Loading records…
2023-09-27
Packet
Not posted
The supporting materials council reviewed.
One-line summary
At its September 27, 2023 work session, the Nowthen City Council discussed staffing, resident complaint logistics, fire department matters, agenda explanations, and recycling center operations, and approved several recycling center and fee changes.
10 items as recorded in the packet and minutes.
A1Call to Order
Call to order, Pledge of Allegiance, roll call, and approve agenda.
The minutes record the call to order and attendance but do not record a separate vote approving the agenda.
A2Discussion regarding the 2024 Budget Questions
Discussion regarding the 2024 Budget Questions.
The minutes do not record a separate vote on budget questions, but they note that fees had been discussed during budget work sessions.
A3Discussion regarding staff recommendations for immediate fee schedule changes
Discussion regarding staff recommendations for immediate fee schedule changes.
The council approved immediate increases to the liquor license fee and selected recycling center fees.
A4Discussion regarding business use of the recycling center
Discussion regarding business use of the recycling center, including appointments with recycling staff to bring in large amounts of cardboard and tires.
The minutes do not record a separate action on business use of the recycling center or appointments for large cardboard and tire loads.
A5Discussion on reducing recycling center hours
Discussion on reducing recycling center hours and other options for recycling attendants, including cleaning the fire station and historic town hall.
The council approved interim reduced recycling center hours and directed the administrator to explore additional ways to use recycling staff.
A6Full-Time Administrative Assistant Position Update
Full-Time Administrative Assistant Position Update.
The minutes record a motion to post the administrative assistant position, but the motion text is cut off and no vote result is recorded in the provided minutes.
A7Part-Time Project Manager Position Update
Part-Time Project Manager Position Update.
The minutes report that Genevieve Hirschboeck accepted the temporary project manager position; no vote is recorded for this item.
A8Full-Time Public Works Position
Full-Time Public Works Position - offer to current seasonal employee.
The council directed staff to gather information to prepare an offer of full-time employment to Isaac Schulz.
A9Administrator Update
Administrator Update.
Under the administrator update, the council approved adding explanations to agendas beginning with the October 10 meeting agenda and discussed several updates without separate votes.
A10Adjourn
Adjourn.
A motion to adjourn was made and the meeting adjourned at 8:37 pm.
What this meeting did about specific topics, organized by issue rather than by document.
Sam Corns resident complaint meeting
The council discussed Mr. Sam Corns’ request for a meeting with the full council after contacts with city officials and staff. The minutes say a meeting would involve a $500 request fee and additional subcontractor costs, including Planner Stockman’s $250 meeting cost, and that Council Member Fladebo would inform Mr. Corns of the October 16, 2023 available date and ask him to submit documentation for a meeting packet.
Agenda: A9. Speakers: Mr. Sam Corns, Council Member Breyen, Council Member Fladebo, Mayor Pilon, Administrator Lehner, Planner Stockman.
Agenda explanations for residents
The council discussed making agendas clearer for residents by explaining public forum and consent agenda items. It approved adding appropriate explanations to agendas beginning with the October 10 meeting agenda.
Agenda: A9. Motions: M1. Speakers: Mayor Pilon, Council Member Fladebo, Rainville.
Full-time administrative assistant hiring
Staff reported temporary front-counter staffing limits and asked to post the full-time administrative assistant position while holding any offer until the personnel policy was updated. A motion to post the position was recorded, but the minutes cut off the motion and do not record a vote result.
Agenda: A6. Motions: M2. Speakers: Administrator Lehner, Council Member Fladebo, Rainville.
Temporary project manager position
The project manager update reported that Genevieve Hirschboeck accepted the temporary project manager position and would start on October 3, 2023 at 10:00 a.m.
Agenda: A7. Speakers: Genevieve Hirschboeck.
Full-time employment offer for Isaac Schulz
The council discussed moving toward a full-time position for seasonal employee and on-call firefighter Isaac Schulz. It approved directing staff to solicit information to put together a full-time employment offer for him.
Agenda: A8. Motions: M3. Speakers: Administrator Lehner, Council Member Rainville, Fladebo, Isaac Schulz.
Recycling center oil tank and winter hours
The council discussed recycling center improvements, usage logs, staffing, and winter hours. It approved moving the oil tank outside with fencing as directed by the administrator, and approved interim hours beginning October 1, 2023: Tuesday and Thursday closing at 5:00 p.m. and Saturday hours of 9:00 to 12:00 until more concrete winter hours are set.
Agenda: A5. Motions: M4, M5. Speakers: Administrator Lehner, Mayor Pilon, Rainville, Fladebo.
Immediate fee schedule changes
The council considered immediate fee changes because the city could not continue subsidizing the recycling center and because the liquor license fee was lower than surrounding cities. It approved increasing the liquor license fee from $1,500.00 to $2,500 for the next renewal period and approved new recycling fees for regular car tires, semi tires, and large appliances while leaving counter appliances at $10.00; mattress fee research was assigned to Council Member Rainville.
Agenda: A2, A3. Motions: M6, M7. Speakers: Mayor Pilon, Rainville, Fladebo, Council Member Rainville.
Fire department contract and firefighter application
The administrator reported that he would meet with the City Administrator of St. Francis the following week to finalize the fire department contract. The fire department also had received an application from an Oak Grove firefighter who lives in Nowthen and has 23 years of experience.
Agenda: A9. Speakers: Administrator Lehner.
Personnel policy update
The administrator was to work with Council Member Breyen on updating the personnel policy to include new legislation.
Agenda: A9. Speakers: Administrator Lehner, Council Member Breyen.
Closed session on allegations
City Attorney Ruppe announced a closed session under Minn. Stat. 13D.05 Subd. (b) for preliminary consideration of allegations against individuals subject to the council’s authority. The council returned to open session at 5:55 p.m.
Agenda: A9. Speakers: City Attorney Ruppe.
8 motions on the record. Split votes are highlighted.
M1MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER FLADEBO, SECONDED BY RAINVILLE TO ADD APPROPRIATE EXPLANATIONS ON AGENDAS BEGINNING WITH THE OCTOBER 10TH MEETING AGENDA.
moved by Council Member Fladebo, seconded by Rainville
3 AYES
M2MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER FLADEBO, SECONDED BY RAINVILLE TO DIRECT STAFF TO POST THE ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT POSITON ON THE LEAGUE OF MN CITIES, CITY WEBSITE, AND CITY BULLETIN BOARD, BUT NO OFFICIAL OFFERS TO RECOMMENDED CANIDATE UNTIL THE MAIN POINTS IN THE PERSONNEL
moved by Council Member Fladebo, seconded by Rainville
M3MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER RAINVILLE, SECONDED BY FLADEBO TO DIRECT STAFF TO SOLICIT INFORMATION TO PUT TOGETHER AN OFFER OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT TO ISAAC SCHULZ.
moved by Council Member Rainville, seconded by Fladebo
3 AYES
M4MOTION BY RAINVILLE, SECONDED BY FLADEBO TO DIRECT STAFF TO REMOVE THE OIL TANK FROM THE INSIDE OF THE RECYCLING BUILDING AND RELOCATE IT OUTSIDE BETWEEN THE OLD MAINTENANCE GARAGE AND HISTORIC TOWN HALL. STAFF DIRECTED TO INSTALL FENCING (to match MBI fencing) AS DIRECTED BY ADMINISTRATOR LEHNER.
moved by Rainville, seconded by Fladebo
3 AYES
M5MOTION BY MAYOR PILON, SECONDED BY RAINVILLE TO CHANGE THE CLOSING HOURS ON TUESDAY AND THURSDAY TO 5:00 P.M. AND HOURS ON SATURDAY 9:00-12:00 BEGINNING OCTOBER 1ST, 2023 UNTIL MORE CONCRETE WINTER HOURS CAN BE SET.
moved by Mayor Pilon, seconded by Rainville
3 AYES
M6MOTION BY MAYOR PILON, SECONDED BY RAINVILLE TO INCREASE THE LIQUOR LICENSE FEE FROM $1,500.00 TO $2,500 FOR THE NEXT LICENSE RENEWAL PERIOD.
moved by Mayor Pilon, seconded by Rainville
3 AYES
M7MOTION BY RAINVILLE, SECONDED BY FLADEBO TO INCREASE FEES TO RECYCLE REGULAR CAR TIRES TO $5.00, SEMI TIRES TO $15, LARGE APPLIANCES (DEFINED AS REFRIGERATORS, STOVES, DISHWASHERS, WASHERS, DRYERS, AND WATER HEATERS) TO $20 - COUNTER APPLIANCES TO REMAIN $10.00.
moved by Rainville, seconded by Fladebo
3 AYES
M8MOTION BY RAINVILLE, SECONDED BY FLADEBO TO ADJOURN.
moved by Rainville, seconded by Fladebo
Each figure links back to the document it came from. When the council voted on the amount, the motion is shown.
