The Guthrie Center City Council met in regular session Monday.
The Council approved liquor permit renewals for Reinhart Foods and the Pine Room, and heard the annual Mary J Barnett Memorial Library report from Library Director Jerri Hawkins. They then approved a resolution allowing the destruction of City records older than five years as per the Iowa Municipal Records Manual, then City Clerk Kris Arrasmith gave the Oath of Office to Mayor Mike Herbert and Council members Ian Steensen, Garold Thomas and Fidel Hernandez as they were re-elected to their positions in the November city/school elections.
The Council then heard from Public Works Superintendent Darin Sloss, who told them the “NO PARKING” signs had been installed on the designated section of South 12th Street, and that his department had received and installed the necessary repair parts for their blue dump truck. He also shared that the City would need to install a newer style monitor per the Department of Natural Resources, and he was waiting on quotes for a final price.
Sloss mentioned that he had spoken with the pool repair company about the city pool, and they had found the piping feature to be broken at some joints, and that to make the correct repairs and get the pool back to being fully functional, it would cost roughly $12,000 to $15,000. He also shared some pricing for services that he would like to see updated, and Arrasmith asked him to share a complete service pricing list once he determined the updated pricing, and then it can be approved by the Council.
The Council then approved a resolution of support and financial commitment to Main Street Guthrie Center, pay increases to annual salaries of the Streets/Wastewater Departments and compliance officer, with Roberta Gilson receiving a $1 per hour increase, Wes Clark receiving a $1.50 per hour increase, a $1.60 per hour increase for Darin Sloss and Justin Slaybaugh, and a $1.46 per hour increase for Arrasmith and Tristen Lacey, which will be split with Guthrie Center Municipal Utilities.
Arrasmith then gave an update from City Hall, asking for feedback on the sample City Code pertaining to temporary storage containers, and shared an example for the Council’s consideration, and after review there were no suggested changes by the Council, so a formal Ordinance will be drafted for a future meeting. Arrasmith also provided an updated abstract for the property at 901 Main Street, and after a review, the Council decided to begin researching judgements on the parcel and what would be done to satisfy them. At this time it is not planned to have a second December meeting, but should that change Arrasmith will alert media sources.