Belle Plaine, Iowa
June 3, 2026
The Belle Plaine City Council met on June 3, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Belle Plaine City Hall with Mayor Garrett Landuyt presiding. Present were Councilpersons Charmaine Wickwire, Judy Schlesselman, Tim Werth, Jacki McDermott, and Mitch Malcolm; Also present was City Clerk Sandra Walton, Public Works Supervisor Jay Hamilton, and Police Chief Kris Hudson. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Wickwire to approve the Consent Agenda, Council Minutes of May 20th (with correction to the date for sorting at the museum to June 6th), receiving & filing of the minutes of the April 28th 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 McDermott, seconded by Malcolm to approve the use of Franklin Park for the Belle Plaine July 4th Committee for the July 3rd car show and the 4th of July Celebration events at the park. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Werth to approve a 5-day (July 1-5) Special Class C Retail Alcohol License with Outdoor Service for the Belle Plaine July 4th Committee, Belle Plaine, Iowa for car show (7/3) and park events (7/4). On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Wickwire to approve the Belle Plaine 4th of July Committee annual fireworks show at Franklin Park (under the direction of the Director of Pyrotechnic Displays, Joel Hanzelka, for the City of Belle Plaine). On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by McDermott, seconded by Wickwire to approve the closure of 12th Street between 7th and 12th Avenues from 9:00 to 11:30am for the Fourth of July parade. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Schlesselman to approve the bid by Olinger Garage Doors of Atkins, IA for the Airport hangar door replacement and openers in the amount of $46,210. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Schlesselman, seconded by Werth to approve the third and final reading of Ordinance #26-3; an ordinance amending the code of ordinance of the City of Belle Plaine, Iowa by amending provisions pertaining to water rates. Water rates would go from $8.60 per thousand gallons to $9.03 per thousand gallons and out-of-town rates would go from $10.99 to $11.54 per thousand. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0. This ordinance will go into effect on the July 1st bills.
Motion by McDermott, seconded by Malcolm to approve the third and final reading of Ordinance #26-4; an ordinance amending the code of ordinance of the City of Belle Plaine, Iowa by amending provisions pertaining to sewer service charges. Sewer rates would go from $13.59 to $14.27 per thousand. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0. This ordinance will go into effect on the July 1st bills.
Motion by Malcolm, seconded by Werth to approve Resolution #26-06-01; a Resolution proposing to dispose of real property (718 13th Street) and publishing a notice of public hearing. On roll call vote, Malcolm and Werth voted aye, Schlesselman, McDermott, and Wickwire voted nay, motion failed 2-3.
Shawn Lueth, Tim Chan, Kerry Dixon, and Austin Zwaschka from Fehr Graham presented information on the various projects likely to be included in the streamlined PER for the for planned use of the Congressional Earmark, asking questions and getting directions on some of the options. The report will need to be finalized in early August.
Motion by Werth, seconded by Malcolm to approve Resolution #26-06-03; a Resolution approving a wage increase for David Carl. On roll call vote, all voted aye, motion carried 5-0.
Motion by Werth, seconded by Malcolm to approve Resolution #26-06-02; a Resolution approving FY27 4% wage increase for city employees and the agreed upon salary increase for Police Chief Kris Hudson. On roll call vote, Werth, Malcolm, Schlesselman, and McDermott voted aye, Wickwire voted nay, motion carried 4-1.
The City Clerk provided a written update on various projects and current activity from the Clerk’s office.
Public Works Supervisor Jay Hamilton gave updates on a few large bills that will be coming in July. He also reported that Alliant Energy will be working down the alley behind City Hall for the next couple of weeks. Signage applying a weight restriction to the bridge at 13th Avenue and 11th Street has been put up. Additional signs will be placed giving truck drivers advanced notice of the bridge restriction.
The mayor read a prepared statement: I would just like to mention that with all of the challenges we have been going through, we need to remember who we are here for and what we have accomplished. Will there be disagreements? Will there be challenges? Should we be asking questions? The answer is yes. Should there be change, absolutely. (Getting away from the mindset of it has always been that/this way). We need to remember we are a team. As a team when we face a challenge, my hope is even during a disagreement we take the time to listen to the others opinion and are able to distinguish questions are a part of business, even if they are the harder questions. It is not personal. The more open communication we have the better we understand one another and the stronger we are as a team. As I mentioned at my Christmas party speech, the ones that matter are the ones who show up every day and do the work. I feel the employees are more important than I am. This leadership team is going to push Belle Plaine in a forward direction. We have to be the ones that set the bar and the expectation moving forward.
Old Business: Judy would like to review the current employee handbook. This can start at a future meeting. She also mentioned that the city should consider adding a few porta-pots when we are expecting large gatherings.
Charmaine thanked everyone for help so far on unearthing the time capsule and reminded council of the start of cataloging on Saturday 6/6 at 9am.
Chief Hudson reported that the new Tahoe is in at Karl Chevrolet. The only Tahoe has been taken there to have equipment switched to the new vehicle. The department also has 2 officer candidates testing soon to fill the current vacancy.
Motion by Werth, seconded by Schlesselman to adjourn the meeting. All voted aye, motion carried 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:18 p.m.
_____________________________
Garrett Landuyt, Mayor
Attest: ___________________________
Sandra Walton, City Clerk
Transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval.
Jim Magdefrau 