Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, we'll call the meeting to order. Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, welcome. This is our city council meeting for June the 22nd, 2026. We'll start with the roll call, please.

Weber? Yes. Hanna?

Yes.

Moore?

Yes.

Persauder?

Here.

Maynor?

Present.

O'Loughlin? Yes. Appleby? Here.

Next, I need a motion to approve the agenda. So moved. Second. I have a motion to second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Passes 7-0. Next, we'll move to public comment. Nothing from...

Nobody signed in.

Okay. So we'll move to the consent agenda, item number five. I need a motion to accept and approve the consent agenda as follows. The minutes of the June 8, 2026 regular meeting. The Del Rio Class C retail alcohol license renewal with a tentative effective date of June 15, 2026 through June 14, 2027. The Wapsie Valley Creamery Street closure request for Saturday, July 4, 2026. the renewal of the home occupation and solid waste permits for fiscal year 2027, and the Chung Gardens Special Class C Retail Alcohol License renewal with a tentative effective date of July 11, 2026 through July 10, 2027. So moved. Second. I have a motion to second. All in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? Passed the 7-0. Next, we move to the financials. I need a motion to approve the claims for payment. So moved. Second. I have a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Pass the 7-0. Next we move to item number 7, which is revenues and expenses to date. This is information only. Anybody have any questions for Suzy on that? Hearing none, we'll move to transfers. Again, this is information only. Anybody have any questions for Suzy with regard to those? Okay, hearing none, we'll move to hearings and ordinances. We'll start with item number nine. This is a motion to approve the first reading of an ordinance amending the provisions pertaining to Chapter 70 traffic code enforcement procedures. I need a motion first. So moved.

Second.

I got a motion and a second. Okay, 70.03. We talked about this on June 1st at the work session. 70.03 requires that when a... A traffic ticket is uncontested that they're to pay the violation at City Hall. In practicality, that doesn't happen that way. They're paid at the police department. So all we're doing with regard to this change in the ordinance is we're changing the ordinance to meet what we actually do, which means that all of the parking tickets that are uncontested are paid for at the police department as opposed to coming to City Hall. Anybody have any questions regarding that? Hearing none, this will be a roll call vote.

Hannah?

Yes.

Moore?

Yes.

Broussarder?

Yes.

Maynor? Yes. O'Loughlin? Yes. Appleby? Yes. Weber?

Yes. That passes 7-0. Does anybody want to make a motion to suspend the statutory rule and consider this today? So moved. I have a motion. Is there a second?

Second.

Okay, second. So I need six out of seven to pass. If that passes, then we would then take this up tonight as the final reading of the motion. So we'll call vote again.

Moore?

Yes.

Persauder? Yes. Maynor? Yes. O'Loughlin? Yes. Appleby? No. Weber?

Yes.

Anna?

No.

Okay. Move to item number 10, resolutions. I need a motion to approve and authorize the mayor to sign a resolution supporting the application of gator manufacturing. Machining and Manufacturing Company to the Iowa Development Authority B.I.G. program. First, I need a motion. So moved. Second. Okay, again, this is the same thing that we did with regard to PREs. We're just signing on saying we consent to their moving forward with their application on the grant. Their grant would be 100 new full-time positions or something positions. I'm just seeing it. Career positions. Can't read my writing. The total of capital investment would be $13,740,000, and we're not committing to anything in terms of matching. There would be no matching. We're not committing to TIF, which is the only thing that we could possibly be paying for. And again, this is the Iowa Business Initiatives growth, which is big.

How long of a time frame do they have to hire those 100 people?

I do not know the answer to that because this is the preliminary stage. All we're doing is approving the – that will support their application. So just supporting the application.

Further discussion. And at this particular moment, there's no cost to the taxpayers at all. It's just approving. There's no application yet.

Correct. Right. Yep. Further discussion? Hearing none, this is a roll call vote.

Maynor?

Yes.

O'Loughlin? Yes. Appleby? Yes. Weber?

Yes.

Hanna?

Yes.

Moore?

Yes.

Crusader?

Yes. Okay, that passes 7-0. Next, we move to item number 11. I need a motion to approve and authorize the mayor to sign a resolution that accepts the work covering the Independence 8th Avenue Northwest IPF Area Stormwater Improvements Project. I need a motion first. So moved. Second. I have a motion and a second. Okay, as you'll recall, there was work that was done as part of the grant process. We received a letter from Crawford Engineering indicating that the work had been substantially completed and all the payments had been requested, so this would start the 30-day clock in terms of the $1,500 that we would be retaining with regard to the contractor. We normally, we Once the project's completed and the engineer tells us the project's completed and then we've paid all the invoices with regard to that, we hold back $1,500 or whatever the percentage is. And once the 30 days run, if there's no objections to it at that point, then the $1,500 would be reimbursed and be closed. By the way, I do have information I got tonight that IPF has currently hired 125 employees. So that's the latest information with regard to that. Okay, so further discussion with regard to this. Hearing none, this will be a roll call vote.

O'Loughlin?

Yes.

Appleby? Yes. Weber?

Yes.

Hanna?

Yes.

Moore?

Yes.

Persauder? Yes. Maynor?

Yes. It passes 7-0. Next, we move to item number 12. I need a motion to approve the engineering services agreement for the Enterprise Drive Trail Extension Phase 2 project with Crawford Engineering and to authorize the city manager to sign the engineering services agreement. I need a motion first. So moved. Second.

Should we have gotten bids for other engineers for that?

Well, we can. We can certainly say we want to do that. The reason we did not do that was because Crawford Engineering was heavily involved in the grant process and getting the grant for us. So they've been involved from day one. It made more sense when Matt and I discussed it to go ahead and request that they be the one that pursued. In addition, their quote, which is... Is it 35,000? 38,200 was less than what we budgeted for. So they brought it in at the right price. This is TAP funding through Intercog. So the fiscal year 2027, we actually received the approval for this funding back on October the 20th of 2025. But we knew at that time that we couldn't do it until 27 based upon what Intercog could pay out in terms of the grant.

But it was also based on the budget. It was programmed in fiscal year 27, the one we're just starting.

If I need your help, I'll... Any further discussion with regard to that? Okay, hearing none, this will be a roll call vote.

Appleby, no. Weber?

Yes.

Hanna?

Yes.

Moore?

Yes.

Persauder?

Yes.

Maynor? Yes. O'Loughlin? Yes.

Okay, that passes 6-1. Next we move to reports, right? Mm-hmm. Okay, council member reports. Start with anything? I have nothing there. Deb?

I think just getting on the agenda for our first meeting of the month about the e-bikes and the bikes and see if there's some language we can change or something to help with the problem that's around town.

Okay, we'll find our city manager somewhere when he gets back and we'll ask if we can put that on the agenda for the work session. What's the problem again? We'll discuss it's not on the hang on, it's not an agenda item for tonight. Okay.

Well, thank you. The only thing I have is I believe our next meeting is after the 4th of July, isn't it? It is. It's the 6th, I believe. So I just want to welcome everybody to come down on the 3rd and 4th of July, and it's going to be hopefully one of our biggest 4th of July events ever. It's going to be a lot of information and a lot of things are going to happen in the two days. And it has been officially announced now that Journey will be playing on the 3rd, and that should be a fairly big event for some of us of a more mature age, shall we say. I mean, they were very popular when we were young. And come down, enjoy the 4th of July, and enjoy Independence and everything we have to offer.

That's your turn. That was pretty quick, Ralph. I just wanted to say I've noticed that we've been working on First Street West, and obviously I assume that we had the new grinder out there. Matt, did we have the new grinder out there working on the road on First Street West?

My understanding is the grinder isn't in yet, but the company that we're buying it from basically let us borrow one that they have so that we could get started because of RAGBRAI coming. They wanted to get it done before RAGBRAI got here.

I see they've been doing some grinding and some coal patching and things like that. I'm glad to see that going on. Other than that, I have nothing, Mayor.

I have nothing. What's the status on the First Street West Grant?

We have not heard anything yet.

Isn't that supposed to be in June?

It is, and I actually looked last week to see when they announced last year, and it was this week last year when they announced. So hopefully in the next week or two we should hear something.

Melissa, anything? No.

Matt, you want to report on anything? I'm good, sir. Thank you.

Okay. The only other thing that's coming up, and it's not coming up that quickly, is if you remember last year they did a I'm going to get the name of it wrong. It's a habitat program. It's called Sips and Suds or something like that. It's a program where they... The local businesses like Brick Kitchen and Allerton and Gedney, they all have a certain set little food item that they participate. And then the Habitat people come in to the individual stores, talk to them, and talk to the people that are participating there. And then it ends with a final presentation. And I think it's in August this year. I was hoping Lisa would be here to remind me of the date, but I think it's in August this year. It was a good program last year.

We talked about habitat. Go ahead, Matt.

Mayor, are you talking about Sips and Bites?

That's the one, Sips and Bites. Yeah. Yeah, I haven't heard when it's going to be, but I knew they were talking about it.

Yeah, there should be a brochure and an email that came out. Lisa Kramer told me she had gotten hers. But no, and Dawn Vogel said she had seen it as well. So as soon as we get that, we'll circulate it to everybody as well. There's no, Susie?

One question. The TIF money for people to get to help with their housing, like windows or siding, is that available yet?

It is. I just have been busy with end of fiscal year things.

So people can call and fill out applications?

I haven't advertised yet, but I've got it on the list of things to do.

Okay. We need to announce that in the meeting because I had a couple people ask, and they said they've called about it, and then they've been told, well, you're too late. So to get it out there so people know about it. Thanks.

Anything else for you?

Motion to adjourn.

Anything from you? Okay. I need a motion to adjourn. Second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed?