Monday evening’s Clear Lake City Council meeting was dominated by a variety of motions pertaining to the Clear Lake Fire Department.
Council took unanimous action (member Chad Nelson abstained as he is a firefighter) to move to a quarterly payroll system utilizing direct deposit, to distribute credit cards for the fire chief and one assistant chief (a card for the other assistant is being researched), and to have the CLFD Relief Association join PERA, the State of MN retirement system.
The firefighter annual retirement benefit was also approved at a level to not exceed $3,800 (this requires a vote of the membership of the relief association). Assistant Chief Matt Lunser presented the most recent audit of the relief funding mechanism, which showed that it will still maintain a healthy cushion even with the increase. Mayor Tim Goenner opined that maybe the increase will entice more new recruits for the department, which is approved for an additional dozen or so new firefighters to be fully staffed.
Parking
Council has been studying the parking situation on Church Street, noting that if cars are parked on both sides, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles may have a hard time transversing the roadway.
A possible solution of have no parking on the east side of the street drew opposition from several citizens in attendance at the meeting. It was noted that most mailboxes are on the opposite side of the street and if parking is allowed there, no mail will be delivered. Mayor Goenner asked about the idea of widening the street, and again the residents balked at that solution.
In the end, Goenner volunteered to speak with the postmaster to see if two mailboxes could be moved across the street and then perhaps the west side could be the no parking zone.
He will report back to council next month (the September meeting was moved to September 3 due to the Labor Day holiday) and council will consider the ordinance change.
In Other Business, the Council:
• Accepted donations from Travelers Country Club, the Clear Lake Lions and LDG Drywall for the Fire Department;
• Learned that the job offer for the Public Works Director position is still being considered by the preferred candidate;
• Discussed appointing a sub-committee to look at the fire contract between the city and both Clear Lake and Palmer Townships to ensure it is supported by all;
• Heard from Sgt. Kevin Grams about last month’s 49 calls for service from the SCSO. Goenner asked for additional patrols for speeding, as the Monticello bridge project has meant much more traffic routing through the city. He also noted a motorcycle that is far surpassing the posted speed limit most mornings at around 6:30 a.m.;
• Heard the monthly Fire Department report from Chief Ron Koren;
• Listened to a presentation from Matt Eggert from Heartland Security about costs for a camera system and access card security installation which would help secure city properties. Council took the issue under advisement.
