[0:00] [laughter] Go ahead.

[0:03] » Okay, let's call the Pipes City Council meeting for February 17th to order,

[0:08] please. Could I have a roll call? >> Mayor Delaney

[0:11] » here. >> Council member Schmidt

[0:13] » here. >> Council member Thompson

[0:15] » here. >> Council member Swanson.

[0:18] » Council member Colbec >> here.

[0:19] » We have a quorum. >> Thank you. If you're able, please rise

[0:22] for our pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[0:27] United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation

[0:32] under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[0:41] Approval of the agenda. Is there any additions, changes, or deletions to our

[0:46] agenda?

[0:50] I have none. Hearing none, I'd entertain a motion to

[0:55] approve the agenda as presented. >> Some move.

[0:57] » Second. >> Moved and seconded. Any discussion?

[1:01] All in favor indicate by saying I. >> I. All oppose say no. And motion

[1:06] carries. the consent agenda that contains the February 2nd, 2026 special

[1:12] meeting minutes, the February 2nd, 2026 regular meeting minutes, the payment of

[1:18] claims, a list of bills, and the January 2026 financial report. I'd entertain a

[1:24] motion to approve the consent agenda. >> I move we approve the consent.

[1:29] » I'll second that. >> Moved and seconded. Any questions,

[1:32] discussion? >> Hearing none, all in favor say I.

[1:36] » I. All oppose say no and motion carries.

[1:42] Community concerns is next. Do we have anyone signed in for community concerns?

[1:46] There is >> no one signed in.

[1:48] » Okay. All right. We'll move on to legal. That's ordinance number 1714 series and

[1:53] that was introduced at our last meeting and that is up for a motion to approve

[1:59] the uh amendments to that ordinance. That's regarding the administration of

[2:04] city staff. And we'll have to have a roll call for

[2:08] that roll call vote. >> Do we have make a motion?

[2:11] » Right. So I'd entertain a motion to uh approve ordinance 1714 series.

[2:17] » So move second. >> Moved and seconded. Is there any

[2:21] discussion, questions, comments? And what we're doing is we're we're changing

[2:26] we're updating that ordinance and uh giving the uh city administrator some

[2:34] authority there to work with and also updating the uh personnel committee

[2:42] making sure that's part of it too. Correct.

[2:44] » Correct. >> Yep. So, okay.

[2:48] Go ahead with your roll call. >> All right. Mayor Delaney,

[2:51] » I will vote in favor of that. Yes. Okay. Council member Schmidt.

[2:54] » Yes. >> Council member Thompson.

[2:56] » Yes. >> Council member Colbec.

[2:58] » Yes. >> All right. Motion passed.

[3:00] » And that is a 2/3 majority. So that carries.

[3:04] » Okay. Engineering. Travis. Do you have

[3:08] anything for engineering? I don't have anything on the agenda. So

[3:12] » no. Hoping to know sometime in the near future when the safe routes to school

[3:15] project will start, but with the fluctuations in temps, uh, we don't have

[3:19] a start date yet. >> Okay.

[3:21] » So hopefully soon. Yeah. Yeah, that would be great to get that going.

[3:26] New business, community concern response and Donna Morris is on the agenda. Is

[3:31] Donna here today? >> I do not see her.

[3:33] » Okay. So, a question came up through uh Donna about uh a uh overdue bill

[3:42] on her uh rental property and the balance was 54466.

[3:51] Um yeah, Donna's uh um take on it was that she had notified the city to uh

[3:59] stop um to actually turn the water off on her renter, but her renter had an

[4:06] agreement with the city and uh was making payments or had an agreement to

[4:13] make payments. And so then it's the city policy not to turn the water off when

[4:18] there is an attempt to to pay those payments even though they're late. Um

[4:26] the last thing you want to do is shut someone's water off. I mean you got to

[4:29] but we can't have bad debts either and we can't just allow people not to pay

[4:33] their bills. And so anyway, we've um changed that a little bit recently.

[4:41] Stephanie was instrumental in getting uh we need to have actually a landlord

[4:46] needs to come in and sign uh paperwork stating they want that

[4:51] water turned off if they have an agreement. And and uh we try to work

[4:56] with landlords and some landlords want to have the utility bills in their name

[5:02] so they have total control and some landlords don't want to have anything to

[5:06] do with it. they want the uh the tenant to take care of that bill and uh we try

[5:12] to work as a city both ways. Well, this particular instance did not

[5:16] work out well for Donna because there is $54466

[5:21] left unpaid. And uh

[5:26] since she isn't here to speak for herself, I'm just giving you the

[5:31] quick layown on how it turned out that she did have an issue.

[5:36] So what's the council's wishes? What do we need to do to resolve this dilemma?

[5:42] We have uh changed our policies here where we require the landlord to come in

[5:49] and uh sign. If uh worst case scenario, no one pays this, it will go back to the

[5:57] uh taxes on the property. So the landlord would be responsible anyway.

[6:03] And uh that's where we're at. So [clears throat]

[6:07] any comments from the council?

[6:11] » I could just see >> you know that somehow the city should

[6:15] keep the um the owner um

[6:22] of of what situation is going on. So they know, you know, that this is what's

[6:28] happening. If it don't get paid, it's it's going to revert back to them. And I

[6:33] and uh I know as they had payment that [snorts] they

[6:39] were like a month behind every time I think or something like that. I mean

[6:43] they were trying to make payments >> you know and like you said that's that's

[6:46] kind of a health health risk to shut somebody's water off. That's

[6:51] » Yeah. >> But at the same time it's a

[6:54] responsibility of the the owner also. Well, I don't know if it's a lack of

[6:59] communication between the owner and the render also that kind of got to the

[7:04] point where it did, but I I don't know what the fix would be. Just

[7:10] more communication between the owner and the renter and the the city of Pipstone.

[7:15] » Yeah. And I think we're doing our share where we do have a specific specific

[7:21] form available now. and and uh my take is you you know originally it's a

[7:28] landlord tenant agreement. Well, we aren't involved with it at all. It's a

[7:34] landlord tenant thing. And if it works out well, that landlord doesn't come in

[7:39] and share the profits with the city. And if it doesn't work out well,

[7:46] why should the city be responsible? And when I say the city, what I mean is

[7:51] everyone, all the taxpayers. Why should they be responsible for an agreement

[7:58] that a private parties had made and it didn't turn out well?

[8:03] It didn't follow through. So, I guess uh you know, I would follow staff's

[8:09] recommendation and uh at this point, I think we're doing

[8:14] things correctly. it's for information at this time to the council and unless

[8:19] you want to see something change differently

[8:23] um let us know but I think we've got a good system in place and

[8:28] continue to operate the way we are operating

[8:31] » with regards to this bill we do still send um that past renter and Donna a

[8:38] notice every month trying to collect on that amount just it is city code that if

[8:45] If nobody pays on it come um October, we'll send them notice that we're going

[8:51] to assess it to the property. So >> So they will know that.

[8:58] » Yeah. >> Does it have to wait that long

[9:03] » to assess taxes? Yeah. >> And I'm sure we're obligated. There's

[9:06] statutes, I'm sure, that we need to follow. And uh it's just like you just

[9:11] can't someone's a day late on a bill, you can't shut their water off. Boom.

[9:16] You know, you have to give them the 30-day notice. And

[9:20] » yeah. Yeah. We can't send notice of past due until they're 30 days.

[9:24] » Okay. >> So then that's the first notice. And

[9:27] then what's the next step after that? So once they get that notice, they'll have

[9:33] um 15 20 days to either come in, pay off what they owe um that's past due or make

[9:41] a payment arrangement with us, or they might pay part of it and make payment

[9:45] arrangement for the rest. Um and at that point, we'll we'll try to work with them

[9:50] on the bill. >> Okay?

[9:51] » But if it doesn't if they don't pay it, you know, that's when they get shut off.

[9:57] » Okay? where this situation it just happened to be they were past due and

[10:02] then they moved out so they had extra on top of that. So that's why it got to be

[10:08] $500 and >> and just because of the way we have to

[10:13] follow procedure you can get behind by a month and a half two months quite

[10:18] quickly and there we go with the bill. So

[10:22] » I see Donna has just entered the room. Donna, do you have any comments? We're

[10:27] talking about your uh issue with the city and the water bill.

[10:37] Would you like to would you have any comments for the council?

[10:42] » Well, yeah. I don't think it's fair. >> If you want to come up to the podium and

[10:46] talk directly to the council, we certainly give you that opportunity.

[10:53] » I don't believe that. Yeah. Okay. Well,

[10:57] » I like I said, I called down there and I asked them to shut it off and this

[11:04] is before I even knew this there was a policy. I could have came down and

[11:08] signed a sheet of paper saying shut it off. I was not informed of that.

[11:13] » Well, I don't think we had that policy at that time, Donna. This is something

[11:17] that we've tightened up just recently and and uh so yeah, it wasn't a good

[11:23] system, but it was the only system we had. And

[11:29] it boils down to like I said earlier before you came in, this is an agreement

[11:33] with two private parties, yourself and your tenant. And we kind of get put in

[11:39] the middle as a city with providing utilities. But the taxpayers, the city

[11:45] of Pipstone should not be responsible for an agreement between two private

[11:51] parties that goes sour. >> An agreement between them and you.

[11:56] » Well, you were the one that rented them the property.

[12:00] » Where's the [clears throat] deposit? >> You rented them the property. Correct.

[12:03] So, you are the beginning of the agreement. and they knew that we were

[12:08] trying to get them out of there, but they would not answer their phone. They

[12:10] would not respond to anything. >> I know it's a

[12:14] » cops were in there and they were supposed to go back and they never did.

[12:18] » Okay. So, the deposit I'm assuming the city has.

[12:21] » Yep. That was credited back to the bill >> and that covers how much?

[12:26] » That was $120.99 that was returned back on the bill.

[12:31] » Okay. Okay. So, I'm going to ask you, Donna, what is

[12:37] your opinion on what is fair for the taxpayers of the citizens of Pipstone

[12:42] and your dilemma that you have here with the bill of $54,446?

[12:52] » I believe about halfway, too. >> You're saying halfway?

[12:59] Are you saying you're responsible for 50% of it only?

[13:05] » Like I said, I I tried to get it shut off.

[13:08] » Yeah. Well, I think in any situation where in my experience anyway, where

[13:14] there is a conflict, where there is something where someone is injured or

[13:20] whatever, it's never 100% someone's fault. And and so I'm glad to hear that

[13:25] you're saying that uh yes, I'm 50% responsible. I don't think the city's

[13:30] 50% responsible though. But uh I could see where if it was something like an

[13:36] 8020 split if you were interested in that. That's maybe something the council

[13:42] might be interested in. >> Even notify them where they move to.

[13:46] » Yeah. Well, that wasn't hard to >> about that either,

[13:49] » right? Well, we can't because they're under a different scenario totally where

[13:54] they don't have utility bills in their name. So, we can't do anything with

[13:58] that. But to me, I think if we can collect on

[14:03] a bad debt, and this is something that needs to be collected, we're not a bank.

[14:08] There's three banks in this community if you need to their use. But I I think

[14:12] that uh this should be paid off and if we could come up with some type of an

[14:16] agreement of an 8020 split where uh you're responsible for 80% of it and the

[14:23] city's responsible for 20% of it because at that time there wasn't the system

[14:29] that we have now. And uh yeah, information got uh missed or something

[14:35] because when you said you wanted it turned off that should have been turned

[14:39] off in my eyes. But when you have people that are paying,

[14:45] that's a tenant. >> Come on now, Dan.

[14:48] » Well, I think in we're already at two months by the time you got notices. And

[14:53] two months, you can have $150, $300 worth of bills real fast. So, I I'm

[15:00] I'm just guessing that because I don't know what the water use was, but the

[15:06] final numbers were 54466.

[15:12] And uh if you're interested in paying the city of that

[15:19] 80% of that, I think that would be acceptable to me. But I want to leave

[15:24] it's up to the entire council. So, >> I don't know. I mean, I'd be willing to

[15:30] negotiate, but I don't know if we can make that decision tonight. Can we?

[15:33] » Why not? It's

[15:36] » on the agenda. It's >> That's what we're here for to make

[15:40] decisions. >> I'm just asking if if we can, you know.

[15:44] » Yeah, >> we will. And if we can, you know,

[15:49] » I have a question on your new policy. When there are 30 days delinquent, you

[15:54] send a note out. Does it go to just the renter or does it go to the homeowner,

[15:58] too? >> It goes to both.

[16:00] » Okay. >> And that's why Donna, I think, called in

[16:03] was because she got that notice as well. Yeah.

[16:06] » And [clears throat] I believe the reason why we told her we wouldn't turn it off

[16:10] was one because they had an agreement in place

[16:12] » and they were keeping to that agreement. They were making those payments on time

[16:16] that they had promised to pay at that time. Um, the second reason was because

[16:21] we've had property owners call in before wanting us to turn off renters and we

[16:26] have. Well, then that $35 on $35 off fee gets put on the renters's bill and

[16:33] that's not really fair for the renter to have to pay that fee. So, that's why we

[16:37] never had, you know, we just didn't do it. Yeah.

[16:41] » But then we came up with the idea if they they want to take the

[16:46] responsibility of turning the water off, they need to come in, they need to sign

[16:50] accepting that responsibility and pay that $70 fee so that that doesn't become

[16:56] an additional burden on the renter. >> Okay.

[17:00] Well, yeah, it's it's not an easy scenario, and I understand where you're

[17:05] coming from, Donna, when you try to make an agreement with someone and then they

[17:09] don't follow through. And any business, [snorts] um, you can't just take bad

[17:14] debts after bad debts. You can't take 100% loss. I think any businessman would

[17:19] agree to that. But if you could collect 80% of your bad debts, I think that's a

[17:24] reasonable offer. And uh I would make that motion that we would but I would

[17:31] expect you to pay that 80% um right away. We're not going to go 30

[17:37] 60 90 days down the road. >> You got to give me a little

[17:42] » I would like to see the bill get put into Donna's name permanently if

[17:46] possible. We're

[17:48] » now on it. So >> they're going to have to pay their own

[17:52] deposit now. Do you go after them?

[17:56] » Well, it's not our job to go after, you know, your scenario that turns out to be

[18:04] bad, but I can I can certainly understand and I appreciate a landlord

[18:09] because we need landlords. We need people people need places to rent and

[18:14] and uh but there is a risk there and sometimes there's profits and sometimes

[18:18] there's loss in any business and and so um yeah so I would move that uh we uh

[18:26] reduce the bill by 20% and payable in 30 days.

[18:33] Is that acceptable to you Donna? >> Okay.

[18:38] I'd entertain a second on that motion. >> I'll second that then if she's accepting

[18:44] that. Any questions, comments?

[18:52] Hearing none. All in favor indicate by saying I.

[18:55] » All post say no. And motion carries. >> Well, thank you, Donna, and good luck.

[19:03] » Can I have a final amount right now then so it doesn't change again? 435.73.

[19:18] All right.

[19:23] [snorts] We'll move on to request for council

[19:27] action on disc golf upgrades at West View Park request. And uh we'll have

[19:32] some guests present. So I understand we have some guests present. And if you'd

[19:36] like to come up to the podium and uh introduce yourself, tell us where you

[19:41] live. Just for the record and uh tell us what you got in mind.

[19:48] » Little pipe stone here. >> Bruce Zler. Awesome pipe stone here.

[19:53] » Yeah. So we were we play out there on the course out

[19:58] there a lot and we do see some people out there. Um, and we've noticed, you

[20:04] know, they it could take use some upgrades out there and some better

[20:08] signage and we came up with this proposal

[20:12] um that returned in there. I don't know how many of you guys seen it, but um

[20:16] » Yes, we did. >> Yeah. And

[20:21] we feel they could bring a lot more people to

[20:25] the town here. Uh if they knew that there's a course

[20:30] here for one and it being updated a little better and the signage better out

[20:36] there. >> The course as is. There's certain parts

[20:38] that are kind of just run down too. And just overall I think it makes the park

[20:41] look better. >> Okay.

[20:43] » Fix it up. Well, just what I can remember of that course, I believe it

[20:47] was in the mid90s that uh we had an individual come in

[20:52] that was very interested in disc golf and uh through uh our park and

[20:57] recreation department at that time, they were able to put together um a nice

[21:02] course out there. But to my knowledge, and I'm not on park and recck commission

[21:07] anymore, but I don't remember anybody talking about any upgrades to that in

[21:13] probably the last uh 35 years then.

[21:18] » Just last year. [laughter] >> Yeah, just last year.

[21:21] » And so maybe it's due to be upgraded a little bit. I certainly like your idea

[21:26] of promoting it because yeah, we want people to know what we have available

[21:31] and we've got some wonderful parks in our community and there's a lot of

[21:35] different recreation available in our community and this is just one of them

[21:40] and uh we want to make sure people know it.

[21:42] » Yeah. >> So, yeah, great idea. Um, as far as

[21:46] updating it, there are some grants available and uh um Pete would be the

[21:52] guy to talk to as far as uh upgrading and I think we can direct him. He's our

[21:59] park and recreations director and uh see if we can't get this going for you, get

[22:06] it updated. So, >> I have one question if I can. When

[22:10] you're talking about course maps, are you talking like printed maps that'd be

[22:13] like at the chamber or are you talking like online maps that that people would

[22:18] be able to find online on the city's website? I just see that was one of the

[22:22] line items. So the map we're talking is it'd be a course map that would be out

[22:27] at the park >> like at the start of the park. Yeah.

[22:31] » And then also on every teapad to the hole there'd be a sign

[22:36] » kind of like a golf course going to the next green or the next

[22:40] » Okay. I've never played. So that's why >> that's why I was wondering if you know

[22:46] be something where like up at the chamber conference you know say hey we

[22:50] got this you know people are asking what can we do around town or maybe at the

[22:53] motel or something like that. >> You know we want to the A's are very

[22:58] interested in you know us get some tournaments set up as well

[23:02] with us. >> Yeah that would be great. I think in the

[23:07] long run tournament out there with the with the disc golf they'd be serving you

[23:12] know have their concessions open and they want to bring more attention to

[23:16] their team as well. So, uh, >> these these courses,

[23:21] um, these signs for each hole or and at the beginning, you know, out the

[23:28] country club, there's a a sign there for Pipstone Publishing for hole number four

[23:35] or whatever. Would there be people willing to

[23:41] » sponsor a hole? >> Well, it's possible. We haven't asked

[23:45] anyone yet. It is definitely possible. >> Well, let's uh let's here's my take on

[23:52] it. Let's turn it over to our park and recreations director. Sounds like the

[23:57] council's behind upgrading it. it's due and uh let him apply for some grants and

[24:03] see what's available cuz if we can get grants for something like this and it

[24:07] sounds like he's got some ideas that uh it's possible

[24:11] » and we'll get it updated and there won't be an expense to the taxpayers and we'll

[24:16] have a nice facility for everyone to use. Yeah.

[24:19] » And I like that idea of having cuz you know when you go to a golf course the

[24:23] first thing you want to do is look and see well how is this set up? Okay, this

[24:27] is what I need to be doing. And you don't have signs like that out there.

[24:30] How do you know? You just look and >> signs, but a lot of them are missing

[24:35] now. >> Really? Okay.

[24:38] » 30 years. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, it's time to update. So,

[24:41] well, thanks for bringing it to our attention

[24:43] » and uh we'll get to work on it. >> On a couple websites, too,

[24:48] » so that's where we actually started noticing there's problems with the

[24:51] courses. the the websites that the normal players go to, they would they

[24:54] would notice what you were just talking about where you couldn't figure out

[24:56] where the next thing is or what not. So, >> that's so we we'd update the stuff on

[25:01] the other websites, too. But basically, you know,

[25:04] » well, coordinate with Stephanie and uh >> for the city website.

[25:09] » Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> And we'll go from there.

[25:11] » Okay. >> Thank you, gentlemen. Appreciate it.

[25:14] » Thank you. >> Do we need to Let's see.

[25:17] » Do we need to have a motion on that upgrade?

[25:20] Um, I don't believe so. Not at this time.

[25:25] » Okay. All right. Okay. Next up is resolution 2026-11.

[25:32] And this is a resolution regarding the applicant for authorization for

[25:37] exemption from the lawful gambling license. And it would be for the Pipone

[25:42] Sportsman's Club to hold a raffle on May 8th at the Pipes National Armory. And

[25:47] this is something we've done in the past. So, I would recommend uh we move

[25:51] ahead with this. >> I move we uh do resolution 2026-11.

[25:56] » Second. >> Moved and seconded. Any questions,

[25:59] comments? Hearing none, all in favor indicate by saying I.

[26:02] » I. All post say no. And motion carries. Resolution 2026-12.

[26:10] And this resolution is approving the summary publication of ordinance 1714

[26:15] series that was approved earlier this evening. and simply put it's uh costs

[26:20] too much to to publish the entire ordinance and so we do abbreviated

[26:25] version. We've done that in the past and it's legal to do that. So entertain a

[26:30] motion. >> So moved.

[26:31] » Second. >> Moved and seconded. Any questions?

[26:34] All in favor indicate by saying I. >> I. All oppose say no. Motion carries.

[26:41] Approval of our 1, five, and 10year city plan. and we've met uh in January and

[26:46] February and had our planning discussions, came up with a good plan.

[26:51] Um I was very pleased with the council and how we uh met most of our one-year

[26:57] uh plans in 2025 and so we've got 2026 ahead of us and uh we've got some good

[27:04] goals that have been drafted and I I think uh hopefully we can get through

[27:10] those just like we did in 2025. entertain a motion to approve the 1,

[27:14] five, and 10year city plan. So moved, >> second moved and seconded. Any

[27:19] questions, comments? Hearing none. All in favor indicate by saying I. I.

[27:24] » I. All oppose say no. And motion carries. The ework gymnasium floor. And

[27:29] we've known that that's been kind of an issue for a while. And uh we've had some

[27:35] uh rough estimates on replacement of that

[27:39] floor. And I guess we need to uh give direction

[27:43] to the recck department and our again our recreation director um Robert

[27:49] Peterson to see what the council's wishes are in this. So

[27:55] » I I would move that he would um move to get a

[28:05] new estimates on what a new floor would do.

[28:09] » Yeah.

[28:12] It looks like what they'd like to do is have council approval

[28:17] for and then a planning session with the park and wreck commission and probably

[28:23] Stephanie and uh Pete and and uh come up with a plan and then come back to us

[28:30] with uh what type of floor they want to put in

[28:35] there. With that, I know if you want to add

[28:39] that to your final your motion, I would approve that then with that with that

[28:46] verbage added to it. >> I would move that please to use the the

[28:52] rec board to do a planning session and bring it to

[28:57] council. >> Yeah. give them authority to uh research

[29:00] it, find out what floors are available, what they cost, come back to the council

[29:05] for final approval, and you second to that. Roger.

[29:07] » Yes. >> Okay. Any other questions, comments?

[29:12] All in favor indicate by saying I. >> I. All oppose say no. Motion carries.

[29:17] » Haywatha Pageant Park Trail and uh recently the city received federal land

[29:22] access program. It's a flap grant they call it for construction of phase one of

[29:27] the Hayawa Pageant Trail project that is being coordinated with the National Park

[29:31] Service. And uh we do have a updated map here that shows um

[29:40] where that trail is proposed to be. And the Hayawa Pageant Park Commission

[29:49] definitely needs to be a part of this discussion. And uh this is a trail that

[29:54] will take off from Hayawa, North Hayawa Avenue and go to the uh

[30:01] west and connect in with a trail that's going to be um at the Pipeso National

[30:07] Monument and then also go back down to the south and west and go through the

[30:14] pageant park area. So this is preliminary. Um the exact uh route will

[30:21] be discussed with the pageant park and uh the council and uh I hope we can move

[30:27] ahead on that because I I think it's a win-win for everyone. It updates the

[30:32] park a little bit and it helps with the national monument being a good neighbor

[30:35] there and uh I think it's going to be a wonderful recreational area for it

[30:41] enhances the recreational area for the citizens of the pipstone.

[30:46] So, we would need a motion. Um, it this was not a budgeted expense,

[30:52] but we have to have an environmental review and a land survey by our

[30:57] engineer. And then Travis, correct me if I'm wrong. Um, that's estimated cost is

[31:02] about $100,000 for that and then additional 15,000 for an environmental

[31:08] review study too. Or was that 15,000 for the entire trail system? That would be

[31:13] the additional um cost to do the entire trail out to play more curves which

[31:19] would in so that would include the future phases. It's going through the

[31:23] same paperwork just expanding the the research area. So it's it it's a pretty

[31:29] small increase to to do that extra that would open us up for better positioning

[31:35] for grants down the road too. >> Yeah, I I think that's a good idea. And

[31:40] I failed to mention this, but this flap grant is for 9 and what 8

[31:45] » I think 989 >> 894

[31:49] » very very close to a million dollars. So we're very fortunate to to be able to

[31:54] get this flap grant and uh yeah, we have put a little skin in the game here with

[31:59] engineering fees, but I think in the long run it's going to be well worth it.

[32:04] Okay, for clarification, the 100,000 is just to go through the Padet Park.

[32:13] » And for the additional 15,000, you're going to add that all going west. And

[32:19] how about this? >> Um, going south.

[32:23] » Um, yeah, that we can get clearance on I'll say the whole thing there.

[32:30] That ties in the proposed veterans memorial area, too.

[32:34] » That's just what I'm at. Yeah, I didn't I didn't word that way, but I guess I

[32:38] showed him on the map. >> The biggest area of concern is when over

[32:42] here by where it it goes west of the park. That's where some perceived

[32:47] wetlands could be at. So, it's it's going to be more field work.

[32:51] » Okay. So, >> Okay. Yeah. And eventually this would

[32:55] all tie in with the uh park around or the trail around Indian Lakes that comes

[33:00] back around through uh Minnesota West area and uh really connects everything

[33:05] up nicely. So >> yeah. Okay. Well, I'd entertain a motion

[33:10] then.

[33:14] » Okay. One other question.

[33:17] » Yeah. >> The 100,000 I mean it's not budgeted.

[33:21] Where where are we going to find that I guess or where is that coming from?

[33:25] » So my recommendation would be to take it from reserve funds out of either the

[33:30] general fund or the liquor store fund. So if there's any leftover in the street

[33:36] budget, we can utilize that that money. But any that we might need, we probably

[33:42] come from general fund. >> So basically it's about 10% of a project

[33:47] that we're paying for. Yeah. >> Yep.

[33:52] » And I I mean when we talked about it through the planning session, that was

[33:55] one of the council's high priority was try to try to keep continue and get that

[34:00] trail done. So >> and the and the schedule for it, it's

[34:04] this year go through the environmental paperwork and get that clearance and

[34:09] then, you know, proceed. We'll actually be looking at some other grant

[34:13] opportunities this fall to try to expand on it. Um, design will be next year and

[34:17] then construction in 2028. >> Is there a possibility that we could get

[34:21] some of that back on? >> I think Well, I'm going to say probably

[34:27] not. >> Probably not on this front,

[34:30] » but I'm hoping that we can expand on it and uh, you know, make this make this a

[34:36] more complete trail project using some state funds. State funds partner well

[34:41] with federal funds. So, >> Okay.

[34:46] Yeah, I I'd hate to see money come out of the street department at all, but uh

[34:52] um the profits from the liquor store have always funded community

[34:56] development. >> Sure.

[34:57] » And I I know there's a limit >> and uh and this is a large amount of

[35:04] money, but 10 cents on the dollar, I think that's a bargain for what we're

[35:09] getting. So, >> because if we don't do it, we aren't

[35:12] going to be able to continue with the flap grant.

[35:14] » Correct. We lose that. We give that away.

[35:17] » Right. >> And once you give a grant away, it makes

[35:21] it more difficult to get those types of grants again, I'm assuming, because a

[35:27] lot of time and effort went into getting that grant.

[35:31] Yeah, that was a good partnership with Justin,

[35:34] um, city staff, myself, um, the National Park Service helped out. So, it was a

[35:41] joint application. Um, I think that partnership is what's going to continue

[35:46] to make this a good project to keep getting more grant funds as we go

[35:50] forward. >> Okay. And let's make sure that uh um

[35:55] representatives from the highwa pageant park commission are also involved with

[36:00] this. >> Yep.

[36:02] » Good. Okay. All right. Okay. >> I'll make a motion to approve the

[36:07] » I'll second >> motion on the floor. It has been

[36:10] seconded. Any other questions, discussion?

[36:12] » It's for the 115,000. >> Yes.

[36:15] » Okay. >> For the 115. I'll clarify that. Okay.

[36:18] » All right. Thank you. All in favor indicate by saying I.

[36:23] » I. >> I.

[36:24] » All oppose say no. And motion carries.

[36:30] Next up is the city hall roof. And we've been talking about that for quite some

[36:34] time too. But uh yeah, this building has some issues and uh there hasn't been any

[36:40] updates to it. Um, I'm I'm assuming this building was put together in the '60s,

[36:47] probably late60s, and uh, it definitely needs some roof

[36:53] issues, needs some updates on windows. It's something we talked about in our

[36:58] planning session. And uh this would be the first step is to uh

[37:06] have city council or city staff I should say um get some estimates together and

[37:12] see what's available, see what we can do with this building. Maybe we'll find out

[37:16] that we can't do much with it. And maybe we'll find out we can. We don't know

[37:21] till you start looking at it. But we do have funding available. Um, we have

[37:25] 52,000 set aside for a roof on this and then another 39,000 was set up for

[37:32] replacement of carpeting and flooring in the building that could almost be used

[37:36] for it, too. But um [clears throat] those are all steps that we would get to

[37:41] once we find out what we're talking about because we need to have this

[37:45] building looked at with a architect or engineer or something and uh address

[37:51] what it needs and and the costs and then go from there, make a decision. So

[37:58] I'd entertain a motion to have staff move ahead with the that project. So

[38:03] moved. >> Second.

[38:05] » Moved and seconded. Any other questions, comments?

[38:09] Hearing none, all in favor by saying I. >> I.

[38:12] » All oppose say no. And motion carries. We need to consider an amendment to our

[38:18] personnel policy and with approval of ordinance 1714 series. The personnel

[38:23] committee is requesting amendments be made to the uh city council the city

[38:30] personnel policy with regards to employee evaluations.

[38:34] And in addition to a personnel committee is recommending changes be made to the

[38:38] city's vehicle use policy and leave acrruel policy. Um city administration

[38:45] is also requesting the addition of language in the policy to address remote

[38:50] work. The policy amendments have been provided to the council in your packet.

[38:55] And if you have any questions on those or I'd entertain a motion. We did we

[39:00] discussed this with uh um the personnel committee and three department heads and

[39:04] I'll bet we talked for 2 and 1/2 hours on what we could do to make things work

[39:09] a little better and a little easier and uh I think Stephanie's come up with some

[39:13] great ideas and the department heads also have and so uh I I would like to

[39:19] see us move ahead with this. One thing I did want to mention, um, back late 2023,

[39:25] the council did make a motion to stop having city employees take home vehicles

[39:31] that lived outside of the city, city limits. Um, through our discussion with

[39:36] personnel policy, um, we had talked felt that it would be adequate to leave that

[39:43] decision up to the department head and myself. Um and basically if a department

[39:50] head felt that um their their staff person needed to take it home due to

[39:56] being on call, they could do that. So within this new policy or the amendments

[40:02] in this policy, it does state that um that it's up to the department head and

[40:09] city administrator to decide if it's okay. And if if they do decide it's

[40:14] okay, that has to be within the city uh or the zone county limits. So,

[40:22] » not response time within the county. >> Not response time. Um

[40:27] » they have we left it within >> they have to live within the county if

[40:30] they're going to take it home. >> Correct.

[40:32] » Okay. >> Yeah.

[40:35] And when you start talking about on call and expecting people to respond, you

[40:40] know, to on call scenarios on their uh what would be their time off, um I I

[40:48] think it's fair to have uh use of that vehicle that they have during their work

[40:53] hours also. So to me to me it's not unreasonable.

[40:58] And uh one thing I learned with these discussions is that uh you know we have

[41:03] staff that are monitoring city utilities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Um these

[41:13] pump stations and they have to be checked every day and that's 365 a year.

[41:21] And uh yeah, just imagine if one of those pump stations failed and nobody

[41:26] knew about it for a couple of days and you walk down in your basement and find

[41:30] a nice little surprise. Uh nobody would want to have that in their home. So the

[41:36] the staff um that we have is very dedicated and uh we've got some very

[41:42] well experienced department heads and this is their recommendation and uh so I

[41:47] I'm in favor of it. I I think it's a good idea.

[41:52] So, I'd entertain a motion to approve this amendment.

[41:55] » I approve this amendment. >> Second.

[41:58] » Any other questions, comments? Hearing none, all in favor indicate by saying I.

[42:03] » I. All post say no. And motion carries. That brings us to closing comments. Does

[42:10] anybody have any closing comments? >> Yes, I do.

[42:12] » Okay. Verdine Lipstone Area School has started a mentor program

[42:18] and it's helped some of the students out there and they could use some more uh

[42:24] individuals stepping up to they said they have a lot of lot of students that

[42:29] still need to be paired up with somebody. So, if you have a half hour

[42:35] time during the week, you can dedicate uh go out and check with uh Principal

[42:41] Ortman and she can fill you in on exactly what the program is about.

[42:46] » Um I'm doing it myself and I'm learning

[42:50] more than I think the kid is. >> What age group are the kids?

[42:56] » Well, mine is uh eighth grader. Okay. I think most of them are middle school.

[43:01] All right. Okay. >> But

[43:04] principal can tell you more about that than I can.

[43:07] » Yeah. >> Yeah. Good way to spend your time.

[43:10] » Yeah. >> Helping kids.

[43:12] » Nothing wrong with that. >> You said that was President Hortman.

[43:17] » Yeah. >> Principal Hortman.

[43:18] » Principal. >> Yep. Any other closing comments? Thank

[43:22] you, Verdine. Since we won't have another council

[43:26] meeting before the ambulance chili feed, that's next Saturday, February 28th. So,

[43:32] » okay. >> What time you start?

[43:33] » We start at 4:30 and run until 7:00. >> And that's drive-thru only again.

[43:39] » Drive through only at the ambulance building. Yeah.

[43:41] » And that's chili and >> chicken noodle soup.

[43:44] » The best. >> Yes.

[43:45] » The best chicken noodle you can get. Okay.

[43:48] » Yours truly. So, >> okay. [laughter]

[43:50] All right. Okay. Any other closing comments? If if

[43:54] none I would entertain a motion for adjournment.

[43:57] » I so move. >> So second.

[43:59] » Moved and seconded. All in favor indicate by saying I.

[44:02] » I. All post say no. And motion pairings.

Pipestone City Council Meeting 2.17.2026

Transcript