Belle Plaine, Iowa
September 21, 2022
The Belle Plaine City Council met on September 21, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. in the council chambers with Mayor Dave Fish presiding. Present: Mary Pech, Judy Schlesselman, and Lyle Morrow. Garrett Landuyt arrived at 6:30 p.m. Mitch Malcolm was absent. Also present: City Administrator Stephen Beck, Assistant City Attorney Gage Kensler and City Clerk Sandy Walton. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Pech to approve the Consent Agenda, Council Minutes of September 7, 2022, and bills received. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 3-0.
Resident Comments: Rusty Wright and his wife Diana were in attendance. Rusty told the council that he is purchasing properties from Chris Enos and is aware the city has filed nuisances against the properties at 1306 6th Avenue and 1411 10th Avenue. He is requesting that the council grant him additional time to get these properties in compliance. He is set to close on the properties November 1st. He expects work to be done on 1306 6th Avenue in November and ready to rent by December. He plans to have the 1411 10th Avenue house sided in November and will need winter to compete work on the inside. He will be on vacation in October but will see that the lawns are mowed and weeded before he leaves. Council indicated that the plans sounded acceptable. The City Clerk will send a copy of the inspectors reports for these properties to Mr. Wright this week.
Mayor Fish opened the public hearing at 6:08 pm to take bids for the property at 902 13th Street, Belle Plaine, Iowa. No bids were received. The Public hearing was closed at 6:10 pm with no sale of the property.
Mayor Fish opened the public hearing at 6:10 pm to take bids for the property at 1207 16th Street, Belle Plaine, Iowa. Opening bid of $5,000 was required. Final bid of $5,000 was received.
Public hearing was closed at 6:14 pm.
Motion by Morrow, seconded by Schlesselman to approve Resolution #22-09-04, a resolution that authorizes the final disposition of the real estate at 1207 16th Street to the Belle Plaine Community Schools for $5,000. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
Austin Beck was present to discuss a vicious animal infraction issued involving his dog in a dog fight and a dog bite incident. He presented his case and said he has gotten a harness to replace the dog’s collar so he cannot slip out of it in the future. He also offered to put up a fence to prevent any future incidents. Motion by Pech, seconded by Morrow to allow the dog to stay in Belle Plaine under the condition that a fence is installed by May 1st. Until then, the dog is to always use the harness and the owner is to call-in if the neighbor’s dog is running lose and comes onto Beck’s property. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
Casey Neuhaus gave a report for BPCDC. They continue to advertise for a director. Most board members are new in the last 1-2 years and officers will be changing in January. They will continue to be a member of Main Street Iowa; this is discussed every year. The golf outing was last Friday. Trunk or Treat is scheduled from Sunday, October 30th this year. They are working on getting committees going for each event so new and old volunteers are welcome. They received a $1,000 grant thru Main Street Iowa and purchased a new I-pad that works with the downtown music and some walkie talkies. They meet the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Motion by Morrow, seconded by Pech to approve closing Main Street (12th Street) between 8th and 9th Avenues from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 30 for the annual Trunk or Treat Celebration. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Landuyt to approve October 31st from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. for the annual Trick or Treat hours in the City of Belle Plaine, Iowa. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Morrow, seconded by Landuyt to approve resolution #22-09-06, a resolution to adjust the salary of the Belle Plaine Chief of Police. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried. (Chief’s salary raised to $68,500.00)
Bids were opened for the new police car. The following bids were received:
Thys Motor Co – Blairstown 2023 Tahoe V-8 $48,081
BP Chevrolet Buick 2023 Tahoe V-8 $40,882
Thys Motor Co – Belle Plaine 2023 Durango V-6 $39,806
2023 Durango V-8 HEMI $42,412
Bid was awarded to Belle Plaine Chevrolet Buick.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Morrow to approve the second reading of Ordinance #22-11, an ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Belle Plaine, Iowa by amending provisions pertaining to parking regulations. (Deals with 16th Street parking & the school bus stop). On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Pech to waive the third and final reading of Ordinance #22-11, an ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Belle Plaine, Iowa by amending provisions pertaining to parking regulations. (Deals with 16th Street parking & the school bus stop). On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried. The ordinance will become law upon publication.
