OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Regular Meeting of the Mason City City Council - December 17, 2024

City Council — Tuesday, December 17, 2024
BodyMason City, Iowa
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, December 17, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 24:47

Transcript — Verbatim
1:11

And good evening, everyone.

1:12

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

1:15

This is the meeting for December 17th, 2024.

1:19

I'm Maryl Schickle.

1:20

Thank you for joining us tonight.

1:22

The first item of business is the roll call.

1:24

Diana, would you call the roll?

1:25

Yesky.

1:26

Here.

1:27

Simmons.

1:28

Present.

1:29

Massan.

1:30

Adams.

1:31

President.

1:32

Latham.

1:32

Here.

1:33

Lee.

1:33

Present.

1:34

Let the record reflect that all members are present.

1:37

Next item of business is the adoption of the agenda.

1:41

Is there a motion to adopt the agenda?

1:43

So move.

1:44

We have a motion by Councilman Mason.

1:46

Second.

1:46

Second by Councilman Yushewski.

1:48

Discussion.

1:50

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

1:53

Aye.

1:53

Aye.

1:55

All those opposed, same sign.

1:57

The agenda is adopted.

1:59

Next is our public forum.

2:00

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

2:04

If there's an agenda item you would like to comment on, the podium is yours.

2:15

Seeing no public comment, I'll close the public hearing and we'll go straight to the city administrators report.

2:22

Aaron.

2:24

Thank you, Mayor.

2:25

Thank you, Council.

2:26

Uh just a few updates.

2:28

The first thing I wanted to mention is uh the um status of a few grants.

2:33

Uh unfortunately we were not the recipient of the EPA uh community change grant.

2:39

Um very disappointing that we were not uh chosen for that grant, but it was a uh um nationally competitive grant, so it's very hard to uh to secure those, but we'll keep uh keep looking for new opportunities.

2:54

One of those actually uh is through the EPA on a subgrant for smaller uh parts of what the larger community change grant was.

3:04

So we'll take a look at that.

3:06

We are already figuring out how we can reapply for a few of those and see if we we can still secure some dollars through that program.

3:13

Uh next wanted to update on uh the uh some DOT projects.

3:19

Uh we did receive I don't know if I've mentioned this to the council.

3:22

We did receive the Safe Streets for All grant through the DOT.

3:27

And uh we're still awaiting uh news on the uh ATIP grant, which is the larger uh portion that'll really help us get dive uh further into planning for one twenty-two west.

3:42

So uh still waiting on that grant.

3:45

Um but we're we're continually looking for opportunities to help fund that uh CIP program and those efforts.

3:53

Um another point that has had a lot of public interest is uh out at the airport terminal.

3:59

Wanted to give the council heads up that demolition on the old terminal will be starting soon.

4:05

Uh that has been awarded and uh work will commence very soon on that project of tearing down the old airport terminal.

4:14

Um next the destination Iowa projects, you'll see we actually have some action on that tonight with uh Prairie Land Trail Connector.

4:22

Uh but destination Iowa Iowa projects are all in motion, uh which is important because we did have uh December thirty-first uh deadline to get those projects uh bid and awarded and we were able to meet that.

4:38

We did file for an amendment just to make sure that uh that we were able to meet that time frame, but uh the good work of Mark and uh so many others on getting this on the agenda for tonight for award and uh consideration of the contract and bond.

4:55

Uh through the winter we'll be working on quite a few development projects.

5:00

Uh obviously we've had the work session on the mall and continuing to to work on that effort uh and make sure that that's on track.

5:09

Also working on the hotel, had several meetings with uh the developer to work on site plan and uh the civil work and and all the work to uh to keep that on pace for getting that development agreement uh finalized, the property transferred, uh get it through development services with all the different consideration that needs to happen on that side so that that is ready for uh spring construction.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████25%
City Administrator's Report███████████████████████23%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████████14%
Personnel Matters███████████11%
Water And Wastewater Management██████████10%
Economic Development███████7%
Public Engagement██████6%
Public Safety████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Regular Meeting of the Mason City City Council - December 17, 2024

The Mason City City Council held its regular meeting on December 17, 2024, at 7:00 PM in the Mason City Public Library. The meeting included the city administrator's report, approval of a consent agenda with several items pulled for separate discussion, a public hearing on a budget amendment, and approval of the Prairie Land Trail Connector project. All votes were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

The following items were approved by a single motion without discussion:

  • Minutes of December 3, 2024
  • Claims dated December 5 and 12, 2024
  • Permits
  • Appoint/hire Steven Diaz as Street Maintenance Worker ($30.40/hour)
  • Appoint/hire Marcy Troendle as Administrative Assistant in Public Works (Grade G, Step 3, $23.37/hour)
  • Reso levying assessments for charges on certain properties
  • Reso approving Preconstruction Agreement with Iowa DOT for Iowa 122 Reconstruction Project (STP-122-1(027)—2C -17)
  • Reso award of contract to Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. for Taft Avenue Water Main Loop Project
  • Reso authorizing submission of BuRLS Grant application for Brick and Tile, LLC (103 East State Street)
  • Reso authorizing submission of AFG Grant for ultrasonic cleaner
  • Reso approving competitive criteria and procedures for disposition of property at 537 4th Street NE (Forest Park Urban Renewal Area) and declaring intent to convey to North Iowa Corridor Housing Development Corporation.

Discussion Items

  • City Administrator's Monthly Report: Aaron provided updates on grant statuses (unsuccessful EPA Community Change Grant; received Safe Streets for All grant; awaiting ATIP grant for Highway 122 west planning). He reported that demolition of the old airport terminal will begin soon and that Destination Iowa projects (including the Prairie Land Trail Connector) have met the December 31 deadline for bid and award. Council members discussed the future use of the airport site, the scope of the Highway 122 project (west of downtown), and the timeline for the hotel development agreement (expected end of January). Aaron noted that without the EPA grant, several initiatives will proceed slower.
  • Item 7 – Appointment of Electrical Inspector: Council approved hiring Nick Wright (Grade K, Step 2, $33.16/hr). Councilman Latham praised finding a local candidate.
  • Item 8 – Designation of Official Newspaper: Council approved designating the Mason City Globe Gazette as the official newspaper for 2025. Councilman Yushewski asked about the payment structure; the City Clerk clarified that each submission is charged separately. The mayor noted the designation is required by law.
  • Item 12 – Public Hearing on Electric Franchise Agreement (Transmission System): Council approved ordering a public hearing for January 7, 2025. Councilman Yushewski asked why the system uses direct current; City Administrator Aaron explained that direct current is more efficient for long-distance point-to-point transmission. Mark also clarified that conduits will contain insulated cable.
  • Item 16 – Change Order for Willow Creek Riverwalk Project: Council approved a change order with Henkel Construction Company for $132,000 due to over-excavation of contaminated soils. Councilman Adams asked about funding; Aaron stated the project budget will be addressed through a future budget amendment or year-end adjustments, as Destination Iowa projects have been over budget.
  • Public Hearing – Budget Amendment #1 (Item 17): No public comments were received. Council approved the budget amendment for fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.
  • Prairie Land Trail Connector Project (Item 18): Council adopted plans, specifications, bid tabulation, awarded the contract to Heartland Asphalt, Inc. of Mason City, IA, and approved the contract and bond. The project will be funded by a grant and local option sales tax. Mayor described the route from Newman School to 240th Street.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously (all six members present voted yes).
  • Item 7 (Nick Wright): Motion by Latham, second by Yushewski; passed unanimously.
  • Item 8 (Globe Gazette): Motion by Yushewski, second by Lee; passed unanimously.
  • Item 12 (Public Hearing): Motion and second; roll call passed unanimously.
  • Item 16 (Change Order): Motion by Adams, second by Yushewski; passed unanimously.
  • Budget Amendment #1: Motion and second; roll call passed unanimously.
  • Prairie Land Trail Connector (Resolutions A-D): Motion by Masan, second by Yushewski; roll call passed unanimously.

All votes were 6-0 as all council members were present.

Meeting Transcript

And good evening, everyone. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Mason City City Council. This is the meeting for December 17th, 2024. I'm Maryl Schickle. Thank you for joining us tonight. The first item of business is the roll call. Diana, would you call the roll? Yesky. Here. Simmons. Present. Massan. Adams. President. Latham. Here. Lee. 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 move. We have a motion by Councilman Mason. Second. Second by Councilman Yushewski. Discussion. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. All those opposed, same sign. The agenda is adopted. Next is our public forum. This is your chance to comment on any item on the agenda. If there's an agenda item you would like to comment on, the podium is yours. Seeing no public comment, I'll close the public hearing and we'll go straight to the city administrators report. Aaron. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council. Uh just a few updates. The first thing I wanted to mention is uh the um status of a few grants. Uh unfortunately we were not the recipient of the EPA uh community change grant. Um very disappointing that we were not uh chosen for that grant, but it was a uh um nationally competitive grant, so it's very hard to uh to secure those, but we'll keep uh keep looking for new opportunities. One of those actually uh is through the EPA on a subgrant for smaller uh parts of what the larger community change grant was. So we'll take a look at that. We are already figuring out how we can reapply for a few of those and see if we we can still secure some dollars through that program. Uh next wanted to update on uh the uh some DOT projects. Uh we did receive I don't know if I've mentioned this to the council. We did receive the Safe Streets for All grant through the DOT. And uh we're still awaiting uh news on the uh ATIP grant, which is the larger uh portion that'll really help us get dive uh further into planning for one twenty-two west. So uh still waiting on that grant.

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