By Terry Bailey
The Beloit City Council conducted its regular bi-weekly meeting at City Hall Wednesday evening, February 1, 2023. Councilors participated in person were Tony Gengler, Jamie Meier, Andrew Grabon, and Gretchen Staples. Participating via a Zoom connection were Todd Adolph and Lee McMillian.
Also present was the City Administrator Jason Rabe, City Attorney Katie Schroeder, City Clerk Amanda Lomax, and Mayor Tom Naasz.
City Attorney Katie Schroeder reported there are two bills currently in the legislature she is monitoring. One deals with vacant property actions taken by cities and the other is sales tax exemptions. The general consensus of cities is that they would prefer local actions as opposed to statewide control of local matters.
City Manager Rabe reported that the west side drainage project will have a pre-construction meeting on February 7. Work will begin as soon as the weather permits. There should be minimal concerns with traffic obstruction.
The solar farm got a recent boost in activity due the sun reflecting off the snow. Otherwise January had many overcast and cloudy days which had a negative effect on solar generation.
Economic Development Director Emily Benedick was present and reported on activity in her sector. Work continues on the Duckwall/Sperry building. A meeting is scheduled for February 9 to discuss senior citizen housing. The meeting is scheduled to be held at the First Bank community room. The judging of the youth entrepreneurship projects will take place in the ballroom at Down Under.
The Council approved another increase for engineering service for Schwab-Eaton in amount of $80,000.
The Council approved a contract with Hubbard for fire services. The cost is $575 for the remainder of 2023.
Guaranty State Bank and Trust submitted the low bid and was selected as the depository for the City's money.
A Special Event license was approved for a class reunion of 1973 to be held at the White Building in the Chautauqua Park on May 26.
The business meeting was adjourned, and the Work Session was called to order.
The work session was devoted to a discussion of pay grade/scale for the city employees. Rabe pointed out the pro and cons of methods of calculating pay for individual employees.