Slayton City Council met on Monday, July 19th. All council members were in attendance and the meeting was called to order. The agenda and minutes from the July 7th meeting were approved, as were the claims presented. They set the budget workshop for August. For pending items, City Administrator Josh Malchow presented an update on the soil contamination at the Golden Living Center site. From 1965-1986 an 8000-gal fuel tank had been buried next to the building. It was removed. A leak site investigation never happened. Now, in 2021, with different boring samples that have been done for the new project they found some contamination in the area. It is required to get two quotes for the contamination to be investigated and removed. Malchow did explain that 90% of the cost will be covered by the State.
The first item of new business was the Fulda/Slayton Police agreement. It was originally set up with a position that was 70% Slayton coverage and 30% Fulda coverage. As scheduling and staffing has changed Fulda is not getting a full 30% of the individual’s time. The question being asked is does the Council expect Fulda to pay for 30% if they aren’t getting the coverage. A motion was made and approved to only charge Fulda for the time they are using the position at this time until staffing issues have been corrected.
Marty Seifert, with Flaherty & Hood was present to give the Council an update on what the Coalition of Greater MN Cities is doing for Slayton. He reviewed the results of the legislative session and pointed out areas they will continue to work on in the future. Similar to past years, they didn’t get everything thing they were asking for but continue to make positive strides for small rural cities.
The Council next approved the hiring of Luke Radke as a “seasonal/temp parks employee”, for insurance purposes. Radke’s Pyrotechnic Operators License does not cover liability insurance when he does the fireworks during the fair in August. By adding him to the Cities payroll he will then be covered by the City of Slayton’s insurance for the event. They also approved the wine license for Painted Prairie for the Murray County Fair.
The next item of business was an update from Mitch and Matt Pallansch with MN Signature Care and the GLC property. Building plans have been approved and they will get bids this week. In the process of analyzing the site it was discovered that the southwest corner has a layer of silt and sits higher. This means they would need to either bring in huge loads of dirt before building or move the location of the building north slightly. With moving the building, they are requesting to purchase the additional parcel of land for the market value of $15,000. The Council discussed this and both Malchow and Councilmember Kate Harmsen agreed that if this is what it takes to move forward with this project, then it’s the right thing to do. They approved this request. Mitch thanked the Council for their time and the agreement of the land purchase.
The next item of business for the evening was a request by Lutheran Social Services. They are requesting to lease the Slayton Senior Center to be able to cook their lunch meals. They no longer have leases in Tracy or Balaton and are looking for a new location. LSS has announced that by the middle of August they will re-establish in person meals to the public. The Council discussed the monthly cost, equipment replacement/repair options, as well as how much the space gets used currently. It was agreed that this was a good thing to happen to Slayton and Malchow will reach out to LSS to let them know. He will bring official contracts at the next Council meeting.
Lastly, the Council accepted the low bid from WCEC for the site investigation of the soil contamination. They will be able to do this on Thursday July 22nd. Malchow will keep the Council updated on the progress.
With no other business the meeting was adjourned. The next City Council meeting is August 2nd.
