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Lawton City Council Minutes — October 2, 2019

Lawton City Council Meeting
October 2, 2019 — 5:30 p.m.

The Lawton City Council met in regular session at 5:30 p.m. on October 2, 2019 at Lawton City Hall. Mayor Dale Erickson called the meeting to order. Roll call was answered by Baltushis, Heiss, Otto (at 5:35), and Saunders. Johnson was absent. Also in attendance: City Clerk Carla Eidenshink, Deputy Charles Hertz, City Attorney Glenn Metcalf, Blake Stubbs, Josh Pope, Public Works Justin Dunnington, Howard Smith, Clark Hummel, Lori Hummel, Carly Hummel, Nick Thompson, Shane Hunwardsen, and Jerry Steffen.

Agenda: It was moved by Saunders, second by Heiss, to approve the agenda as posted, motion carried, all voting aye.

Public Forum: No one was present to speak for the public forum.

Sheriff’s report – Officer Hertz was present to discuss the Sheriff’s report for September. The Sheriff’s Office patrolled Lawton 44 hours and 10 minutes in September and responded to 3 calls for service. They also spent 5 hours and 47 minutes on school related activities.

Fire Report – Fire report for September was 6 calls and report for October was 7 calls. The Fireman’s Pancake Breakfast was held Sept. 21.

Clerk’s Report – Work on the trail began on September 16. About 1/3 of the paving is done, will be discussing fencing and signage later in the meeting, Dale and Jeff Nitzschke are running for Mayor and Kevin, Matt, and Eric Hennings are running for the three open Council seats, ICAP will perform a loss control visit on October 9, hydrants are scheduled to be flushed on October 8 and 9, City hall will be closed from October 16-18 for Clerk to attend the IMFOA Fall Conference, trick or treating will be on Halloween night from 6-8pm, Simmering Cory will hold the final public input session for the Comprehensive Plan on Monday November 18 at 5:30 to facilitate finalizing the plan. Building permits were approved for Shane Hunwardsen to replace concrete at his residence, Shane Hunwardsen to extend his driveway and add addition onto his current building, Deb Brown to add privacy fence to border backyard, and Adam Carlson to build a house. Citizen complaints were discussed. The council will look into having an ordinance to have designated periods in which people may burn yard waste, three complaints were received regarding water runoff, the City will look into replacing curbing to help correct the program, one complaint on substance dumped into creek, letter has been sent which seems to have remedied the situation.

Mayors Report – Mayor Erickson attended several meetings this month and has meetings coming up with SIMPCO and NW Iowa league of cities focusing on economic development and preparing for the future. No parking signs for the fire department doors will be ordered.

Public Works Report – Rehab systems has jetted the sewer mains, lift stations have been cleaned out, three sets of barricades have been made, fan has been installed in the fire station, will be fixing the air conditioner stand, hydrants will be flushed Oct 8 and 9, will be exercising valves, and will start winterizing shelter, park, etc.

Attorney Report – None

Minutes — It was moved by Saunders, second by Otto, to approve the minutes of the September meeting. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Consent Agenda – It was moved by Saunders, second by Heiss, to approve the bills paid and to be paid, financials, utility billing reconciliation, and bank reconciliations. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Facility Study Bids – Mayor Erickson opened sealed bids from Bolton & Menk and ISG for a facility study. The bids were ISG    $27,000 and Bolton &Menk    $29,200. After discussion it was moved by Otto, second by Heiss, to accept the low bid of $27,000 from ISG. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Trail Pay Request – After discussion it was moved by Heiss, second by Otto, to approve pay request #1 from I & A Construction for work on the trail in the amount of    $52,086.58. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Trail Fence and Signage — Nick Thompson was present to discuss safety concerns along the trail and the maintenance road which will run alongside the trail. Any decisions will be tabled until the March meeting and Nick will bring an estimate in on cost of a fence between the yard and the trail.

Ordinance 2019-05 –
Ordinance 2019-05
regarding an increase in sewer charges from $15 to $30
was discussed. Citizen comment was received on concerns regarding the large increase. Motion by Heiss, second by Otto, to approve the first reading of Ordinance 2019-05. Motion carried 3-1 on a roll call vote with Baltushis voting nay. Second reading of the ordinance will be at the November meeting.

