New council buckles down on cars

Lime Springs - The City Council of Lime Springs has been working to get the town cleaned up in preparation of its 150th celebration Aug. 10-12, 2018. One of the projects was to get rid of junk vehicles according to ordinance.

The new council took a stance at the Jan. 2 regular meeting.

Two letters were sent out to property owners of vehicles that appeared to be unregistered. The third notice was delivered by the sheriff’s department, which requires a fee. Reimbursement bills were sent to the final three individuals, who had not responded to appeals.

City Clerk Rhonda Klapperich asked what council wanted her to do with the final two, plus another who had promised to take care of the issue. 

New council member Amy Norton asked, “What did the letter say?”

Klapperich responded, “It will be towed by Nov. 1.”

Another new member, Kris Kraft, stated, “You have to follow through.” 

Councilman Todd Mensink disagreed. “I think we’re opening ourselves up to legal problems. The whole idea was to clean up [the properties]. We had 30. Now we’re down to three.”

Another new council member, Brad Johnson, said, “We have to follow through.” 

After taking a vote, council  chose to tow the remaining vehicles 4-1 (Johnson, Norton, Kraft and Brian Johnson for and Mensink against).

• In other business from the meeting, Mayor Kevin Bill said LimeSprings Beef was killing three days a week and processing two days. 

He was hopeful the business would succeed this time. In 2016, the plant opened the last week in February and closed again June 3. One of the contributing factors to its closing was having to pay to get rid of water. The new wastewater system is now working. Casey Sebastian, Lime Springs Public Works Director, estimated the capacity for the facility was 200,000 gallons of waste with only 5,000-6,000 gallons being used a day.

Bill added the business was owned by the shareholders who were with it from the beginning, as well as a new shareholder from Nebraska.

• Council tabled deciding on a new attorney. Out of four RFQs (Request for Quotation), two were returned. Council members will review the bids and make a decision at the next meeting, Feb. 6.

• Fire Chief Nate Schwickerath gave the department’s report, noting the Fireman’s Dance was being held Saturday, Jan. 13 in addition to the Christmas tree pick-up.

He added the department went on three calls in December, including an accident, a fire alarm and a carbon monoxide call. “Just as a reminder to everyone . . . when the carbon monoxide detector goes off, get out of the house.”

The department’s pagers are out-of-date. Before, it cost $50 to repair one, now a new one will have to be purchased if it doesn’t work.

Schwickerath stated the current officers include himself as chief; Tary Kolek, assistant chief; Michael Leverson, medical/safety officer; Travis Mahr, training officer; Nate Widell, assistant training officer; and Barb Robinson, secretary.

The fire chief later stated, “I highly recommend reflective clothing for city employees.”

• Council voted to enter into a general obligation loan agreement in a principal amount to exceed $325,000. 

The breakdown of the loan includes:

~  $115,000 for heating and cooling upgrades to the fire station/community center, which would complete the original geothermal loop system.

~ $135,000 possible repayment of RISE funds (which were granted for infrastructure on the roadway for LimeSprings Beef). One of the requirements was to have at least 50 employees at the plant for at least six months. Council is hopeful since the business is open, it will have the required employees in advance of the July 22, 2019 deadline. Council member Todd Mensink is talking with legislators about possibly giving the town an extension if the plant doesn’t meet the guidelines.

~ $75,000 for a new City tractor.

• Council voted to lease a new City tractor. After looking over four different models, council members Mensink, Brad Johnson and Brian Johnson recommended the John Deere, which offered $20,000 for the old tractor. It will be a five-year lease at $6,750 per year and several options to buy at the end of the lease.

Bill, who works at Bodensteiner, stated he was not involved in the bidding process.

• Council authorized Sebastian not to move snow unless four inches had fallen. 

• A resolution adopting a policy for the investment of public funds was approved. It was requested by the city auditors.

• A resolution was approved for adopting the Howard County Multi-Jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.

•A resolution was approved that named Cresco Times Plain Dealer the official City newspaper; CUSB Bank of Lime Springs the official City Depository; and the Clerk and Mayor were authorized to pay recurring bills.

• Mayor Bill appointed council members to commissions:

Finance Committee: Todd Mensink and Brian Johnson

Water-Sewer-Waste: Brad Johnson and Brian Johnson (Casey Sebastian)

Building Approval: (All Building Permits) Casey Sebastian 

All permits are approved or denied before Council meeting by Maintenance Director. All permits are to be listed on Agenda for Council Meeting.

Civil Defense: Kris Kraft and Amy Norton

Health:  Lime Springs Mercy Family Care—Tracey Schlangen

L. S. Park & Recreation Board Members:  (5 voting members per Ordinance Book)

In 2015, the Chair was turned into Co-Chairs: one for Pool and one for Parks—1 person cannot handle both the Park & Pool Chair positions

Chair Pool:  Jan Cray, Chair Parks:  Harlan Larson, remaining Board Members:  Darcy Moser, DJ Miller, Jill Tibbals

Fire Board: (rotated between firemen):   two-year terms; Tommy Roberts and Matthew Leverson and four-year terms; Nathan Widell, Mike Leverson and Barb Robinson

Fire Chief: Nathan Schwickerath

Mayor Pro Tem: Brian Johnson

City Attorney: Kevin Schoeberl

City Employees Supervisory Committee: Todd Mensink and Brad Johnson

City Employees Safety Committee: Brian Johnson, Nathan Schwickerath, Todd Mensink

Tree Committee: Brian Johnson and Brad Johnson

The next meeting will be Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Community Center.