Council vacancy filled by Ferguson

During the New Richland City Council’s second meeting of the month on Monday, Jan. 23, city administrator Tony Martens requested the withdrawal of his resignation from his position with the city, submitted in early January, due to the offer of employment to Martens from the Waseca County Sheriff having been rescinded. The council accepted the withdrawal of Martens’s resignation with a 3-1 vote, allowing Martens to continue as city administrator.

Three letters of interest were received for the vacant council seat left by Chad Neitzel following his election as mayor - Pat Darcy, Mike Shurson, and Janda Ferguson. With a unanimous vote, the council approved the appointment of Ferguson to the open council seat. Ferguson will be sworn in at the next council meeting.

In the care center report, presented by administrator Bob Johannsen, it was stated that the center saw a census decline in December due to a number of residents passing away in a 10-day time frame. The census at the time of the meeting was at 35, or 77.7%, and as a result staffing hours have been reduced slightly until Feb. 1 in order to cut costs. A Covid outbreak occurred following the Christmas holiday, with two staff and two residents testing positive in December; at the time of the council meeting, the center had no Covid cases.

A sewer line break that occurred around Christmas was discussed, and following staff complaints Johannsen had contacts with the local chief of police, the state, and a survey team that visited the center to ensure proper measures were taken to resolve the problem. It was found that everything was done correctly following the sewer line break.

The center continues to work on recruitment, with tentative plans for events in the future in the hopes of bringing in new employees. December financials were not complete at the time of the meeting, though the information available did show a financial loss due to three payrolls in December, the loss of nine residents, agency staffing, and low Medicare A numbers.

“Hopefully January is going to turn around a little better,” said Johannsen, noting that, at the time of the meeting, agency staffing had been reduced and the center saw a higher number of Medicare residents.

The center is still in need of advisory board members - up to five - and is looking for “people that have the frame of mind to make the community better.” Requirements for advisory board members, who typically serve a two-year term, include: living within ten miles of New Richland and not being an employee of the care center. The report was approved.

The PeopleService report, submitted in written form, was approved before the water and streets report was presented by Eric Hendrickson. Three purchase requests were approved: a load of salt and sand at a cost of $1,137.50, street paint at a cost of $1,671.97, and side brooms and a main broom for the sweeper at a cost of $882. A request to hire Tim’s Trucking for snow removal services as needed during the absence of Hendrickson from Feb. 10-18 at a cost of $115/hour was also approved, along with the report.

In new business, 2022 financials were approved, with the report showing that the city went over budget by $80,000 - mainly due to unexpected maintenance costs - but had $117,000 extra revenue. Lifeguards and concessions at St. Olaf Lake were discussed, with the hope that last year’s difficulty in finding lifeguards will not be repeated this year. It was noted that a new training program is being used that should make the lifeguard training process easier, and the idea of reaching out to Geneva to discuss the possibility of sharing lifeguards between the cities was not opposed by the council.

Resolution 23-01, amending the master fee schedule, was approved along with accounts payable and the administrator’s report. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.