The Thief River Falls City Council handled various organizational matters and other business Tuesday, Jan. 6. Pictured are (front row) City Attorney Paul Ihle; Ken Schmalz, council member at large who is serving as vice mayor this year; Mayor Brian Holmer; City Administrator Larry Kruse; (back row) Council Members Curt Howe, Ward 1; Don Sollom, Ward 2; Josh Hagen, Ward 3; Jerald Brown, Ward 4; Rachel Prudhomme, Ward 5; and Steve Narverud, council member at large.

by April Scheinoha
Reporter

    The Thief River Falls City Council signed an agreement that may lead to the construction of five new single-family homes in the city. The site hasn’t yet been determined. The agreement was approved at the council meeting Tuesday, Jan. 6.
    The city has been awarded $112,635 in grant funds, $75,000 in deferred loans and $862,635 in 2 percent interim loan funds for homes serving a population at 115 percent of the area median income. The Minnesota Housing Finance Agency is providing the funding.
    The five homes would be part of a pilot project facilitated by the Thief River Falls Housing Task Force. The organization is working with the Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation. MMCDC has built several housing developments in the city, including one development south of Challenger Elementary School.
    City Administrator Larry Kruse said MMCDC hasn’t yet agreed to the project but is interested. He said he doesn’t believe the funding would put the city at risk.
    As part of two separate motions, the council approved resolutions pertaining to two proposed multi-use trails.
    The council approved applying for a Safe Routes to School Grant to complete a multi-use trail from Eastwood Drive to Evergreen Street and from Evergreen Street to an existing school district trail near CES. A crosswalk would also be created at the intersection of Pennington Avenue and Evergreen Street with push-button LED crosswalk signs. As part of that project, LED radar feedback school zone speed signs would be installed along Spruce Avenue near Franklin Middle School.
    The project is estimated to cost $286,000. If approved, the grant would cover about $185,000. This is the third time that the city has applied for the grant.
    The council also approved   applying for a Transportation Alternative Program grant to construct a multi-use trail from the Eighth Street bridge to the Multi-Events Center softball complex.
    This trail is estimated to cost $365,000. If approved, the grant would cover about $244,000. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has agreed to cover $106,000 of the project if the project were completed with MnDOT’s reconstruction of Highway 1 from Highway 32 to the Eighth Street bridge in 2017.
    Council Member Curt Howe asked about three legal bills paid to Ihle & Sparby.
    The bills were classified by last names. One bill for $2,368 was classified with former Police Chief Kim Murphy’s name. Another bill for $1,128.50 was classified as Kuznia/Mattson, presumably referring to Sheriff Ray Kuznia and Deputy Police Chief Craig Mattson. A third bill for $795.50 was classified as Bassett/Williams, presumably referring to Officer Ryan Bassett and Sgt. Doug Williams.
    Howe asked whether these latest legal fees marked the conclusion of the city’s payments.
    Kruse told Howe that the legal matters were still in progress and hopefully reaching a conclusion.
    Council Member Rachel Prudhomme said she also had concerns about the legal fees, saying there seems to be ongoing employee issues. She suggested possibly reopening those issues with the new ad-hoc Personnel/Labor Committee and Police Chief Dick Wittenberg.
    City Attorney Paul Ihle replied that the issues are already going through that process.
    On Wednesday, Jan. 7, Kruse said the bills are personnel-related and are nothing new. He said they pertain to matters from a year ago or two years ago. Kruse declined further comment.
    The council approved hiring Michael Roff as a patrol officer. Roff will be paid $25.79 per hour. He succeeds Chris Hoglin, who resigned from the department.
    Roff began his new position Monday, Jan. 12. He served as a sheriff’s deputy with the Red Lake County Sheriff’s Office for 12 years. Roff is a graduate of Northland Community and Technical College.
    The police department remains staffed at 15 officers, including Wittenberg and Mattson. Ten years ago, the department had 17 officers. It is difficult to fill shifts this time of year due to sickness and the number of long transports that officers make from Sanford Hospital to other facilities, Wittenberg said.
    Prudhomme notified the council that the city has received a $1,000 grant from Enbridge Energy. The Enbridge Safe Community Program grant will be used for training at the police department. Prudhomme wrote the grant application.
    Ihle provided information pertaining to Kruse’s performance review, which was conducted during a closed meeting Tuesday, Dec. 23.
    Ihle said it was noted that Kruse made progress on the following issues:
    • Pooling outside agencies together in terms of housing and other issues;
    • Working with the legislative process to obtain grants;
    • Creating an economic development director position; and
    • Promoting technological updates.
    Ihle said it was noted that Kruse needs to improve on:
    • “Maintaining positive relationships with employees and building trust;
    • “Keeping the full council informed about all topics;”
    • Becoming more involved in community groups; and
    • Not pushing ideas that the council hasn’t approved.
    City Council approved appointing Council Member Ken Schmalz to serve as acting mayor in the absence of Mayor Brian Holmer for calendar year 2015.
    The council approved City Council committee assignments for calendar year 2015. The following assignments were made:
    • Utilities Committee – Holmer, Schmalz and Council Members Josh Hagen and Don Sollom
    • Parks and Recreation/
Public Safety – Sollom, Prudhomme, Howe and Council Member Jerald Brown
    • Public Works Committee – Prudhomme, Howe, Hagen and Council Member Steve Narverud
    • Administrative Services Committee – Holmer, Schmalz, Narverud and Brown
    • Budget/Finance Committee (ad hoc) – Holmer, Narverud and Prudhomme
    • Long Range Planning/
Annexation Committee (ad hoc) – Howe, Brown and Narverud
    • Personnel/Labor Committee (ad hoc) – Holmer, Brown and Schmalz
    The next council meeting is scheduled Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. The council has changed its meeting time from 5 to 5:30 p.m. It will continue meeting on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.