by Mari Radtke
The Paullina Council appointed Tisha Halverson as City Attorney and Thor Klinker as attorney to handle nuisances for the city. It was not immediately clear why council chose to appoint separate legal counsel for nuisance duties. The appointments were made at the regular city council meeting Monday October 7. Klinker serves as an attorney for nuisance cases for Primghar and Sutherland in addition to Paullina.
A public hearing was opened on the matter of assignment of easement to Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative (NIPCO) north of the Chicago and North Western Railway Company right of way. This would be near the city’s upgraded electric infrastructure on Main Street. No member of the public showed up or provided written comments. The public hearing was closed. Mayor Marlin Sjaarda called for a vote to approve a resolution to assign an easement to NIPCO. The resolution won approval 3-1. Councilman Dennis Werkmeister opposed the resolution as there was no resolution provided to council or read into the record.
Alana Peavy was given the oath of office and sworn in as the next deputy clerk for the City of Paullina.
Council also approved resolutions to abate taxes at 430 S Main Street; establish time and date for Trick or Treating (Thursday October 31, 6:00-8:00pm). Werkmeister opposed the resolution asking the police chief if he was going to arrest a 10-year old trick or treating at 8:05pm. Council agreed the resolution would serve as a recommendation for the public and supporting the idea that porch lights on are a better guide to visit a home or not. The burn ban resolution was also approved.
Terms of sale, referred to as covenants, for city-owned property met with support from council. Council also agreed that transferring the properties to Paullina Development was a desired strategic move. It was noted that the covenants of the city would not transfer to the new owner. A resolution to formally approve the covenants was not presented. The resolution provided for the meeting was not a resolution to adopt the covenants. A resolution to transfer the city properties to Paullina Development, Inc. was provided to the city but that was not the agenda item. As a result of the mix up, no action was taken.
Williams and Company update indicated that an imbalance between the city financials and the bank statements remains. Effort between examiner, city staff and G-Works staff (software company) had not yet been able to find and resolve the problem. City Clerk Michelle Wilson explained that a look at the history showed the cash report out of balance since as far back as 2018 in varied amounts.
Council supported providing the Utility Superintendent with a work cell phone that could then be passed to the on-call person or person in charge while the superintendent was on vacation or other acceptable absences could have the phone.