Belle Plaine, Iowa

March 30, 2020

The Belle Plaine City Council met in Special Session on March 30, 2020, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers with Mayor Dave Fish presiding. Present in person or by conference call were: Mary Pech, Judy Schlesselman, Mitch Malcolm, Garrett Landuyt, and Mark Tegeler. Also present: City Clerk Jacki McDermott.

Motion by Pech, seconded by Tegeler to approve the agenda. On roll call vote, all voted Aye, motion carried.

The mayor opened the Public Hearing on the 2020-2021 Budget at 5:33 p.m. and closed the Public Hearing at 5:37 p.m. There were no comments received either orally or by written correspondence for or against the proposed budget. Malcolm made a motion, seconded by Landuyt to approve Resolution 20-03-02: Adopting the 2020-2021 Belle Plaine City Budget. On roll call vote, Tegeler, Malcolm, Landuyt, Schlesselman and Pech all voted Aye, motion carried. Pech asked that since the state has delayed the payment of property taxes if this would cause any problems. The City Clerk felt that this would not be a problem since the delay is for such a short period of time.

The Mayor also asked the council to approve the city suspending water shut offs at this time and removing late fees on the current bills until the COVID-19 emergency is declared over. Tegeler made a motion seconded by Schlesselman to approve this. Motion carried. Council approved this but wanted it noted they were only removing the late fees. Residents are still responsible for their city water bills and, if they were having difficulty, they need to contact City Hall to make arrangements for a payment plan.

The council also discussed the April 1, 2020 regular meeting at 6:00 p.m. and decided against a call-in meeting. They would go live using the spread formation and it would be shown live on Face Book using the Park & Recreation Board’s page.

City Administrator Stephen Beck reported by phone that he has been working with Morgan Mitchell from Belle Plaine Community Development and the local business people with Facebook groups where they can learn information about the needs of local owners. They have spoken to Midwestone Bank about Small Business Association loans but the federal site is not up and running yet. Also, he and Kate Robertson are working on the RFP for the Herring Hotel.

Motion by Tegeler to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Landuyt. On roll call vote, all voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

Dave Fish, Mayor

Attest: Jacki McDermott, City Clerk

Transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval