(Spirit Lake)– City employees in Spirit Lake will be getting a pay raise. The city council Tuesday voted four-to-one to grant city workers a three percent cost of living increase. Council member Barb Ricke cast the lone dissenting vote. The action followed a motion to approve an Administrative Committee recommendation for a two and three-quarters percent increase. That motion failed one-to-four, with Barb Ricke voting in favor.
The council also scheduled a public hearing to discuss sidewalks for 6:00 p.m. June 15th at the Dickinson County Community Building; approved appointments to the Board of Appeals, Electrical and Plumbing Boards; approved a request from MainSail to close some streets for MainSail-A-Bration and the annual Bike Ride Around Big Spirit Lake; they approved a request from the Spirit Lake school district to bore a sewer line to the new concession stand at the high school softball field at a cost of 3,405-dollars; and they authorized city staff to sign off on an Economic Development Set Aside Grant through the Iowa Department of Economic Development for an expansion that would bring 44 more jobs to Pure Fishing.
The council also approved the purchase of two outdoor warning sirens for a total cost of nearly 20-thousand dollars. One will replace an existing siren under the water tower across from Hilltop; the other will be erected on the west side of Hill Avenue across from the Presbyterian Church on the city’s south side.
