The Perry City Council met in regular session Monday.

At the meeting, City Administrator Sven Peterson shared that the Wiese Foundation has donated money to replace lights at Wiese Park.  He said they will be using the same type of lights that were included in the Iowa Energy Bank lighting project.  Peterson also talked about the Certified Site Designation the Perry Industrial Park received last week and his recent trip to Burlington for a state city administrators conference.

Peterson, Mayor Jay Pattee, the Council and Public Works Director Jack Butler then discussed sewer issues and sump pump problems in the City after the recent storms and flooding issues.

Pattee also talked about the importance of the Certified Site Designation and the benefits for Perry.  He thanked everyone who helped make that happen and said he feels some large businesses will be moving or expanding to Perry in the future.

Councilman Phil Stone then brought up the return of the turkey vultures on the City’s water tower.  The City has a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency to sacrifice birds and hang their carcasses in hope that this will deter them from roosting in area trees and the water tower.  The Police Department will be looking into possibly doing that again in the near future.

The Council approved the second pay request for the Brownfields cleanup project for work completed through July 1st,  in the amount of $67,907 to to J Petticord.  The first pay request for the apron rehabilitation project at the Perry Municipal Airport was also approved in the amount of $85,583 to Jensen Builders for work completed through June 30th.

Rental inspection fees were then set at $25 per rental unit annually, along with a $100 fee per rental unit for owners that fail to register their properties.

A mosquito Control Contract with the City of Dawson was then approved.  Dawson will pay the City of Perry $180 per application.

An agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation was then approved in regards to North Street project.  The City is looking to extend North Street from 16th Street to 18th Street with funds from the federal Surface Transportation Program.

The Region XII Council of Governments was then approved to complete a Housing Needs Assessment in Perry.  This is expected to compliment the City’s 2030 comprehensive plan.  Region XII will be working in conjunction with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to prepare the assessment.  The goal is to provide key components of information on current neighborhoods and the need for future development.  From start to finish, the assessment is expected to take around one year to complete.

An amendment to the agreement with Midwest Alarm Systems was then approved for work at the Perry Public Library .  The current agreement, which was approved in December of 2012, does not include parts, panels or detector cleaning as the amendment does.  Library Director Mary Murphy says this is to address several issues over the past seven, or so, months.  She said they’ve had problems with dirty sensors in the past and the cost of service calls is high.  This amendment will cost the City an additional $600 annually but cover all service calls.

A resolution ordering bids, approving plans and specifications and setting a public hearing in regards to the first of three phases for the Pattee Park expansion project was then approved.  Josh Shields with Bolton and Menk Engineering says this is primarily for the retention pond portion of the project.  Bids are due by August 12th and the public hearing will take place during the August 17th Council meeting.

Finally, a Humanities Iowa grant application was approved on behalf of the Carnegie Library Museum.  The mini grant would provide up to $3,000 to support programming and exhibits at the museum, with matching funds coming from the City.

For more on these topics and others happening in the City of Perry, tune into today’s Let’s Talk Dallas County when we speak with City Administrator Sven Peterson during the 9am, noon and 5pm hours on AM 1310 KDLS and the new 99.7 FM, as well as online at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.