City Council

CITY OF BRITT – BRITT IOWA – June 7th, 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 7th day of June 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: The Mayor presented the agenda for approval. It was moved by Weiss and seconded by Luecht to approve the agenda. A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Gast, Swenson, 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 Minute of the 5/03/2022 Regular Council Meeting b. Claim list in the amount of $683,935.97 c. Approve Class B Native Wine Permit for Gifts Sew Sweet d. Approve Cigarette/Tobacco permit for Dollar General Store #4565 e. Approve Class C Beer Permit for Family Dollar Store #32891 Ayes: Gast, Swenson, Wallen, Weiss, and Luecht Nays: None The motion carried, and the Consent Agenda items were approved and adopted. Layne Mosher was present to speak. Mosher is looking for Main Ave South from 6th ST SE to 7th ST SW to be repaved and instill a regulation for one side parking. Hagen said it is on his list to be repaved but does not know how far out that would be. Hagen would let Mosher know. Hagen will also measure the width of the street to find if one side parking was an option. Mosher also wanted to know if 7th ST SW from 1st Ave SW to Main Ave S could be paved. Mosher said potholes formed after some time and it causes that street to become dusty. In the meantime, Mosher would like 7th St SW to be maintained and graveled on a timely basis, so it is in driving standards. Hagen said it would be a while before that section of the road would be paved because of the elevation issue. The City will keep an eye on that road and add gravel to it when needed. Mosher also informed there was a wire in the front of his house that needs to be removed. Hagen would take a look and find out if it was from Alliant or Mediacom and contact them. Mark Kaczor was present to be heard on a remedy of Junk Vehicles. He informed, a lot of residents do not know how to get rid of vehicles, cannot afford to get rid of them, or have sentimental value to them. Kaczor proposed to the Council a program where if residents want to get rid of their non-drivable and/or unregistered vehicles they could call him and donate their vehicle to a cause or sell the vehicle to Kaczor. Either way Kaczor takes care of moving of taking the vehicle out of city limits. The process would look like the following: The City would issue a 30-day abatement for said vehicle. The abatement would list Kaczor’s vehicle removing information. If the resident has not removed, remedied, or contacted Kaczor to remove said vehicle. Kaczor would remove that vehicle himself after the 30 days. If the resident would want that vehicle back, they would need to pay the towing and holding fee. The resident would have to remedy the situation or Kaczor would tow the vehicle away again. Council really liked this idea but would need to consult with Earl Hill, The City Attorney, to make sure there are no legal issues. A new ordinance would also need passed. The topic will be revisited at the next council meeting.  Katie Collins and Nicole Wyatt were present to speak on Article 3 section 1 of the Zoning Ordinance Book, which involves Fowls, specifically chickens. Collins and Wyatt informed the council as to why we should allow chickens within city limits. Collins gave facts about how certain diseases are not easily spread and gave the council ordinance other city’s have on chickens. Skip Miller, with New Horizon was present to speak on how chickens could affect Sparboe and New Horizon if we allow them in city limits. There are regulations by the state that if there was a positive case of the bird flu, there could be a partial shutdown of both plants which could affect 40 to 60 families. Miller did say that some diseases are not easily spreadable, but it could still affect employment for some families if there was a positive case in Britt. It was motioned by Wallen and second by Luecht to look at the possibility of changing zoning requirements to potentially allowing chickens. Gast was the only council member that was against the idea. The council did state that if an ordinance were to pass it would have to be by the planning and zoning committee and would be very regulated. Ibarra will consult with Earl and the committee. In the meantime, Wyatt and Collins are allowed to keep their chickens until a final decision is made. Craig Florea with Westview Care Center is wanting to put in a sidewalk that would connect with the church beside them and would like to widen their driveway. The Council saw no problem with this. It was motioned by Weiss and second by Gast to approve Westview Care Center to put in a sidewalk and widen their driveway. The motion carried unanimously. Lastly was City Attorney Earl Hill present to speak about the Hobo Trademark that is up for renewal. Hill informed the council that this trademark is to be renewed every 10 years and needs to be renewed by January 1st, 2023. Hill also thinks we should investigate trademarking the Hobo Onion Cotton. The total cost would be about $3500 for both. It was motioned by Gast and seconded by Luecht to approve renewing the Hobo Trademark and Trademarking Onion Cotton. Motion carried unanimously. Ibarra will work with Hill on getting the process started. Next, we moved onto Department Head Reports. Linda Friedow was not present to give her report, but it was as follows. Summer Reading/children’s programing – CPPC grant reimbursement for $2500 has been filed. Looking at tech services – we worked with Allied ENS (Boris) and have developed a new plan. He verified that my computer & the desk computer are still very functional. The patron computers have been very slow, they can only be upgraded minimally (at about $500 per computer) We have requested a quote through HP & TechSoup for new computers and will determine how many we can purchase this year. The current computers were purchased in 2017, 5 years ago. A new couch has been ordered for the reading area. We have moved the bench from the meeting area into the children’s room. Summer Reading will begin on June 20, continuing until July 28. I’ve attached the schedule of events and plans. Vance Hagen, Public Works Director was present to give his report. Hagen spoke with Century Link about broken valve box. A new sump pump for the Police Department was installed. Had new floats for the pool ordered and installed after the big rain event. The pool was Drained and cleaned. Water is in the pool and will be opening June 1st. The Dept opened bathrooms and water of all parks. Haugland repair is upgrading the ignition system on the 4-inch pump because we cannot get original parts anymore. Spoke with future resident about lots and utilities at Sunset Ridge. Attended safety class with the entire department. There was vandalism at Centennial, Lions, and the Pool park. Had to get a loaner pool vac from ACCO, ours has been repaired and is in service now. We had a Pre-Con mtg for water treatment plant. We sprayed the parks and playgrounds. Repaired intake on 9th St NW. Compost grinder has been delivered and screened. Had to remove three trees that were split, homeowners were concerned. Mckiness Excavating has installed new intakes and pipe on 5th Ave SW and manhole on 1st St NE. Drained new tower for Maguire Iron. There was a water main break on 2nd St NW. Custom Concrete will pour patch 2nd St NW. The A/C was fixed at City Hall. Locates were done, meters were read, shutoffs were done, and streets were swept. Next was Mark Anderson, Police Chief’s was not present to give his report. Since the last Council meeting the PD has had three hundred calls for service. Officer Williams and K-9 Axle officially completed training and are now certified. Sgt Cram and I completed training and certification in: Officer Investigations & Internal Affairs. I completed training and certifications in: FBI Command College (Management & Investigations) and Field Training Officer. The department had training on: Officer Involved Shootings, Search and Seizure, Cite & Release w/ fingerprints. The K9 vehicle is built and in service thanks to Thilges Spec. of Algona. We have been working with ISP and DOT to prepare for RAGBRAI. We spent the day with the Elementary students for bicycle safety during the last week of school. Abatements have been updated. Police Evaluations/ Reviews are in for officer salaries/ pay increase starting July.  Jon Swenson, Fire Chief was present to give his report. They had three calls for service in May. May training consisted of checking trucks, washing trucks and gear, and a fire science video. Truck 725 had hail damage responding to Kanawha, getting repaired starting June 13th. The ISO score has yet to be updated. Mike Boomgarden, Zoning Administrator, was not present to give his report. There were six permits issued and spoke with fourteen people on zoning questions. Jen Wieland, Park, and Rec Director was not present to give the report. Reviewed city parks, park and rec committee did weed at Callison park. We recommend the city apply additional mulch at Lions park. Total $$ in fundraising account: approx. $9327 after $1579 donation from Lions club. Will send out donation letter to businesses asking for donations toward the ballfield upgrade project. Will also start applying for grants once we have the IRS determination letter. Will not be running slide for RAGBRAI only doing can collection. Estimate that we have approx. $3000 to spend on supplies. Have spent approx. $2000 so far in supplies for BB/SB. Most summer rec positions filled. Concession stand – Stephanie Daugard sent out concession stand sign-up (most slots now filled), Michelle Johnson has been in contact with Titanium Lunchbox regarding pizza, he will bring out a warmer to keep out there for the season. Stephanie will bring divided warmer for pork burgers and hot dogs. Michelle will stock the concession stand (will purchase items at Britt Food Center) and she and Jade will bring cooler from school to concession stand. Wade is working on the popcorn machine. Baseball/Softball volunteer game coaches for every team have been lined up. Morning practice coaches: Paxton Johnson, Tara Marchand, Ann Horstman, Ryan Eickhoff, Laura Studer, Travis Lenz, Ryan Johnson, Eric Marchand, Stephanie Daugard, Katie Johnson. Stephanie will keep a log of coaches for payment. Still in need of umps, having difficulty finding people willing to do this – will resend message out to parents. Next was the Clerk’s report. Elizabeth Ibarra was present to give her report. Bank Reconciliation is caught up, and we can see that we need to do second Budget Amendment. We have set that second Budget Amendment for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 for Tuesday, June 28th, 2022, at 7pm. It was motioned by Luecht and second by Gast to set the public hearing for the second budget amendment for FY 21-22 for Tuesday, June 28th, 2022, at 7pm. Next on the agenda was John and Amy Madson’s Tax Abatement. They built a second double stall garage for $53,000. They are seeking a Tax Abatement under the Urban Revitalization Plan. It was motioned by Weiss and second by Wallen to approve their request to be tax abated. Motion carried unanimously. Next was the Mayor’s report. Resolution 18-2022 FY 22-23 Wage increase. It was motioned by Luecht and second by Weiss to approve the Mayor’s and Mayor Pro-Tem Gast’s recommendation for salary increases. A roll call vote was had which was as follows. Ayes: Swenson Gast, Wallen, Weiss, Luecht Nays: The Motioned carried and was approved and adopted Next on the agenda was the living requirement for the City Clerk. Clerk Ibarra’s husband, Gerardo, got a promotion at work that would entail him to live three miles outside of town. The Council determined they would set a 5-mile living requirement for the clerk. It was motioned by Gast and second by Swenson to extend the living requirement for the Clerk position to five miles for the City of Britt. Motion carried unanimously. Public Comment: The City still has the house at 361 5th ST SW. Ibarra will reach out Earles to find out what the cost will be for removing the house. Next, It was motioned by Gast and second by Swenson to move into closed session at 8:54 pm. It was motioned by Weiss and second by Wallen to come out of closed session at 9:16 pm. There were no actions taken after the closed session. With no further business it was moved by Gast and seconded by Wallen 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 BUILDING/FIRE 525 ABSOLUTE WASTE REMOVAL TRASH/RECYCLING SERVICES 47,656.09 ACCO UNLIMITED CORP MINOR EQUIPMENT 2,024.55 AGSOURCE CHEMCIALS/ANALYSIS 1,146.75 AHLERS & COONEY, P.C. 2022 GO BOND FOR PD VEHICLE 5,500.00 ALLIANT ENERGY ELECTRIC 9,767.63 PROFESSIONAL SERVER ALLIED ENS LLC MONITORING 1,247.17 AMAZON LIBRARY-SUPPLY 221.39 ARAMARK MISC CITY HALL 491.1 ASC PUMPING EQUIPMENT INC CONERY FLOAT SWITCH- POOL 289.15 BADGER METER services 114.24 BASE REIMB DEF COMP 709.16 BOLTON & MENK WATER TREATMENT FACILITY 24,700.00 BOOK LOOK LIBRARY-IF BOOKS 280.82 BRITT FOOD CENTER MISC 104.46 BROWN SUPPLY INC MISC SUPPLIES 382.68 CARD SERVICES PD CARD 1,921.54 CENGAGE LEARNING LIBRARY-LP BOOKS 21.69 CKENDALL CONSULTING, LLC. TRAINING FOR IBARRA 1,814.56 COLLECTION SERVICE CENTER GARNISHMENT 363.16 COLOFF DIGITAL WEBSITE SUPPORT 169 COMM 1 Phones/Internet/Fax 1,335.23 DELTA DENTAL OF IOWA DNTL/VISN-PRETX 1,271.11 DOLLAR GENERAL-CHRG TORNADO SHELTER MISC SALES SUPPLIES 38.75 DUFFY HUDSON JULY MAGIC SHOW-LIBRARY 500 EFTPS FED/FICA TAX 11,358.47 ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING VHF STUBBY ANTENNA 125 FELD FIRE FIRE DEPT-REPAIR TRUCK 17,335.00 FIRST STATE BANK FSB BONDS 192,310.23 FONZIBA KOSTER PERFORMANCE (JULY)-LIBRARY 325 GREAT AMERICA FINANCIAL SVCS COLOR LASER JET 180.89 HANCOCK CO HEALTH SYSTEM FIRE- PERSONNEL EVALUATION 495 HANCOCK CO SECONDARY RDS SAND 469.8 HCEDC ANNUAL DINNER 150 HAWKINS INC. CHEMICALS 10 HEWETT WHOLESALE INC. SUMMER REC-CONCESSIONS 104.15 IMWCA WORKERS COMP 3,051.00 INGRAM LIBRARY SERVICES LIBRARY -BOOKS 577.02 IOWA PRISON INDUSTRIES SIGN 10 IOWA PUMP WORKS INSTALL POOL PUMP 4,211.46 IPERS IPERS 11,483.58 LIBRARY-SUMMER READ IREAD SUPPLIES 311.58 JORDAN WILLIAMS K9 REIMBURSEMENTS 722.81 KIOW BRITT CAMPAIGN 118 382 2ND AVE SW REMOVAL OF MALEK'S LAWN & TREE SERV TREE 650 METERING & TECH SOLUTIONS OUTDOOR METERS 547.33 MICRO MARKETING LIBRARY- AUDIOBOOKS 110.58 MID-AMERICA PUBLISHING PUBLISHING 356.62 POOL/STORM SEWER MIDWEST PIPE SUPPLY REPLACEMENT 2,340.00 MIDWEST TAPE LIBRARY-DVD 62.22 MUNICIPAL PIPE & TOOL TV INS/JET VAC CLEANING 26,543.05 NEW COOPERATIVE GAS/DIESEL CHARGES 3,012.40 NEXT GENERATION TECH INC AGREEMENT OFFICE 365-PD 120 NORTHERN LIGHTS POOL CONCESSIONS 1,245.59 Payroll MAY 53,445.69 PETTY CASH START UP CASH 270 PRESTO-X-COMPANY PEST CONTROL 57.63 PRITCHARD AUTO HAGEN'S VEHICLE 22.95 PSI ENVELOPES/COLORFUL PAPER 88.24 RIEKENS PLUMBING & HTNG CHECKED AIR CONDITIONER 325 TREASURER, STATE OF IOWA sales tax April 206.81 SCHOLASTIC INC LIBRARY-SUMMER READ BOOKS 166.63 SECRETARY OF STATE MAYLAND NOTARY 30 SPEER FINANCIAL SERVICES WITH SRF LOAN 4,000.00 STATE HYGIENIC LABORATORY LABS 27 STATE TREASURER STATE TAXES 2,613.00 SWENSON'S HARDWARE MISC 593.17 THE IOWAN MAGAZINE RENEWAL-LIBRARY 24 TRI-STATE NATURAL FOOD JUNE (ART WORKSHOP) PRODUCT LIBRARY 325 TRULSON AUTO VEHICLE REPAIR 675.71 U S POSTMASTER APRIL UB POSTAGE 372.74 UNITED HEALTH CARE HEALTH INSURANCE 9,862.80 UMB BANK NA 2012 GO CAPITAL LOAN NOTE 217,298.75 UNPLUGGED WIRELESS FIRE DEPT-TEST AND TUNE MAN 180 VANWALL EQUIPMENT MOWER REPAIR 1,500.45 VERIZON POLICE PHONES 323.15 VESSCO, INC POOL MISC 85.24 WATERLOO TENT & TARP CO UMBRELLAS FOR POOL 8,570.00 WESTRUM LEAK DETECTION 2022 LEAK DETECTION SURVEY 1,800.00 WHAS DEFIB PATCHES-FIRE 140 TOTAL 683,935.97