Michael Schultz

TOWER— At a special meeting on Monday, the city council here formally accepted, with regret, the resignation of clerk-treasurer Michael Schultz. Schultz, who has been with the city for the past four years, will remain in his position until the end of October, when he will begin his new job as city administrator in Biwabik.
“I want to thank the city of Tower,” Schultz told the council. “This has been an incredibly rewarding position, but this is an opportunity I cannot pass up.”
Schultz said the decision to leave was a “tough one.” He said he wants to be involved in the transition, and he would be available to help in the future as needed.
Council members joked about passing a motion to reject his resignation, and even once the motion to accept the resignation was put on the table, the council struggled to get a second on the motion, which they did pass unanimously.
The council then passed a motion to set up a committee, including Schultz, Mayor Dave Setterberg, and council member Joe Morin, to work on next steps in the process of filling the position. They noted this was not a hiring committee, but a committee to work on the transition period, and to look at putting an interim clerk-treasurer in place.
“We want to keep the city moving forward for now,” said Setterberg, who thanked the city of Biwabik for not requiring Schultz to start his new job right away.
In other business, the council discussed, but took no action on, purchasing a new 2023 International dump truck to replace the city’s aging 1995 International. The new truck has automatic transmission, four-wheel drive, and a rear-view camera, which would make plowing safer. Cost for the vehicle would be around $128,000.
Schultz noted that while this truck is smaller than the current truck, it would be better for some plowing jobs, including the alleys.
Setterberg said the city has enough in the budget for a five- or ten-percent down payment. Schultz noted that if the council approved this purchase, it would mean delaying some other spending in the maintenance department. Setterberg noted the 1995 truck would require at least $5,000 of repairs before this winter’s plowing season.
The council said they could use some of the Gundersen monies for the payments, or could bond for the purchase.
“We do need to do this,” said Setterberg.
“I just don’t want us to get into trouble,” said Morin.
Morin said the old truck’s sander isn’t working, and the staff has noted issues with using it on hills, with it sliding down.
But another option, said Morin, would be to find a used truck in the $60,000 range.
The council decided to get more information from maintenance supervisor Ben Velcheff, and then will bring it to the table at the upcoming Oct. 14 meeting.
In other business at the special meeting on Oct. 6, the council again discussed the lease agreement for the cell phone tower on the north hill. City officials had met with Frandsen Bank, to discuss the three options and which might be the best for the city. Currently the cell tower company pays the city an annual lease payment. But the new agreements, which include a 50-year lease term, include options to pay the lease up front, pay in installments over 10 years, or continue a modification of the current agreement.
The council discussed the benefits of the 10-year agreement, noting this would create a fund whose interest could then be paid out annually, during the 50-year period.
“The 10-year option would be easier to manage,” said Setterberg, noting the city could then withdraw $35,000 a year from that fund, which is equivalent to what they are receiving currently.
Setterberg said changes in the cell tower industry do not guarantee the towers would be needed in the long term, and the contract does allow the lease to be broken, so the 10-year agreement appeared to be in the city’s best interest.
The council wanted to get more information on the financial details, and asked to have someone from Frandsen come speak to the whole council at their next meeting on Oct. 13.
The council also tabled awarding bids for the Tower Harbor Utility Extension project, which came in much higher than the engineer’s estimates as well as the city’s grant funding. Engineer’s estimate for the project was $1.2 million, with bids coming in from $1.6 to $1.9 million. In addition, bids on the bid alternates, also came in higher than estimated.
Schultz noted the council had 30 days to make a decision. Options discussed including only awarding for the base bid, separating the project into two parts, as well as talking to the IRRR about additional funding options, as well as discussions with the developer.
The council held the first reading of an updated ordinance granting Minnesota Power a franchise to provide services in the city. The council did decide to ask the city attorney to review the updated ordinance, which will replace a previous ordinance passed in 1998 which expired in 2018.
The council also heard public input, but took no action, on complaints from Nick Levens about a short-term rental property adjacent to his home. Levens said he felt the city’s short-term rental ordinance was not being enforced, and that short-term rental clients were violating the provisions about parking.