DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – After the July 6 meeting of the Devils Lake City Commission was called to order at City Hall, Judge Peter Halbach came forward to administer the oath of office for returning Mayor Jim Moe, then City Commissioner Jason Pierce and finally City Commissioner Rob Hach.
Afterwards, Hach was unanimously elected to serve as Commission Vice President. Commissioners then reviewed their portfolio and committee assignments, which were accepted unanimously by the commission.
Moe has been assigned Assessor/Building Official, Finance, Municipal Judge, City Attorney, Water Issues, Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Renaissance Zone Authority, Planning and Zoning, Personnel Policy Advisory and Forward Devils Lake.
Hach has been assigned Police, Sanitation, Airport Authority, Engineering, North Central Planning Council Board, Ramsey County Fair Board, Ramsey County Planning and Zoning Commission, Senior Meals & Services Board of Directors, and Forward Devils Lake.
Commissioner Joe Knowski has been assigned Sewer, Water, Law Enforcement Center Board, Parking Authority, Local Emergency Preparedness Committee and Senior Commission on Aging.
Pierce was assigned Fire, Ramsey County Fair Board, Ramsey County Planning and Zoning Commission, Shade Tree Committee, Northern Plains RC&D Board and North Central Planning Council Board
Commissioner Lisa Uhlenkamp has been assigned Street, Cemetery and Weed, Weed Control Board, Library Board, Law Enforcement Center Board and Personnel Policy Advisory Committee.
Next, the Commission reviewed the renewal of the appointment of city officers, including Jason Sayler from the Traynor Law Firm as City Attorney, Rob Johnson as City Assessor and Interim City Auditor, Chief of Police Jason Toso, City Engineer Mike Grafsgaard and Fire Chief Nate Bennett.
Sayler made some changes to the contract agreement to serve as City Attorney, who drafted the agreement after a discussion with Spencer Halvorson, whose last day as City Administrator was on June 19. One of the changes was regarding out-of-pocket expenses; he removed the expenses for telephone and facsimile usage. “It’s outdated technology,” Sayler said. “I don’t use a fax machine, we have internet phones, I’m not charging long distance, so I wanted to point that out.”
Sayler added that he did put in language to cover court filing fees. “That would be if you filed suit in district court, civil action, which hasn’t happened in the last few years,” he said, adding that he also included language to cover service and process fees. “Those go hand in hand, if you have the sheriff serve someone, which has happened, just so you have that clarity of what are some of the out-of-pocket fees.”
Sayler said that the agreement for compensation is now a retainer agreement. “So, you pay a set amount every month, regardless of the amount of work your city attorney does,” he said. “It says an hourly rate, up to a maximum, a ceiling of that monthly amount that the city is currently paying me as your city attorney. If the hours go above that amount, any additional compensation would have to be approved by the City Commission. So, the City’s not required to pay more.”
“The thing with retainer agreements is they’re inherently unfair,” Sayler said. “Someone is losing every time. Either the city is paying me too much or I’m not being fully compensated. The nice thing about a retainer is it gives predictability. You know what you’re going to pay every month. I’m fine either way, but these are the (two sections) I was asked to prepare.”
Sayler said the to the Commission members that he didn’t have an expectation, and he didn’t want to be a source of budgetary concern. Ultimately, he anticipates putting in more hours than the amount of compensation. “I’m OK with that, because the practice of the law is not about making money. It’s a side effect,” Sayler said, remembering the original founder of the Traynor Law Firm. “Jack Traynor, it’s been a while since I’ve thought of him, but he always looked at the city attorney position of a public service, and I try to keep that in mind as well.”
Commissioners unanimously approved the new agreement as drafted by Sayler.
Approval of the minutes from the June 15 Commission meeting was tabled until typos could be corrected. Although he was unable to attend, a moment was taken to observe Richard Godman’s 25 years with the Sanitation Department, with the hope that he will be able to attend another meeting.
The Commission then approved a release of funds totaling $10,832.75 for the Lake Region Heritage Center; Director Lisa Crosby was on hand to provide a brief overview of what’s been happening at the Center and what’s coming up.
During the review of commission portfolios, Fire Chief Bennett wanted to get permission to use funds from the Devils Lake Fire Department’s equipment reserve fund to purchase a new lawn mower to replace one that they had before, to assist in mowing lawns of residents when the grass grows past a certain length. Pierce said that lately they’ve been leasing the mower belonging to the local cemetery.
The Commission later convened in executive session for attorney consultation to discuss the pending legal matters related to the lease agreement between the City and Holly Malheim, owner of the Sunnyside Childcare Center LLC. Last month, Malheim had given five days’ notice to their employees and the families they served that the center was closing its doors on June 30. When they returned from the executive session, they determined to take no action thus far, then moved to approve payment of the submitted list of bills.