A potential partnership with Nobles Cooperative Electric and a change in the special assessment percentage for Maple Avenue property owners topped the discussions at the Slayton City Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 16 at City Hall.
After a closed session to develop or offer to purchase real or personal property — that property being owned by Xcel Energy within the City of Slayton — the meeting was opened back up and the council began discussing the timeline for scheduling a public hearing in addition to informational meetings ahead of time. City Administrator Josh Malchow said it’s going to take a little bit of reintroduction for the public to remember that “we’re exploring this” and that they hadn’t shared the numbers publicly yet. The three main points were that the council has the authority to seek a partnership, the council is looking into doing it and here’s why the council is looking into it, he said, adding that the focus was on quality of service and cost of service to the community.
Council member Kate Harmsen suggested a separate, special election rather than having it with the general election. Councilman Blake Heronimus said he thinks the process should happen sooner rather than later. The council then discussed whether or not consultants should be in attendance at some or all of the informational meetings.
Jim Strommen, the City’s attorney with Kennedy and Graven, encouraged council members to be careful about urging residents to vote one way or the other, but rather be present at informational meetings to just listen to comments and respond with appropriate answers to their questions and concerns. Harmsen said she felt the council needed to be fully transparent and forthcoming. “Part of that discussion should include the options we are looking at, and there’s nothing prohibiting us from outlining that we may be partnering with Nobles Cooperative, that that’s an option in this process moving forward,” she said. “You have to be honest, and I think the numbers have to be part of it.”
Heronimus said he felt the numbers would speak for themselves. “They sell the project,” he said. Harmsen asked if the message would be better coming from the council members who will be making the decision or if it would be better to to hold the meetings. The consensus was to hold meetings at various times and days of the week in order to accommodate as many people as possible. There was also talk about having a session near the voting date, to make sure snowbirds had an opportunity to engage in the discussion. The first informational meeting is slated for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16, with the location yet to be determined.
In unfinished business, the council discussed Slayton’s special assessment policy and how that should be applied to Maple Avenue (arterial street designation) property owners. The way the policy is currently structured, 40% of the project cost would be assessed to the adjacent property owners. Along with several community members who previously spoke up, multiple council members felt like that percentage was too high because of the heavy traffic on a daily basis along Maple Avenue. But while most didn’t feel it was fair to overtax those property owners and ask them to compensate for all the people who consistently drive on it, they believed those residents should have “some skin in the game” because improvements are being made to the road, likely increasing the value of their property.
Malchow provided a dozen different city comparisons for the council to examine. The percentages were varied. Eventually, the council voted to focus entirely on Maple Avenue versus changing the entire policy since Maple Avenue is one of only two arterial streets in Slayton. The council approved a 20% special assessment for adjacent property owners — based on linear foot of frontage — with no side lot assessment added on. With the specific motion, the feasibility report will be redone and a new hearing will be scheduled.
The council also approved a motion to conclude the 24th Street alley project, with the knowledge that some final benchmark surveys of where the level is at will take place and that in the future, they won’t deviate from the original design.
In new business, the council voted in favor of purchasing a 2024 Bobcat UTV, to arrive and be paid for in 2024. Malchow said they’d like authorization now but wouldn’t get it for six months and that the county is following a similar path. When asked, City Works Director Weston Mahon said he was pretty happy with the trade-in value.
The council also approved a memorandum of understanding between the City of Slayton and Law Enforcement Labor Services for officer McKenna Schreier. Malchow said it doesn’t change the salary step or vacation accrual but clarifies there wasn’t a break in employment. It also clarifies seniority and floating holidays.
There were also four additions to the agenda. The council approved a recommendation to purchase a 2024 John Deere ZTrak Zero-Turn Mower. The city, again, received a good trade-in amount to offset the total cost, which is budgeted for 2024.
Regarding electrical improvements for Gullard Park, the council approved a motion not to exceed $12,000 and to revisit some additional things. An original estimate from Slayton Electric in the amount of $6,802.78 covers a variety of improvements. “This electrical upgrade proposed would be removing eight different types of electrical structures on the pole now and making one big box with a timer and stuff like that,” Malchow said. “The line you see going from the pole over the centerpiece to the pole that’s by the bathroom would be underground.” Council members then discussed other potential upgrades at the park, noting whether or not the city owns certain poles and lights. Being able to utilize outlets was a key part of the discussion. Malchow said Gullard is the most heavily used park for nonsporting events and that the improvements would benefit people involved with winter lighting, band concerts, vacation Bible school, family reunions and much more.
At the request of Malchow and Police Chief Jeremy Steinle, the council approved authorization for them to change the ad posting of the police department starting wage, from roughly $23 to $27.65.
After an in-depth discussion, the council passed a motion to allow Mahon to get the largest amount of material delivered to the city using a combination of vendors and/or haulers, but not to exceed $30,000, for reconsideration of the rip rap project. While the board had previously approved a motion, another vendor had contacted the council with additional information and asked them to reconsider the motion. Council members debated rock quality and availability, as well as varying prices for loading and delivery. After rescinding the previous motion, the council agreed getting the most bang for the buck, however that ended up working out, was the best way to go.
The council then went into closed session again, this time to develop and discuss labor negotiations strategy. All council members were present. At the start of the meeting, minutes and claims were approved. Malchow shared feedback regarding the recent House and Senate Bonding Committee tours. The Senate had 9 of 11 committee members present at the 4-H building, where he did a very brief but complete presentation on 34th Street. He and a crew then drove to Minnesota West in Worthington to present on the assisted living/memory request. Malchow said Senate members were very engaged. About 15 of 17 House committee members were on the tour the following week. They were engaged during the 34th Street discussion and had good questions. The assisted living discussion was also very well received. Overall, Malchow said it exceeded his expectations.
The next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Nov. 6 at City Hall.
