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City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes October 15, 2024 2 Councilmember Lindner shared that he had reached out to the City of Vadnais Heights a little over a month ago to see if Vadnais Heights would consider taking on Gem Lake for fire services. Vadnais Heights response to the inquiry was that they would need to purchase additional equipment to take on Gem Lake and that Vadnais Heights does not even have its own ambulance service. A couple weeks later Councilmember Lindner heard back from Vadnais Heights again letting him know that the topic of taking on Gem Lake for fire services was discussed at a recent City Council meeting and the Council was not in favor of adding contract cities at this time. Council Pay Discussion The Council revisited the ongoing discussion of possibly increasing the pay rate for the Gem Lake City Council members. City Treasurer Tom Kelly reminded the Council that pay scale changes can only be made in election years, and because it is an election year the Council would have the authority to make a change. Councilmember Cacioppo was asked to do some more research on the topic at the September 17 meeting, but did not have a lot of luck finding information to help make the decision easier to make. There is not consistent data out there that could be found to help calculate the pay rate of Councilmembers. Councilmember Johnson stated that it has been a decade since this topic was discussed and he feels that there should be a 25% increase to Councilmember and Mayor pay per month. This would change the rate to $125.00 per month for Councilmembers and $250.00 per month for the mayor. The Council discussed this suggestion and found it to be fair and agreed that the topic should be revisited at least every four (4) years. Councilmember Johnson introduced a motion to increase the monthly payment to the Gem Lake City Council by 25%, seconded by Councilmember Lindner. Motion carried 5-0. 2025 Utility Rate Discussion City Treasurer Tom Kelly presented his suggested utility rate changes for 2025. The rates for the City of Vadnais Heights are based on current 2024 rates plus an 8% rate increase. The City of Vadnais Heights increased rates from 2023 to 2024 8%, which is why he is suggesting increasing rates 8% for 2025. Also, the City of Vadnais Heights lowered the meter (base) fee to reflect the actual meter size and started subtracting the irrigation meter usage from sewer usage in their bills to the City of Gem Lake. These changes are allowing the City of Gem Lake to lower the charges for water and sewer to those customers serviced by Vadnais Height. While the rates from those that receive water from Vadnais Heights are going down, those that receive water from White Bear Lake are going up. For both the base rate charge is lowered. New Business Archery Deer Hunting Application 1270 Goose Lake Road A permit request for a hunt on private property located at 1270 Goose Lake Road was received. The requested dates of the hunt will be October 25 – 27 and November 8 - 10. The hunting party consists of 5 hunters, all of which have obtained their Bow Hunters Certification and a MN DNR Hunting License. Deer stand locations were given and consent of neighbors is not needed due to distance from property line. Councilmember Lindner introduced a motion to approve the Archery Deer Hunting application at 5 Daniels Farm Road, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Motion carried 5-0. Resolution #2024-0025 – Ramsey County Municipal Concurring (CSAH Designation) Ramsey County owns and operates over 290 miles of roadway. County Roads are classified as either County State Aid Highways or County Roads. Funding comes from various sources; a large source of funding comes from the gas tax that gets deposited in the County State Aid Highway Fund account. These funds can only be used on County State Aid Highways (CSAH). There are several variables that determine the amount of money that is allocated to each roadway, sometimes referred to as “needs”.