VILLAGE OF BRUCE
BOARD MEETING MINUTES
March 4th, 2024
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a scheduled monthly meeting of the Village Board was held on Monday, March 4th, 2024.
Village President Shane Trott presided and called to order the meeting at the Village Hall facility at 7:00 p.m. Board members present were Mark Zimmer, Galen Brainerd, Kim Grasley, Darlene Wundrow and Tim Dolan. Jim Johnson was absent. Clerk/Treasurer Jessica Hayes and Deputy Nicole Frisinger attended also.
– PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE –
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Brainerd to approve the February 5th, 2024 Regular Monthly
TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to approve the Treasurer’s report as given, carried.
EMPLOYEE’S REPORT: Casey Gudis attended the meeting to report that the crew has been busy cutting dead trees at the park. They have also been busy installing new water meters throughout town.
The garbage carts have been delivered. He thanked the Board members that showed up to help unload the delivery. Gudis informed the Board that the carts would need a ‘Village of Bruce’ label adhered to them. Approval of that item will be later in the agenda.
Gudis stated that a couple possible summer projects would be to get the basketball court at the park redone. It would need to be crack sealed, and seal coated. He also mentioned another project would be to get the sidewalks around the Village Hall & Shop sealed. This would cost approximately $1,800.00. Republic Services issues a $2,000.00 community project check to the Village annually, and the funds could be used for either project. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to get the sidewalks sealed, carried. Gudis will get a quote for the basketball court project and present it at next month’s Board Meeting.
PETITIONERS-CITIZEN COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS:
Kiwanis Blue Hills: Jim Doke & Tom Hanson from the Kiwanis attended the meeting to present the Board with a project idea they have and to ask permission to proceed. They are wanting to revamp the Round Lake area but there are some discrepancies with parcel ownership. Before continuing with the project, they asked that the Village determine actual lot lines.
APPLICATIONS:
Operator’s License: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Grasley to approve an operator’s license to Carol M. Johnson, carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Public Safety:
Committee Meeting 2/28/24 Report/Minutes: A committee meeting was held on February 28th, 2024. Below are the minutes from that meeting:
Trott met with several individuals at the Bruce School including Jim Booth, Middle School Principal Brad Cody and Superintendent Jeff Walsh to discuss the loading and unloading of school buses and additional road signs around the school.
The school is asking that the Village purchase ‘5 minute’ parking signs as well as ‘no parking’ signs. They would like the curbs painted yellow and crosswalks be painted on Washington Avenue. Buses will no longer load/unload on Washington Avenue.
Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Zimmer to approve the minutes from the February 28th meeting and to approve purchasing all signs the school is requesting, carried.
Purchase of Speed Bumps & Safety Signs: Motion by Brainerd, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Purchase of Speed Bumps & Safety Signs’ item until the April, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Utility:
Committee Meeting 2/15/24 Report/Minutes: A committee meeting was held on February 15th, 2024. Below are the minutes from that meeting.
Three representatives from Waste Management attended the meeting to discuss the 5 year contract for disposal with them. The contract would commence on January 1st, 2025, with a minimum 5% increase annually. There would be a 3 ton minimum disposal required per load. The Village collects approximately 270 ton per year. Total rate per ton for disposal would be $73.57.
Concerns of how to dispose of recycling was discussed. Waste Management will submit an additional quote for these services, as recycling would be collected and transported to Minnesota. (Recycling is not collected at the Timberline Trail location on Hutchinson Rd.)
The committee is recommending signing the 5 year disposal contract with Waste Management.
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Brainerd to sign the 5 year disposal contract with Waste Management, commencing on January 1st, 2025, carried.
Garbage Contract Discussion: A 5 year recycling contract was presented to the Board for approval. The pricing is based on 1 – 8 yard container @ $96.09 a month for every other week collection, or 4 – 8 yard containers at $384.36 per month. This would be for an every other week collection schedule. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Brainerd to sign the 5 year recycling contract with Waste Management, with 4 – 8 yard containers, every other week pick-up, for $384.36 per month, commencing on January 1st, 2025, carried. Options to decrease the number of containers per month would be approved by Waste Management if needed in the future.
