manager.

City Updates & Commission Reports

City Assessor Hanson reported that next week is the State Equalization meeting in Bismarck and the annual conference and she and Tina will be attending.  There were no protests at the city or county meeting so we are expecting no issues.  Assessor Hansen stated that August 12^th will be her official last day before retirement.

Chad Petersen from KLJ provided an update on 6^th St. NW opened Thursday.  The seeding will take place when weather conditions are a little cooler. They did spray it with hydro mulch on there as an erosion measure.

12^th St NW they are working on ADA ramps.  The concrete, mill and overlay will be done before August 20^th. Once they are done with that concrete, they will move over to Petro to start on that portion of the project.

Commissioner Gulmon reported that the preliminary budget had been approved.  Thank you to all department heads and portfolio holders.  A lot of work has taken place to get to this point.  Special thanks to Avis, Brenda, Gwen and Mayor Carlsrud for sitting through all the workshop budget meetings that have taken place.

Commissioner Erickson reminded everyone to have their garbage out by 7:00 AM.  The Master Lift Station will be cleaned on the night of August 11 when water usage is already down but if possible, try to minimize usage beginning around 9:00 PM.

President Carlsrud mentioned that this has been the best budget process that he has experienced so than you to all that made that happen. Sunday the Fire Department had a day of activities for their families.  Thanks to the volunteers for all they do.  Thank you to Sandy for all of the years you’ve invested in the City of Valley City.

Adjourn

Meeting was adjourned at 5:29 P.M.

President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 7:00 AM.

Members present: Commissioner Magnuson via Zoom, Commissioner Bishop, Commissioner Erickson, Commissioner Gulmon

Members absent: None

Others Present: City Administrator Crawford, Finance Director Richter, Deputy Auditor Klein, City Attorney Martineck, Police Chief Hatcher, Fire Chief Magnuson, Municipal Court Clerk Westerhausen, City Assessor Hansen and Tina Current.

 

New Business

Discuss First Draft of 2023 Budget

Deputy Auditor Klein reported that the value of a mill increased by an estimated $1,508 from last year to an estimated value of $21,500. The County Auditor will determine the actual value of a mill later in Dec 2022. The increase in mill value generates $114,000 which is a 7% increase in tax dollars. The first draft of the budget came in with a need for a 13.3 mill increase, which is equivalent to $285,950. During our meetings we were able to reduce the levy by the same with some adjustments to expenditures, lowering cash reserves from 30% to 27%, increasing state revenues to the State’s projections, and increasing the utility transfer to the general fund by $26,000. Cash reserves of $973,900 is 27% of expenditures This is a $56,100 reduction in reserves from 2022, which is within the guidelines set in the City’s Fund Balance policy (30% to no lower than 21%, with 20% needing corrective action by the Commission).

The City completed a salary study and has updated salary schedules based on the findings. The proposed salaries in the 2023 budget includes a 5% cost of living allowance (COLA) increase and a step increase in the 25-year salary schedule. Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is calculated using the Consumer Price Index, in the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics report for the Midwest Region from June 2021 to June 2022. The CPI’s COLA was listed at a 9.5% increase. Finance Director Richter explained that the increase in expenses for salaries would be covered by transfers from Fund 105- City Financed Special Assessment Projects and Fund 241- Property Tax Relief. The increase in the transfer from the utility fund is $51,000: $26,000 to Fund 100-General and $25,000 to Fund 231-Street Renew & Replacement.

NDPHIT has not released any information regarding health insurance premium increases for 2023. A 5% increase to be picked up by the City is currently budgeted. There was not an increase to premiums in 2022.  If the premium increase is more than the estimated 5%, the Commission will re-evaluate. The City’s contribution to the employee’s HSA accounts would remain the same, with the employees matching a portion of the contribution in order to receive the full amount.

Commissioner Gulmon moved to approve the 2023 Preliminary Budget as presented which includes the proposed salary structure and 5% COLA, seconded by Commissioner Bishop. Motion carried.

ADJOURN

Meeting Adjourned at 8:00 A.M.