The Lawler City Council met in regular session on January 9, 2020 at 7:00 PM.
Mayor Mark Mueterthies presided.
Council members present: Izer, Croell, Kuehner, King and Scheidel
Others present: Jay Uhlenhake, Cathy Humpal, Kurt Croell and Craig Schmitt
Motion made by Croell to approve the Agenda. Second by King. All Ayes. Motion passed.
Motion made by Scheidel to approve the previous minutes and current bills to be paid. Second by King. All Ayes. Motion passed.
| WINDSTREAM | PHONE | 106.68 | ||
| ARAMARK | RUGS | 210 | ||
| STANTON ELECTRIC | 1,427.70 | |||
| UPS | ROSENBAUM AUTO | 43.64 | ||
| TEST AMERICA | 102.9 | |||
| EFTPS | FED/FICA TAXES | 1,688.75 | ||
| IPERS | IPERS | 1,244.20 | ||
| STATE WITHHOLDING | STATE TAXES | 838 | ||
| BLACK HILLS ENERGY | GAS UTILITY | 252.21 | ||
| MIENERGY | ELECTRICITY | 22,454.36 | ||
| CASH | GAS | 436.61 | ||
| FIVE STAR COOP | TRACTOR DIESEL | 124.24 | ||
| HAWKINS | AZONE 15 | 311.14 | ||
| IOWA DEPT OF REVNUE/SALES | SALES TAX | 1,152.00 | ||
| BLAZEK CORPORATION | FIX WATER MAIN | 1,855.00 | ||
| NEW HAMPTON TRIBUNE | COUNCIL MINUTES 12/7/2019 | 64.12 | ||
| WELLMARK BLUE CROSS | 3,443.25 | |||
| LAWLER FIRE DEPARTMENT | 1ST TRUCK PAYMENT 2020 | 5,671.25 | ||
| CHICKASAW COUNTY AUDITOR | 2019 ELECTION | 548.5 | ||
| IOWA ONE CALL | 25.2 | |||
| BARCO MUNICIPAL PRODUCTS | RAILROAD CROSSING | 1,253.04 | ||
| PAYROLL CHECKS | TOTAL PAYROLL CHECKS | 7,672.56 | ||
| CLAIMS TOTAL | 50,925.35 | REVENUE TOTAL | ||
| GENERAL FUND | 15,551.84 | 7736.3 | ||
| ROAD USE TAX FUND | 2,547.92 | 2645.43 | ||
| WATER FUND | 4,723.59 | 7191.49 | ||
| SEWER FUND | 3,007.56 | 8002.22 | ||
| ELECTRIC FUND | 25,094.44 | 32566.77 | ||
| STORM WATER | 1313.24 | |||
| SANITATION | 2551.45 | |||
Jeremy Scheidel, John Izer and Dale King were sworn in as Council persons. Mark Mueterthies was sworn in as Mayor.
Kurt Croell would like permission to bore under Grove Street to allow water discharge from the old Hugeback Funeral building to flow into the creek. He as permission from John Cuvelier to bore between his properties on Grove Street. He spoke with Roger Dreckman and John Cuvelier to take the fence down in the pocket park to allow updates to the building. He will pay to fix the pocket park. He would like permission from the city since it is city owned. Motion made by Scheidel access to pocket park and to bore under Grove Street to creek for water discharge. Second by Izer. All Ayes. Motion passed
Craig Schmitt with Hawkeye Telephone from Hawkeye, IA offered to put fiber optic cable to homes for phone, internet and cable TV. Maynard, IA and Wesgate, IA have accepted his offer. He will be mailing information to the City residents to ask permission to home owners for permission to allow fiber optic to homes. Hawkeye Telephone will only be in Lawler once to run the fiber optic underground to home free of charge. Homeowner’s do not have to sign up for the phone, internet or cable TV at this time. If the homeowner doesn’t give permission to run fiber optic cable to the home at this time and would like this service at a later date then the homeowner will need to pay for this. Motion made by Kuehner to add Hawkeye Telephone. Seconded by Croell. All Ayes. Motion passed
Cathy Humpal discussed the library board. Renee Throndson is no longer on the board and Cathy Stevens agreed to serve on the board. Motion made by King to appoint Cathy Stevens to the Library Board. Second by Scheidel. All Ayes. Motion passed.
Cathy Humpal gave to council her Library Budge for FY20-21. She also took the council to the library to discuss what she is working on in the library. The library works with Iowa Shares which is a free service for interlibrary loans. She also explained in order to be an accredited library; the library needs to have an online catalog which the library has. She has a “Maker Space for children to work in.
The following Board Appointments were discussed
Appointments January 2020
Mayor pro-tem Dale King
Bank Bank Iowa
City Attorney John Anderson
City Clerk Suzette Byrne
Toxic Cleanup Jeremy Scheidel
Street Committee Dawn Croell, John Izer, Jay Uhlenhake
Utilities Committee Gwen Kuehner, Dale King, Jay Uhlenhake
Fire Dept. Rep. John Izer & Dale King
Tree Committee Dale King, Gwen Kuehner, Jay Uhlenhake
Health Officer Dr. Lukas Brinkman
Ambulance Service Rep. Mark Mueterthies, Dawn Croell
Street Superintendent Jay Uhlenhake
Water Superintendent Jay Uhlenhake
Landfill Committee Rep. Jay Uhlenhake
Board of Adjustment 5 year term
Linda Anderson 2020
Jeremy Scheidel 2017
Dawn Croell 2022
Roger Dreckman 2024
Frank Wilson 2020
Park Board 5 year term
Deb Njus 2020
Dale King 2022
Jeremy Scheidel 2020
Emergency Management Board
Mark Mueterthies
Dawn Croell
Motion made by King to accept the appointments. Second by Croell. All Ayes. Motion passed.
The Code of Ordinances need to be updated every 5 years. Motion made by Scheidel to use Simmering-Cory Iowa Codification for $4200. Second by Croell. All Ayes. Motion passed.
If the resident runs their water during the winter months, that is the resident’s responsibility to pay for the water usage. The water runs through the city’s sewer and costs the city money. The city will not credit resident’s utility bills for this. Suzette spoke to several cities and they do not do this. Motion by Croell to not credit utility bills for water running at trickle. Second by King. Izer abstained for voting. All Ayes. Motion passed.
Dale discussed the fire department is in need of purchasing 21 air pack tanks and need to be purchased by December 2020. The townships do not have the money to help. Mayor Mueterthies made a statement; the City of Lawler should not have to pay for what the townships cannot pay. Kuehner asked why the air pack tanks could not be purchased 3 or 4 per year instead of all in one year. No answer was give. Dale needs to know by January 21, 2020 how much the city can give. Croell would like to ask local business to for donations for this expense. Motion made by King to have Dawn Croell ask local businesses to donate money. Second by Croell All Ayes. Motion passed.
Budget FY20-21 was discussed. Resolution NO. 2020-0106202 for setting Public Hearing for the Maximum Property Tax Levy was discussed. Iowa SF634 requires a public hearing on the proposed maximum property tax dollars from certain levies. Motion made by Kuehner to set Public Hearing February 3, 2020 at 7:15 p.m. Second by Scheidel. All ayes. Motion passed.
It was discussed the city will need a new dump truck for FY20-21 and would need to increase Roads and Snow Removal Expenses in the Public Works fund by $50,000. The Lift Station needs to be repaired around $2,400. Suzette will enter new budget numbers in the Budget for FY20-21.
Delinquent accounts were discussed.
The next meeting will be Monday, February 3, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.
Motion by Croell and second by Scheidel to adjourn at 9:00 p.m. All Ayes. Motion passed.
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Suzette Byrne, City Clerk