The Perry City Council held their first meeting of the month last night.
During the consent agenda approval, it was reported at though Pizza Hut was applying for a renewal of their liquor license, they are currently in the midst of a 60 day suspension due to a third violation of employees selling alcohol to minors in a calendar year. Chief Eric Vaughn also mentioned at Hy-Vee’s suspension was just lifted recently after they were suspended for 30 days due to a second liquor license violation. The Council voted to table the renewal application, pending further information from the local Pizza Hut’s management team.
During the City Administrator’s report, Butch Niebuhr mentioned that Antique Days and the events at the Carnegie Library museum went well this past weekend and there also was a lot of traffic on the Raccoon River Valley Trail thanks in part to nice weather.
Mayor Jay Pattee then mentioned the Mayor’s Bike Ride at the end of the month in celebration of Bike Month and said there are a lot of positive things continuing to happen here in Perry.
Jenny Eklund then addressed the Council curing open forum. She brought up Antique Days and how organizers were a bit nervous because they didn’t feel there was a lot of support from the Council, she informed them that was normal and asked the Council to show some more enthusiasm moving forward. She also said there was progress being made on bringing new businesses to town. Further information will be released in the near future.
The first public hearing of the night was in regards to plans, specifications and notice to bidders for the 2014 apron rehabilitation project. Matt Ferrier with Bolton and Menk says they were hoping to get more than four bids on the project, but Perry’s bids are on trend with what’s happening throughout the state. At this time, Ferrier did not make a recommendation on awarding a bid on the project, pending information from the Federal Aviation Administration on whether or not they will fund the extra money needed due to high bids. Formal recommendation is expected at the next meeting.
The second public hearing was in regards to a request from the Nudgers for the City to back their loan to complete the renovation project at 1314-1316 Second Street. The group is asking the City to guarantee their loan agreement in an amount not to exceed $750,000. Niebuhr says if something happens and the Nudgers can’t pay the loan back, the City would use General Obligation loan funds to pay it. Great Western Bank plans to work with the Nudgers but they’re hoping the City will help get the project off the ground because it will be difficult, if not impossible to finance without a guarantee. The end date for the loan will be based on the appraisal and when project is completed.
The third and final public hearing of the night was in regards to voluntary annexation of Midwest Oilseeds, Stine Seed Farm, Struyks Slopes and Knoll Properties. No one from the public commented on the issue.
The Council then heard from Skip Lowe from Bernie Lowe and Associates in regards to renewal and administration for City employee health insurance. An agreement with Welmark, Bernie Lowe and Associates and Two Rivers Insurance was approved. The increase for fiscal year 2015 will be 0.95% instead of the 2.32% presented before. That will save the City $8,036.
Voluntary annexations were then approved for Midwest Oilseeds, Stine Seed Farm, Struyks Slopes and property owned by William and Lynn Knoll.
A guarantee agreement not to exceed $750,000 for the Nudgers renovation project was then approved, with councilman John Andorf voting no.
The Council then approved an an extension to the agreement with the Region XII Council of Governments for administrative and technical services for the Owner Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Grant. It will be in effect until September 30th of this year.
An amendment to the agreement with Brown Engineering was then approved, with an increase of $780 because the initial agreement did not include the cost of preparing the bid documents and contracts. Total project cost is now $25,980.
Pay request number one for the 2014 Conventional Hangar Project was then approved for $7,299 to Jensen Builders for work completed through April 6th.
Next the Council approved an extension of the agreement between the City and Newbury Living for sale of the old middle school grounds to construct a senior living campus. The company’s initial application for Low Income Housing Tax Credits was unsuccessful, and they plan to resubmit during the next funding cycle. The new expiration date is December 31st of 2015.
The Perry Public Library was then given permission to sell several unused or unneeded items after their renovation. Library Director Mary Murphy says she plans to ask other City departments if they have use for the items, otherwise they will look to sell them to other interested libraries.
A budget amendment public hearing was then set for the next meeting on May 19th. The amendment is not expected to result in any tax levy increases for the current fiscal year.
In light of the recent resignation of Greg Nath, the Parks and Recreation Department requested the recreation director position be posted and the search for a permanent replacement begin, the council approved the request. A discussion to lift the City hiring freeze is expected to come up at a future meeting.
Eugene D. Peel and Jim Von Behren were then re-appointed to the Historic Preservation Commission with terms lasting until January 1, 2017. Paula Secress was reappointed to the Planning and Zoning Board of Adjustment through April 1, 2019 and Kris Powell was reappointed to the Park and Recreation Advisory Board with a term expiring March 1, 2017.
For more on the meeting and things happening in Perry, tune into today’s Let’s Talk Dallas County program when we speak with City Administrator Butch Niebuhr during the 9am, noon and 5pm hours on AM 1310 KDLS.