OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting – August 19, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, August 19, 2025
BodyMason City, Iowa
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, August 19, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 20:28

Transcript — Verbatim
0:32

And good evening, everyone.

0:34

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

0:38

This is the meeting for August 19th of 2025.

0:42

I'm Mayor Bill Schickle.

0:43

Thank you for joining us tonight.

0:45

The first order of business is the roll call.

0:47

Diana, would you call the roll?

0:48

Lee.

0:49

Present.

0:50

Adams.

0:51

Present.

0:51

Simmons.

0:56

Present.

0:58

Yeski.

0:59

Here.

1:00

Present.

1:00

Let the record reflect that all members are present.

1:04

The next item of business is the adoption of the agenda.

1:07

Is there a motion to adopt the agenda?

1:09

So move.

1:10

We have a motion by Councilman Yusheski.

1:12

Second.

1:13

Second by Councilman Latham discussion.

1:16

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

1:19

Aye.

1:20

All those opposed, same sign.

1:22

We now have a special item of business.

1:24

It's just indeed an honor to call forward Anaya Smith and Coach Jake Phillips.

1:31

If you'd come forward uh at this time, I have a special uh proclamation uh that on behalf of the city council, really the entire city, it's an honor uh to present to you at this time.

1:45

And this evening we honor one of Mason City's very own uh citizens whose talent, dedication, and grit have taken her all the way to the top of the nation.

1:57

Not long ago, she traveled to Fargo, North Dakota in the U.S.

2:01

Marine Corps Junior Nationals for one of the toughest wrestling tournaments in the country.

2:08

There she uh defeated some of the very best in the nation, including champions from Utah, Washington, New York, and and South Dakota.

2:19

She battled through incredible challenges coming from behind in both the semi-finals and the finals, including a match where she was down nine points with just thirty seconds left, only to storm back and win.

2:36

That's not just wrestling.

2:38

That's heart, determination, and the will to never give up.

2:44

Her victory is a tribute not only to the hard work of uh Coach Jake Phillips and all the coaching staff, uh the entire family, the entire wrestling family, all of your teammates, the entire Mason City community.

3:00

You all have helped raise a champion that's standing before you today.

3:05

And so today, on behalf of the City of Mason City, it's my honor to proclaim Saturday, August 23rd, 2025, as Anaya Smith Day in Mason City.

3:17

Anaya, you've made all of us proud.

3:19

You've inspired us, and you've shown us what it means to keep fighting until the very last minute.

3:26

Congratulations, champion, all right.

3:45

Now down to the regular business.

3:49

The next item of business is the public forum.

3:52

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

3:56

If there's an agenda item that you would like to comment on, you can uh approach the podium now, state the number uh of that item, and the uh floor is yours.

4:14

Seeing no public comments at this time, I'll close the public hearing, and it's time to go to the regular monthly city administrators report.

4:22

Aaron Burnett, go ahead.

4:24

Thank you, Mayor, Mayor and Council.

4:26

Just a few items to highlight.

4:29

Um encourage you to uh go through the the report.

4:34

The staff continues to do a fantastic job of putting information in there from everything from the airport to different projects to development services.

4:43

There's a lot of great information in there for the public also.

4:47

So uh one of the things I I'd like to highlight is you'll see uh on the podium here.

4:52

We're continuing with the rebranding effort.

4:55

Um all the credit goes to uh Pam Stecker.

5:00

Uh she's doing a great job uh coordinating that rebranding.

5:03

Um we've obviously got a lot of places that that logo's uh highlighted.

5:09

I keep finding more of them where I sit there and like oh, we gotta gotta get that one addressed also.

5:14

But uh it's rolling out really well, been very well received, obviously tying into a lot of the tourism efforts and uh rebranding of some of our partner organizations.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████46%
Personnel Matters█████████████████████21%
Public Engagement█████████████████17%
Procedural████████████████16%
Summary of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting – August 19, 2025

The Mason City City Council held its regular meeting on August 19, 2025, at 7:00 PM in the Mason City Room of the Public Library. The meeting featured a proclamation honoring a local wrestling champion, the city administrator’s monthly report, unanimous approval of a consent agenda covering multiple capital projects and financial resolutions, and a heartfelt recognition of retiring City Engineer Mark Ram.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes: Approved the regular meeting minutes of August 5, 2025.
  • Claims: Approved claims dated August 7 and 14, 2024.
  • Permits: Approved permits as presented.
  • Resolution – Assessments: Authorized levying assessments for unpaid charges on certain properties and certification to the County Treasurer for collection with property taxes.
  • Resolution – Fund Transfers: Approved the June 2024/Year End Transfers between funds.
  • Resolution – Sanitary Sewer Repairs: Authorized notice to bidders and set a public hearing for September 16, 2025, on plans for the 2025-2026 Sanitary Sewer Repairs – a $1.4 million capital improvement project to reduce infiltration.
  • Resolution – Street Panel and Curb Replacement: Accepted work and ordered payment for the 2025 Street Panel and Curb Replacement Program (Project No. 25-1002), which came in under budget at $312,000 and is funded by road use tax.
  • Resolution – Water Works Plant Upgrades: Awarded a contract to Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. (SEH) for professional services related to the Water Works Plant Upgrades, replacing 20-year-old equipment that treats approximately 37 billion gallons of water (over 20 years).

Special Items / Proclamation

  • Mayor Bill Schickle presented a proclamation declaring Saturday, August 23, 2025, as Aniyah Smith Day in Mason City. Aniyah Smith won the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals wrestling tournament in Fargo, North Dakota, overcoming a nine-point deficit in the finals. She and Coach Jake Phillips were recognized for her achievement and determination.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the public forum.

Discussion Items

  • City Administrator’s Monthly Report: Aaron Burnett highlighted ongoing rebranding efforts (led by Pam Stecker), construction progress on Highway 122 and US 65, the Southbridge Mall theater roof and fire protection improvements, the upcoming bike shelter ribbon cutting (with speakers from IEDA and Active Living), and the imminent closing on the hotel project with Kinseth Hospitality. He also noted that the automated sanitation collection system discussed in the earlier worksession is fully funded within the capital improvement plan and budgeted as an enterprise fund.
  • Councilman Adam requested detailed updates on the Highway 122 and US 65 projects. City Engineer Mark Ram responded: Highway 122 utility trench work is nearly complete; paving is finished from Crescent Drive to Taylor; next year will focus on eastbound lanes and sewer/water utilities. Signal coordination improvements are expected next week. On US 65 (South Federal), utility work from 15th to 17th streets remains, with paving to follow; the project may finish early this season.
  • Councilman Lee asked about winter lane closures on Highway 122; Ram confirmed both lanes will remain open.

Council Recognition

  • Mayor Schickle honored Mark Ram, who retired after 25 years with the city, including 18 years as City Engineer. The mayor praised his impact on water systems, streets, sewers, traffic signals, and recreation trails. Mark Ram thanked the council and staff, noting the freedom given him in recent years, and displayed his original employment letter from February 1, 2000.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent agenda items were approved by a unanimous roll call vote (Councilmembers Yeshewski, Massan, Adams, Simmons, Latham, Lee – all voting aye).
  • The proclamation for Aniyah Smith Day was issued.
  • No other formal votes were taken.
  • The meeting concluded with the recognition of Mark Ram and adjournment.

Meeting Transcript

And good evening, everyone. Welcome to the regular meeting of the Mason City City Council. This is the meeting for August 19th of 2025. I'm Mayor Bill Schickle. Thank you for joining us tonight. The first order of business is the roll call. Diana, would you call the roll? Lee. Present. Adams. Present. Simmons. Present. Yeski. Here. Present. Let the record reflect that all members are present. The 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 Yusheski. Second. Second by Councilman Latham discussion. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, same sign. We now have a special item of business. It's just indeed an honor to call forward Anaya Smith and Coach Jake Phillips. If you'd come forward uh at this time, I have a special uh proclamation uh that on behalf of the city council, really the entire city, it's an honor uh to present to you at this time. And this evening we honor one of Mason City's very own uh citizens whose talent, dedication, and grit have taken her all the way to the top of the nation. Not long ago, she traveled to Fargo, North Dakota in the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals for one of the toughest wrestling tournaments in the country. There she uh defeated some of the very best in the nation, including champions from Utah, Washington, New York, and and South Dakota. She battled through incredible challenges coming from behind in both the semi-finals and the finals, including a match where she was down nine points with just thirty seconds left, only to storm back and win. That's not just wrestling. That's heart, determination, and the will to never give up. Her victory is a tribute not only to the hard work of uh Coach Jake Phillips and all the coaching staff, uh the entire family, the entire wrestling family, all of your teammates, the entire Mason City community. You all have helped raise a champion that's standing before you today. And so today, on behalf of the City of Mason City, it's my honor to proclaim Saturday, August 23rd, 2025, as Anaya Smith Day in Mason City. Anaya, you've made all of us proud. You've inspired us, and you've shown us what it means to keep fighting until the very last minute. Congratulations, champion, all right. Now down to the regular business. The next item of business is the public forum. This is your chance to comment on any item that is on the agenda. If there's an agenda item that you would like to comment on, you can uh approach the podium now, state the number uh of that item, and the uh floor is yours. Seeing no public comments at this time, I'll close the public hearing, and it's time to go to the regular monthly city administrators report. Aaron Burnett, go ahead. Thank you, Mayor, Mayor and Council. Just a few items to highlight.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com