[0:00] John >> Here.

[0:01] » Here.

[0:04] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

[0:08] and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with

[0:14] liberty and justice for all.

[0:20] » And you have a motion for the consent agenda.

[0:23] » So moved. >> Do I hear a motion or a second?

[0:25] » Second. >> All in favor?

[0:27] » Aye. >> Opposed?

[0:29] Motion carried. >> We'll put this to the time 20 minutes.

[0:31] Discussion items are already on the agenda. I will limit it to 3 minutes

[0:34] each.

[0:39] Mike Bergman here to discuss House District number 83.

[0:46] » Thank you, folks, for having me in here tonight. Uh

[0:51] some of you may know me uh from a previous life here. Uh we did

[0:56] live here in Lisbon. It's kind of that blue area on your

[1:01] land use map there that surrounds the uh interchange out there. We bought that

[1:07] farm in 1993 and moved out there.

[1:11] And uh we were there until 1995 1999

[1:16] when uh the Air Force offered me an opportunity to go back on

[1:22] active duty. And uh we discussed it and decided to

[1:27] kind of do the Beverly Hillbillies thing and went from the Lisbon farm to

[1:31] Washington D.C. So So, that turned out well. I ended up

[1:36] staying on active duty again till 2006. >> We thank you for your service tonight.

[1:41] » Oh, thank you, folks. Uh you guys do a real service here on the local level

[1:46] there. Uh you have to face your constituents at Casey's and Fairway and

[1:51] everything every day. And I'm sure it may not always be a real pleasant an but

[1:56] what you guys do is a real service to our

[2:00] society. So, thank you. And I've got to tell you, this is

[2:05] something I never thought that I would find myself doing

[2:10] here at this point. But,

[2:14] there were just some crazy things coming out of Des Moines the last few years.

[2:19] And I took a closer look to see just what my representative

[2:24] what role she might be playing in all this craziness, and uh

[2:29] I saw her fingerprints all over it. And then when it looked like she may be

[2:34] unopposed, I sat there and thought, man oh man, I

[2:38] can't just sit here and let that happen. So,

[2:44] that point I decided to do my civic duty and

[2:47] not just sit there and cuss at the TV all night and

[2:51] throw my hat in the ring, and here I am. So, uh

[2:55] the one issue in particular that triggered me into running was this

[2:59] private school voucher program that's literally sending hundreds of

[3:04] millions of dollars with virtually no strings attached to private

[3:10] schools. And even though that comes out of Iowa's

[3:14] general fund, it's still there's no way that doesn't cut to the bottom line of

[3:19] our public school budgets. I'm just a strong believer that public

[3:24] schools are the backbone of this country.

[3:27] And to let them be underfunded

[3:31] while hundreds of millions are being shoveled to private schools,

[3:36] uh I just I couldn't couldn't tolerate that. I had to step in and try to do

[3:43] something about that. I mean, I grew up in Cedar Rapids, and

[3:46] we had very successful Catholic private schools at the the

[3:50] and they didn't they didn't need any help.

[3:54] They do just fine without all these taxpayer dollars going to them. And it

[3:59] certainly cuts to the the heart of these public school systems, particularly in

[4:06] small rural towns like in District 83. I'm sure you're aware District 83 is

[4:12] kind of a unique situation in that we got six small towns that have their own

[4:18] school districts. And they don't have access to any

[4:22] private schools, so despite the fact that they've got all their lot of tax

[4:27] money going to private schools, even if the family wanted to go to a private

[4:32] school, send their kids to a private school, they still got to figure out a

[4:36] way now transporting them to Cedar Rapids or Marion.

[4:41] And uh So, that is probably my number one

[4:47] issue. Now, I've got some other issues, too. I've been trying to figure out this

[4:52] property tax reduction bill that just passed, and it makes my hair hurt trying

[4:57] to figure it out. And uh but I do know that there's a

[5:01] state edict now that uh caps town budgets at a 2% increase each year.

[5:09] And uh I'm very much uh a fan of local control, and I don't

[5:15] think the state's got any business reaching into municipalities and telling

[5:20] them what their budget ought to be. So, that would be if I were to get

[5:24] elected, that would be something that would have to be undone, also.

[5:30] Uh you know, nobody's got a better sense of

[5:34] what their budgetary needs are than folks like you.

[5:38] And the state's got no business sticking their nose into that.

[5:43] You know, that whole property tax reduction thing just looks kind of like

[5:46] a shell game to me. You move all the parts around at the end

[5:50] of the day somebody's paying more for the benefits that some people are

[5:55] getting. So. But anyway, that and there's also there

[6:00] was a hit to the schools also in that property tax reduction bill.

[6:05] Which took what I believe it was some of that local option sales tax that

[6:12] was supposed to go to the public schools infrastructure fund. And I've heard of

[6:18] public schools literally having to cancel construction projects midstream

[6:24] now just figure out how they're going to refinance it.

[6:28] So, again, that's that's one of those stupid things I saw

[6:33] coming out of Des Moines that I would virtually work my butt off to try to

[6:39] undo if I were to be elected. So,

[6:44] that's kind of my why I'm doing this and uh

[6:49] it uh truly is I have a real concern about the

[6:54] small towns that happen to make up this district 83, which is kind of a unique

[7:00] district like I said. It's a rather large geographic area.

[7:05] But uh it makes up what

[7:10] rural America, the heart of rural America. And these small towns as you

[7:14] guys know here in Lisbon, uh

[7:17] the public schools are the heartbeat of the towns.

[7:20] And we got to take care of those. >> And I agree 100% Mike. I mean, as far as

[7:28] mine, I I think your your points are are great that that you brought up. And the

[7:33] big one is is open enrollment, cuz we we open enroll, you know, and they get paid

[7:38] for the private schooling, which prior to, the parents had to pay for

[7:44] that if they wanted the private schooling. Right. And that's the way it

[7:46] should be. >> Yeah.

[7:48] » We We shouldn't They shouldn't get $10,000.

[7:51] I think it it It used to be 10,000. It might be 11 or 12, I don't think.

[7:56] » I think the the voucher itself now is about $8,100.

[8:00] » So, it went down. >> So, now it's never it's kind of gone up.

[8:04] The thing that's changed now, this is year three of the voucher program. And

[8:10] in year three, it was the 25 26 school year, there was no means test whatsoever

[8:18] for the recipients of that. I mean, you can have families that make a million

[8:21] dollars a year collecting $8,000 per kid to send their kids to a private school.

[8:30] And that's just not right. You hear the

[8:34] advocates for the for the vouchers going to private schools talk about, "Well,

[8:39] freedom of choice." Well, you've always had choice. I mean, if you wanted to

[8:44] write a check, you could send your kids to a private school if you so desired.

[8:49] But it's not a level playing field at all. The private schools get to skim

[8:56] the best kids. They don't have to take any special

[9:00] needs kids. They can take the best athletes. I mean, just look at the Just

[9:05] look at the rankings throughout Iowa. >> Look at Gilbert. Look at Dowling

[9:09] Catholic. >> Yes. I mean, look at Regina. I mean,

[9:12] they win an inordinate amount of win They just win

[9:17] the Duke Slater. They win an inordinate amount of

[9:21] varsity sports events cuz they can they can cherry-pick the best athletes to

[9:26] boot. >> Yeah.

[9:27] » And uh Okay, maybe there are some advantages to

[9:30] going to a private school, but the families ought to be willing to

[9:34] write that check themselves, and we shouldn't be short-changing

[9:39] public schools to finance

[9:43] the wealthy assignments for sending their kids to private schools.

[9:50] » I know I know Brandon has talked to us about the state going to be cutting our

[9:54] budgets for state What What is it?

[9:59] Come. What's the state cutting out for us?

[10:02] » Well, that's the cap that we're putting on there, what you

[10:06] about 2% You can only go up 2%.

[10:10] » And you know, like I Like I told Cindy on that,

[10:15] Cedar Rapids can afford that. Marion can afford that. Hiawatha can afford that.

[10:18] We can't afford that. I remember we we have to pay the same amount for a road

[10:22] as they do. >> Yeah.

[10:24] » But it seems like whenever we try to do a project or something, it

[10:30] always try to get some help from the state, it seems to go to the bigger

[10:34] cities. Every time. You know, we I mean, that's

[10:37] » Yeah. >> And then, you know, then I just read

[10:40] Christina's article in the paper or in the magazine.

[10:44] The heart of Iowa is the small communities, and we're we're getting

[10:48] screwed over by the big communities. >> Exactly.

[10:49] » Every one of them. I mean, I'm not just saying Lisbon, but all of us.

[10:52] » Yeah. I agree.

[10:56] » Something I may have omitted that could have been obvious, but Cindy Golding

[11:00] voted for this school voucher program. And how anyone claiming to represent

[11:07] this particular district of 83 could vote in favor of that bill, that should

[11:12] be a career-ending vote right there. There were actually 13

[11:19] uh other Republicans in the legislature that voted against it, including our

[11:24] Senator Charlie McClintock. He knew that that was a toxic bill for

[11:30] the small towns that he represents and despite the threats from Kim Reynolds,

[11:36] she threatened a primary any Republican that didn't vote for the voucher

[11:42] program. Charlie had the courage to stand up and

[11:46] he did get primary but survived by the skin of his teeth.

[11:51] But uh >> And I don't know if

[11:55] you run as a Democrat and run as a Democrat. He's He's that's one of his

[11:59] big >> the agriculture.

[12:01] » Right. >> Another big thing that he has is

[12:05] legalizing marijuana in Iowa. What's your What's your position on that?

[12:08] » Uh Hey.

[12:10] I would guess that Iowa should probably take an

[12:15] intermediate step and maybe legalize medical marijuana before we jump full

[12:21] bore into it, but when you look at our surrounding states, uh Illinois and who

[12:27] else? Missouri's legalized it. >> Minnesota Wisconsin

[12:30] » Wisconsin and so I mean there's a lot of dollars going across the border there. I

[12:35] mean it's something I'd take a careful I haven't looked at that issue closely for

[12:41] a while, but I don't know. I I kind of think that uh it probably should be

[12:46] decriminalized at least. But that's that's one I'd look at and

[12:52] weigh all the pros and cons before I arrive at a firm decision.

[12:59] » Well, Mike, I I like your power points that you

[13:02] that you presented and I hope you're able to get it out

[13:06] to other people other than us because I think a lot of people are thinking the

[13:11] same way you are. >> Yeah.

[13:12] » The school thing the school thing is the big thing.

[13:15] » That's exactly right. I've talked with several very experienced

[13:20] political people and they they think that I just need to make this election a

[13:26] referendum on that school issue, on the school voucher. And that's where I'm

[13:30] spending most of my energy beating beating that issue right there.

[13:36] » Nothing to >> That's the one that drove me through

[13:38] this. And I'm If I were to get elected, that would be my very first priority

[13:43] when I get there. I would work my butt off.

[13:46] And while it obviously this would require Rob Sand being in the governor's

[13:50] office. Cuz Wayne, he owns his own private

[13:54] school there and it was funded by the Koch brothers down there in Kansas.

[13:59] So, he can't be trusted. And he made a comment there in his

[14:04] Republican primary that he was accusing public schools of indoctrinating their

[14:10] students with Marxist ideology. And when these guys make comments like

[14:16] that, you better have some names and specific information. You can't just

[14:20] make a across-the-board comment like that without backing it up with some

[14:25] facts. But that's just the typical scare tactics that are getting thrown out

[14:29] there nowadays and it really ticks me off.

[14:33] I've got a letter to the editor coming out in the

[14:37] Sun. I don't know if it'll make it this week, but it will be for sure next week

[14:43] that it's in response to Cindy Golding's uh

[14:46] column there this last Thursday. I don't know if you guys read those, but uh

[14:52] it's I mean, she she is a she's big on self-promotion.

[14:57] But then you look at her voting record and

[15:01] there's just no way you can justify that voting record with claiming she's for

[15:06] rural and small towns. She's got her own agenda and it's not

[15:12] what she claims it to be. >> Hey Mike, one thing and and I'm just

[15:16] asking you personally, you know, you're seeing a lot of people's records, you

[15:20] know, they only 58%, 56% of the votes. >> Right.

[15:26] » How many would you be at? You know, present to vote.

[15:31] Because that's astonishing when you when you read on

[15:35] » I mean, voter turnout-wise? >> No, no, when you're voting turnout in

[15:40] the session. >> If you're elected, how what do you think

[15:42] that you your percentage would be for

[15:45] being at the poll to make a casting vote?

[15:48] » You're saying many of the representatives don't show up to vote.

[15:50] » Oh, exactly. You know, you know, you you you're only hearing 56, 58 and you're

[15:54] going and and I'm shocked when you're hearing it.

[15:57] » Right. Well, a lot of these people that have the low voting percentages, they're

[16:02] running for higher office and they're out campaigning instead of doing their

[16:07] elected job that they're in right now. I have I can assure you I have no higher

[16:12] aspirations and I won't be running for any other position. So,

[16:17] and part of the thing that keeps me pumped up for doing this job is the

[16:22] people that I run into that are just grateful that I'm doing it.

[16:27] And I feel a real obligation now to all these people that have told me they're

[16:32] how thankful they are that I'm doing this. And they man, I

[16:36] if I do get elected, I I got to represent these people.

[16:40] » And that's that's what I'm saying. Getting getting your name out there

[16:43] more. >> Right. Yeah. Well, that's this guy is

[16:48] you're rather new to the party. >> What's that? You're rather new to the

[16:51] party. >> Yes, I am new to the party, but uh

[16:55] I understand here. This is a bipartisan this school voucher thing is a

[16:59] bipartisan issue and that's another reason I took it on. I don't want to be

[17:04] I hate the party labels. And uh but this one I mean, there's

[17:09] plenty of Republicans that want their public schools to be fully

[17:13] funded. And I think I can I just can't believe that

[17:17] the majority of the voters in District 83 would possibly support that voucher

[17:23] program. And

[17:25] that's that's what I'm counting on.

[17:30] » How many times have you been in District and how many do you plan to keep on to?

[17:34] » What's that now? >> How many times have you visited in

[17:36] District 83 so far? >> Oh, let's see. I've done parades in

[17:41] Springville, Alburnett, and Lisbon. And it's just knocked my socks off the

[17:47] reception that I've gotten here with this issue. I get I end up 30 minutes

[17:54] behind the parade just cuz I'm talking, meeting, and talking with the

[17:59] people sitting in their yards. And

[18:02] I've had I had one person tell me, I love the voucher program. I go, okay,

[18:07] fair enough. What what do you like about it?

[18:10] And she just goes, well, I'm a home schooler.

[18:14] And I go, well, you're not getting any voucher money anyway right now. And she

[18:18] just said, well, I just firmly believe that the money ought to follow the kids

[18:23] wherever they go. And I just I'm not going to argue with

[18:26] her, but I just said, well, you know, if they go from public school to public

[18:30] school, the money does follow them wherever they go. But that's a whole

[18:34] different kettle of fish than when you're talking about jumping into a

[18:38] private school. So, but the

[18:42] response has been overwhelming here. Every one of the people that I've talked

[18:47] to in these small towns, they love their public school,

[18:51] and they want it fully funded.

[18:55] » I think you're right. It's just a matter of getting the word out. You know, yeah.

[18:59] » Got to get the word out to educate, you know, cuz cuz the first thing I ask them

[19:03] then is have you heard of this private school voucher program? And it's

[19:07] probably about close to 50/50. 50% haven't even heard of it.

[19:14] So, education is is my mission here for the

[19:19] next 2 months.

[19:22] » I wish you the best of luck, too. And get out there and get that word out.

[19:25] » Well, thanks, Raleigh. I appreciate that.

[19:28] » Does anyone have any questions for Rick? >> You are going to be on the ballot in

[19:32] line item, or are we talking writing? >> No, I'm on the ballot.

[19:35] » You're on the ballot. Wonderful.

[19:40] » If you're buying what I'm selling here, get all your friends and neighbors out

[19:45] to on Turnout is going to be everything here in this thing. And uh

[19:50] I think Cindy won by 3,000 votes or so last time. And uh

[19:56] there were close to that many in Mount Vernon and Lisbon that didn't vote. So,

[20:01] » We can only hope we're going to see a big turnout this time.

[20:04] » Yeah. >> I like what you're running on.

[20:07] » All right. Well, I appreciate that, Raleigh.

[20:10] » And I just I We just need you to to

[20:13] to get out to all the all the district areas.

[20:17] » I promise you I'm going to work hard covering all the nooks and crannies of

[20:21] this crazy-shaped district. >> That's That's another thing I said to

[20:25] Cindy. I said, "The only time we ever see you

[20:28] is when you're running for election." >> Mhm.

[20:29] » That's the only time we ever see her, you know.

[20:33] She's like, "Well, I'm busy in the morning or whatever."

[20:36] » Yeah. Well,

[20:39] you know, I've I've looked into her a lot, both her voting record and her

[20:43] written words. And she's a hell of a self-promoter.

[20:47] But when you look at the votes she's cast, uh she's a

[20:51] third-rate representative of the constituents of this district. And I'm

[20:55] going to beat her over the head. I'm running a fairly aggressive campaign

[20:59] with her. And see if we can flush her out and make her

[21:02] defend some of the votes she's taken.

[21:07] » Does anyone else have any >> Good luck.

[21:09] » Good luck. Thank you. >> Yeah, yeah, but nothing just educate

[21:12] people. That's what you have to do. >> Yeah, yeah. I think once people are

[21:15] educated, they say, "Well, yeah, that's a no-brainer."

[21:18] Getting the word out is you know, at this level, you don't get

[21:23] to run TV ads and all that nonsense, but uh

[21:27] you know, we're going to spend a lot of time walking the streets in these small

[21:30] towns and knocking on doors and uh I don't know if it is appropriate, Doug,

[21:35] for me to hand out these cards. I've got these cards made up for each

[21:42] individual town to kind of personalize it.

[21:46] And uh we're trying to flood flood the zone with these things.

[21:55] And you know, if somebody might think these things are a little unconventional

[22:01] or maybe a little crude. >> Well, that gets me right there. 340

[22:05] million taxpayer funds went to private schools.

[22:08] » Right. That was just like this year. I mean, you total up the 3 years, it's

[22:12] over 600 million. That's, you know, and the state is running a 1.4 billion

[22:18] dollar budget deficit. They're covering that up right now with the rainy day

[22:23] fund, which is COVID money, but just think of all the other things you could

[22:27] do with the billions of dollars in that rainy day fund that

[22:31] to really really help a lot of these small town

[22:35] issues. So,

[22:38] » Again, thank you for running. >> Yeah, okay. I appreciate that. Thanks.

[22:41] Thanks for having me. >> Thank you.

[22:45] Discussion of possible actions in reference to payment to Prairie Shores

[22:48] Corporation in the amount of $50,000 per tip developers

[22:53] agreement. >> So, this is a reference to the

[22:56] memorandum of understanding that we approved January 13th, 2025.

[23:02] Um This is taking a lot one where they're

[23:05] due to receive the first payment by October 1st.

[23:12] And we're going to be grandfathered out. How many more?

[23:14] » 50,000 through 2041.

[23:22] 15 15 years.

[23:27] » Do I hear a motion for payment? >> So moved. The motion for payment do I

[23:31] hear a second? >> Second.

[23:32] » All in favor? >> Aye.

[23:35] » Opposed? And I'll tell you what, it's

[23:37] been an honor to have those guys back or have

[23:41] those guys in town. >> I am.

[23:43] » Had them work for me down at South County Asian.

[23:47] They said that their store first for the first 3 years

[23:51] of opening a new store they don't expect to turn a profit. This one did.

[23:57] It was. It was like 100 102 overall sales.

[24:02] And this and for the whole fairway their liquor sales

[24:07] were 36 and their beer sales were like 32.

[24:12] » How are they acting around town with their organization? So.

[24:16] » And they you know, yeah, they they try to get out I mean not just the

[24:20] Lisbon community but Mapleton and Sheldon and I mean they're they're out

[24:23] everywhere. I'm glad I'm glad they're in town. I

[24:26] really am. >> Well, well, that's it was a great

[24:29] addition >> to this town.

[24:32] » Discussion and possible action in reference to downtown reinvestment

[24:35] funds. >> All right, so this is the packet you

[24:37] have in front of you here, the thick one there.

[24:40] Um this is for the 125 East Main Street

[24:46] Waskonow's property. This is filled out by the property owner. This is for the

[24:51] broken sewer main. Um so you can see all the bills there

[24:55] that we've received for this, a total of

[24:58] $16,063.64.

[25:02] Per the grant information, which I've attached,

[25:05] to be page three, any exterior work is total project must

[25:10] be 10,000 or 16%, whichever is less. So, in this case, it's the less.

[25:16] And it's 9,600 $9,638.18

[25:22] would be their grant requested amount.

[25:27] » And then who covers the rest? The homeowner?

[25:29] » The homeowner does. >> And he's aware of that?

[25:32] » Yep. >> Yep.

[25:33] » And I'll forward. >> Yep.

[25:37] » Need a motion. >> Motion.

[25:39] » I second. >> Motion second for the 9,000

[25:44] 9,638.18.

[25:49] » Motion second, all in favor? >> I.

[25:52] » I. >> Opposed?

[25:54] Discussion closed. >> Lot action in reference to 2080 with

[25:57] Lisbon School District. >> All right.

[26:02] As I stated in my notes there, this started out with Autumn and I on a

[26:06] two-page document, and by the time that it went to the attorneys, it ended up

[26:11] with what you see. So, uh

[26:15] This a lot of this came from our city

[26:17] attorney, and um a lot of this is just the required

[26:21] language that he would like to see added. And then

[26:25] what is required to be added. Um I did meet with Autumn last week on

[26:31] this. Um

[26:33] and they're they're good with it once we approve it. The millings have been

[26:37] placed over there. We're going to allow the buses to drive on it for a little

[26:40] while, cuz this is quite a quite a thick area of millings we put down, so to make

[26:44] sure we get it all packed down before we spray it.

[26:47] Um any of the work that's done there,

[26:50] including the electrical work, If for whatever reason um this gives us

[26:56] an an out gives them an out at the both

[27:00] Now they can terminate without cause prior to May 1 each year.

[27:05] Um and go into effect August 15th each year

[27:09] unless the parties agree in writing to to different termination date. So, it's

[27:14] pretty open-ended both both ways and whatever happens at that property be

[27:19] left as it is. So, whatever outlets and electrical work

[27:23] they add it's going to be separate metered um

[27:27] by Alliant. They they worked on that already. Um

[27:32] They worked on getting that going. So, the only thing that's left there is

[27:36] there's two power two poles that are owned by Kinetic.

[27:41] That's Windstream. Um

[27:45] Long story short, they're back-to-back and what it did is it serviced um

[27:49] everybody off that alley each of the houses, but there's no there's no

[27:53] services coming off there currently. So, we've asked them to cut the poles and

[27:57] move them um to then go back up to the third pole to the west um which is where

[28:03] the services start to come off of. So, they have that currently in their

[28:07] construction project to get that taken care of. So, I did a follow-up last week

[28:13] and they're supposed to get back to me this week on the

[28:15] actual timeline when they're going to be here to do it.

[28:18] So, I don't know if you have any other questions, but

[28:22] a lot of this is just legal and what's required for the city.

[28:26] » Okay, Brandon, I have one question for you.

[28:29] Um we have the $3,080.

[28:33] It's for the asphalt patch. You know, coming again.

[28:36] » That's That's That's downtown. >> That was downtown.

[28:39] Yeah, the downtown thing. That went into 9th Avenue.

[28:42] » Yeah, yeah, it went into the one on this actually.

[28:44] » No, but what I'm asking you that wasn't done by us, the city?

[28:49] » Is asphalt? >> Asphalt?

[28:51] » No. >> You're talking about the dump?

[28:52] » Yeah. >> No, we don't we can't like

[28:55] » We don't do any of that. >> No, we don't.

[28:56] » Okay, that's what I was asking. >> And we're on a different thing now.

[28:59] » Yeah.

[29:02] » Do we have any other questions about 2080 agreement?

[29:08] Any motion for approval of the new design?

[29:11] » So moved. >> Second.

[29:13] » The motion is second. All in favor? >> Aye.

[29:16] » Opposed? Public hearings?

[29:19] Nothing. Correspondence? Nothing. Reports? City engineer?

[29:25] » Yes, water department continues to work on the well five chemical feed building.

[29:29] They had the exterior siding up last weekend. Uh they're working on the

[29:32] interior siding. Trying to get that finished off and then

[29:35] they'll get to work on piping in there. Uh the other item I have is the fiber

[29:40] insulation around town. Uh Travis, hopefully they were responsive to your

[29:43] request. I mean talked with them about trying to get to a much smaller locate

[29:48] area as called in and not have the whole area that they

[29:51] want to work cross town at once. They just are not so good on that.

[29:55] Uh we did have some communication on that.

[29:58] They indicated we're going to try to do that.

[30:00] » Yeah, no, they they were great. We had a we had a joint meet city hall with them

[30:05] and in between Brandon, myself, and your conversation with them, we got

[30:11] them got them going in the right direction

[30:13] now. >> Okay, thank you. That's all I have.

[30:16] » Did we get that one well capped or sealed or whatever or not?

[30:22] » I'm going to put that on Dave's schedule. Uh we have to do that before

[30:25] the final testing and then we also want to

[30:28] work at getting water there at the same time. So, we're going to Travis, Dave,

[30:32] and I are going to get to get that scheduled.

[30:34] » Anything further today? Public works?

[30:39] » Okay. Um

[30:41] first, I don't know if anybody's noticed the 550's been at the diesel shop for a

[30:46] few weeks now. Um,

[30:49] the DEF system failed on it and with new rules that came in in July, we were

[30:54] trying to figure out if we could delete that legally with new

[30:59] rules or not. We finally got a clarification, we got to put it back to

[31:03] specs for manufacturers, so the parts have

[31:06] been ordered. So, hopefully in the next week or two we can get that back.

