---

Stacy City Council met October 10 for a regular meeting. Council members Jennie Carlson and Marie Lawrence were absent. 

The council led the meeting with a discussion with local Lions Club member Jerry Schroeder.  Schroeder was there to let the council members know some kids had been throwing all of the rocks that surround the memorial headstone at Rick Doyle Fields.  Schroeder told the council the Lions had the memorial temporarily removed, the rocks removed and a new concrete base was laid.  The memorial then was fastened to the base. Schroeder said the project used five yards of concrete.  Total cost of the project came  to $6,950. Schroeder told the council the Lions will pay $3,500 towards the bill and were hoping the city would pick up the remaining.  The council approved the remainder payout for the project 3-0.

City attorney James Monge presented to the council a resolution designating poll-ing places that includes Lent Township and Stacy.  Monge told the council there will be two wards with one precinct for each ward.  There will also be one polling place located at the Lent Township hall.  The council approved the resolution 3-0.

The council then passed a resolution to use ARPA funds to pay for the water heater replacement at the sports bar.  

The council passed preliminary tax assessments for delinquent water and sewer bills.  Total bills that will be assessed to resident’s taxes came to $13,489.53.

The council then had a lengthy conversation about classifying a new positon created in the maintenance department.  Council member Tim Sawatzky mentioned he thinks the lines between the maintenance worker new positon and the supervisor position were very similar. Sawatzky also said he thought the pay for the new position was a little low given all of the certification needed at the position.

Mayor Mark Utecht reminded Sawatzky that the position was in line with the city’s pay matrix and that the new council in January had the capability to raise or lower the hourly rate.  

Mayor Utecht then made a motion to have the clerk post a job opening for the Supervisor position. Stacy’s current supervisor has given his six week notice.

In the engineer’s report, city engineer Dan Boyum gave a brief rundown of issues he was working on.  He finished by talking about future street improvements. Utecht asked Boyum if it were possible to construct a quick and rough assessment of all of the streets in Stacy.  He asked Boyum to rate the streets according to quality priority. Boyum asked if there was a budget he should shoot for and Utecht responded that they won’t know the budget until the annexation is completed.  

The council then was presented a request by liquor store manager Rod Olson. Olson was asking the city to approve low potency hemp products to be sold at the liquor store.  Utecht said it was obvious Olson has done his homework and made a motion to approve the request.  The motion passed 3-0.

The council then discussed bids for the sports bar to fix the concrete that is used for handicapped parking.  The current concrete has crumbled and is forming a hazard.  The city received two bids for the project that were a mere $40 apart.  The council passed a motion to accept the bid from J&B Concrete for the amount of $6,400.

The council then discussed a quote on new gutters for the sports bar.  Last week a driver from  SYSCO Foods backed into and ruined a section of gutters.  The council had already planned on looking into new gutters for some time. The council agreed to see what SYSCO’s insurance will cover before moving forward with a total gutter replacement.  

The council agreed to end the city’s contract with Rise Incorporated who has been cleaning the sports bar.  Utecht said hiring a part-time cleaner, the city would see a savings of around $10,000 per year.  

The council then agreed to have two trees in Lions Park removed at the cost of $1,990.  The trees have been identified as having Emerald Ash Borer.

The council then passed a motion to appoint resident Jim Willeck to the planning commission.

The council ended the evening with discussion about committee pay.  Currently Stacy pays council members for special meetings and out of town meetings at $30 per meeting.  Lent Township pays $60 per meeting for all meetings. 

After much discussion, the council passed a motion by Sawatzky to raise pay per meeting attended to $60 for all, council members and committee members effective Jan. 1, 2024.  The motion passed 3-0.

---