Belle Plaine, Iowa

December 3, 2025

The Belle Plaine City Council met on December 3, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Belle Plaine City Hall with Mayor Garrett Landuyt presiding. Present were Councilpersons Judy Schlesselman, Dillion McGrane, Jacki McDermott, Mitch Malcolm, and Charmaine Wickwire. Also present were City Administrator Steve Beck and City Clerk Sandy Walton. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Motion by McGrane, seconded by Schlesselman to approve the Consent Agenda, Council Minutes of November 18th Special Session, Council Minutes of November 19th, receiving & filing of the minutes from the September 30th meeting of the Belle Plaine Community Library Board of Trustees, and bills received. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.

Public Audience: None

Motion by Wickwire, seconded by McDermott to approve the third and final reading of Ordinance #25-11; an Ordinance Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Belle Plaine, Iowa, by amending provisions pertaining to Parking Limited to 15 Minutes (which will create a 15-minute parking spot on the west side of City Hall). On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0. This ordinance will go into effect once published on December 17th and the new sign can get posted.

Mayor Landuyt completed the swearing-in of newly re-elected Councilperson Judy Schlesselman for Ward 3 and At-large Councilperson Mitch Malcolm.

The City Treasurer’s Report and City Budget Report for October were presented to the council. The City Clerk also reviewed the tentative budget schedule for Fiscal Year 2027. The city council budget workshop is being set for Wednesday, January 28^th.

City Administrator Steve Beck handed out a written report to council. It provided updates on a potential City Hall alley project, wellfield electrical upgrades and water tower restoration funding, extension on the wetland project due to weather, and temporary sidewalk replacement from the Alliant Energy gas build-out.

Mayor Landuyt attended the recent Emergency Management Meeting. The Duane Arnold nuclear power plant is coming back online, and Google will be purchasing all of that power. We have a request from Tama 911 for a primary and secondary representative from Belle Plaine. Cory Mitchell is our secondary contact. The mayor is looking for a primary contact and will reach out to Chief Kaplan to see if there is another fire department member willing to fill that seat.

Mayor Landuyt has received a copy of the Fuel Farm agreement. He has a few questions and is waiting to speak to Lee from the Airport Commission before issuing his approval.

Mayor Landuyt completed the swearing-in of newly elected City Councilperson Tim Werth. Tim will take office on January 1st.

Old Business: Earlier in the meeting Steve updated the council on the conversation he had with the owner of 832 12^th Street and the owner’s plans on repairs to the building. The roof repair is the first step, then he will continue to work on the various concerns. He will keep Steve updated so that he can continue to provide updates to the council.

Correspondence: The proposed updated 28E Dispatch Agreement for FY 2027 was provided to the council. Rates are increasing, which was not entirely unexpected. The mayor may attend a supervisor’s meeting to ask a few questions before signing.

Committee of the Whole: Public Works Manager, Jay Hamilton, was present to discuss the recent snow emergency and status of the streets. With the large snowfall, warm ground, freezing each night and thawing during the day, it has been very difficult to remove the remaining ice on the roads. The County maintainer was also here and unable to remove any of the remaining ice. The council understands the challenge and thanks Jay and his crew for all their efforts.

Jay has requested that residents that rely on alley access call city hall if the city has not been able to clear their alley and they need to get out. Although alleys will always be completed after city streets, this can help us to prioritize alley cleanup.

We will also be addressing the city code regarding disconnection of water lines at the main when demolitions are done. We have recently addressed a water leak that was an abandoned service line. Revision to the city code can help remedy this problem from continuously occurring. That being said, the new vac-truck has come in handy twice already and saved us time and expense as well as providing additional safety in fixing a water problem.

Motion by Wickwire, seconded by Malcolm to adjourn the meeting. All voted aye, motion carried 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

Garrett Landuyt, Mayor

Attest: Sandra Walton, City Clerk

Transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval.