(Spirit Lake)– Addressing the city’s spending and debt has been an ongoing goal of city officials in Spirit Lake since a shake-up several years ago of city administration. Now, the city has proof its efforts are starting to have an impact.
The Spirit Lake city council Tuesday was presented with the findings of the city’s audit for the 2008 fiscal year. Tim Hinrichson of the Winther, Stave and Company auditing firm told the council it was one of the best reports the city has had in years. He says the General Fund broke even for the year…even with a decline in property tax revenue. He says the Water, Sewer and Solid Waste Funds all showed good balances as well. Most significant, Hinrichson says, is the fact spending was down considerably. He says the city still has some debt, but Hinrichson says inroads are definitely being made.
In other business, the council decided not to award a bid on the 19th Street reconstruction project to the second lowest bidder–De Loss Construction of Spencer. Wicks Construction of Decorah, Iowa submitted the low bid a couple of weeks ago, but the council deferred action at the time, siting concern problems they had in the past with the firm getting projects done on time.
Councilman Steve Balm again Tuesday emphasized the importance of this project being done on time, since it’s being staged with a parking lot project at the courthouse and is a main artery in the city. Balm also cited an incident in which the contractor was late getting a project done in a subdivision, causing the city to default on on an agreement it had with a developer. Balm eluded to a 100-thousand dollar settlement the city paid to avoid a lawsuit over the issue.
A motion to award the contract instead to DeLoss Construction failed with only two council members voting yes…the others no.
Councilman Jerry Harbst then expressed a concern he has, saying the city could be sending a bad signal to major contractors by not accepting the lowest bid.
The council then voted three-to-two to accept the bid from Wick’s Construction.
The council also Tuesday approved a proposal that would allow for the hiring of two part-time people to help oversee the city’s greenwaste collection site at the former dump east of Orleans.
On a related note, it was reported the grand opening of the site, scheduled for March 16th, will probably have to be pushed back due to muddy conditions. In the meantime, Spirit Lake residents can set yard waste and sticks out at the curb for pickup on Fridays. Sticks and branches must be cut into short lengths and bundled.