Motion by Morrow, seconded by Pech to approve the first reading of Ordinance #22-13 an ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances by amending provisions pertaining to yard waste. (Primarily removing all language concerning a burn pile.) On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Pech, seconded by Landuyt to waive the second reading of Ordinance #22-13 an ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances by amending provisions pertaining to yard waste. (Primarily removing all language concerning a burn pile.) On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Morrow to waive the third and final reading of Ordinance #22-13 an ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances by amending provisions pertaining to yard waste. (Primarily removing all language concerning a burn pile.) On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried. The ordinance will become law upon publication.
The City Attorney provided a handout explaining TIF (Tax Increment Financing) and a proposed plan for Wiley Plaza. Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Pech to approve the recommended development agreement. Our attorney will proceed with getting the necessary resolution for official approval. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Landuyt approve resolution #22-09-07, a resolution authorizing Mayor Dave Fish to conduct business with the United State Department of Agriculture. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Morrow, seconded by Schlesselman to approve resolution #22-09-08, a resolution adjusting the garbage fees for extra items. (Extra items if not specified already will raise to $5 per item.) On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
The City Treasurer’s Report and the City Budget Report for August were given to the Council for their information. The Solar Report is expected to be ready for the October 19th council meeting.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Pech to approve the Class B Beer Permit, Class C Native Wine Permit, Outdoor Service & Sunday Sales for Valhalla Hatchet LLC at 805 12th Street, Belle Plaine, Iowa. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Morrow to approve a residential tax abatement under the Belle Plaine Revitalization Plan for the property at 306 13th Street, Belle Plaine, Iowa; owned by Randy & Mary Rethman. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.
A discussion was held regarding the possible purchase of a Sound Sens “I” machine to make leak detection easier & efficient for the BP Water Department. The purchase was put on hold for a future meeting when more detailed information on expected savings can be presented.
The City Administrator, Stephen Beck, reported that we had a couple of pumps down at the sewer plant and that Nick received 42 calls from our emergency warning system over the weekend regarding sump pump failure and dry well problems. These issues have been resolved; next they will work on assembly of the filter for Well #6. The well will need to run to test the filter. We will not pump it into the service lines at this time. Need to test the water for iron, manganese, and calcium chloride to see the effectiveness of the filter. Will be meeting with Alliant soon on the shutdown of Well #5. We have been granted another $12,000 in tree grants bringing our total to around $22,000 which should purchase 100-150 trees. Tree board meets on Thursday. Steve has been speaking with SHIPPO to get an official determination on whether we can tear down the Herring Hotel ourselves without any legal ramifications. He may invite them to come look at the building. We continue to work with the DOT in an attempt to get the HAWK system for the Highway 21 crossing near Longfellow School. We are awaiting determination from EMC on whether they will cover the costs of the new system if the DOT grants it. The Kirkwood project is progressing and we will arrange a tour by the council as soon as finished.
Mayor Fish reported that the Benton Landfill meeting was short, and an employee has been hired. The Benton County Clerk’s Luncheon, hosted by BDG, is scheduled for tomorrow, September 22nd.
Correspondence: The mayor handed out copies of the September ECICOG Newsletter.
Old Business: An agenda item allowing for a vote to officially change council meeting times to 6:30 p.m. was left off this agenda. By executive order, we will hold the October 5th meeting at 6:30 p.m. where council will vote to officially approve a permanent change.
Resident Comments: None
There were no updates from our attorney regarding litigation, so council did not go into closed session.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Morrow to adjourn the meeting. On roll call vote, all voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 8:17 p.m.
Dave Fish, Mayor
Attest: Sandra Walton, City Clerk
Transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval
Jim Magdefrau 