May 21st Council Recap

City Council met at the public library on Tuesday, May 21st, at 7pm. Present were Casey Simoneau, Mayor; Scott Lauridsen, Council President; Susan Pitts; and Jerry Smith. Cory Venable was absent. 

The consent agenda included the May 7th meeting minutes, the monthly scheduled claims list, and a special event application. Everything on the consent agenda was approved unanimously.

The Chamber of Commerce/Main Street submitted a special event application for a Golf Tournament, which is a fundraiser taking place from 12-5pm on May 31st at the Golf Course. 

No public comment took place. 

There was no Old Business on the Agenda, so Council moved on to New Business. Council motioned, seconded, and unanimously voted to approve an ordinance allowing the city to issue Industrial Revenue Bonds for the new Heritage Tractor addition. This creates a ten year property tax abatement for the business, and exempts construction materials purchased for this project from sales tax. It does not obligate the City to any financial risk.

The next order of business was to appoint a representative to the Douglas County Emergency Planning Board. Chief Mike Pattrick was requested as the designee by the board, as he has served over the last few years, and the Council re-appointed Chief Pattrick to that role.

A Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) ordinance was recommended for amendment by staff and outside analysts. After discussion, the recommended amendment was sent to the Budget & Finance Committee to detail specifics of the PCA.

The City contracted with an outside firm, Austin Peters, to conduct a full wage and salary study of all City positions. The report was presented to Council. The City Administrator recommended moving all staff immediately to the 60th percentile of the average wage ranges presented in the study, and considering moving to the 70th percentile in the 2025 budget. Some discussion took place, and Councilman Lauridsen stated he would like to see the study as part of the 2025 budget discussions. No action was taken.

Council Committees gave their reports regarding various projects, and Council went into Executive Session for a lawyer/client privileged discussion at approximately 8pm. After two 15 minute sessions of lawyer/client privilege, they began another session to discuss a staffing matter. This also took two 15 minute sessions. 

There is a Council Worksession on the 2025 Budget scheduled for May 28th, at the Police Department, at 7pm. The next Council Meeting is scheduled for June 4th, at 7pm at the Library.

All documents for Council Meetings are available on the City Website.