F1
Fee to request a meeting with council and subcontractors.
fee · Resident complaint meeting request fee
$500
inflow
Council approval status: not yet on record.
F2
Planner Stockman receives $250 for attending meetings.
contract · Planner Stockman meeting attendance cost
$250
outflow
Council approval status: not yet on record.
F3
Existing liquor license fee before the approved increase for the next renewal period.
license · Liquor license fee before increase
$1,500
inflow
F4
Approved liquor license fee for the next license renewal period.
license · Liquor license fee for next renewal period
$2,500
inflow
F5
Approved fee to recycle regular car tires.
fee · Regular car tire recycling fee
$5
inflow
F6
Approved fee to recycle semi tires.
fee · Semi tire recycling fee
$15
inflow
F7
Approved fee for large appliances, defined in the motion as refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, washers, dryers, and water heaters.
fee · Large appliance recycling fee
$20
inflow
F8
Counter appliance fee remained at $10.00.
fee · Counter appliance recycling fee
$10
inflow
When someone tried to remember earlier business, we cross-reference the corpus and write a short related-history note.
The council has never had so much detailed information with requests in the past and what staff is doing has been a huge improvement.
What this is about
Prior council experience with RCA forms and background information for work sessions.
The records I searched do not contain a prior council decision specifically matching this recollection about RCA forms or the amount of background information provided to council for work sessions. There is a partial topical match in records about how the City handles requests for background information on land-use matters: the October 28, 2025 Planning and Zoning packet and the March 10, 2026 packet both include language about providing an initial consultation for property owners or applicants and balancing that service with staff and consultant costs. Those records relate to public/applicant information requests, not to council RCA forms or work-session packet practices, and no formal council vote on RCA/work-session background materials is shown in the search results provided.
It has been discussed multiple times to remove the oil container from inside the building and make it accessible outdoors.
What this is about
Prior discussions about relocating the recycling center oil container.
The records I searched do not contain a prior discussion or decision matching the recollection about relocating the recycling center oil container from inside the building to an outdoor accessible location. The search results returned unrelated items, including subdivision conditions, cannabis and tire-service permit conditions, and septic review materials from 2025–2026, but nothing about the recycling center oil container or a vote/action to move it outdoors.
Fees have been discussed multiple times during the budget work sessions as the city cannot continue to subsidize the Recycling Center.
What this is about
Prior budget work session discussions about recycling center fees and city subsidies.
The records searched show related Recycling Center funding and fee actions, but they do not include the actual prior budget work session discussions referenced in the cue. In the materials for the March 10, 2026 meeting, staff reported that the City Council had previously approved Resolution 2025-102, establishing an annual ongoing City subsidy of $15,972 for the Recycling Center. Those same March 10, 2026 materials also reported fee-related changes: Resolution 2025-78 changed tire recycling vendors, which allowed the city to reduce the resident fee for typical car tires by $0.50 and adjust other tire fees; Resolution 2025-77 changed fluorescent bulb recycling vendors to lower the city’s costs. So the records do support that the city had been addressing Recycling Center costs, fees, and subsidies, but the search results do not show the specific “multiple budget work session” discussions or a recorded vote from those work sessions.
<!-- PageBreak --> <!-- PageNumber="17" --> DECISION: Based on the foregoing information and applicable ordinances, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommends approval of the Minor Subdivision subj
<!-- PageBreak --> <!-- PageNumber="32" --> Option A: The cul-de-sac can be installed in substantial compliance with the Approved Plans and an easement acceptable to the City Attorney recorded prior t
<!-- PageBreak --> <!-- PageNumber="326" --> 1\. The City regularly receives inquiries from property owners, real estate professionals, developers and proposed purchasers ("Requesting Parties" or each
<!-- PageBreak --> <!-- PageNumber="174" --> <!-- PageHeader="BERGLUND, BAUMGARTNER & GLASER, LLC" --> to draft and edit legal documents, negotiate offers, and support trial preparation highlights his
<!-- PageBreak --> <!-- PageNumber="176" --> <!-- PageHeader="BERGLUND, BAUMGARTNER & GLASER, LLC" --> Jackie Bernu has extensive knowledge in criminal law and has worked as a Paralegal since 2012. Pr
Every document and recording archived for this meeting.
The structured brief on this page is auto-generated and may need correction. The PDFs and the meeting recording remain the official record.