Sheldon, Iowa — There were some fireworks during the Public Comments portion of Wednesday’s Sheldon City Council meeting.
During that portion of the meeting, Harold Postma rose to speak to the Council. Postma complained of 25-years of harrassment by the Sheldon Police Department, most recently in connection with his attempted eviction of renters from one of his rental properties in Sheldon. Postma also accused the police department of ignoring crimes in the city in order to harass him. When asked by Mayor Katricia Meendering what he wanted the Council to do about the issues he brought up, Postma demanded the firing of Police Chief Lyle Bolkema, as well as all of the other officers serving on the police department. He also demanded Meendering’s resignation from her post as Mayor. No discussion or action was taken by the Council regarding Postma’s demands, and Meendering indicated that she does not intend to step down from her role as Sheldon’s Mayor.
In other business, the proposed new Sheldon ordinance outlining sewer rate increases passed its second reading at Wednesday’s meeting. The proposed ordinance will have its third, and final, reading at the next council meeting before becoming law.
The residential sewer rate increase ordinance calls for rate increases every six months until the year 2020, beginning January 1st. City officials say the increase is needed to help pay for the mandated upgrades to the city’s Wastewater Treatment facility.
The Council also approved a change in the Utility Billing Policies and Procedures, as well as agreeing to turn a portion of the old Wastewater Treatment Facility over to the Sheldon Fire Company for use as a training facility. The Fire Department would take over the building once it’s vacated by Wastewater Treatment, with a projected timeline of 2020 for the transfer. Public Works Director Todd Uhl told the Council that the original cost estimates included the cost of demolishing the structure, so a transfer to the Fire Department would save some of the costs of the new Wastewater Treatment facility.
In other action, the Council approved an Engineering Agreement for construction of a new building to house the airport’s new snow removal equipment. Councilman Greg Geels said he didn’t think the agreement was clear as to when the engineering firm’s role in the construction project would end, so the Council opted to approve the agreement contingent on the engineering firm seeing the project through to completion.
A discussion that began at the last council meeting, on the topic of removing some property from the TIF rolls, allowing the property tax money it generated to be split among the taxing entities in Sheldon, namely the Sheldon Community Schools and Northwest Iowa Commmunity College, along with the city. After some discussion, the Council opted to discontinue capturing the property tax funds from the Runger Addition. The Council could revisit that matter a year from now, if it becomes necessary, according to City Manager Sean Hutchison.
The Sheldon City Council also approved some paperwork required for the issuance of Capital Loan Notes to facilitate the purchase of the parcel of land adjacent to the east edge of the Highway 60 Expressway, and the north side of Highway 18 in eastern Sheldon. In addition they approved the appointment of Aaron Feltman and Madeline Oostra to the Sheldon Community Ambulance Team.
The Council also set the date and time for a Public Hearing on the City’s 5-year Capital Improvement Plan. That hearing is scheduled for 4:30 pm on Wednesday, December 6, 2017.
