Lawton City Council Minutes/Claims — January 11, 2023

Lawton City Council Meeting
January 11, 2023

The Lawton city council met in regular session at 5:30pm on January 11, 2023 at the Lawton Community Center, 315 Ash St. Mayor Pedersen called the meeting to order around 5:30pm. Roll call was answered by Heiss, Nelsen, Otto, and Saunders. Also in attendance: city clerk Tricia Jernberg, public works director Justin Dunnington, Ryan Beardshear, Chad Richardson, Lori Hummel, Blake Stubbs, and WCSO Sgt Cleveringa.

Public forum: Chad Richardson mentioned a Lawton economic development group as an idea.

Sheriff: Sgt Cleveringa shared the sheriff’s report. Mayor reiterated speeding traffic around school time.

Fire: there was no fire report shared.

Clerk: Clerk reported moving into new building, having a safety meeting with IMWCA, being awarded a $1,000 ICAP grant that was applied for in December, exchanging a couple of the appliances from the new building, H&R pay request #11 is in the council packet for approval, received the checks from the Aureon grant and Wiatel match, and W2s and 1099’s will be done soon.

Mayor: Mayor reported there’s been issues with the garbage contractor for the past 3 weeks and will be reaching out to them, working with H&R to finish up the building, attending the IMWCA meeting, discussing with a resident about a stray cat, worked with clerk on budget discussions, helping move into the new building, had a resident call about a storm drain being filled with ice, came across an issue with 208 vs 240 outlets in the new shop, discussing with an electrician to get the new building hooked to a generator to make it a shelter for citizens, there will be a walkthrough on Friday on punch-list items that need to get finished on the new building, and will need to have bookshelves for the library in city hall.

Public works: Director reported getting moved, pushing snow, and hearing concerns about the ice.

Attorney: Ryan Beardshear reported Glenn Metcalf is working towards retirement and would like the council’s consideration to be his replacement.

Consent agenda: Motion by Saunders, second by Nelsen to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2022 regular meeting. Motion carried with all voting aye. Short discussion regarding items on the payment distributions. Motion by Heiss, second by Otto to approve January disbursements and December claims for payment and financial reports. Motion carried with all voting aye. Motion by Saunders, second by Heiss to approve the utility billing trial balance and accounts receivable audit report. Motion carried with all voting aye.

Ordinance 2022-02 — Natural Gas Franchise
Motion by Heiss, second by Otto to approve the second reading and waive the third reading of Ordinance 2022-02 Natural Gas Franchise with MidAmercian Energy with franchise fees of $0 for 25 years. Motion carried on a roll call vote, with all members present voting aye.
Ordinance 2022-03 — Electrical Franchise
Motion by Otto, second by Heiss to approve the second reading and waive the third reading of Ordinance 2022-03 Electrical Franchise with MidAmerican Energy with franchise fees of $0 for 25 years. Motion carried on a roll call vote, with all members present voting aye.

Ordinance 2022-04 — City Clerk Posting Places
Motion by Saunders, second by Nelsen to approve the third reading of Ordnance 2022-04 City Clerk Posting Places to remove the post office and replace with Security National Bank. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all members present voting aye.

Ordinance 2022-05 — Sewer Rates
Motion by Otto, second by Heiss to approve the third reading of Ordnance 2022-05 Sewer Rates to increase in the sewer base rate from $30.00 to $37.50 per month for residential users. And an equivalent increase in the base rate for commercial customers from $30.00 to $37.50 per month, the surplus rate for all commercial use over 1,000 gallons shall increase from $1.85 to $2.30. Such rate shall be in effect from February 1, 2023 through January 31, 2024. An increase from $37.50 to $45.00, from $45.00 to $52.50; from $52.50 to $60.00, effective February 1, 2024, February 1, 2025 and February 1, 2026 respectively. The commercial consumption rate shall increase by 45 cents each subsequent year beginning at $2.30 February 1, 2023. Motion carried by roll call vote with all members present voting aye.

Resolution 2023-01 Appointing City Clerk, City Attorney, and Public Works Director
Motion by Heiss, second by Otto to approve Resolution 2023-01 appointing Tricia Jernberg as city clerk, Ryan Beardshear as city attorney, and Justin Dunnington as public works director. Motion passed on a roll call vote with all members present voting aye.

Resolution 2023-02 — Depository Resolution
Motion by Otto, second by Saunders to approve Resolution 2023-02 naming Security National Bank as the depository and naming the signers on bank accounts. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all members present voting aye.

Resolution 2023-03 — Approval of Investment Policy
Motion by Saunders, second by Otto to approve Resolution 2023-03 approval of investment policy. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all members present voting aye.

Resolution 2023-04 — Records Custodian
Motion by Otto, second by Saunders to approve Resolution 2023-04 designating records custodians. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all members present voting aye.

Resolution 2023-05 — Council Meeting Location Change
Motion by Saunders, second by Otto approving Resolution 2023-05 changing the location of city council meetings to 315 Ash St. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all members present voting aye.

Resolution 2023-06 — City Hall Address Change
Motion by Nelsen, second by Saunders to approve Resolution 2023-06 changing the address of city hall from 101 E Maple St, to 315 Ash St. Motion carried on a roll call vote with all members present voting aye.

Library budget: discussion on the Woodbury County Library’s tax asking for FY24 of $21,487. After discussions, council would like to understand where the amount comes from. Topic tabled until next month so more information can be presented.

FY24 Budget/Set Public Hearing: discussion on putting the generator connection, capital improvement items, and new Christmas decorations in the budget. Clerk presented an updated version of the FY24 proposed budget. Discussion on property tax asking, comparing last year’s rate and asking, to where the rate would fall this year with the property tax valuations increasing. Motion by Heiss, second by Otto to set the public hearing for the maximum tax levy for February 8, 2023 at the regular city council meeting and to publish notice accordingly to include the maximum tax rate at $7.15. Motion carried with all voting aye.

101 E Maple: discussion on utilizing the building for a rec center, leasing it out, or selling the property. Chad Richardson expressed his interest in buying the building for his 3D printing business and holdings company. Council believes that it would be in the city’s best interest to sell the property. Ryan will work on getting a list of options for selling together for next meeting.

With no further business, motion by Saunders, second by Nelsen to adjourn the meeting around 6:25pm.

Jesse Pedersen, Mayor
Tricia Jernberg, City Clerk

City of Lawton Claims & Revenues December 2022
ACCO UNLIMITED CHLORINE/INJECTIONFTING/TUBING $2,042.15
AMERICAN SECURITY CABINET PAYMENT DROP BOX $2,140.90
BEKINS FIRE & SAFETY FIRE EXTINGUISHER TESTING $142.05
BOMGAARS FIRE-SUPPLIES $117.13
BROWN SUPPLY CURB STOP/TAPPER/MISC SUPPLIES $636.00
CITY OF LAWTON FIRE UTILITIES $40.05
CNA SURETY WESTERN SURETY COMPANY RENEWAL $180.00
COLLECTION SERVICES CENTER CHILD SUPPORT $616.14
CULLIGAN OF PIERSON WATER $17.50
EFTPS FED/FICA TAX $5,511.38
EMERGENCY SERVICES MARKET ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FIRE TEXTS $810.00
FELD FIRE BUNKER GEAR PORTION $932.55
FLOYD RIVER MATERIALS SALT/SAND MIX $2,630.00
GILL HAULING, INC NOVEMBER GARBAGE $6,347.76
GWORKS W2 & 1099 TAX FORMS $63.06
H&R CONSTRUCTION CO PAY REQUEST #10 $68,643.20
HAKA PW FIRE FUEL $890.41
HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS SHOP TOOLS/TOOL BOX $2,327.02
I&S GROUP WASTEWATER FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS $3,422.16
IA DEPT OF REV- PAYROLL STATE TAX $1,916.00
INLAND TRUCK DUMP TRUCK-ENGINE,REPAIR LEAK $6,595.09
IPERS REGULAR IPERS $3,238.65
JUSTIN DUNNINGTON PR ADVANCE $1,180.00
KC ENGINEERING, P.C. CH/MNT/CC ENGINEERING FINAL $375.00
LIBRARY FY23 LIBRARY CONTRIBUTION $19,668.00
MATT PARROTT CHECKS.. $356.44
MENARDS – SIOUX CITY CC/CH/SHOP SUPPLIES $614.44
MIDAMERICAN ENERGY UTILITIES $2,773.09
MIDWEST WHEEL COMPANIES 550 PLOW LIGHT $568.86
O’REILLY AUTOMOTIVE WIPER FLUID $38.94
POLK COUNTY SHERIFF GARNISHMENT $1,712.96
REHAB SYSTEMS INC JETVAC SEWER LINES $4,781.95
SAMS CLUB COMM CTR TABLES/CHAIRS/TV $4,794.37
SANDRY FIRE SUPPLY FIRE FLOW TESTING $1,098.00
STAPLES – SIOUX CITY FIRE PRINTER INK $198.89
TOTER SHIPPING FOR 50 GARBAGE CANS $1,481.25
TRAVIS LUDWIG REIMBURSE-FUEL50:1 HARVEST KIT $68.44
TREAS ST IA November WET $821.02
USABLUEBOOK CHEMICALS FOR WATER TESTING $763.85
USPS POSTAL STORE STAMPED ENVELOPES $1,805.90
WELLMARK HEALTH INSURANCE $1,686.59
WESTERN IOWA TELEPHONE TELEPHONE & INTERNET $695.16

Total claims by fund: General $44,450.75, Fire $3,800.11, Road Use Tax $10,154.58, Building 2022 $69,018.20, Water $15,488.92, Sewer $11,829.79

Total revenues by fund: General $11,370.21, Fire $5,050, Road Use Tax $11,056.92, Local Option Sales Tax $13,869.86, Water $11,616.86, Sewer $11,235.51

Published in The Record
Thursday, January 26, 2023