By Robert Williams

Editor

Brad Solberg, owner of Solberg Insurance, proposed an Insurance Agent change request with the City of Frazee after the recent retirement of former city agent Rita Stelzer of United Community Insurance (UCI). The request came at the city council meeting on Wednesday, June 11, at the Event Center.

In the process, Solberg revealed that his company is the fourth and final tenant of the downtown retail building. While this was somewhat public knowledge, it had not been publicly or officially stated prior to Wednesday’s meeting.

“It’s something that I’ve thought about for a while now with the City of Frazee,” said Solberg.

He described his history of being a licensed agent for 24 years and has written in 10 to 12 different states he has operated in and been a part of municipalities on the insurance and banking side the past 15 years.

“I’ve insured school districts, cities, counties, irrigation districts and still insure counties in other states,” he said. 

Some insurance questions came up when Solberg was in the process of agreeing to lease the last unit downtown.

“I really like to dive in and get into the code on that,” Solberg said. 

With Stelzer exiting and Solberg’s office growing, he offered to allow the city to switch over the servicing of the existing policy to his agency.

“This isn’t a proposal to overhaul or anything, at this point,” he said. “I couldn’t recommend that because I haven’t had the chance to see it.”

According to communications from Stelzer, Poegel announced that Albert Doll will be the new UCI agent as of July 24. Dane Gigstead is currently operating as the interim agent.

Mayor Mike Sharp was interested in shopping around and searching for the best value for taxpayers.

The council elected to shift the proposal to the finance committee for further review. The city would also have Attorney Thomas Winters review it as well due to Solberg Insurance becoming a tenant of the Economic Development Authority to clear or identify any potential conflicts of interest.

Mikkelsen property

Council member Andrea Froeber brought up the Mikkelson property by Dollar General, a 4-acre parcel with infrastructure ready for future housing and how the parcel has received little interest from area developers.

Discussions are centered around modifying the current RFP.

According to City Administrator Stephanie Poegel, the current RFP notes that the city wants to build there while asking for plans and quotes for the city to hire a contractor to build there, but with the city holding an overall say on what will be built and the design features while retaining ownership.

“If you’re looking to sell it and have somebody develop it into multi-family housing or senior housing, you may be better off listing it for sale,” said Poegel.

She further explained how the RFP is presented: the city is going to build the housing and want the say in all of it with any of the expense.

“That’s probably why we’re not hearing anything,” said Froeber.

Poegel explained two options, 1) leave the RFP as it is and wait for somebody willing to submit a plan for approval, or 2) trust that developers would create multi-family housing.

Mayor Mike Sharp responded to Poegel’s question on if the council wants final say on whatever is built on the property.

“I want to make sure that we have a reputable developer; we need multi-family housing, but we want it done right,” said Sharp. 

Froeber suggested removing the RFP, due to the city owning the property and having the right of refusal to any sale.

The council tabled a decision for the next meeting due to the absence of City Attorney Thomas Winters Wednesday.

Public Health

Froeber reported that Becker County Public Health is seeking volunteers to complete necessary tasks. The county currently has 450 volunteers.

“If we were to have a catastrophic event we don’t have a lot of people that would come and help with that,” said Froeber.

The search is not for medical professionals, but more for people of all abilities. Interested parties can contact Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Vanessa Collmann at Becker County Human Services.

Rescue

Amanda Feldt has been recommended to become the Rescue Department’s Assistant Chief to Chief Matt Johnson. The council approved her promotion unanimously.

Town Lake Beach

The council approved a kayak and paddleboard rental liability waiver and release of claims to allow equipment rental to participants at Town Lake Beach.

The waiver was approved by the Park & Rec Committee and a contract attorney. The city plans to have both hard copy and electronic versions for participants to access.

Wannigan Park

The Frazee Community Development Corporation (FCDC), City of Frazee and Frazee-Vergas School District are in negotiations to repeat last year’s treatment of the North River Drive loop to combat dust from traffic.

A working agreement to avoid having to address the situation each year until the road is paved is also in process.

The road has been bladed twice this year with the dust guarding by the county Maintenance Superintendent Jona Jacobson to be scheduled in the near future.

The FCDC and the city have also entered an agreement to purchase a parcel owned by Luke Kangas at 104 River Drive North.

“The purchasing of this property will make putting in the road and the trail 90 million times easier,” said Poegel. “Where that property is, it gets really narrow there to try to put a road and a trail.”

The city is risk-free in the purchase as the FCDC has agreed to complete the purchase within 12 months. Public funds and bonding will be pursued to complete the purchase.

In other news, FCDC has asked Becker County Commissioner Phil Hansen to join their board. Hansen has been a mainstay at city council meetings since taking over his commissioner position in January. Hansen represents District 3 in Becker County, which includes Burlington, Erie, Holmesville and Lake View Townships, along with the City of Frazee.