Glenwood City Council discusses possible improvements for Hinman Park, Fire Department compressor purchase
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By Renee Bettendorf
GLENWOOD CITY — At their meeting held on Monday evening the Glenwood City city council discussed possible future Hinman Park improvements and voted to rent the community center to the Senior Center Board.
The council discussed park improvements with Jennifer Kuehl who is a member of the Glenwood City Area Community Club. Kuehl said her club is interested in fundraising for park improvements and spoke about some research the club has done on how the park could be improved.
“We’re just getting started here, so we’re just looking for any insight from you all,” said Kuehl.
Mayor Kent Kletscher said that at a recent park and rec committee meeting Hinman Park improvements were discussed. Some of the items that were discussed at the meeting were: pickleball courts, redoing the sand under the playground equipment, basketball court refurbishment, lighting and security cameras. Kletscher estimated that the improvements would cost around $300,000.
Kuehl said her club would like to put together a subcommittee to plan and make decisions about fundraising and improvements for the park and they would like some council members to be on that subcommittee. She invited the council to attend the next Glenwood City Area Community Club meeting.
Joan Bartz, who is a member of the Glen Hills Lions Club, told the board that her club would also be interested in working on fundraising for park improvements.
“The Lions Club is very interested in being involved in helping with the fundraising,” she said.
The council expressed interest in working with the clubs to improve the park. Kletscher said the park gets used a lot and it should be improved.
“It’s the centerpiece of the town,” he said.
After hearing from some members of the Senior Center Board, the council unanimously approved renting the community center to the board from 9 to 11:30 am Monday through Thursday.
Kletscher recapped the situation saying the food portion of the senior program has moved to a different location but the senior board still wants to use the community center for a few days each week for coffee and games. He also said that the county will no longer pay $150 for renting the community center.
The board agreed with Kletscher’s proposal of charging the senior board $50 per month for the use of the space and tables starting on January 1.
Reports
The council heard several reports from various department heads including library director Rochel Karlson who reported that Christmas on Oak Street is scheduled for Saturday, December 7. Yano Anaya, the actor who played Grover Dill in the movie A Christmas Story will be at the event.
Karlson also reported that due to budget cuts the library cleaning service was decreased to one day a week. They also discontinued two hot spots to save some money.
“You guys will probably start seeing less programming next year due to the budget cuts,” said Karlson.
Public works director Dave Caress told the board that a recent DNR survey went well and that the city is due for a 10 year drain down which will happen in the spring. The drain down, which is routine, will involve draining 238,000 gallons of water from the tank. After the draining, the tank will be inspected. Caress also reported that one more street sweeping will take place before winter.
Chief of police Joel Klatt reported that he is happy with how the public has adjusted to the new stop signs on Oak Street.
“It’s gone a lot better than we thought it would,” said Klatt of the new signs.
Council member Jess Olson asked Klatt about how snowmobile removal is going. Klatt said he writes tickets every week. Kletscher asked if the city had any other course of action on the matter and Klatt said no.
Fire chief Greg Holden spoke about a new compressor fill site that the fire department would
like to purchase. He said the unit will cost about $17,000 and he is waiting to speak with an electrician to learn how much the installation will be.
After some discussion on where the compressor fill site should be located at the fire hall the council voted unanimously to buy the unit.
In her report to the council city clerk/treasurer Shari Rosenow said that the election went well and that 662 votes were cast in the city. Rosenow said that it was the highest turnout she had ever seen and may be a record for the city.
“I just want to thank the public for the awesome turnout at the general election,” said Rosenow.
Council member Steve Lee noted that the poll workers did a good job and Rosenow agreed.
In his report Kletscher thanked everyone who worked at the election. He also spoke about the new four way stop and said it was done for safety reasons.
In other business:
• Appointed Jennie Newgard to the library board.
• Changed the date of the next meeting to December 9.
• Learned from Karlson that craft activities at the library will take place during the first two weeks of December.
• Heard an update from Caress about some trim repair at the fire hall.
• Learned from Lynn McIntyre that new paint will be applied at the municipal building in mid December.
• Voted to increase ambulance run charges from $1,400 to $1,600 with Olson abstaining.
• Voted to remove no parking signs on Oak Street with council members Kristen Curvello and Olson voting in the negative.
• Went into closed session but did not take any action.
