During the November 1 Traer City Council meeting in Municipal Hall, North Tama Schools Superintendent David Hill displays a map illustrating both city and school owned parcels in and around the school district campus as part of his public comments regarding the district’s ongoing facility study. Photo by Ruby F. Bodeker

The regular November meeting of the Traer City Council took place on Monday, November 1 in City Hall chambers. Mayor Pete Holden and council members Matt Rausch, Trish Kennedy, James Erhardt, and Carri Holst were present. The following day, November 2, incumbents Erhardt and Holden were re-elected to their seats in the combined city/school election, while retired city clerk Jon Panfil was elected to fill the vacancy left by Laurie Schafer’s recent resignation.

North Tama facility study as it relates to city property

North Tama Schools Superintendent David Hill addressed the council during the public comment portion of the meeting to provide an update on the district’s facility study and their need for more space including both instructional and parking space.

Hill laid out the strengths of the district including its steady and slow increase in enrollment, its PK-12 combined campus, and its ability to attract families from outside the community.

“One of the reasons that I want to talk to you tonight just has to do with property, with land. In expanding our footprint, we’re going to need to expand beyond where we currently are and that could involve the city in some ways,” Hill said.

Hill explained to the council that some of the tracts the school board is looking at as part of their facility study for expansion — including the Dennis Field football complex/playgrounds located due west of the district campus on Walnut Street — is city property but managed by the school district which includes paying the insurance on the property.

“There’s not any kind of written agreement, but it has always been the understanding that the school district will manage and take responsibility for that property,” Hill said of Dennis Field.

Hill explained the possibility of vacating Walnut Street and of building a new facility on the city-owned property has been discussed as part of the facility study work, but he also repeated several times there was nothing in the works yet and he wasn’t making an offer of anything to the council.

Hill asked the council if they had any questions or thoughts regarding the facility study. The council, including council member Rausch and Mayor Holden, indicated they were in favor of the district’s work to expand.

“Is transfer of some or all of that property a possibility down the road?” Hill asked.

“I would certainly think so,” Rausch said.

Retired city clerk and now council member-elect Jon Panfil, who was in the audience, reminded the council Dennis Field had been donated to the city long ago with specific parameters around its usage as open space.

“There is a major issue and that is Dennis Field. … [it] was donated to the city in perpetuity to be left as just playground, left as a field … there would be some issues … The city has made some changes to it already that technically weren’t by the guidelines … But certainly, the city’s legal counsel would need to make sure that they could not deal with a problem down the road. That should be headed off sooner rather than later,” Panfil said.

Following Panfil’s comment, the council collectively reiterated their commitment to the school and its facility study work.

“Our kids here are worth it. And this community’s worth it,” Hill said, ending his comments.

Street Improvement Project

The first set of projects undertaken by the city as part of their 2021 Street Improvement Project is complete and the pay estimate on the project completion came in at $397,414.19. The council approved the payment for the first phase of the project. The next phase of the project is set to take place on Walnut Street and is tentatively planned to be presented and discussed during the regular meeting of the city council in December.

Ambulance reimbursement program

The council approved Traer Ambulance Service Manager Shaun Kennedy’s request to apply for the Iowa Ground Emergency Medical Transport (GEMT) program, a federal match program for transportation of Medicaid patients available to public EMS agencies. Kennedy indicated to the council Traer’s ambulance service was currently only capturing about 20 percent of the federal dollars they could be receiving. Kennedy said there was a potential to get $63,000 by enrolling in the program, but said he would be “tickled pink” at this point to get $5,000. Any extra money received from the program, Kennedy said he would like to invest back into the ambulance fleet as the city is on the schedule now for two brand new trucks — something that is not affordable. The council approved Kennedy’s request to sign the GEMT contract.

Kennedy also reported the ambulance hired Matt Schlichting, a former volunteer, as a part time ambulance crew member to work Fridays and Saturdays during the day.

New shelter house fees approved

Construction of the new park shelter house which features both a fridge and a sink is complete. Following discussion, the council approved a three-step rental payment plan. There will be a $50 deposit required to rent the facility plus $50 per day rental fee and if damages occur or keys are lost, the renter will also pay to have the facility rekeyed on top of assessed damages.

Fire Station basement deterioration

It was reported to the council by Rausch who also serves with Traer’s volunteer fire department, that support beams in the fire station’s basement were falling apart due to the deterioration of the clay tiles in the joists, leaving the rebar exposed. I-beams that had been working to prop the basement up were found on the floor recently. A construction engineer from Waterloo surveyed the basement and recommended moving the trucks out of the bay above the damaged part of the basement immediately and replacing the supports as quickly as possible. Locating construction materials including I-beams has been difficult as of late, Rausch reported, due to supply chain issues as a result of the pandemic, but materials have been secured. City employees — with assistance from fire department members if needed — will work to repair the damage.

Tama County Economic Development update

Katherine Ollendieck from the Tama County Economic Development spoke to the council during public comment about the new adventure park in Waterloo and the possibility it would bring tourism dollars to Traer, a grant application she was working on for business facade improvements for next summer, as well as her continued desire to locate one to two acres close to downtown on US Hwy 63 for a possible convenience store.