During their recent meeting, the Clear Lake City Council discussed building inspection service proposals from three companies. 

At the last meeting, Council Member Stefany Janish raised some concerns over the city’s building inspection services. Nancy Scott, owner of AllSpecs Inspection services, the city’s current provider, asked to hear about the city’s complaints.

One point of contention from the council was that inspection paperwork could not be found on construction sites. Scott claimed that paperwork was not required to be kept on site, it only needed to be made available upon request, and she showed the law backing up her claim. The other concern was AllSpec’s pricing. Scott noted that while the services of other companies may be lower, the permit fees would likely increase. She would recommend changing companies only if the permit fees would remain the same. 

Scott asked why she hadn’t been asked about the confusion directly. Janish said Scott had been put on the agenda two meetings ago, per Scott’s request., but she hadn’t shown up to answer questions the council had. Scott stated she was not informed she was on the agenda nor did she request being put on the agenda a month ago. 

Scott said if the city wished to move forward with changing companies, she would be willing to terminate the contract at the end of the year instead of after six months as the contract states, stating she only wished for a smooth transition in whatever the city chose to do, and to not have her reputation hurt by false statements.

Mayor Tim Goenner suggested tabling the discussion to look into the fee schedule, and the rest of the council agreed to take some more time to evaluate their options.

Public Works

Past due water notices will be going out soon. The mayor also requested Johnson put out notices to trim lawns.

Johnson mentioned that this May the city used a million more gallons of water than in May of 2024. He suggested the council consider watering restrictions, especially with the new housing projects.

Mayor Goenner asked if he could have access to the pumps of the lift station that is being replaced, to see if they needed to be repaired or replaced to avoid issues. Johnson explained to the mayor that this was a bad idea. There was no way to do so without serious risk of sewage spilling everywhere. Since the lift station is being replaced, Johnson said it was best to avoid creating any new issues. Johnson said he was frustrated with the mayor’s continued requests to look at the pumps. Johnson felt the mayor didn’t have faith in him to do his job. 

The rest of the council assured Johnson that they had faith in his work, and Nelson suggested the issue go to the personnel committee. 

Parks Update

After looking at the new park equipment, Council Member Sabrina Miller decided the climbing net would not be the safest option for the small kids in the neighborhood. She picked out another piece of equipment that was safer and cost less.

Mayor Goenner asked whether the Rainbow playset the city bought could be donated to a local church or family in need. The council said they wanted to check with their attorney first, but it was a popular idea. The playset cannot be used by the city. 

In Other Business, the Council:

• Held a public hearing regarding the rezoning request from their last meeting;

• Rejected a request to put up portable storage units on a Main St. property;

• Hired Ryan McCann as the new city clerk and Amanda Scheiber as the new city treasurer;

• Received a report from the state demographer showing the city’s population has grown to 704 residents;

• Approved water and sewer training for Johnson and one other staff member;

• Accepted a proposal from Driveway Services to repair some of the more damaged areas of some city streets.