Belle Plaine, Iowa
May 7, 2025
The Belle Plaine City Council met on May 7, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Belle Plaine City Hall with Mayor Lyle Morrow presiding. Present were Councilpersons Judy Schlesselman, Mitch Malcolm, Dillion McGrane, Garrett Landuyt and Charmaine Wickwire. Also present were City Attorney Gage Kensler, City Administrator Steve Beck and City Clerk Sandy Walton. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion by Wickwire, seconded by Malcolm to approve the Consent Agenda, Council Minutes of April 16, receiving & filing of the minutes from the March 25th meeting of the Belle Plaine Community Library Board of Trustees, and bills received. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Resident Comments: John DeRaad of 404 4th Street made comments on the city’s plan to relocate the compost pile. He feels it is a bad idea for the entry to be off Highway 21. Concerns include debris falling off in the to highway, golf carts being a safety issue, and other possible accidents due to slow, turning traffic. He suggests using access off of 1st Street instead.
Taylor Hunn was present to discuss the nuisance notice received at 1007 6th Avenue.
The small rubbish has been taken care of. He is asking for an extension on the truck that he recently pulled out of storage. His garage is used as a working space and does not have room for the vehicle. He is working to restore it. The council suggested he bring in a load of gravel to park the truck on and then work diligently to keep the property neat. Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Landuyt to grant an extension and requests that Taylor provide an update at the July 16th meeting where the council will re-review the status. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Shawn Lueth of Fehr Graham came to the council meeting to introduce himself as our primary engineering contract with the recent resignation of Nate Kass.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by McGrane to pass the first reading of Ordinance #15-1 which would amend the Code of Ordinances of the City of Belle Plaine by amending the provision pertaining to Chapter 160 – Floodplain Management. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Wickwire, seconded by Landuyt to waive the second reading of Ordinance #15-1 which would amend the Code of Ordinances of the City of Belle Plaine by amending the provision pertaining to Chapter 160 – Floodplain Management. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by Malcolm to approve Resolution #25-05-02; a resolution authorizing the execution of Amendment #2 to the contract with ECICOG for CDBG-DR grant administration and project delivery services for the Moore Building. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by McGrane, seconded by Malcolm to approve Resolution #25-05-04; a resolution to approve the Economic Development Assistance Contract between Frontier Co-op, the IEDA, and the City of Belle Plaine. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Wickwire, seconded by Landuyt to approve Resolution #25-05-05; a resolution to approve request for payment under CDBG Contract #20-DRH-014 to Iowa Main Street Investments LLC for General Accounting Expenditure (GAX 15) in the amount of $60,382.42. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Landuyt to approve the following proposal be placed on the next city election ballot: “Shall the following public measure be adopted? The total number of Belle Plaine Community Library Board members shall be 7 members, with no more than 3 being non-residents.” On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Wickwire to approve Resolution #25-05-03; a resolution regarding sidewalk repairs. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
A discussion was also held regarding the steps in the 1200 block of 15th Street. As they are not easily able to be made handicap accessible and are in rough shape, we will take steps to remove the sidewalk and steps in that area at some point in the future.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Wickwire to approve a request from Nancy Weise to use the City Parking Lot for Farmer’s Market every Friday from 4pm-6pm from June through mid-October 2025. On roll call vote, all vote aye, motion carried 5-0.
City Administrator Steve Beck reported that our agreement for the City of Marengo to complete our mosquito spraying for 2025 has been signed by all parties. He also gave status updates on various projects and grants. He also answered questions on the water/wastewater vacancy and efforts to fill that position.
Mayor Morrow informed the council of the BDG meeting he attended. The supervisors cut the BDG budget by $20,000 so the meeting focused on financial cuts to keep in line with the approved budget.
Correspondence: None
Old Business: Options on a new Family Leave Policy were provided to the council. It will be tabled until the Juen 4th meeting. The council is to provide any questions they have to the City Clerk by May 19th so she can get answers back from Amy at Dorsey.
The council had a discussion on whether to come up with a public use for the property or whether to dispose of the city-owned property at 715 12th Street. Various options were discussed. Motoin by Landuyt, seconded by Malcolm, to start the process of selling the property. On roll call vote, Landuyt, Malcolm, Schlesselman, and McGrane voted aye, Wickwire voted nay. Motion carried 4-1.
Malcolm presented an option regarding a video proposal for council meetings with broadcast capabilities. Motion by Wickwire, seconded by Malcolm to spend up to $400 to purchase and install the camera. On roll call vote, Wickwire, Malcolm, Landuyt, and Schlesselman voted aye, McGrane voted nay. Motion carried 4-1.
Resident Comments: None
Committee of the Whole: The council discussed various options regarding the movement of the compost site. If the compost pile moved to the sewer treatment property, alternate access of either Highway 21 or 1st Street were discussed. Also, a variety of other locations were considered. The council and city employees will continue to explore options and discuss them again at a future meeting.
Motion by Landuyt, seconded by McGrane to adjourn the meeting. All voted aye, motion carried 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:31 p.m.
_____________________________
Lyle Morrow, Mayor
Attest: ___________________________
Sandra Walton, City Clerk
Transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval.
Jim Magdefrau 