The Beloit City Council met last night and had a full meeting of discussion on items of importance to the City. Among the items that were brought up for discussion were a public hearing on property improvement, concerns about land development, and passing of several ordinances, resolutions, and formal actions.
A public hearing was on the agenda last night for property at 601 W. 3rd and its needed improvements. The owner of the property had already been notified by the City that he had 45 days from receipt of his notice to make necessary improvements to the property so it would be up to code. The owner asked for an extension last night that would give him until this fall to get materials in, make the necessary improvements, and add an addition to the property. The property is a rental and one that he has already done some work on. The Council voted to extend his allowed time to make these improvements by 60 days from the day he receives his next notice from the City to make necessary improvements.
Concerns were raised about the Silver Fox area and it's construction progress. The street layout of Silver Fox was contracted to be completed by the end of 2014, but dates within that process have already not been met so the work is getting behind. The Council was informed that there have been three or four workers from the Street Department at the site daily for dirt work, but they have not yet received the correct plans for more work to proceed. The Council agreed that Silver Fox would be a priority over a few other street projects due to the size of the project and the potential for housing growth once the project is completed.
The Council heard discussion on several ordinances, resolutions, and formal actions including to pass franchise agreements with Cunningham Communications and Southwestern Bell Telephone and impound fees were approved. Resolutions for the Ellenz Addition street improvement and the Generally Accepted Accounting Practices Waiver were also passed. Formal actions approved at last night's meeting included a special event license for the Chamber of Commerce to have a beer garden outside of the Eagle's in downtown Beloit on the Friday night of Memorial Weekend as part of festivities planned to welcome people back to the area. Other passing items were the CDBG Housing Grant Contract, the audit contract, the uniform bid, and the Council agreed to send a letter to the Historical Society in support of opening a 100-year old time capsule. The consent agenda was also passed including approval of the fire department officers.
Other items discussed were the inflow of monies from the City's insurance carriers due to profit sharing and the City having a good claim history last year. The monies received will be placed into the employee benefit fund. The Mitchell County EMS also invited Mayor Tom Naasz and one other City Council member to attend their Disaster Board meeting which will play out a tornado disaster scenario. Council President Rick Brown will attend along with Mayor Naasz.
The Council also met twice for closed session last night and no action was taken. In their work session, the Council agreed that no viable candidates had been found for the City's open Public Works Director position, so they are going back to their original plan to pursue a candidate for Water/Waste Water Director. Advertisement for this search is to begin immediately. The Council also heard discussion on electric rates and that for right now those rates would not change. Future completion of a circuit project was discussed, but no action was taken due to needing more information on cost and the scope of the project.