Hendricks School Board votes to have school on Saturday

By Tammy Mathison
hpioneer@itctel.com

During the Tuesday, March 16 meeting of the ISD 402 Hendricks School Board, Superintendent Bruce Houck informed the board that the Flexible Learning Year has been approved at the State level for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years for the 25 districts from Southwestern Minnesota involved in the Flexible Year.

As a result, the 2010-2011 school year for the Lincoln HI schools and the 23 other districts will begin on Aug. 23 and will end around May 17-20. Houck indicated that many school calendar details, including the end date, still need to be worked out.

The board also discussed at length the makeup days for the snow days. Members of the Hendricks and Ivanhoe boards and the superintendents met recently for a Joint Sub Committee meeting to discuss the makeup days and reached a tentative agreement, taking the results back to their boards to be voted on for approval. Having reviewed these dates, Building Designee Judy Pearson pointed out to the board that parent/teacher conferences had already been scheduled for the afternoon of April 1 since that is an “early out” day, so extending that to a full day of school was not possible.

The board decided to leave that day as an early out day. However, Pearson stated that the days should be made up before the MCA testing begins on April 12. Board member Lisa Schmidt told the rest of the board that she strongly favored having school on a Saturday before the test as there are children who would benefit from having it on that day. Pearson was in agreement with her. Schmidt made a motion, seconded by Chester Frank to have school on Saturday, April 10 and Good Friday, April 2, with early outs at 1 p.m. on both of those days and to also have school on Tuesday, June 1. The motion passed 4-1 with Phil Moen voting against and Tom Olson absent. Chairman Gary Johnson will speak to Superintendent Strand about transportation for Saturday, April 10.

Also during the meeting the board reviewed the transportation and food service budgets and accepted the contract with SW/WC for the 2010-2011 school years.

Lisa Schmidt informed the board that she had met with a couple of parents who are interested in forming a committee to get funds for the school. This committee would include a representative from the school board and other community organizations. The committee would like to work with the Hendricks Community Foundation. People making a donation to the foundation can designate their donation to be used for education already. These parents would like to designate education donations to be used to hire another teacher or be used to retain a teacher. As Gary Johnson is on the Hendricks Community Foundation, he will visit with the others on the foundation board about this.

Proposal for the new ARMER system discussed at city council meeting

By Violet Nelson

At Monday evening’s city council meeting, Dustin Hauschild, Hendricks Fire Chief, handed out a proposal for the new ARMER System. He said the department has decided to proceed with the purchase of the system.

The ARMER system is a digital, trunked radio system based on Voice over Internet. A digital system produces truer voice communications without the static often heard on older systems. It allows for more efficient use of frequencies and creates a system with more capacity. The computer keeps track of how to route communications so conversations can be heard by all radios throughout the state. Hauschild said they are going for a county wide grant for funding. “Lake Benton will be the leader in administering the grant application,” he said. Total cost is $77,800. Total local participation will be $7,780, or 10 percent.

Old Business: David Blees presented a Cottage Avenue Storm sewer update. He said the city did not get the grant money they applied for. The original cost of the sewer project was estimated at $500,000. “There is a little wiggle room,” Blees said, “the 24 inch storm sewer could be downsized.” The old water main will be capped and abandoned. The main overhead power line will be buried. The top layer of bituminous will be ground up from Cedar Street up to Hwy 271 and be resurfaced. Completion date is scheduled for Oct. 1.

In other issues:

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) project is set for May 13, 17 and 18. “We are continuing to move forward,” Blees said.
The zoning map has been updated. It was so moved by Rick Hamer, seconded by Julie Hogie, to accept the corrections of the updated zoning map.

Hendricks Economic Development Association has recommended looking into acquiring the old creamery building. A few people have walked through the building for inspection. Something has to be done quite soon, because the structure is deteriorating. “What is the next step?” Blees asked. “We need to move forward,” Bob Wolf replied. It was decided to send a registered letter to the owner of the building to see if he would sell.

A motion was made by Bob Wolf, seconded by Julie Hogie to continue with Turfguard Weed Control out of Brookings, S.D. for weed control around the stabilization pond.

No updates equals no concession stand says Community Club

By Tammy Mathison
hpioneer@itctel.com

The Hendricks Community Club would like to have the concession stand in use this summer for t-ball and softball games in addition to Summerfest, but without some needed updates, this won’t be possible.

“Without the updates, we won’t be able to have the concession stand open this summer. It is as simple as that,” said Karri Schuler, head of the HCC Concessions Committee.

