City Council

CITY OF BRITT – BRITT IOWA – March 1st, 2022 City of Britt, Iowa Council met in pursuant to law and the rules of said Council in regular session at 7:00 o’clock P.M. the 1st day of March 2022. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Arndorfer, and the following Council members were: PRESENT: Stacey Swenson, Curt Gast, Karrie Wallen, Ashley Weiss, & Chad Luecht ABSENT: None The Mayor presented the agenda for approval. It was moved by Swenson and seconded by Luecht to approve the agenda. A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, Weiss, & Luecht Nays: None The motion carried. It was moved by Swenson 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 02/01/2022 Regular Council Meeting b. Claim list in the amount of $213,777.91 c. Approve Cigarette Permit for Dollar General Store #4645 FY 2022/2023 d. Approve Alcohol Permit for Britt Golf Course Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, Weiss, & Luecht Nays: None The motion carried, and the Consent Agenda items were approved and adopted. Next Mayor Arndorfer stated it was time for Resolution 05-2022 Approving FY: 2022/2023 Proposed Maximum Tax Levy. The public hearing was opened at 7:02pm. There were no written or verbal questions on the Proposed Property Tax Dollar Levy for Fiscal year 2022/2023. The public hearing was closed at 7:04pm. It was motioned by Gast and second by Luecht to Approve Resolution 05-2022 Approving FY 2022/2023 Maximum Property Tax Dollar Levy. A roll call vote was had which was as follows. Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, Weiss, & Luecht Nays: None The motion carried, and the Consent Agenda items were approved and adopted. Department head reports were given. Linda Friedow presented her library report. The door counter was installed and it registered 1040 the first month. There are now seven “red bag” kits for checkout. She thanked Vance Hagen, Public Works Director, for installing the wall hooks for them. The library staff finished cleaning and reorganizing the children’s room. The library board approved new forms for Statement of Concern about library materials and requests for reconsideration of library materials. New outside LED lights were installed. The library will be partnering with Crisis Intervention Services, they have been unable to obtain a location in Hancock County (they have space in Kossuth and Winnebago counties). They will use the library on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month for counseling and small support groups. Vance Hagen, Public Works Director, report was presented to Council. Tori from Bolton & Menk took measurements of old tower for the sculpture. Hagen met with Eric Newton about sewer issues at First State Bank. We received and reviewed the smoke testing report. Iowa Pump Works was here for a service agreement and gave a quote for a new circulation pump in the sludge building. The Fluoride pump quit working. Hagen sent extra samples to DNR for anticipated bypass. Hagen spoke with Fabtech on the clarifier repair and spoke with Hawkins and DNR about the fluoride pump. Located and installed grader parts and is back in service. Reviewed Water Treatment plant plans with Katy of Bolton & Menk. Put two new tires on pickup plow truck. Sent Project letter to Erpelding Excavating. Councilperson Weiss toured the water treatment plant. Temporary stop signs were put up at 8th Ave & 3rd Street SW. The streets were cleared of snow, meters were read, and locates were done. Last month Hagen requested council to approve the purchase of a digester for $27,694.80. Mayor Arndorfer did not want to approve anything until we could see what our financials looked like. Cindy Kendall and Ibarra looked at the budget and there are enough funds to cover the purchase. Hagen also had a quote from Iowa Pump Works for a circulation pump for $11,899. It was motioned by Gast and second by Luecht to approve the purchase of the digester for $27,694.80 and the purchase of the circulation pump for $11,899. The motion carried unanimously. Jon Swenson, Fire Chief, was present for his report. The Dept. had one call for service in February 2022, which was one gas leak. The Department trained on RESCUE 42 stabilization equipment video, changed filters in air-to-air exchanger, and replaced all filters in four air cleaners They also did a fit test to wear SCBA masks and the 23rd they conducted a business tour preplan. Swenson met with the rural board, Feb 3rd, they agreed to budget half of the expenses. The 727-fire engine pumper repair parts, cost of $17,118.63, are all in, except the rollup door that is expected to ship out on the 15th of March. Mark Anderson, Chief of Police, presented his report. The PD had 169 calls for service since the last council meeting. Officer Reis is halfway done with the academy. SGT Cram and Officer Williams met with Councilman Gast to review the K9 program. Anderson put in for a new police vehicle in the budget request. Anderson stated that they have five employees and three vehicles. Once we get the new K9 only two of those vehicles can be used for the remaining four officers. Anderson states when one of the police vehicles is in the shop it makes it hard to share one vehicle to four officers. Next, Officer Jordan Williams was present for his K-9 request. Williams informed the council that Matt Harris with Karma Police LLC would be training the new K-9 and Williams. Harris is a retired Blackhawk County Deputy and was a canine officer and a trainer. Currently he works full-time training canines with Dogs for Law Enforcement. The Course would be 3 weeks (120 hours). The Canine would receive training in Narcotic Drugs, Tracking and Article Recovery. Williams has requested a German Shepherd due to having experience with that breed. Chief Anderson will create a 3-year contract, which will be reviewed by the City Attorney and Williams will have to sign the contract. We currently have $25,743.60 in the K-9 fund. The total estimate for the canine, training, insert cage, heal alarm, and electronic engineering vehicle install is $16,629.95. It was motioned by Weiss and second by Swenson to approve the purchase of a new canine, training, insert vague, heat alarm, and electronic vehicle installation for $16,629.95. The motion carried unanimously. Mike Boomgarden, Zoning Administrator, was not present for his report, but it was given to council. Boomgarden has seven calls over questions on zoning. City Clerk, Elizabeth Ibarra, presented her report. Sandy Rayhons and Kelly Hutcheson with ASAP Coalition met up with Mayor Arndorfer and Ibarra mid-November about passing a zoning ordinance for the selling and growing of marijuana. Rayhons and Hutcheson think that it would be smart to get ahead of the state incase marijuana gets legalized in Iowa. They would not want to see one go up right next to a school or daycare center. The council felt that Iowa is not close to legalizing marijuana and felt that Earl’s time could currently be used on other urgent matters. The Council will keep an eye on what is happening at the state, and Rayhons and Hutcheson can reach out to Ibarra if something at the state changes. Last Council meeting, Mayor Arndorfer wanted Ibarra to reach out to the school and county to see what they use for text message notification. The school said they will no longer be using that system this next coming year. It is good system, but too complex for what we were looking for. She reached out to the county, and they use a free program (RAVE). It can only be used for city business and not to promote events. We also had quotes from Nixle ($2600 annually), TextMyGov ($3000 annually), and Dial My Calls ($3,034.69 annually). The council decided to try the free program, RAVE. Ed Dewall, who does floor polishing, quoted the Municipal Room for $650. Ibarra will reach out to get an additional quote for the Fire Station.  Ibarra got with Michelle Bowden and decided on the dates for City Wide Cleanup which are April 30th for East and North and May 7th for the west side of town. Absolute quoted us $5,335. It was motioned by Weiss and second by Swenson to approve The Curbside City-Wide cleanup dates for 2022. Motion carried unanimously. Next is Resolution 06-2022, Petition for Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Permit. It was motioned by Luecht and second by Swenson to approve Resolution 06-2022. A roll call vote was had. Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, Weiss, & Luecht Nays: None The motion carried, and the Consent Agenda items were approved and adopted. Resolution 07-2022 Authorizing Transfer of Funds for FY 21-22: Kendall and Ibarra so they can continue with the budget. It was motioned by Luecht and second by Wallen to approve Resolution 07-2022: Authorizing Transfer of Funds for FY 21-22. A roll call vote was had. Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, Weiss, & Luecht Nays: None The motion carried, and the Consent Agenda items were approved and adopted. Resolution 08-2022 Insurance Policy was not ready. Two of our attorneys are currently working on this issue. Ibarra needed an approval to make payment #9 to Maguire Iron in the amount of $38,975. It has been approved by our engineers, Bolton & Menk. It was motioned by Luecht and second by Wallen to approve Payment #9 to Maguire Iron for $38,975. Motion carried unanimously. Tracey Bradley came and did a compliance review for the City of Britt. We have to become compliant to obtain grants from the State and Feds. To become compliant, we need to authorize a Title VI Coordinator and make sure all of our contract’s state that they are Title VI complaint or follow the Civil Right Act. It was motioned by Weiss and second by Swenson to approve Clerk Ibarra be the Title VI Coordinator