by Mari Radtke
During public comment at the Primghar June 12 regular council meeting, Denise Moore shared her experience with council while walking Sneakers Run, the city’s trail that does under Highway 59 and south to 400th Street near Tjossem Park. She said she noticed a lot of tire tracks while walking on the trail. She went on to say that in a recent walk she encountered a side by side on the trail and it wouldn’t move for her. Deputy Clerk Jessica Whitney has been attending Parks and Rec meetings and shared that they would be working on putting up a gate. She will get a timeline from them. She also explained a water concern including one house that has been pumping a lot of water, worsening the area of N Roberts and 3rd Street. City crews will look at the area and report a plan to prevent more standing water in the area.
Mike Wilbur requested a share agreement for the removal of a large Maple tree that is half on his rental property and half on City property. No decision was made.
Jarrett Russell, Apprentice Lineman for the City of Primghar gave the employee report. Supervisory staff had given their resignations. Russell reported the projects the staff had been working on, primarily tree trimming and removal, but also prep for Cobblestone Days. He pitched the possibility of rotating weekend on-calls with Paullina’s linemen. A broken pipe near Lynch Livestock needs an emergency repair.
An effort to schedule a workshop with the Paullina Council is on-going. Whitney also reported on the park pads installation and that she has found trash cans for the square at about $400 each. Approval of the purchase of 2 trash cans was approved.
Two applicants to replace Mike Warnke and Mike Rosewall was approved with Ryan Jenness abstaining. Jared Roos, a longtime city employee was appointed as utility supervisor.
A fireworks permit to the O’Brien County Fair was approved. Fireworks will be an extra feature of the 2024 Fair in celebration of its 100th anniversary.
A payment for the generation addition was approved.
Representation to VECTOR, an safety guidance organization out of Northwest Iowa Community College. Jaynee Rushton, incoming City Clerk, will be the primary representative and Jarrett Russell will serve as the alternate.
Tax abatements and employee insurance coverage were approved.
A special meeting was held Thursday June 20. A workshop discussed operational interaction between the golf board and the city staff. The authority of the golf board was clarified.
In the special meeting on the same night a bid for the repairs to the broken pipe near Lynch Livestock was selected from 3 bids received. Council accepted a bid from RP Construction to replace the pipe and add a manhole. Six weeks is estimated to complete the project. The cost is $59,800.00