Chili Cookoff Fundraiser

Roland's Britson Park Committee will be hosting a Chili Cookoff fundraiser to support construction of a new concession stand/storage building at the new Britson Park. Winners will be awarded in the Spicy and Mild Chili categories, along with a Soup division. Celebrity judges will be all Roland-Story building Principals, Steve Schlatter, John Sheahan, and Kate Hartzler. It will be held at the Roland American Legion on Saturday, January 11, starting at 6PM. If you do not want to enter, you can also just come to eat! Details on how to enter at www.britsonpark.org As an aside, you can go next door to the bar and purchase an adult beverage to drink with your chili if you would like to do that. Otherwise there will be water and some other drink (like orange drink) available with your food if you simply want to do that.

December 11 Council Meeting

Had about a 40 minute meeting. Everyone there except CM Hill.

We opened the meeting with a public hearing. Kind of non-standard. But the public hearing is listed for a specific hour, so we have to do it then. So it was first, right at 6PM. No public there to comment on it. It was in regards to entering a loan agreement for the initial work on our new sewer project.

During public input we heard from the sheriff's department. They check in at our meetings to see if we have heard any issues, and to give us an update on law enforcement issues. They have a suspect for the vandalism that took place in Roland, Zearing and McCallsburg about a month ago. Some jackwagon threw rocks through various windows of houses and cars. I know a few citizens on the east side of town got hit.

We then had a housekeeping type thing raising the amount of money we can keep in a bank. With our sewer project coming up, we will have more money than normal after we get the loan. So it is upped to $2.5 million at First American Bank in Roland. Apparently there is a law that you can only keep so much in a bank to what a city council has approved.

We got an update on our sewer project. We approved payment for test drilling of 4 core samples along the proposed route of the sewer. That is just to make sure the soil can support the horizontal drilling that will take place. If all goes as planned, we should have our new sewer line by summer.

Lastly, it was the last city council meeting for Duane Canny. He chose not to run after serving 2 terms (8 years) on the council. Duane has always done a good job at watching out for the taxpayer dollar. So thanks Duane for your efforts!

November 20 Council Meeting

Quick meeting. All council members were there except CM Sargent. CM Elect Webb was also in attendance. There were only 3 non usual items on the agenda. (By usual, I mean the consent agenda, dept head reports, and public comments).

So for those 3 items...we approved our health insurance contract. It actually went down by $500 a month. It was by a new way of figuring it, and a new pool our employees are in. We all praised 0bama and are expecting a trip to the State of the Union address, because we are the only people in the country that have seen health insurance rates go down.

We cancelled our January 1 council meeting. Jan 1 is the 1st Wednesday of the month. We decided we could get by with the meeting just on the 15th. As a 5 Wednesday month, we could add another one in late January if need be to get budget stuff squared away.

And lastly the council approved the hiring of Linda Sharer to be our new utility billing clerk. That is a part-time position and she will be replacing Janet Olson who is retiring. Linda brings a lot of experience, and she has a nice personality that I think will work well with the various folks who come into City Hall. We had a lot of good applications, and it wasn't easy to choose. I believe she will be starting around December 12.

We will only be having one council meeting in December as well. We cancelled the Dec 4 and 18 meetings, and will only be meeting on the 11th.

Grant #3

Grant #3 this month is a nice one as well. I went to Reiman Gardens in Ames to pick up a $6000 check from the Story County Community Foundation. The money is to be used towards construction of the new concession building at Britson Park.

The SCCF funds various projects around the county. Most are what I would call human services type grants. I think 3 different libraries got money as well. Ours of course will help out kids all around the county, and of course I'm biased, but I think was a worthy choice. I sat at a table with grant recipients from Story City. The group working on restoring the outside of the building housing the carousel got $3000, so that was nice too.

It is nice to see our local projects being recognized by a foundation like SCCF. As for Britson Park, we still have more money to raise to get the building built, which should start next spring. We are going to have a chili cookoff in January, and another 5K run in March.

Here is an article from the Ames Trib about the grants that the Story County Community Foundation awarded.

Grant #2

I had the privilege this week of going to Theisen's in Ames to pick up a $1000 check. The money was donated to help build our new concession stand/restroom/storage building in Britson Park. I read the list of Theisen's donations. They donate to a lot of different organizations in Iowa. Kudos to them. HERE is a link to that list.

I think Theisen's is my favorite store in Ames. And I'm not just saying that because they gave us $1000. I buy my shoes, ammo, cleaners, car stuff. And free popcorn to eat while shopping. Here is a pic of me getting the check (I love big ceremonial checks!) I am with Store Manager Shane Skala who just happens to be a Roland resident.

Grant #1

I'm gonna trickle out news of 3 grants that Roland has or will receive over the next week. So here is #1. I and City Clerk Jodi Meredith worked on a grant request from Story County with money directed for Economic Development. The money is coming from TIF revenues from the windmills in the eastern part of the county. We put in a request for the expected cost of asbestos abatement in the two properties the city owns on Main Street that will be torn down--namely the old library building, and the one just north of it--218 and 220 N Main to be exact.

Our request was funded at 50%, so we are receiving $6950 towards this project. So that is nice.

In case you've missed it in previous posts, we have been saving our dollars to tear down those buildings and construct a new city hall in that location. How the project ties in to economic development is downtown revitalization. And then the idea of the council is to have a more professional city hall that potential residents can see. Right now it smells bad in there with our co-located power plant, and is harder to find, not being right on Main Street.

The Ames Tribune has an article on our request, and the 5 other communities that received funding. HERE is the link.

Updated City Website

Led by council member Jerry Balmer, and some assistance by me, the city has set up a new website. We worked with Hobbs Design to modernize it a bit, and make it so city staff can more easily update it for things going on.

Roland was one of the first cities in the county with a functional/informational website. I was a big proponent of that way back when, when I was on the city council. I'm guessing that was 10 or more years ago. And it has served us well, and had most of the basic info that people were looking for.

For the most part, it will have the same information. But it will have more pictures, and hopefully be more of a selling/marketing point for Roland.

So give it a whirl. It can be found here: http://cityofroland.org/

November 6 Council Meeting

Had everybody at the council meeting on 11-6, and also Council Member-Elect Andrew Webb. He will take office on January 2. I think the meeting went about 75 minutes or so.

We got an update on asphalt repairs around the city, most of them are on the east side of town. Crack filling will be on hold until next spring due to the weather turned cold.

We, as in years past, knocked December down to 1 council meeting. We cancelled the meetings on the 4th and 18th, and are having one on the 11th. December typically doesn't have a lot going on. When I first got on the council, we only had meetings once a month. However I was in favor of twice a month. We stayed on top of things a little more, and the meetings went more quickly. Two shorter meetings do not seem as painful as one long meeting. But in December we can get along ok with just one

The council passed two resolutions in regard to financing our sewer projects. One was to set the public hearing, and the other was just some administrative stuff regarding borrowing. The public hearing on our financing will be at our December 11 meeting.

We tabled a RADC request for funding for a sign touting our industrial park along I-35.

We had Micheal Hart from Northland Securities present that gave us a very informative presentation regarding the city's ability to borrow money for our sewer project, and how to pay for it. The project is going to cost $1.8 million approximately. We can pay for it via property tax, via sewer charges, or a mixture of both. The presentation showed how it would affect property tax payers, if paid that way, or what rates would have to rise via sewer. My preference is that is all goes on sewer bills on a line item charge that we all pay. We run our sewer department just like a business. It does not receive funding via property tax. We charge what it costs to run our sewer system. I think this is no different. Everyone will see it on their sewer bill, and that it will simply go away when it is paid off. From a little straw poll of early opinion at the council meeting, I gather I am alone in that opinion. I would say the council is leaning to doing a mix. And I get that. That is a way of spreading it around I guess, and property owners in the city have a vested interest in having a good sewer system. But I think it is important to keep our property taxes low. When people look at moving somewhere, they will get an info sheet showing the tax on a property they are interested in. Do people look at water and sewer rates? And again, as I mentioned, sewer is a business. That business should not be subsidized outside of that business. And that is what happens if we use property tax to pay for this.

Lastly, we had a report from Drew Kamp who is assisting communities in Story County with economic development and such. He gave us an update on the county's use of TIF money for grants for economic development activities. City Clerk Jodi Meredith and I did a grant request for assistance on paying for asbestos removal at the two properties on Main Street that will be torn down for a new city hall. We found our that half of our request was funded, and we will be receiving approximately $6900 towards that effort, so that was a nice grant to get.

Statement on the Mayoral election

I have had the privilege of serving two terms on the Roland City Council, and two terms as the Roland Mayor. I thought that was enough for now, so I decided not to seek re-election for the seat of Mayor this year. As it turns out, no one else was interested in filing either, so the Mayor spot was to be filled with a write-in candidate in Tuesday's election.

The Story County Auditor called me Wednesday, and informed me that I was the leading vote getter of write-in votes for Roland Mayor.

So with that news, a primer on Iowa election law in regards to the Mayor slot. The leading write-in candidate is offered the job. If s/he turns it down, it is then offered to the second place vote getter. If that person turns it down, it falls upon the city council to appoint someone to the position. It does not automatically keep going down the list of people receiving votes.

