2005.02.07 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council meeting of February 7, 2005 Page 6 Council continued discussion of names and felt that center was a better "fit" for the facility than room. Petryk and Miron withdrew their motion. Haas made motion, Puleo seconded, to name the community facility the "Rice Lake Center". All aye. Motion Carried. PROPOSED CELEBRATION OF CITY OF HUGO CENTENNIAL IN 2006 At the request of HBA president Katie Riopel, the Hugo Historical Commission researched the Village of Hugo's date of incorporation and determined that the Village of Hugo was incorporated August 15, 1906. Commission Chair Pam Videen attended the Council's goal setting session on January 25, 2005, and suggested planning for a centennial celebration as one of the City's top ten goals for 2005. Council discussed involvement of staff, the Historical Commission, and local interest groups to organize a celebration of the City of Hugo's centennial in 2006, and recommended that a Centennial Committee be established to coordinate the celebration. It was suggested that the event piggy -back on Good Neighbor Days. City Administrator Mike Ericson reported that Kitty Cheesebrow had contacted the Secretary of State's Office for verification of the original date of incorporation. Staff received a fax stating the date was August 15, 1906. Miron made motion, Granger seconded, directing staff to communicate discussion with the Historical Commission and bring back a recommendation to Council for a joint meeting in March 2005 with the vanous groups. All aye. Motion Carried. DISCUSSION ON PROPOSED LEGISLATION FOR 10 -YEAR EQUIPMENT CERTIFICATES The City utilized short-term borrowing for the purpose of purchasing a fire truck in 2003 for the HFD; specifically, State Statute allows for five-year equipment certificates for municipalities to provide financing options, which are outside standard operational budget funds. The Hugo Fire Department sought permission from Council to work with State Representative Ray Vandeveer for proposed legislation to increase short-term borrowing from five years to ten years. Council stated that they were not interested in a change to the legislation. Miron made motion, Petryk seconded, to table this issue. All aye. Motion Carried. DISCUSSION ON PROPOSED LEGISLATION FOR REMOVAL OF LOCAL ASSESSOR In 2004, the Washington County Board proposed a county -wide assessing policy, which included options for the cities that have local assessors. After much discussion, and upon recommendation from the City of Hugo and other municipalities, the Board agreed to take no action for a county -wide assessing policy. Included in State Statute is a specific clause that allows the county boards the option of removing the local assessor by a simple majority. After discussions with City Assessor Frank Langer,