Mason City City Council Regular Meeting - May 7, 2024
Mason City City Council Regular Meeting - May 7, 2024
The Mason City City Council held its regular meeting on May 7, 2024, with Mayor Bill Schickle presiding. Councilmembers Adams, Yesheski, Simmons, Massan, and Latham were present; Councilmember Lee was absent. The council adopted the agenda unanimously, issued two proclamations, heard public comment, and approved all remaining agenda items on unanimous votes.
Proclamations
- Mayor Schickle presented a proclamation designating May 2024 as Historic Preservation Month in Mason City to Tom Drzezinski and the Historic Preservation Commission, highlighting local landmarks and preservation work such as the Historic Park Inn, Stockman House, Meredith Willson Boyhood Home, the Elks Lodge restoration, and Main Street upper-story housing.
- Mayor Schickle proclaimed May 14, 2024, as Childhood Apraxia Awareness Day in Mason City, presented to Brooke Mallard and her daughter Oakley, to raise awareness of the neurological speech disorder.
Consent Calendar
- The consent agenda was approved by unanimous roll-call vote, with Councilmembers Adams and Latham pulling items 13 and 19 for separate consideration. The routine items included approval of minutes, claims, and permits; reappointments of Paul Mathis and Arian Schusler to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Kevin Easley to the Housing Board of Appeals; appointment of Darcini J. Werdina to the Library Board and Marinda Reynolds to the Housing Authority Board; a resolution levying unpaid assessments to the county treasurer; temporary street closings for the Mason City band festivals; a $1/year Harley-Davidson motorcycle lease for the police department; a public hearing date of May 21 for the current fiscal year budget amendment; purchase of a front-end loader for the street division and a zero-turn mower for the park department; an award to Heartland Asphalt for East Park and Fourth Street Northeast trail repairs; a contract and bond for the 2024 street paving and curb replacement program; acceptance of McKinnis Excavating's work on the Lakeview Preserve Dredging Project; an award to WHKS for the Fourth Street Northeast Retaining Wall; expansion of the west downtown revitalization district; an Iowa Thriving Communities designation application; a life safety grant for fire suppression and related improvements; and support for an Iowa DOT application for Highway 124 West improvements.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Kent Hall of Clear Lake, representing parties involved in agenda item 24, requested that the council waive the second reading and approve the rezoning on final reading that evening so the building project could move forward.
- During the State Transit Assistance Fund public hearing, Transit Operations and Safety Manager Dylan Schulte read a prepared statement recommending adoption and reported no public comment against the application.
- No other public comments were received.
Item 13 – Trail Maintenance Equipment Purchase
- The council approved the purchase of a debris loader, dump trailer, and debris blower for trail maintenance. Councilmember Adams asked whether the equipment was new or replacement; Deputy City Manager Brent Henson responded that it was new equipment intended to improve the park crew's responsiveness as the trail system expands and to better maintain the plaza area. The motion passed unanimously.
Item 19 – Downtown Revitalization Loans
- The council approved resolutions supporting loans for rehabilitation of a preschool property at 213 First Street Southeast and the Historic Elks Lodge at 122-124 North Federal. Councilmember Adams expressed appreciation for the developers' downtown investment, noted that it had been months since a DORA loan had come forward, and mentioned Foxtrot's prior renovation of the Simply Nourished Building. Staff reported that the city had completed 51 such loans; with these two, the total would reach 53. The motion passed unanimously.
State Transit Assistance Fund
- After the public hearing, the council adopted the resolution authorizing submission of the transit assistance application and execution of the grant upon approval. Dylan Schulte detailed the application: $757,572 in Federal Section 5311 funds with a 100% local match, state revenues estimated at $331,409 (1.739% of the motor vehicle sales tax allocation), for a stated grand total of $1,088,098; and a Federal Section 539 capital grant of $428,000 with 85%/15% matching ($364,200 federal, $63,800 local). The motion passed unanimously.
Stellar Industries TIF Agreement
- The council adopted on final reading an ordinance approving a tax increment financing agreement with Stellar Industries, after two prior considerations. The motion passed unanimously.
Zoning Change and Conditional Use – 1500 Block South Federal Avenue
- The council voted to waive the second reading of the zone change after Councilmember Adams confirmed with staff that no comments had been received, then approved final consideration. Councilmember Yesheski congratulated the developers and said seeing activity in the long-empty shopping center was a good thing for Mason City. The accompanying conditional use agreement was also approved. All three motions passed unanimously.
Sewer Rate Ordinances – First Readings
- Sanitary sewer: The council gave first reading approval to an ordinance revising sewer rates. Deputy City Manager Brent Henson explained that the multi-year rate plan needed adjustment because of higher costs for the state-mandated nutrient-reduction project at the wastewater plant. He stated Mason City's rates remain below average compared with Iowa communities over 10,000 in population, minimum bills would not be changed, and usage rates would be adjusted. Councilmember Masson emphasized that the increase was for needed capital improvements rather than general revenue. The motion passed unanimously.
- Storm sewer: The council gave first reading approval to an ordinance replacing flat stormwater fees with an equivalent residential unit (ERU) system based on impervious surface area. Residential properties remain one ERU with no fee change; commercial and industrial rates would take effect January 1, 2025, with credits of up to 40% for qualifying stormwater management practices. The approach was modeled after Dubuque's system. Councilmembers and City Administrator Aaron Burnett stressed that the change made costs more equitable, with those who generate more stormwater paying more. The motion passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Adopted the agenda.
- Approved the consent agenda with items 13 and 19 pulled and separately approved.
- Approved trail maintenance equipment purchase (item 13).
- Approved downtown revitalization loans (item 19).
- Approved State Transit Assistance Fund application and resolution.
- Adopted the Stellar Industries TIF ordinance on final reading.
- Approved the zoning change and conditional use for the 1500 block of South Federal Avenue.
- Approved first readings of the sanitary sewer and storm sewer rate ordinances.
Meeting Transcript
Recording in progress. And good evening, everyone. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Mason City City Council. This is the meeting for May 7th of 2024. I'm Mayor Bill Schickle. We're delighted to have you with us this evening. The first order of business is the roll call. Diana, would you call the roll? Adams. Present. Yeski. Here. Simmons. Present. Massan. Here. Latham. Here. Councilmember Lee is absent. 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 move. Motion by Councilman Mason. Second, second by Councilman Latham. Discussion. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, same sign. The agenda is adopted. We have two special items of business before we get started with a regular portion of the council meeting. First, I'd like to call forward Tom Drzezinski with the Historic Preservation Commission in Mason City. And it's an honor to present a proclamation designating Historic Preservation Month in Iowa. And uh Tom, thank you for all of your uh great work in that area. Tonight's a time to recognize Mason City's landmark accomplishments in historic preservation. Mason City is home to the world-renowned art and architecture as we know so well, with such uh shining represent uh reputation for historic preservation that it was recently uh featured on public broadcasting and nationwide broadcasting, and of course the historic park inn we think about, the Stockman House, and uh the Meredith Wilson boyhood home, but more recently and even on the agenda tonight, the restoration of the historic Elks Lodge uh in Mason City, along with so much going on on Main Street, the upper story housing, all efforts in historic uh preservation. And we owe a debt of gratitude to the members of the Mason City Historic Preservation Commission. Thank you, Tom Drasinski, Chair Chris Ertall, Vice Chair Laura Little, uh Joyce Ducky, Dikey, uh, Terry Harrison, uh, Derek Arnold, and Craig Benaboos. Thank you for your extraordinary work. Thanks also to Trishan and Stephen uh on the staff who assist the uh commission and all the people and groups that uh make historic preservation in Mason City a priority. In recognition of your good work, it's an honor to appro officially proclaim May 2024 as historic preservation month uh in Mason City. Can we show our appreciation? Next, I would like to ask to step forward Brooke Mallard and her daughter Oakley, along with uh family for a special uh presentation at this time. I was unaware of childhood approxia. That is until I uh got to know Brooke Mallard uh of Mason City. She told me of the complications and speech disorder. It affects one in a thousand uh people uh in the United States, including her three-year-old beautiful daughter here, Oakley, who is uh with us uh this evening. By uh issuing today's proclamation, uh my goal is to help raise awareness of childhood apraxia and how the community can be helpful to people like Brooke and her daughter uh Oakley. Uh public awareness in Mason City is essential uh for families and children with this uh neurological challenge, and to the professional people that uh help them. Therefore, let it be resolved that Tuesday, May 14th, 2024 is a proxia awareness day in Mason City.
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