MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE HALLOCK CITY COUNCIL MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2023

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE HALLOCK CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2023

CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Treumer called the regular meeting of the Hallock City Council to order at 5:37 pm on April 3, 2023. Those Present: David Treumer, Jen Peterson, Mike Totleben, Naomi Larson and Kevin Waller.
Also present: City Administrator Aimee Sugden, Assistant Fire Chief Seth Preble, John Wynne and Diane Hayes of Northwest Community Action, Stacy Koble and Julie Sailer of Tiger Lily’s Grill & Bar, Hallock Resident Connie Nelson and Kittson County Enterprise Reporter Anna Jauhola.
APPROVE AGENDA
Councilor Peterson motioned to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Councilor Totleben and carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING: SMALL CITIES GRANT
John Wynne and Diane Hayes of Northwest Community Action attended the meeting for a public hearing for the Small Cities Grant.
Wynne gave an overview of the Small Cities Grant. The City of Hallock applied for the single-purpose grant for up to 19-owner occupied houses throughout the city. The Small Cities Grant the city received in 2016 was targeted to a specific part of the city, this year’s application will cover the entire city. The overall cost of the grant is $444,000; $414,000 has been requested in Small Cities funds and $30,000 will come from the Mulit-County Housing Rehabilitation Authority and Northwest Community Action. The city will have 30-months to execute and complete the grant from the time of award which is anticipated in late spring or early summer 2023. Northwest Community Action will execute the grant on behalf of the City of Hallock.
Motion by Councilor Peterson to approve a Resolution of Sponsorship for the Small Cities Grant. The motion was seconded by Councilor Totleben and carried unanimously.
Motion by Councilor Larson to approve a Citizen Participation Plan for the Small Cities Grant. The motion was seconded by Councilor Waller and carried unanimously.
Mayor Treumer signed a Conflict of Interest form (confirming there would be no conflict of interest) on behalf of the City Council.
Hallock Resident, Connie Nelson, attended the meeting to ask the council a few questions about the grant. She asked the council if the grant would cover the entire city, which the council confirmed it will. She also inquired about how the City would advertise the program. In addition to the advertising that Northwest Community Action will do as they execute the grant, Administrator Sugden noted that she would post on the City website and social channels as well on local bulletin boards.
See Appendix A for further detail.
Liquor License: Tiger Lily’s Grill + Bar
Stacy Koble and Julie Sailer attended the meeting to represent Tiger Lily’s Grill and Bar. The business is applying for a full liquor license with Sunday service.
Administrator Sugden noted the business had not yet provided the city with the required liquor and worker’s compensation insurance paperwork. Koble’s insurance agent phone into the meeting to confirm that they are working on acquiring the proper coverage.
Motion by Councilor Totleben to approve the liquor license application. The motion failed due to lack of second.
Amended motion by Councilor Totleben to approve the liquor license application on condition that the applicant provides the required insurance coverage. The motion was seconded by Councilor Waller and carried unanimously.
Administrator Sugden and Mayor Treumer will review the insurance coverage prior to submitting to the State of Minnesota.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Councilor Larson moved to approve the minutes of the Regular City Council meeting on March 6, 2023. The motion was seconded by Councilor Peterson and carried unanimously.
FISCAL & ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES
Motion by Councilor Peterson to authorize payment of City bills as listed;
General Fund Amount; $110, 674.48
Total Check Amount; $124,772.84 (AF),
$36,850.90 (UVB)
Check Numbers; 12939-12979 (AF),
15917 (UVB)
EChecks; 11561E, 11564E(AF),
554E-562E (UVB)
Payroll Transfer (covers wages, taxes
and benefits); $50,050.00
The motion was seconded by Councilor Totleben and carried unanimously.
Mayor Treumer and Councilor Totleben will review bills for the May 2023 meeting.
Budget to Actual Report
Administrator Sugden presented the Budget to Actual Report. Sugden noted that the ‘Wages + Benefits’ category would be high this month as it is one of two months that has three payrolls.
Project Status Report
Administrator Sugden presented a Project Status Report. The report included current projects along with projects that will be started in April 2023.
Employee Handbook Review
The council reviewed the Employee Recruitment + Selection, Organization and Hours of Work sections. They requested to remove the areas of Assigning + Scheduling Work and Seniority as they do not reflect how the City operates.
The full handbook will be voted on and approved once the council has reviewed all sections.
Utilities, Streets + Parks Department
Utility Superintendent Larson was absent from the meeting but submitted a written report.
Fire Department
Assistant Fire Chief Seth Preble reported;
• The department went on five calls in the month of March.
• Seven members attended the annual Fire School in Moorhead.
• The seven members working on Firefighter 1 will have their last hands-on training this weekend.
New Business
Revised City Hall Rental Agreement
Motion by Councilor Peterson to approve the revised City Hall Rental Agreement. The motion was seconded by Councilor Larson and carried unanimously.
Revision includes acknowledgement of non-commercial kitchen.
Tax Forfeited Land Private Sale
Motion by Councilor Waller to approve Kittson County to sell the parcel located at 120 4th St SE by private sale. The motion was seconded by Councilor Totleben and carried unanimously.
Council Roundtable & Public Comment
Councilor Waller asked Administrator Sugden to have the Maintenance Department look at a missing sewer cover on the corner of 5th St N and N Birch Ave.
Other Business/Announcements
Upcoming Meetings
Next Meeting; May 1, 2023
Adjournment
There being no further business, Councilor Peterson moved to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Hallock City Council on April 3, 2023. The motion was seconded by Councilor Larson and carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 6:37 p.m.
Dave Treumer, Mayor
Aimee Sugden, City Administrator
Minutes prepared by Aimee Sugden

