Belle Plaine, Iowa
May 1, 2024
The Belle Plaine City Council met on May 1, 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, Mitch Malcolm, and Charmaine Wickwire. City Attorney Gage Kensler, City Administrator Stephen Beck and City Clerk Sandy Walton were also present. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Wickwire to approve the Consent Agenda, Council Minutes of April 17, Council Minutes of Special April 24 Meeting, and bills received. All voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Resident Comments: None
The hiring of new full-time police officer, Sead Sabanagic, was approved and he was sworn in by Mayor Lyle Morrow.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Landuyt to approve reserving 16 parking spots on 12th Street for Firebox on Main from 5pm – 10pm on Tuesday, May 14th for a special event for the Corvette Club of Iowa. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0. Todd Hyde, owner of Firebox on Main, was present to make the request in person.
Mayor Morrow opened the public hearing at 6:42pm concerning the sale of property at 909
9th Avenue. One vacancy bid was received. With no other bids, Mayor Morrow closed the
hearing at 6:43pm. Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Wickwire to authorize the final disposition of this real estate to Hamilton Construction & Concrete, Inc. for $5,000. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Mayor Morrow opened the public hearing at 6:45 p.m. concerning the sale of the property
at 1005 9th Avenue. With no bids received from any bidders, Mayor Morrow closed the
hearing at 6:46 p.m.
Mayor Morrow opened the public hearing at 6:46 p.m. concerning the sale of the property 902 13th Street. With no bids received from any bidders, Mayor Morrow closed the hearing at 6:47 p.m.
Mayor Morrow opened the public hearing at 6:47 p.m. concerning the sale of the property at 1507 6th Avenue. With no bids received from any bidders, Mayor Morrow closed the hearing at 6:48 p.m.
The Bio Cell Committee consisting of Brian Baumgartner, Teresa Hermsen, Vicki Schwab, and Melissa Croy gave a presentation to the City Council on the proposed Bio Cell Plan.
They presented fund raising goals as well as implementation, maintenance, and watering plans. They also discussed the continuation of the “Adopt-a-Cell” program. Lastly Brian mentioned the help that Remington Seeds has offered. Their employees will take one whole day and help with the Bio Cells as well as making a monetary contribution to the project. The Council thanked the Committee for all their hard work on the project.
Another written update from Lisa Cubbage regarding the nuisance notice at 310 11th Street was given to the council for their review. Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Schlesselman to
grant further extension to June 1, 2024. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Jeremy Owens was present to request additional extension on his nuisance notice for 1512 2nd Avenue. Motion by Wickwire, seconded by Landuyt to grant an extension to June 1, 2024. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Malcolm to approve the passage of the first reading of Ordinance #24-3 which would amend the Code of Ordinances of the City of Belle Plaine by amending the provisions pertaining to water rate changes. On roll call vote, Schlesselman & Malcolm voted aye, Wickwire & Landuyt voted nay, motion failed to pass on a vote of 2-2.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Landuyt to approve the passage of the first reading of Ordinance #24-4 which would amend the Code of Ordinances of the City of Belle Plaine by amending the provisions pertaining to sewer rate charges (sewer rates would go from $12.54 per thousand to $12.94 per thousand.). On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Malcolm to approve resolution #24-05-02; a resolution seeking support for the strategic drought resiliency program. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 4-0.
City Administrator Steve Beck reported that he has been working with Congresswoman Ashley Hinson’s office on obtaining a Congressional Earmark, similar to a grant, for our Strategic Drought Resiliency Program. Many support letters were received. He will keep the council updated on any feedback regarding our request for the $5,000,000 earmark.
Steve also gave an update on the status of the Preliminary Engineering Report for the water projects. It is just about complete. We are just waiting for the quotes from Alliant Energy on the electrical updates. Our engineer, Fehr Graham, has also been working on the site survey and logging elevations as part of the wetland grant. Steve met with Amy Bouska from IDALS regarding the bio cells and the WQI grant ($250,000). Our lawyer is reviewing the contract recently received. The council has requested that Nate from Fehr
Graham attend the next Council meeting so that he may directly respond to many
questions that City Council members have.
A discussion on many water issues including discolored water, flushing hydrants, PER
status, and high-water users was held. The council gave instructions to seek information
from our Engineer and/or the DNR and to make a plan to at least partially flush hydrants
and present it no later than the May 15th Council meeting.
Mayor Morrow recently attended the Benton County Landfill Meeting. They are looking to
purchase more land to prepare for future needs. They are doing well financially. He also
attended the Benton County Assessor’s Meeting. Interesting statistics were shared at that
meeting showing Benton County moving up in population growth and taxable valuation over the past 10 years. Roughly 1800 homes were sold in Benton County in 2023.
Correspondence: Steve shared a letter received from Senator Charles Grassley’s office in support of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program application that our Fire Department has applied for.
Old Business: None
Resident Comments: Representatives from the Belle Plaine Fire Department (Jason Kaplan, Johnny DeRaad, Tyler Brandt, and Kyle Parizek) handed out some materials to the Council regarding the purchase of a new fire truck. They are requesting the purchase of a new firetruck to replace the 1995 pumper. They presented some funding options and want to be on the May 15 Council Agenda so that the Council can vote on allowing this purchase which will require the City to bond for a portion of the purchase.
Committee of the Whole: None
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Malcolm to adjourn the meeting. All voted aye, motion carried 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:22 p.m.

Lyle Morrow, Mayor
Attest: Sandra Walton, City Clerk
Transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval.