OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting - July 7, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, July 7, 2026
BodyMason City, Iowa
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, July 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 40:45

Transcript — Verbatim
1:22

I will now call the meeting of the Mason City City Council to um to order.

1:26

Clerk, please call the roll.

1:28

Miss Anchewski.

1:31

Latham.

1:32

Here.

1:32

Adams.

1:33

Present.

1:33

Hines.

1:35

Here.

1:37

Councilmember Simmons is absent.

1:39

I'm here.

1:41

Oh, he's there?

1:41

Yeah.

1:42

Okay.

1:42

Simmons.

1:45

Present.

1:46

Coming from all around the world.

1:47

We have two council members.

1:50

Is there a motion and second to adopt the amended agenda?

1:53

Removal of number 23.

1:54

So moved.

1:55

Second.

1:56

Second.

1:58

Clerk, please call the roll.

2:00

Missan.

2:00

Yes.

2:02

Simmons.

2:03

Yes.

2:04

Latham.

2:05

Yes.

2:06

Heinz.

2:07

Yes.

2:08

Adams.

2:09

Yes.

2:11

Thank you very much.

2:12

We have uh three special items tonight, starting with a riveting presentation by Chad Shrek.

2:18

The EDC.

2:21

Thanks for coming back.

2:25

Thanks, Chad.

2:26

High expectations.

2:27

Oh man.

2:28

All right.

2:28

I'll see what I can do for you.

2:30

No promises.

2:31

No, appreciate it, uh Mayor Council.

2:33

It's great always great to talk with you guys.

2:35

Uh just got a few updates for you and uh excited to talk more.

2:38

Uh here a couple weeks ago we were able to have our annual meeting with the corridor and over 200 of our uh friends and guests, and uh really a great program.

2:46

Uh you know, appreciate Aaron uh taking part in that.

2:49

We had representatives from the city from Clear Lake from our organization speaking on core priorities happening right now with housing, uh quality of life and amenities, uh obviously project activity, where we're trying to go in the year ahead, and just was a really great event with a lot of positive momentum for our community.

3:06

So always great to get people in the room that are excited about North Iowa and where we're going and uh it was nice because I have a couple of notes ready to go for this presentation tonight.

3:14

Uh on that note of quality of life amenities, we had Debbie Durham up here about a month ago uh from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, so had the chance to take her over and show her the bike park and the hotel and uh all the things that have made progress in the River City Renaissance projects, and she was just blown away uh when we got her out to that bike park especially.

3:31

Um obviously she's been there from the beginning on the ups and downs of the hotel and downtown projects, so she was really excited to see all of that progress and wanted to send her uh congratulations.

3:41

I think she probably texted Aaron and and told him uh good job to finally get that because she was tired of asking us about it, right?

3:47

So really excited to have that and the opportunity to show her what's going on.

3:51

Uh we've had really positive project activity this this first half of the month uh of the year.

3:56

Uh of course a couple of months ago we had the announcement from TDG Forbes or Dem Dimensional Group uh for their expansion and addition of about 30 employees.

4:04

Here a couple of weeks ago we had I think seven or eight of their employees from their New York facility that they're working uh to recruit our our community.

4:12

Uh so Jenna from our team worked with them and was showing them some of the things from the community.

4:16

We had done a survey with their people asking what they were most interested in, the kind of things they wanted to see in the communities, and so we're able to take them around and show those uh specifics to those folks and and it sounds like they expect to get about eight to ten people uh moving here from New York.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Environmental Protection█████████████████████████████████33%
Economic Development█████████████████████████████29%
Affordable Housing██████████10%
Procedural████████8%
Public Safety█████5%
Personnel Matters█████5%
Pending Litigation████4%
Public Engagement███3%
Active Transportation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Mason City City Council Regular Meeting - July 7, 2026

The Mason City City Council met on July 7, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the Mason City Public Library. The meeting included the adoption of an amended agenda (removing Item #23), three special presentations, a consent agenda with 19 items, and separate action on two pulled items and a first-reading ordinance. Councilmember Simmons participated remotely.

Special Items

  • NICEDC Biannual Update: Chad Shrek reported on recent economic development activities, including the annual meeting with over 200 attendees, positive project activity (TDG Forbes/Dem Dimensional Group expansion expected to bring 8–10 employees from New York, interest in the former Masonite building and Alter Medals building), existing industry growth (Stellar's now over 150 employees with a $20 million paint line, Heidelberg investing tens of millions), and housing efforts (seven workforce housing tax credit applications representing over 300 units, four in Mason City: Lark Apartments, Cating, Tradition, and Rye Twin Homes). Shrek also noted progress on the East Park project, Burgo buildings redevelopment, and a Washington D.C. trip.
  • Park and Recreation Month Proclamation: Mayor Lee proclaimed July 2026 as Parks and Recreation Month in Mason City. Brian Pauly accepted the proclamation.
  • Road Safety Month & VRBA Week Proclamation: Mayor Lee proclaimed July 2026 as Road Safety Awareness Month and July 19–25 as Vehicle Responsibility and Bicycle Awareness (VRBA) Week, in memory of Jennifer Bowles Verba. Matt Curtis and Mark Verba accepted the proclamation.

Public Comments & Testimony

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

Consent Agenda

  • The consent agenda (Items #4–22, except #23 which was removed) was adopted by unanimous roll-call vote after Councilmembers pulled Items #13 and #22 for separate discussion. The consent agenda included: approval of minutes from June 16, 2026; claims dated June 18, 25, and July 2; permits; May financials; appointments to boards (Cheryl Hubbard to MacNider Museum Board, Brian Truex and Brian Bartz to Electrical Examiners & Appeals Board); hiring of three firefighters/EMTs ($28.19/hr), two police officers ($34.35/hr), and one heavy equipment operator ($32.00/hr); resolutions on tree removal assessments, purchase of a 2026 Polaris Ranger ATV (pulled), purchase of three 2026 Ford Police Interceptors, two supplemental maintenance agreements with IDOT, three bond resolutions totaling $3.525M (Series 2026A), $4.85M (Series 2026B), and $1.37M (Series 2026C); settlement agreement with Physicians Claims Company; grant and development agreement for Music Man Apartments (321-331 S. Delaware Ave.); termination of purchase agreement with Horizon Development Group (pulled).

Discussion Items

  • Item #13 – Purchase of 2026 Polaris Ranger for Police Department: Councilmember Yushefski asked about the vehicle's use. Police Chief explained it will replace two 20-year-old ATVs used for patrolling bike trails and areas inaccessible to cars, such as north of the dog park. The new unit has a box to haul multiple officers or equipment. Council approved the purchase from Mason City Powersports. Roll call: all ayes.
  • Item #22 – Termination of Offer to Purchase Agreement with Horizon Development Group (Encore Senior Living Project): Councilmember Adams requested explanation. City Administrator Aaron reported that Horizon faced a roughly $1 million funding gap despite low-income housing tax credits and other grants, and chose to terminate. The $1,000 earnest money will be released back to the developer (Councilmember initially thought city would retain it). Adams noted staff time invested and asked about future uses of the site. Staff indicated they may revisit other bidders from the original RFP or consider other development options. Council approved termination. Roll call: all ayes.
  • Item #24 – First Reading of Ordinance Amending Solid Waste Code (Cart Smart Program): Jim from Public Works reported on the first two days of the new automated cart collection system. Day one was long (6 AM to ~5 PM) with all hands on deck; day two improved, using fewer staff and finishing earlier. The main customer issue is cart size exchanges (most want larger carts). Education needed on placing carts 2–3 feet apart and away from obstacles. Council asked about number of trained operators (8), trucks in service (currently 4, target 3 plus spare), and recycling schedule (red/blue weeks—calendar available on city website). Council approved first reading unanimously. Roll call: all ayes.

Key Outcomes

  • Adoption of amended agenda (removing Item #23) on motion by Councilmember Lathan, seconded by Councilmember Simmons. Unanimous.
  • Consent agenda adopted (with Items #13 and #22 pulled) on motion by Councilmember Lathan, seconded by Councilmember Yushefski. Unanimous roll-call vote.
  • Item #13 approved on motion by Councilmember Yushefski, seconded by Councilmember Adams. Unanimous.
  • Item #22 approved on motion by Councilmember Adams, seconded by Councilmember Lathan. Unanimous.
  • Item #24 (first reading) approved on motion by Councilmember Yushefski, seconded by Councilmember Adams. Unanimous.

Meeting Transcript

I will now call the meeting of the Mason City City Council to um to order. Clerk, please call the roll. Miss Anchewski. Latham. Here. Adams. Present. Hines. Here. Councilmember Simmons is absent. I'm here. Oh, he's there? Yeah. Okay. Simmons. Present. Coming from all around the world. We have two council members. Is there a motion and second to adopt the amended agenda? Removal of number 23. So moved. Second. Second. Clerk, please call the roll. Missan. Yes. Simmons. Yes. Latham. Yes. Heinz. Yes. Adams. Yes. Thank you very much. We have uh three special items tonight, starting with a riveting presentation by Chad Shrek. The EDC. Thanks for coming back. Thanks, Chad. High expectations. Oh man. All right. I'll see what I can do for you. No promises. No, appreciate it, uh Mayor Council. It's great always great to talk with you guys. Uh just got a few updates for you and uh excited to talk more. Uh here a couple weeks ago we were able to have our annual meeting with the corridor and over 200 of our uh friends and guests, and uh really a great program. Uh you know, appreciate Aaron uh taking part in that. We had representatives from the city from Clear Lake from our organization speaking on core priorities happening right now with housing, uh quality of life and amenities, uh obviously project activity, where we're trying to go in the year ahead, and just was a really great event with a lot of positive momentum for our community.

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