Tyler City Administrator Dan Tolsma announces he is leaving

Tyler city administrator Dan Tolsma informed the council earlier this week that he will be leaving the position at the end of July.

Tolsma has taken another city administration position in Minnesota.

Mayor Kurt Thomsen said Friday the council will be discussing how it will fill the position during its next city council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 5.

“(Dan) told us he will help us as much as he can in finding a replacement and will work with that person to get them up to speed on the (water project),” said Thomsen.

Tolsma was out of town on Friday, July 1 and unavailable for comment.

Thomsen said Tolsma has been good to work with over the last two years.

“He has been a good city administrator,” said Thomsen.

Tolsma has served as city administrator through most of the city’s water project that broke ground last month.

Thomsen said Tolsma told him much of the leg work has been done for the financing on the water project.

Read the July 6, edition of the Tyler Tribute for more information and keep checking tylertribute.com for further updates.

RTR School Board approves consulting contract

City Council discusses towed vehicle incident at council meeting

The Tyler City Council: Kurt Thomsen, left, Merv Peterson, Erick Harper, Darrel Denny and Tom Mundt, held its first meeting of 2011 with two new members and a new mayor. The council appointed Erick Harper for a vacant council position for a four-year term and Merv Peterson a two-year term. Harper and Peterson were the top two write-in vote getters during the November election for two open positions on the council. Mayor Kurt Thomsen, who previously served as a city council member, was sworn in and Darrel Denny was again sworn into his seat on the council.

During the public express portion of the Tyler City Council meeting Monday Jan. 10, Sheryl Wyatt expressed concern over her daughter’s vehicle being towed for a snow violation on Christmas Eve.

Wyatt said her 20-year-old daughter was working at the hospital overnight and her car was parked on the south side of the hospital in the designated parking along the street.
Wyatt said she and her daughter were both unaware that space would be considered a parking violation when the streets were plowed.
Wyatt asked the council if it could get a sign or post something to avoid having future vehicles towed from the space.
Councilman Tom Mundt asked if the owner of the vehicle was notified prior to the car being towed at around 3 a.m.
Officer Nate Nafziger from the Tyler Police Department gave out the ticket. He said he did not go in and notify anyone that the car would be towed but said he has told the hospital in the past that when the plows need to go out the Tyler Police Department would have vehicles towed in that parking area.
Wyatt said there is a sign at the time card area that indicates vehicles could be towed during a snow event.
Mundt made a motion that the fine be waived in the Wyatt incident and encouraged the Tyler Police to make more of an effort to let vehicle owners know their vehicles could be towed.
Wyatt said she believes the Tyler Street Department does an excellent job keeping the streets cleared following snow events.
Dean Beck, utilities department supervisor, said the Tyler streets department is able to clear streets because the Tyler Police makes sure vehicles are off the streets.
Former Tyler Mayor Darwin Lutterman said anything between curbs on the streets of Tyler needs to be removed before the streets crew can clear the streets. That includes the parking on the street south of the Tyler Healthcare Center.
During the month of December, John Spindler, Tyler Police Chief said a total of five vehicles were towed.
Councilmen Darrel Denny expressed concern that the council was blaming the Police Department for doing what they were supposed to do.
“We are blaming the police department for doing their job,” said Denny.” The hospital has been called many times and they are responsible for putting up a sign.”
The council did approve the motion by Mundt with new council member Erick Harper voting against it.
The Tyler City Council will help pay the utilities at the American Legion building for at least another year.
The city received a request from the Legion to continue its utilities service, without paying for the heat in the building.
The council expressed concern that the city was serving as a scheduling agent for the Legion building and asked that the city’s phone number be removed from advertising for the legion building.
The Legion is currently waiting to hear if it will receive a grant for improvements on the building.
The council also named its official newspaper as the Tyler Tribute and its official depositories as Citizcen’s State Bank in Tyler and First Independent Bank.

RTR School Board passes levy and renews Houck’s contract

By Robert Wolfington
tributeeditor@gmail.com

The RTR School Board approved its 2010 levy limitation during its regular meeting Monday, Dec. 20.

The board approved a $638,459.14 levy limit for 2010, which is a decrease from the $794,008.49 levy limit for 2009.

During a closed session the board did a performance review for Superintendent Bruce Houck, giving a a 3.9 out of 5 rating.

Houck’s contract was extended for an additional three years and will put him at least into 2014.