[31:11] Um, we got

[31:14] a big chunk of South Washington poured back

[31:17] down where that new home is going. It's panels that needed replaced anyways. We

[31:21] got those poured. We still have one more chunk of curb

[31:25] where a long time ago they had that cut out and we're not going to use that, so

[31:32] we're going to go ahead and replace that.

[31:36] Um, just wanted to give you guys a heads up.

[31:39] Splash pad will be closing. Um, the 31st is the last day for the

[31:44] splash pad. Uh, that's what we've done in the past.

[31:47] That gives us time to do the needed maintenance on it like

[31:51] caulking the decking and stuff. We can get that done before the weather turns

[31:56] and then we're not trying to fight it in spring time when the weather's generally

[31:59] not as good as it is now.

[32:03] Um, we had work done at the sports complex.

[32:08] We've got the pad for the transformer poured

[32:11] so the electrician can keep moving on that.

[32:15] The backstop between the dugouts that we poured last fall and early spring, we

[32:21] have to pour to hold the line in from the field and so we're working on

[32:27] that out there.

[32:30] Um,

[32:33] let's see. And then last I got is our summer help's done. I'd like to give a a

[32:38] big thank you to Gavin Holt and Evan Coleman. Those two were fantastic.

[32:43] Um they were really big help. Elvin Elvin Elvin was mainly with Drayton, but

[32:49] when we needed him to help, he was always willing to jump in with us, so

[32:54] those two helped out tremendously. >> When you When you close the pool, do you

[32:59] pull all the fixtures? >> Yeah. All but Well, yes and no. And some

[33:03] of them we try to get over to Rainbow see if we can powder

[33:07] coat them. So, we're going to try a couple of those that are flaking off

[33:10] real bad to see if they can do what they said. They want to see them after

[33:13] season, so. >> Um

[33:17] Do we cover that at all in the winter? Can we cover it at all?

[33:21] » No, it doesn't make a difference now. >> Well, we probably run some kind of

[33:23] antifreeze through the system, don't we, through the winter?

[33:27] » We winterize it. >> Yeah.

[33:28] » Yeah, here's >> So, we will we will we don't have to

[33:30] cover. I mean, it might save on the paint, I

[33:33] mean, granted, but the cost of covering, I don't know.

[33:38] Winds come up.

[33:43] » What else can we discuss? >> Yeah.

[33:44] » What else can we discuss? >> Partner.

[33:50] » Almost sauerkraut day but we all we had our back to school night last week. We

[33:54] went through between 400 and 450 walking tacos, so that was good.

[34:01] Start soccer tomorrow. Start flag football next week. A lot of

[34:06] mowing, weeding, trying to keep up on that. Rain finally stopped here, so that

[34:10] gives us a little bit of a break, but um one other thing really is Evan and Gavin

[34:16] were done on Friday. Um Evan was my summer help kid, and he

[34:21] did a phenomenal job.

[34:25] I was used to kind of doing all that stuff myself there for a while, and

[34:28] Evan's been here now for two or three years, four years, maybe three years.

[34:33] But, uh he's a huge help, and I just appreciate him a lot. And hopefully he

[34:37] comes back next year. And then Brian's more of a summer help guy, too, but uh

[34:42] he stays around all year if I need stuff. But, I'm thankful for him and

[34:46] everything he does, too. So. And Gavin, as well.

[34:52] » Anything for grading?

[34:55] » Library. >> I don't have anything for grading.

[34:59] » Public Works.

[35:02] » Had no issues at Sauerkraut Days. >> No.

[35:06] » I had two uh

[35:09] two of the new officers, David Frankford and Morgan Kelly,

[35:12] who graduated from ILEA on Friday. >> So, congratulations to them.

[35:19] » Anything for Jason? >> No, just welcome aboard.

[35:25] » Any motions? >> Just to vote on September 1st for the

[35:29] districts. >> Surgery.

[35:32] » Um very busy during Sauerkraut Days um with all the festivities there. Uh

[35:39] made approximately $1,350 off the bathtub races. That was always a hit. Uh

[35:44] weather turned out perfect for that after some morning rain.

[35:47] Um now our focus is on to the pancake

[35:50] breakfast, which is Labor Day. Um as some of you may have seen, if not,

[35:55] they're on the window, there's a t-shirt fundraiser.

[35:58] Um this year's event we're going towards uh

[36:01] buying another air pack, trying to get to 12, as well as some thermal energy

[36:06] cameras. Um There's some handheld ones that can go

[36:10] on the actual packs themselves, and then uh the actual original one. So.

[36:16] Fundraising this time for that. Um

[36:20] we washed the streets all the way down from the

[36:24] uh for the Sauerkraut Days, starting with uh

[36:29] car show was all the way down uh through downtown and then came back

[36:33] on Sunday and did the cleanup and thanks to everybody that helped with

[36:36] that. That's all I have.

[36:39] » Anything further Chief? >> So you know sir

[36:43] Now it's kind of a long list so bear with me here.

