FAIRMONT– Without discussion, the Fairmont City Council approved an interim employment agreement between the city of Fairmont and Jeff O’Neil for city administrator services during its meeting on Monday.

As the item was under the consent agenda, no conversation was had. At the last regular Fairmont City Council meeting on Nov. 18, Administrator Matt Skaret was absent and following the meeting, in a brief conversation with the Sentinel, Mayor Lee Baarts shared that Skaret had been placed on administrative leave.

Prior to that, in late October, Skaret had had a six month performance evaluation done in closed session.

O’Neil previously served the city on an interim basis following the departure of former City Administrator Cathy Reynolds in May of 2023. He officially started the role in late September 2023 and stayed until April 2024, at which point Skaret began.

Also on Monday, the council considered an amendment to Fairmont City Code regarding lodging tax and whether it should be applied to Airbnbs. The council had first discussed the matter at the July 22 meeting and had approved the first consideration of amending the lodging tax ordinance at the Oct. 28 meeting.

City Clerk Betsy Steuber said that staff has been working with City Attorney Cara Brown of Flaherty and Hood on the matter.

“Assuming approval of the second consideration at this evening’s meeting, lodging tax would be anticipated to start being collected as of Jan. 1, 2025,” Steuber said.

Council Member Britney Kawecki said that while Airbnbs bring people to Fairmont, the collection of the tax would be an issue.

“They (property owners) would either have to take it out of the money they’re making or impose an additional form of a charge on the people who are staying. I think that will leave a sour taste in their mouth,” Kawecki said.

She said she appreciated how Visit Fairmont Director, Brittany Hartman, had said during public comment that she looked forward to promoting Airbnbs, but that council has never heard how that will be done.

“I don’t understand how you’re going to specifically promote the Airbnbs and that’s a question that I have. I feel like we’re passing something without knowing all of the facts or implications,” Kawecki said.

She also said she thinks that people stay locally in Airbnbs for a longer time frame, rather than just a few nights.

“We’re being asked to impose this tax on Airbnb when we’re not doing the same thing to long-term and/or short-term rentals,” Kawecki said.

Council Member Jay Maynard said that the ordinance as amended specifically provides for an exception for rentals of 30 days or more to the same lodger so that the tax would not apply to a long-term rental.

“With that said, I think it’s valid to ask how do we intend to collect this tax from Airbnb owners,” Maynard said.

Finance Director Paul Hoye said he was unsure how Airbnb owners would collect the tax, but spoke to the process of how the 3 percent lodging tax is currently collected in the city from hotels and motels.

Kawecki still took issue with passing the ordinance amendment and said she felt the council was putting the cart in front of the horse.

Council Member Michele Miller said, “I think Visit Fairmont, the pillow tax, it helps to promote them and it’s going to bring them more business. I don’t see why we’re having a discussion about it being a negative thing.”

Council Member Randy Lubenow questioned how the city will know who has an Airbnb property in the city and Hoye said he’s asked his staff to look at both Airbnb and VRBO websites to see what properties are listed in the city.

In closing the conversation, Kawecki said she thought the extra tax would “leave a bad taste” and do more damage than good in the end.

In a roll call vote, the motion passed 4-1 with Kawecki opposed.

In other business, the council awarded the sale of General Obligation (GO) Bonds. Jessica Green with Borland Securities was present to go over the bid opening, which was done earlier in the day on Monday.

Green shared that while the resolution finalized last week was in the amount of $9 million, basked on the sale results, the amount of the bonds was pared down to about $8.4 million.

The proceeds from the GO Bonds sale will go toward reimbursing the costs of the 2023 and 2024 street improvement programs and also fund the 2025 street improvement program that will include Lake Avenue and the 2026 street improvement program that includes Blue Earth Avenue, Park Street and Orient Street.

Total construction costs for the 2023-2026 street improvement programs total over $15 million.

In other action, the council:

— Approved removing the Woodland Avenue street improvement from the assessment role and approved ordering a new assessment on the Woodland Avenue improvement project. It also set a public hearing on the matter for Jan. 13.

— Approved a Memorandum of Understanding with Region Nine Development Commission on an Energy and Environmental Resiliency Plan.

— Approved the first consideration of amending an ordinance of Fairmont city code pertaining to animals.

The council recognized the following employees for their years of service:

— Ross Campbell, fire department, 10 years.

— Matthew Streit, fire department, 10 years.

— Doug Harstad, building department, 10 years.

— Thomas Donnelly, Fairmont Liquor Store, 10 years.

— Steven Zwiefel, wastewater department, 10 years.

— Brian Paradis, street department, 35 years.