Two quotes were submitted by Custom Signs Plus, LLC for the sticker logos for the garbage containers. One sticker cost $2.50 each. One quote was $960.00. This would be for one sticker per cart. There are 384 carts. The second quote was for $1,920.00. This would be for two stickers per cart. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to approve the quote in the amount of $960.00, which would be for one sticker per cart, carried.
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Zimmer to table the ‘Garbage Contract Discussion’ item until the April, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Public Works:
LRIP (Local Road Improvement Program) Funds: The Village was notified that they had a second project of funding that could be rolled over to the Business 40 project. Between the two open funding projects, the Village has a total of $21,072.49 to roll over to the project. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to roll over all of the $21,072.49 to the Business 40 project and to table the ‘LRIP (Local Road Improvement Program) Funds’ item until the April, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Water Filtration Project – Corrective Work on Village Wells & River Avenue:
-DISCUSSION & ACTION-
– UPDATE –
The filter system is completely plumbed but just waiting on a few more parts. Nothing further to discuss at this time. A May 1st, 2024 completion date is still on schedule.
Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Water Filtration – Corrective Work on Village Wells & River Avenue’ item until the April, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Public Welfare:
Bruce Park Concession Stand/Contract between Bruce School & Village Discussion: Motion by Grasley, seconded by Dolan to send the item to committee, carried. Motion by Grasley, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘Bruce Park Concession Stand/Contract between Bruce School & Village Discussion’ item until the April, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Park Dugout Update: The netting for the backstop will be installed in the Spring. Nothing further to discuss at this time. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Wundrow to table the ‘Park Dugout Update’ item until the April, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Committee Meeting 2/19/24 Report/Minutes: A committee meeting was held on February 19th, 2024. Below are the minutes from that meeting:
The committee met to tour the Library portion of the building to see if painting is necessary. After the walk through, several parts of the building need to be repainted. The committee is recommending getting quotes to have the work done.
Library Interior Painting: Quotes will be obtained. Nothing further to discuss at this time. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Library Interior Painting’ item until the April, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
Administration:
Committee Meeting 2/21/24 Report/Minutes: A committee meeting was held on February 21st, 2024. Below are the minutes from that meeting:
The committee met to discuss employment of current employees and also the interest from an individual for a part time position.
If the office staff were to take over the cleaning of the Village Hall (during normal office hours), it would save the Village roughly $300-$400 per month. With the Village’s budget being so limited, this would be one way to come up with some extra funds to eventually pay for a full-time Public Works employee. The committee is recommending discontinuing paying Peggy Weinert for office cleaning. Weinert would still be on staff for summer help. The 2024 Library Budget for custodial work is $1,092.00. Office staff would do the cleaning of the Library as well, and keep the $1,092.00 for the cleaning and supplies for their portion.
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Zimmer to approve the committees’ recommendations, discontinue paying Peggy Weinert for the office cleaning effective immediately, and to keep Weinert on staff for summer help, carried.
Discussion was had on Bob Ewald’s position. Mark Benson approached the Village with his interest in the part time/seasonal position. The committee is recommending advertising for the part time position and make a determination upon the position once the Village sees what and if any applications get submitted.
Motion by Grasley, seconded by Wundrow to not advertise for the position at this time, notify Benson to submit an application and to send the item to committee to discuss further, carried.
Maintenance Position Hire: Trott mentioned that an individual had approached him with interest in the position. Trott informed him to submit an application as well. Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to table the ‘Maintenance Position Hire’ item until the April, 2024 Regular Monthly Board Meeting, carried.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to pay vouchers and electronic payments totaling $279,538.54, carried.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Wundrow, seconded by Grasley to adjourn, carried. Adjournment was at 8:19 p.m.
Jessica Hayes
Clerk/Treasurer