According to Schuler, who has been visiting with a representative from the State Health Department in regard to obtaining the permit for operating the concession stand this summer, the regulations have changed since last year when the permit was obtained.

In order to meet the regulations there are several things that need to be done inside, including installing glass board in the ceiling to enclose the rafters, different lighting, sealing the floor and installing an NSF certified hand washing station. Stainless steel counters and NSF certified appliances are also mandated.

“We have to do these updates to even be able to get the license to serve out of the concession stand,” said Schuler. “It could get costly to do these updates, but once they are done, we won’t have to do them in the future. We (the Hendricks Community Club) will be doing fundraisers to help cover the cost of the updating and are hoping that the community will help support the Community Club so we can offer this back to them this year and for many years to come.”

In an effort to save money, as the stainless steel items are going to be quite costly, the Hendricks Community Club is currently watching auctions for stainless steel and keeping their eyes open for any give-away items such as stainless steel counter material or stainless steel tables.

City Administrator David Blees commented on the project. “As we continue to improve the ball field itself, it is important to keep up with the demand for services for those that use the field; this includes updating the concession building, which we need to do,” said Blees.

“I think it will be evident to those visiting, participating, or watching games or events at the field that we are a progressive community.  Our goal is to show we’re ahead of the curve and not just winging it.  Besides, if we update the building to proper health codes, it will be done.  Outside of normal maintenance, we won’t have to continue to worry if we are up to speed or not, because we will be,” stated Blees.

Training sessions discussed at council meeting

By Tammy Mathison
hpioneer@itctel.com

At the March 1 meeting of the Hendricks City Council, David Blees presented a letter received from the University of Minnesota regarding training sessions for those who will be training other volunteers for the upcoming Emerald Ash Borer tree inventory project. The letter gave an overview of the training sessions which include common tree identification, setting up and entering data in an Excel spreadsheet, surveying protocol and tree assessment. These training sessions will take a total of about 16 total to complete. Blees asked the council for input on days of the week and a preference of how to divide the sessions, two eight-hour sessions or four four-hour sessions and that the Tree Board would take their opinions into consideration when making their decision on the training sessions.  Blees also went on to say that there have been several people already who have volunteered to assist with the tree inventory project.

Blees presented the council with a Cottage Ave. storm sewer update. Blees said that he is hoping to get the bids in early April and to open the bids by late April or early May. He also presented a short formal engineering agreement for the council to review and sign.

As Kevin Huber was out of town, Blees gave a brief overview for the Maintenance report. The city crews had cleared the snow by the school, added lights at the City Shop and the library furnace needs repair.

Under new business, the City of Hendricks is currently working on updating the zoning maps. Tom Reeves said that in the past, it has been difficult to use the maps as a point of reference and that they have had to go to the records to get information needed, which is time consuming. The new maps will be able to be updated on a computer so any changes can be made there and a new map with the updates can be received within a short time. A new map will be brought to the next council meeting.

There was discussion on the fish barrier that the Lake Hendricks Improvement Association has installed at the Kiwanis Bridge by the spillway (overflow.) Blees informed the council that according to information he has received as part of the permit process, the owner of the spillway is supposed to submit the permit. At this time, who is the owner of the spillway is in question as at one time it was designated as the County being the owner but it may be that ownership of the spillway was transferred to the Watershed. If Lincoln County is the owner, they would like to transfer ownership of the spillway to the City of Hendricks. Blees went on to suggest that if the City was to take ownership of the spillway, to have a service agreement with the LHIA to take care of the fish barrier.

Also during the meeting, the council signed an Assessor Agreement and a resolution was made to accept a donation of labor from Ottertail Power Co. Each year, Otter Tail uses the boom truck to hang the Christmas lights and waives the fee for doing so.

Prior to the council going into closed session regarding museum property, Neva Vizecky, who had had a heated discussion with the council regarding an outstanding balance on her city bill during the Public Forum portion of the meeting, presented the council with a bag filled with 10,784 pennies, which she emptied on the table in front of Councilman Brad Olson, as payment for her bill in full.

Note: In a follow-up phone call received from Vizecky by the Pioneer, Vizecky stated that the bill was not an overdue water bill but rather accumulated non-meter reading fees. “I have paid my water bill on time for the past 41 years,” stated Vizecky. “I just wanted you to know that.”

Keeping an eye on Emerald Ash Borer in Hendricks

by Tammy Mathison

Hendricks has been chosen as one of only six communities in Greater Minnesota that will be working with the University of Minnesota to evaluate the potential for damage over the next few years and to develop proactive community plans that will lessen the catastrophic effect that the Emerald Ash Borer has had on trees in other communities. The Emerald Ash Borer is a hazardous insect that poses a threat to all ash trees. As ash trees make up a large number of the trees in our area, they could be wiped out by the Borer.

According to a letter received by the city from the U of M, Hendricks was “recommended to represent the under 1,000 population category range because of its history of volunteerism, community engagement and urban forestry. Rich Hauer, a former head of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Tree Inspector Program (now a DNR program) highly recommended Hendricks based on his working experience with Hendricks. The project consists of both applied research and community assistance. The applied research consists of a cost/benefit study for planting trees in preparation of future ash tree losses. Specifically, this part of the project compares the use of a community gravel bed system for holding spring purchased bare-rooted trees in preparation for autumn planting, versus traditional bare-rooted and/or containerized trees. This part of the project is cost-shared, with $1,500 contributed to the community to purchase and set up a gravel bed system. The community would purchase the plant materials that would eventually be planted in parks, boulevards or private landscapes.” Bare rooted trees would be the only type purchased for the gravel bed system as they develop a more fibrous root system that allows the trees to be planted well into the fall.

“The idea is to  purchase a variety of trees in larger quantities in the spring and store them in the gravel beds, keep them irrigated to allow the roots to spread out and then plant them in the fall,” said City Administrator David Blees. “Purchasing trees at a higher volume lowers the cost per tree. The savings are then passed on to residents who want to purchase these trees. At this point, it does not appear that the Emerald Ash Boer is here (in Hendricks.) However, well over 50 percent of the trees here in Hendricks are ash. That is why we need to start planning ahead,” added Blees. “There are additional things that can be done. Trees can be pre-treated with a chemical preventative for the insect and there is also a chemical treatment option if a tree is infected. This (Emerald Ash Borer) affects virtually every form of ash tree. This is why there is no transportation of firewood anywhere. It is in the wood, it is very easily spread by transportation of firewood. With our campground, it could very easily be brought here if someone brings in firewood,” said Blees.

The second part of the project involves volunteers to conduct a community tree inventory of both public and private trees. The inventory will provide vital information. The U of M will be providing training sessions in the spring to teach volunteers how to do a tree inventory.

Many volunteers will be required for this project. However, each volunteer or groups of volunteers will be assigned only a small section of Hendricks to inventory. The inventory process will take place throughout the summer.
The third part of the project is to project economic losses. “Residents will be asked to volunteer their heating and cooling bills so a study can be conducted on the impact from the loss of trees,” said Blees.

“It is a big honor for Hendricks to be chosen for this project. Not only will it have a direct benefit to us, but it will also be an extremely important part of statewide research being conducted by the University of Minnesota. The City will be sending out letters asking for volunteers for a tree inventory. If you don’t get a letter and are interested in helping, contact City Hall at 275-3192,” said Blees.

City council gives praise for snow removal

by Violet Nelson

Hendricks Mayor Rick Hamer called Monday evening’s city council meeting to order. Members of the City Council welcomed County Commissioner Adam Gillund to the meeting. Gillund had a copy of the finalized county budget and gave an update on county happenings and business. He said the year ended with a 5.86 percent decrease in the maximum levy. “This year will be another ‘belt tightning year’,” Gillund said. “Local government aid is a thing of the past.” On the flip side, Gillund said we are exceeding state aid recommendations, which is a good thing. The county is moving forward with Armored Radio Technology System. County Sheriff Jack Vizecky said this system will cost the county 1.3 million dollars over the next 10 years. “Phase One will cost $750,000,” he said.

Kevin Huber presented his maintenance report. Council member Bob Wolf praised Huber and Dale Anderson for the fine work they did with snow removal. Huber said they have started cleaning out fire hydrants. The city has to re-apply for a burning permit. Between eight and ten picnic tables are not worth fixing so David Blees will look into ordering new ones.

The council reviewed the police report. Blees said the general schedule for part-time police duty will be Fridays and Saturdays with an adjusted schedule from there on.

Dustin Hauschild, Fire Chief, gave an overview of 2009 call activity. “We answered eight calls,” he said, “six structure fires and two accident calls.” Hauschild asked for the council’s permission to grant them a liquor license for the Pheasant’s Forever Banquet the department will host March 6. It was so moved by Bob Wolf, seconded by Julie Hogie, to grant them a liquor license for the Pheasant’s Forever Banquet.

A donation from Duaine Coy Family Trust, sale of estate, in the amount of $4,635 was given to the Hendricks Public Library. It was so moved to approve the regulation expressing acceptance of appreciation for the gift of money.

It was so moved by Julie Hogie seconded by Brad Olson, to designate the First Security Bank as the city’s official depository.  It was so moved by Scott Pearson, seconded by Bob Wolf to designate Tom Reeves as City Attorney. It was so moved by Julie Hogie, seconded by Bob Wolf to designate the Hendricks Pioneer as the official newspaper. It was so moved by Julie Hogie, seconded by Scott Pearson, to designate Brad Olson as acting mayor.

In other committee appointments, Rick Hamer volunteered to replace Brad Olson on the Hendricks Economic Development Committee.  David Blees will represent the council on the Local Emergency Committee.  It was so moved by Scott Pearson, seconded by Bob Wolf, to accept these committee appointments.

Claims were approved followed by a closed session on Union Contracts.

Hendricks City Council sets 2010 levy with no increase

by Violet Nelson

The Hendricks City Council is not planning to increase the city’s levy to pay for the 2010 budget but voted to change potential cuts. It was so moved by Julie Hogie, seconded by Scott Pearson to lower the ambulance fund from $18,000 to $16,000 and the EDA budgeted amount from $18,000 to $15,000. EDA money is spent on lake improvements projects, possible sub division growth, old clinic building development and various other development projects.

The final 2010 budget was presented Monday night, December 7th, as part of an ongoing discussion over the last few months. It was so moved by Brad Olson, seconded by Bob Wolf, to approve the 2010 budget with a zero percent increase in the tax levy. A motion was made by Julie Hogie, seconded by Bob Wolf, to approve the 2010 budget. Tom Reeves offered to give up special training sessions for a savings of $500. This got the councils nod.

A deficit at the state level is expected to have a critical impact on local government aid (LGA), the state payments distributed to cities and counties each year. City Administrator David Blees said cuts are being looked into. The question is how much money will be lost.

Kevin Huber’s maintenance report was reviewed. All snow equipment is ready to go. Other equipment is in good condition as long as repairs are made. Tree trimming and tree removal will be started in a week or so. Heating systems are good to go. The old city hall will try to use as little heat as possible. The hanging heater in the city shop office should be replaced. City maintenance will start installing new remote water meters. Someone should be lined up to help with snow removal.

Blees presented the results of the Lake Hendricks Park Wetland Delineation. Mayor Hamer said the boundary lines have been questioned for many years. “The delineation will allow for possible expansion,” he said.

Cottage Avenue Storm Sewer project will be started in July. The general construction cost of replacing storm lines will be about $152,000 with an additional cost of $62,000 for the water main. Blees said that by January, they should hear about grant money situation.

It was so moved by Brad Olson, seconded by Bob Wolf to approve the liquor license for Cedric’s Bar and Grill and the cigarette licenses for Vicks Grocery, Larson’s Food Store, Kirkvold Oil and Cedric’s Bar and Grill.

Museum board gives update during City Council meeting

by Violet Nelson

The Hendricks City Council met Monday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. It was so moved by Bob Wolf, seconded by Scott Pearson to approve a liquor license request for the new owner of Main Street Bar and Grill, John DeLankey. It was so moved by Julie Hogie, seconded by Brad Olson to approve an on-sale, off-sale license.

Orlan Sandro and Allen Johnson, museum board members, presented an update on the Lincoln County Museum. Sandro said that some extensive work has to be done on some of the buildings. There are areas that have to be updated as there are a lot of duplications at this time. He said they are looking into obtaining grant money for building repair and will also contact Lincoln County for funding. The city used to budget $1,000 a year to the museum but funding stopped in 2003. Sandro said they are not asking for funding from the city, but wanted to keep them updated.
Voss Plumbing and Heating, general contractors for Phase One of the construction along Prairie Street has been completed. It was so moved by Julie HOgie, seconded by Bob Wolf, to approve the final payment of $25,780.86.

The Personnel Committee met and reviewed the applicants for part-time cleaning employee at City Hall. Jennifer Digre was recommended by the personnel committee out of the six applications received. It was so moved by Scott Pearson, seconded by Julie Hogie, opposed by Bob Wolf, to hire Digre for this position.

It was so moved by Julie Hogie, seconded by Bob Wolf, to accept the $1,000 donation from Otter Tail Power for the pumper truck.

The 2010 proposed budget was reviewed. Neva Vizecky asked David Blees how many hours he puts in weekly and likewise Sheryl Pearson. She questioned several of the budget increases and compensation packages. Bob Wolf suggested the council members, in order to save money, be a volunteer group instead of being on the payroll. Blees would like to do additional work on the town website. Julie Hogie questioned the Highway and Streets budgeted amount. Neva Vizecky questioned the budgeted amount for professional service at the campgrounds. Blees said it is mainly for bug spraying, turf guard, excavation, etc. Blees reported a 2.4 percent levy increase. Bob Wolf questioned the jump in EDA funding. Final budget will be Dec. 7. Following the forty-minute budget review, the meeting went into closed session for employee compensation issues.

City council looking to reduce police service

by Tammy Mathison
The Hendricks City Council is looking at making reductions in the police department as a means to improve the budget.
“By eliminating the full time position and going with either one or two officers part-time, the city can save anywhere from approximately $20 thousand to $50 thousand,” said City Administrator David Blees.

Blees went on to say that the budget is reviewed annually and that there are “well over 200 line items on the budget, including the police department, and each one gets looked at. We especially look at the big ticket items,” said Blees. The cut to the police department would, according to Blees, go to balance the whole budget.

Councilman Brad Olson, who is also on the Law Enforcement Committee, stated that discussions regarding the possible reductions in the police department have been going on since early summer and that the employees were brought in right away and made aware of the discussions.

At the Oct. 5 meeting of the Hendricks City Council, the Law Enforcement Committee made the recommendation to the Council that they eliminate the full-time police force and go with part-time coverage.

At the time of the meeting, no action was taken on the recommendation; it was tabled until the October 19 meeting.
Olson stated that the decision to make the recommendation by the Law Enforcement Committee was based on the budget. “What it comes down to is where are we going to cut? We look at the police department because it is a large part of the budget. Do we need the full time position? It would be a significant savings. We cannot in my opinion raise the levy every year. We need to back off and keep the levy the same and make cuts where we can. The school is out for a referendum. If the City can help our citizens by not raising our levy too, we should. My obligation is to the taxpayers to save them money when we can,” Olson said.

The cut to the police department could mean more reliance on the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department which is, according to Sheriff Jack Vizecky, certainly not overstaffed. Vizecky also stated that the county has also cut $100,000 from his budget and two of the deputies have been deployed overseas. “The city and county officers rely on each other. Recently, the city, county and two other jurisdictions worked together on an issue. They had to work together for safety reasons.” Vizecky indicated that at any given time it is hard to say where the deputy on duty will be and used Monday as an example. “I have a deputy on a transport that is going to take all day. That leaves me here to take care of the administrative duties plus any calls that may come in.”

“At a recent city council meeting the joint powers agreement that was signed between the county and the city of Hendricks was brought up; the agreement was to give the Chief of Police a day off and the county would provide the supervision of the part-time police officer when the Chief was gone. There was no intention for the document to be used for us to come in and do the job of the city’s police department. It was enacted to take care of a state mandate and give local police chiefs a day off without having to oversee their part-time licensed officer,” said Sheriff Vizecky.
“Our goal is not to put more strain on the county; the goal is to make some cut-backs where there are large budget issues. It is our intention to have some coverage by local Law Enforcement, but at what level has not yet been decided,” said Blees.

Hendricks Police Chief Faith Olsen doesn’t think the council is looking at the long term effect. “Hendricks is one of the busiest towns in Lincoln County with celebrations, the campground and people coming to town. Hendricks needs law enforcement, no matter what they think.”

A vote on the Law Enforcment issue will take place at the next City Council meeting which will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19. The public is encouraged to attend to express their wishes on this issue to the council.

Report on new fire truck

The Monday, August 3, the Hendricks City Council meeting was brought to order by Mayor Rick Hamer.
Dustin Hauschild, fire chief, gave a report on the new fire truck the fire department will be purchasing. The department received two bids, one bid for $249,716 from Heiman Company and the other bid from Crimson for $270,000 “Both bids were error free,” Hauschild said. He said that the Heiman bid is $25,000 over the original estimate of $225,000. The $25,000 difference would be funded in this manner: $11,000 from the truck fund, $5,000 from the Brookings account, $4,000 from sale of the old truck, and $5,000 from relief account grant money. The balance would be paid with a loan for $100,000 from Rural Development, a grant for $50,000 from Rural Development and $75,000 transferred from the relief account, consistent of the proceeds raised during Summerfest.

It was so moved by Bob Wolf, seconded by Julie Hogie, to accept the bid from Heiman. Hauschild said that in the next five years they hope to replace the yellow tanker. He said they currently have 27 members on the department squad hoping to raise that figure to thirty. Hauschild recommended these qualified applicants: Kevin Bednarek, Chad Midtaune, and Kirby Anderson. It was so moved by Brad Olson, seconded by Bob Wolf, to accept these recommendations.

Read more in this weeks Hendricks Pioneer.