Since I was prepared for my term to be done, I called the person who received the second most number of votes. He indicated he did not want to take the role of Mayor. So at that point, the situation was such that the council was going to need to appoint someone in January of 2014.

I thought about the situation a bit, and where the city and the City Council are on various projects. I've been working with the council on our new storm and sanitary sewer project. We are almost to the part where we are prepared to work on details for financing. I really would like to see that project go forth with the effort that the council has put towards it.

Also, in January through March, the City Council and city staff work on our next fiscal year's budget. That is one of my favorite roles as Mayor. I don't have a vote, but I have always enjoyed working with our staff, city boards, and council to come up with a budget that provides desired city services while keeping our property taxes in the lower half of communities in Story County. City budgets are one of the most confusing things for new mayors and council members, and the way our elections roll, those people are thrown right in the thick of it, as soon as they take office. Simply as a citizen of Roland, I would prefer to not have a Mayor leading that discussion who was thrown into that situation.

So I have to decided to accept the results of the election and continue on as Roland's Mayor. However, I plan to only do so thru the efforts to nail down the financing of our sewer project, and to complete the 2014-15 budget. So I expect to resign the position of Mayor on or around March 31, 2014. With my resignation at that time, the City Council will have to appoint a replacement. I don't like the thought of resigning, but whether I leave at the end of my current term, or at the end of March, the City Council will still have to appoint someone to the Mayor position.

This will also give three additional months for a candidate to come forth and get up to speed on city business. I think we have a good City Council and enjoy working with them. So I have confidence we are in good shape with those folks. It is a gratifying feeling to see that some amount of people still decided to write my name in, even when I indicated no interest in the position. I'm proud of our community, how safe it is, how we have a great new park, and how many young families are choosing to live here. My plan is to continue to give best effort towards the position of Mayor. Thank you to those that have expressed your support.

Law enforcement contract with Story County Sheriff Dept

As you know, Roland does not have its own police department. I think that ended circa 1998 or so, when the city fathers decided they had enough of the high turnover in the police department. Roland just couldn't pay enough or offer enough "excitement" to keep police officers. So the council went with a contract with the Story County Sheriff Office.

So currently Roland is one of 9 communities in Story County who contract with the SCSO. (The others being Collins, Colo, Gilbert, Kelley, Maxwell, McCallsburg, Slater and Zearing). Having their own PD are Ames, Nevada, Huxley, and Story City. Cambridge contracts with the Huxley PD.

So that contract comes with a cost. We have to pay a per capita rate to the SCSO for law enforcement. The last fiscal year was $49.50, this year is $52.00. So for Roland, that comes out to around $67,000 a year.

So we as a city council have a balance of police coverage versus paying more. If we wanted to have 2 officers of our own, we'd have to pay probably another $100,000 a year. Divided by the number of households in town, that would be another $200 per household. For now, I'm not seeing that as likely happening.

So while we do yearly contracts with the SCSO, to help with budgeting, the Mayors of the 9 communities contracting with the SCSO get together to set what we should pay going forward. The Sheriff makes a presentation on what his expenses are and so forth, and then the Mayors that show up make a recommendation. Six of the nine mayors showed up, including me. After some discussion, we decided a 3% increase in the per capita rate for each of the next 3 years was appropriate. I individually also thought that was appropriate. Our city employees got a 3% raise this year. Obviously the SCSO is not an employee, but if we had police officers, they probably would have gotten a 3% raise. So this is for the whole "department" or at least the public safety/police line item in our budget.

It does affect the smaller towns a lot more. The Mayor of McCallsburg mentioned it is their biggest line item. For us, it is not. But it is what it is, and just wanted to pass along how that all works.

Vote for someone else

As you may know, we have an election coming up next Tuesday. We have 3 people running for 3 council spots, so we've got that covered. However, we also have a mayor spot, and no one filed for it. (Obviously including me.)

If you read the Story City Herald last week, the article on the election said I would do it if written in. That is incorrect. That is what I said the two previous times I was elected via write-in. I'm ready to hang it up for the time being. I might run again in the future, but for now, I'm ready to do something else.

Since no one is on the ballot, here is what will happen. The person with the most write in votes will be offered the job. If s/he turns it down, it will be offered to the person with the 2nd most write in votes. If s/he turns it down, the city council will be tasked with appointing someone to fill the position.

So don't vote for me, fill someone's name in that you think would do a good job.

October 16 Council Meeting

Had everybody for the meeting. Kind of a light load, so it went rather quickly.

During Citizen's Comments we heard a request from the Roland Area Development Corp for around $2000 for a sign along I-35 to tout the lots in our industrial park. Since it was not on the agenda, no action could be taken, and it will be discussed at the next council meeting. The RADC meets at Homestead Housing on the 3rd Monday at 6:30 PM, if anyone is interested in attending their meetings.

We got an update on the sidewalks in Britson Park. The sidewalk along the street is being installed, as well as the driveways to the parking lot.

The council authorized me to sign the contract with Veenstra and Kimm for Engineering work for our sanitary and storm sewer work. I said I would, pending approval from our city attorney. (As an aside, got the ok yesterday, and I signed the contract). The contract is to get V&K to start doing the actual engineering work, and not just the estimate work that was done previously. We also had a little discussion of how to pay for the sewer work;property tax, straight fee on sewer, usage fee or a combination of that. No decision was made. My preference is a straight line item on the sewer bill, across the board for everybody. I don't think it should go on property tax.

Lastly, we had a brief discussion about the billing clerk hiring process. As of the meeting date, we had 8 applications. I was at City Hall yesterday, and we are at about double that now. CM Balmer and Canny and myself, along with City Clerk Meredith will be reviewing the apps, and choosing candidates to interview.

Job Opening for P/T Billing Clerk/Receptionist

Our billing clerk, Janet Olson, is retiring at the end of the year. We would like to get a replacement in soon, to let the veteran train the newbie. If you, or someone you know might fit the bill, please send in an app/resume. HERE is the link to the posting on the city website.

October 2 Council Meeting

Long overdue to comment on this, but I've been busy I guess. I'm suffering from senioritis a little bit.

Had everybody there again, so that is good. Had the usual standard non-controversial stuff first, including a report on a meeting regarding a citizen concern about animals at a house. That got taken care of by the resident getting the proper documentation/licensing for their dogs and chickens.

I made the official proclamation about October 31 from 6 to 8PM as Beggar's Night in Roland. I also appointed Jeremy Heaberlin to the Park Board and Matt Dahlsten to the Planning and Zoning Commission. So I have all slots of Boards and Commissions filled. Yay! Thanks to all our volunteers to those positions.

Next we talked about the sewer trunk line, and made a big step in moving forward. The council agreed that the new trunk line will run under Cottonwood Street, and that we will move forward with the total plan of correcting issues in Roland by installing a new sewer main under Elm for two blocks to tie the new Cottonwood line in to the Linn Street line. This will give sewage in the SE part of the city a more direct route to the treatment plant, and keep it out of the NE part of they city, where it runs now.

So the council approved a motion to have the engineering firm of Veenstra and Kimm present an engineering services contract for this at the next council meeting. Additional work includes a surface water retention pond in the field on the SE part of the city. This will be an above ground holding area during high rain events. If we do this, we will not need to install new storm sewer along Elm. If approved, this whole project will cost $1.8 Million. I will endeavor to have a longer dissertation on what this sewer work will accomplish, how it will work, who will benefit, and who is going to pay for it, in a future post.

Lastly, the council discussed the resignation of Billing Clerk Janet Olson. We have listed the opening on the city website, and we will accept resumes/applications thru Oct 28. Myself, Jerry Balmer, and Duane Canny will be doing the interviewing.

That pretty much hits the high points of the meeting, next meeting is on the 16th.

Parking lot in at Britson Park

Rock has been delivered for the south parking lot at Britson Park. It had been just a grass lot before. But fortunately this year has been so dry, anybody could pull in there without sinking in. I think it took 500 tons of rock, and it will hold about 55 cars if everybody parks like in a normal parking lot. We got a nice donation from Martin Marietta to get us the rock at a much reduced rate. It came from the mine just northeast of Ames. Thanks to our city staff for helping us to get it leveled out and such.

Britson Park is not just for baseball/softball either. Roland Youth Soccer is also playing out there now. We also hope to get the concrete for the sidewalks poured here soon.

Here is how the parking lot will lay out.

Google Maps Streetview Car in Town

Or so the rumor is. I didn't see it. Their previous trip only took them down Main Street and Maple and Cottonwood. Anybody see them on streets that aren't the main 3? I've always wanted to moon the Google Maps car. Some people have pulled that one off. Use Google to search "mooning the Google Maps car". There are a few out there. Also search for "weird stuff on Google Street View". Good surfing there. Here is one of my "clean" favorites.

City Election

Well, the filing period for City Council elections has come and gone. In Roland, there are 4 spots up for election--me, for Mayor on a 2 year term. There is a 2 year city council position to be filled, currently held by Jerry Balmer, who was appointed to fill the term of Chad Proctor, who had to move away. Then there are two usual 4 year positions, and currently Duane Canny and Brian Hill fill those positions.

