At the council's Wednesday night meeting, Whitcomb explained, "Our next major issue is to identify the owners of the airport. Earlier this year, talk was started on forming a joint powers board between the city and Paynesville Township. The talks seemed to be at a stalemate. I encourage the council and township to resume discussions and to put the joint board together soon."
"We have also been working with the city engineers and MnDOT to fine tune a zoning ordinance that will be agreeable to all parties involved. We feel we are in good shape," Whitcomb said.
Whitcomb told the council that once the zoning ordinances are completed and approved by MnDOT, which won't be a small task, the next step is land acquisition. "I want you to be thinking ahead to the future. However, I don't have a time line on when the zoning ordinances will be completed and in place," Whitcomb added.
Serving on the joint zoning board are Dallas and Pat Fenske from Roseville Township; Joe Speldrich and Steve Brown from Paynesville Township; and Audrey Olmscheid, Steve Whitcomb, and Phil Bailey representing the city of Paynesville. Bailey and Brown are the only pilots on the board.
Community education
Matt Dickhausen, community education director, presented the council with a report about the 1999 summer recreation activities and a fund request.
"Participation numbers were strong this summer," Dickhausen said. "We started quite a few new enrichment programs for the youth this summer and we feel we had a successful summer. We tried to offer something to reach the kids who do not participate in sports."
There were 718 participants taking part in 23 programs this summer. The majority of the participants were from the city and Paynesville Township.
Dickhausen also told the council the user fees were raised to help cover expenses. "We had more parent volunteers working with the program which kept the expenses down. Instead of the usual $3,200 in funding that we have asked for in the past, this year we only need $1,698," he added.
The council approved paying their share of the summer recreation expenses.The cost of the summer recreation is divided equally between the city, Paynesville Township and the school district.
In other business...
•The council approved a resolution authorizing an increase in the tax levy as required by a new law. The new legislation requires counties and cities (over 500 population) to pass a resolution to increase their levy certification tax rate. Without the resolution, they would not be allowed to increase tax levies.
•The council approved a resolution declaring Oct. 25 to 29 as Manufacturers' Week in Paynesville.
•The council approved submitting a Minnesota ReLEAF grant application in the amount of $13,137. The grant promotes tree plantings in communities.
The new trees, which would be purchased with the money, would help replace those that will be lost during the 2000 Street Improvement Project.
•The council approved a temporary liquor license for the Paynesville American Legion for their new location. The Legion will no longer be able to operate under a "club" license due to the fact that the building will be open to the public for the purchase of liquor and food.
•The council set Wednesday, Nov. 10, as the public hearing date for the 2000 Street Improvement Project. The hearing will be held following the regular council meeting.