Alice Pickering
Wyoming Area Reporter

Wyoming City Council on Feb. 6 voted to accept the resignation of Tom Miller from his position as city attorney.

There was brief discussion about his letter of resignation before the vote accepting it. Council member Gary Menne asked about the issues.

Mattson explained there are differences of opinion in the way legal business is conducted. Miller is a “more of a hands-on attorney than I am used to dealing with,” Mattson said.

Miller was scheduled to be away from the city and attorney Travis Stottler represented the firm at the Feb. 6 meeting. Mayor Sheldon Anderson thanked Miller for his professionalism over his 12 years of service to the city.

Stottler conveyed Miller’s comments that it has been an honor to serve the city and that the firm would assist in orderly transition. The vote to accept the resignation was 5-0.

Water assessment

The city’s storm water assessment is to stay in place, at least for the immediate future. At the last council meeting, staff had been directed to research the history of the storm water utility fee in the city and how the city has used the funds.

Menne wanted to know how much money from the storm water fund had been spent.

City Engineer Mark Erichson said the ordinance was established in 1997 to begin a fund for construction, repair, and other improvements of infrastructure to control storm water in the city. It applies to any improvements to help the city comply with current guidelines on water quality.

The basis for assessing fees is that those who generate more storm water pay a larger fee. In Wyoming, the charge is $2 a quarter per household.

Erichson said repair of a culvert under 270th was repaired with some of these funds. He said the yet-to-be-completed storm water plan could be paid for with money from this account.

While a storm water plan has been discussed, it has not yet been completed. Erichson believes it is better to wait for resolution of the annexation question before completing a comprehensive plan.

Menne proposed suspending collection of the storm water assessment until something specific is to be built or repaired. “We’ve done nothing with it,” he said. His said the city is taxing people for this assessment but doing nothing with the money.

Mattson said the city has to look at the land in relation to storm water assessment. The balance in the account is $197,000. That amount would barely scratch the surface for solving some of the city’s storm water problems. Anderson said the city has to look at problems that need to be fixed and use the money for that.

Council member Tom LaBarre said he had spoken with Neil Gatzow who was mayor in 1996. A study of the cost to fix the run-off problems of Fenwick Ave. at that time was estimated to cost about $500,000. LaBarre thought the cost would probably be much higher now.

Mattson recommended continuing with the storm water assessment, not discontinuing it as Menne suggested. The city is always able to make adjustments in fees after the storm water study. The vote was 4-1, with Menne against the motion.

Police business

Council authorized the police department to allow officer Trent Strandberg to use a city squad car as a take-home vehicle. Acting Police Chief Scott Dexter recommended the action.

Strandberg, a member of the Chisago County Emergency Tactical Team, must have tactical gear with him because of his on-call status. Dexter said the gear is cumbersome and heavy to transfer repeatedly.

Squad 202 would be assigned for this purpose. It has the most mileage and its lease is up this year. Strandberg would keep the squad locked, inside his garage and the department would have access to it.

Mattson told the council that leases on two of the police squads are up in the fall. The city may buy the one with the lower mileage. LaBarre requested documentation of mileage on the car.

The vote approving the take-home car was 5-0.

City banking

Council passed a resolution approving The River Bank and Smith-Barney as official depositories for city funds.

First State Bank of Wyoming remains the city’s official depository. There may be opportunities to invest with the other companies.

Mattson told the council that while the city may not have funds invested now, if the opportunity comes up, the banks have to be designated ahead of time.

LATV will tape

Council approved authorizing Forest Lake Cable Commission (LATV) to broadcast the regular meetings of the Wyoming City Council.

The offer has come up before, but the trade-off was the request for payment of the city’s cable franchise fee.

Council member Blake Tiedeman supported the action but wanted a copy of each meeting for city archives, possibly for broadcast later. The proposal is to bring in a camera, set-up, and shoot, at no cost to the city.

Approval was given for the broadcast, providing the franchise fee the city gets for allowing cable to be laid in the city, not be jeopardized. LaBarre agreed.

Mattson also supported the move. The cable company is also available to film other city meetings, at a cost of $40 apiece.

Utility bills

Thirty-eight city residents had their overdue storm water utility bills certified for collection with 2007 taxes, along with their water and sewer bills.

Ted Phillips, a former councilman, had asked if storm water utilities had been included.

Clerk Sandy Berry said all parts of the delinquent bills had been certified to be collected. She said she was not told to take them (storm water utility bills) off.

Berry said the total amount was about $39,000. Menne had paid his water and sewer bill, but storm assessment in the amount of $2183, remains to be paid.

Other business

In other business, the council:

•Scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m., Feb. 20, before the regular meeting, to discuss the pay equity plan.

•Learned there was no additional information about the status of the city-township merger and the legal action that is taking place.

•By unanimous vote, approved the consent agenda. This includes approval of professional reports from the attorney, engineer, police chief, building inspector and maintenance supervisor.

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