So here is who has filed for those positions....Brian Hill is the only candidate for the two year position on city council. Jerry Balmer filed for re-election in one of the 4 year slots. Duane Canny chose not to run for re-election, but Andrew Webb has also filed for that last open slot. So we have 3 people for 3 slots on the council. So that is good. Not that you can't write in somebody else if you think they would do a better job.

As for mayor, let's ask Lyndon Johnson...

So yeah, I did not file for re-election. Being Mayor has its ups and downs. I really do enjoy helping make Roland a better place. And I'm not going away. I'm still going to help with Britson Park construction, and maybe join a board or commission. But 4 years here is enough (along with 8 on the city council). Gonna attend to family biz for a couple years. I am open to doing it again later on, just not right now. So start thinking of who you think would be a good mayor. Maybe you?!?!?

How it will work is the top write in candidate will get the job, if he/she accepts. If declined, the 2nd place write in candidate will get the job. If that person also turns it down, the city council can appoint whoever they see fit. If you have questions about what being a mayor all involves, let me know.

Sept 18 Council Meeting

Had all council members there for the meeting, it took a little over an hour I think.

We heard that the crack filling project bids were in and we got a reasonable bid from Dennco, so we be starting on that yet this fall. That was pretty much it of note from department heads.

We like to bring our main boards in once a month on a rotating basis to give us a headsup on what is going on with their boards. Library Board president Steve Olson came in and gave a brief report on the library. There is a new Children's Librarian, Sarah Almond, and her programs are doing well. Otherwise it sounded like things at the library were going good.

We had a presentation from the Ames Resource Recovery Plant. That is where all our garbage goes after it is picked up by Stone Sanitation. We have a 20 year contract with them to take our garbage, and it is coming up in 2014. I see no reason why a change is in order. They do a nice job. It is interesting how they mix our garbage with coal to make electricity, and how they use magnets to pull out metals for recycling. That is a place where Roland residents can take used motor oil, and other hazardous materials, such as paints for no charge (at least in small amounts). I encourage you to use that facility. They also take sharps as well. That is the preferred method to dispose of them, if perchance someone in your family has a need to use needles. (Please don't just throw them in the garbage unprotected--for the safety of sanitation workers!)

We had a brief discussion about water/sewer charges for watering yards at new houses. A "policy" is possibly coming on that. We also approved our annual financial report. All was well there.

We finished up with a longer discussion of the sewer trunk line project. We got the estimate for boring it under Cottonwood Street versus Samson Street. They came $60,000 apart, with Cottonwood the higher one. If the council chooses to go forth with this, they have to decide the merits of each route. Going under Cottonwood effectively would divide the town's sewer route, with everything from Cottonwood east using the new line, and everything west of Cottonwood using the existing trunk route. Going under Samson would put the entire town on the same line (like we are doing now, but only with a bigger line)

The other thing pondered, while we were doing this work, and which we have pondered in the whole grand scheme of work, is running a new line east up Elm Street (north of the school). Everything South and East of the school currently goes north all the way up to the bank on Main Street, and then around to the pool. This new construction would give sewage in that area of town a more direct route to the sewer plant, and keep flows down in the NE part of town, where we have had issues with sewer backup. (And again, normally we don't have issues with our sewer, but when we have lots and lots of rain, rain water tends to get in our sanitary sewer system).

Then, while working that way, we also discussed upgrading the storm sewer work in that area, while we have everything tore up.

So still some discussion to figure out what should be done. As always, contact me or a council member if you have questions.

Pretty slow...

Not really sure why, but there doesn't seem to be a lot going in Roland lately. I'd like to update the blog with news or other stuff, but just not sure what it might be. If you have a community event, feel free to pass it along to me, I'd be happy to publicize it here. I also take care of the city Facebook page, so if appropriate, I'd post info there.

For usual city business, not a lot going on now. Just a reminder, I have a couple city board positions to fill, let me know if you are interested in doing something like that.

I do have one community event coming up this Saturday. There is a fund raiser this Saturday at the Middle School. Here is the info lifted from the Facebook page.

Liam is the son of Peter and Libbey Schmitt. He was born on June 17 at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin where he had his first heart surgery. Liam has a congenital heart defect and will require several surgeries. We will have a supper, games, and a live auction. More information will be added as it gets finalized. Mark your calendar now to come and support Peter, Libbey and Liam! HERE is the link to the Facebook page for this event.

Are you a small business owner?

Got this email. FYI if you think this fits you.... Dream Big Grow Here 2013

BY ADMIN, ON AUGUST 27TH, 2013

The Iowa Innovation Gateway is offering an opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners to receive a $5,000 cash grant to be used to help start or expand their business.

This grant, called DREAM BIG…GROW HERE, will be given to an entrepreneur or small business owner with 50 or fewer employees and is located in Jasper, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Poweshiek, or Story county.

In order to qualify for this DREAM BIG…GROW HERE grant, the entrepreneur must submit a proposal during the time period of September 3 through September 27, 2013. From October 1 through October 15, on-line public voting will be done to identify the top business ideas. The top four vote-getters and one wildcard will be given the opportunity to present their ideas to a panel of judges on November 13, 2013. The panel of judges will make the final decision and will award the DREAM BIG…GROW HERE $5,000 grant to the winner.

DREAM BIG…GROW HERE regional contest winners will be invited to participate in a statewide pitch-off this fall for a $10,000 grand prize judged and awarded at EntreFest.

The DREAM BIG…GROW HERE contest enables IIG to learn more about the region's entrepreneurs while providing them with an opportunity to promote either their proposed business or their dreams for their current business. The DREAM BIG…GROW HERE contest would not be possible without the support of Iowa Banker's Association, Renew Rural Iowa, Delta Dental, Iowa Economic Development Authority, Technology Association of Iowa, and VentureNet Iowa and our local sponsors DMACC Business Resources and Marshall Economic Development Impact Committee (MEDIC).

To submit your dream or learn more about the contest follow this link.

September 4 Council Meeting

Pretty quick meeting, and had everyone there except CM Hill. We talked about future street repairs and updates. The north block of Main Street and the street just east of Casey's going north from Maple will be getting asphalt updates. Then there are various repairs and crack fillings that we will be doing. In the City Clerk report we talked about the County Supervisors meeting Jodi and I attended to make a presentation for our grant request for asbestos abatement at 218 N Main (the old library building). We should know by October or so if we will get that grant ($12,500 we asked for)

A couple of quick resolutions were passed. We awarded the bid for asbestos abatement, and to authorize the Clerk to transfer some funds into savings. On that last part, it was money that was budgeted, but not spent. If the money was set aside for some future project, we simply need to do a resolution for moving it to savings.

We had more discussion on the sewer trunk line project. An idea was proposed by our city staff about changing the route of the line. We had always focused on Samson because we wanted to run down the back yards of those folks. But since that didn't work out, we just planned to go under the street. But after more pondering, if we were going to have to go to the expense of boring under a street, a thought was presented about taking it under Cottonwood. The distance is the same, and we would not have to cross the property (where we already have an easement) of one homeonwer, and one farmer. The existing trunk line would continue to serve pretty much everything west of Cottonwood. The new line would serve everything east, would cut down on 2 blocks of potential sewer line we were going to put in, and be prepped for any growth to the south or east of Roland. Sounded like a pretty good idea. Now we just need to know what the cost difference may be. So the engineer working on this project is going to shoot us an estimate on that, and we should know at the next meeting.

That was pretty much it, and we had a quicky, only 25 minutes. Next meeting is on the 18th.

Property Tax Bill

I just received my property tax bill, and I presume the rest of you did as well. A couple things of note if you didn't go thru it in detail. Of your total bill, the City of Roland takes 32.7% of it. The school takes 42%, the county 17.9, and the rest goes to a smattering of agencies.

I suppose it depends on your valuation, and any changes there, but my taxes went down (my valuation remained the same). That was primarily due to a decrease in the school's collection. That was nice to see. I know the school board has been working hard on funding and such. As a reminder, the school still does however collect a 10% income tax surcharge.

The City of Roland's collections went up 4.2%. We held our general levy rate the same, however our bond payment on street construction went up, and that is the difference. I haven't looked at everyone's new rates across the county, but last year Roland had the 5th lowest tax rate of the 14 communities in Story County. I would expect we will stay around there for the next fiscal year.

Aug 21 Council meeting

Had everybody there for this council meeting. As an aside, we took photos at the end to get on the city's new website. Not quite ready to unveil it yet. But I've seen the template, and it looks pretty good. It has a more modern look, and hopefully some updated information as well.

In department heads reports, we had some discussion about street repairs. We are in the process of getting bids for some crack filling. Also our new tractor was to arrive this week. I think the old one was about 12 years old or so. I'll try to get a pic of it on the blog sometime. City Clerk Meredith reported on the bids we got regarding asbestos removal at 218 and 220 N Main. We also had a report from Pool Board Chair Rob Coghlan on how the pool season went. Pretty bad event free, and the pool held water. (No leaks! We had a late start, but mechanically speaking, this was one of the best years in a long time)

The council approved a reduction in the sewer bill for a resident with a new home and had lots of watering his new sod. He had inquired about that before the watering began. The council was appreciative of that, and had a little discussion about creating a policy regarding sewer reduction on new grass watering, and other similar events.

We had some quick motions and approvals for me to sign the animal control contract with Story County, approving the road use report with the DOT, and approving a raise for City Clerk Meredith. She has recently received her Certified Municipal Clerk designation. Always nice to see people taking more training and becoming a greater asset to the organization they work for.

Got an update on the new sewer trunk line, which basically wasn't one, as not much as moved forward since the last meeting.

We also had a report from one of the Story County deputies. As our city's police force, they haven't been at the last couple meetings due to some misunderstanding as to when our council meetings were. They have recently changed our city's liaisons. We had some more discussion about the department's reaction and response to potential child abductions. Outside of this particular meeting, I recently met with Sheriff Fitzgerald. He mentioned that child abductions are his department's first response item.

Drifting away from the meeting some more, just a reminder that the Story County Sheriff's Department is our city's police force. If there is a police matter in Roland, be it crimes, issues with neighbors potentially breaking city ordinances and such, they are the folks to call. That's why we pay them.

I guess I got on a little tangent there, so back to the meeting, that pretty much wraps it up. Next meeting will be September 4.

Roland-Story All-Time football stats and records

Roland-Story Assistant Coach Jeff Janes has updated the all-time Norsemen football stats with the 2012 season. Now that the 2013 season is just around the corner, I'm ready to go. Just passing this along if you in the mood for football too. Always fun to look back and see some names on the list that still live around here.

A couple current players can move up the all-time list in a couple categories this season, as they were doing well as underclassmen.

HERE is the link.

My favorite tab to look at is all-time record versus various schools. R-S doesn't have a losing record against many, though a couple of those are on the schedule again this year.

Good times at the Roland Museum

Stopped down at the Roland Museum this afternoon with my son. I've been there before, but it's been a couple of years. Actually, I was there a week ago, but I couldn't stay long. On that trip, I was dropping off the baseball that was the first pitch thrown at Britson Park.

Anyway, on my trip today, I really enjoyed myself. I endorse going and stopping in and checking the place out. It is open on Sundays in the summer, from 1 to 4. So if you want to go, you have two Sundays left this year.

My favorite thing is looking at old yearbooks. They have yearbooks from Roland High School. As you thumb through them, you can find people that still live around here. Having only lived here 16 years or so, I don't remember the old school, but it is interesting to look at photos of the old school and imagine it sitting there where our current middle school is.

As mayor, something I found really interesting was the old city council minutes. I found a book with the 1899 city council minutes. It was kind of a hard read (especially without my glasses). It was written in cursive (good penmanship though), but that "old style" cursive is kinda hard to muddle through.

The trophy display is fun too. All the basketball and softball trophies from Roland High are there. There are some pretty sweet looking trophies.

So again, stop in some time and take a look. Even if you are like me, and not a native of Roland, it is certainly interesting to see historical Roland.

Finally, a thanks goes out to the folks that volunteer to maintain the museum, and sit there on Sundays to keep it open.

May 7 Council Meeting

Had everybody for the meeting, tho CM Sargent had to leave at 7. I think the meeting took about an hour and a half.

We had a presentation, small discussion around street repair. We did have some past pondering about paving East Maple--the concrete section. Though two different engineers said it is still in good shape, and just needs some minor repairs. So that is going to be put off for now. Take a look at that street sometime. It was poured in 1963. That thing has held up great for being a 50 year old road.

We had an extended discussion regarding leasing of city property--at our city sheds on the north side of town---to 1 Source Wireless, which wants to put up a tower which will have Verizon cellular equipment. One neighbor to the property was opposed to the plan, and came to the meeting to give his reasons against the tower. He did present a petition of people opposed to the tower, but he was the only one that came to the meeting to speak against it.

I get why folks may be opposed to a cell tower. But just like power lines, and sewer lines, they have to go somewhere. And I think on city property, on the edge of town, in an area zoned Industrial, is an appropriate place for a cell tower. In a previous meeting, the Board of Adjustments approved the tower 5-0, and in this particular council meeting, the city council voted 5-0 in favor of signing the lease.

So at some point, the tower will go up, Verizon will put their gear on the tower, and those of you who have Verizon service will have improved coverage in town. But just sayin'...US Cellular has cared about the folks in Roland for about the last 10 years. Their repeater is still transmitting from the water tower.

The council also approved an increase in compensation for our City Clerk Jodi Meredith. Jodi has recently completed her Certified Municipal Clerk classwork. We have in the past given city employees raises as the increase their professional certifications. Jodi is doing a nice job for the city, and I certainly felt the increase was worthy.

The council finalized the ordinance for the No Parking Zone by Britson Park. Pretty basic stuff there. Another basic task was approving our contract with Wellmark for employee health insurance. We only had a 1% raise in rates this year, so that was good, and certainly atypical for most employers.

Lastly, the council approved, with one dissenting vote, to go forward with the trunk line sewer by boring it under Samson Street. We could never work out an arrangement with most of the property owners along Samson Street to take the less expensive route along the creek. So here is the deal Roland residents.....

This plan is going to cost an extra $200,000. So because of the unwillingness of those people to be a little flexible for the good of Roland, with approximately 550 households in Roland, you are going to have to pay an extra $350 or so because those folks aren't team players. So those folks just handed you a bill for $350.00. Enjoy.

Britson Park receives $1000 grant

Got word today that the Alliant Energy Foundation has awarded $1000 to Britson Park for the purchase of fence toppers. I filled out the grant request a couple months ago. This is a nice thing to get, and certainly a help for the safety of players. And for the dads who prefer to stand up and lean on the fence to watch games. It is a lot more comfortable on the forearms! Here is what they will look like, color to be determined.

Here is the news release I sent out.

Roland's new Britson Park has received a $1,000 grant from the Alliant Energy Foundation. The grant request was for the purchase of fence toppers for both the softball and baseball fields at the park.

The fence toppers are corrugated plastic tile that will go on top of the chain link fence. The fence toppers have a dual purpose. The main reason is for safety, as it will protect players from sharp edges on the top of the fence. An added bonus is that it will provide a more comfortable arm rest for fans who may wish to lean on the fence while watching a game.

"This is a nice grant to receive, " said Roland Mayor Roger Fritz. "We really like our new fields, and this a great way to help protect the players who use them. Alliant is our city's electric and natural gas provider, and I'm appreciative that the Alliant Energy Foundation chose to contribute to Britson Park."

The toppers will be installed before the start of the 2014 season. Britson Park's grand opening was held in June of 2013. The Britson Park Committee continues to fund raise for the construction of the restroom/storage/concession stand. For more information on the park, or to purchase a Memorial Brick, visit www.britsonpark.org

July 17 Council Meeting

A little late on commenting on this meeting. Summer stuff interests me more than blogging. Anyway, we only had 3 council members there, so just enough for a quorum. The meeting took about 75 minutes or so I think.

We started off with a Public Hearing regarding our proposed lease with 1 Source Wireless in regards to construction of a tower near our city sheds on the north side of town. Verizon will be placing their equipment on the tower.

We had one individual speak against it. I think it would be a good idea for Roland. People want to live where there is cell service, and frankly Verizon's coverage, especially in building, in Roland, is terrible. This tower is a good thing for Roland, and it is situated in a good spot based on our zoning. It is going up in an area zoned industrial, which is why we didn't plop it down in the middle of a residential district.

The council heard some information from the individual opposed to the tower, and decided they wanted to investigate the merits of the claims. So the council took no action on the lease, and it will be on the agenda for next meeting. If you are a Verizon customer, and want better coverage in Roland, please contact one of the council members and encourage them to vote for the lease. Even better, come down to the meeting and speak in favor of the city's lease.

As an aside, the Board of Adjustments already approved the variance to allow the tower in a 5-0 vote. Our city ordinances do not allow any structure over 60 feet tall, without special approval.

As for other stuff in the meeting, the council approved several resolutions--accepting the recommendation of the Board of Adjustment on the tower, and closing streets for a couple of events. The council also approved the first reading of an ordinance adding a no parking zone near Britson Park.

The council approved a plan to go forth with a resurvey of family incomes in a section of town that reported near 50% low to moderate income. If we can get survey results above 50%, that makes us eligible for a Community Block Development Grant, which we can used towards storm and sanitary sewer work, and will save Roland taxpayers some big bucks. No one verifies what is reported during the survey. So hopefully we find more people who report low to moderate incomes.

In another vote that affects everyone in town, the council agreed to renew the contract with Stone Sanitation for our city's garbage pickup. I think any of the choices would have been good. We received a bid from Waste Management, which was about .25 a month lower for the first year, but with a 3% per year increase. They are the biggest garbage provider in the USA. I'm sure they didn't get there by doing a bad job. Chitty's came in with the same first year bid as Waste Management. I have had some experience with them with my employer, and always had good luck with them. As for Stone, in my 8 years on council, and almost 4 as mayor, I have never had a phone call complaining about the job that they do. That is pretty amazing, so I saw no need to divert from them. I don't have a vote, but the council voted 3-0 in favor of staying with Stone Sanitation. I think they really go the extra mile in taking care of that extra bag you may throw out or whatever.

Lastly, I appointed or re-appointed 7 individuals to various boards and commissions in Roland. Terms had expired on June 30. That is one of those small things, that it is nice that people step up to do. As a reminder, I still have an opening on the Park Board to fill, or the Pool Board if you are interested with that (as one person would flop between Pool to Park if need be.)

Got this email...

Ah, the decisions a mayor must make. I got this email, and I'm torn as to whether Roland should apply. I really want to battle climate change.

City of Roland is invited to submit a Proposal to become The Host City of AS ONE

Unfortunately the battle against climate change will not be over in a year or even a decade. It will take a century or more, to turn the tides on human induced global warming. And the ensuing conflicts, mass migrations, famines & economic collapses, will test to the limit, our abilities to share the ever dwindling resources of our fragile planet.

Hence all global communities & cities need to develop strategies, organizations, & unifying symbols, that will be strong enough to survive decades, so allowing future generations to carry on the battle from where we will surely be forced to leave it.

AS ONE will be one such structure. Destined to become one of the most important, recognized & visited structures built this century. An interactive edifice, utilizing traditional Bronze Castings with state of the art Audio Visual special effects, will draw tens of thousands of people from hundreds countries across the globe, each year, to pay homage & interact with the legendary people of the AS ONE Structure.

The global business community is leading the way in financing the construction of AS ONE. Now it is time to select the Host City where AS ONE is to be built. AS ONE will initially bring more than 50,000 international visitors per year to the Host City, which should inject more than USD15 million per year into the Host City’s economy. However the most exciting aspect of the AS ONE Project for the Host City, is that AS ONE is a 100 year project, which will see the unveiling of a new iconic human being, nominated by millions of people from all around the world, within the AS ONE Structure each year. This ensures the number of visitors to the AS ONE structure will continue to grow each year. Hence the overall economic impact for the Host City should be in the order of USD 3.5 billion over the 100 year time frame of the project.

50,000 Visitors/year USD 15 million injection/year into local economy of Host City

This yearly 'AS ONE Unveiling & Inauguration Dinner', to be staged each year at the Host city for the entire 100 years of the project, is expected to attract hundreds of media commentators & crews from all corners of the globe, which will deliver an enormous ongoing, century long, global promotional campaign for the Host City.

The AS ONE Board of Patrons is now seeking Expressions of Interest from cities around the world who believe their city would be the best in the world for the legendary people of AS ONE to call home. (for more information regards the general criteria for any city, please click here)

The size or wealth of a city will not play a big part in the decision making process. In fact the Request For Proposals (RFP) process has been specifically designed to be an extremely low cost exercise, thus allowing all cities, no matter how small, whom believe they have the ideal location for some of the world's most iconic, legendary human beings to call home, the opportunity to submit a proposal.

To register your intention to submit a proposal to host AS ONE, city representatives just need to register to attend the,

Host City General Information Seminar, & VIP & World Media Unveiling Dinner Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam 6th & 7th of March 2014. (Click here to find out more & register).

This one day seminar fee of USD150/person & VIP Dinner of USD175 /person should represent every city’s greatest expense within the RFP process. The Host City will only be asked to provide the land or location for the AS ONE structure. The cost of building the structure will be via donations & contributions made by other governments, corporations & individuals.

Every city which submits a proposal to Host AS ONE will be invited to participate in the, AS ONE Global Cities Project, which will deliver significant outcomes & returns for the local communities of all participating cities. Full details of this program will be explained at the AS ONE Host City General Information Seminar.

The number of cities which will be allowed to register for the Host City General Information Seminar will be limited. Once this number has been reached no further Registrations for the Seminar will be solicited or accepted.

Thank you & I look forward to seeing you at the Information Seminar

Paul Phillips Director

Awesome City Council Ad

Ya never know what you might come across on the net. Found this advertisement for a city council meeting--somewhere in Colorado I think. Roland totally needs one of these ads produced.

North Iowa Tractor Ride Coming to Roland

This Saturday, July 20, the North Iowa Tractor Ride is coming to Roland. We aren't exactly North Iowa, but it is sponsored by some radio stations in the Mason City market. They are starting in Ames, and going out to Ledges State Park on Friday I believe, and then on Saturday, they will be coming to Roland.

There will be about 200 tractors. They will be arriving in waves starting at 10:30AM. They will have lunch at the Roland Community Center, with proceeds going to help support the Community Center. The RADC is putting this on. I think Bergen Church may also be having an ice cream stand.

So it is not quite RAGBRAI, but it is similar, in that we are going to have a large group of out of towners coming into Roland, in slow moving vehicles.

If you want to watch, or avoid traffic, here is where they are coming/going. They will be coming from Ames, up Dayton, and then turning to the east down E-29, past the Milford School. They will then turn north up R-77/Cottonwood (I think they may be turning east on Locust, and then driving north on Main past the school).

To leave, they will be going out Maple/E-18 all the way to the County Line Road, and then south into Ames.

They will be moving about 10MPH or so, so be careful if you are out driving around in the country. The last of them will leave around 12:30PM or so. We will have Main Street closed off, so you will be able to go up and look at the tractors as they are parked. Or you can simply sit along the streets and watch them drive by.

It is a nice thing we can host this, and that they chose Roland. Here is an article that talks about it.

No meeting on July 3

We had mayor/council that preferred to do other stuff that night--prep for fireworks, prep for the holiday, go to kid baseball games and so on. So since we didn't have anything overly pressing or timebound, we just cancelled the meeting.

When I moved to Roland, we only had 1 council meeting a month. However, they got painfully long too, more stuff to cover. Then you tended to forget about stuff, and everything kinda drug on.

I do think 2 meetings a month serves us better. You stay on top of stuff more, and the meetings go more quickly. After about 1.5 hours, meetings really take a turn for the worse. Things at the back of the agenda might not get the attention they deserve, because everybody just wants to get the heck out of there.

Usually the same deal in December, as we usually cancel the last meeting of the month when everybody is in Christmas mode. But we are back on, on Wednesday July 17.

High School Sports

Gonna veer off course a little bit here, and mention a favorite of mine. And that is high school sports. It sorta applies to mayor stuff, as high school sports is something that often binds a town together. You can certainly get a lot of community pride in a sports team. Going back to the Roland Rockets and their state championship runs in the 50s. Older folks sure know that story.

I was going to mention a couple links I like that deal with high school sports. One is www.mouthofthemidwest.com. Marty Tirrell and the gang do a good job of covering sports in Central Iowa. They have been covering a lot of baseball, including a Roland-Story game this past weekend.

Another is IowaPreps.com. A lot of the site is a pay site, but you can read the message boards and such. It is a good way of getting the skinny on high school sports around the state.

And then of course my personal fave www.roland-story.com. As you may or may not know, I do color and some play-by-play on there of Norsemen sports. Nobody covers Roland-Story better. Paul Clark runs it and it has morphed away from his old NorsemenNetwork.com.

If you haven't gone out to see our softball team here in Roland, or the baseball team in Story City, do so before the season ends. It doesn't get much better than a summer night at the ball yard.

Sewer survey this weekend

This weekend, the city is having folks go around the city and conduct a survey on the sewer system. The info gathered will help us in our application for a Community Block Development Grant. If we can get the grant, it will help cut down on the money paid for out of the pockets of the taxpayers and sewer users in the city.

What will help us get the grant? Having low incomes.

One of the questions asked will involve family income. The survey is anonymous and won't be cross checked with anything. If the responses from the citizens are low, we have a better chance of getting the grant.

In the past, the reported incomes from Roland have been too high, and we have missed out on grants.

This is one of the problems of living in a town with a young population. Our incomes tend to be higher, though that doesn't necessarily mean we are wealthier. Some old widow with a quarter section of farm land may have an income of 35,000, but be worth 2 million dollars. And we may have a young family with a $110,000 family income, but have a net worth of $50,000. And these grants are based on reported income, and not net worth.

So again, it really will help us get the grant if you get surveyed, if you answer the questions. And hopefully the numbers reported are lower this time than the last time the city was surveyed.

HERE is more info on the questions to be asked.

New laws in Iowa

Laws that are Roland only, are called ordinances. We pass them from time to time. It might involve speed on a new street or something like that. We don't really add a lot of laws to the town of Roland.

I found an article in the DSM Register about the new laws in Iowa going into effect on July 1. None specifically apply to Roland, though some could apply to Roland residents. I just thought it was interesting, so I linked it HERE.

We need some folks to be on boards and commissions

Terms are up for some folks on June 30 in our various boards and commissions here in Roland. Some folks have volunteered to stay on, which is awesome. Others have chosen to move on. So I have some openings to fill. If you are interested in any of them, please let me know, or contact City Hall. Here is what we need:

Board of Adjustment 1 person. This is a board that meets only when somebody wants to build something that does not meet our zoning regulations. This board considers if it is a legit reason, and if an exception is worthy--maybe like building a garage 1 foot closer to the lot line than allowed, or something like that. I think this board has met once in the last 2 years.

Park Board 1 person. This board meets once a month I think. They work on the budget for the park, and work on any issues that may come up regarding our parks. This is one where you can have a much bigger impact on Roland. There are already a great group of people on this board.

Planning and Zoning 1 person and maybe 2. This commission meets only if there is a new subdivision going in, or if there is a zoning change. This one also meets very rarely. I think maybe they met somewhat recently regarding the new townhomes going in north of the car wash. It might have been commercial, and it got changed to residential (which was a legit thing, since there is residential right across the street). Otherwise it doesn't meet much.

