The Staples City Council, in a June 9 session noted for its brevity, took care of three or four fairly minor items and heard reports from its Public Works Commission and from the city administrator.

The city council, in an unusual move, okayed an agreement to transfer federal airport aid funds to Elbow Lake this year in exchange for an agreement to have that city return the funds in 2011. The exchange was suggested by consulting engineers. City Administrator Nate Mathews noted this situation was brought to his attention by the city's engineering firm that advised the city on airport issues. The city receives federal airport funds annually but is not planning an immediate project for this year. However, their airport fund balance will be exceeding the federal limits, meaning it will have to be paid back to the Federal Aviation Administration.

To avoid this 'use it or lose it' situation, Staples will transfer $54,565 to Elbow Lake this year and get that same amount back in 2011. The city, which just used 90 percent FAA funding to purchase a new tractor and snowblower for airport use, plans to build a new garage for housing that machine at that time.

The city council also, in a meeting that lasted just over 30 minutes, okayed a resolution consenting to the Charter Communications Inc. financial restructuring. The city's cable TV provider has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The city's resolution is required by anyone wishing to be listed among Charter's creditors.

The council accepted an annual Electric Reliability Performance Report from the Public Works Commission. The Staples Electric Utility had three unscheduled power interruptions in 2008. Two of them involved either two or four customers, but the Nov. 11, 2008, outage had all 1,339 customers out of service for about five minutes.

Other PWC items from their June 1 meeting were:

o An entrance request from Faith Lutheran Church from Second Avenue to their parking lot.

o Request to consider a lighting change for the Staples Historical Society's parking lot west of the depot.

o Request for paving of the alley behind the city's water tower between Fifth and Sixth Street.

City Administrator Nate Mathews reported that since May 26, his activities have included:

o Ground breaking for city hall/library on May 28;

Fire Relief Association training session on May 28.

o Studying options for snow removal on the turnback route on June 1; Also legal review of city options for assisting the Staples Food Shelf.

o Attending a Missouri River Energy Service session June 4 held at Alexandria for the Northern Cities group that purchases electric power from MRES.

o Discovery of an old fuel oil tank on the old creamery site (now the new city hall) site and overseeing its removal. There did not appear to be any leakage since the ground was clean and the tank still held old fuel oil.

Mathews noted the city planned the Dower Lake pier dedication for Sunday, June 14. There was a turnback breakfast meeting planned for 7:30 a.m. June 16 to talk about old Highway 10 turnback issues with property owners. The council retreat/workshop once planned for June 25 has been postponed to 8 a.m. July 21. The city wants to begin planning for the 2010 budget but fears that Gov. Tim Pawlenty will substantially cut Local Government Aid (LGA) funds that the city depends on for about one third of its income.