City of Modale City Council Meeting Minutes February 13, 2023 The regular meeting of the Modale City Council was held on February 13, 2023. Mayor James Cox called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilmembers present were Katie Offenbacker, Blair Adams, Terigene Tiffey, Kathy Dugdale, and Amber Larsen. Visitors present were Jay Gerke, Tammy Cooperrider, Troy Groth, Jason and Rebecca Pavlik, Diane Pratt, Christopher and Jennifer Skinner and Elissa Kappes. Staff present were Marty Skinner and Shauna Gerke Tiffey made a motion to approve the consent Agenda. Offenbacker seconded; motion carried with a 5-0 vote. Marty Skinner reported on Public Works. Water and Sewer are all good at this time. A discussion was had regarding the bid for the Lagoon project. Gerke reported that she was informed the bid shouldn’t have been awarded at the special meeting on January 25th as the USDA had not concurred with awarding the bid at that time. A motion to find the Neuvirth Construction bid unresponsive was made by Offenbacker and was seconded by Dugdale. Motion passed on 5-0 vote. A motion to consider bids and adjourn action on awarding bid to Armodus was made since USDA – Rural Development has not yet given its formal concurrence in the award of a contract for the Wastewater Treatment Lagoon Improvements Project. Dugdale motioned and Tiffey seconded. Motion passed on a 5-0 vote. Marty reported on road conditions and the need to patch some areas, specifically to the north of the Fire Hall and on Palmer and Minten as they have the heaviest traffic. The Council asked where the funds would be pulled from for these projects. Linda will have to be consulted for that answer. Marty replaced two (2) busted meter bases that Gerke will invoice. The Council would like to move forward with getting the sewer software in place so the new meters can be installed. The 35 MPH sign on the south end of town needs a new bolt. Marty will get to that when the ground dries out a bit. The Council asked him to pull down the “Future Site” sign over by the Legion since someone broke it over the weekend. The Council asked if the solar lights could be mounted to the top of the Modale signs, instead of at ground level. Marty said there was no way to mount them like that at this time, but he will look at them again, along with several other sign lights around town. There were two (2) citizen inquiries. Tammy Cooperrider reported that someone attempted to break in to the Post Office over the weekend. They did some damage and a report was made with the Sheriff’s Department. She would like the Council to check into security around the post office. Gerke read a request from Connie Cleaver from Memory Lane Studios requesting a discount on her water bill due to a water leak. She was given the standard sewer deduction as laid out in our Ordinances, but the Council didn’t feel it would be fair to start discounting the bill for the actual water that was metered. Jennifer Skinner reported for the Library. Book Club is going great. On December 31st the fire department did an amazing job on the New Year’s Day event. Diane will be working on organizing the summer reading program. Jennifer also asked what the mileage rate was. It was determined to be$0.655 per mile. The Council agreed mileage wouldn’t be paid for any employee to drive from home to work, it would be paid from work (Library) to the location and back. The Library Board would like a meeting with Gerke and Windschitl regarding bills. Jason Pavlik reported for the Fire Department. He would also like to attend that meeting between the library and Clerks. The fire department had one (1) fire and three (3) rescue calls last month. They will be hosting a soup supper on March 25th, most likely at the Methodist Church. There will be raffles, prizes, etc. They have the entire department’s physicals scheduled for March 2nd. Jason reported he needs to be observed teaching a CPR class then he can become certified to give CPR training. He would like to utilize City Hall for training purposes since it will be more forgiving than the hard concrete floors at the fire hall. The Council gave their approval. Review of the ordinances is status quo. Larsen is waiting to get an updated version of the Iowa Codes from 2015. Discussion regarding any changes to the Employee Handbook were tabled. Adams made a motion to cap the Modale Fun Days account, as discussed at the January 25th special meeting, Dugdale seconded. Motion carried 3-0-2, with Tiffey and Offenbacker abstaining. Offenbacker thought the slide that was backordered was through Don at Outdoor Recreation. She will reach out to him to see if they can get a slide any faster than Boland Recreation’s 40 week timetable. Voicemail has been set up on the City’s phone line (712-645-2601) that can be accessed anywhere. The City does NOT have caller ID on that line, so the only way the Clerks know if someone is trying to reach them is if a voicemail message is left. Project needs: Marty would like to get the handicap accessible parking and door closure situation resolved soon. The Council would like Marty to get bids for a door closure and to verify whether or not the doorway would need to be widened. Items to add to future Agendas: Kappes Building Permit Application, getting bids for the apartment above the Post Office, slide and Clean Up days. Larsen made a motion to adjourn. Adams seconded the motion; motion carried with a 5-0 vote. Mayor Cox adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m. James Cox, Mayor Shauna Gerke, Deputy City Clerk These minutes are as recorded by the City Clerk and are subject to Council approval at the next regular meeting. Full copies of these minutes will be available at City Hall. Minutes can be sent via email. January 2023 Paid, Description, Amount Heartland Coop, Fire Hall $62.01 Heartland Coop, Water, Sewer, Parks, Fire, Library, City Hall, Roads $2,332.74 Waste Connections, General $146.62 Bomgaars, Water $1,001.41 Sundquist, Sewer $3,929.25 Windstream, Sewer $453.11 Iowa One Call, General $15.40 Linda Windschitl, General $176.00 Electric Pump, Water $4,646.82 Randy Williams Welding, Roads $300.00 Highlights, Library $29.64 Womans Day, Library $10.70 MVTN, Water, Sewer, Parks, Fire, Library, City Hall, Roads $375.54 Vetter, Water $114.10 Hawkins, Water $688.16 ProTech, Roads $163.53 Community Bank, General $60.00 MidAmerican, Water, Sewer, Parks, Fire, Library, City Hall, Roads $1,739.66 Midwest Coatings, Roads $8,339.24 Midwest Welding, Water $589.66 Jason Pavlik, Fire Hall $1,292.82 Siouxland District Health, Water $24.00 Todd Argotsinger, General $480.00 Harrison County Landfill, General $3,605.94 Quality Pump & Control, Sewer $2,229.00 Follett, Library $991.35 Shauna Gerke, General $10.69 Shauna Gerke, Wages $603.72 Kent Beebe, Wages $160.91 Dianne Pratt, Wages $376.23 Alvin Schiltz, Wages $377.25 Marty Skinner, Wages $1,449.26 Linda Windschitl, Wages $816.76 IPERS, IPERS $725.10 IRS, FICA $1,272.82 Total Bills $39,589.44 January Revenues Water Fund $4,140.16 Local Option Sales Tax $2,126.92 Sewer Fund $6,339.44 General Fund $3,154.41 Road Use Tax - Debt Services $- TOTAL REVENUES $15,760.93 MVTN 2-22-23
