City Commission Finance Meeting
Valley City, North Dakota
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
2:30 PM
Called to Order
President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 2:30 PM.
Roll Call
Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Bishop, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Erickson, Commissioner Gulmon.
Other present: City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Finance Director Klein, Chief Horner, Administrative Assistant Hintz
Agenda Items
Add 3 Items to the Agenda.:
Discuss buyout/lease options for 2018 Loader and Backhoe.
Discuss Single Family Home Buyer Assistance Program
Discuss allowing Chickens in City Limits
Commissioner Bishop moved to approve, seconded by Commissioner Magnuson.
Motion passed unanimously.
Review Monthly Bills/Reports. Finance Director Klein reviewed the monthly bills and reports.
Review Quarterly Engineer Report. Finance Director Klein and Engineer Peterson discussed the report and how the projects are separated.
Discuss Loading & Unloading Parking for Businesses on Central. City Administrator Crawford shared an email received regarding a Loading/Unloading Zone for a business on Central. Much discussion was had on the best locations possible, times frames, signage and the current parking situation. The consensus was to educate and possibly add signage to the building.
An update on Water Tower Project was given by Engineer Peterson and Engineer Eslinger discussed the Water Tower Project and where they are at in the project. They will be starting the environmental part shortly with a bench study and then incorporate Geo Technical work into it and then coming up with a base plan. They do not feel that they will have any new updates for a few months. Plans are ready for bid this fall. Commissioner Bishop asked for an update on the leak. Both Engineers reported that they are currently working on the funding.
Discussion of Love’s Access Drainage continues. They have been working on ideas and do have some rough estimates on possible fixes. A background with Love’s and the original plan for the build was that it included plans for the water flow but due to a gas line were not able to be completed. A concern with fixing the water flow is the cost and who will pay for it. Another concern is traffic flow during the project as well as currently. The consensus is to look into fixing the whole area and not just small fixes.
Department Reports
Department Spotlight – Street Department – Part 1
Sanitation Department Supervisor Swart reported that the Transfer Station will be open Saturdays starting May 3rd. Clean Up week was determined and will be held May 19th – 23rd. You can start setting your items out for pickup after your garbage day the week of the 12th. Yearly Tree branch pickup will be the 29th and 30th.
Electrical Department Electrical Superintendent Senf and his team finished cleaning up at the Winter Show and are now working on the 3Phase project, waiting for an answer on the permit from CP Rail.
Fire Department Fire Chief Magnuson reported calls were down for the month but have been busy as of late. They are getting caught up on the fire extinguishers with the help of a couple local students. He is watching a couple blighted homes and has seen improvements on a few that were already notified.
Police Department Police Chief Horner shared that his Team had 639 Calls in the past month. They have been busy with Compliance Checks; Peer Support and the Taser 10s are out and deployed.
Street Department Operations Supervisor Klemisch’s Team has been busy filling potholes and will be starting crack sealing and flushing hydrants. If you see a pothole, please report it to Public Works so that it can be taken care of. Klemisch also gave an update on the dirt being removed from the new Service Center Site out to the Transfer Station for “farming”. Currently there are three PW1 openings in the Department and it was decided to hire one PW2 and one PW1 instead hoping for some applicants at this new level.
City Administer Crawford shared that the City will be posting for RFQs for a Tree Trimmer, Yard Mowing Service and an Appraiser. The Tree Trimmer and Mowing Service will be used when the City is not able to take care of it. The bill for the service will go to the property owner. Discussion was also had on the “Depot Road’. This road is in need of repair but it is not the City’s road it is privately owned.
Agenda Items Continued
Discuss Public Safety Issues of Viking Trailer Court. Discussion was had on the roads in Viking Trailer Court. This is a hazard as Emergency Vehicles would not be able to drive through. David Wick is working on getting this taken care of. Much of the water has been removed. Some road work has been started to alleviate the problem.
Discuss buyout/lease options for 2018 Loader and Backhoe. Operations Supervisor Klemisch’s shared that the lease is up and the new lease rate would be a substantial increase. The buyout purchase price was given and determined that was the better route to take. The consensus was to move forward with the buyout. This will be added to the Commission meeting for a vote.
Discuss Single-Family Home Buyer Assistance Program. Attorney Martineck brought up discussion on the proposed Single-Family Home Buyer Assistance Program that the VCBC Development Corporation provided. There are a few issues that need to be discussed prior to moving forward. Under City, it stated Manufactured Homes and that is a very broad description. It must state it very clearly what kind of homes are wanted or not. Another would be the “Buy-Back Clause” and how that would work. The current intent is to issue a mortgage on the home. Another would be, if that happens, would the City get their percentage back? Finally, how will it work in the Renaissance Zone. Finally, what about the Electrical Temp Meter fee.
Discuss allowing Chickens in City Limits. Due to time constraints, this item will be moved to the May 20th Finance Meeting.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 4:55PM.