I attended my first City Council Meeting 2 weeks ago and enjoyed it. I’ve decided to attend more regular city council meetings, especially since I’m able to report back and represent the Sigourney Area Development Corporation (SADC) Board.
Below are some brief notes.
City Council Agenda Items
- Approval of a Consent Agenda
- The Consent Agenda included the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting, the Council Accounts Payable, the Library Accounts Payable, the City Clerk’s January 2020 Financial Reports, payroll, credit card report, and miscellaneous expenses and transfers
- Additionally it included a motion to Transfer of Liquor License for Barn Wired, Sigourney, Iowa to 22400 220th Avenue, Sigourney, Iowa for a Class C Liquor License (LC) (Commercial)
- Approval of Don Northup and Brent Gilliland to attend the Iowa Section Region VI Water Distribution and Treatment Plant Operators Conference, sponsored by the American Water Works Association on March 18, 2020 at a cost of $100
- Approval of Aaron Kephart to attend the Iowa Narcotics Officer Association (INOA) Conference from March 24-26, 2020 and associated expenses
- There were no other reports (Public Hearings, Additional City Business, Parks and Recreation, Street and Sanitation, Water and Wastewater, Public Safety, Finance, or Human Resources)
- The next meeting is scheduled for March 4, 2020
Public Input
Following up on my previous public input, the City Council Meeting Minutes, Agendas, and Ordinances still aren’t available to the public, I’m hoping they are soon. I didn’t bring this up at this meeting, however.
One Council Member raised a question about the compost lot. They are having difficulty finding a location and get it ready for the spring given the weather. There’s concern that if it is not monitored people will use it for trash instead of leaves and brush.
The Mayor noted that there will be a Public Safety meeting Feb 27 at 7AM to discuss the traffic control at Sigourney Elementary (first raised at the February 5th City Council Meeting.)
Conclusion
After attending a meeting and reviewing the minutes published in the Sigourney News-Review I was surprised to see the level of detail the abbreviated news minutes left out. This is just the nature of the paper, but my attendance is really helping me feel more connected to the city.