May Council Minutes
May 7, 2024
Those Present: Greg Kunz, Trenton Morrell, Marty Nate, Tee Steadman, Mayor Steve Waechtler, Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark, Maintenance Hadley Wright, City Clerk Lynette Smith, Sheriff Deputy Ryan Larsen, Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering
Meeting called to order: 7:05 pm Invocation: Maintenance Supervisor Shane Clark
The Council entertained a motion from Councilor Marty Nate to approve the published agenda and was seconded by Councilor Greg Kunz. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The minutes from April 4, 2024, special meeting, were read aloud by Clerk Smith and Mayor Waechtler. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to accept the minutes as read and Councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Police Report: Sheriff Deputy Ryan Larsen came before the council to give the police report for the month of April and stated that they responded to about 16 different calls in the city from citizens of a wide range. He also said their department would like to be on standby for any water and sewer shutoffs and that any threats made to employee’s need to be documented. It was suggested to record conversations but would need to get advisement from Adam McKenzie about that. They had 53 contacts for the month and gave 8 citations. Sheriff Bart will contact Corey Krantz about getting our speed limit signs put up on the highway and installing a school zone along the highway to slow the speed down. He also reported that the shed has been moved from the property we have been dealing with for a while.
Addison Ochsenbein of Sunrise Engineering came before the council and reported that there is a WaterSmart Grant out there that he will look into for the future but DEQ is not making any decisions at this point. We have received the grant money to move forward with our roadway project for the 4 streets needing construction on East Street, 5th Street the west side, 6th Street and 3rd Street. Councilor Greg Kunz questioned if painting lines on the roads is included and it is not. It was discussed about the surveys done and if fence lines need to be moved back to improve the road and make sure it’s done right. We will have to have a closer look at the surveys for right of ways and property lines to extend the roads to be 20 feet wide. Addison will be in touch for when bids go out and such.
The council engaged in reviewing the City’s Impact Area and should be reviewed every 5 years. It extends 1000 feet around the city limits. There hasn’t been much going on in our area of impact with no development, etc. So far it’s still mostly just farm ground. Councilor Marty Nate is going to talk to Mitch Poulsen and Albert Johnson about better communication about anything that comes into our area of impact that we would like to know about it and how it affects us. It was also noted that anything that comes into our area of impact is zoned as residential. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to accept our Impact Area as it stands now and councilor Trenton Morrell seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Councilor Marty Nate reported she is still working on putting up the map and coming up with better ideas and options to put the book at the cemetery. She also inquired about the bridge by Doug Bradts and said we need to do something with it and replace it because it looks awful. Addison said that he would look into getting a grant for that.
Councilor Trenton Morrell said to just invoice the County for their portion of the speed limit signs and see if we can get the money back that way. He also inquired if we need to hire some trucks to get the chips out here before they get used somewhere else in the County and Shane reported that he is keeping an eye on it.
Maintenance Report: Shane Clark gave their report for the month of April and stated that he and Hadley have taken the tracks off the side by side and put a new rope on the flag in the Park. They have mowed the park and serviced the lawn mowers and harrowed at the cemetery. They are going to look at locking the gate at the West end of the cemetery to help keep the cows out. They’ve been working with Keller’s to get ready for the seepage tests at the sewer ponds this year. They got the yellow plow truck fixed that was in desperate need of some repairs. They inquired if we want to sell the police car because it’s mostly in the way and the batteries are always dead. They turned water services off at one location and monitored the dumpsters throughout the week for the spring cleaning days. They received a bid from Alice Hayes to upgrade the power in the Park and in the sheds. Councilor Tee Steadman made the motion to move forward with Alice and upgrade the power and was seconded by Trenton Morrell. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Office Business: There are 15 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of April. The office will be closed for regular business on May 21st due to the City Hall being used for voting. Lynette ordered a new computer for the office and it should be here soon. The Annexation and Ordinance was sent off to the appropriate places for approval and recorded at the County and was approved by the State Tax Commission. She received a call asking if we were interested in a vending machine and it was decided that we are not.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Marty Nate for the council to approve checks and vouchers for the month of April 2024 in the amount of $39,230.49 in the general fund, $8,624.80 in the water fund, and $22,340.50 in the sewer fund, with all funds totaling $70,195.79. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried the council.
The chair entertained a motion from Councilor Marty Nate that council adjourns from the May 2024 council meeting at 8:45 pm. Councilor Tee Steadman seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith, City Clerk-Treasurer