---
date: "2024-04-10"
title: "Council Meeting Minutes 2024-04-10"
source: "2024-04-10-minutes-council-monthly.pdf"
---

City of Prairie City
     Council Meeting
April 10, 2024

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Attendance:
7. Mayor Ed Clark
8. Councilor Chase McClung
9. Councilor Colby Bradford
10. Councilor Jenny Shaw
11. Councilor Pam Gangler
12. Councilor Brook Williams
13. Shonalie Oakes, City Recorder
14. Rob Gaslin, CPA
15. Chris Camarena, Public Works Director
16. Jennifer Kingsford, City Clerk
17. Councilor Candy Reagan attended by Go To Meeting but lost connection.
18.Visitors:
19. Sue Malaney
20. Steve Patterson
21. Georgia Patterson
22. Colin Kolb
23. Frances Preston
24.
25. Mayor Clark Called the City Council Meeting to order at 6:00 pm, the Pledge of
26. Allegiance recited, and roll call taken.
27.
28. Minutes:
MSP: To

 The minutes of the March 13, 2024 city council meeting were considered.

29. approve the March 13, 2024, minutes Councilor Williams/Gangler
30.
31. Mayor Clark recognized the audience, and asked them if they had any
32. comments or questions. There were no questions or comments. Mayor Clark then
33. welcomed newly appointed Councilor Colby Bradford to the council.
34. Mayor Clark amended the agenda

  to include discussions for hiring a new City

Attorney,

35. Budget committee schedule, and RFP for an Auditor.
36.

37. Summer Help
38. meter project will be moving forward and is requesting permission to advertise

 : Public Works Director, Chris Camarena, announced that the water

the

39. position to hire summer help. The Council decided to post the position between
40. $15-$18 per hr. MSP: To move forward in the advertising and hiring process

for

41. summer help in the Public Works Department. Councilor Williams/McClung.
42.  All present agreed.
43. Budget Meeting Schedule:

 Rob Gaslin, CPA, asked the council to pick a date for the

first

44. budget committee meeting to get it on the calendar. The council selected May 9th,

2024.

45. Gaslin presented an RFP letter of Audit Services for the council to review,
46. to replace the City’s auditing firm that recently resigned due to how far away we

are

47. from their location in Albany. MSP: To approve the RFP letter to send out and
48. receive proposals from auditing firms. Councilor McClung/Williams all
49. present agreed.
50. Mayor Clark asked the Council if they were interested in moving forward with
51. replacing our current City Attorney with one that was more available, all present
52. agreed that the City to retrieve an RFQ from available smaller firm and begin the

hiring

53. process to replace our current attorney. MSP: To approve hiring a new attorney

Councilor

54. Williams/McClung All present in favor.
55. Downtown Beautification Project:

 Mayor Clark introduced Sandy Murray the head

of

56. Downtown Beautification Committee. Murray explained that they have been

getting

57. complaints about the trees for 30 years over the memorial trees that were

originally

58. planted, due to rotting fruit falling off the trees and landing on to the sidewalk
59. creating a tripping hazard and the roots ruining the sidewalks. Murray contacted
60. surrounding cities to ask them about their trees as to not reinvent the wheel. They
61. want to keep the project simple for easy maintenance. The plan is to replace the
62. trees with dwarf trees, and make sure they are planted correctly with grates that
63. won’t let the roots grow toward the surface. Murray will continue to research the
64. best alternative tree that won’t make a mess on the sidewalk. They also plan to

plant

65. perennial drought tolerant grasses, and springtime bulbs for color. The committee

66. would also like to replace the trash receptacles with concrete containers with

small

67. holes so that travelers will stop filling the trash cans with household garbage and
68. overflowing the containers. Planting will begin this fall. Public Works will assist

with the

69. removal of the trees at the cost of the City. Downtown Beautification
70. Committee Member Sharon Fritsch agreed to apply for grants for this project.
71.  MSP: To approve applying for grants for the downtown beautification

project.

 Mayor Clark provided the council with a market analysis for three of

72. Councilor Gangler/Williams. All present voted unanimously.
73. CMA’s:
74. the city’s properties for their review. Currently the City owns 26 acres of industrial
75. property next to the mill. Public Works doesn’t need all of that ground, but will
76. continue to need enough property for their equipment yard and shop. If the

council

77. choose to move forward with taking the necessary steps to potentially sell a

portion

78. of the industrial property Public Works would like to use the money from the sale

of

79. the property sold to make their shop bigger and to build an office for Public Works
80. off the shop, vacating their downtown location. The City’s extra industrial

property,

81. and downtown office building could then be potentially sold and turned into a

viable

82. business, providing economic growth and jobs for the local economy, also putting
83. the property back on the tax rolls. The third property analysis was of the City’s old
84. vacant recycling building. The City had a realtor provide an analysis of its

property

85. values after being approached by a grant county business owner, inquiring if the

City

86. would be interested in selling 10 of its 26 acres of industrial property. The

business

87. owner received a grant to build a USDA Meat Processing Plant and Composting
88. Facility and is now actively seeking a location. The idea was presented that once
89. developed the businesses would initially provide 15-20 jobs, and grow from there,
90. economically benefiting the community, local livestock producers and consumers.
91. Local certified USDA meat would then be available for local purchase and beyond,
92. helping the community be more sustainable and resilient.
93. The council felt like there was a lot to consider, and ultimately needed more

details

94. pertaining to the plans and outlines of what this business would look like and any
95. effects it may have on the community regarding smell, etc. Mayor Clark said he
96. would have the business come and do a presentation at the next meeting to

answer
97. questions.
98. Fire:

 Fire Chief Marvin Rynearson updated the council on those in the

department,

99. stating Rebekka Camarena completed 60 hours of Hazmat training and Huffman

100hours. OSHA is updating fire brigades and NEPA, unsure of what the changes
entail.
101.Public Works: Chris Camarena, Public Works Director, shared that the EPA water
meter 102. project is moving forward and that the funding is being finalized. Utility
Work Mike
103. Patterson passed his water certification. Lastly the City will be doing some
digging for the 104. cemetery district to finish up the veteran’s memorial project.
105. Accounts Payable: Rob Gaslin, CPA, read aloud the appropriations review, and
the council 106. read through the check detail. MSP: To pay the bills Councilor
Williams/Gangler
107. Adjourn: MSP: To adjourn the meeting at 7:29 p.m. Councilor
Williams/Gangler
108.
109.
110. Approved by the City Council this 8th day of May, 2024, and signed by the mayor.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
116. Ed Clark, Mayor
117.
118.
119.
120.
121.
122.
123.
124. Shonalie Oakes, City Recorder
125.
126.
127.
128.

Attested:

129.
130.
131.