Weather Spotter Training

A copy and paste for you....

The National Weather Service will be conducting Basic and Advanced Spotter classes in March and April. Story County will have a Basic Spotter course on March 27th at Gates Hall in Nevada with the Nevada Fire Department Hosting. Ames Amateur Radio will be hosting an Advanced Spotter course on March 7th at the 4-H Building on the Iowa State Campus. If you are not able to attend one of the Story County courses Boone and Marshall Counties are offering courses in March & April. Please see the enclosed flier for specific time and location information for all Spotter classes. Classes are open to the public and the public is encouraged to attend. Please share this information across your communities.

The National Weather Service will also be offering online courses throughout the year. You can follow this link for further information on how the attend online courses. http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dmx/?n=spotterinfo

If you have any questions please contact our office. Melissa K Spencer Deputy Coordinator Story County Emergency Management 900 6th St. Nevada, IA 50201 515.382.7316 www.storycountyiowa.gov/ema www.facebook.com/storycountyema

Jan 30 Planning Session

We had a planning session on Wednesday. Sort of a council meeting, but sorta not. It was, because we were all there, talked about city biz, and we kept minutes and all. Not like a typical meeting, as no decisions were to be made, and there was no public forum.

We just wanted to talk about where we've been, and where we would like to go. We last had one of these meetings 2 years ago. Here is what the mayor, council, and city staff indicated were the highlights and accomplishments of the last 2 years. (Some of these were listed from more than one person) In no particular order... Starting Britson park, Street Extension of Arthur and Bryan, Painting Water Tower, Updated Hardware and Software in City Hall, Handheld Meter Reading Upgrade, Running the Housing Grant, Swimming Pool Improvements, Cottonwood Property Demo and Sale, Sale of Property on Walnut/Cottonwood, Videotaped City's Sewer Pipes, Flood Mitigation Steps in Various Neighborhoods, Hired New City Clerk, Did Sump Pump Inspections, Got Through a RAGBRAI, Replaced Part Time Summer Helper after Retirement, New Basketball Court in Pool Park, Water Operator Upgraded to Grade II Certification, Replaced/Replacing two resigned Council Members, Created City Email List, Increased Use of Community Center, Replaced Media in Sand Filters at Water Plant.

I really like that list. That is a nice list of accomplishments that take in a lot of different paid and unpaid workers and volunteers.

We came up with a list of things we would like to see happen, or possibly consider--all of various difficulty to complete. More to come on that, as the council will formally come up with a list of things to focus on. Something I expect to be on the list is written 5 year plans on underground infrastructure upgrades and maintenance, and the same thing for streets.

Garbage pickup will be on Saturday

Due to the midweek storm, our city's garbage provider has been pushed back a day in their usual route. So garbage pickup in Roland will be on Saturday, Feb 2. No need to set your stuff out on Friday.

Jan 16 Council Meeting

I'd like to post something about it, but I wasn't there. The meeting for Story County Emergency Management was at the same time. As mayor, I am Roland's representative to the board. I have been ditching those in the past and letting my proxy go (these meetings are held on a 3rd Wednesday-which conflict with city council). But this Emergency Management meeting had to approve a budget, and do some bylaw changes, and it required an elected official to vote on the EM budget for a given political entity. And they need to assure a quorum, so it helped if I was there. I do not count as part of the quorum for city council, as I am not a voting member.

So Duane Canny is my Mayor Pro Tem, and he ran the city council meeting. Here are the minutes of that meeting.

Back to the Story County Emergency Management Board. All incorporated cities, the Story County Board of Supervisors, and I think the Sheriff's Dept all have a seat on the board. There are two employees in this agency, and they handle the prep for and dealing with emergencies of all kinds in Story County. I know they were up in Roland for our gas leak a year or so ago, and also were on hand for the scheduled elevator burn. They do a nice job for the county.

So anyway, we elected officials set their budget and provide oversight. For this meeting, I think every city in Story County had someone there except Ames, and maybe Collins. We also had a Story County Mayor's meeting prior to the Emergency Management meeting. We don't really do much with that, other than eat and socialize. At this meeting I sat by Mayor Jensen of Story City and had a good chat with him. Obviously both of our communities have aligned interests, so it is always good to touch base with what is going on in Story City.

Council opening

As mentioned in my previous post, we got a little tidbit of news in the council comments. Council Member Jeri Neely announced she was resigning her position. Jeri mentioned various family and work issues taking a bunch of her time. And they were good things, new grandbabies, more hours at work, and road trips upcoming to see her youngest play her senior year of college softball.

Jeri's term was up the November, and I kinda expected she would not run for re-election. So I guess she will be done a little sooner. I'm thinking she started as an appointed mayor, maybe 9 years or so ago. Nobody ran for Mayor, none of the write-ins wanted the job, so we found her (I was on the council at the time), and she was mayor for a year or so. A bit later, I think there was a council opening, and we appointed her to the council, and then found somebody else for mayor. (shows you what a great gig mayor is! The appeal of council is that you can vote on stuff, the mayor cannot). Anyway, she maybe was re-elected to council twice I'm thinking. So Jeri has definitely put in her time.

So we have our 2nd council opening in about as many months. If you recall, Chad Proctor resigned due to a job move late last year.

While we could not, as a council, make an official decision on how to fill the position, there was a consensus to again appoint a replacement rather than hold an election. We will formalize that at the next city council meeting. My understanding of this position, since it was up for election this fall, is that the highest vote getter in the race for the 4 year terms will take office immediately after the election is certified. The other winners will then take office at the usual time of January 1, 2014. At least that is my non-legal take on it.

So anyway, if you are interested in being appointed to the city council, please notify me, or the staff at City Hall.

HERE is the official link to the notice on the city website.

January 2 Council Meeting

A reasonably short meeting, and we had all council members and city staff, so that was nice. We had a little discussion about the plans for asbestos testing at the property north of the old library building. We received a grant for that, and I signed a contract with the DNR regarding those tests.

The council had a discussion on whether to waive a high water/sewer bill at a property that apparently had water running for awhile while unattended. The council denied that on 4-1 vote. There were a couple reasons for the deny based on statements by the council members. For me, I don't have a vote, but in the request, the "lawyer bomb" was dropped. I don't dig that. Our council has been very gracious in the past on such requests, and work with homeowners for something equitable for all parties. But when the request comes and before the conversation even begins, it includes a "lawyer bomb", my attitude turns very sour. Even before the council says yes or no, somebody asking something starts threatening lawyers---my interest in helping you really wanes.

That was pretty much it on the agenda. During mayor/council comments, I proposed a work session to do some general planning for 2013--to think about where we want to go. And then tie it in with budget work, which is beginning now for the 2013/2014 budget year. Since we have a 5 Wednesday month, it looks like we will have that meeting on Jan 30.

In the council comments, we were notified of something, which I will touch on in my next post.

Snowmobiles-No nos

Just a reminder that operation of snowmobiles in the City of Roland is generally prohibited, and riders are subject to a fine. There is one time it is allowed, and that is on a city street after a snowfall, but before the street has been plowed.

The reason for the ordinance prohibiting their operation is the damage that has been done in the past by snowmobiles driving thru people's yards, in particular on the arteries in and out of Roland (namely Cottonwood and Maple).

So anyway, if you operate a snowmobile, please do the right thing, and not drive in the yards of your neighbors. If you see someone being a problem, and breaking this law, feel free to contact our city's police force, the Story County Sheriff's Department.

HERE is the link to the ordinance.