During their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 12, the Starbuck City Council conducted the following business:

• Heard from Wayne Anderson who is running in the November election for the office of Pope County Recorder. Anderson said one of the reasons he chose to enter the race was his belief that the offices of Pope County Assessor and Pope County Recorder could be combined into one office. Anderson is currently the Pope County Assessor.

• Approved scheduling a public hearing for Thursday, July 29 at 6 p.m. to discuss rezoning the property located at the intersection of Highway 28/29/114 from residential to commercial. The public hearing will be followed by a special budget meeting.

• Approved, by a 3-1 margin with Mayor Steve Dinsmore voting in dissent, giving Mike Moen 15 days to be in compliance with the city fence ordinance. If the fence is not in compliance within 15 days, the council said it will follow the city ordinance on possible penalties.

• Approved setting up a committee comprised of members of the Planning and Zoning Committee, council members, and private contractors to look at city building ordinances and clear up any contradictions or confusing ordinances.

• Heard monthly call list from Starbuck Police Chief Jim Minion.

• Discussed ATV's, golf carts and other motorized vehicles driving in downtown Starbuck and on the bike path south of town. Councilman Tom Goracke said such vehicles have a place in Starbuck, but questioned why those vehicles were allowed to drive on the bike path when it states no motorized vehicles. Minion said the vehicles are not allowed on the bike path, but suggested the city look at adopting a similar ordinance to what Morris did to regulate the use of alternative vehicles in town. Minion said he will bring the ordinance to an upcoming council meeting, which will help the city regulate where the vehicles can be driving in town.

• Approved paying off the remaining $24,461 balance on the new Starbuck Police Department truck. Dinsmore said the truck loan had a high rate of interest and the city would save money in the long run by paying off the balance of the loan.

• Approved pouring cement on six more light poles in the Starbuck Marina. This is the second year the council agreed to pour cement into six light poles in the marina. The cement has helped prevent the poles from tipping when the frost comes out of the ground in the spring. The total cost of the project was $1,200.

• Approved removing a handicapped sign at the intersection of 6th St. and John St.

• Approved $713 to purchase 24 flashlights and clips to be placed on the helmets of the Starbuck Fire Department.

• Approved $2,514 to fix a light pole at the Starbuck Marina. Two light poles broke in the marina and the council decided to replace the pole by the landing first.

• Approved paying Brett Erickson for mowing a tax-forfeited property at the corner of 2nd St. and Abercrombie. An agreement was reportedly in place to credit Erickson on his water bill for mowing that yard, however, the council said it will send a letter to Erickson informing him that he will no longer be paid for mowing the yard.

• Approved setting up a special assessment hearing prior to the August 16 Starbuck City Council meeting to discuss two overlay projects on Hagenson St. and Bingham St. near the Starbuck Locker and auto body shop.

• Discussed getting a bid to replace aging breakers at Hobo Park. The council had discussed spending $20,000 to do an overlay project on the roads in the campground, but City Superintendant Gary Koos said some of the employees at Hobo Park felt the money would be wiser spent replacing the breakers.

• Discussed vacating a plotted road on South Shore. At a previous meeting, Mary Baukol told the council the road was never built and was asking that it be vacated. However, the council said the portion of land in question actually belongs to the township and not the city and will refer Baukol to the White Bear Lake Township Board.

• Approved receiving donations totalling $200 from the Starbuck VFW to the Starbuck Area Chamber of Commerce and $12,000 in Brang Foundation grants to the City of Starbuck.

• Approved minutes for the June 14 regularly scheduled Starbuck City Council meeting.

• Approved bills totalling $57,820.52.

• Approved a motion that states if the city is catering food at the Starbuck Community Center that an effort be made to have a Starbuck business cater the meal.

• Approved, by a 3-1 margin with Dinsmore voting in dissent, to move the August city council meeting to August 16. The August 9 meeting would interfere with the primary election. Dinsmore said he would be unable to attend the August meeting.

• Approved paying the first half of Starbuck City Council and Starbuck Mayor regular and special meeting dividends. The meeting totals include: Dinsmore, 21 total meetings for $1,175; Councilwoman Jeannie Pladsen, 21 total meetings for $1,050; Councilman Jim Johnson, 21 total meetings for $1,050; Goracke, 20 total meetings for $1,000. Councilman Jamie Logan did not turn in a meeting per diem in advance of the July 12 meeting.

• Discussed how to properly compensate the city council and mayor for work done outside of the regular monthly meetings. In a letter to the council Johnson, who was not present at the meeting, said he felt the council should only be paid for regular and special meetings. The council said it will come up with a fair way to pay the council and mayor before the end of the year which will take effect at the start of 2011.

• Approved separating money from the Starbuck Marina and Hobo Park effective 2011. The money from the two different enterprises currently gets put into one fund.

• Discussed hoop buildings in the city limits. Last year the council approved allowing the buildings on a trial basis until May. However, most of the buildings that were allowed for a six month trial still remain intact. The council said it will discuss what to do about hoop buildings at an upcoming meeting.

• Approved $700 to purchase a hard cover for the back of the new Starbuck Police Department truck, contingent the police department had the necessary funds in its budget.

• Heard from Pladsen concerning the city employee union. Pladsen said the city hopes to have some lingering issues with the union representative worked out by the end of the month and could be discussed at the August meeting.

• Heard from Dinsmore who said he spoke with an official from the DNR and reported several grants the city received in the past would restrict the city from selling the marina to a private individual. In addition to the grants, Dinsmore said the marina and Hobo Park are making the city money and may not be in the best interest of the city to sell anyway. Goracke said if the city does not sell the marina it must look at doing some upgrades to the docking system and figure out a way to get more large boats in the marina.