OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting – August 1, 2023

City Council — Tuesday, August 1, 2023
BodyMason City, Iowa
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, August 1, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 29:06

Transcript — Verbatim
1:14

And good evening, welcome.

1:16

This is the regular meeting of the Mason City City Council.

1:19

This is the meeting for August 1, 2023.

1:21

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

1:23

I'm Mayor Bill Schickle, and we have a full agenda night tonight with uh key city council priorities, the three of them being addressed tonight: flourishing neighborhoods, expanding housing, and economic development.

1:37

But the first order of business is the adoption of the agenda.

1:41

Um the first order of business is the roll call.

1:44

Diana, would you call the roll?

1:46

Lee present.

1:47

Adams.

1:47

Present.

1:48

Yes here.

1:49

Massan.

1:50

Simmons.

1:51

The motion carries.

1:52

Next item is adoption of the agenda.

1:55

Is there a motion to adopt the agenda?

1:57

So moved.

1:58

Second.

1:59

We have a motion and a second discussion.

2:02

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

2:05

Aye.

2:05

Aye.

2:05

All those opposed, same sign.

2:07

The motion carries.

2:09

Thank you.

2:09

We'll move to the public forum.

2:10

This is your chance to comment on any item on the agenda.

2:14

If there's an item on the agenda that you would like to comment on, you could step forward at this time and tell us the number of the item, and the floor is yours.

2:23

Good evening, Maggie.

2:24

Welcome.

2:24

Good evening.

2:25

I'm Maggie Berger with Spear Financial.

2:27

This is in regards to items number 10 and 11 on your consent agenda.

2:31

Um we did take or we did receive bids today on nine million fifty thousand dollars of general obligation corporate purpose bonds.

2:39

Those are your bonds for your capital improvements program.

2:41

They're 10-year bonds.

2:43

We did receive three bids, 3.2574%.

2:47

Fantastic rate.

3:06

So if at that time you could refinance or refund them out if there was lower interest rates at the time.

3:21

So there is a backup of the um general obligation debt service levy, but the plan and what you told during your public hearing was that you would abate that debt service levy every year with local option sales tax receipts.

3:34

We did receive four bids for that.

3:38

It was 11 years versus 10 years, and that's a 3.4114%.

3:45

So we're very happy with those results.

3:47

Again, I think the 11 years and the idea that um you are going to abate with local option sales tax just made them slightly riskier than your other corporate purpose bonds.

3:56

So Maggie, thank you that for that uh report.

4:00

Um additional public comment tonight.

4:06

Anyone seeking to be recognized via Zoom, please use the raise hand feature.

4:14

Mayor, no one seeks to be recognized.

4:16

So we'll close the public hearing.

4:18

We've got the minutes and the claims, followed by the permits.

4:22

Item four is appointing Casey Sawyer to the water distribution uh worker.

4:27

Um item number five is levying um for charges for delinquent uh utility bills.

4:33

Those will be uh turned over to the county treasurer for collection with uh property taxes.

4:39

Item number six is a resolution awarding a contract to Aslan uh uh Heartland asphalt for repair to the Madison School Walking Trail.

4:48

Uh this comes under the category of flourishing uh neighborhoods.

4:52

This is a fifty-four thousand dollar project.

4:56

Um just part of uh extensive investment.

5:00

We're doing an outdoor recreation uh in Mason City.

5:03

Interestingly enough, that Madison School neighborhood is uh seeing other seeing other investment with uh Habitat Humanity and some others building homes in that uh neighborhood as well.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development████████████████████████████████32%
Fiscal Sustainability██████████████████18%
Water And Wastewater Management██████████████████18%
Procedural████████████████16%
Zoning Regulations██████████10%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting – August 1, 2023

The Mason City City Council held a regular meeting on August 1, 2023, at 7:00 PM in the Mason City Public Library. The meeting addressed council priorities of flourishing neighborhoods, expanding housing, and economic development. Key actions included approving most items on the consent agenda, discussing bond issuances with a detailed presentation on premiums and credit rating, holding a public hearing on a voluntary annexation for a major economic development project (New Energy Freedom), and adopting two ordinances related to nuisance abatement charges.

Consent Calendar

The council approved the consent agenda with the exception of Item 10, which was pulled for separate discussion. Items approved en bloc included:

  • Minutes of July 18, 2023
  • Claims dated July 20 and 27, 2023
  • Permits
  • Appointment of Casey Swyter as Water Distribution Worker (the transcript referred to the individual as "Casey Sawyer")
  • Resolution levying assessments for delinquent utility charges for collection with property taxes
  • Resolution awarding a contract to Heartland Asphalt of Mason City, Iowa, for repairs to the Madison School Walking Trails ($54,000 project)
  • Resolution approving the purchase of one replacement garbage packer truck from Elliott Equipment of Grimes, Iowa
  • Resolution approving property owner applications under the 2023 Downtown West Home Pilot Program (part of a 40-home rehabilitation goal supported by a $1 million state grant)
  • Resolution approving the contract and bond for the High Line Trail project ($749,000, Phase 2 from 19th Street to Lime Creek Nature Center)
  • Resolution awarding General Obligation Local Option Sales and Tax Bonds, Series 2023B (Item 11)

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Maggie Berger (Spear Financial) reported on the bond sales for Items 10 and 11. She stated that $9,050,000 in General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds (10-year) received three bids at a true interest cost of 3.2574%, and the Local Option Sales Tax Bonds (11-year) received four bids at 3.4114%. She noted the plan to abate the debt service levy annually with local option sales tax receipts.

Discussion Items

  • Item 10 – General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds, Series 2023A: Councilman Adams queried the bond premium. City staff explained that the bonds carried a 5% coupon, and the premium (approximately $773,000 on the Series 2023A issuance) would be partly deposited into the debt service fund ($281,000) to avoid a levy impact, with the remainder recommended for the fire station project. Maggie Berger highlighted the Moody’s credit rating (AA3), noting the city’s healthy reserves, 70% of general obligation debt paid within 10 years, and financial flexibility, though House File 718 may affect future budgeting. Challenges include lower wealth indicators compared to national averages. The resolution was approved with a roll call vote: Lee – yes, Adams – yes, Massan – yes, Yeski – yes; Councilmember Simmons was not present.
  • Item 12 – Public Hearing on Voluntary Annexation (approximately 160 acres south of Mason City, west of Golden Grain Energy): This is the first annexation in nearly 20 years. The property will be used for New Energy Freedom’s refinery and research campus (in partnership with Dow Inc. and Iowa State University), a $350 million project expected to create 50+ production jobs and 30–50 additional jobs for corn stover collection. Groundbreaking is planned for spring 2024, with operation anticipated in 2026. Chad Schreck (President/CEO of North Iowa Corridor) provided details on the project and the voluntary nature of the annexation. City Attorney Steven outlined the simple process for 100% voluntary annexations. The resolution was approved unanimously: Adams – yes, Lee – yes, Massan – yes, Yeski – yes.
  • Item 13 – Final reading of an ordinance amending the City Code by repealing Title 5, Chapter 3, Section 17 (“Trees and Shrubs – Charges for Abating Nuisance”) and adopting a new section: Approved on final reading with no additional discussion. Roll call: Yeski – yes, Lee – yes, Adams – yes; motion carried.
  • Item 14 – Resolution adopting charges for City labor and equipment usage (made possible by the previous ordinance change): Approved. Roll call: Yeski – yes, Lee – yes, Adams – yes; motion carried.

Key Outcomes

  • The consent agenda (excluding Item 10) was approved unanimously.
  • Item 10 (General Obligation Corporate Purpose Bonds, Series 2023A) was approved 4–0 (one member absent).
  • The voluntary annexation resolution (Item 12) was approved 4–0.
  • The final reading of the nuisance abatement ordinance (Item 13) and the resolution on city labor/equipment charges (Item 14) were both approved.
  • The meeting adjourned with a reminder that National Night Out was taking place at the arena.

Meeting Transcript

And good evening, welcome. This is the regular meeting of the Mason City City Council. This is the meeting for August 1, 2023. We're delighted to have you with us this evening. I'm Mayor Bill Schickle, and we have a full agenda night tonight with uh key city council priorities, the three of them being addressed tonight: flourishing neighborhoods, expanding housing, and economic development. But the first order of business is the adoption of the agenda. Um the first order of business is the roll call. Diana, would you call the roll? Lee present. Adams. Present. Yes here. Massan. Simmons. The motion carries. Next item is adoption of the agenda. Is there a motion to adopt the agenda? So moved. Second. We have a motion and a second discussion. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed, same sign. The motion carries. Thank you. We'll move to the public forum. This is your chance to comment on any item on the agenda. If there's an item on the agenda that you would like to comment on, you could step forward at this time and tell us the number of the item, and the floor is yours. Good evening, Maggie. Welcome. Good evening. I'm Maggie Berger with Spear Financial. This is in regards to items number 10 and 11 on your consent agenda. Um we did take or we did receive bids today on nine million fifty thousand dollars of general obligation corporate purpose bonds. Those are your bonds for your capital improvements program. They're 10-year bonds. We did receive three bids, 3.2574%. Fantastic rate. So if at that time you could refinance or refund them out if there was lower interest rates at the time. So there is a backup of the um general obligation debt service levy, but the plan and what you told during your public hearing was that you would abate that debt service levy every year with local option sales tax receipts. We did receive four bids for that. It was 11 years versus 10 years, and that's a 3.4114%. So we're very happy with those results. Again, I think the 11 years and the idea that um you are going to abate with local option sales tax just made them slightly riskier than your other corporate purpose bonds. So Maggie, thank you that for that uh report. Um additional public comment tonight. Anyone seeking to be recognized via Zoom, please use the raise hand feature. Mayor, no one seeks to be recognized. So we'll close the public hearing.

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