CITY OF LENOX

A regular meeting of the Lenox City Council was called to order by Mayor Douglas on December 12, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall with the following council members answering roll call: Bowman, Nelson, Zabel and Cruz; Tull was absent. Staff present was City Clerk, Dawne Bowman, City Administrator, Allison Kitzman and Public Works, Lynn Christensen. Colleen Larimer, Will Fargo and Keigan Kitzman were the visitors in attendance.

Bowman made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Cruz, all ayes, motion carried. Zabel made a motion to approve 11/28/22 meeting minutes, seconded by Bowman, all ayes, motion carried. Cruz made a motion to approve the payment of bills, seconded by Nelson, all ayes, motion carried. Nelson made a motion to approve November 2022 Clerk Treasurer Report, seconded by Cruz, all ayes, motion carried.

At 5:30 PM Bowman opened the Public Hearing for USDA Grant Application for Fire Department, seconded by Nelson. There were no comments heard from the public. At 5:31 PM Bowman motioned to close the Public Hearing, seconded by Nelson, all ayes, motion carried.

Will Fargo with Garden & Associates was present to discuss Phase 1 and 2 of the Walking Trail. This will go along the south side of Illinois Street to the tennis courts and the west side of Iowa Street to Van Buren Street. Fargo mentioned that the trail, which he is refers to as a sidewalk will also jog around utility poles and trees, as to not interfere with private property. There was a discussion on maintenance of the sidewalks, such as snow removal. Kitzman commented that this sidewalk would be no different than any other sidewalk in town, the property owner would be responsible for clearing it of snow. The funding for this trail is different from the trail running out by the sports complex. It was then discussed that the City currently does not have the proper equipment to put on the trail to remove the snow. Fargo discussed increasing the depth of concrete from 5' to 6', to hold a skid steer, could increase the cost of the project by approximately $40,000. The council has decided to not alter the plans. Kitzman suggested possibly hiring a person to remove snow from all the walking trails, including the trail at the sports complex. Zabel also suggested the city purchase a piece of equipment that could be driven on the trails. Kitzman will look into both of these ideas.

Lynn Christensen presented to the Council the Lenox Municipal Natural Gas Public Awareness. This presentation explained many safety precautions dealing with natural gas.

Bowman made a motion to approve Dally Post Class C Liquor License at the Lenox Community Center for Iowa State Savings Bank event, seconded by Nelson, all ayes, motion carried.

Kitzman discussed an engineering agreement with Snyder & Associates for I & I Sewer Lining Project. The cost of the project is approximately $200,000 and we will be using COVID funds for the project. Kitzman added that this project is not required to be engineered; however, having it engineered would be beneficial, as they would handle all plans, bidding, reaching out to contractors, etc. Bowman made a motion to approve Snyder & Associates for engineering the I & I Sewer Lining Project, seconded by Zabel, all ayes, motion carried.

Bowman made a motion to approve Resolution 22- 42 Setting Time and Date of 1/09/22 at 5:30 PM for Public Hearing Budget Amendment #1, seconded by Nelson, all ayes, motion carried. Kitzman added this is mainly due to grant funds.

Zabel left the meeting at 6:25 PM.

Nelson made a motion to approve Resolution 22- 43 Adopting the Taylor County Multi- Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, seconded by Cruz, all ayes, motion carried. This plan is in effect from 2022- 2027.

Cruz motioned to adjourn the meeting, Zabel seconded, all ayes, motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 6:32 P.M.