[36:47] Some of the stuff I'll touch on that we've kind of already talked about but

[36:51] uh we had the meeting with the new fiber boring company that's in town. Um as as

[36:56] discussed they should they shrunk that area down that they're going to be um

[36:59] wanting marked should eliminate a lot of flags and markings that people want to

[37:03] clear up in their yard so um should narrow that down. We did have

[37:07] a conversation too the last company um had a hydraulic leak on one of the

[37:11] machines and I advised them if that happens again to please stop and fix the

[37:15] leak before continuing down the road and into people's yards so um they're aware

[37:20] of what's what happened and uh they said they'd be addressing any issues with

[37:24] with grass dying and what have you. Uh sports complex um

[37:31] John's electric's out there they're going to hopefully get um a line out

[37:35] there this week or next week uh to bore um

[37:39] the electricity out to the to the middle area to the new transformer. Um he's

[37:44] going to get power up there it'll probably be temporary power this week so

[37:48] that they can do their seeding and fertilizing and start running the

[37:51] sprinklers on the diamonds. Um

[37:54] but they're going to be working to get that in there and then uh the CAD files

[37:59] are going to be uploaded so that uh they can come out um either this week or next

[38:03] week and stake for where the uh bases go for the lights um so those can be bored

[38:08] in um on the exterior of the diamonds so

[38:11] that way when they're done with that before the seeding window closes we get

[38:14] the rest of that area um

[38:18] seeded down as well. Um

[38:25] I'm meeting tomorrow and had a couple last week in reference to September 8th

[38:30] court for the municipal infraction reference to the nuisance on North

[38:33] Jackson Street. Uh right now we're set to go on September 8th with Linn County

[38:38] building and our old city attorney uh for when they started this.

[38:43] So, we'll be attending that on the 8th. Um if you haven't seen, they got the

[38:48] sign put up on History Center West wall. Looks very nice. Um

[38:53] so, thank you to all of you who were part of that.

[38:57] Um along with the seating window opening, we're going to be hitting the

[39:00] areas. Um they're already starting uh like backfilling the curb there on

[39:04] Gillette Lane. Um there'll be some

[39:06] uh stump grinding where we we took some stumps out and trees down. We'll be

[39:10] addressing those areas as well. Uh

[39:14] we're working with um Iowa Municipal Workers is

[39:17] a comp reference to our work comp audit. Um it's an annual thing, so I got to get

[39:22] a bunch of documents together for that and then I think we meet next month on

[39:25] that. Um

[39:28] I attended Friday the ILEA graduation ceremony. Um congrats to the two new

[39:33] officers that uh graduated from there. Um met with the 400 block of West Main

[39:40] where they put the two houses on the vacant lot from the house that was torn

[39:43] down. So, have those plans in place. Working with the county to make sure

[39:47] everything's good to go there along with the water sewer permits.

[39:52] Um hopefully get that approved by the end of the week.

[39:55] Uh Travis mentioned Gillette Lane South Washington patchwork project. I am going

[39:59] to run um calculations. I'm waiting for the for

[40:03] the bid um recent bid tabs to come so that way I can give you back report of

[40:08] the cost savings of the work that was done in house for those two things.

[40:12] Um 2080 with the school as we be tonight. Um also I've worked with them

[40:18] to help their fire alarm system that was been malfunctioning for

[40:22] um most of the summer, and we finally got that straightened out, so

[40:27] um great time for school, so that was good

[40:30] to have that done. Um

[40:34] I have a couple more downtown reinvestments that came in, so that'll

[40:37] go before historic preservation on the first Thursday of the month, and then

[40:41] hopefully one of the two meetings in September I'll have them before you uh

[40:45] for a couple of those. Um

[40:50] and then uh we're going to have to uh

[40:55] create some documents or rules in pertains to uh pavilion rentals.

[41:00] Uh a couple weeks ago, we had a pavilion rental, and uh someone brought their own

[41:04] tool to turn the water on in the pavilion and had a slip and slide on all

[41:07] day, so uh we'll have to get some locks or

[41:09] something put on the pavilion to

[41:12] » Is that just a regular four four-key >> Exactly.

[41:16] » Yeah. >> So, we'll have to

[41:17] » I mean, they make a buyout. >> Right. It's not or fire certain fire

[41:22] So, but anyway, uh we just need to uh

[41:26] apparently explain that no slip and slide or any water use other than

[41:30] what the sinks are, so uh look like they were over there with

[41:33] water balloons, too. I don't think they used the sink for that, so

[41:36] just some learning curve stuff that we'll have to

[41:39] figure out with that, but uh I know it's been very busy over there, and uh we get

[41:43] a significant amount of people from out of town that that rent that, so

[41:47] uh they're going to good use. >> Do you have a meter on that

[41:52] water use in that specifics? >> That we don't at all.

[41:56] » Do we need to institute one for the new

[42:00] » We need to get a meter in there. Um it's going to be substantial plumbing work,

[42:05] so that's why we haven't.

[42:08] » Well, what's our price that we rent the pavilion out for? Or do we rent half and

[42:12] half or because we can split? >> can

[42:16] Or or all?

[42:19] » I think it's for residents it's 40 for one side, 70 for both.

[42:24] And for non-residents it's 50 for one side and 100 for both.

[42:30] » So where do they turn this water get this water from?

[42:32] » We have outside spigots but it's got the the tamper proof.

