February 7, 2022 City Council Minutes

1.      Approve travel and continuing education training expenses for Public Works employees, as presented

·         Minnesota Rural Water and Wastewater Tech. Conference St. Cloud, MN – March 1-3, 2022

·         Minnesota Rural Water hydrant training Cohassett, MN – June 16, 2022

·         Minnesota Rural Wastewater training and exam prep Wahkon, MN – June 22-23, 2022

·         Minnesota Wastewater Operators Association exam Grand Rapids, MN – July 26-29, 2022

·         Minnesota American Water Works Association Duluth – September 13-16, 2022

·         Minnesota Rural Water and Wastewater refresh and exam St. Cloud – September 19-21, 2022

2.      Approve travel and continuing education training expenses for Human Resources/Safety Director to attend the Safety for HR Professionals- August 23-24, 2022 in St. Paul, MN

3.      Acknowledge resignation of paid on-call firefighter Josh Meyers effective July 13, 2021

Motion seconded by Councilor Buller and carried unanimously.

It was noted that if Greentech does not complete the expansion project as outlined in the BDPI Grant application, the grant funds would need to be paid back to the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).  It was agreed that the City should require a Developer’s Agreement from Greentech that states if the grant funds must be paid back to DEED as result of Greentech not meeting outlined requirements, Greentech will be required to pay back the grant funds rather than the City of International Falls.

MOTION by Councilor Holden to amend the original motion to require a Developer’s Agreement prior to submittal of the BDPI Grant application. Motion seconded by Councilor Buller.

The vote to approve the amendment to the motion carried unanimously.  The vote to approve the main motion, as amended, carried unanimously.

Reports of the Administrator, Attorney, and Department Heads

The January 2022 Fire/Rescue/EMS Activity Report was available for review.

Councilor Buller noted that the incident at Kerry Park was discussed at the Public Works Committee meeting and will be discussed at the February 14, 2022 Committee-of-the-Whole meeting.

Councilor Krause explained that they learned at the last Koochiching County Housing Collaborative meeting that the Alexander Baker Housing Project has been awarded $12.88 million in state funding.

Mayor Droba noted that at the next Airport Commission meeting there will be a formal recommendation as to whether the Airport should be fully annexed into the City of International Falls.  Mayor Droba stated that he attended a League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) Conference in Plymouth, MN where there was some optimism about the likelihood for a state bonding bill given the $7 billion surplus in state funds.