Onslow City Council meeting, Dec. 10

     The Onslow City Council meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 10. Roll call was taken with all present except Mike French. A motion was made to approve the consent agenda by Marilyn Gray and seconded by Josh Fall. Motion carried.

     A motion was made by Mike Streeper and seconded by Cory Oberbreckling to approve the bills, except the EIE bill until contact is made by Mayor Beth Streeper. Motion carried. The EIE bill was found to be too high and the millings are not here as agreed upon.

     The USDA reports that a security inspection operator needs to fill out a vulnerability report, and a copy of the Iowa DNR report needs to be provided to qualify and per agreement for the project. They also suggested the rate be raised $43 per month.

     Citizens’ concerns were addressed. Why are they not provided with a list of bills paid and copies of the minutes, which must be posted and copies made available. An error in the minutes was pointed out, and the clerk replied that all errors are to be handwritten and will be on next month’s agenda.

     Closed session minutes on the possible purchase of a bank were questioned, and the mayor stated they cannot be released. She will check with the attorney on this and release the minutes as soon as possible.

     Under “Property & Streets,” the report stated that there are two street lights out in town. A hydrant issue near the lift station has been remedied by the use of a hose and adapter.

     The Onslow Fire Department reported two fires and one lift assist this month.

     The city park has been winterized.

     Raven Ricketts from Maintenance thanked everyone who helped with Christmas lights. Some projects that need done are dugouts at the park and some frames for Christmas lights. He will contact the shop teacher at Midland High School and see if that’s something they can make.

     There was also a water tower overflow by a fluke incident.

     Mayor Streeper shared thatOnslow has some new families in town and would like to come up with a packet of information for them to welcome them to town. She is checking into purchasing more Christmas lights after the holiday, as well as LED replacement lights.

     Under “Old Business,” the lagoon needs cleaning and an upgrade as well. Samples need to be done before any work is done. Mike Streeper will check on this.

     There are two properties that should not have taken off city water, and they are not paying sewer. Soper can shut off the service for a fee of $300. A motion was made by Josh Fall and seconded by Mike Streeper. Motion carried.

     The resignation of Mike French dated Nov. 19 was read and accepted. Anyone interested in filling this vacancy must submit in writing by Jan. 11 at 4 p.m.

     On the issue of a petition, some citizens feel that the city clerk is not doing her job accordingly. Fourteen different items were mentioned by citizens stating that she is not fulfilling her duties.

     There was discussion of the possible purchase of the Onslow bank building, citizens voiced concerns such as the purchase price ($31,000) with $10,000 coming from the fire department to be used to renovate the bathroom. It was mentioned the $10,000 was to be used towards the purchase, not renovations. The water issue in the basement of the bank is a concern and citizens have voiced that they are against the purchase, as there are upgrades to the lagoon that have to be done and the city can’t afford the extra expense. There are also issues with the current fire department building with water in the main under it causing the concrete to move. The building is being held together with spray foam and there is not room for all of the vehicles.

     It was stated that City Hall and the fire department share a building.

     Some ideas presented for use of the bank building are renting space out and to establish a library, thus eliminating the $2,000 the City of Onslow pays to use the Wyoming library. There could be some issues trusting others to rent space if City Hall was also located inside.

     A motion was made by Cory Oberbreckling and seconded by Josh Fall to hold off on purchasing the bank building and to re-evaluate the purchase and get some idea of the cost to renovate on top of the purchase the price. Motion carried.

     It was also mentioned that a large equipment fund could be used for the purchase of the bank, with a 4.5 percent interest rate.

     There is also a park fund that will be used for mulch and mowing of the park.

     The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 p.m. The council went into a closed session.