2021 11-16 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting Minutes November 16, 2021 4 | Page contingency, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes. The quote with a 10% contingency is approved. Actuator Replacement The heating valve for the bathrooms is stuck open and needs to be replaced. A quote was sent to the City Clerk in the amount of $1,372.00. Based on the quote, the cost excludes engineering, code upgrades or modifications required by the authority having jurisdiction, and overtime labor. Councilmember Lindner made a motion to accept the quote with a 25% contingency, seconded by Councilmember Cacioppo. Voice vote taken, all voted yes, motion passes. The quote with a 25% contingency is approved. Updates on all Other Building Repair and Improvement Projects Councilmember Lindner has been collecting all the Xcel Energy Bills and created a spreadsheet that has shown him that are usage is lower compared to last year, but the charge compared to last year is more expensive. Parking lot lights have been completed. The new desk space has been completed, but Councilmember Lindner is reaching out to the company to see if the gap in the back above the cabinets can be filled in with countertop. The flag lights were not working, the lights were replaced and they are now functional. There was a “tree” growing along the side of the building which was taken care of. City Attorney Patrick Kelly brought up grants that may be available for the City to use, Councilmember Lindner is going to look into those. Internal Management Update City Council Clerk Training The City Clerk has almost completed a full year in the position and will have completed all tasks that usually come up throughout the year. City Council/Planning Commission Training Manual Mayor Artig-Swomley stated that she would like to create a training binder containing documents available that can be given to the Planning Commission and City Council and new members that come in. A manual is being worked on to be available for this. Health Insurance Stipend Concept Councilmember Johnson did some research and spoke with surrounding cities and an individual from the League of MN Cities (LMC). Councilmember Johnson is asking for help in figuring out a way to get an insurance stipend for the one employee of the City. The issue that has come up is that the stipend cannot be untaxed and will have to be part of the taxed income for the employee. Councilmember Amlee has volunteered to help look into a reasonable amount that could be given for insurance and will make a recommendation at the December City Council Meeting. This will result in the employee getting a pay increase to accommodate for the cost of insurance This would not be intended to be a merit raise, which would be dealt with separately. Public Works and White Bear Township City Treasurer Tom Kelly collected the information on the amount of money we spend on all the outsourcing contractors. A meeting will be held on Friday November 19, 2021 to start the conversation about the Township taking over all those responsibilities. It will end up costing a little more, but would be worth having everything being taken care of in one place.