OSMOND — The Osmond City Council met Monday, Sept. 8, in the conference room for the annual budget hearing and the monthly meeting.
Treasurer Brittney Timmerman briefly went over the budget numbers.
With many in attendance Mayor Dennis Kuhl asked for any public questions or comments regarding the proposed budget. There were no public comments, so the budget hearing was closed and the regular meeting was held.
Later during the meeting, the FY 2526 budget was adopted as presented. The council also approved Resolution 2025-6 to set the 2025-26 property tax request at: General Fund, $307,389.12; Bond Fund, $165,000.00. Resolution 2025-6 will be printed in its entirety in the city minutes.
Insurance Bids Received
Sealed proposals for the municipal insurance policy were opened and presentations were made to the council for commercial business insurance by several companies. Luke Altwine of LARM had a proposal for a premium of $56,228 for a three-year commitment.
Lisa Schmit, Highstreet Insurance, presented an annual premium of $57,533. New Frontier did not submit a proposal to the office by 5 p.m.
After discussion and looking over both companies’ packets, council asked each company if they would allow a week to make a decision, and both agreed. Council set a special meeting for Monday, Sept. 15, at 7:45 a.m.
Tree Issues Continued
Discussion of the tree issue between neighbors was back before council. Jason Bolz had contacted his attorney, who informed him it would be on the city council to change or add to their ordinances/regulations to not allow that species of tree be planted.
After more back and forth conversation, Mayor Kuhl stated that the city attorney had been contacted in regard to the situation and advised it was more of a civil matter.
Council stated they will talk to the tree board members to get their input on whether something needs to be changed on the city side for regulations.
Asphalt Millings Sold
Treasurer Timmerman discussed selling some of the city’s asphalt millings pile to The Crafted Cup. She explained that due to an immediate family member of a council member being involved in the transaction, there are state regulations that must be followed, so she was needing to find out at what dollar amount they were selling each ton of product for.
During discussion it was mentioned that 11 loads, five ton each, have already been delivered. Timmerman explained that since city employees and equipment were used, the business would also be charged for the man hours and freight on the product.
Maintenance employees Caleb Eckstrom and Bert Wattier mentioned that, in the past, other people had inquired about the pile, and they asked, if people inquire again about it, how should they handle it. It was agreed it would be brought before council.After some discussion, the council voted to set the dollar per ton to $20.00.
Treasurer Timmerman asked council what they wanted to charge for freight, It was approved to set the freight charge to $2.00 per ton.
She went on to advise council that moving forward, no matter the dollar amount, it would be good practice to always bring sales of city property before council for approval to avoid any local or state regulation violations.
Street By St. Mary’s is Now Alley Maintenance supervisor Caleb Eckstrom informed council that St. Mary’s had a donation of new playground equipment given to them and the location of where it would go puts it in the city right of way on 5th Street to the east of Hill Street.
He asked council since there isn’t a through street if they would consider closing that portion of the street or turn it to an alley. He mentioned that the city does have utilities that run along there so he would prefer if it was turned into an alley.
After some discussion council agreed to change it to an alley. Clerk Timmerman mentioned that at next month’s meeting she will have all the legal documents to get it changed.
Street Plan Bids Sought; Street Plan Approved A letting for bid ad was brought before council for the one-year street asphalt project. Clerk Timmerman stated that after discussing with Maintenance Supervisor Eckstrom how many blocks were on the plan and when the ad should be put out to allow time for companies to put sealed bids together, they decided the ad would need to run this month for the CITY COUNCIL ADOPTS BUDGET; SET TAX REQUEST three weeks. She asked council when they wanted to open sealed bids and it was agreed to do so at the January 2026 meeting.
The public hearing on the One- and Six-Year Street Plan was opened and, with some discussion on the plan, Mayor Kuhl stated that this plan has been discussed over the last few months and asked if anyone had any changes or questions. With no further questions, the public hearing on the One- and Six-Year Plan was closed.
The council then approved Resolution 2025-5, One- and Six-Year Plan. And the resolution was passed and adopted. The resolution will be printed in the city minutes.
Pool Leak Discussed
After a further inspection of the pool by the Leak Investigators it was determined that the water that has been lost during the pool season was due to caulking needing to be replaced. Maintenance Supervisor Eckstrom mentioned the north wall seam had the most water leaking through it. After reviewing a quote for $19,472 from the Leak Investigators just to recaulk the pool, not including painting, council decided to hold off to do more research and find other companies to receive bids from as well.
CDL Issue Back on Agenda Discussion on CDL was back on the agenda for the council. Councilman Doug Schmit mentioned he had a conversation with maintenance employee Bert Wattier, who informed him that he was promised a $0.50 raise, however council at last month’s meeting did not approve the motion.
With Councilman Schmit not at the meeting then, he wanted to have input on the subject. He stated that if Wattier was promised the raise, then he should get it; however, Councilman Haselhorst said it was part of the hiring ad to have a CDL or obtain it within a year of working.
Councilman Dan Timmerman provided his input that he feels like these things should be taken into consideration at the annual raises instead of getting raises after every license or certificate obtained.
After more back and forth discussion on both sides, it was decided to discuss adding something to the employee handbook at next month’s meeting in regard to raises for obtaining the necessary licenses. Council then approved giving maintenance employee Bert Wattier a $0.50 per hour raise for obtaining his CDL.
Other Items on Agenda
Clerk Timmerman informed council that the Hazard Mitigation Plan 2025-2030 was finally approved by FEMA. She asked them to review the plan and let her know of any questions. After reviewing no questions were asked and Resolution 2025-7, Local Hazard Mitigation Plan was approved, passed and adopted. The complete resolution will be printed with the minutes.
Treasurer Timmerman provided an update on her findings from the revolving loan letter requiring a percentage of the annual payment be in a reserved account. She mentioned after talking with the city auditor that they are able to use the sewer funds account and make $25,000 restricted for the sewer loan and restrict $60,000 in that fund as well for the water loan. Council thanked her for the update.
Dr. David Johnson had reached out to Clerk Timmerman after reviewing the proposed plans for a cemetery directory at the city cemetery. He was wanting to let council know that if they would consider putting something more like the Lutheran cemetery directory out at the city cemetery, he would make a charitable donation to cover the cost. Councilman Dennis Haselhorst said he would work with Kelly Hodson and Dr. Johnson to put a new plan together.
With the new community sign up and employees from both organizations trained on running the sign, Clerk Timmerman reviewed with council what kind of events would be posted on it after talking to Mr. Bremer at the school.
Treasurer Timmerman requested the city make a payment to the Senior Citizens Center for $1,000.00 for the Down Memory Lane utilities. The city has made an annual payment of $1,000.00 since 2017. The council approved the $1,000.00 annual payment to the Senior Citizens Center for the Down Memory Lane utilities this month.
Clerk Timmerman presented the Interlocal Cooperation Act Agreement By and Between the County of Pierce and the City of Osmond. It was received and signed by the mayor after last month’s meeting, since it was due back to the county by the end of last month. This agreement will provide $11,000 for the City’s Library budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Treasurer Timmerman requested the bank signature cards be updated before the audit since Assistant Trea- surer Cindy Hoffman has officially re tired from the city. Council approved having Cindy Hoffman removed from the bank signature cards.
After reviewing the August 2025 reconciliation and bank statement, council had no questions or concerns. Treasurer Timmerman reported she will follow up on the outstanding check from July.
Police Chief Wells presented a report on recent activity within the city, including one suspicious vehicle report, one bomb threat, two title questions, one stolen trailer, one welfare check request, one helicopter traffic and one call for wildlife to name a few. Wells asked council how they would like him to handle an outstanding bill that hasn’t been paid to the city. Due to the small amount council agreed to disregard the bill.
In other business, the council: heard that no further changes have been made on the two vacant properties since last meeting and an update will be provided next month. heard Clerk Timmerman state the following building permits: Marvin Jensen, moving in a house on his property, and The Crafted Cup, coffee trailer and outbuilding. heard Mayor Kuhl state city sales tax for June 2025 was a total of $20,836.63 (of that amount $5,905.28 is from motor vehicle tax). heard Mayor Kuhl read one cor- respondence from a resident filing a complaint about the city’s property in South Osmond not being maintained. approved Main Street Alley special designated liquor license application for a reunion on Sept. 27, 2025.
