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Record of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting - June 19, 2024 (Transcript indicates June 18, 2024)

City Council — Wednesday, June 19, 2024
BodyMason City, Iowa
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, June 19, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 33:11

Transcript — Verbatim
1:29

And good evening, everyone.

1:30

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

1:34

This is the meeting for June 18th of uh twenty twenty-four.

1:38

I'm Mayor Bill Schickle.

1:40

Thank you for joining us tonight.

1:41

The first item of business is the roll call.

1:43

Diana, would you call the roll?

1:44

Ms.

1:45

Here.

1:45

Yeski?

1:46

Here.

1:47

Simmons.

1:47

Present.

1:48

Latham.

1:49

Here.

1:49

Council members Lee and Adams are absent.

1:52

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

1:56

The next item of business is the adoption of the agenda with the addition under special items of the annual audit report.

2:04

Is there a motion to adopt the agenda?

2:06

Motion to approve is amended.

2:08

Second.

2:09

We have a motion and a second.

2:12

Diana, would you call the roll?

2:15

Ms.

2:16

Sign.

2:18

Yes.

2:19

Latham?

2:19

Yes.

2:20

Simmons.

2:21

Yes.

2:21

The motion carries.

2:22

Thank you.

2:23

We'll start with special items in the annual audit report.

2:26

Brent, go ahead.

2:30

All right.

2:30

Thank you.

2:31

Mr.

2:31

Mayor and Council.

2:33

Um we've got uh Brad here from ABDO, uh, that's our auditor.

2:37

Um we've uh actually been complete with the audit for a little while now and just kind of uh getting uh things lined up here for the presentation, but we appreciate Brad being here and uh happy to answer any questions that you have uh during uh the present during or after the presentation.

2:53

So thank you, Brent.

2:54

Good evening, Brad.

2:55

Welcome.

2:56

Welcome back.

2:56

Thank you.

2:57

Honorable mayor, council members.

3:00

Uh we do have the presentation up on the screen as well.

3:02

Um so I'll go through each one of the slides here and then and if you want to have a question throughout, I'll I can pause and stop and just interrupt me, whatever we can go through these.

3:13

So let me try to advance it.

3:26

I can't read almost there.

3:43

That looks like a PDF.

3:45

It is PDF.

3:46

Yeah.

3:46

Here we go.

3:47

There you go.

3:47

I don't know if I did that or not.

3:49

Oh, I did okay.

3:50

So uh so I'll go through our auto results, uh, general fund results, your general operating fund for the city.

3:56

All the other governmental funds, uh, we'll show the results of those and then your enterprise funds at the end.

4:02

So first we get into our audit results though.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████████████████████61%
Procedural██████████13%
City Administrator's Report████████11%
Parks and Recreation████6%
Economic Development████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure███4%
Summary of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting - June 19, 2024

Note on date discrepancy: The meeting transcript states the meeting occurred on June 18, 2024, but the provided instruction indicates the meeting took place on June 19, 2024. This summary uses the instructed date, but the discrepancy is noted.

The Mason City City Council held its regular meeting on June 19, 2024, with Mayor Bill Schickle presiding. Council members Lee and Adams were absent; a quorum was present. The agenda was adopted with an addition for the annual audit report. Key items included the annual audit presentation, the city administrator's monthly report, approval of the consent agenda, and the first reading of an ordinance on recyclables.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes, claims, permits, April 2024 Financial Report.
  • Appointment of Jim Coppin to the Active Living and Transportation Commission.
  • Approval of an application under the Downtown West Home Pilot Program for improvements at 312-314 West State Street (porch, siding, windows).
  • Resolution submitting a grant application to the Iowa Department of Transportation for the Prairie Land Trail Connector (part of Destination Iowa plan).
  • Four related items (Resolutions A, B, C, D) regarding health insurance agreements.
  • Creation of a Human Resources Records Specialist position within the HR department.
  • Resolution establishing a regional watershed management fund within the city chart of accounts.
  • All consent items were approved unanimously (4-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

Annual Audit Report (Special Item)

Brad from ABDO presented the audit results for fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. Key points:

  • Audit Opinion: Unmodified (clean) opinion; no non-compliance with state statutes.
  • Single Audit: Required due to over $750,000 in federal expenditures; one finding related to internal control over the Schedule of Federal Awards (timely reporting), but no compliance issues.
  • Findings: (1) Material audit adjustments needed to the trial balance; (2) Bank reconciliations not fully balanced; (3) Timely reporting of federal expenditures (award from FY22 not included in FY22 schedule).
  • Recommendations: Review payroll approval process (too few people processing payroll); implement procedure to notify IPERS of terminated employees; improve use of accounting software for monthly reconciliations.
  • Financial Results (General Fund): Revenues exceeded budget by ~$1.2 million (intergovernmental and charges for services); expenditures were ~$3.3 million under budget (mainly public safety capital delays). Fund balance increased by $1.7 million to $14.3 million. Reserves at 61% of next year's budget (considered healthy).
  • Enterprise Funds: Water fund performing well; sewer fund cash balance fell below minimum target due to $2 million in capital expenditures; ambulance fund steady; seminary fund had a $16,000 cash deficit; storm sewer fund had a deficit due to $1 million in capital spending; solid waste fund slightly below recommended balance; golf course had positive cash balance; parking lots fund had minimal cash; RC arena fund decreased by $300,000, requiring transfers to avoid deficit.
  • Councilman Massan asked for a letter grade: Brad gave a financial grade of B+, noting operational improvements needed. Councilman Simmons inquired about bank reconciliation progress; City Administrator Aaron confirmed they are close to resolving it and expect to eliminate all findings next year.

City Administrator's Monthly Report

Aaron reported:

  • Special events season is active (Bandfest, Friday Night Live, Municipal Band, Arts Fest); city staff supporting them.
  • The first mountain bike trail (The Rapids) opened adjacent to the kayak launch, completed by Rock Solid. A Scholastic Mountain Bike race attracted over 150 racers from across the state.
  • The bike park shelter is underway and received positive reception.
  • Hotel development: The previous agreement was cancelled; staff are in talks with multiple interested parties.
  • Mall property: The city is cleaning up the mall (dead trees, signage removal) and engaging with developers and citizens for repositioning.
  • Councilman Massan asked about the Highway 122 eastbound bridge outage: originally expected late August/early September, now projected for late fall (possibly November).

Ordinance First Reading: Recyclables (Item 11)

  • Ordinance to amend and update regulations on recyclables to align with current practices. Moved by Councilman Yesheski, seconded by Councilman Latham. Approved unanimously (4-0) on first reading.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously (4-0).
  • Ordinance on recyclables approved on first reading (4-0), with subsequent readings required.
  • Audit findings and recommendations accepted; staff directed to continue resolving bank reconciliation and other internal control issues.
  • City administrator to continue discussions on hotel and mall redevelopment and report back.
  • Next steps: Follow-up on audit recommendations; further council conversations on mall repositioning; monitor bridge project timeline.

Meeting Transcript

And good evening, everyone. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Mason City City Council. This is the meeting for June 18th of uh twenty twenty-four. I'm Mayor Bill Schickle. Thank you for joining us tonight. The first item of business is the roll call. Diana, would you call the roll? Ms. Here. Yeski? Here. Simmons. Present. Latham. Here. Council members Lee and Adams are absent. Let the record reflect that we do have a quorum present. The next item of business is the adoption of the agenda with the addition under special items of the annual audit report. Is there a motion to adopt the agenda? Motion to approve is amended. Second. We have a motion and a second. Diana, would you call the roll? Ms. Sign. Yes. Latham? Yes. Simmons. Yes. The motion carries. Thank you. We'll start with special items in the annual audit report. Brent, go ahead. All right. Thank you. Mr. Mayor and Council. Um we've got uh Brad here from ABDO, uh, that's our auditor. Um we've uh actually been complete with the audit for a little while now and just kind of uh getting uh things lined up here for the presentation, but we appreciate Brad being here and uh happy to answer any questions that you have uh during uh the present during or after the presentation. So thank you, Brent. Good evening, Brad. Welcome. Welcome back. Thank you. Honorable mayor, council members. Uh we do have the presentation up on the screen as well. Um so I'll go through each one of the slides here and then and if you want to have a question throughout, I'll I can pause and stop and just interrupt me, whatever we can go through these. So let me try to advance it. I can't read almost there.

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