Clearbrook City Council gets update on future projects
Tue, 12/17/2019 - 10:28am
admin
By:
Bonnie Kirchman
Jon Smith of Garden Valley Technologies, Curt Meyer, engineer with WSN, and Zach Thoma, engineer from Karvaako all attended the December Clearbrook city council meeting to update council members on various construction projects that will affect the city in 2020.
Jon Smith described the Garden Valley Project. “We continue to build out our service area to have fiber at basically every location, every premise.” Smith went on to say that by having fiber optics at all locations, customers can receive all the services Garden Valley offers, including television, phone, and internet.
A notice will be sent out to every Garden Valley customer in Clearbrook, informing them of the project that is scheduled for 2020. Smith expects the project to take approximately one month and is set to begin as soon as the frost goes out next spring. Garden Valley will conduct construction meetings with the city’s maintenance staff. Garden Valley will coordinate their project with the street construction project that will also be underway next spring.
Smith also brought a request from Garden Valley to purchase land before the council. Garden Valley has a tower on land that has been leased from the city in the past. Garden Valley would like to purchase three lots as well as easement on a fourth lot that is being used for some of the guide wires. Discussion during the meeting included the possibility of the city maintaining easement rights for parking at Kloster Park. Part of the new bike trail will go through the same lots. Smith stated that easement could be given to the city for the bike trail. Garden Valley will pay any survey costs. The council plans to discuss these issues as well as the land values before giving a final decision.
Curt Meyer updated the council on the 2020 sewer and water project. The project is in the review process. Comments on the project are expected back in January. Meyer will attend the January council meeting to discuss plans for addressing the easements needed for the project. One option for handling the easements would be setting a public meeting late January or early February to explain easement requirements and obtain the necessary signatures. Meyer also brought two permits requiring council signatures.
Zach Thoma updated the council on the bike trail that is also scheduled for 2020 construction. The project memorandum is out for approval. He expects comments back soon, with official approval to come in January. Thoma hopes to begin the design process before the end of the year.
Police Chief Dan Gazelka presented the police department’s 2020 budget with council members. He requested a 4.5% increase from 2019. Gazelka will continue to seek grants from TEAM to help cover department needs.
Mayor Dylan Goudge reported on a repair need at the fire hall. There is water damage to some of the blocks and repair will be necessary. City staff will work to get estimates for the repairs. Prevention of future damage will also be addressed.
Joy Walberg, manager of the liquor store reported that foods sales have increased at the bar. She expects that staff will be available to work during Vikings games. Special activities for December include and end of the year party on December 28th with a meat raffle, prizes and DJ. This party is sponsored by the Clearbrook Community Club with prizes provided by area businesses. The New Year’s Eve party will feature open juke box. The bar will be closed during the day on January 2nd for inventory and on December 25th and January 1st for the holidays. The flooring in the back room is in need of repairs, due to age and heavy use. The tiles in the walk-in cooler are also broken. The council members discussed a variety of options for dealing with the floors.
The council passed a resolution to give a tax abatement to Charps. The tax break covers just the new building and can only last a period of 10 years. The abatements need to be based on the tax levy and the tax on the building, so will vary from year to year. Dylan Goudge and Shawn Johnson met with the business owners to discuss the tax abatement.
The council read the parking ordinance for the first time. This ordinance was prepared by Police Chief Gazelka.
The council accepted slightly more than $45,500 in donations. These included a donation from TEAM of $12,858.13 for the police department’s squad equipment. Coke Community Fund donated $5,095 to the fire department. Judy Engebretson donated money for trees in Kloster Park. A donation of $3,500 for Santa Claus Day activities was received from the Clearbrook Community Club. The Community Club also made a donation of $24,000 for the Clearbrook Pool’s filter and valve system.
Monthly claims of $88,288.94 and additional claims of $81,052.72 were approved by the council. Council members also approved North Country Hardware monthly claims for $105.81 and $546.80 with Shawn Johnson abstaining.
The council members thanked the city staff and community club members for their efforts in planning and running the community’s Santa Claus Day on December 7th. Around 130 children came to visit Santa and make crafts while a variety of vendors participated in the craft sale.