City of Randolph
Regular Council Meeting
April 10, 2024
The regular Randolph City Council meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Marie Jacob.
Roll Call
Present were Mayor Marie Jacob, Council Members Jake Friedrich, Todd Carlock and Tony Price, Treasurer Sandy Nicolai and Clerk Mary Haro.
Also, in attendance was Bolton & Menk engineer, Matt Blazer.
Approval of Agenda
Motion to approve the agenda with switching the old business to come after new business items was made by Friedrich, seconded by Carlock. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Public Comments
A citizen brought up the condition of 290th Street and trucks traveling on the road. It will be discussed during the sewer update
A citizen asked if they will be grinding the stumps in yards for the trees that were taken down. They will be doing that. It was also asked if they are compensated for the trees that were taken down. They will replant a tree to replace it. It was also noted that they were not notified that the trees were going to be taken down. There was supposed to have been newsletter going out to citizens but if they are in the right of way they have to right to take them down; however, they should have been notified personally. All the trees that are coming down are now down and the stumps will be ground down. They will send out a newsletter to notify them if they want a tree replaced for the trees that were removed for the sanitary sewer project. They will have options of trees to pick from.
Minutes
A motion to approve the March 13, 2024 regular council meeting minutes with the correction of the date to be February 14, 2024 under the Minutes section was made by Friedrich, seconded by Jacob. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Approval of Treasurer Report and Payment of Bills
Sandy will update the funds for the amounts that we allocated with our budget by next month's meeting.
Motion to approve the payment of bills was made by Friedrich and seconded by Carlock. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
New Business
Randolph Trailblazers
Bob Romanowski asked if the City would again sponsor the Randolph Trailblazers for the 24-25 season. The DNR requires them to use a government entity to funnel the money through. This is an in and out for the monies. A Motion by Friedrich to sponsor the Randolph Trailblazers by Resolution No. 24-05 for the 2024-2025 season, seconded by Price. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Progressive Rail – Dave Fellon
Dave from Progressive Rail just wanted to update us on some things that are happening. There are some plans being made for the 29 acres they own and they will be coming back soon to share them with us.
He asked if there any plans for the land next to CMS Chemical or other property in the area? There is appeal to properties next to railroad tracks. If we are interested they would be happy to put an investment in a design. We told him it is difficult to discuss anything without a plan and we would also need to look at our comprehensive plan.
They applied for a matching grant from the State of Minnesota for bridges and they have not heard back yet regarding the grant. There is also a Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant which is federal program with matching funds that usually takes 2 – 5 years to process but this one is going to be done by November that improve safety, efficiency and reliability of freight rail. They just wanted us to be aware of this because it strengthens the rail infrastructure for heavier capacity and longer trains.
Bolton & Menk Sewer Update
The PFA has finalized the agreement which lets us access the funds. Our legal counsel, Greta, has reviewed it. It is still marked as a draft because we have to hire an operator to run the sewer system and they have to approve the contract. We were looking at People Service but they wouldn't adjust their contract to meet the requirements for the state so Bolton & Menk had to find a different company which they are looking at MMS they are less expensive and specialize in smaller towns. Greta has reviewed their contract. They will come down to meet us at next month's meeting. They are willing to sign the contract and postdate it so we don’t' start accruing fees.
Use of contingencies will require the justification and PFA approval of change orders. What does this mean for us? PFA reviews them to see if they are pertinent to the project. They stay in touch and make sure the funds are used appropriately. Having to get their approval will that slow down the project. They will most likely review the change orders quickly. Matt will get the approval from PFA before bringing them to us so we have the final say. If the PFA does not approve it then he will go back to the contractor and see if it actually needed.
Mayor Jacob made a motion to approve the draft Grant Agreement – Construction Grant for the Randolph Wastewater Infrastructure Project, seconded by Carlock. All voting in favor, motion passed 5:0. If there is any change to the final agreement he will bring it back to next month's meeting.
Construction has started and they have been putting in the wells. They will do a hard close on 292nd Street in the construction zone mid next week and no one will be able to get through. They will put up "Road Closed Thru Traffic" signs on 290th and Cynthia Path so trucks cannot go through those streets. We asked if we can have deputies to patrol the roads more and stop those vehicles that don't belong on those roads. The roads will be closed for approximately one month and then it will turn back to gravel before being paved. The fire department is getting daily text messages so they are aware of the what is happening with the construction. They have been taking to the post office personnel regarding mail boxes on the route for the roads that will be closed. They can put up temporary boxes if they want them.
We discussed 290th street and the condition it is currently in More traffic is flowing on this street and the potholes are terrible. We could mill the road and grade it but it will need to graded continuously. Matt will find out how much it will cost to maintain it. We could patch it but they probably won't last. Jake has 4 -5 bags of fill which will probably take care of one pothole. It was indicated that Dawson is the next road to be worked on and then it will go right on 290th street but left is not scheduled until next summer. Matt can talk to the contractor to see if it could be moved up but after Dawson, the next area will be the other side of the tracks on 292nd as they want to get the areas down that need have to have the dewatering done so that those areas can all be completed and the dewatering completed. We could mill it and put down grave fine limestone and pack it or just get a price to fix it. Matt is going to look at options and get back to us. Jake will use up the bags he has to fill in holes. Also we should look at the cost of putting in a layer of blacktop.
Old Business
The way the website is currently set up is through Jake's personal email. The system wants a base email to go through so it would be easier to go through the city email. Whoever runs the website would need access to the city email. We should change it so it does go through the city email but noted that anyone else should not be deleting any emails on the city site.
Council Reports
Marie noted that the hydrants will be flushed starting on Monday and it has been posted and it should be put on the Facebook page. Once the hydrants are flushed he will shut off the aerator on the tower.
The senior class project is not until May 15th so if we have anything for them to do. Paint picnic tables. Clean up the flower beds in the park. We will get some pots with flowers in them to put at the park.
Some street signs will need to be replaced.
We will address having one garbage service come into town once our sewer project is completed and roads are repaved.
Marie is meeting a contractor at City Hall to look at the restrooms and discuss what needs to be done to bring them up to ADA compliant. We need to know how much it will cost and then look at getting a grant.
Clerk Haro noted that we received the 2023 Drinking Water Report so if anyone would like a copy to let her know. We will post it on the website.
It was noted that the tractor parade is scheduled for Friday, April 12th.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Friedrich, seconded by Carlock, the meeting was adjourned at 8:06 p.m. All voting in favor, none opposed, motion passed 5:0.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Haro
