CITY OF LENOX

A regular meeting of the Lenox City Council was called to order by Mayor Douglas on June 8, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall with the following council members answering roll call: Peterson, Huffman, Tull and Hodges; Beck was absent. Staff present was City Administrator, Allison Kitzman and City Clerk, Dawne Bowman. Visitors at the meeting were Colleen Larimer, Deputy Peterson, Kirk O'Riley, Karen Zabel and George Pryor.

Peterson made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Hodges, all ayes, motion carried. Tull made a motion to approve 5/26/26 regular meeting minutes, seconded by Huffman, all ayes, motion carried. Hodges made a motion to approve payment of the bills, seconded by Huffman, all ayes, motion carried. Hodges made a motion to approve May 2026 Clerk Treasurer Report, seconded by Tull, all ayes, motion carried.

At 5:30PM Tull opened the Public Hearing on Plans, Specifications and Form of Contract 2025 Lenox Pool Improvement Project, seconded by Peterson. There were no comments heard from the public. Peterson closed the Public Hearing at 5:32PM, seconded by Hodges, all ayes, motion carried.

There was a discussion on the road project, in which Kitzman provided information on the project that was presented in previous meetings, such as each individual street and the cost, as well as an approximate number of homes on that street. There was also a property tax increase breakdown for the project. The Mayor added that there would not be any decisions made, as the full council was not present. Peterson mentioned that he had spoken to several people, who are both for and against the project, with the majority being in favor. A few questions these people asked were what streets would be completed and the finances for the project. There was a discussion on Westwind Drive, as it is currently a dead end. It was the consensus of the council to not asphalt this if it was not a through street, as the original plans stated. Kitzman mentioned that we need to begin some type of planning to continue moving forward on the project. Peterson agreed that regardless of a full council, he is wanting to continue on to the next step.

Zabel discussed East Michigan street, advising that there were no homes on the street and only 1 driveway and how that would not be a good choice for asphalting, as there are several other streets in town that are in bad shape. O'Riley asked if business would also be receiving the assessment, or just residents. Tull added that she is not in favor of doing a road that no one lives on. Hodges and Huffman are not in favor of asphalting Westwind Drive as it currently sits. O'Riley mentioned that he is in favor of the project; however, he wants to see it done fairly, with Zabel adding this should be the Developers responsibility, not the City.

At 5:55PM Peterson opened the Public Hearing on Plans, Specifications and Form of Contract 2026 Cemetery Road Paving Project, seconded by Hodges. There were no comments heard from the public. At 5:56PM Tull made a motion to close the Public Hearing, seconded by Hodges, all ayes, motion carried.

Kitzman asked the council for a consensus on each individual street in the project, getting a better idea of the direction to go. The consensus was: N Allen, W Nebraska and Birch-yes. Westwind Drive-No. N Oak and E Michigan-No but depends on the unit price increase if these are not done. Kitzman will check with the engineer to see if they can tell us the percentage of increase to the unit price of asphalt without doing all of the roads and get a new cost estimate. Kitzman will also check to see what this will do with the loan and payment amount.

Tull made a motion to approve Resolution 26-16 Approving Plans, Specifications and Form of Contract for 2025 Lenox Pool Project, seconded by Huffman, all ayes, motion carried. Kitzman stated the Pool Bids came in higher than anticipated. Hodges made a motion to approve Postponing Resolution 26-17 Making Award of Contract for 2025 Lenox Pool Improvement Project, seconded by Huffman, all ayes, motion carried.

No motion was made on Resolution 26-18 Supporting the Submission of and Iowa Economic Development (IEDA) Application for Workforce Housing Tax Credit Program by Maynes Real Estate. Kitzman added that Paul Maynes advised that project is on hold for the time being.

Tull made a motion to approve Resolution 26-19 Approving Plan, Specification and Form of Contract for 2026 Cemetery Road Paving Project, seconded by Peterson, all ayes, motion carried. Kitzman stated there were several bids for the Cemetery Road Paving Project. Peterson made a motion to approve Resolution 26-20 Making Award of Contract for the 2026 Cemetery Road Paving Project to TK Concrete in the amount of $255,490, seconded by Hodges, all aye, motion carried. Kitzman added that the Engineer's estimate for the project was $400,000.

There was a discussion on a portable toilet being place along the Walking Trail leading to the golf course. Kitzman stated this was requested and the cost is $60 per month, utilizing the same company that services the golf course. The council was unsure of where to gain access to this for cleaning purposes. Hodges made a motion to table until next meeting, seconded by Peterson, all ayes, motion carried.

Kitzman presented the council with a quote from Apptegy. Apptegy is a technology company that provides all in one communication platforms for schools and cities. It allows schools and cities to manage all of their massaging and branding, including websites, mobile apps and mass alerts from a single system. It would provide an app for citizens to download and receive texts or emails about things going on in the city. The quote was an annual subscription for $5,900 and a one-time development fee of $3,500. After some discussion, it was decided that there are budget cuts in the future and with the property tax system adding cuts, it was not an expense that was needed at this time. Peterson made a motion to not move forward with Apptegy, seconded by Tull, all ayes, motion carried.

Deputy Peterson stated that he would have quarterly statistics, rather than monthly.

Tull motioned to adjourn the meeting, Hodges seconded, all ayes, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:28 PM.