RESOLUTION 2019-21
RESOLUTION APPROVING WAGES FOR CITY EMPLOYEES
After discussion it was moved by Heiss, second by Otto, to approve a rate increase of 4.5% for each employee as listed in Resolution 2019-21. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all present voting aye.

Mobile Homes – After discussion regarding a square footage requirement for new construction of main floor living space of 1200 square feet a motion was made by Saunders, second by Heiss, to have the City Attorney draft an ordinance to be considered at the November meeting. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Ordinance 2019-06 —
After discussion on the
Ordinance regarding a penalty for violation
of the snow emergency parking provision
it was moved by Heiss, second by Baltushis, to approve the 1st reading of the ordinance. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all members present voting aye. Second reading of the ordinance will be at the November meeting.

Closed session – It was moved by Saunders, second by Otto, to go into closed session according to Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(j) to discuss the purchase of real estate where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the governmental body would have to pay. Motion carried, all voting aye. Into closed session at 7:35 p.m.

It was moved by Saunders, second by Otto, to return to open session at 7:50pm. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Maintenance Building – Pat Saunders presented a preliminary plan for the maintenance building and for remodeling the current city hall. He will talk with Eric Hansen about getting final drawings.

It was moved by Baltushis, second by Saunders, to adjourn at 8:00 pm. Motion carried, all voting aye.

Dale R. Erickson, Mayor
Carla Eidenshink, City Clerk

CITY OF LAWTON
CLAIMS & REVENUE REPORT
SEPTEMBER 2019
ACCO UNLIMITED CORPORATION  CHLORINATING SOLUTION    $290.80
ALEX AIR APPARATUS, INC.  2 RETRACTABLE LANYARDS    $140.00
BOMGAARS  WEED EATER LINE AND BLADES    $176.79
GREGORY SMITH  YEARLY LEASE PMT ON BALLFIELDS    $2,475.00
CITY OF LAWTON  FIRE DEPT. WATER    $40.05
STATE OF IOWA  PAYROLL DEDUCTION    $346.15
STATE OF IOWA  PAYROLL DEDUCTION    $346.15
EFTPS  FED/FICA TAXES    $3,527.27
ED M. FELD EQUIPMENT CO., INC.  CO. ASSEMBLY    $165.00
HAKA, LLC  250 & BOBCAT FUEL – JUNE    $1,153.42
IA DEPT OF REV. – PAYROLL STATE TAXES    $1,827.00
IA MUN. FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOC IMFOA CONFERENCE        $155.00
IOWA RURAL WATER ASSOC.  VISION INS.    $31.75
IPERS  REGULAR IPERS    $1,964.60
JUSTIN DUNNINGTON  PR ADVANCE    $590.00
JUSTIN DUNNINGTON  PR ADVANCE    $590.00
MANGOLD ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING  COPPER/LEAD TESTING    $320.00
METCALF & BEARDSHEAR LAW OFFICE  COUNCIL MEETING    $125.00
METERING & TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION  10 WATER METERS    $2,765.92
MIDAMERICAN ENERGY COMPANY  UTILITIES    $2,803.10
O’REILLY AUTOMOTIVE INC.  AIR FILTER – FIRE DEPT.    $56.74
RAMADA SPIRIT LAKE  ROOM FOR WATER CONFERENCE    $204.60
SECRETARY OF STATE  NOTARY RENEWAL – EIDENSHINK    $30.00
TREASURER, STATE OF IOWA WATER EXCISE TAX    $824.00
U.S. POSTMASTER  POSTAGE FOR CLAIM & STAMPS    $16.30
U.S. POSTMASTER  POSTAGE – IMFOA    $1.90
WELLMARK HEALTH INSURANCE    $717.52
WESTERN IOWA TELEPHONE ASS’N TELEPHONE/INTERNET    $317.08
WESTERN IOWA TELEPHONE ASS’N TELEPHONE/INTERNET    $97.13
TOTAL CLAIMS PAID    $22,098.27

CLAIMS PAID BY FUND:
GENERAL    $7,715.95
FIRE    $992.08
ROAD USE TAX    $1,612.39
WATER    $9,593.22
SEWER    $2,184.63

REVENUES BY FUND:
GENERAL    $15,966.31
ROAD USE TAX    $13,046.08
LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX    $9,701.37
TAX INCREMENT FINANCING    $25.20
WATER    $16,042.50
SEWER    $6,333.45

Published in The Record
Thursday, October 10, 2019

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