The regular meeting of the Gregory City Council was held at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 16, 2021, at City Hall.
Former councilman honored
The board observed a moment of silence after the Pledge of Allegiance for former council member Tim Mills, who had passed away the night before.
Braun looking to make 2021 a better year for businesses
Suzanne Braun, Director of the Gregory/Dallas Chamber of Commerce, provided the council with a financial report for 2020 and ran through some of the events planned for 2021. She also introduced a new fundraiser that has just begun.
Outlining some of the needs that money from the fundraiser would go toward, she said that this has the potential to bring in a lot of money for the chamber.
In Chase the Ace, players purchase $5 tickets for an entry into a weekly drawing. The person whose
ticket is drawn will choose a card from a deck of cards. If it is not the ace of spades, the winnings will be 10% of that week’s ticket sales. If it is the ace of spades, the winnings will be 50% of the total ticket sales.
Library continues to post positive numbers
January financials for the library showed that four new patrons were added. Out of those new patrons, the library picked up three participants in the “1000 Books Before Kindergarten” program. According to Head Librarian Tara Engel, one of those three has already worked her way through her first 100 books in her effort to complete the program before she starts kindergarten in the fall.
Fundraising is going well. The library has raised over $200 to date with the t-shirt sale.
Council says okay to BYOB for Legion
The Gregory American Legion applied for a spiking permit for Sundays in 2021. City Attorney Amy Bartling-Jacobsen recommended
that the council approve the permit quarterly in order to avoid any possible problems with limits on the number of days the permit allows. The council agreed to approve the permit for Sundays through the end of March 2021.
The final figures are in
City Finance Officer Al Cerny went through the 2020 financial report. Cash on hand is just over $1 million. Sales tax revenue was up over 2019 by more than $65,000 and over $117,000 more than budgeted. He explained that the profit handler total of $250,028.39 is the difference between revenues received and expenses in the general fund. The bulk of this came from increased sales tax revenue and CARES money. Third cent sales tax revenue was down in 2020 almost $2000, likely due to COVID constraints. The city-wide assessment money is used to do the streets; about 35 blocks were seal coated last year. Water meter sales were up about $9000 over the previous year. Although the city has debt of almost $2 million, Cerny explained that this is being paid down a lot every year.
Plans for airport renovation shaping up
The engineering firm, Helms & Associates, proposed constructing two connector spots on the runway rather than a jug handle turnaround. Those two connection points will be added when the runway is torn up and replaced, likely this summer. The airport project is estimated to cost $2.2 – 2.5 million, with the city paying 5%. Anshutz said that it is possible that the city could receive more help in paying for this. Once this part of the project is done, the next step would be t-hangars and the parallel taxi way within the next five years. If the runway isn’t fixed, the airport will have to shut down because it has deteriorated so badly.
It’s time to say good-bye
After inspecting the parks, the city’s insurance company has recommended that the wooden playground equipment at the athletic complex be removed. The public works department will take care of this.
PD has tazer, will use (if necessary)
Chief of Police Doug Catts and Officer Tom Grove attended radar and tazer training earlier in the day. Catts had a couple vehicles moved as had been discussed at the previous meeting.
Council ready to advertise for a new Al Cerny
Prior to the city council meeting Seymour Studenberg and Shana Flakus met to discuss the job description and salary range for the city manager/finance officer position. They stated that the city should start advertising soon and questioned whether a salary range should be included in the ads, primarily because they weren’t sure what the range should be since the applicant’s experience will be a primary factor in determining a salary for whomever is hired.
Studenberg also questioned what the title for the position should be. After considerable discussion, the council decided to list the salary range at $46,000-56,000 plus benefit package. Advertising will begin right away with a deadline of 5:00 p.m. April 19 for applications. Cerny will write the ad and submit it to Studenberg and Flakus for approval.
After approving the claims for payment, the council adjourned. The next regular meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m., March 1, 2021, at City Hall.