The pay is $0! I guess the only real benefit is that you can feel good about helping Roland, and what the heck, it looks good on a resume. Please consider one of these roles.

Swiping the Fireworks Cans

Somebody has been stealing the cans for the Roland Fireworks fund. Or at least once anyway. Just a heads up if you see someone taking instead of giving, please call 911. Donating cans is a nice thing that many people do for Roland, to give us a nice show once a year. So somebody is stealing our fun.

June 19 Council Meeting

I went to a baseball game--actually 3, so I didn't go to the meeting. I umpired the R-S/North Polk JV game at Alleman at 3:30, then became at fan and watched 2A #4 Roland-Story split with 2A #1 North Polk. That was some exciting baseball.

I guess you will have to read the minutes like I will. I talked to Jodi at City Hall and got some of the skinny. Sounds like the council and Mayor Pro Tem Canny carried on just fine without me.

Flood Damage assistance

The flooding event around Memorial Day caused some damage around Story County. I think for the most part we were spared here in Roland. Zearing really took the brunt of it. But if you had some damage, or know somebody who did, here is some info how to apply for Disaster Assistance Grants.

Disaster Assistance Grant

June 6 Council Meeting

Had all council members for the meeting. A lot of discussion, so it was a relatively long meeting, it took about an hour and 45 minutes.

We heard about the pool. Still having issues getting the contractor here. For now, looking like a June 11 opening, but that is all dependent on the contractor doing what he says he is going to do. We had a brief discussion about the official city photo. We had a few to choose from. The council all agreed with one that was taken from west of Roland, looking to the east over the city. There were two basically the same, so the City Clerk and I will make the final pick.

The council agreed to hire Mackey Harris Architects for making the initial plans/wish list for our new City Hall. This will simply be to put something together so we can get bids. We then approved a resolution setting the wages for city employees for the 2013-14 year. All employees were give a 3% raise effective July 1.

We then had a discussion regarding the sewer trunk line. The council again reviewed the options that were proposed by our "2nd opinion" engineering firm of Veenstra and Kimm. The council decided to first make an effort to go forward with the lowest cost option. And that was with an open cut near the creek. However to do so would require acquiring a utility easement from the property owners in that area. So the council voted to formally ask those property owners for the permission to do so.

Based on conversations with some of those property owners at the meeting, I'm guessing that is unlikely. However I think it important to ask, because if we could do so, we could potentially save Roland taxpayers $150,000 to $200,000.

If we are unable to acquire the permission, the council decided to go forth with a plan to directional bore a new trunk line under Samson Street. This will obviously cost more, but will get the new line to the sewer plant. In either case, a new lift station will need to be built at the sewer plant to handle a higher load, and because the new sewer trunk will be deeper than now.

Also, in either case, the council expressed an interest to follow up with a new sewer line down Elm Street. Currently all sewer in the neighborhood of the school, down to Homestead Housing, and all in there, travels north of Maple, up to the bank and around down to the pool. If we can get a new line in down Elm, it will hopefully help sewer back ups in the northeast side of the city, as sewage from the south side doesn't have to pass thru there, and would more directly get to the sewer plant.

I think the plan is solid, and helps a lot of people in Roland. It is going to cost a boatload of money tho. And that is why I think it important to find out if the neighbors along the west side of Sampson would be interested in helping the city taxpayers save $150 to 200 thousand bucks.

We then had a discussion about our engineering firm. It devolved into something I was not expecting. We had a simple discussion, or so I thought, as an agenda item about interactions with our engineering firm, Bolton & Menk. I thought it might work around using Veenstra and Kimm for the potential sewer project. It ended up with our city engineer offering his resignation as our official city engineer. From my observation, there is a range of opinion on how well his and his company's tenure as engineer worked for Roland from the council. I've had some irritation regarding some billing and communication. But I am happy with how several of our engineered projects have turned out. I think the drainage issues in the Britson neighborhood have been a success, along with North Cottonwood. I think the ideas presented regarding the trunk sewer have been solid, and were pretty much confirmed with our 2nd opinion from V&K. I'm really disappointed how that portion of the meeting went. If we were going to have a parting of ways, that isn't how I wanted it to go down. We will continue to use B&M for ongoing projects in the city, but we will have to find another city engineer it appears.

We closed out the meeting with a discussion of communication with the Sheriff's Department and the cases of abduction around our area.

Fireworks in Roland

Early reminder about fireworks...they will be held on the night of Wednesday July 3. Rain makeup will be on the night of Friday, July 5.

If you didn't know, fireworks are paid for by the donations of cans and bottles across from City Hall. If you ever want to be a helper in Roland, being one of the can gatherers is a job we are always looking for. If you are interested, please contact City Hall.

Games being played at Britson Park

Yesterday saw the first softball games being played at Britson Park. The official grand opening is Thursday, June 13. There will be food and drinks and some general ceremonial stuff. Nice to see the park in use after all the work that has gone into it. Still a lot to go, but a positive step for making Roland an even better place to live.

Potential Abuduction Attempt in Roland

Got word today of a potential abduction attempt in Roland last night. Obviously it is not the guy in Dayton, since he offed himself, but there are still bad guys out there. And whether this was some idiot just fooling around, or a real bad guy, it is something to be vigilant about. The password thing (as mentioned below)that this mother had is a real good idea.

Here is the text of an email we got from the Story County Sheriff's Office that went out to law enforcement agencies in the area. It gives some details of what happened. If you see a vehicle with a person matching this description, please contact the Story County Sheriff's Office or simply call 911.

At approximately 2056 hours this evening in Roland, near the pool, a 13 yom was approached by a suspicious subjects offering a ride home. The boy was told that his mother send the subject to get him and give him a ride. The mother and son have set up a password for events like this and the guy did not have the password. The boy went around the pool and walked away. The guy did not follow, to what the boy could tell. The description of the vehicle is a newer red 4-door truck (possibly Ford), with tinted windows and a "rusty" plate. The subject is described as a white male in his 30's with short (but styled) hair wearing sunglasses on top of his head. No other descriptions were available

High water update

I will be putting "live" updates regarding rising water and/or other flooding issues on the City's Facebook page. Go there for the latest. City of Roland Facebook They will also auto update on our City's Twitter feed @cityofroland

Garage Sale Days on May 31-June 1

The garage sale days are in Roland next weekend. Just wanted to put a reminder here. I don't have the link yet to the maps and stuff for sale, but will do so as soon as they get forwarded to me.

Pools

Still a little fuzzy on when the pool will open. Theoretically the crack repair company is coming Wednesday. Hope that is the case. If so, we should be able to open about 5 days later.

Got a call from Story City about sharing pool services, as they have just discovered a big crack, and they might be looking at a 2 week delay in opening.

Pools drive me nuts. They always seem to have leaks and are breaking. In theory, we could just keep refilling, we have the wells. But what gets expensive is the chemicals needed to keep the pool at the right ph levels to meet state standards.

I would think someone would have invented some sealer to put on a pool's basin to keep it from leaking, but apparently not. I'm sure the changing seasons and temperatures just cause havoc on that stuff. Part of the deal too is our cold and wet weather. We needed warm days to fill the cracks, and we haven't had enough planned consecutive ones. The thing is today, as I type this at 1PM on May 27, it is 61 degrees out, and the pool wouldn't be open today anyway.

So hopefully the contractor shows up, and hopefully it warms up and dries out.

Property Tax changes from the Capitol

The Iowa House and Senate just finished their session and it included reforms on property tax. The thing is, property tax money does not go to the state, it goes to various local entities. So the legislators grandstand on this, but they never have to make the tough choices on spending. It falls on local officials, such as school boards and city councils. That kinda annoys me. They never talk about state income tax reform or cuts---stuff that would affect them.

But in any case, it got passed, and the cities will have to deal with it. Roland came out pretty well. Mostly because our main property tax base is residential housing. Not much changed there, other than limiting growth in valuation.

I think cities like Ames are going to take a big hit. Cities that have a lot of rental properties and commercial areas are really affected by this new law. Residential housing has had a rollback, where one is not assessed as much as the valuation. But rentals and commercial property paid full freight. Those properties are now going to start getting rolled back. That will shift more of the burden on residential properties. But here in Roland, for the most part, with very few commercial properties, and even fewer rental properties, home owners are paying the bill anyway, so it is not going to change what we do much here in Roland. But there are some other cities where the councils are going to have to make some tough choices.

Pool News

We are not having good luck with our pool vendor getting to the pool to do crack repairs. So we will not have the pool open for Memorial Day. We are still trying to work with the vendor to get here, and get those cracks taken care of. For now we are shooting for June 1.

May 15 Council Meeting

Had everybody in attendance for this council meeting. Not a lot of items on the agenda, but some good discussion.

We heard that the crack repair at the pool had not yet taken place. They were needing 4 straight days of always remaining above 40 degrees, and we have not had that yet. Which of course backs up the vendor on everybody else, so it is looking like we will not have a Memorial Day opening.

We still have 20 or so properties that have not set up an appointment for a sump inspection. Just a reminder that any property not passing a sump inspection by June 1 will have a $100 per month sump fee added to their sewer bill.

We had a couple procedural resolutions---we updated the budget, and we approved a 28E agreement with the Story County Emergency Management. For the last one there, we already had that, but due to some state law changes, we had to re approve our agreement with the agency.

