OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting - October 15, 2024

City Council — Tuesday, October 15, 2024
BodyMason City, Iowa
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 15, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 44:00

Transcript — Verbatim
0:57

Good evening, everyone.

0:58

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

1:01

This is the meeting for October 15th, 2024.

1:05

Thank you for joining us tonight.

1:06

I'm Mayor Bill Schickle.

1:07

The first order of business is the roll call.

1:10

Diana, would you call the roll?

1:12

Lee.

1:13

Ms.

1:14

Son.

1:14

Here.

1:15

Yeski.

1:16

Here.

1:16

Adams.

1:17

Present.

1:17

Simmons.

1:20

Here.

1:21

Let the record reflect that the motion is adopted.

1:24

Next item of business is the adoption of the agenda.

1:28

Is there a motion to adopt the agenda?

1:30

So move.

1:31

We have a motion by Councilman Yushewski.

1:33

Second.

1:34

Second by Councilman Mason.

1:37

Further discussion.

1:39

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

1:41

Aye.

1:42

All those opposed, same sign.

1:44

The motion carries.

1:46

Next is the public forum.

1:48

This is your chance to comment on any agenda item.

1:52

If there's an item that you would like to comment on, you may use the podium now.

2:03

Hearing no public comment, I'll close the public forum and we'll move straight to the city administrators report.

2:11

Thank you, Mayor.

2:12

I've got a few items I want to cover tonight, uh, one of which is gonna be the Highway 122 aesthetics, but I'll wait till the end there.

2:19

I've handed out some uh information there and we'll we'll go over that at the end.

2:25

Uh just wanted to touch on a few things.

2:27

The Iowa DOT meeting that we had a uh delegation attend to present on Highway 122 Mercy and Highway 122 West uh went very well.

2:38

I think it was well received.

2:39

We had an opportunity to speak with the commission about the project, uh highlight the steps we've taken to move forward with Highway 122 Mercy, and also submit the request to be included in the five-year plan for the Highway 122 uh West project.

2:56

And uh also highlight the importance of that project both to visitors, uh our commerce and uh just general public safety.

3:05

Uh wanna move on and highlight the mall.

3:09

Uh we've got uh a few new stores that have moved in there that have been well received.

3:14

So if you get a chance, uh support those new uh stores in the mall.

3:19

Uh additionally, we'll we've got an upcoming work session with uh the council on October 22nd, where we'll be able to uh plan a little bit more on uh what the council would like to see in the mall and and the future actions for that space.

3:33

So uh looking forward to to having that work session and discussing that a little further uh prior to goal setting.

3:40

Uh additionally, work on the Delaware apartments has started.

3:45

Uh those are under construction, the area has been fenced off.

3:48

Uh currently there's uh inconvenience with the fact that we have uh work going on in the streets, so that is uh making some congestion there and it's taking up a little additional parking from the on-street spots, but we expect that to be cleared out of the way uh fairly quickly once those services are addressed.

4:05

Um also wanted to highlight that we've got uh work going on with Habitat for Humanity.

4:11

Uh the homes on the old school property are starting.

4:15

The city is working on a small grant to assist with the infrastructure for those homes.

4:21

Uh I believe that's 13 new homes.

4:24

That's uh 13 new homes that'll be going up will will go up in that location.

4:29

Uh obviously uh a great location for uh families to to raise their kids and and uh great addition to that neighborhood.

4:38

Um legislative issues the with the upcoming legislative session.

4:45

Uh there's been unfortunately some talk of uh additional work on property taxes.

5:02

But uh there's some talk of property tax legislation that could have a hard 2 percent cap.

5:08

And when you consider the costs of inflation, uh just the costs of workforce and uh all the pressures that are affecting the ability for city to provide service, uh the 2 percent cap would be uh an absolute uh constriction on the ability to continue to provide services the way we do today.

5:28

So uh we'll continue to lobby to make sure that the legislators are aware of the impact if that legislation was to move forward.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████████████28%
Procedural████████████████████20%
Personnel Matters████████████████16%
City Administrator's Report█████████████13%
Affordable Housing██████6%
Public Safety█████5%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Fiscal Sustainability███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting - October 15, 2024

The Mason City City Council met on October 15, 2024, at 7:00 PM in the Mason City Public Library. The meeting included the City Administrator's report, consideration of the consent agenda with several items pulled for separate discussion, and two action items. All votes were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes of October 1, 2024; claims dated October 3 and 10, 2024; August 2024 financial report; hiring of Assistant Water Superintendent Joe Gaubatz at Grade J, Step 4 ($32.24/hour) and Water Utility Worker Nickolas Morud at $29.53/hour; authorization to solicit RFP’s for solar improvements at Southbridge Mall; resolution for purchase of a backup generator for the 15th Street Sanitary Sewer Lift Station; resolution supporting IDNR water quality management grant application; resolution approving contract and bond for Taft Avenue Water Main Loop Project; resolution accepting work for 2024 Street Panel and Curb Replacement Program; resolution for HOME Grant Downtown West Revitalization Program; resolutions approving First Amendment to Settlement Agreements for 424 South Carolina Avenue and 32 Sixth Street Northwest; resolution approving change order with Henkel Construction for Willow Creek Riverwalk Project.
  • Items 7, 8, 9, 12, and 13 were pulled from the consent agenda for separate discussion and voted on individually.

Discussion Items

  • City Administrator's Report: Administrator Aaron provided updates on the Highway 122 Mercy/West project, noting a successful Iowa DOT delegation meeting and submission of a five-year plan request. He presented aesthetic options for Highway 122 Mercy including stamped concrete crosswalks (herringbone pattern), decorative lighting (similar to downtown), and colored concrete. The decorative lighting cost was estimated at $300,000. The overall project estimate is $11 million. Council members expressed support for beautification and safety improvements, with Councilman Lee encouraging up to 10% additional cost for aesthetics. Questions were raised about maintenance (snow plow damage, surface texture) and jurisdictional responsibility. Administrator noted the project will include colored concrete (not surface stain) and ADA-compliant curb cuts.
  • Other report items: New stores at Southbridge Mall; work session on mall future planned for October 22; Delaware apartments construction started; Habitat for Humanity homes (13 new homes) on old school property; legislative concerns about a proposed 2% property tax cap and potential changes to local option sales tax.
  • Item 7 – Solar Improvements at Southbridge Mall: Administrator explained the RFP process for a power purchase agreement, similar to previous city solar projects. The roof replacement will be bundled with solar installation, eligible for 30% federal incentive. Battery storage option included for resiliency. Council approved unanimously.
  • Item 8 – Backup Generator for Lift Station: Discussion on installation costs ($4,000–$6,000) and three potential bidders. Approved unanimously.
  • Item 9 – IDNR Water Quality Grant: Resolution supporting application for $125,000 grant with $2,500 city match; Cerro Gordo County also approved a $2,500 match. Other entities may contribute. The match includes in-kind volunteer time. Approved unanimously.
  • Item 12 – HOME Grant Downtown West Revitalization: $1 million state grant, city match estimated at $619,000 for infrastructure. Total initiative including housing rehab exceeds $2 million. Approved unanimously.
  • Item 13 – Settlement Agreement Extensions: Extensions to December 31, 2024 for properties at 424 South Carolina Avenue (renovation) and 32 Sixth Street NW (demolition). Discussion on demolition timeline and shared garage dispute. Approved unanimously.
  • Action Item 15 – Zoning Ordinance Amendment (Z5 Central Business District): Second reading only; moved to second reading (not final). Unanimous.
  • Action Item 16 – Electrical Inspector Qualifications: Administrator recommended waiving second reading due to vacancy (inspector’s last day was October 10). Discussion on qualifications: job description requires three years experience or two years education/apprenticeship. Councilman Latham noted concerns from electricians about lowering standards; Administrator clarified similar practices in other cities. Council waived second reading and approved final passage unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • All votes were unanimous (7-0).
  • Consent agenda approved with items 7, 8, 9, 12, 13 voted separately.
  • Item 15 advanced to second reading only; item 16 passed on final reading after waiver.
  • City Administrator’s report on Highway 122 aesthetics was informational; design elements to be finalized with DOT.
  • No public comments were received.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Mason City City Council. This is the meeting for October 15th, 2024. Thank you for joining us tonight. I'm Mayor Bill Schickle. The first order of business is the roll call. Diana, would you call the roll? Lee. Ms. Son. Here. Yeski. Here. Adams. Present. Simmons. Here. Let the record reflect that the motion is adopted. Next item of business is the adoption of the agenda. Is there a motion to adopt the agenda? So move. We have a motion by Councilman Yushewski. Second. Second by Councilman Mason. Further discussion. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, same sign. The motion carries. Next is the public forum. This is your chance to comment on any agenda item. If there's an item that you would like to comment on, you may use the podium now. Hearing no public comment, I'll close the public forum and we'll move straight to the city administrators report. Thank you, Mayor. I've got a few items I want to cover tonight, uh, one of which is gonna be the Highway 122 aesthetics, but I'll wait till the end there. I've handed out some uh information there and we'll we'll go over that at the end. Uh just wanted to touch on a few things. The Iowa DOT meeting that we had a uh delegation attend to present on Highway 122 Mercy and Highway 122 West uh went very well. I think it was well received. We had an opportunity to speak with the commission about the project, uh highlight the steps we've taken to move forward with Highway 122 Mercy, and also submit the request to be included in the five-year plan for the Highway 122 uh West project. And uh also highlight the importance of that project both to visitors, uh our commerce and uh just general public safety. Uh wanna move on and highlight the mall. Uh we've got uh a few new stores that have moved in there that have been well received. So if you get a chance, uh support those new uh stores in the mall. Uh additionally, we'll we've got an upcoming work session with uh the council on October 22nd, where we'll be able to uh plan a little bit more on uh what the council would like to see in the mall and and the future actions for that space. So uh looking forward to to having that work session and discussing that a little further uh prior to goal setting. Uh additionally, work on the Delaware apartments has started. Uh those are under construction, the area has been fenced off. Uh currently there's uh inconvenience with the fact that we have uh work going on in the streets, so that is uh making some congestion there and it's taking up a little additional parking from the on-street spots, but we expect that to be cleared out of the way uh fairly quickly once those services are addressed. Um also wanted to highlight that we've got uh work going on with Habitat for Humanity.

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