City Council

CITY OF BRITT – BRITT IOWA – MAY 21ST, 2019 The City Council of the City of Britt, Iowa met in pursuant to law and the rules of said Council in special session in the Council Chambers in City Hall at 7:00 o’clock P.M. the 21st day of May 2019. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Arndorfer, and the following Council members were: PRESENT: Stacy Swenson, Curt Gast, Paul Verbrugge, and Chad Luecht ABSENT: Dwight Leerar The Mayor presented the agenda. It was moved Luecht and seconded by Swenson to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried by unanimous vote. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Swenson that the following items contained in the Consent Agenda be approved and adopted with the change of the Fire Chief’s name from Swanson to Swenson in the 05/07/2019 council meeting minutes : All items listed under the Consent Agenda will be enacted by one motion with a roll call vote. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a request is made prior to the time Council votes on the motion. Consent Agenda items may include any non-controversial subjects. a. Approve Minutes of the 05/07/2019 Council Meeting b. Claim list in the amount of $39,434.76 c. Approve renewal for a Class E Liquor License (LE) for Britt Food Center with Sunday Sales (Darin & Jackie Eckels) d. Approve renewal for a Class B Native Wine Permit (WBN) for Elizabeth’s Pharmacy on Main A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Verbrugge and Luecht Nays: None The motion carried, and the Consent Agenda items were approved and adopted. Katie Sterk of Bolton & Menk was present to review the Integrated Utilities System Plan Bolton & Menk has prepared. This plan has been created in order for the City of Britt to schedule and implement necessary and required improvements to their water, wastewater, and storm sewer systems in a way that provides the most benefits to their residents, while continuing to be economically feasible. The plan also includes repairs/maintenance that needs to be done to water tower 1, sewer system smoke testing and storm sewer sanitary sewer system improvements (this is to mitigate Infiltration & Inflow {I&I} and bypass issues). The total amount, to be completed in the next 10-15 years, has been estimated to cost between $13.2 - 18.8 million. Bolton & Menk will take care of the letters that need to go to Iowa Department of Natural Resources, (IDNR) updating them on our progress on an annual basis. It was moved Verbrugge and seconded by Luecht to approve the Integrated Plan as presented by Bolon & Menk. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Sterk will submit the plan to the IDNR on our behalf. The Mayor announced this was the time, date, and place for the public hearing regarding Amending the Current Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2019. The Mayor asked the City Administrator/Clerk whether any petition had been filed in the Clerk's Office, as contemplated in Section 362.4 of the Code of Iowa, and the Clerk reported that no such petition had been filed.  The Mayor then asked the City Administrator/Clerk whether any written objections had been filed by any resident or property owner of the City amending the Current Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2019. The City Administrator/Clerk advised the Mayor and the Council that no written objections had been filed. The Mayor then called for oral objections regarding amending the Current Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2019. Whereupon, the Mayor declared the time for receiving oral and written objections to be closed. Whereupon, the Mayor declared the hearing regarding amending the Current Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2019 was officially closed. The Mayor presented Resolution 09-2019 Amending the Current Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2019 was presented. It was moved Gast and seconded by Verbrugge to approve Resolution 09-2019 Amending the Current Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2019. A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Verbrugge, and Luecht Nays: None The motion carried. City Administrator Sawyer presented her report. Britt Bar & Grill will be temporarily moving their license to the Hancock County Fairgrounds on July 13th, 2019 for a wedding. The transfer has been filed with the State and they are waiting on our approval. All paperwork is in place. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Swenson to approve the temporary move of the Britt Bar & Grill to the Hancock County Fairground for a wedding on July 13th, 2019. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Sawyer discussed a request from Britt Bar & Grill to close the alley directly behind their building for the Poker Run on June 15th, 2019 from Saturday at 8 am to Sunday at 3 pm. This will be the same set up as they did last year for Hobo Days. It was moved by Gast and seconded by Swenson to approve the request from Britt Bar & Grill to close the alley directly behind their building for the Poker Run on June 15th, 2019 from Saturday at 8 am to Sunday at 3 pm. Motion carried by unanimous vote. A final request was received from Britt Bar & Grill to close the alley directly behind their building for the Hobo Day Celebration. The time frame will be the same as it was last year. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Verbrugge to approve the request from Britt Bar & Grill to close the alley directly behind their building for the Hobo Day Celebration in accordance to the time allotted last year. Motion carried by unanimous vote. We received a billing from Veenstra & Kimm for platting services. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Swenson to approve the payment of the invoice from Veenstra & Kimm in the amount of $885 for platting services. Motion – Ayes: Luecht, Swenson & Arndorfer (5th councilperson not present) Nays: Gast & Verbrugge. Motion carried by majority vote. Sawyer addressed the information which was included in the packet discussing our options for short term financing options to pay for the extension of our services east of town. There were 2 options presented. One was short term financing with a balloon payment. This would have principle payments in FY2020-2023 of $5,000 plus interest. The payment in 2024 would be for the remainder of the balance. This will lock in our interest rate a little longer giving us time to consider refinancing options, or payoff options. It is suggested we draw down the loan with 3-4 payments over the next few months to pay for construction.  The second option is a bond anticipation note in which we would be paying only interest payments for just under 3 years with on principal payment owed on the total in 2022. This option temporarily locks in the rate and we could make it callable anytime with 30 days’ notice. Again, we would use draw down loan with 3-4 payments over the next few months to pay for construction. Both options can be rolled into long term financing. Council decided to follow the direction set forth by our financial advisors at Speer Financial. Next, while Sawyer was at the SMART Conference in Des Moines a couple of weeks ago, she learned about a program that assists in employer sponsored down payment assistance to buy a new home. The only thing they would need from the City is the land. The principal of the program has spoken to one of our local employers and they are interested in offering the program to their employees. Sawyer is meeting with the contact next Thursday. He is coming up for a site visit and to discuss the program further. Finally, the time management tool is just about ready to do some testing. We should be able to finish up any loose ends and have our employees start to use the system on a trial basis next week. Everyone will be provided with their username and a generic password. It’s been a long process and changes at Gworks who now owns Data Technologies, has made a lot of changes, so set-up and training has been difficult. Mayor Arndorfer presented his report. He informed the Council that we have determined a house smaller than the 2,400 square feet has been built out in the Sunset Ridge Development. Council discussed this issue and has decided to have the city attorney review the covenants and see what it would take to change the minimum square footage requirements for occupying 2 lots. In the meantime, Arndorfer and Sawyer will create the letter that will go out to the current landowners to discuss the possible change. With that said, he requested we readdress the offers we received for the lots the City owns in Sunset Ridge. The one offer had met all the current requirements set forth in the covenants. On the other offer, the house is a little smaller than what is required right now but it is the intention of the Council to check and see what our options are. Finally, Arndorfer received a verbal offer on the empty lot the City owns next to the bank building on Main Ave. He informed the Council this individual’s vision for this lot is to clean it up and put in some picnic table type seating out there so people could enjoy eating and relaxing outside. Gast thought it would be nice if someone would buy it and put up a building that someone could lease or buy for a new business venture. This topic would be addressed at a later date after a formal proposal is received. With no further business it was moved by Luecht and seconded by Verbrugge to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Debra R. Sawyer, City Administrator/Clerk Ryan L. Arndorfer, Mayor “These minutes are as recorded by the Clerk and are subject to Council approval at the next regular meeting.” VENDOR DESCRIPTION AMOUNT MAXYIELD COOPERATIVE GAS $1,766.76 PSI SUPPLIES $94.74 NATIONWIDE RETIREMENT DEFERRED COMP $20.00 PETTY CASH LIBRARY PETTY CASH $98.15 NORTH IOWA MEDIA GROUP PUBLISHING FEES $1,306.27 COBBLER SHOPPE REPAIR TARP $4.00 HANCOCK CO CLERK OF COURT GARNISHMENT $219.50 SANDRY FIRE SUPPLY FF NAMES FOR COATS $211.13 HANCOCK COUNTY SHERIFF GARNISHMENT 2 $269.46 DOLLAR GENERAL-CHARGED SA SUPPLIES $33.50 CARD SERVICES EDUCATION $1,029.87 DEMCO SUPPLIES $290.43 LINDA FRIEDOW MILEAGE $118.90 MICRO MARKETING AUDIO $149.46 BRODART BOOKS $603.53 ALLIANT ENERGY ALLIANT $7,999.90 CENTURION TECH INC SMARTSHEILD $80.00 ACCO POOL CHEMICALS $1,727.70 IOWA HISTORY JOURNAL 2YR RENEWAL LIBRARY $35.95 ALLIED ENS LLC WWTP SHIPPING $20.70 CENGAGE LEARNING LP BOOKS $143.03 METERING & TECH SOLUTIONS METER $1,372.83 SHIELD TECHNOLOGY CORP. SHIELDWARE SOFTWARE $810.00 NO IA LIBRARIES COLLABOR BEACON ANNUAL SUPPORT $1,151.85 AMAZON DVD AND KINDLES $259.25 MAGNOLIA JOURNAL 2YR RENEWAL LIBRARY $30.00 SEAN GASKELL LIBRARY PROGRAM $400.00 VERIZON PD PHONES $329.03 WATERLOO TENT & TARP CO WINCH ASSEMBLIES/PULLEY $339.80 REVIEW AND AMMEND WWTF BOLTON & MENK PLAN $620.00 HANCOCK CO HEALTH SYSTEM PHYSICALS $85.00 STATE HYGIENIC LABORATORY ANALYSIS $45.50 HAWKINS INC. WATER CHEMICALS $265.50 GWORKS RECEIPTS MGMT MODULE $2,148.33 MIKE SAMPSON CONSTRUCTION STREETS $236.00 ADAM MEYER REPLACE MAILBOX $34.23 GAC ZUEHL TRAINING $450.00 PAYROLL CHECKS PAYROLL CHECKS ON 05/08/2019 $14,634.46 CLAIMS TOTAL $39,434.76