OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting - October 1, 2024

City Council — Tuesday, October 1, 2024
BodyMason City, Iowa
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 1, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 33:01

Transcript — Verbatim
1:57

And good evening, everyone.

1:59

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

2:03

I'm Mayor Bill Schickle.

2:04

We're delighted to have you with us tonight.

2:06

This is the meeting for October first of twenty twenty-four.

2:10

The first order of business is the roll call.

2:13

Pam, would you call the roll?

2:15

Adams.

2:16

Present.

2:17

Yeshevski.

2:18

Here.

2:19

Late them.

2:21

Lee.

2:22

Present.

2:24

Here.

2:24

Simmons.

2:25

Present.

2:26

Let the record reflect that all members are present.

2:30

Next item of business is the adoption of the agenda.

2:33

Is there a motion to adopt the agenda?

2:35

So moved.

2:36

We have a motion.

2:37

And a second.

2:38

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

2:41

Aye.

2:42

All those opposed, same sign.

2:44

We have three special proclamations tonight.

2:47

Uh National Planning Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but first the twenty twenty-four fire prevention week.

2:57

And I'd like to invite Assistant Deputy Chief Randy Ellorn along with the firefighters and deputy chief Aaron Beamer to please step forward at this time to uh accept uh the proclamation.

3:26

And welcome, firefighters.

3:28

This is the uh proclamation that I'm honored to present at this time.

3:33

Uh proclaiming fire prevention week.

3:36

It'll be next week, October sixth uh through the twelfth.

3:40

You know, and public safety, firefighting, first responders are, you know, one of the most basic and first responsibilities uh of government.

3:49

Uh, we're very thankful for our first responders that are uh here this evening.

3:54

Three out of five fire deaths are occur where there is no working fire alarm.

4:01

And uh I was uh getting my haircut over at uh great eclipse yesterday, as a matter of fact, and went by the fire department.

4:07

It says big sign out set fronts.

4:09

Smoke alarms make them work for you.

4:12

And so that's the uh idea during uh fire prevention week.

4:16

We're honored to have with us uh the assistant uh deputy chief along with Aaron Beamer and all of the uh firefighters, and we very much appreciate uh your uh great work, and it's an honor uh, Randy to uh present this uh proclamation to you at this time.

4:32

Let's show our appreciation.

4:41

So just a few words on uh fire prevention week as uh Mayor Bill Schickle mentioned, uh smoke detectors make them work for you.

4:49

It's kind of amazing how many houses there are yet with uh either one or no smoke detectors.

4:57

So the big push this year is make them work for you.

5:00

So install them, make sure you have more than one at the various different locations in the in the houses and so on, test them monthly and so on, change the battery at least annually, and then every 10 years replace the whole unit.

5:14

The technology gets better every year and so on, so they're gonna work more and more for us and so on.

5:20

As long as there's a battery in there, it's a working unit, it works 24-7, and together we can make a big difference in saving lives.

5:28

Thank you.

5:37

Next we have a proclamation for community planning month.

5:41

And I'd like to invite forward Steven Van Steenhoose and uh Trisha to please uh step forward and receive the proclamation at this time.

5:52

Tricia Sandal.

5:56

And so community planning month for the month of October, it's in conjunction with National Planning Month.

6:03

And you know, the success that we've seen uh in Mason City recently and housing and and outdoor recreation and public safety improvements really are all the good result of good planning.

6:15

So thank you for your good planning.

6:18

Um we owe a deck of gratitude to Stephen and Tricia, the entire planning staff, along with our planning and zoning commission, uh the City Council, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and others.

6:30

And so it's an honor to declare uh community planning month as October uh in Mason City.

6:36

Can we show appreciation to Steven and Tricia?

6:51

Next is uh domestic violence awareness month for the month of October.

6:56

I'd like to call forward uh uh Chief Brinkley along with Mary Ingham uh to receive the proclamation at this time.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████23%
Affordable Housing██████████████████████22%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████14%
Pending Litigation█████████9%
Historic Preservation████████8%
Personnel Matters████████8%
Public Safety██████6%
Economic Development█████5%
Zoning Regulations█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting – October 1, 2024

The Mason City City Council met on October 1, 2024, at 1:00 PM (transcript timestamp) with all seven members present. The meeting opened with three proclamations, followed by a public forum with no comments, the City Administrator’s monthly report, and action on several items including consent agenda, historic preservation loans, a zoning ordinance amendment, and a code change for electrical inspector qualifications.

Proclamations

  • Fire Prevention Week (October 6–12, 2024) was proclaimed. Assistant Deputy Chief Randy Ellorn and Deputy Chief Aaron Beamer accepted. The theme: “Smoke alarms make them work for you.” Statistics noted: three out of five fire deaths occur where there is no working smoke alarm.
  • Community Planning Month (October 2024) was proclaimed. Steven Van Steenhoose and Trisha Sandal accepted. The mayor credited good planning for recent successes in housing, outdoor recreation, and public safety.
  • Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October 2024) was proclaimed. Chief Brinkley and Mary Ingham accepted. Nearly 100 victims receive crisis services annually in the service area. A “Remember My Name” event was announced for noon on Friday at the public library.

Consent Calendar

All consent items were approved unanimously with the exception of item 15 (Elks building resolutions). Items included:

  • Approval of minutes, claims, permits, and the July 2024 financial report.
  • Levy of assessments for non‑payment of certain bills to the county treasurer for collection with property taxes.
  • Acceptance of the annual report from the Mason City Housing Authority (assisted 466 renters, majority for less than a year).
  • Resolution approving the 2023/24 annual financial report (year‑end fund balances increased, city financially strong).
  • Acceptance of work and ordering payment for 2023/24 sanitary sewer repairs ($726,000 capital improvement project).
  • Approval of a sidewalk service permit for Bricks Annex at 28 East State Street.
  • A resolution approving a forgivable loan (Corridor Revitalization) for Midwest Agutine for renovation at 3609 South Federal Avenue.
  • Setting a public hearing date (November 5, 2024) for Urban Renewal Plan Amendment No. 3.

City Administrator Monthly Report

City Administrator Aaron reported:

  • Highway 122 bridge work (Iowa DOT project) delayed by wet weather; optimistic completion in the next month to month and a half.
  • City finances: Strong – interest income, local option sales tax, and hotel/motel tax revenues are on pace. Projections are being met or exceeded.
  • Housing: The North Iowa Corridor hired a housing coordinator to expand regional housing efforts. The Housing Development Corporation was established recently.
  • Goal setting: Questionnaires sent to council to identify priorities for the upcoming budget season.
  • Projects: Fire and police station improvements progressing; destination Iowa recreational projects on schedule; ribbon cutting for mountain bike trails scheduled for mid‑October; airport terminal improvements showing increased passenger numbers.
  • Highway 122 Mercy project: Design nearing completion; bid letting in spring 2025, construction over the following two years. Aesthetics options to be brought back to council.

Discussion Items

  • Kirk Apartments land (Councilman Lee): The site and the downtown hotel were submitted for state Brownfield grants; a decision expected in 2–3 weeks. An RFP for housing development attracted interest; pre‑proposal Zoom meeting set for October 3 (2:00 PM), proposals due October 21.
  • Mall development (Councilman Lather): New pizza and chicken places opening in the mall food court. Councilman Lather requested a dedicated discussion on mall development. The administrator suggested splitting goal setting into two sessions, with the second focused on the mall.
  • Settlement updates (Councilman Adams): Two settlement agreements from February 2024 (424 South Carolina and 326th Street NW) have requests for extensions through the end of the year due to contractor availability. The house at 6th and Adams (old Phil Flinch house) will be demolished along with the adjacent garage, with completion by year‑end.
  • Item 15 – Historic preservation of the Elks building (122 & 124 North Federal Avenue): Two resolutions (15A and 15B) passed unanimously. The city’s financial involvement: a Burrells grant of $175,000 and a Doral loan of $30,000 (total $202,000), plus a state grant of $100,000. Funds will add a second stairway and make the third floor leasable, increasing property value and downtown vitality.
  • Item 17 – Zoning ordinance amendment: Public hearing held with no public comment. The amendment changes the special district boundary in the downtown area. First reading approved unanimously.
  • Electrical inspector qualifications (code amendment): First reading approved unanimously. The change removes the requirement for a master electrician license. Staff said the previous requirement thinned the candidate pool; other comparable cities do not require a master license. Councilman Simmons asked for clarification; staff explained the change provides flexibility and broadens the applicant pool.

Key Outcomes

  • All proclamations were adopted.
  • Consent agenda approved (all items except #15) unanimously.
  • Resolutions for the Elks building (#15A and #15B) approved unanimously (7–0).
  • Zoning ordinance amendment (#17) received first reading approval unanimously.
  • Electrical inspector qualifications code amendment (first reading) approved unanimously.
  • No public comments were made.
  • City Administrator’s report accepted with no votes required; questions answered.
  • Next steps: Public hearing on November 5 for urban renewal plan amendment; RFP deadline October 21; goal setting sessions to be scheduled; Brownfield grant decisions expected in 2–3 weeks.

Meeting Transcript

And good evening, everyone. Welcome to the regular meeting of uh Mason City City Council. I'm Mayor Bill Schickle. We're delighted to have you with us tonight. This is the meeting for October first of twenty twenty-four. The first order of business is the roll call. Pam, would you call the roll? Adams. Present. Yeshevski. Here. Late them. Lee. Present. Here. Simmons. Present. Let the record reflect that all members are present. Next item of business is the adoption of the agenda. Is there a motion to adopt the agenda? So moved. We have a motion. And a second. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, same sign. We have three special proclamations tonight. Uh National Planning Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but first the twenty twenty-four fire prevention week. And I'd like to invite Assistant Deputy Chief Randy Ellorn along with the firefighters and deputy chief Aaron Beamer to please step forward at this time to uh accept uh the proclamation. And welcome, firefighters. This is the uh proclamation that I'm honored to present at this time. Uh proclaiming fire prevention week. It'll be next week, October sixth uh through the twelfth. You know, and public safety, firefighting, first responders are, you know, one of the most basic and first responsibilities uh of government. Uh, we're very thankful for our first responders that are uh here this evening. Three out of five fire deaths are occur where there is no working fire alarm. And uh I was uh getting my haircut over at uh great eclipse yesterday, as a matter of fact, and went by the fire department. It says big sign out set fronts. Smoke alarms make them work for you. And so that's the uh idea during uh fire prevention week. We're honored to have with us uh the assistant uh deputy chief along with Aaron Beamer and all of the uh firefighters, and we very much appreciate uh your uh great work, and it's an honor uh, Randy to uh present this uh proclamation to you at this time. Let's show our appreciation. So just a few words on uh fire prevention week as uh Mayor Bill Schickle mentioned, uh smoke detectors make them work for you. It's kind of amazing how many houses there are yet with uh either one or no smoke detectors. So the big push this year is make them work for you. So install them, make sure you have more than one at the various different locations in the in the houses and so on, test them monthly and so on, change the battery at least annually, and then every 10 years replace the whole unit. The technology gets better every year and so on, so they're gonna work more and more for us and so on. As long as there's a battery in there, it's a working unit, it works 24-7, and together we can make a big difference in saving lives. Thank you. Next we have a proclamation for community planning month.

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