Geneva city council

The City of Geneva met in a regular session on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Steve Bailey at 6:30 p.m. at the Geneva Community Center. Present were Council members Phillips, Wayne, Bartsch and Worrell. Clerk Tufte, Treasurer Mattson, City Engineer Bienfang and Maintenance Jim Beenken were also in attendance. There were seven guests.   

 

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

 

Phillips/Wayne moved to approve the Minutes and Agenda from previous meeting held February 13, 2024. Motion carried.

 

Beenken reported that Minnesota Rural Water had indicated that, due to lack of snow and ice after treating the lagoons for sludge last year, they would prefer to wait until next winter to test again. Beenken also indicated he would be flushing hydrants again as there have been reports of yellow water throughout town again.

 

Fire Chief Boswell was attending a township meeting, so was not present for a report. Mayor Bailey did indicate, however, that the Fire Department has had 20 calls already this year.    

 

Tufte shared that she has not received any response to job opportunities at the Geneva Pool for Lifeguard, Manager or Swim Instructor and it was decided that, if we aren’t fully staffed by April 1, we will be closing the pool this year. Beenken further stated that the water levels at the pool were such that we probably couldn’t open the pool anyway unless we received significant rain over the next couple of months.

 

Tufte reported that the City of Geneva just held the PNP Election the previous week and had only 86 voters. She is fully staffed for Judges for the upcoming Elections in August and November.

 

Danny and Lori Rosenthal were in attendance to request a fence at their property. They have discussed the location and style/size of the fence with their neighbors as well as Beenken and will call Gopher One for location before starting. It was decided that no permit was needed and Rosenthal’s had gone through the proper steps of placing the fence.

 

Troy Anderson was present to request a building permit for a storage garage at his home to be built by Nash Petranek. After review of the plans, motion by Worrell/Wayne to approve the building permit. Motion carried.

 

Matt and Stacy Kubiatowicz were next called upon to request a building permit to build a screen porch and patio on the back of their home. After review of their plans, motion by Bartsch/Worrell to approve the building permit. Motion carried.

 

Engineer Bienfang updated the Council as to the results of the recent televising/cleaning of Sanitary Sewer and Storm Water by Empire Pipe in the downtown area. Bienfang presented the Council with maps of the locations that were televised and color coded to show the various ratings of the pipes. It was noted that the Storm Sewer had one poor pipe near the intersection of downtown and one fair pipe near the intersection as well, with all others in overall good condition. With the proposed Sidewalk project coming up, it was recommended that these pipes be reconstructed during that project.

 

Bienfang then went on to share that there were several areas of the Sanitary Sewer lines that had deformed pipes, cracks and holes that will all need evaluation. He will be providing recommendations for repairs in the near future.

 

Beinfang finally shared that the Lead Service Mandate grant has been secured and Bolton & Menk will be supporting the City to provide the required community outreach, observations and inspections and ultimately provide the inventory to the State. The completion date of this project is October 2024. Motion by Phillips/Worrell to approve the application through ESRI to be handled by Bolton & Menk. Motion carrried.

 

City-wide clean-up and rummage sales were slated for June 1. Bartsch has secured two large dumpsters, which will be at the City shop from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. No electronics or chemicals/paint are accepted.

 

Motion by Worrell/Phillips to approve the Geneva Bar & Grill and George’s of Geneva liquor licenses for another year. Motion carried.

 

Motion by Wayne/Worrell to split the recent grant received from the State of Minnesota for Public Safety between the Geneva Fire Department and the Ellendale Ambulance in the amount of $11,115.00 each. Motion carried.

 

The Farm Animal Ordinance is still pending our hiring of an Animal Control Officer. There is an interest in the position, but details are being firmed up with that individual. It is hopeful that we will have the Ordinance updated and a legal process in place by the next meeting, so the Council can start the process of removing farm animals from the City limits. Complaints are starting to come in about rodents in or near the properties that have chickens, ducks, roosters.   

 

Motion by Phillips/Bartsch to approve the Financial Report as presented by Mattson. Motion carried.

 

Motion by Phillips/Wayne to approve the Bills Payable. Motion carried.

 

Motion by Worrell/Wayne to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried.