Breezy Point: Council swears in new members, approves annual appointments

The Breezy Point City Council swore in two new council members and approved the annual designations and appointments at its Tuesday, Jan. 3, meeting.

Newly elected council members Rebecca Ball and Gary Mitchell took the oath of office and were sworn in at the beginning of the meeting, along with returning Mayor Tom Lillehei. Ball and Mitchell replaced council members Diane Williams and Otto Schmid.

Williams was appointed to fill a seat on the parks committee vacated by Deborah Simmons, who has moved out of town. Two open seats remain on the committee.

The council designated Widseth Smith Nolting as consultant city engineer; Schlenner Wenner & Co. as city auditor; Joe Langel, Ratwik, Roszak, Maloney as city attorney; Pine River State Bank as official depository; and PineandLakes Echo Journal as official newspaper.

In other business Jan. 3, the council:

• Accepted two donations to the cemetery commission. The Fletcher Foundation donated $10,000, and GrassMaster Professional Groundskeeping donated $1,073.67. GrassMaster maintains the cemetery lawn, and its donation is equal to the cost of its services for 2016.

• Approved plans and specifications for the Whitebirch 6th Addition paving project and agreed to send out bids for the project, which includes paving Zuni Circle, Aztec Circle, Pawnee Circle, Pima Circle and Navaho Trail.

• Approved plans for seal coating selected roadways in 2017. Proposed streets include Humming Bear Lane, Bittersweet Circle, Autumn Lane, Harvest Court, Harvest Road, Green Scene Drive, Snowman Circle, Four Seasons Place and portions of Summer Drive and Raccoon Lane. The project's cost is estimated at $78,800.

• Approved an update to the city's archery and shooting (birdshot) ordinances. The update requires landowner permission to fire a bow and arrow on any property.

• Approved the 2016 pay equity report.

• Accepted a bid of $5,020 for the 2001 F-350 Chassis the public works department previously used. Marc Budke, of Fergus Falls, submitted the highest bid.

• Approved the use of $43,720 to purchase a new squad car for the Breezy Point Police Department. The city will keep the old car as a spare.

In December, the Breezy Point Police Department responded to 125 incidents, including two traffic arrests, seven crashes, two thefts and one fire.

The department responded to 2,481 total incidents in 2016, which is down from 2,634 in 2015.