Pederson resigns from Carrington City Council

The Carrington City Council learned at their meeting last Monday that they are losing one of their own.

During the meeting held on Monday, June 10, Chase Pederson tendered his resignation as a city councilman due to the fact he is moving out of the city limits.

The board accepted his resignation, and will most likely appoint someone to fill his seat.

Committee Reports

FIRE:

• Carrington Fireman and Public Works Director Jason Wolsky reported that the Carrington Fire Department received two calls for service since the last council meeting.

• He said the lights in the fire hall are fully installed and the flooring project is done.

FINANCE & LEGAL:

• Carrington Mayor Tom Erdmann reported that two bids were received for lease of the 40 acres of hayland the city owns. The winning bidder was Austin March.

• The council agreed to seek bids for new concrete in the library parking lot, repair of the adjacent alley from the library to the post office and gravel to shore up 66th Avenue from Highway 52/200 to the pasta plant.

Erdmann said the funds for the project will come out of the city sales tax and capital improvement accounts.

• Erdmann announced that the three-year lease with NDSU on the 18 acres in the industrial park will renew for another three years.

• He said the new furniture for city hall is in place.

CCEDC:

• Gussiaas Electric submitted a Job Credit Grant application for two new employees. Motion approved.

• The council passed a motion to approve KH LLC’s (Kelly Hagel & Ryan Kringly) Commercial Building Improvement Grant application. The board moved to disburse the maximum grant funds of $30,000, as 25 percent of their total investment is more than the $30,000 grant limit.

• The board learned of a Commercial Building Improvement Grant application from Callie Krause of Open Prairie Health, a new business start-up. She is looking to remodel an office within Retzlaff Seed & Supply.

This building is not within city limits so it’s not eligible for this grant, but Erdmann said the CCEDC will fund up to 50 percent of the remodel costs with a maximum award of $5,000.

• A motion was approved for Central City Wellness for their Commercial Building Improvement Grant application for renovating the east side of the old hardware building. This will be rental office space along with rental apartments upstairs.

The motion included 40 percent of project costs up to a maximum of $50,000 when all receipts are received.

• The board approved a Carrington Uniting for Ukraine Sponsorship/Supporter Grant application from Randy Stedman, who will be sponsoring a Ukranian man who is working for Carr Construction.

• Finally, the board approved a Commercial Building Improvement Grant application for The Detail Guy (Marc Radke) who will be making some improvements to his facility on Main Street.

CVB:

• The CVB is working to relocate the Carrington sign on Highway 52/200 east and has a lease agreement put together with the property owner.

• It was reported that they have received some nice donations for the Rainbow Gardens Project, but nothing new to report on grants.

• The CVB is working with Gussiaas Electric to get the electricity hooked up in the park for The Market events. Otter Tail Power as agreed to donate the wire, but the bid for trenching, materials and installation from Gussiaas Electric is $15,150. The CVB has received $5,000 from gaming funds and are seeking other funding from other sources.

A motion was passed to approve spending $5,000 of CVB funds to assist with this project.

AIRPORT:

• Wolsky reported that they are hoping to get a grant from the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission for crack sealing. He said this is a 90/10 match with the city only paying 10 percent.

POLICE:

• The board approved a motion to increase the animal impound fee from $5 to $50 per day.

• It was reported that the Carrington Police Department received 274 calls for service in May.

TREE BOARD:

• It was reported that Carrington is the beneficiary of two living trusts in the amount of $75,000 each for planting trees.

PUBLIC WORKS:

• Councilman Troy Roundy reported that mosquito spraying will begin soon.

• He said clean-up week went very well and it was one of the biggest they have ever seen.

BUILDING OFFICIAL:

• Wolsky reported that they received six building permits and one demolition permit in May.

NO MEETING:

• Organizational Review

• Library