By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
SIGOURNEY – During the May 8 meeting of the Sigourney City Council, the council spoke with Stuart Grossman of Kiwanis, who gave an update on the pavilion project. Grossman explained that Kiwanis had secured funds and selected a general contractor for the project, which will put up a pavilion in the southeast corner of the town square. He stated that the current plan is to begin construction on July 14, after the KCED car show, and complete construction by August 22, a day prior to the fountain festival. He explained that several changes had been made to the pavilion design, including: removing the cupola, due to its high $10,000 price tag; repositioning the ramp from the side to the back staircase, so it will connect to the sidewalk; changing the foundation material, due to the extra labor and maintenance the original stone manufactured foundation would require; changing the construction supplier to a fabricator in Knoxville; and adjusting the railing slats from vertical to horizontal, which will give a better view and make the pavilion more open. Grossman stated that Kiwanis would like to stage construction materials in parking spots on Jefferson Street, between the east entrance of the courthouse and the southeast corner, during the construction process and put up a temporary six-foot fence around the perimeter. Grossman noted that, this month, the project had been going on for four years, stating that no one thought it would take so long, but that he was delighted it would be completed this summer. Sigourney Mayor Jimmy Morlan stated that the council will need to approve these changes and coordinate with the county for the parking places at another meeting.
The council spoke with Stacy Flynn of Legacy Insurance Group, who managed the city’s Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP) insurance from 2007 til 2016. Flynn explained that the rates and premiums for ICAP are not dependent on who the city’s insurance agent is, meaning that, from a cost perspective, it doesn’t matter who the city works with. She claimed that Horak Insurance., who currently manages the city’s insurance, was recently bought by a national firm. She stated that premium money is not staying local anymore and requested that the council make a switch to her company.
Councilwoman Connie McLaughlin asked if they should ask other insurance companies in town for bids. Flynn stated that there would be no difference in premium costs. Councilman Gary Iosbaker stated he liked the idea of keeping money local. Councilman Adam Clark stated that it wouldn’t cost the city more and that Flynn was familiar with the city’s finances. The council approved switching the city’s agent of record to Stacy Flynn.
City Clerk Ashley Fry noted the 5% increase to water and sewer surcharges, with water charges going from $23.76 to $24.95 and sewer charges going from $29.57 to $31.05. These changes were approved last year, where the council approved increasing rates by 10% that year and then by 5% yearly during each of the four following years. McLaughlin stated that she did not support this, because rates are already too high, and that she would have voted against it if she could. She stated she would have preferred for the water and wastewater committee to make a recommendation on rates for the council to vote on for this year, as they have done historically, and stated that the council wasn’t all in favor of the increases last year.
Fry brought up a request to have the city sponsor a Community Safety Net Program, that would send booklets on what to do in the event of a fire out to families. The request asked the city to spend $160 to sponsor sending booklets to ten families. McLaughlin asked if this would open the city up to sponsoring other requests and Fry stated she believed it would. She stated she had asked the city’s auditor about it but not heard back. Discussion was tabled so the council could get more information.
Clark gave a report on the recent public safety committee meeting, explaining that the committee decided to hire Design House to create a ticket book for the code enforcer. He stated that the committee found that there was no violation of city ordinances caused by Billy Claywell painting the first floor windows at 101 South Jefferson, something discussed during the April 2 council meeting. Clark stated that the hallway discussed at that meeting, which allegedly has rain damage from a leak in the neighboring building’s roof, will be dealt with through a rental inspection before the building can be rented out. Clark stated that the committee had discussed possibly creating ordinances preventing the coverage of first floor windows on the square, but had not made a decision yet. He stated the city had received complaints about a residence with numerous dogs who bark non-stop, an issue that has continued after Code Enforcer Doug Glandon spoke with the owner, and that this has led to discussions of limiting the number of animals allowed at a residence. He asked out loud if it was humane to have four or more dogs living on a small property. Clark and Iosbaker mentioned that the city had been told by IEDA that they need to clean up parts of the city to receive grants in the future.
The council approved allowing the American Legion to put up flag poles at the soccer and flag football fields, paid for by the Legion. The council approved spending $800 total to purchase chute blocker plates for two city lawnmowers, to fix the problem of grass blowing towards the pool, playground and pickleball court. The council approved submitting an insurance claim for 2023 hail damage to the city hall roof. The council approved hiring Alan Sellers as flag football director again. The council approved purchasing a six-foot soil conditioner skidloader attachment from H&M to be used for ground leveling. The council approved purchasing a second control system for the water softener at the water plant, which will cost $47,000; this will allow the plant to keep running by switching to a backup system if the main system goes down, for example after being struck by lightning, instead of having to wait for several months to get things running again as the plant has in the past. Iosbaker noted that the new city website is now live.