The board discussed contracting with McKittrick Consulting Group for a review of its athletics and extra curricular activities.

During the meeting, the board decided to table the agreement with McKittrick until a later date to determine how it would move forward.

The agreement with McKittrick would involve reviewing current expectations for extra curricular and athletic activities in the school district and determine what the community and school expects from the programs.

Houck said there are a number of different expectations a school could have from having a winning program, to making sure everyone has the opportunity to participate.

Houck will be in contact with the McKittrick group over the next few weeks to continue negotiations and determine if the school board wants to move forward.

Tyler City Council discusses reducing police force

By Robert Wolfington
tributeeditor@gmail.com

The Tyler City Council began reviewing alternatives to having a city police department during its November meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 9.

City Administrator Dan Tolsma presented the council with a handful of options to review, including contracting with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department or pairing with the City of Lake Benton for police service.

The council did not take action during the Tuesday meeting but tabled it for further review and discussion.

The projected 2011 budget for the Tyler Police Department is $158,750.

To contract with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, the projected costs would be between $114,500 and $141,300 depending on the level of service the city would agree to in the contract.

In a letter to the city council, Sheriff Jack Vizecky said he would expect at least a five-year commitment from the City of Tyler without an opt-out clause from either party.

The second option reviewed during the meeting would see the City of Tyler pairing with the City of Lake Benton for police service.

Depending on how the pairing would be split between the communities, the cost would be between $72,000 and $96,000 to the City of Tyler for the 2011 year.

City Council Member Darrel Denney expressed concern over reducing police service in Tyler.

Denney said he has talked with community members who are concerned about response time if there was no one on duty in Tyler and someone had to come from Lake Benton.

Mayor Darwin Lutterman said the response time would likely be the equivalent of EMTs in the area and wouldn’t be a major problem if the city went with a paired system.

The council will continue discussing the issue in future meetings.

The Tyler City Council voted to move forward with a Public Facilities Authority loan that will allow the city to move forward with its water project.

The construction costs for the project are estimated at $5.4 million and would see a new water tower, home meters and new infrastructure to upgrade the water system in Tyler.

The council rejected an offer from USDA Rural Development for funding of the project, citing concerns over the quality the city could get with the funds offered by Rural Development.

City Attorney Glen Petersen said he is in discussions with the Minnesota DNR and MnDOT related to the flooding along Highway 14 and things the city could do.

Petersen said the city might have the option to purchase land near the flooded area that would allow a new drainage tile to be installed and give the city new plots that could be sold in the future. The council took no action but will discuss during future meetings.

Two students suspended for the year at RTR

By Robert Wolfington
tributeeditor@gmail.com

During a closed session discussion, the RTR School Board discussed the expulsion of two students.

Following the meeting Monday, Nov. 15, RTR Superintendent Bruce Houck said he was only able to say two students were expelled and will not be able to return during the current school year.

The school board also went into closed session for administrative negotiations.

During the closed session the school board agreed to extend Houck’s contract for an additional three years, High School and Elementary Principals Pam Bush and Amy Christensen each received a two percent pay increase and Athletic Director/Administrator Jim Burns received an additional $500 for his services in those positions, Houck said.

Wade McKittrick, a consultant with MCG, gave a presentation on his services as it would relate to reorganizing the extra curricular activities in the RTR School District.

McKittrick said his group would work with the district on developing its goals for its extra curricular programs based on what the district and its community members want out of the programs.

The board tabled any discussion of whether it would contract with MCG for its services.

RTR School Board discusses four students’ suspension

By Robert Wolfington
tributeeditor@gmail.com

Four students were suspended from RTR High School for one day after an incident during the Homecoming Parade in late September.

The RTR School Board went into closed session to discuss the suspensions with the parents of one of the students during its regular meeting Monday, Oct. 18. Prior to closing the meeting, members of the RTR High School faculty presented the board with their side of the story.

The faculty members said they became aware of a plan for the senior class to use what the faculty felt was an inappropriate phrase on the class’s float in the parade.

The three letter acronym was from the television show “The Jersey Shore.”

The faculty members said the students were warned on a number of occasions leading up to the parade not to use the phrase or they could face disciplinary action.

The faculty said students in the senior class handed out t-shirts with the phrase that were worn under baggy clothes during the parade and some members of the class displayed the t-shirt during part of the parade.

A sign on the back of the senior class float also included the phrase, but a faculty member told the students to remove it or cover it up before they were allowed into the parade.

Pictures were taken showing the four students wearing the t-shirts in public during the parade.

Parents of one of the students who faced the one-day suspension were on hand during the meeting and expressed concern over how the suspension was handed out.

The board discussed the suspension with the parents and members of the RTR administration during a closed meeting following the faculty’s explanation of the events.

Bob Gjorvad, attorney for the RTR School District, advised the board not to use any names of students involved in the incident.

District receives grant for fitness equipment.

During his presentation to the RTR School Board, Superintendent Bruce Houck said the district has received a $620,000 grant along with the Hendricks and Lynd Districts.

The funds will be split between the three districts, Houck said, with the majority of it going to the RTR District.

The funds will be spread out over three years with the first $420,000 during the first year.

Houck said the district also received a $12,000 grant that will be used for playground equipment.

City votes to move forward with water project without USDA funding

By Robert Wolfington
tributeeditor@gmail.com

The Tyler City Council voted Monday night to move forward with its water project without a USDA Rural Development grant.

Bill Helget with Bolton & Menk presented the council with an update during the regular meeting Monday, Oct. 4. He said the City of Tyler was not selected by Rural Development for funding in 2010.

Helget presented the council with an alternative to using Rural Development funding.

The Minnesota Public Facilities Authority offers a loan program that could help finance the water project.

The council voted to approve moving forward with bidding the project with PFA funding.

The full project would be bid out by the city, including the water tower and meters, but the council reserves the right to remove the tower and meters from the project if the bids come in too high.

Helget presented the council with numbers that indicated moving forward through PFA would be a less expensive option and would see the project paid for nearly 10 years earlier.

He said the interest rate for the PFA loan would be two percent or lower.

The council voted to vacate a portion of the right-of-way on Bradley Ave. to allow proper distance for the new city utility building on the block.

Representatives for the senior center were on hand and asked about how it would impact street parking.

The council said it would not impact any street parking on Bradley Ave.

RTR School Board sets 2010 levy

By Robert Wolfington
tributeeditor@gmail.com

TYLER ­— The RTR School Board approved its preliminary levy for the next year during the regular school board meeting Monday, Sept. 20.

Superintendent Bruce Houck recommended the school board set the preliminary levy at $636,209, a decrease from the previous levy by about nine percent.

When the board votes on the final levy amount they can go below the $636,209 but they can not go above it, Houck said.

The school board approved a $5 increase in the day pay for substitute teachers in the district.

Representatives for the substitute teachers visited with the board Monday night, requesting the increase from $95 to $100.

It had been about four years since the last increase was approved for the substitute teachers in the district.

Houck said the rate is about average compared to other districts in the region, with some below and some higher.

There are three ITV college level courses currently being offered at the RTR High School.

Students are taking courses in chemistry, algebra and English, RTR High School principal Pam Bush said.

The students are taking the tests for the courses online, a method Bush said many college professors use today.

Nursing students from SDSU will be visiting the RTR Middle School and High School this year to interview students and conduct a survey on smoking, alcohol use and other subjects.

Bush said the information gathered during they survey will be useful to better understand students in the district.
Students from the FFA program at RTR visited with the school board to discuss the program’s use of the recently purchased farm land near RTR High School in Tyler.

The students said they have received a large amount of community support for the project and look forward to another year working with it.

RTR School Board votes on school year bids

The RTR School Board acted on a number of bids for the 2010-2011 school year during its regular board meeting Monday, July 19 in Russell.

The RTR School Board accepted bids from Tyler Wholesale for its bakery quote over a bid from the Sara Lee Bakery Group.

The board only received one bid for its dairy quote from Dean Foods-LeMars, which was accepted.

The school board also set its athletics and activities fees for the new school year, with most activities seeing an increase.

The athletics and activities fees have nearly all been raised to $65 per high school student per activity with the exception of instrumental rental which will be $45 and football which was already set at $65.

Middle school activities fees are set at $30 with the exception of football, which will stay at $35 and track and golf, which will be $25.

Speech and football are each at $35 while band instrument rental is set at $40.

The board also voted to keep the Tyler Tribute as its official newspaper.

It also voted to keep its official depositories the same, with each school building going with the bank in its community.
The board had the second reading of the 2010-2011 student handbook and it was approved for the new school year.