City Council

CITY OF BRITT – BRITT IOWA – MARCH 3RD, 2020 The City Council of the City of Britt, Iowa met in pursuant to law and the rules of said Council in regular session at the Britt Fire Station in in the Britt Municipal Building at 7:00 o’clock P.M. the 3rd day of March 2020. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Arndorfer, and the following Council members were: PRESENT: Stacy Swenson, Curt Gast, Karrie Wallen, Paul Verbrugge and Chad Luecht ABSENT: None The Mayor presented the agenda for approval. It was moved by Verbrugge and seconded by Wallen to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried by unanimous vote. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Gast that the following items contained in the Consent Agenda be approved and adopted: 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 02/18/2020 Council Meeting b. Approve Minutes of the 02/24/2020 Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting c. Claim list in the amount of $104,356.28 A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, Verbrugge & Luecht Nays: None The motion carried, and the Consent Agenda items were approved and adopted. Department heads presented their reports. Linda Friedow, Library Director, reported the second BLAST in February had to be cancelled due to scheduling conflicts but there will be 2 BLAST sessions in March. The evening program on “Lessons of the Holocaust” has been postponed due the girls’ basketball team playing at state. The new date is Tuesday, March 31st at 7 p.m. The library will host the Hancock County Trustee training on the 11th of March. The spring session of Story Hour for preschool children is scheduled to begin March 19th. Vance Hagen, Public Works Director, reported is team attended a safety meeting in February. They are getting quotes for painting the pool after the summer season is over. In addition, he reported they are getting prices for new diving boards as they need to be replaced. He finished his annual bio sludge report. The John Deere 544L front end loader has been delivered. He reported he attended a meeting with Bolton-Menk for the water main extension project. The sander had to have new springs in the rear replaced. Mark Anderson, Police Chief, reported they had 170 calls for service in February 2020. A reminders to renew your golf cart has been posted on Facebook. Jon Swenson, Fire Chief, reported they had 3 calls for service in February. SBA fit test training was done, and they were shown how the new monitor works in the quick attack truck. The fire truck that is being retired has been advertised on several platforms for an asking price of $20,000. Swenson showed Vance where the roof is still leaking in the new part of the building as well as the leak in the back of the older building. Mike Boomgarden, Zoning Administrator, presented his report. He reported there we no building permits issued in February but did talk to several people with zoning questions. He attended the Zoning & Planning meeting on February 24th.  City Administrator presented her report. Sawyer presented Resolution 09 -2020 Accepting Offer to Buy, Authorizing Sale and Conveyance of Real Estate and Approving Quit Claim Deed. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Gast to approve Resolution No. 09-2020 Accepting Offer to Buy, Authorizing Sale and Conveyance of Real Estate and Approving Quit Claim Deed. A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, Verbrugge & Luecht Nays: None The motion carried, and the resolution was adopted. Next, Sawyer presented a letter from Katie Sterk from Bolton & Menk providing an estimate of fees and schedule to assist in the completion of a Biosolids Land Application Five-Year Plan as required by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The time and effort to complete the permit application is calculated at $12,000 on an hourly-not-to-exceed basis. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Wallen to approve the estimate of fees and schedule to assist in the completion of a Biosolids Land Application Five-Year Plan as required by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) at a price of $12,000 on an hourly-not-to-exceed basis. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Mayor Arndorfer presented his report. The topic of the City possibly taking over the Britt Golf Course was discussed. The town hall had over 60 individuals present. A sign-up sheet was provided for all those wishing to speak. Arndorfer opened the meeting clarifying a few things. He informed those present that if the Council approves the purchase of the golf course, they will be paying the balance of the outstanding loan out of LOST monies. The loans in question are old loans and without the old debt the course would be making a profit. Arndorfer reviewed what the LOST ballot read and clearly outlined what the monies can and can’t be used to support. It can be used for infrastructure projects linked to park/pool, fire truck, and water and sewer projects. We leave a balance in the fund, so we have monies in the case of emergency in one of those categories. The fund has been set up to use 50% for water/sewer infrastructure, 40% to parks & recreation and 10% for economic development. Fixing the streets, something he has heard over and over, is not something we can use LOST monies for. He, as the Mayor, is in favor of the City saving the golf course. He feels the minute we begin to lose amenities like a pool, parks or a golf course, Britt’s ability to attract new residence becomes diminished; therefore leaving Britt in a precarious position. The running of the course will be set up like the City of Garner has their set up. There will be a non-profit board that will be responsible for day to day operations. The new board members will include at least 2 members chosen by the council. The Council has agreed that if the golf course is not able to hold their own within 3-5 years they would look to sell it and the return on the investment would be much higher than the price of approximately $160,000, which is what we would be paying for the course. The majority of those who spoke during the town hall were in favor of city acquiring it. Reasons included their own personal use of the course as they enjoy golfing close to home. They spoke about why they chose Britt over other communities because we had a nice golf course. But one of the most important reasons was our schools use of the course. Our golf team, and the number of our youths using the course has risen and to lose this amenities such as this one would hurt the chances of our youths being able to learn and enjoy the sport of golf. It was moved by Verbrugge and seconded by Wallen to move forward with the city ownership of the Britt Golf Course in a manner similar to the City of Garner for the cost of the current debt of approximately $160,000. The board will reevaluate the financial status of the course in 5 years. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Arndorfer requested the council move to go into closed session to discuss possible negotiation and purchase of land. It was moved by Swenson and seconded by Gast to go into closed session to discuss possible negotiation/purchase of land pursuant to Iowa Code Section 21.5 (j). A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, Verbrugge and Luecht Nays: None The motion carried. It was moved by Gast and seconded by Verbrugge to return to open session. A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, Verbrugge and Luecht Nays: None The motion carried. It was moved by Swenson and seconded by Paul to begin the real estate negotiations discussed in closed session which included a counter of $20,000 and 3 years of tax abatement at 50%. Motion carried by unanimous vote. 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 AFLAC AFLAC-PRE-TAX $85.52 ALLIANT ENERGY UTILITIES $10,701.31 ALLIED ENS LLC REVOLVING FUND PROCEEDS $25,000.00 AMAZON DVDS $194.18 BASE MEDICAL REIMB $262.52 BOLTON & MENK ENGINEERING SERVICES $6,794.50 BRITT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEMBERSHIP 2020 $250.00 BRITT FOOD CENTER SUPPLIES $93.97 CENGAGE LEARNING LP BOOKS $206.11 CENTER POINT LARGE PRINT LP BOOKS $79.01 COBBLER SHOPPE KNEE BOOT $19.99 COLLECTION SERVICE CENTER GARNISHMENT $163.93 COUNTRY LIVING LIB RENEWAL $32.07 DELTA DENTAL OF IOWA DNTL/VISN-PRETX $479.90 EFTPS FED/FICA TAX $5,946.22 HANCOCK CO CLERK OF COURT GARNISHMENT 2 $219.50 HANCOCK CO HEALTH SYSTEM DRUG SCREEN $25.00 HANCOCK CO TREASURER PROP TAX SUNSET RIDGE DEV $5,403.00 ICAP ADD IN J.D. LOADER $93.00 INGRAM BOOKS $623.53 IOWA DNR PROCESSING FEE WTR TESTING FEE $30.00 IPERS POLICE IPERS $7,591.33 MICRO MARKETING AUDIO $278.33 MIDWEST TAPE DVDS $24.94 NATIONWIDE RETIREMENT DEFERRED COMP $20.00 PAYROLL CHECKS PAYROLL CHECKS ON 02/26/2020 $17,160.93 PAYROLL CHECKS PAYROLL CHECKS ON 02/27/2020 $1,015.27 PRESTO-X-COMPANY PEST CONTROL $47.00 RON BAUER/SIDETACK LANES Refund on Revolving Loan $415.26 SMART APPLE MEDIA JF/NF BOOKS $265.46 STATE TREASURER STATE TAXES $1,813.00 SWENSON'S HARDWARE SUPPLIES $66.76 UHC HEALTH-PRE-TAX $6,746.20 VANCE HAGEN DOT Physical $50.00 VERIZON PD PHONES $330.31 WASTE MANAGEMENT SANITATION $11,828.23 CLAIMS TOTAL $104,356.28