During their recent meeting, the Clear Lake City Council split the role of city clerk into two roles: city clerk and city treasurer (both duties previously being performed by just the clerk). With that change, the council welcomed a new treasurer, Amanda Scheiber, and new city clerk, Ryan McCann, to their team of employees. 

Open Forum

During open forum, one gentleman approached the council to ask about possibly purchasing some city-owned property that was adjacent to his property.

Bill and Colleen Kiffmeyer approached the council to express their interest in selling some of their land across from Hunter Lake. They wish to sell the acres that contain the house and other buildings, but keep the farmland.

Building Inspector

Building Inspector Nancy Scott from Allspec Services addressed the city council as a follow-up to the last meeting. At the previous meeting, the council asked a few different companies to provide sample inspections of a home in the city to get an idea of the services of each and the pricing of each company. Scott noted that her company hadn’t been asked to participate, and McCann said his team used an inspection from 2023 to represent her company. 

Scott asked to be able to submit a current sample, and the council agreed to ask each company for a sample again  so they could better compare data and tabled the discussion for next time. Scott reminded the council that her company also provided zoning services for the city at no cost, and they would also need to replace those services if they decided to move to another company. 

Christopher Kearney of Jazacc Inspections was also available at the meeting and answered a few questions for the council.

Lift Station

City Engineer Keith Yapp said there has been some difficulty getting an easement to access the lift station to complete the work. They would need to use privately owned land to get the work done, but one landowner had not yet given consent to use his property. Discussions were ongoing but stalled by the landowner being out of town. Without the easement, the work cannot be done.

Council decided to award a bid for work on contingency that they are able to get the easement they need. If they can, they will move forward. If not, they will have to begin legal proceedings to purchase the land from the homeowner, which could be a drawn-out and costly process.

Public Works

A new flag was put up at the ballpark. Public Works Director Evan Johnson said he’d been speaking with the ball team about the fence, and they agreed a six-foot fence near the dugout would be the safest and best option.

While the city is waiting for their playground equipment to come in, they have to pay for weekly rainfall inspections at the Hunter Lake park in order to keep their permit open. Johnson offered a couple of options to save money, including putting in vegetation or just closing the permit and reopening it when the equipment arrives. 

The council decided to pause the park project until next year after talking through all their options, and looking to get the park equipment installed in 2026.

Clerk McCann said he spoke with the city attorney, and said the old park equipment can be declared surplus and then donated or sold as the council saw fit. The council decided to ultimately just dispose of the equipment, as they were concerned about it holding up to play, and didn’t want to risk any kids getting hurt on it.

In Other Business, the Council:

• Held a public hearing regarding a subdivision at 8169 State St., then approved the subdivision;

• Heard about the 46 calls for service by the sheriff’s department and the 24 calls for service from the fire department;

• Approved an electrical easement for Northern State Power through Goenner Park.