Forrest Aldrich of Veenstra & Kimm came to the meeting to present 6 options regarding a sewer trunk line, or alternative to re-doing it. The city council wanted to get a 2nd opinion from a different engineering firm. I had to leave after presentation of the 2nd to go to my daughter's awards night at the high school. But I have read the report, and certainly some interesting findings. I will review them in a future post.

I wasn't there, but I know CM Balmer discussed some options regarding hiring a new vendor to update our city's website. I think a final proposal may be presented at the next meeting.

roland-story.com

I'm really excited to tune in to Roland and Story City's first "radio station". Roland-Story.com went live this morning. My buddy Paul Clark, who started norsemennetwork.com 5 years ago, which covered Roland-Story athletics, is starting the transition to a full service radio station. No over the air transmitter for now, but it is on the web, and soon to be on mobile phones as well.

So from 7-9 AM there will be a live morning show with local news, weather, and interviews. And indeed this morning, I heard local news about Roland and Story City and from our school.

Paul worked in small town radio before, and this sounds just like it. If you have listened to morning shows on KQWC from Webster City, and KWBG in Boone, this is very similar. Only it is for the Roland-Story community.

Then the remainder of the day, it is just music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. There is also two channels, so if there are two R-S events, like softball and baseball, or wrestling and basketball, each sporting event can be covered.

So while the studio is in Story City, this really is a business that is supporting Roland too, so this is a good thing for us as well. CLICK HERE to check out The Rocket: roland-story.com

May 1 Council Meeting

Pretty quick council meeting Wednesday night. It was our regularly scheduled meeting on the 14th Wednesday of February. Only 2 non-standard things on the agenda. One was the approval of a resolution accepting the donation of land and structures at 220 N Main. That is the building north of the old library. The city is planning on removing the asbestos, and tearing down that building and the old library. The old library is not in that bad of shape, but the 220 N Main building is in really rough shape. It is no great prize to receive the building, but at least we didn't have to pay to get it, and clean up Main Street.

The other agenda item was that I proclaimed May to be Poppy Month. The American Legion Auxiliary does the poppies each May, and accepts donations in support of our veterans. That is always a good thing to proclaim.

In other stuff, we discussed a big dog on the loose on Duea Circle, that we had to call animal control on. The deputy sheriff visiting our meeting reminded everybody to lock their vehicles. They see it every summer (uh, yeah summer, I've heard of that before, it is a time of year when it is warm), across the county, where someone just goes around stealing stuff out of unlocked vehicles. Hasn't happened in Roland for a while, but doesn't mean it can't.

It was reported that 40 houses still have not had their initial sump inspection. They don't have to, but they will be charged a $100 per month sump pump connection fee in July if they do not.

Just a reminder that the CCR, which is basically the report on our water system, was listed in the paper. You can also review that at City Hall if it interests you. It reports what is all in our water.

Lastly, a reminder that the pool is still scheduled to open on Memorial Day weekend. We still want to get some cracks repaired, but we need several days of north of 45 or so degree weather (including overnight). That is obviously been a bit problematic this winter/spring.

USAgain

Have you seen the white and green box at the Roland Service Center at the corner of Maple and Main? It is for USAgain, and they recycle old clothes and shoes and stuff like that. It is a business, so it is not a charitable donation, but it keeps stuff out of the landfill. Anyway, the city got this certificate from them, showing what they took out of that container in Roland in 2012.

I'm not Mr. Green by any means, but I thought that was interesting, and certainly appreciate the private sector doing recycling projects, and making some money out of the deal. So good job outta you if you dropped some stuff off in that box in 2012.

Click on the picture to see it in better detail, but 9202 pounds of clothes is a lot. Hope Roland isn't walking around naked in 2013. Or depending on who you are, maybe I do!

Moron cutting his grass in the snow

Well, I made a quick little video on Thursday morning, because I wanted to capture our May 2 snowfall. It is not supposed to snow in May right? Instead of getting mad, just decided to have a little fun. I've cut plenty of grass in early May. What happens when there is 3 inches of snow on top of it? Here is your answer.

Well it ended up going viral, and WOI, WHO, and KCCI all played it on their newscasts, and/or put it on their websites. KCCI thought enough of it to drive up and do a story. Certainly odd and "special" to get snow in May. I certainly didn't expect that kind of attention. Kind of fun tho.

Roland Days

Ya know, we haven't had a Roland Days for a couple years. Probably not going to happen in 2013 either. Mostly it comes down to the folks that did it before just needed to step away, and nobody picked up the ball with it going forward. So thought it would be a good time to ask around again.

Do you know, or do you know anyone who would want to be the lead for doing a Roland Days? It really takes someone good at delegating, and if they can do that, they really wouldn't need to work that hard.

I hear lots of people say, "I'd help out at Roland Days". With "help out" being the key words. So anyway, just thought I'd ask, and see if that interests anyone. If you are interested, we have plenty of time until 2014. Drop me a note, or call down to City Hall.

April 17 Council Meeting

Pretty quick meeting. It took about 25 minutes. Everybody was there except CM Balmer.

Heard a report that the swimming pool is scheduled to open on Memorial Day weekend. (As an aside, the city is now accepting applications for lifeguards).

The council accepted a proposal for asbestos checking in the old library building. The council also approved the go ahead to start the process of accepting the donation of the building just north of the library. The intent is to clean out the asbestos in both buildings, and tear them down. Then the plan is to construct a new City Hall on the location.

The council also approved the purchase of an aerial photo of the City of Roland. We have not had an official one since 2000. It hangs in City Hall. We've had some amount of change in Roland since then, mainly the new businesses and houses on the SW side of Roland.

And other than some minor administrative stuff, that was pretty much it.

Hydrant Flushing on Monday and Tuesday

City staff will be flushing hydrants on Monday and Tuesday during the day. This could lead to some temporary discoloration of water. The water would be safe to drink, it just tends to stir up sediment in the lines. So if you see water that isn't crystal clear, that is probably the deal. If you even notice, it should only be that way for an hour or so, until everything gets settled back down again.

So for the whitest whites, (I sound like a detergent ad!) do your laundry today, or in the evening on Monday or Tuesday.

KC Royals donate $5000 to new fields at Britson Park

Some people don't like Mondays, but I liked yesterday. Janet at City Hall sent me a note saying there was a $5000 check sitting in my inbox from the Kansas City Royals. That's a good Monday. I filled out a grant request for a program they have to help build new fields in the Midwest. And fortunately they found our grant request worthy to be filled. We will use that money for finishing off the infields.

I wrote the grant request, so that is pretty exciting to me personally. But due to the help of a lot of people, I was able to put together a solid request. The folks on our Britson Park Committee who organize our fund raisers, and volunteer in park construction, really make for a good base (no pun intended) to show that progress is being made, we are raising money, and this isn't some fantasy. Our city staff has been a big help as well, as they deal with stuff like our 5K run checks/registrations and the questions that go with it, and taking on extra responsibilities in the park--digging a hole here, or spreading some dirt there.

It is really fun seeing this come together, and have enjoyed our planning sessions with our volunteers at the Legion. I really would like to have our council meetings at the Legion. They would be more fun with a shared pitcher of beer.

In case you forgot, another grant request from the Minnesota Twins netted us $10,000 for fencing. It is nice to be almost exactly between two MLB clubs. Those two teams have really nice ballparks, and they are helping us have a nice ballyard too. I endorse supporting the Royals and Twins back. Load up the kids and head to their parks this summer. I kinda am partial to the White Sox, but the Royals and Twins are better trips to take in the AL Central.

Slow it down Danica!

As noted in my previous post, we've had some complaints about speeding on Industrial Drive. I know it is Roland's best drag strip. I drive on it. Wide open country, no cross streets (for most of it), and nothing but corn. However, on the north side, it does meet up with Progressive Drive, where Roland's largest employer resides, and other businesses that drive trucks and pull trailers.

We've gotten complaints about speed on that street--for traffic moving both North and South. Council Member Hill brought up putting a stop sign on Industrial to try to slow people down. I'm not in favor of that, but I'm not in favor of accidents either. The council has asked the Sheriff's Dept to patrol that area more. So be warned. You don't want a ticket, and depending on where you live, you probably don't want a stop sign there either. So just slow it down, Danica.

April 3 Council meeting

Been kinda busy lately, especially last weekend, so I didn't get to blogging about Mayor Stuff. So finally getting around to notes about the April 3 meeting. Had everybody there but CM Canny who was a bit under the weather.

Got an update on bids for a new backhoe tractor. I think the current one is 12 years old. Trading in our old one, we are getting a new Case for 39,000. That came in a couple thousand less than what we had budgeted, so that is good. Our current one has served us well. It digs our water and sewer lines, and moves snow out of the downtown area.

We heard a report about some digging work that will be done around the intersection of Poplar and Linn. We need some underground maintenance there, so that intersection will be closed for a few days. It will go best when it is drier, so no word yet on when that will happen.

City staff moved our speed signs, if you haven't noticed. Speaking of speed, we talked about putting a stop sign at Industrial and Progressive. CM Hill was interested in putting a stop sign there to protect truck traffic coming off Industrial. The other 3 Council Members and myself were not prepared to take that step, so we talked about getting the portable radar from the Sheriff's department on that street. I will talk more about this in another post.

The council agreed to talk to our city attorney about starting the process to acquire the property at 220 N Main. (building just north of the old library). The owners have offered to give it to the city. While this is no particular prize to us, it will save us a lot of hassle in trying to obtain it. It needs to be torn down. If we don't acquire it, it may sit there in it's current decrepit state. So we are starting the process.

We heard from RADC rep Jim Taylor about that group's effort to promote our industrial park on a state economic development website.

The city council agreed to join the Story City Greater Chamber Connection as an associate member. I think this is a good idea. Lacking a business type chamber in Roland, this will be an opportunity to get some more publicity of things in Roland in front of the larger Story City audience.

We also went forth in hiring a 2nd engineering firm to give a 2nd opinion on what to do with sewer and storm water issues in Roland. The council decided that with the potential expense, it would be good to get a 2nd opinion. So we are getting that input from Veenstra and Kimm out of West Des Moines. We've never worked with them, but the two Council Members who interviewed with them spoke highly of them during their meeting. So we shall see what they come up with.

We also found out that CM Balmer is continuing to work on coming up with ideas for a new city website, so then we can put out that request to various companies, to see what they might want to do. And finally, the City will be flushing hydrants on Monday and Tuesday the 15th and 16th.

Spring Training 5K Run

What a great day, and great turnout for our Britson Park 5K Spring Training 5K Fun Run/Walk. After weeks of substandard weather, we had a really nice day for the event. And people must have known it. We ended up with 198 entrants for the race. About 140 pre-registrations, and the rest were walkups.

All the runners got free pancakes as well, served by the Roland Kiwanis. We had another 50 some walkups for pancakes only as well. Then we sold a few memorial bricks for the park as well.

So this was a really nice fundraising event for Britson Park. Big thanks goes out to the Roland Kiwanis for supporting this event, and then also big thanks to our Britson Park committee.

We've had 3 races so far, with runners at around 125, 95, and then 198 for this, so that was a huge turnout for us. Most of the increase was in the number of kids running. Us old fuddy duddies complain about kids not getting off the couch and away from their video games. A bunch followed our wishes on Saturday.

The course was a little different this year. The runners reported it was a bit more challenging, as it went down a couple of Roland's "hilly" streets, the biggie was south bound on Main to the water tower, while running into the wind. We also got the runners out to Britson Park for the first time. We had to have one lane traffic on Maple to get them out there, but that went pretty well.

Here are the results

Garage Sale Days in Roland

The Garage Sales Days in Roland have been set, according to a little birdie. Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1 are going to be the dates. Sell, sell, sell!

Post Office window open change

If you don't go to the post office to get your mail, you may not have noticed the window hours were changed on March 11. So FYI, here are the new hours. Monday-Friday 7:30-11AM and Noon to 2:30PM. On Saturdays it will be from 8:30 to 10:30 AM.

March 13 Council Meeting

March was a bit odd for council meetings. We cancelled the regular first meeting because with the short February, we didn't have enough time to meet the publication rules regarding the budget. Then because we moved that meeting to the 2nd Wednesday, we just decided to cancel the regular meeting that was scheduled for the 3rd Wednesday of the month. Follow that? Hey we saved the city $75 by cancelling a meeting (since each council member gets $15 a meeting)

Anyway on to the meeting on the 13th. And since I was slow posting, I barely remember it. But I have a couple notes.....

I think I have this right. Still have 50 houses that haven't had their sumps inspected, and 20 that need re-inspections. Those folks will have a $100 sewer surcharge added if they don't get that taken care of by June.

We approved our 2013-2014 budget, we approved a closing of Maple for the 5K run, and as mentioned above we cancelled our March 20 meeting.

We also had a discussion about the county's offer of assistance in paying for a capital improvement plan. We decided to carry on with what we had already started. We will get assistance for our city administrator, and should get 75% of the plan paid for, so that is nice.

Next meeting is April 3.

Spring Training 5K Run/Walk route map

Just a reminder that the Spring Training 5K Run/Walk is a couple weeks away. This is in support of Britson Park. We had just over 100 runners a year ago, and just under 100 runners when we did it last fall. As a reminder, runners get a T-Shirt and free pancakes after the race. (You could get them before the race too, but I'm guessing that is not a good idea.)

The fence is going up this week at Britson Park. The posts have been up since December. So it is nice to see some activity in the park.

You can get the registration form for the race at www.britsonpark.com

This time around, we are going to run by the park itself. It is difficult to get out to Britson Park and offer some protection to the runners. We are going to try this time, by closing off the eastbound lane of Maple Street between Logan and Norseman. The runners will have to back track on that section, but we would like them to get out by the park and see it.

Here is a map of the route. It will start and end at the northwest corner of the school. Ignore that is says 5.2 KM. That is center of streets to center of streets. When running and you cut corners, it actually is a real nice 5K. Click on the map to expand it.

No Council Meeting this week

We are moving this week's council meeting to the following Wednesday. There are various legal hoops needed to jump through regarding publication of the budget notice in the paper-the key one being number of days notice in the paper. With February being a short month, those loss of a couple days hurt us. So we will have our official budget hearing on the 13th. then we will get back on schedule and having a meeting on the 20th.

P&Z opening

Just got notice today that someone that is on the Roland Planning and Zoning Commission is going to be moving from Roland. So we will have an opening there. If that interests you, let me know, or please contact City Hall.

Phillip Keicher Cancer Benefit

Just wanted to pass along some info concerning the Benefit being held for Phillip Keicher of Roland.

On January 21, Phil Keicher was admitted to the University of Iowa Hospital after weeks of dealing with headaches, back aches, dizziness, loss of balance, and confusion. After completing several neurological tests, the doctors ordered an MRI, and found fluid on the brain, along with a golf ball size tumor. That very evening a tube was surgically placed to allow the fluid to drain off the brain, and an additional surgery was scheduled for Thursday to remove the tumor. This surgery was a success!

However, in addition to the brain tumor, doctors found one other small tumor behind the collar bone on the left side. Tests also showed 3-4 lymph nodes directly below the collar bone & behind the sternum that are enlarged. Doctors have diagnosed Phil as having Lung Cancer. Because Phil has no health insurance, the family is going to have to make regular trips from Roland to Iowa City for his treatment. Prior to getting sick, Phil was an over the road truck driver for R & J Trucking in Ankeny, Iowa, and his wife, April, a stay at home mom. Their 14 year old daughter, Morghan, is an 8th Grader at Roland-Story Middle School. Phil’s medical condition has also created a financial crisis for the family.

Friends will be holding a spaghetti dinner benefit with a silent auction on Saturday, March 2, 2013 at the Story City American Legion located at 301 Washington Street, from 5pm to 7pm, with a dance to follow from 7pm to midnight. Please come and help make this benefit a success, as the family is encountering heavy travel expenses and mounting household bills. A free will donation is requested for this event. We will also be accepting canned food donations for the family. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Another 6 months, another 5K run

Having a good time, keeping in shape, eating breakfast, racing, walking, and supporting Britson Park continues in Roland. The Spring Training 5K Run/Walk is on the docket for Saturday, April 6. It is going to be a different course than the previous ones, as it is actually going to run out to Britson Park. To do so, we are going to drop Maple to one lane between Logan and Norsemen, and have the runners run down Maple.

Entrants will also get a breakfast, or if you don't enter, you can come down and get a breakfast yourself. Whether you run or walk, it is a good time, you get a T-Shirt, you get to eat, and you get to help our new park.

HERE is the link to the entry form.

Regular Council Meeting Feb 20

Had a good regular meeting on the 20th. Had me and 5 council members for the first time in awhile, so that was nice.

I got the authorization to sign a doc to potentially participate in a Administrative Review and/or Capital Improvement Plan that may be partially funded by Story County. It has some merits, but I'm no sure I am going to sign it yet. We actually are handling a bunch of that in house. It is only a couple hundred bucks, so it is not that big of deal. So I shall see if more info is forthcoming before I sign that.

Our biggest time spent in the meeting was regarding the budget. And thanks to some tough decisions, and penny pinching, the council and I were able to come up with a budget where we could keep the mil rate (property tax charge) the same as last year for general operations.

One caveat to this, we are going to have a 2 cents per thousand increase because our bond payment schedule required us to increase the payment on the Bryan/Arthur street project. So on a $100,000 house that will be about a dollar and ten cents higher payment to fund the increased debt payment this year.

So Roland is going to go from $10.07 per thousand to $10.09 per thousand.--and again the increase is strictly for the debt payment--funding our general operations will stay exactly the same as last year. AND THAT IS FREAKIN' AWESOME!

With what those jackwagons in Washington do, our city staff, our boards, and our council/mayor have made the tough decisions that allow us to hold the line on spending.

With that said, we are not starving the city either. We still were able to fund a good portion of our proposed new city hall, provide for some more construction in Britson Park, maintain services at our library, get some fixes done at the pool, and pool park, as well as street and water/sewer planned maintenance. And when we can keep taxes down, that is more money you get to keep, and make Roland a more attractive place to live, which helps maintain home values.

So I'm really excited about what we were able to pull off, and again, the credit goes to a lot of people within Roland.