Action at one of the ballfields in Winnebago is shown here in this file photo from last summer. The City Council is looking at ways to improve the fields.

The residents of Winnebago will have two new emergency sirens installed in their town after the City Council, at their meeting on Feb. 11, approved spending $41,390 to upgrade their emergency warning system.

One of the sirens would replace the one located at City Hall.

“That siren dates back to 1994,” Emergency Services Committee member Brett Osborn told the council. “That is the one that failed last year.”

The plan, according to Osborn, will be to place the other siren at the corner of the Genesis Classical Academy property.

“The second siren is currently located near Parker Oaks,” Osborn explained. “However, in working with Federal Signal Corporation, we learned we would get better coverage if we were able to place the second siren near Genesis.”

Council member Paul Eisenmenger inquired about the possibility of the sirens going off at other times.

“Could they sound at 5 or 9 p.m.?” Eisenmenger asked. “And could they possibly be toned down a little if we would have them sound at other times?”

Osborn replied he did not know and would have to talk to the company to see if that was possible.

Also on the agenda was a request to change the billing service the city utilizes for their ambulance billing service.

“The city currently uses Expert Billing as the billing service for the Ambulance Department,” city administrator Judi Hynes commented. “The service is falling very short on punctual, reliable service. They are months behind in billing out our ambulance calls and we struggle to talk to anyone at the company.”

Hynes shared that the auditors were recently in town.

“They just shake their heads because we cannot provide them with the information they need because we do not have it,” Hynes mentioned.

According to Hynes, Cari Jenkins and Rick Mauris of the ambulance service have been in contact with a new company, Midwest EMS Billing, LLC., about providing the necessary services and recommended the city hire them to replace Expert Billing.

“Midwest EMS Billing has experience in this field and they know of the issues many rural services are having with Expert Billing,” Jenkins reported. “We have been losing a ton of revenue because we have six months to collect from insurance companies. After six months, we can’t collect.”

The council approved hiring Midwest EMS Billing, LLC. to provide the ambulance billing services.

The council also heard from Lee Hodges who attended the meeting representing the Winnebago Baseball Association.

“We would like to make some renovations to the field at West City Park and to the field located at the former Winnebago School,” Hodges shared with the board members. “We are applying for a Minnesota Twins Community Fund Grant which could supply us with matching funds up to $15,000.”

The grant funds, according to Hodges, may be used for renovation or construction of baseball or softball fields, including upgrading essential field components such as new sod, infield, fencing and dugouts.

“Non-essential items, including lights, bleachers, grandstands, restrooms, batting cages and scoreboards do not qualify for support,” Hodges said. “Winnebago and our baseball association have not received one of these grants so we should have a good chance of getting the full matching grant.”

After some discussion the council approved giving the association $15,000 this year. If the association does not receive the grant, council members said they would consider budgeting for another donation for next year.

“West City Park is a nice park as far as I am concerned,” Eisenmenger stated. “We should do whatever we can to enhance it and make it usable.”

The council considered, but tabled, taking action to purchase a new truck box for one of the city’s trucks.

The bid was from Crysteel Truck Equipment and was for an all stainless steel box at a cost of $28,414.

“I am concerned about the weight of the side gates and end gate with a box that is all stainless steel construction,” Eisenmenger said. “Those gates are a beast to handle and if they get bent, it is hard to get them to close easily.”

Eisenmenger suggested they look into the option of having a stainless steel bed for the box but with aluminum end and side gates.

The other council members agreed and directed the Utility Committee to obtain more bids.

In other business, the council:

• Voted to donate $500 and two pool passes to Genesis Classical Academy for their annual Spring Fling.

• Accepted the resignation of Kelsey Espeland from the Muir Library Board and appointed Sara Murry as her replacement.

• Accepted the resignation of Larry Becker from the Winnebago Fire Department after 20-plus years of service.

• Held a public hearing and approved Ordinance 94.20 regarding dangerous dogs.

• Approved two changes in the Winnebago Fire Department by-laws. One change dealt with grievances, which will now be handled by the officer group consisting of the chief, assistant chief, first captain, second captain, training officer and secretary. The second change in the by-laws pertained to eligibility for pension benefits.

• Changed the March meeting date to Wednesday, March 12, due to Minnesota Township Day occurring on Tuesday, March 11.