The regular meeting of the Dysart City Council was called to order on Wednesday, August 11 in Dysart City Hall beginning at 7 p.m.

1. During the public comment portion of the meeting, Gerry Kopriva with Czech Trail group based in Clutier addressed the council regarding the placement of a can collection site in Dysart. Kopriva said profits would go toward both Czech Trail group and ZCBJ Hall in Clutier. Kopriva plans to build a pallet receptacle to hold cans and bottles and would assume responsibility for emptying weekly and keeping the area clean. Kopriva’s receptacle would be located alongside the city’s current recycling site on Estelle Street south of Dysart Tire & Service. A motion was made to approve the can collection site and was passed unanimously.

2. Council member Mary Wankowicz gave a report on the need for a new public works building. The council discussed ideas for temporary solutions until a permanent solution can be implemented but no action was taken. The city’s current public works building is older and the city’s needs have outgrown its size. A lot of the city’s equipment sits outside. Wankowicz indicated a temporary solution needs to be found before winter.

3. The new stop sign located at Clark and West streets is helping to slow down traffic in the area it was reported. The intersection is just west of the new location for Little Knights Learning Center — 1102 Clark Street — and the entrance road to Union Middle School, 505 West Street.

4. The council voted unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 2021-30 to authorize and approve a loan agreement for the issuance of general obligation corporate purpose bonds and provide for the levy of taxes to pay the same.

5. Council member Taylor Gingrich presented an idea to the council from Cathy Irvine of rural Dysart. Irvine owns wooded land located at 310 Sherman Street on the southeast side of town and would like to donate two of the acres to the City of Dysart for creation of the Viola Irvine Nature Preserve. Details were shared by Gingrich regarding Irvine’s plans for a possible natural wood chip trail on the property, trail signage, removal of hazards, and a yearly allotment of $4,000 to the city for ongoing maintenance. The council voted to forward the plan on to the city’s attorney Corey Lorenzen for legalities.

6. New Business. A resolution was adopted to set a public hearing regarding the amendment of the budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.

Dysart Fire Chief Tim Brown approached the council regarding the need to replace 13 sets of fire gear that were not replaced in the last fiscal year. A motion was made and passed to approve the city paying one-third the cost to replace the remaining half of fire gear up to $10,000.

A library budget amendment request was made and approved in the requested amount of $2,300 for heightened insurance expenses.

It was reported that chip sealing on alleys is set to begin the week of August 16. The resolution to approve the first pay application for the chip seal program was introduced and passed. Resolution was adopted.