for the City of Britt. Motion carried unanimously. We had one more Outside Budget Request come in. The Hancock County Learning Center requested $7,500 for a new playground (half the cost). It was motioned by Luecht and second by Weiss to approve the budget request from The Hancock County Learning Center for $7,500. Motion carried, Swenson being the only one who abstained from the vote. Kendall had recommendations for Council to look at so we could move forward with FY 2022-2023 budget. It was motioned by Wallen and second by Swenson to approve Kendall’s recommendations to Council. The motion carried unanimously. Next, the public hearing for adopting our current budget was set for Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022, at 7pm. It was motioned by Swenson and second by Weiss to set the Public Hearing Notice for adopting our current budget for Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022. The Motion Carried unanimously. Next, Mayor Arndorfer presented his report. Arndorfer touched on the meeting we had with Katie Sterk from Bolton & Menk. Plans for Britt Water Works were looked at and appropriate changes were made. There are plans available at city hall if anyone is wanting to see them. Lastly, Mayor Arndorfer touched on three other budgets in the plan. We upped the budget for the key card system to $31,000, city hall renovation remained the same at $20,000, and the high school project was lowered to $15,000. The high school project will be adding a patio, with a pergola, and seating at the Britt Library. Public Comment: Ibarra mentioned that a couple reached out to see if we would allow use of the East parking spaces at city hall for a farmers’ market. The council said the couple would have to put something together and present it to council.  Arndorfer mentioned that we were moving forward with purchasing a lot for the housing development discussed last year in closed session. Renee with Diemer Realty is overseeing the closing and has agreed to donate her time/services to the city. With no further business it was moved by Luecht and seconded by Gast to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried by unanimous vote. __________________________________ ______________________________________ Elizabeth Ibarra, Acting City Clerk Ryan L. Arndorfer, Mayor CLAIMS REPORT VENDOR REFERENCE AMOUNT A P CLEANING SERVICES MUNICIPAL AND FIRE CLEANING $ 650.00 ABSOLUTE WASTE REMOVAL TRASH AND RECYCLING $ 28,193.76 AGSOURCE TESTING $ 1,286.00 ALEX SCHLEUGER SIDEWALK REIMBURSEMENT $ 260.11 ALLIANT ENERGY ELECTRIC $ 11,980.33 ALLIED ENS LLC DESKSTOP MONITORING $ 943.15 AMAZON BOOKS/SUPPLY/ DEWEYS $ 628.91 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOC LIBRARY-DUES $ 228.00 ARAMARK CITY HALL-MOP/RUG $ 481.66 BADGER METER MONTHLY SERVICE $ 57.00 BASE REIMB DEF COMP $ 480.00 BEN MEHMEN PAID OUT OF POCKET GAS (NO SRV $ 55.33 BOLTON & MENK DESIGN AND BID PHASE 003 $ 32,278.50 BRITT FOOD CENTER MISC SUPPLIES $ 48.26 BROWN SUPPLY INC PREMIUM CABLE MARKER KIT $ 545.00 CARD SERVICES POLICE MISC $ 3,130.56 CENGAGE LEARNING LP BOOKS $ 90.26 CHRISTOPHER REIS GAS REIMBURSEMENT- PUMP OOO $ 129.78 CKENDALL CONSULTING, LLC. SERVICES FROM OCT-DEC 2021 $ 900.00 COLLECTION SERVICE CENTER GARNISHMENT $ 302.64 COLOFF DIGITAL WEBSITE SUPPORT $ 169.00 DELTA DENTAL OF IOWA DNTL/VISN-PRETX $ 680.96 DEMCO LIBRARY-SUPPLY $ 209.92 DNR CONSTRUCTION APPLICATION $ 7,950.00 EARLES DEMOLITION WATER MAIN BREAK REPIAR $ 725.00 EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORP JF&JFNF $ 330.18 EFTPS FED/FICA TAX $ 10,617.43 GREAT AMERICA FINANCIAL SVCS COPIER LEASE $ 167.48 HANCOCK COUNTY SHERIFF GARNISHMENT3 $ 149.04 IA ASSOC MUNICIPAL UTILITIES WATER MEMBER DUES 22/23 $ 776.00 INGRAM LIBRARY SERVICES BOOKS $ 195.73 IOWA PARK & REC ASSN CPO SCHOOL/AQUATICS WORKSHOP $ 1,010.00 IOWA PUMP WORKS SERVICE AGREEMENT $ 1,328.00 IPERS IPERS $ 6,693.87 KIOW BRITT CAMPAIGN $ 118.00 LC PHOTOGRAPHY HEAD SHOT MEHMEN $ 50.00 MAGNEGRIP CHARCOAL TRAYS $ 1,431.69 MAGUIRE IRON, INC NEW WATER TOWER APP #9 $ 38,975.00 MCNEESE TIRE 22.5 DAYTON WHEEL $ 2,115.42 MICRO MARKETING AUDIO $ 128.97 MID-AMERICA PUBLISHING LEGALS $ 292.18 MIDWEST TAPE DVDS $ 22.49 MIKE MUTH WELDING MAINTAINER-GRAIDER $ 170.00 NEW COOPERATIVE FUEL CHARGES $ 3,082.35 NORTH IA MEDIA GROUP PUBLISHING $ 596.03 NORTH IOWA LUMBER & DESIGN INC CIELING TILE $ 68.70 PAYROLL PAYROLL $ 34,492.25 PSI NAME PLATE/PAPER $ 133.57 RIEKENS PLUMBING & HTNG JOHN K HANSON DONATION FOR $ 1,500.00 RYAN ARNDORFER MILEAGE REIMBURSMENT NORTH LIB $ 219.02 SANDRY FIRE SUPPLY RESCUE GEAR $ 3,971.22 STATE HYGIENIC LABORATORY TESTING $ 27.00 STATE TREASURER STATE TAXES $ 1,692.00 SWENSON'S HARDWARE MISC $ 475.32 TRULSON AUTO FIRE-MISC $ 648.91 U S POSTMASTER UB POSTAGE JAN 2022 $ 404.00 UNITED HEALTH CARE HEALTH-PRE-TAX $ 9,077.70 VERIZON POLICE PHONES $ 414.23 Accounts Payable Total $ 213,777.91