2020.08.17 CC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Hugo City Council Meeting Minutes for August 17, 2020 Page 2 of 9 information to residents on those topics. Another concern was high water elevations and flooding. Direction they received from residents was to protect water quality and re-shift strategies to better work on aquatic invasive species and continue ensuring lakes, rivers and streams were clean. For the first time, the top priority of the watershed district would be enforcement to protect water quality and shore land development. The district was putting together a panel that included other watershed districts, the Conservation District that is in charge of enforcing the Conservation Act, and other stakeholders to see where the gaps were and what could be done together to better address these gaps and enforce the rules. Haas appreciated they reached out to residents to get information on was important to them. Update on COVID-19 City Response and Approve Resolution Approving Grant Agreement for Election Expenses City Administrator Bryan Bear provided an update on the City’s response to the COVID pandemic and requested approval of a resolution approving a grant agreement with Washington County for election expenses. Bear stated the City remained under the State of Emergency, and he talked about the recent executive orders requiring the wearing of masks and the reopening of schools. Meetings continued to be conducted virtually, and he informed members of the public how they could participate. He talked about changes that needed to be made to the audio visual equipment to conduct hybrid meetings. He talked about the CARES Act Federal Funding that was discussed at the Council’s last meeting. As a result, the EDA would be discussing business grants at their meeting on August 8, 2020, and Council would need to make a decision on September 8. Staff was moving forward with AV upgrades and heating and cooling system improvements. He talked about the CARES Act Election Grant that was also providing funds though the Secretary of State’s Office to respond to the pandemic for the 2020 election. The County was applying for a block grant to distribute those funds to local municipalities. The City of Hugo’s share of the grant money was $6,129.66 to be used for personal protection equipment, sanitizing supplies, additional election judges, and implementation of social distancing requirements. The City was required to provide a 20% match, and that could come from the City’s CARES Funds. Unused funds would to be returned to Washington County for cost related to absentee ballots. He requested the Council approve a resolution approving the grant agreement with the county to cover expenses for cost related to the elections. Miron made motion, Klein seconded, to approve RESOLUTION 2020-37 APPROVING GRANT AGREEMENT WITH WASHINGTON COUNTY TO RECOVER ADDED EXPENSES INCURRED WITH THE 2020 ELECTION PROCESS DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. Roll call vote – all ayes. Motion carried.