Oklee City Council picks new council member - Alan Jensen

The Oklee City Council met on February 8th at the Oklee Café. The meeting was called to order at 6:04 p.m. with all members present: Kent Bergerson, Lori Melby, Kaye Munt, Mayor George Burthwich, and City Clerk, Derek Cross. Gale E. Schmitz, Oklee's CPA and Deputy Lovely.

There were many citizens and business owners of Oklee at the meeting: Gayle Flateland, Gloria Anderson, Toni Burthwich, John Melby, John Dudycha, Cheryl O’Neill, Toni Johnson, Leo Olson, Allen Jensen, Jackie Cross, Sandra Tougas, Darrell Tougas.

The Council did have their tables set up so they faced the citizens which was well received by the public attending.

The minutes were approved by a motion by Munt which Bergerson seconded, carried.

The financial report was given by Gale Schmitz from Gale E. Schmitz, LTD. Schmitz commented that the billing system for the water, sewer & garbage appears to have improved the outcome.

 

City of Oklee

Combined statement of financial position

As of January 31, 2016 & 2015

Current assets

2016 2015

Cash in bank – Gen. checking 237,092.78 170,852.10

Returned checks 100.00 100.00

Accounts Receivable 24,687.68 36,554.43

Allowance Doubtful accounts (7,400.00) (7,400.00)

Prepaid Expenses 0.00 308.64

Due from other funds 85,594.00 90,189.00

Total Current Assets $340,074.46 $290,604.17

Property & Equipment

Land 34,900.00 34,900.00

Equipment 3,286,226.00 3,313,019.23

   Less: Accum.Depreciation (1,559,263.02) (1,559,263.02)

      Net Property & Equip. 1,761,862.98 1,788,656.21

Total Assets 2,101,937.44 2,079,260.38

 

Liabilities and Net Assets

2016 2015

Total Liabilities $628,135.63 $649,964.23

Total Net Assets 1,473,801.81 1,429,296.15

Total Liabilities & Assets $2,101,937.44 2,079,260.38

 

After the council heard the financial report from Schmitz, Bergerson moved to accept, Melby seconded, carried. Bills were also looked over and Bergerson moved to accept with Munt seconding, carried. Last month the council was unable to accept the financial report, due to it being a draft, so a motion to accept with the final changes made was made by Bergerson and seconded by Munt. Carried.

The Sheriff’s report was not given as Sheriff Bernstein was not present.

Matthew Genova was next up and the thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and he thanked the council for facing the citizens as it showed respect.

Genova updated the board on the Coat of Arms flag that students at RLCC are working on. Genova has approached several businesses for help in funding the project, and a bank account has been opened at Security State Bank with Genova and Mayor George Burthwich on the account. 

The past issue of homes with garbage or appliances in their yards was once again discussed. Genova had visited with the City Clerk Derek Cross last week. Cross informed Genova that a message could be placed on the water/sewer/garbage bill informing the residents in general about the ordinances of the City and see if things would start to get cleaned up and it would not cost the city anything by adding this language. Bergerson asked Genova where do you draw the line and Genova responded the ordinance says the standard expected. That the residents are required to get rid of things that could cause harm. Genova said he just wants the city to start working with residents to get the problem solved, not asking them to enforce gestopo style.

Leo Olson spoke up and stated that at one time there was a large item pick up. John Dudycha said there are some places that dose have garbage and safety should be a concern since some refrigerators and freezers are part of the issue. Darrell Tougas also added to the conversation that the City used to do a large pick up in the spring, but not many people put stuff out for pick up. That is when the City decided to just pick up appliances when called. Dudycha said this should have been taken care of before and needs to be worked on.

Genova said that according to the ordinances that the City and Fire Department can go in and clean up yards for safety reasons. Mayor Burthwich said he would start working on the issue with Darrell’s help. Darrell will call Cal Eckstein for information on the cost of a large item pick up.

Genova then moved on to the past issue he has discussed at the meetings, and said he would like to present a letter from Mitch to the council. The council said they already had it, so Genova said he would give a copy to the Oklee Herald for publishing. (see page 2 - Letter to Matthew from Sherriff)

Next on the agenda was a request from the RLCC Take Down Club for a donation for their event they held in the City. The council members asked if they had given before, and they were told yes. The council decided to say no because they should help some organizations and not others, so they recommended the Community Club would be a better place for this organization to go for funding.

