Minutes

City of Griswold

Regular Council Meeting

Council Chambers, March 17, 2008 6:00 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: Bergstrom, Shields, Rink, Wyman, Carlisle.

 

Motion by Rink to approve the agenda; second by Wyman.  Approved 5-0.

 

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

a.     Claims.

b.     February Treasurerıs financial report.

Second by Rink.  Approved 5-0.

 

Water Department.  No report given.

Community Building.  Building Manager, Shiona Putnam reviewed her written report.  Bids for installation of a generator were discussed.  Rink stated he was in favor of the generator only if grant funds were used.  Wyman said he thought the city had a portable generator that could be used in an emergency, but he would check into it and make sure.

 

Hours of operation for Sewer plant.  Wyman said he would like the city to consider purchasing a wood chipper, which could eliminate the need for a burn pile.  Rink asked what the time frame was for getting the sewer plant cleaned up so that citizens could take their yard waste there.  Shields said he would contact the contractor to get a start date.  It was agreed to discuss the matter further at the work session.

 

Maintenance/cleaning of creeks and ditches within city limits.  Carlisle showed the council pictures of the creeks and ditches around town in need of cleaning.  Some of these can be done by the city and others will need to be contracted out.  Motion by Wyman to send out requests for proposals to be submitted to City Hall by Thursday, April 3rd and have a council member, the mayor, city clerk and Kevin Jipsen open the proposals on Friday the 4th.  The proposals would then be considered at the April 7th meeting; second by Shields.  Approved 5-0.

 

Review 28E agreement for law enforcement with Cass County Sheriffıs Dept.  Shields said he would like to have the length of the contract shortened to a two-year term or keep the 4-year term with the addition of a non-compliance clause, which would allow the city to terminate the contract with 30- days notice.  He wants to make sure there will be an average of 40 hours of coverage per week.  The council agreed to the 4-year term with the addition of the non-compliance clause.  The city clerk will send the contract to the City Attorney for review.

 

Car show at City Park, June 7th.  Motion by Rink to approve the use of the City Park for a car show by Pieces and Dreams Car Club on Saturday, June 7, 2008; second by Wyman.  Approved 5-0.

 

Playground Lighting.  Rink informed the council that Shiona had MidAmerican Energy prepare an estimate to install another light on the Southwest corner of the playground.  The cost for this would be $27.00 per month.   Hours of the playground and additional lights were discussed.  Motion by Shields to have MidAmerican Energy install up to 3 more lights at a cost of $27.00 per month at the playground; second by Rink.  Approved 5-0.

 

 

Messages and Papers from the Mayor.  Mayor Putnam thanked council members Carlisle, Rink and Wyman along with Marylynne Dickinson for the work they have been doing.

 

Propositions and Remarks from Council Members.  Carlisle said they are looking at pasturing at the sewer plant.  This would be done with either goats or sheep and would eliminate around 4-6 hours of mowing each week.  He will get more information on this for further consideration.

Carlisle asked if there was any type of written agreement with the person that harvests the hay on the south area of the cemetery property.  The clerk said she did not believe there was any written agreement and the city receives no compensation for use of the ground, but she will check with Allan Duhn to make sure.

Wyman said that the county has started work on Baughman Creek, but the contractor is leaving the debris in the creek.  It was agreed to have the Mayor and council member Rink talk to the Supervisors about this.

Wyman said he would like to schedule a work session to discuss priorities and projects for the city.  The council set the work session for Wednesday, March 26th at 6:00 p.m.

 

Motion by Rink to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Wyman. Motion carried 5-0 7:04 p.m.

 

 

 

Jerry Putnam                                                  

Mayor

 

 

 

Dawn Ridlen

City Clerk