The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.

Present: Mayor Porter; Councilmembers: Kallsen, Woodley, Cauwels, Dorhout, Harvey
Absent: None

Staff Present: Craig Coffey, City Administrator; Tom Sedgwick, Telecommunications Director; Tom Kane, Public Works Director; Mike DeBruin, Police Chief; Brad Meyer, Emergency Services/Safety Coordinator and Sharole Rens, Finance Officer.

Moved by Cauwels/Woodley to add the Proposed Gas Assistance Programs to the Agenda as Item 9a. Aye: Kallsen, Woodley, Cauwels, Dorhout. Nay: Harvey. Motion carried.

Standard Agenda Items

Item 1. Approval of the January 8, 2001 Minutes. Moved by Dorhout/Cauwels to approve the Minutes of January 8. Motion carried unanimously.

Item 2. Approval of Schedule of Claims. Moved by Kallsen/Woodley to approve the Schedule of Claims for payment. Motion carried unanimously.

Item 3. Open Business from the Community (limited to a maximum of 5 minutes per item.) There was no open business from the community.

Item 4. Staff Reports/Discussion.

• Mr. Coffey reported that the new lease had been sent to Pamida that would extend them to June 2002, but the lease has not yet been returned. He is still maintaining contact with them and reported that no rent has been received. He reported that the Bomgaar's deal is progressing and should close in February or March.
• Mr. Coffey discussed natural gas prices and the difficulty the customers are having paying these high costs.
• Tim Ericson started Monday as a general utility employee with the City.
• Mr. Coffey also reported that the needed Internet equipment at the Elementary School is now in and should be operational by the first part of February.
• He added that a tentative plan has been worked out for the high school parking situation with the school buses and that we are still working on the elementary school plans.
• He reported that a new commercial hauler is proposing to do some hauling in the City. He questioned the Council as to whether they would be interested in creating a commercial solid waste franchise and advised them of potential long-term problems with too many providers in a smaller market.
• He also mentioned that the Fireman’s Ball would be held February 3rd.
• Mr. Coffey told the Council that the election for the Community Center is set for the 27th of February and that the residents would be receiving a direct mailing with information in each utility bill. He added that the large plan is on display at the Library for everyone to view and that more information is available on the City’s website.
• Tom Kane, Public Works Director, reported to the Council that 55 gas meters have been moved outside this year, that all copper lines in gas system have been replaced, and that the odorant system has been re-filled (once every 3 years).
• He also reported on the Northwest Ia. Solid Waste annual meeting.
• Tom Sedgwick, Telecommunications Director, reported that progress is being made on signups for telephone hookups and also stated that the Cable Committee would be meeting soon and looking at new channels.

Item 5. Mayor Report. The mayor reported on a letter that was being sent to Senators Harkin and Grassley and Representative Latham concerning the high gas prices and calling for an investigation.

Other Agenda Items

Item 6. Presentations from the Calliope Village, Park Board, Ambulance Squad and Fire Department. Lois Jean Dawson was present and gave a brief presentation on the Calliope Village activities for the year. Brad Meyer, Emergency Services/Safety Coordinator, gave a presentation on the status of the ambulance service. Presentations from the Park Board and Fire Department were postponed until the following meeting.

Item 7. Request for a New Class C Beer Permit with Sunday Sales (carryout beer and wine coolers) by Pedro and Maria LeLeon dba LaTapatia. Moved by Kallsen/Woodley to approve a new license at 810 Central Avenue. Motion carried unanimously.

Item 8. Opening and Acceptance of Bids for a Full Size Pick-up Truck, Cargo Van, and Sewer Flush-Out Machine. The bids for a full size pick-up were opened and read as follows:

Heartland Motors	$ 15,695.00
Dirks Motor	$ 15,800.00
State Bid	$ 15,402.00

Moved by Harvey/Cauwels to accept the bid of Heartland Motors. Motion carried unanimously.

The bids for a cargo van were opened and read as follows:

Heartland Motors	$ 20,746.00
Dirks Motor	$ 19,600.00
State Bid	$ 19, 672.00

Moved by Cauwels/Kallsen to accept the bid from Heartland Motors at a price of $20,746.00. Aye: Kallsen, Woodley, Cauwels, Dorhout. Nay: Harvey. Motion carried.

The bids for the Sewer Flush-Out Machine were opened and read at this time. Only one bid was received. Elliott Equipment Co. 31,972.00
Moved by Harvey/Woodley to accept the bid from Elliott Equipment Co. Motion carried unanimously.

Item 9a. Proposed Gas Assistance Programs. (Added agenda item). Mr. Coffey presented the Council with a plan to allocate the resources ($40,000) that the Mayor and Council previously agreed to dedicate towards providing assistance to residential gas customers. Several new proposals were also presented that would allocate an additional $40,000 towards these efforts over two or threes months. The proposals would show a flat individual credit on each residential customer’s gas bill based on customer usage. The credit would be the lesser of the Gas Adjustment Charge or the allocated credit. As explained the credits would be implemented in the bills that go out in February, March and April for the usage that occurs in January, February and March. Discussion ensued about the plans. Below is a listing of plans that were discussed:

	Previously Approved	Plan A	Plan B
Customer	Monthly Credit	Monthly Credit	Monthly Credit
CCF Usage	Jan/Feb Present	Jan/Feb Proposed	Jan/Feb/March Proposed
1-99	20/20	40/40	30/30/20
100-199	25/25	45/45	35/35/25
200-299	30/30	50/50	40/40/30
300 +	35/35	55/55	45/45/35

Moved by Cauwels/Kallsen to approve Plan B, Allocating Emergency Gas Credit to residential customers for the lesser of the credit amount or their Gas Adjustment Charge for the gas usage months of January February, and March. Aye: Kallsen, Woodley, Cauwels, Dorhout. Nay: Harvey. Motion carried.

The next program discussed was a Gas Adjustment Deferment Program that would work in conjunction with the residential credit program above and would apply to all users. The program would defer payment of any remaining gas adjustment charges billed for usage in January, February, and March until the usage bills for April, May, and June are sent out, respectively. This would allow the higher gas amounts to be paid during some of the lower utility bill periods. The sign-up would be very easy through a small half sheet statement returned with the bill. Customers would not have to come down to the City Offices or qualify financially. This program would be available to all gas customers. Moved by Kallsen/Cauwels to approve the Gas Adjustment Deferment Program. Aye: Kallsen, Woodley, Cauwels, Dorhout. Nay: Harvey. Motion carried.

The council adjourned for a 5-minute break from 8:10-8:15pm.

Item 9. Discussion of Draft City Budget. Mr. Coffey presented a preliminary draft of the City Budget to the Council. A budget calendar, items affecting the budget this year, and budget highlights were presented. Mr. Coffey then covered the General Fund and Utility Funds. Discussion on the remainder of the funds was postponed until the next meeting.

The Council Adjourned for a 5-minute break from 9:20-9:25.

Item 10. Closed Session - City Administrator Performance Review. At 9:25 p.m., moved by Cauwels/Woodley to enter into closed session for the purpose of the City Administrator Performance Review. Aye: Harvey, Kallsen, Woodley, Cauwels, Dorhout Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously.

At 10:15 p.m., moved by Cauwels/Woodley to resume Regular Session. Aye: Harvey, Kallsen, Woodley, Cauwels, Dorhout Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously.

Moved by Harvey/Kallsen to adjourn. Motion carried unanimously.

The Council Meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m.

__________________________
Richard Porter, Mayor

ATTEST:

_______________________________
Craig Coffey, City Administrator