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Newly elected Shafer Mayor Kyle Johnson was sworn-in to start the Jan. 2 Shafer City Council meeting and then swiftly proceeded through a brief agenda for the night.

The 2007 council has a very different face than its predecessor, as three of the four council members join Johnson in their first terms.

Also being sworn-in were Chad Mittelsteadt, elected to the seat formerly held by Christopher Maring and Patty Mattson, elected to her fourth term on the council. Council members Jeremy Vitalis and Patti Kowalski were sworn-in immediately following the canvassing of November election results.

The council continues to work with the Chisago County Parks Board on the Swedish Immigrant Trail project. City Engineer Steve Thatcher of Thatcher Engineering completed a preliminary review of the concept of turning a portion of 303rd St. into a one-way road to allow the trail to pass the Mitthune property and continue across Redwing Ave.

The report states that there is not enough right-of-way on the current road to allow for one-way vehicle traffic to the east and the bike trail on the north side of the road.

"It's probably not wide enough, so maybe something else needs to be done," council member Kowalski said.

City Attorney Ted Alliegro recommended holding a public hearing to garner input, although it is not required, he added.

"It might be nice to have feedback from residents," he said.

A public hearing on the option of changing traffic on 303rd St. between Redwing and Regal avenues was set for Feb. 6. Alliegro said the city should be ready to present sketches, maps and other pertinent information about the trail.

Shafer/Franconia Fire Chief Mike Olmschenk reported his findings after reviewing the options of burning versus demolition of the old city building on Redwing Ave.

The council had previously discussed an estimate of around $30,000 for demolishing the building and removal of materials. Initially it was believed that burning the building as a fire department training exercise would be the less costly option.

Olmschenk said the cost to burn could actually be more. A power pole sitting in front of the building would have to be temporarily moved across the street and then moved back after the burn. Olmschenk received a quote of around $9,200 for Xcel Energy to move the pole and nearly as much to move it back.

"So it's nearly $20,000 just to move the pole back and forth," he said.

Add the estimated cost of $13,000 to remove the debris, $1,000 for fire training, $2,000 to build a temporary fire wall to protect the old bank building adjacent to the property and additional costs of shutting off gas and electricity in the old bank building and the option to burn the building could cost more than $35,000.

"So, I don't know if you're saving any money at all with the burn," Olmschenk said.

He added that the department could still use the building for training even if it wasn't burned. The firefighters could utilize the building for search and rescue training using a borrowed smoke machine, he said.

"I do like the fact that it could be used for training for the fire department, but we're looking at the cost of that too," Johnson said.

Kowalski and Mattson said they would like to see bids for demolishing the building so a better comparison can be made. Olmschenk said he would obtain bids and bring them back to the Jan. 16 meeting.

Official appointments

As the first 2007 meeting, the council accepted various appointments and designated city services. They are: Assistant Mayor- Mattson; Parks Commission- Mattson, Johnson, citizen members Eric Garner and Nellie Wilkinson; Planning Commission- Kowalski, Mittelsteadt and citizen member Kevin Miller; EDA- Vitalis, Kowalski, alternate- Mattson, citizen members Chad Lindgren, Kevin Miller, Chuck Lukas and Bob Ryan; Street Commissioner- Vitalis and Mittelsteadt; Water & Sewer Commission- Vitalis and Kowalski; Finance Committee- Mattson, Johnson; HR Committee- Vitalis, Mattson and city employee Terry Campbell; Joint Powers Library- Johnson, Mittelsteadt; Ordinance Committee- Vitalis, Kowalski; Weed Inspector- Johnson; Asst. Weed Inspector- city employee Terry Campbell; Civil Defense Coordinator/Emergency Disaster Coordinator- Mittelsteadt; Joint Powers Fire Board- Mittelsteadt, Kowalski; Hwy. 8 Task Force- Mattson, Kowalski; Cable Commission- Mattson, Johnson; City Attorney- Johnson, Grundhoefer & Alliegro; City Engineer- Thatcher Engineering, Inc.; Law Enforcement- Chisago County Sheriff; Official Newspaper- Chisago County Press; Official Depository- RiverBank MN and Lake Area Bank.

The city will advertise vacancies for citizen members on the Parks Commission (1 vacancy), Planning Commission (2) and EDA (1).

Public Works building dedicated

Prior to the meeting, an official ribbon-cutting and open house were held at the new city public works/maintenance building. The 4,100 square-foot facility will house city maintenance vehicles and department offices. It was approved and constructed during 2006 for a cost of $610,000.

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