OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Mason City Council Regular Meeting – June 20, 2023

City Council — Tuesday, June 20, 2023
BodyMason City, Iowa
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, June 20, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 20:38

Transcript — Verbatim
1:16

And good evening, everyone.

1:18

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Mason City City Council.

1:22

I'm Mayor Bill Schickle.

1:23

We're delighted to have you with us this evening.

1:25

This is the meeting for June twentieth of twenty twenty-three.

1:29

The first order of business is the roll call.

1:31

Diana, would you call the roll?

1:33

Simmons.

1:34

Present.

1:34

Yeski.

1:35

Here.

1:36

Ms.

1:37

Toma.

1:38

President.

1:39

Lee.

1:42

Let the record reflect that we do have a quorum present.

1:45

The next item of business is the adoption of the agenda.

1:49

Do we have a motion to adopt the agenda?

1:51

So moved.

1:52

Second.

1:53

We have a motion and a second.

1:54

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

1:57

Aye.

1:57

All those opposed, same sign.

2:00

The motion carries.

2:01

We now have a special item of business.

2:03

I'm going to ask our guest of honor, Dess Dennis Wilson, to please step forward at this time.

2:10

And it's just uh such a great honor, Dennis, to be able to uh present this proclamation to you.

2:16

I have to observe that you've got family and friends here uh as well.

2:22

Your wife Anna Marie, um, along with uh Diana and Rodney and Caleb and Eli, I see back there, along with and then other friends of uh uh Dennis Wilson, including our park board chair Jay Lala.

2:38

And so welcome all here to honor uh you, Dennis, uh, tonight.

2:42

This is the proclamation that I'll be presenting to you.

2:45

If you don't mind, I'd like to read it to you at this time.

2:49

Whereas from spotless white trim on the Jack Black steam engine to flower baskets red, pink, and white, highlighting the old fashioned lamp posts, from a shining national register of historic places plaque to a railroad tie trimmed staircase, from the aroma of fresh pine mulch to an early morning morning song bird, from the wrought iron fence to the sculpture stone patio, from the John Skipper Memorial Bench to the cobblestone sidewalk framing the Academy, from the mother rocking her baby to an anonymous man at sunrise lovel lovingly tending the flowers.

3:32

Beauty such as this takes our breath away.

3:35

We honor those who dedicate themselves to it.

3:38

Today we honor one such magnificent creator.

3:42

In his honor, I Bill Shickle, Mayor of Mason City, do hereby proclaim Saturday, June twenty-fourth, twenty twenty-three, the date of the seventeenth Rotary Annual Cannonball Day as Dennis Wilson Day in Mason City in recognition of his passion, dedication, and hard work in restoring the last of its kind, nineteen twelve Rotary Cannonball four fifty-seven steam engine and creating the Cannonball Gardens Plaza, one of the most beautiful beautiful civic spaces in the Midwest.

4:16

We pay tribute by committing ourselves today and every day to following Dennis's example and not setting limits on ourselves or our community or limiting ourselves to small dreams.

5:11

Standing ovation, Dennis.

5:17

Next, we'll go to the public forum.

5:19

This is the regular public forum.

5:21

It's your chance to address any item on the agenda.

5:24

If there's an item on the agenda that you would like to address, please come to the podium or if you're tuned in on Zoom, use the raised hand feature and let the let us know of the agenda item that you would like to comment on tonight.

5:45

Good evening, Jacqueline Arthur, Laird Law Firm, 114th Street Northeast in Mason City here tonight with Dr.

5:51

Toma on item number 18, second reading of the zone change for the former Blackmoor site and the adjacent properties along Fourth Street Southwest here in Mason City.

6:02

Thank you for catching a typographical air.

6:05

We've got that addressed.

6:06

We're here to answer any questions should you have them, and we'd urge you to approve on second reading.

6:11

Thank you.

6:13

Thank you, Jacqueline.

6:15

Additional public comment at this time.

6:21

Mayor, no one seeks to be recognized via Zoom.

6:24

Seeing no other public comment at this time, we'll move to the City Administrators' monthly report.

6:31

Aaron Burnett.

6:33

Mayor, City Council, thank you.

6:35

So we uh recently had a, or actually today had a bid opening that uh further kind of stated where we're at in the bid environment.

6:45

Unfortunately, as we continue to look at the capital improvement projects and the uh ability to carry those out over the the coming year, uh some tough decisions will have to be made because we continue to see bids and estimates uh creep higher and higher.

7:02

Uh I think that we'll be able to carry out the vast majority of these projects.

7:06

Uh that time might be lengthened, you know, scope might be modified.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████51%
City Administrator's Report██████████████████20%
Zoning Regulations██████████████████20%
Transportation Safety████████9%
Summary of Proceedings

Mason City Council Regular Meeting – June 20, 2023

The Mason City City Council held its regular meeting at 7:00 P.M. on June 20, 2023, in the Mason City Room at the Mason City Public Library. Mayor Bill Schickle presided with a quorum present. The Council adopted the agenda, approved the consent calendar, heard the City Administrator's report, conducted a public hearing on the Forest Park Urban Renewal Area, and took final or first action on zoning, salary, and tax increment financing ordinances.

Special Items

  • Mayor Schickle presented a proclamation declaring Saturday, June 24, 2023 — the date of the 17th Rotary Annual Cannonball Day — as Dennis Wilson Day in Mason City, honoring Wilson's restoration of the 1912 Rotary Cannonball No. 457 steam engine and creation of the Cannonball Gardens Plaza. Wilson received a standing ovation from family, friends, and park board members.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the consent agenda by one motion, including the minutes of June 6, 2023; claims dated June 8 and 15, 2023; permits; and the May 2023 financial report.
  • Appointed/hired Monte Ames as Park Maintenance Worker.
  • Awarded a $42,000 contract to Heartland Asphalt of Mason City for repairs to the Parkers Woods and North Harrison walking trails.
  • Authorized notice to bidders and set a public hearing for July 18, 2023, for the High Line Trail, a $737,000 project funded by a state grant, the Destination Iowa grant, and local option sales tax revenue.
  • Set a July 5, 2023, public hearing related to financing Destination Iowa projects.
  • Expressed support for the Landfill of North Iowa recycling examination process and its work-study group.
  • Authorized a 2024 Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) application through the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy in support of the North Iowa Narcotics Task Force.
  • Rescinded Resolution No. 23-108 and adopted a new resolution approving the final plat for Beck First Subdivision.
  • Approved an assignment/assumption of note and mortgage and a subordination agreement with Clear Lake Bank & Trust Company regarding the Downtown Revitalization Loan for 109 1st Street SE.
  • Awarded a $38,000 professional services contract to WHKS & Co. of Mason City for Willow Creek Waterfront Improvements engineering services.
  • Authorized submission of a 2023 Iowa State Recreational Trails Program grant application to the Iowa DOT for the Murphy Park pedestrian bridge.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jacqueline Arthur of Laird Law Firm, appearing with Dr. Toma, addressed agenda item 18 concerning the former Blackmore site and adjacent properties along 4th Street SW. She noted a typographical error had been addressed and urged approval of the zone change on second reading.
  • No other public comment was offered, including via Zoom.

Discussion Items

  • City Administrator Aaron Burnett reported on the difficult bidding environment, with bids and estimates continuing to come in 20 percent or greater higher year over year; he said the city may need to lengthen timelines or modify scopes to carry out capital projects.
  • Burnett discussed ongoing recycling challenges after losing a private partner for plastic and glass materials, and highlighted the regional approach being developed with the Landfill of North Iowa.
  • He announced receipt of a $500,000 EPA brownfield assessment grant and an $84,000 amendment to the Great Places grant, both intended to help with redevelopment and construction costs.
  • Construction updates included projects on 12th North and Winnebago, the airport project beginning to go vertical, downtown apartment projects including River Two and the Edward Jones building, and the cleanup and reopening of businesses following the Kirk Apartments fire.
  • The City is applying for the Iowa Thriving Communities designation to expand housing-related grant opportunities.

Public Hearing

  • A public hearing was held on item 17, a resolution declaring an urban renewal area and approving an Urban Renewal Plan Amendment for the Forest Park Economic Development Area. No public comments were received, and the Council approved the resolution unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent agenda items were approved without separate discussion.
  • Item 17 (Forest Park Urban Renewal Area resolution) passed unanimously.
  • Item 18 — second/final reading rezoning 1007 4th Street SW from Z2 Sub-Urban to Z4 Multi-Use — passed unanimously; the typo was treated as a scrivener's error.
  • Item 19 — second/final reading rezoning 15 North Taft Avenue from Z3 General Urban to Z4 Multi-Use — passed unanimously.
  • Item 20 — second/final readings adopting new Council member and Mayor salary ordinances — passed unanimously.
  • Item 21 — first consideration of the ordinance amending the Forest Park tax increment financing division of taxes under Iowa Code Section 403.19 — passed unanimously, with additional readings to follow.

Meeting Transcript

And good evening, everyone. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Mason City City Council. I'm Mayor Bill Schickle. We're delighted to have you with us this evening. This is the meeting for June twentieth of twenty twenty-three. The first order of business is the roll call. Diana, would you call the roll? Simmons. Present. Yeski. Here. Ms. Toma. President. Lee. Let the record reflect that we do have a quorum present. The next item of business is the adoption of the agenda. Do we have a motion to adopt the agenda? So moved. Second. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, same sign. The motion carries. We now have a special item of business. I'm going to ask our guest of honor, Dess Dennis Wilson, to please step forward at this time. And it's just uh such a great honor, Dennis, to be able to uh present this proclamation to you. I have to observe that you've got family and friends here uh as well. Your wife Anna Marie, um, along with uh Diana and Rodney and Caleb and Eli, I see back there, along with and then other friends of uh uh Dennis Wilson, including our park board chair Jay Lala. And so welcome all here to honor uh you, Dennis, uh, tonight. This is the proclamation that I'll be presenting to you. If you don't mind, I'd like to read it to you at this time. Whereas from spotless white trim on the Jack Black steam engine to flower baskets red, pink, and white, highlighting the old fashioned lamp posts, from a shining national register of historic places plaque to a railroad tie trimmed staircase, from the aroma of fresh pine mulch to an early morning morning song bird, from the wrought iron fence to the sculpture stone patio, from the John Skipper Memorial Bench to the cobblestone sidewalk framing the Academy, from the mother rocking her baby to an anonymous man at sunrise lovel lovingly tending the flowers. Beauty such as this takes our breath away. We honor those who dedicate themselves to it. Today we honor one such magnificent creator. In his honor, I Bill Shickle, Mayor of Mason City, do hereby proclaim Saturday, June twenty-fourth, twenty twenty-three, the date of the seventeenth Rotary Annual Cannonball Day as Dennis Wilson Day in Mason City in recognition of his passion, dedication, and hard work in restoring the last of its kind, nineteen twelve Rotary Cannonball four fifty-seven steam engine and creating the Cannonball Gardens Plaza, one of the most beautiful beautiful civic spaces in the Midwest. We pay tribute by committing ourselves today and every day to following Dennis's example and not setting limits on ourselves or our community or limiting ourselves to small dreams. Standing ovation, Dennis. Next, we'll go to the public forum. This is the regular public forum. It's your chance to address any item on the agenda. If there's an item on the agenda that you would like to address, please come to the podium or if you're tuned in on Zoom, use the raised hand feature and let the let us know of the agenda item that you would like to comment on tonight. Good evening, Jacqueline Arthur, Laird Law Firm, 114th Street Northeast in Mason City here tonight with Dr. Toma on item number 18, second reading of the zone change for the former Blackmoor site and the adjacent properties along Fourth Street Southwest here in Mason City. Thank you for catching a typographical air. We've got that addressed. We're here to answer any questions should you have them, and we'd urge you to approve on second reading. Thank you.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com