At the Monday, Aug. 5 Little Falls City Council meeting, the Council approved a $50,700 change order for the Southwest Regional pond project. The previous cost of the project was $116,793.20, with the new total cost being $167,493.20.
On May 13, the City awarded the project to Kimman Diggers. During construction, an error was discovered in the calculation of the earthwork. The computer program used to calculate the earthwork did not consider the amount of material removed from the bottom of the pond. This was discovered during the construction staking phase of the project.
Although the change order was approved, members of the Council expressed frustration with Kimman Diggers for failing to notify them as soon as the error was discovered, with some noting that had they initially known that the project would cost this much, they might have gone with a different contractor.
“(The decision has) already been made, and it has to be made,” Council Member Frank Gosiak said. “We can gripe about how it was done and stuff and be in disagreement. Maybe we can learn from this, and next time there’s a presentation or an issue comes up, come before us a little sooner. I’m sure we would have voted it in, because we have to. We needed it. So I’m not going to push this anymore. I don’t feel like reprimanding anybody.”
Little Falls Golf Course update
During the Little Falls City Council special work session preceding the meeting, the City’s interim administrators, Public Works Director/Engineer Greg Kimman, HR Director Annie Cribb and Finance Director Hannah Kurkowski gave a brief update on the Little Falls Municipal Golf Course, Clubhouse and Event Center.
Cribb said there would be an open house on Friday, Aug. 16 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. for anyone interested to tour the clubhouse. Food and refreshments will also be available.
Kurkowski said she was talking with different vendors on options for golf simulators.
Kimman updated the Council on various maintenance projects being done at the location, including paving over a wall and installing a deck or patio.
Kurkowski also said that small groups who want to meet at the clubhouse are able to do so without having to pay any special rate, as long as they don’t want to have the entire area to themselves. There was confusion from some guests as to whether small groups had to pay a special rate to meet at the clubhouse, so Kurkowski wanted to clear up that issue.
Little Falls Police Department granted one of two requested vehicles
Little Falls Police Department Chief Kyle Johnson requested that the Council approve a lease agreement for two vehicles, both Ford Escapes, to be used by Johnson and the assistant police chief when patrolling the City. Currently, when no squad cars are available, he and the assistant police chief use their personal vehicles to patrol Little Falls.
Council Member Leif Hanson said the police chief needing to drive his personal vehicle while working and in uniform was an “absolute embarrassment,” but agreed with other Council members that the department could get by with one additional vehicle for now and have discussions about adding a second one in the future.
In other news…
Authorized the increased quotation of $9,925 for the 2023 938 CAT Front End Loader from Ziegler Inc. in St. Cloud in order to move the wing to the front of the loader, bringing the new total cost to $328,612.42;Hired Jordan Slater as a Little Falls Police Department officer;Opted into two additional PFAS lawsuit settlements with BASF and Tyco Fire Products. The combined total of all cities receiving settlement dollars will be $312.5 million from BASF and $750 million from Tyco Fire Products;Introduced Ordinance 47, which would sell a lot of land on 100 Seventh Avenue Northeast in Little Falls for $23,295.52 to CM Real Estate LLC for the building of an office building containing around 75 to 80 employees;Authorized the Little Falls Police Department to spend the remainder of public safety aid funds received from the state in 2023, around $150,000, for various needs of the department without prior approval from the Council unless the item exceeds $25,000;Introduced Ordinance 48, which would sell a different lot of land to FLI Ventures, LLC for $10;Authorized the submittal of a Public Safety Impact Funding application through Sourcewell for $69,500 to purchase a virtual reality training simulator, the Apex Officer Pro Training Simulator through Govred Technology, Inc.;Authorized the submittal of a Public Safety Match Funds Grant application through Sourcewell for wildfire rescue turnout gear for the Little Falls Fire Department at a total project cost of $49,481.58, with the City’s matching funds to be $11,120.40 if the Department of Natural Resources grant is awarded and being $16,120.40 if it is not awarded.Linden Hill to hold a raffle on Dec. 13;Approved an application for a show license for Helping Hands 365 at Le Bourget Park on Sept. 21;Approved a display of fireworks permit for Res Pyro and Barrett Pet Food Innovations on Aug. 9;Affirmed a nomination of Mayor Greg Zylka to the Board of Trustees for Sourcewell;Authorized the out of state travel for Kurkowski to attend the BS&A Software Annual Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from Oct. 13 through 16 at a cost of $2,195;Affirmed Policy 74, pertaining to data practices; andAdopted Resolution 2024-54, accepting a donation of $1,425 from the Little Falls Fire Relief for a side by side, a donation of $2,000 from G.O.L.F. for concrete for the golf course’s driving range, a donation of $5,700 from the Dandee Lions for splash pad benches, a donation of $100,000 from Paul and Collette Cameron for a fireplace and clubhouse and a donation of $100,000 from the Little Falls Exchange Club for a clubhouse deck and patio.
The next meeting of the Little Falls City Council is at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 19, in City Hall’s Council Chambers. A special work session will precede the meeting at 6:30 p.m.
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