Belle Plaine, Iowa

January 18, 2023

The Belle Plaine City Council met on January 18, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers with Mayor Dave Fish presiding. Present: Judy Schlesselman, Garrett Landuyt, Mary Pech, Mitch Malcolm, and Lyle Morrow. Also present: City Administrator Stephen Beck, and City Clerk Sandy Walton. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Pech to approve the Consent Agenda, Council Minutes of January 4, 2023, and bills received. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

Resident Comments: None.

Mike Wagner and Dave Wiese from Alliant Energy were at the meeting to discuss our franchise agreement which expires on May 1 and the possibility of The City having a franchise fee with Alliant Energy. He explained the process and the options available. Motion by Morrow, seconded by Malcolm to start the process for a Franchise Agreement with a 3% fee for both gas and electricity. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried. Sandy will begin the process by preparing the Revenue Purpose Statement for review at the next meeting and get the Natural Gas and Electric Franchise Ordinances approved by our lawyer.

Judy Schlesselman gave an update from BPCDC. The Executive Director position is vacant. They are advertising and hope to fill it soon. The 2022 Main Street Iowa accreditation forms were submitted by the deadline. Planning for the July 3^rd Celebration will begin soon. The 2022 Financial Report will be ready in February. Mayor Fish and Brian Baumgartner, BPCDC President, are discussing the possibility of a 28E agreement.

Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Schlesselman to approve Payment #1 to Iowa Civil Contracting for the Rehabilitate Runway 18/36, Taxiway and Apron Pavements project for the Belle Plaine Municipal Airport in the amount of $358,499.22. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

Bruce Gapstur, Airport Manager, was unable to attend the meeting due to illness. His presentation will be moved to a future meeting.

Motion by Morrow, seconded by Malcolm to approve Resolution #23-01-02; a resolution setting a public hearing approving the maximum tax dollars from certain levies for the City’s proposed fiscal year 2023-2024 budget. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried.

The City Treasurer’s Report, City Budget Report, and Solar Report for December were given to the Council for their information.

Committee of the Whole: Discussion was held regarding the property where the old junior high building was removed. The Council instructed Mayor Fish to proceed with a committee meeting involving the city and the school. Morrow and Schlesselman will attend to represent the City.

The Food Pantry needs a new manager as Lynette will be leaving. Mayor Fish would like the Council to share this information and offer any suggestions on a possible replacement.

Steve reported that he has started employee evaluations. A snow emergency has been announced starting at midnight. Well 5 is in the process of being abandoned. Well 3 has a temporary submersible pump so we can continue to use this well while we consider permanent repairs. Steve has been in contact with Scott Shover of Iowa Rural Water Association on our goals and utilizing him as a mentor. He has also been sharing places we may look for grants and forgivable loans through the State Revolving Fund. We have a rough quote for a new well. It is approximately $500,000 if placed in our current well field. A filter for Well 6 is also still a possibility as the test was a success. We are considering utilizing TIF to help fund a water project. Steve has also been speaking with the DOT on a variety of topics including the Hawk System, 4-to-3 lanes, traffic flow data after the Hwy 21 exchange is completed, and a tentative overlay project on Hwy 21.

The only meeting that Mayor Fish attended recently was the Board of Supervisors’ meeting. He attended with Kate Robertson for BDG. The City Administrator’s Evaluation Forms were passed out Monday and he reminded the Council of their return due date.

Correspondence: The mayor shared that the Federal mileage rate for 2023 has risen to 65.5 cents per mile.

Old Business: None

Resident Comments: None

The council did not go into closed session as there are no updates on the WRH lawsuit.

Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Malcolm to adjourn the meeting. On roll call vote, all voted aye. The meeting was adjourned at 8:06 p.m.

Dave Fish, Mayor

Attest: Sandra Walton, City Clerk

Transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval.