The Slayton City Council on Tuesday approved the appointment of Jesse Hoffmann to the position of Slayton Police Chief. Hoffmann has been serving as interim chief since the resignation of Jeremy Steinle. The union waived the 10-day internal posting provision of the labor contract and supported Hoffmann’s appointment as chief.
The Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) recommended to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that they approve the sale of a portion of Northwest Natural Gas of Murray County’s natural gas distribution system to the City of Slayton.
The DOC noted the agreed purchase price is $4 million, which is higher than the net book value of the assets, but explained that ‘just compensation’ can consider additional factors beyond book value, including loss of revenue to the utility.
According to a memo from Slayton City Administrator Josh Malchow to the Slayton City Council, the DOC’s filing is supportive of the city’s purchase and provides a clear recommendation to approve the sale and requested variance. This is a positive step in the PUC review process, Malchow said, and supports moving forward toward final PUC approval.
Malchow provided a brief update to where they are in the process of purchasing a portion of Xcel Energy, stating that there will be oral testimony in front of an administrative law judge in early February. Her report is due to the PUC at the end of March.
The council looked over various committees the City of Slayton has on record and approved dismantling the Parks/Aquatic Center/Rec Board and the Policy Committee. Because the Parks Board is on the books through an ordinance, changes will need to be made.
According to Councilor Kate Harmsen, the Parks Board has not met in all of the time she has been on the city council. Decisions made in that area have been made in-house through the council, she said, as has subject matter that would fall under the purview of the Policy Committee.
Slayton Fire Chief Chris LeTendre presented several budgeted requests to the Slayton City Council – one for new tires for two of the trucks. LeTendre requested a new radio for the new grass rig for $4,152. He also asked approval for new portable radios and pagers, for a combined cost of just over $9,200. The requests were approved unanimously.
Permission was also granted for 4 firefighters to attend Lake Crystal Fire School in March and 2 firefighters to attend a leadership seminar in April.
Malchow asked the council for permission to change the due date on utility bills. In late December, the United States Postal Service changed the way they postmark mail. Most items are not postmarked at a local level in Minnesota, now being postmarked at a larger facility such as Minneapolis. Because of that, mailed payments are not being postmarked before the due date. The council approved moving the due date to the 20th of each month, rather than the 15th.
