The regular City Council meeting of the Mazeppa City Council was called to order at 6:07 PM by Mayor Chris Hagfors.
Pledge of allegiance was said.
Present: Mayor Chris Hagfors. Councilpersons: Erica Young, Jeff Nelson, Mike Hammes, and Steve Liffrig.
Others Present: City Attorney Luke Lamprecht, City Engineer Matt Mohs, Elizabeth Deming from Lamprecht Law Office, Fire Chief Bryce Dohrn, Wabasha County Sherriff’s Chief Deputy Jim Warren, Sara Markham from Kalass Agency, John Clemens, Dustin Wiebusch, Lindsay Wiebusch, Karen DuCharme from SEMMCHRA, and City Administrator Karl Nahrgang.
Attending via electronic meeting: Holly Galbus from the News Record and Bob Josselyn.
Motion by Hammes, second by Young to approve the agenda and addendum. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Young, second by Liffrig to approve the January 12, 2022 Regular City Council meeting minutes, January 29, 2022 reconvened meeting minutes, and the February 1, 2022 Council working session meeting minutes. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Wabasha County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jim Warren presented the Incident Command Report for January to the Council. Chief Deputy Warren also explained how the “Lights on For Safety” vouchers function.
Mazeppa Public Works Report was read by Administrator Clerk Karl Nahrgang.
Mazeppa Volunteer Fire Department report was presented by Fire Chief Bryce Dohrn
Municipal Liquor Store report was given by City Administrator Karl Nahrgang.
City Engineer Matt Mohs gave an engineering summary.
Motion by Hammes, second by Young to schedule a Council working session for 6:00 PM, March 1, 2022. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
No action was taken on a request for minor subdivision. Due to the number of parcels involved, it is no longer considered a minor subdivision and will require a preliminary plat be filed with the City to move forward.
Motion by Hammes, second by Liffrig to schedule Cleanup Day for Saturday, May 14, 2022. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Young, second by Hammes to hold a Public Hearing at 6:00 PM Wednesday, March 9, 2022 regarding the Small Cities grant being moved by SEMMCHRA. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Young, second by Liffrig to approve changes in yearend transfers to reserves. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Sara Markham requested the required votes for property and casualty insurance coverage options.
Motion by Hammes, second by Young to NOT waive statutory torte limits. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Hammes, second by Young to waive medical payments coverage. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Young, second by Nelson to approve open meeting law coverage. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Nelson, second by Hammes to approve annual staff cost of living adjustments and merit pay raises effective March 1, 2022. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Nelson, second by Hammes to renew employment contract with City Administrator Karl Nahrgang including cost-of-living adjustments and merit pay. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Young, second by Nelson to approve liquor liability insurance quote from Ebner Insurance for $3982 with Illinois Casualty. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Nelson, second by Young to approve Resolution 2022-10 Closing a portion of Cherry St. for MMLS Customer Appreciation event. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Hammes, second by Liffrig to approve Resolution 2022-09 Removing Signature Authority and Acting Mayor Status from Resigning Council Member Jeff Nelson. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Young, second by Liffrig to approve Resolution 2022-05 Accepting Resignation of Council Member Jeff Nelson and Declare a Vacancy on the City Council. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Young, second by Hammes to approve Resolution 2022-11 Appointing Dustin Wiebusch to the complete the term of the Vacant seat on the Council of the City of Mazeppa. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Newly appointed Council Person Dustin Wiebusch was sworn in by Administrator Clerk Karl Nahrgang.
Motion by Hammes, second by Liffrig to approve Resolution 2022-12 Amending 2022 City Appointments. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Young, second by Liffrig to approve Resolution 2022-13 Granting Signature Authority to Mike Hammes as Acting Mayor for City checking and MMLS checking accounts. 4 in favor, none opposed. Hammes abstained. Carried.
Motion by Young, second by Wiebusch to approve Resolution 2022-14 Granting on-line Access for Economic Development Authority checking account to EDA Treasurer Larry Liffrig. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Motion by Wiebusch, second by Young to pay the bills and claims. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
City Attorney Luke Lamprecht said the annexation was approved by State of Minnesota Administrative Law Judge and is in process of being recorded at the state level and asked for direction on options available in upcoming nuisance trial in Wabasha County. Lamprecht also stated that the title action on the parcel to the north of Herb Vik field had been completed and filed.
Council and Mayor thanked Mr. Nelson for his service to the community and welcomed Mr. Wiebusch to the Council.
Mayor Hagfors also thanked all the Council members that attended the Park and Rec skating party.
New Council member Dustin Wiebusch thanked the Council for the opportunity to serve the Mazeppa community though his appointment to the Council.
Motion by Young, second by Wiebusch to close the regular meeting in accordance with 13D.05 Subdivision 3, (B) with regards to attorney-client privilege to discuss pending litigation. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Meeting closed at 7:36 PM.
Motion by Young, second by Wiebusch to end closed meeting. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Closed meeting ended 8:19 PM.
Motion by Young, second by Wiebusch to open the regular meeting. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Meeting re-opened at 8:20 PM.
No Action to be taken in the matter of pending litigation.
Motion by Young, second by Liffrig to recess until the February 12, 2022 Mazeppa Volunteer Fire Department sledding party. All in favor, none opposed. Carried.
Meeting recessed at 8:22 PM.