Kennedy Fire Department secures FEMA AFG grant for $70,995.23

By Margie Holmgren
The Kennedy City Council was informed the Kennedy Fire Department has secured another FEMA grant for $70,995.23.
For the second year in a row, the Kennedy Fire has received grant money that will help update their outdated gear.
The money will be used to purchase 15 new full sets of turnout gear. A set consists of a helmet, coat, pants, two pairs of gloves, two hoods, goggles, suspenders and boots.
“We’ll keep a couple of sets as spare sets but will look at donating anything to departments that need it,” stated Ethan Paulson, a member of the Kennedy Fire Department. “But our newest stuff is 16 years old, and some is 35-year-old stuff.”
The fire department must contribute 5% of the grant to the purchase or $3,549.77.
“Only about 2,000 awards were given out this year,” Paulson explained, “and there are over 29,000 fire departments in the country.”
The fire department and council were quite happy to be selected and the funding was definitely needed.
Proposed tax levy
The council worked on their budget prior to their regular meeting and after looking carefully at each line item have proposed a 5% tax increase or $125,785.
Councilor Jon Turn and the council agreed they’d like to see that lower but also don’t want to leave the city short as there are some projects like the water tower/storage the need to be addressed.
One of the things the council put into the budget was for a different pickup for the city. Since the pickup is used for sewer and water, they can put some of that cost into those two funds which are not included in the general fund.
The council budgeted for a full-time maintenance person but after several advertisements have not had any interest in the position.
The council raised special assessments which is for mowing. Currently the city mows the entire area by the railroad tracks through town and bills the railroad. They also have three lots in town they mow for property owners. A motion to increase the mowing assessment to $3,000 for the railroad and $600 for each property owner was made and passed unanimously.
Discussion on the water bills that currently have a service fee of $2.50 for North Kittson Rural Water was discussed. The loan is now paid off and the $2.50 is no longer needed.
After discussing the water project which the city needs to complete, the council approved adding the $2.50 to the current service fee. Citizens in town will not pay any more as that amount just switched from a separate line item to being included with their service fee.
The council also approved to increase garbage rates by $1. The city’s contract with Northern Sanitation is through 2025. To keep from having to make a large increase for 2026, the council felt it’s better to do a small increase this year and another small one next year if needed.
After the council went through the entire budget, they proposed to go with 5% tax levy for now. They will continue to look at the numbers more closely before certifying the levy in December. The council agreed they’d like this to be closer to a 3 to 4% increase instead of 5.
In other business, the council:
• Heard from Troy Schroeder and Stephen Frisco, MnDOT staff, about a proposed street project through town in 2031.
• Voted to pass an interim ordinance authorizing a study and imposing a moratorium on the operation of cannabis businesses within the city of Kennedy. (This ordinance is printed in this issue of the Kittson County Enterprise.)
• Discussed building permits. The county approved a building permit for a resident in Kennedy. This permit should have been through the city. The council authorized Melissa Woinarowicz, Kennedy clerk/treasurer, to contact the residents and get the issue resolved. The city also has other residents doing work on homes who have failed to get permits. Woinarowicz was instructed to also contact them.
• Discussed rules of decorum for city meetings. The meetings are open to the public and the public is encouraged to attend the meetings. Woinarowicz and the council agreed there needs to be some guidelines for those attending the meetings. She will put a document together to be approved at the next meeting.
“City council shouldn’t be that way in a small town,” commented Turn, “but everyone thinks they can speak at any time so if we are going to have it we are going to have to enforce it.”
Since the next regular meeting falls on Columbus Day, the Kennedy City Council meeting is instead set for Tuesday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m.