Belle Plaine, Iowa
March 20, 2024
The Belle Plaine City Council met on March 20, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Belle Plaine City Hall with Mayor Lyle Morrow presiding. Present were Councilpersons Garrett Landuyt, Judy Schlesselman, Charmaine Wickwire, and Mitch Malcolm. Councilperson Adam Papesh was absent. City Administrator Stephen Beck, City Attorney Gage Kensler, and City Clerk Sandy Walton were also present. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Wickwire to approve the Consent Agenda, Council Minutes of March 6, and bills received. All voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Resident Comments: None
Mayor Morrow opened the public hearing at 6:33 p.m. concerning the sale of the properties at 909 9th Avenue, 1005 9th Avenue, 902 13th Street, and 1507 6th Avenue. Daren Rinderknecht of Van Horne expressed interest in the properties but would need some of the provisions revised before he would be able to bid (such as getting the deed up front and rehabbing the one property instead of demolishing it). With no bids received from any bidders, Mayor Morrow closed the hearing at 6:41 p.m.
City Council Members will reconsider some of the provisions originally set forth in this bid offering and determine how they wish to proceed at the next meeting.
Amber Hoover and Mindy Atkinson from Belle Plaine Community Development presented their report. Sara Johnson is a new member on BPCDC. The spring clean-up that was scheduled for March 23 will be rescheduled for late April. They are taking bids to better maintain the Sound Park with river rock. Any plants that are torn out will be repurposed to a bio-cell. The bio-cell beautification committee is working on a design plan that will be presented to the City Council soon. There will be a ribbon cutting for the new tattoo shop on March 23rd at 10am. There is a partnership plan with Nettianne’s planned for Sept.21. BPCDC members toured the city-owned Hart building and feel it meets their needs. The city will work up a lease agreement. Search for a BPCDC director continues.
Thomas Glick of 608 7th Avenue was not in attendance for the public hearing he requested. We will reach out to him and reschedule for the April 3rd council meeting.
Lisa Cubbage provided a written request regarding the nuisance notice she received for 310 11th Street. Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Schlesselman to give her an extension. All voted aye, motion carried 4-0. The council expects a progress report at the May 1st meeting.
Motion by Wickwire, seconded by Malcolm to approve a Business Incentive Grant (Commercial Interior Grant) for The Regal Fritillary at 806 12th Street, Belle Plaine, Iowa. All voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Chief Hudson provided the February call report. He also presented 2 quotes for FirstNet phones for the police officers. The council will decide on those at the next meeting. He also reported on Fleet Complete, installation of solar speed signs purchased with grant funds, and the status of the new Durango.
Bids were received from Garling Construction, King Construction, and B&M Construction for the Franklin Park Restroom project. Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Landuyt to accept the recommendation from the Parks & Recreation Board to accept the low bid received from Garling Construction in the amount of $134,100. All voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Schlesselman to approve Resolution #24-03-05; a resolution on setting a public hearing on delinquent animal licenses for April 17, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Landuyt to approve the second reading of Ordinance #24-1; an ordinance amending the code of ordinances of the City of Belle Plaine, Iowa by amending provision pertaining to downtown parking. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0. The third and final reading will follow at the next council meeting.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Wickwire to approve the second reading of Ordinance #24-2; an ordinance amending the code of ordinances of the City of Belle Plaine, Iowa by amending provision pertaining to snow emergency-downtown area modification. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0. The third and final reading will follow at the next council meeting.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Schlesselman to approve the Preconstruction Agreement with the Iowa DOT for the Highway 21 four to three lane conversion project with pedestrian signal work at the school crossing. They were also presented with the Request for Equipment and Materials Quote providing for advance procurement of certain signal equipment from Anderson Bogert. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
The City Clerk presented the Treasurer’s Report and City Budget Report for February. An updated Grant Report was also given to council members for their review.
City Administrator Steve Beck reported that the city’s Facebook page is up (City of Belle Plaine, Iowa). It currently has 867 followers. He has been working a lot on water projects with our engineer. He states that the Preliminary Engineering Report is close to completion. The appraisal report has been completed on the Medical Building. The council will need to decide on a selling price point at a future meeting.
Mayor Morrow had no meetings to report on.
Correspondence: The 2023 Water Quality Report (CCR) was presented to council. It will be published in the Hometown Current, on the city website, the city Facebook page, and on the www.iowaccr.org page.
Old Business: None.
Resident Comments: None.
Committee of the Whole: Discussion was started regarding changes to our zoning code involving lot sizes, minimum house dimensions, etc. This item will be on the next committee of the whole again next month for further discussion. The council should make suggestions to the Zoning Board for them to make official recommendations of code changes. The council will then vote on those recommendations.
The council also reviewed lists on structural nuisance abatements as well as junk nuisance abatements. Council would like for us to resend letters to those who received potential nuisance letters last May before those properties are put into the citation process. The lists will be maintained and provided to council periodically.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Malcolm to adjourn the meeting. All voted aye, motion carried 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m.
Lyle Morrow, Mayor
Attest: Sandra Walton, City Clerk
Transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval.
Jim Magdefrau 