Minutes

City of Griswold

Regular Council Meeting

Council Chambers, January 21, 2008 7:00 p.m.

The Griswold City Council met in regular session at City Hall. Mayor Putnam called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Council present: Shields, Rink, Carlisle, Wyman and Bergstrom.

Motion by Wyman to approve the agenda with the removal of item 3b Library Report; second by Shields. Approved 5-0.

Motion by Wyman to approve the following items under the Consent Agenda:

a. Claims.

b. Resolution 1-2008 Setting the Salaries for Appointed Officers and Employees of the City from January 21, 2008 – June 30, 2008.

Second by Carlisle. Approved 5-0.

Water Department. Verbal report given by Water Supt. Kevin Jipsen. Proposal for a water main improvement project will be presented at the February 4^th meeting.

2008 Appointments. Mayor Putnam presented changes made to the appointments for 2008. The appointments are as follows:

Public Safety: Rink, Bergstrom

Public Works: Carlisle, Wyman

Culture & Recreation: Shields, Carlisle

Community & Economic Development: Rink, Shields

General Government: Bergstrom, Shields

Business Type Activities: Wyman, Rink

First named is Chairperson. All other appointments remain the same. Motion by Shields to approve the revised appointments for 2008; second by Wyman. Approved 5-0.

Employee Health Insurance. Clerk Ridlen reported that the city health insurance premiums will increase by 23.48%. The Cityπs agent is requesting applications be filled out by the employees to submit to three other carriers to see if the city can get a more cost effective plan.

Sewer line jetting – Griswold Community Schools. Supt. Jipsen reported that a sewer line by the High school was jetted twice in December. The first time was to remove tree roots plugging up the line. By removing the roots, this then caused the line to backup further up about a day later, which then had to be jetted. Jipsen feels the city is responsible for at half the cost of the jetting, which would be around $675.00. Motion by Shields to pay for ½ of the cost upon receipt of the bills from the school; second by Rink. Approved 5-0.

Police Officer position. Clerk Ridlen said five applications have been submitted for the position. Shields stated he would like the council to review the applicants and pick their top candidates. Rink remarked that the City should seriously consider contracting with the County for law enforcement, which would mean the City may not need to proceed with interviews. Carlisle presented a proposal from Cass County Sheriff Bill Sage for law enforcement coverage within city limits. According to records, Police Chief Waddell had 31 reportable incidents for all of 2007. As of January 1^st, the county has had 10 reportable incidents. Currently the Sheriffπs department is charging $50.00 per call and $50.00/hour for investigations. Starting in 2009 the city would be required to pay $10.00 per capita for additional coverage if they have their own officer. Carlisle questioned if a decision could be made immediately. Clerk Ridlen suggested holding off on a decision until the next meeting to give the council time to educate the public on the differences between hiring an officer or contracting with the county. It was agreed to put an explanation in the newspaper and have public input at the next council meeting. Motion by Wyman to set the matter aside until the February 4^th meeting; second by Bergstrom. Approved 3-2 with Rink and Carlisle dissenting.

Messages and Papers from the Mayor. Mayor Putnam thanked Kevin Jipsen for his time & effort while waiting for another employee to be hired.

Propositions and Remarks from Council Members. Shields asked that Shirley Ward be put on the flood mitigation committee as she has been affected by the flooding and has a vested interest in the outcome. Mayor Putnam said that would not be a problem.

Shields said he has spoken to the father of the registered owner of 907 2^nd St. He is willing to sell the property as is for $2,000 plus back taxes. Shields feels the city should purchase the property, clean it up and then sell it. This would be easier than trying to go through the courts and may save the city money in the long run. He requested that further discussion be placed on the agenda for next meeting.

Wyman stated that if the city were to contract with the county for law enforcement, he would like to see the funds the city would be saving be used to purchase cameras for different areas around town. This would provide additional coverage in addition to the county.

Motion by Rink to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Wyman. Motion carried 5-0 7:53 p.m.

Jerry Putnam

Mayor

Dawn Ridlen

City Clerk