APPENDIX A
1. Purpose of Hearing
The purpose of this meeting is that HUD requires that applicants for Small Cities Development Program (SCDP) funding provide citizens an opportunity to offer input into identifying community development and housing needs of the community; including the needs of very low and low income persons. This public hearing is intended to meet that requirement.
2. Small Cities Program Funding
The Small Cities Program makes awards each year through the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). There are two classifications of projects (1) single purpose and 2) comprehensive. Single purpose projects involve one activity and have a maximum award amount of $600,000 while comprehensive projects involve two or more activities and have a maximum award amount of $1,400,000. The proposed Hallock project is considered to be single purpose.
3. Proposed Activities and Project Locations
The activities that Hallock is proposing to include in this Small Cities Development Program application include: (1) the rehabilitation of 19 single family low income owner occupied houses; (2) project administration. The housing rehab is taking place citywide.
4. Overall Costs and Project Financing:
a) Overall Project Cost: $444,000
b) Requested Small Cities Funding (SCDP): $414,000
c) Housing Rehabilitation: $390,000 ($360,000 – SCDP, $30,000 leveraged funding
d)  Administration: $54,000
e) Leveraged funding (NW Minnesota Multi-County HRA; Northwest CAA $30,000)
5. Implementation Schedule:
It is anticipated that the proposed project will take 30 months to compete. The exact date of project initiation is not known, but it is expected to occur in late Spring or early Summer 2023.
6. Past Performance – Experience of Project Staff:
The City of Hallock will contract with The NW Community Action (NWCA). NWCA has vast experience administering Small Cities projects ranging back to the early 1980’s. NWCA has administered numerous housing rehab, commercial rehab and public facility projects during this time (including the most recent project in Hallock) and is thoroughly familiar with the rehabilitation process and other important compliance requirements associated with implementing housing rehabilitation activities.
7. Compliance with Historic Requirements:
It is possible that there are historic or potentially historic buildings and/or houses in the project area. To assure that any historic properties are identified NWCA will correspond with the Minnesota State Historical Society (and provide photo’s) and will follow their recommendations regarding compliance with any federal regulations governing historic properties.
8. Application Due Date
The application due date for this project is May 1, 2023.
(May 10, 2023)
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