Centerville Tidbits

By Louise Edwards

City Douses Fire Truck Sale Collectors of historic vehicles have been told to hold fi re on their bids.

Two offers for Centerville's 1951 Studebaker fire truck were before the Centerville City Council at its meeting on Dec. 26.

City council members decided to reject the bids, for $2,008 and $1,750, and hold on to the truck for now.

Mayor Mary Capra said, "I did talk to the firefighters' museum about this, and they said once it's gone, it's gone, and we would have to say goodbye to it, so they said we should really weigh it."

Council Member Jeff Paar added, "I think in 20 years we would really kick ourselves. Once we have got the downtown done, and restored [the fi re truck], there might be a place to put it on display.

I would like to keep it."

It is proposed to store the fire truck at the new public works building on Cedar Street, following the facility's completion in February.

Parks & Rec Adds Member A new face will be sitting on the Parks and Recreation Committee this month.

Centerville resident Pat Branch was approved as the committee's newest member at the city council meeting on Dec. 26.

Branch, a retired air force colonel, told the meeting he had taken an interest in the city's green spaces since he arrived in September.

"I'm an avid but aging athlete, so I'm very interested in the parks from that perspective," he said.

Branch added, "I'm here for two very important young people who use the parks with their grandfather.

"We use your parks and they are an important part of our community, and this is a good way to get involved."

In other action, the council: . Approved the 2007 tax levy, to be collected in 2008, which is a projected increase of 3.55 percent over the previous year.

. Resolved to approve the 2008 city budget, amounting to $2,441,600 in total.

. Agreed to extend the completion date of the new public works building for a second time, from Dec. 27, 2007 to Feb. 15, 2008.

. Approved the city's claims through Dec. 26, amounting to $62,370.97.

. Approved Centennial Fire District's claims through Dec. 11, which came to a total of $10,912.47.

. Approved payment of the Centennial Lakes Police Department's claims through Dec. 12, totaling $31,057.58.

. Passed a resolution authorizing the prepayment of bonds issued Nov. 1, 2001, specifically the bond maturities of 2009 through 2013 (totaling $565,000), to be redeemed on Feb. 1, 2008, and closure of the certain debt service fund.

. Passed another resolution authorizing the prepayment of bonds issued Oct. 1, 2002, specifi cally the bond maturities of 2009 through 2014 in the amount of $410,000, to be redeemed on Feb. 2, 2008. The debt service fund had been established to pay for revenue and expenses related to improvements made in 2002, but they have since been paid and the fund is no longer needed.

. Approved the Anoka County agreement for the residential recycling program for 2008.

. Agreed to the disbursement of the fire relief aid fund in the amount of $137,100.00 to Centennial Fire District.

. Approved the renewal of massage therapist licenses, subject to a successful criminal background check, of Lisa Kieselhorst (from Sense of Life), and Jennifer Klein and William Klein (both of Serenity Now Healing).

. Granted a sauna/massage parlor license to Serenity Now Healing, which is based at 7043 - 20th Ave South.

. Acknowledged the successful performance reviews of the city clerk, Teresa Bender, and the city receptionist, Kim Stephan.

. Passed a resolution authorizing the finance director to transfer funds totaling $185,864.51 to close out inactive funds.

. Looked over three estimates for the cost of installing a new telephone system for the new public works building on Cedar Street, ranging from $2,852.60 to $6,451.57, and asked for more clarification regarding the breakdown of costs.

. Approved a resolution to apply to Anoka County for the funding of land purchase and pond construction on Lots 4 and 5 in Block 1, Centerville, as part of the downtown redevelopment project. The application is for funding to the tune of $220,000, with the total cost of the project calculated at $320,000.

. Considered a purchase agreement drawn up for the acquisition of Lots 8 and 13 on Block 7 in Centerville, at a cost of $225,500.

. Approved payment of $210 in costs for Council Member Michelle Lakso to attend the League of Minnesota Cities leadership conference for public offi cials, which is being held in Bloomington, Minn. this month.