Council hires search firm for new city administrator; Palmer is retiring in July
The Jefferson city council at its Dec. 13 meeting held a public hearing and then approved a resolution approving up to $21 million in sewer revenue bonds to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant.
Estimated cost of the project is $19.75 million, and that’s the amount of debt the city intends to incur. City administrator Mike Palmer explained the addition $1.25 million is similar to a limit on a credit card. That revenue would be accessed only if there are unforeseen expenses such as a supply chain issue delaying the project long enough to incur a cost increase.
The revenue bonds will be held in the State Revolving Loan Fund for disbursement to the city as construction costs are billed. Palmer said that process allows the city to get the best interest rate possible on the loans.
As discussed at the Nov. 22 meeting, the council approved increasing sewer rates 15 percent each year for the next five years, rather than the 11 percent approved in September. The increase in sewer rates is due to the increased cost of the wastewater treatment plant.
The base user charge per month will increase from $14.90 to $17.14 next July 1, and increase 15 percent each year after, reaching $29.98 on July 1, 2026. The user charge rate per 100 cubic feet of water used per month will increase from $6.29 to $7.23 on next July 1, reaching $12.64 on July 1, 2026.
Palmer’s intent to retire next July was made public as the council approved hiring a candidate search firm to find the next city administrator. He had alerted the council and department heads of his plans previously.
Council members Harry Ahrenholtz and Pat Zmolek, with advice from city attorney David Morain, considered search firms and recommended Midwest Municipal Consulting LLC to conduct the search at a base cost of $10,700 with an estimated $1,500 for expenses. Founder of the firm is Elizabeth (Hailey) Hansen, who was Jefferson city administrator from 2004 to 2007. Palmer succeeded Hailey in the job.
The council hopes to have a candidate secured by mid-May. Palmer named July 7, 2023, as his retirement date. “Jefferson is a great place. I know you’ll get a lot of great candidates. Jefferson sells itself,” Palmer told the council.
The council approved accepting up to $500,000 from the Iowa Department of Transportation for replacement of the Jackson bridge across the Raccoon River on S. Grimmell Rd, west of Daubendiek park. Although the bridge is entirely within the Jefferson city limits it is part of a heavily traveled farm-to-market road, and Greene County engineer Wade Weiss has had replacing the bridge on his list of projects for a number of years.
Total cost of replacing the bridge is expected to be $2.5 to $3 million. Palmer told the city council that Weiss hopes to leverage other state funding for the project, although it may take a few years.
“It’s a great asset with Wade Weiss working with the DOT to get this done,” Palmer told the council.
The council approved providing city employees with the same Wellmark health insurance plan they now have after a health insurance broker reviewed the plan and obtained proposals. The total amount of premiums increased 6.2 percent for the new year, increasing to $563,913.
Chief of police Mark Clouse during his bi-monthly report told the council that every officer “needs a pat on the shoulder.” He said that in the last 30 days the officers have done “outstanding work,” leading to the arrest of three alleged sex offenders against children. All three are now in custody. Clouse said that in the more involved case, everyone in the department had worked on the case. “They’re complex, time-consuming cases, and a lot of great work was done. I have great pride in my team right now. I wanted to share that with you.”
Clouse also said the law enforcement committee met that morning and discussed amending the ATV ordinance to bring it in line with the new state law. City resident Tim Pound had spoken at the open forum at the Nov. 22 meeting advocating for a change allowing licensed drivers to operate ATVs on city streets. Clouse said the committee voted not to take action on the ordinance at this time; the ordinance will stand as is.
Jefferson Matters: A Main Street & Chamber Community director Matt Wetrich, who is also a council member, gave that group’s quarterly report to the council on behalf of the various committee chairs. He announced that Molly (Hoskins) Cunningham, a 2015 Greene County graduate, has been hired as tourism and events coordinator. She will start work Jan. 3.
He also suggested the council discontinue having quarterly reports from Jefferson Matters.