[42:36] Which is just that four key. >> So

[42:39] can you just put like a box over like like you put over your

[42:43] thermostat? >> Yeah, we can get we can get a lock on

[42:45] it. This is the first time since I've been here that somebody's actually done

[42:49] that. So it's never been an issue but like

[42:52] everything nothing's an issue until it's an issue. So we'll get a

[42:56] » Would would would we ever entertain the idea that they can

[42:59] use water from that spigot but it's metered and they pay for it?

[43:05] » I would be concerned about a a money mess

[43:10] doing that. I mean so if you got somebody running this

[43:13] on Saturday >> They made one the other day.

[43:16] » It wasn't bad. I don't think there was any damage.

[43:18] » It was more of a a lot of water balloons everywhere but

[43:22] » I yeah I I know it was about the water balloons.

[43:25] all over the place. Saturday night activities.

[43:29] » Um and then I also want to thank the summer

[43:32] help um they were probably the best group we had

[43:36] thus far. And last but not least uh

[43:40] I know Jerry wanted me to pass on to you guys that he thanks the city crew for

[43:44] all the work that they did um downtown uh resources that helped them set up for

[43:50] that. Um I personally also want to thank the

[43:53] guys and then also thank the Saturday night activities committee. Um

[43:57] I know they put in a lot of hours and time into that and it's uh

[44:01] you know as time goes on here you're pulled in several different directions

[44:04] and uh to see the amount of people that

[44:07] showed up, especially on Saturday night down here, um pretty pretty cool to see

[44:11] and that's everybody coming to town to to, you know, support that. So,

[44:17] thanks to everybody involved with that. So, have a good night.

[44:22] » Well, I also um with the amusement that comes, if

[44:27] anybody didn't know, uh eventually when their rides get old,

[44:32] the the old ride that was at the park or the east end, that came from the

[44:37] Venturing. And that looked like it was a the yeah,

[44:41] it did and it there was a sign there in front telling me they bought it from the

[44:44] Venturing. And that was a big hit for a ride and I thought

[44:48] it's getting better and better. But the change subject one more time to

[44:53] the two houses. I went there and I seen they're all fenced off and that, but

[44:56] there was an alley there. So, what are we doing with the alley that used to be

[45:01] between the two places? Are we splitting that between

[45:04] » vacant. You're talking

[45:07] What? The one that runs north and south? >> Yes.

[45:10] » That's already vacant. So,

[45:12] » So, is it is it is it split between the two properties is what I'm asking.

[45:16] » Yep. Okay.

[45:17] » Yep. So, they can make their now their 7 ft include that portion.

[45:21] » Yeah, cuz if you look at it, you you you guys have legs or what not for the alley

[45:27] and then and so I didn't know if you guys were going to divide that.

[45:31] » That's the survey. So, they surveyed that to mark out where the property

[45:34] lines are. >> Okay.

[45:35] » Yep. That was my only

[45:39] » So, I signed a check tonight for sports complex utilities.

[45:46] What's that total dollar? >> It wouldn't have just been for

[45:49] » That was electric >> I'd say if it was a lion then that's

[45:51] like any lion bills that we've gotten. >> So, if you have Well, that's the total

[45:55] bill. That's just going to have one of my eyes kill us. That's the total lion

[45:58] bill.

[46:01] » Who was it went to the branding?

[46:05] Got Christina. >> I only have one annual report left to

[46:10] do, which I was just waiting on the time frame for it.

[46:14] And then if thanks for reading my article, Doug.

[46:17] Um I'll say anybody who read it, I am almost done with my presidency for the

[46:21] league and uh conference is next month if any of you guys want to attend.

[46:26] We can get you guys signed up. There is a nice reception on that Thursday

[46:29] evening for me. So, not to toot my own horn, but I'm done

[46:33] anyway. >> And I thank you for bringing down you

[46:36] guys' small fleet of vehicles. >> Oh, we did. We brought four vehicles

[46:39] down to the park and ride. >> Nice.

[46:42] Yeah. I I appreciate that.

[46:47] » What are you getting for Christmas? >> Me.

[46:51] » Uh I just want to reiterate the thanks and appreciation to the Sauerkraut Days

[46:56] Committee, um the volunteers uh that helped with that. Um great job

[47:01] to the Park and Rec team. Their work on getting the Sauerkraut Days run as best

[47:05] as it can despite all the rain and such. Uh the city employees, thank you and uh

[47:10] uh thanks to the Summer Festival immensely.

[47:14] Of course the police, um thank you for your involvement and uh

[47:17] congratulations to the new graduates. And finally if I if I left anybody out,

[47:21] I apologize. That's it. >> Ron.

[47:24] » Nope. I have nothing. >> Eric. Nothing.

[47:27] » Don. >> Uh

[47:29] the director of the library is going to have her cooking class again at

[47:33] Southeast Linn on starting on Tuesday, the 1st of September. It'll be every

[47:39] Tuesday at 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Um thanks to all our seasonal help and

[47:46] the Sauerkraut Committee. And uh remember to vote on the 1st of

[47:51] September. That's all I have. >> Kevin.

[47:54] » Nothing. >> No, I got it. I just want to thank

[47:58] everybody that helped us on our campaign. Thank you, Jerry. Cannot say

[48:02] enough about your senior employees. I appreciate that. Thank you very much.

[48:07] » Mr. Journey. >> And Johnny, you did a good job in the

[48:11] quarter back.

[48:17] » You had that great

Lisbon City Council Aug 24 2026 meeting

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