The Oklee Fire Department requested that a line item be added to their account so it is easier to track spending. The council approved moving $11,214.00 be moved to the line item. Also $10,170 needs to be transferred. Both items were carried with a motion from Melby and seconded by Munt. 

Cross brought before the council the need for a new water softener. Cross had only received one quote at this time but would like to get more. Burthwich after discussion with the council suggested that an amount of $1800 or lower to be spent on a new softener could be approved as this needs to be taken care of before the next meeting. Bergerson made a motion for Cross to get more quotes and purchase a new softener for $1800 or less with Munt making the second. Carried.

Another issue is that the refrigerator in the Café kitchen has quit working and the cost of fixing would be $1000 or more. Discussion ensued and it was suggested that the City should ask if the Freedom Living Center would be interested in selling their commercial refrigerator. If not purchase of a new one will need to be done. The Café is able to function without the refrigerator at this time, so more information can be gathered before a final decision is made. 

Last month, the Council decided to wait until this month to work on the Commission list. The prices for the rental items to stay the same, but add extra charges for the included driver. No other changes were made and a motion by Bergerson and Munt seconded, approved.

The final item on the agenda was the appointment for a council position until the election in November of 2016 election. Three applications had been submitted. The first up to talk to the board was Matthew Genova. He was asked why he wants to be on the council. Genova responded that he felt the present council was not moving forward and has things that can be done to help the community. He is interested in city issues and citizens. He has the educational back ground with a degree in education, and police training and was on a board dealing with negotiations. He acknowleged that he would have to work better on the board and says that he is happy to see more residents coming to the meetings and taking interest in taking part. He has started the Coat of Arms flag project, made donations to the American Legion and the Oklee Senior Site. He went on to say, we all have differences and had to learn to work with each other and Genova feels he has lots to offer to the board.

Next up was Alan Jensen and he was asked the same question. Jensen stated that he was born and raised in Oklee. He feels that the community is a great place to live and work and to raise children. He also has an education and has served on a couple of boards when he was in college which he had been selected to serve on.

The final person who applied was Jackie Cross. She moved here in 1992 with five children and has lived here for 20 years. She is recently retired and has worked on many types of committees such as MNScu, and others while working for RLCC Elementary. She has extensive human relations training, has budgeting experience. She had left Oklee for a short time and couldn’t wait to get back. This is her home.

The Council members, Bergerson, Munt and Melby cast written votes, which Burthwich counted. All three voted for Alan Jensen.

Genova then asked Jensen how many meetings he had attended. And also stated to the citizens that Melby had originally set up Clay Haugen to be the appointed council person but was found out, so Clay withdrew his application and Melby said she is not that dumb. Olson also spoke up and stated that he was the one that had asked Clay Haugen to serve.

A motion was made to accept Jensen as the new council member by Melby and Munt, carried. 

Melby then made a motion to adjourn and Munt seconded. Carried.

 

Letter from Sheriff 

To Matthew Genova

Complaint about mismanagement of city funds.

At the Oklee City Council meeting on 1/11/16, Matt Genova, spoke to me about possibly investigating the misplacement of some public funds by the Oklee City Clerk's office. I told Matt that I would contact him on 1-12-16 to speak to him on this matter.

On the afternooon of 1-12-16, I contacted Matt and spoke with him. He told me that he had become aware that the Oklee City Clerk's Office had misplaced approximately $500 in cash, and this had occurred a couple of years ago. He told me he had spoken with one of the Oklee City Council Members and he learned that this incident appeared to be non-theft related, but more a case of mismanagement. Matt did tell me that either way, he would like the matter throughly investigated so the public was aware of the City's wrongdoing, and how the Clerk's office handled the misplacement of the money. He felt the public exposure would help ensure that this type of thing would not happen in the future. I told him that the Sherffis Office investigates criminal acts, but we do not investigate civil violations of policies and procedures. He told me that he did not wich the Sheriff's Office to follow up with any investigation at this time, but he would like to address the issue with the City Council at their next meeting. He also requested to  forward a copy of this report to him.

Sheriff Bernstein 1801, 1/13/16/.