Belle Plaine, Iowa
October 4, 2023
The Belle Plaine City Council met on October 4, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Belle Plaine City Hall, with Mayor Pro Tem Mary Pech presiding. Present were Councilpersons Mary Pech, Mitch Malcolm, Lyle Morrow, Judy Schlesselman, and Garrett Landuyt. Also present: City Administrator Stephen Beck and Assistant City Clerk Ashly Parizek. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Mayor Pro Tem noted that Agenda Item #12 is scratched from this agenda due to not all necessary information being available.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Malcolm to approve the Consent Agenda, Council Minutes of September 20, 2023, meeting of the August 22, 2023, meeting of the Belle Plaine Community Library Board of Trustees and bills received. All voted aye, motion carried.
Resident Comments: None
Mayor Pro Tem swore in officer Logan Garwood as a full-time police officer.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Landuyt to approve the application request from Paul & Jeri Ramirez for the Owner-Occupied Home Rehabilitation Grant. All voted aye, motion carried. Schlesselman noted that even though the verbiage in this grant does not specify emergency repairs to service lines, she believes they are covered by the verbiage that this grant is for health and safety hazards to occupants and/or the public. Council requested that this grant program’s guidelines be revised to add “emergency repairs to service lines with City Official notification” to the eligibility guidelines.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Morrow to set the public hearing to approve the plans and specification for the Herring Hotel Demolition Project for Wednesday, October 18, 2023. All voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Morrow, seconded by Schlesselman to approve the University of Iowa Service Agreement for the Salt Creek Aquifer (well field/wetland project). All voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Morrow, seconded by Malcolm to approve the renewal of a Class E Retail Alcohol License with Sunday Sales for Grieder’s Beverage Depot, 708 13th St., Belle Plaine, Iowa. All voted aye, motion carried.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Landuyt to approve Resolution #23-10-01: A resolution authorizing partial early redemption of General Obligation Bonds, Series 2016A. All voted aye, motion carried.
City Administrator Steve Beck gave updates on the US Cellular project with Kate Robertson, Executive Director of Benton Development Group. The request is for this to be an agenda item for the October 18th Council Meeting or the possibility of holding a special Council Meeting prior to the next regular meeting. Steve has been in communication with State Senator McClintock regarding recent drought data and is requesting emergency aid based on this information. He will continue to work on this and keep the Council updated. Steve also has a meeting with the Mid-Iowa River Watershed Management Authority on October 5, 2023. He has been in regular contact with Nate Kass, engineer with Fehr Graham, regarding the Herring Hotel Project and is pleased with the amount of interest this has received to date. This will be an online bidding process, so the timeline with bids due on October 12 may seem short but it’s very efficient and expected to go smoothly.
Mayor Pro Tem Report: Mary Pech reports that Mayor Dave Fish had a surgical procedure, and the last update was that he will remain in the hospital from 5-10 days. She will be getting an address where cards and well wishes can be sent.
Correspondence: None.
Old Business: None.
Resident Comments: None
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Morrow to enter into closed session at 7:18 p.m. under Iowa Code 21.5 (1) (c) to discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent where disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the government body in that litigation. On a roll call vote Pech, Schlesselman, Morrow, Malcolm, and Landuyt all voted aye. Motion carried.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Morrow to come out of closed session at 8:00 p.m. On roll call vote Pech, Schlesselman, Morrow, Malcolm, and Landuyt all voted aye. Motion carried.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Landuyt for the City Administrator to follow the course of action decided in the closed session. On roll call vote, all voted aye. Motion carried.
Motion by Morrow, seconded by Landuyt to adjourn the meeting. All voted aye, motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:02 p.m.
Mary Pech, Mayor Pro Tem
Attest: Ashly Parizek, Assistant City Clerk
Transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval.
Jim Magdefrau 