Sac Community Center Income/Expense Report for October, 2009

Sac City, FAA spend $30,119.70 at the airport

The Sac City Council voted on November 23, 2009 to pay the following bill from Voltmer in the amount of $30,119.70 for work performed on the Elictrical vault project.
The Federal Aviation Administration picked up $28,614.00 of the bill, and taxpayers paid $1,505.70.

So far this year, the Sac City has committed $21,855.74 taxpayer dollars to the airport for projects. (this is not counting claims and payroll)

November 23, 2009 Sac City Council Call to Order

On November 23, 2009 at 6:30PM the Sac City Council came to order with the following City Councilmen Present: Jim Johnston, Brian Muska, Bill Brenny, Jim Frederick, and Gary Hansen. No Councilmen were absent.

Also in attendance were Mayor Barb Powell, City Administrator Adam Ledford, Sac City Chief of Police John Thomsen, two city employees, Snyder and Associates representative Darin Jacobs, two private citizens and two media.

The evening’s agenda, the minutes of the November 9, 2009 Sac City Council Meeting, and receipts and disbursements in an unspecified amount that was not made available to the public were approved without comment, except for the abstention from those votes by Councilmen Johnston and Muska due to their non-attendance of the November 9, 2009 Sac City Council Meeting.

Sac City Iowa sewers on Gishwiller, South 11th to be fixed

The following resolution was approved without comment at the November 23, 2009 Sac City Council meeting. It is the final approval of the plans for fixing the sanitary sewers on Gishwiller between South 11th and South 12th Streets, and on South 11th Street between Gishwiller and Bailey.





On November 19, 2009 at 2:00PM the city took bids for lining the sanitary sewers on Gishwiller between South 11th and South 12th Streets, and on South 11th Street Between Gishwiller and Bailey. As you can see from the following bid tab, (linked) Municipal Pipe Tool Company out of Hudson Iowa had the low bid, coming in under the engineer's estimate by just under $100 thousand dollars.

(in the interest of readability, this document is merely linked instead of being displayed)

The alternates at the bottom of the chart apply to line #9, rehabilitation of manholes. Those alternates are different alternatives for rehabbing the manholes. The city took bids for redoing the manholes in what they were advised by Snyder and Associates was the best method, but not the only method. As the manholes are individually examined, the method for rehabbing them will be individually determined and charged to the city using the alternative chart.

There are 79 manholes that will be redone.

Because the bids are so low, the Sac City Council is considering extending the sewer lining project all the way to the Aquatic Center. According to Snyder and Associates representative Darin Jacobs, extending the job would very roughly cost an additional $15,000. Sac City Maintenance Department Head Bob Scheffler said that they "smoked" the sewer in that extended area and smoke came out everywhere. He therefore recommended that the City Council go that extra few blocks.

The Sac City Council awarded the bid to Municipal Pipe Tool Company, and will consider extending the job at a future date.

November 20, 23 2009 ESC V G BB Stats

The following is the link to the November 20 and November 23, 2009 East Sac County Varsity Girls Basketball Games stats.  (real sports junkie data)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saccity/sets/72157622760550483/

These are really big image files.  The format will improve in the future.

A Gentle Thanksgiving Reminder for Mayor Barb Powell

On March 24, 2008 Mayor Barb Powell permanently replaced the Public Forum with the Council Forum, thus shutting down the public's participation in that portion of the meeting.

March 10, 2008 agenda with Public Forum still intact
March 24, 2008 agenda with the Public Forum removed and replaced with Council Forum

Sac County Fair Granted Liquor License

by Curtis Bloes

At the November 23, 2009 Sac City Council meeting the vote to renew the Sac County Fair’s class “C” license with outdoor service and Sunday sales came up.


During the “Citizen’s Opportunity to Address the Council” I noted publically that every time the Sac City Council votes without discussion on an item, it means that the council has had the discussion outside of the City Council meeting.

Sac City Councilman Brian Muska, obviously intending to make fun of me asked generally that if they voted on the license without discussion, would it mean that they held a meeting regarding it previously? …right before he then held a discussion with the SCPD Chief of Police about whether it was advisable to grant the Sac County Fair the licensein question. Police Chief Thomsen indicated that there were no law enforcement issues of concern regarding granting the Sac County Fair this license.

The Sac City Council always consults law enforcement openly and publically before granting any entity a liquor license, therefore the answer to Brian Muska’s question is “yes” if the city council voted on the license without discussion, it would mean that the discussion took place outside of the City Council Meeting. In fact, on those rare occasions (one time that I have witnessed,) when law enforcement could not be on hand to discuss liquor licenses, City Administrator Adam Ledford has admitted to holding a brief meeting with law enforcement outside of the City Council meeting so that HE could then report those findings to the Sac City Council in open meeting, before the vote.

After the discussion, the Council unanimously agreed to grant the Sac County Fair a class “C” liquor license with outdoor service and Sunday sales.

Sac City Council Dropping the Ball, TSN picking it up

by Curtis Bloes

It is my observation that the Sac City Council utilizes a series of off the record email meetings, one on one meetings, and any number of other legal but ethically shaky sub-quorums for becoming informed about how to vote about the city’s financial data before an open meeting ever begins.


When on November 9, 2009 Councilman Jim Frederick said, “I reviewed the claims this afternoon, they all looked in order.” He was not just giving a preamble to a vote on claims, he was conducting the most comprehensive financial report EVER CONDUCTED IN PUBLIC in the last 30 months by the Sac City Council.

After the November 23, Sac City Council meeting, I told Councilman Brenny that he personally, and the Council and Sac City Government as a whole are doing a “Shitty job” of keeping the public informed about these matters. Mr. Brenny’s response was that my assessment was a matter of opinion, implying that there are those that would probably hold the opinion that they were doing a pretty good job. I say to Mr. Brenny publically now, and will repeat to his face the next time I see him; Mr. Brenny, those that think you are doing a good job of keeping the public informed about the financial status of our government, are not paying attention.

Because the Sac City Council have shown zero interest in publically disclosing Sac City’s financial standing during their meetings, (you know, when they are supposed to,) I am developing a financial worksheet based on Sac School Board Secretary Frank Strain’s most excellent report that he generates for the school board. Mr. Ledford has preliminarily agreed to fill in the blanks of any financial worksheet I give him, with a probable monetary consideration for his time spelled out in Iowa Code, to which I have agreed, (and have the budget for, thank you all very much for your patronage  .)

It is a damn shame when a private citizen has to pay money to find out and put out this information when we have 5, (well… 3 most of the time,) City Councilmen and a Mayor who could be requiring that this information be put out by their employee, the City Administrator during the city council meeting.

If you have any suggestions for fields you would like me to include on this worksheet drop me a line.