New members, electrical upgrades, light dam topics of the Feb. 5 council meeting

The Imperial City Council met on Feb. 5 at the City Council Chambers to discuss several topics including mayoral appointments to boards, commission and committee positions and the acceptance of the minutes from the Jan. 22 City Council meeting. Mayor, Craig Loeffler, proposed the appointment of Julie Gockley and Matt Hanna for the vacant seats on the board for the Park and Tree Commission. Also proposed was Desiree Loeffler for the Cemetery Board. Jo Leyland will remain on the Imperial Community Redevelopment Authority but will step down as Treasurer, with her replacement to be discussed at the next meeting. A motion was made and passed for the appointments.
The purchase of a replacement breaker for the Imperial Manor, that is used in the kitchen to keep the pipes from freezing, was approved in the amount of $17,650.00. The breaker was originally estimated at $10,000 for replacing one grid, but the council discussed and approved to go with a breaker that would cover the complete three grid circuit.
The Light Dam property, located south of town, was next on the discussion block. The site of the city’s former power plant, the land was used for hunting before the water ran dry. Now, it is being leased for livestock grazing but still allows for walk-in hunting only. The Council considered whether the property should remain being leased, be sold or what other type of action could be taken with the property. Council made an agreement that a live auction to lease the ground would likely be the best course of action. Details about the live auction for the lease of the property will be decided and advertised at a later date.
Mayor Loeffler reminded that citizens on their nominations for Outstanding Citizen of 2023. Although the time to submit any nominees has passed, the nominees will be announced on Feb. 20.
The next issue discussed was the renewal of the utility certificate of deposit. At the Jan. 20 meeting, the Imperial City Council approved renewing the utility Certificate of Deposit at Adams Bank & Trust. City Administrator, Tyler Pribbeno, explained he mistakenly reported that the CD was at Adams Bank & Trust when the Council voted to approve to leave it at its current location. The CD is held at Pinnacle Bank and automatically renewed prior to the last meeting. The Council rescinded the previous action and voted to approve the renewal of the utility CD at Pinnacle Bank to correct the issue.
A motion was made and passed to amend the resolution to the Fee Schedule for the bulk water load out fee. In speaking with Mayor Loeffler, he made a clarification to a previously published report.  “The fee being increased is not residential, but for bulk water used for tanker trucks, etc.  The costs incurred to mail out invoices, like labor and postage, were exceeding the $1.45 rate so we had no choice but to raise  the fee.”  The new fee will be billed out at $10 minimum fee for 1 gallon to approximately 6,890 gallons of water.  The 6,890 threshold is what is met when the $10 fee is divided by the $1.45 rate per 1,000 gallons. After that, the price will be billed at $1.45 per 1,000 gallons. The Fee Schedule determines the fees needed to be paid for specific projects and city services.
  The City Council approved an amended Wage Ordinance, which adds new Imperial Manor Parkview Heights Administrator Heather Salmon and new public works employee Justin Sanchez.
The next City Council meeting will be held on Feb. 20 instead of the originally scheduled date of Feb. 19 in observance of President’s Day.