by April Scheinoha
Reporter
The Thief River Falls City Council took care of some beginning of the year business at its meeting Wednesday, Jan. 2.
Assistant City Attorney Nate Haase administered the oath of office to Mayor Brian Holmer, and council members Curt Howe (Ward 1), Mike Lorenson (Ward 3) and Steve Narverud (council member at large). Ward 5 council member Rachel Prudhomme, who was absent from the meeting, was administered the oath of office at a later date.
All five had been elected in November. Lorenson had been administered the oath of office shortly after the election to fill out the remainder of Josh Hagen’s term. Hagen had resigned from the council in July.
City Council approved City Council committee assignments for calendar year 2019:
• Utilities Committee – Holmer, Lorenson, council member Don Sollom and Prudhomme
• Public Safety/Liquor Committee – Narverud, council member Jason Aarestad, Prudhomme and Lorenson
• Public Works Committee – Narverud, Howe, Sollom and council member Jerald Brown
• Administrative Services Committee – Brown, Holmer, Howe and Aarestad
• Budget/Finance Committee (ad hoc) – Holmer, Brown and Prudhomme
• Personnel/Labor Committee (ad hoc) – Holmer, Brown and Howe
• Long Range Planning/Annexation (ad hoc) – Holmer, Sollom and Narverud
The council approved the appointment of Brown as acting mayor in the absence of Holmer for calendar year 2019.
As part of its consent agenda, the council approved a memorandum of understanding with Teamsters Local 320 Public Works regarding its union contract. Approval was contingent on the withdrawal of a grievance related to this issue, and the city attorney reviewing and approving the agreement.
Under the agreement, the city will pay a shift differential of $1 per hour for hours worked after 5 p.m. and before 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and any regular hours worked on a Saturday or Sunday, including overtime. “Hours worked which are compensated as overtime pursuant to Section 17.1 shall not receive a shift differential.”
City Council received an update on the first snow emergency declared in the city. Holmer declared a snow emergency for Thursday, Dec. 27 after hearing National Weather Service predictions and consulting with Public Works Director Mark Borseth, who was on vacation at the time. Additional staff were able to help remove snow since garbage pickup was cancelled that day. Residents were encouraged to park off of city roadways at that time.
“All in all, I think a lot of the city got plowed curb to curb,” Holmer said.
Borseth said city leaders plan to finalize the snow emergency policy, use what they have learned after the first declaration and determine how the city wishes to relay snow emergencies to the public in the future.
The council approved an application for gambling at The Hive Bar & Grill. The Thief River Falls Amateur Hockey Association sought the premises permit application for an additional gambling site.