At Monday night’s Britton City Council meeting, Tom and Jamie Moeckly spoke at the meeting regarding the old Norstar Credit Union building which they live near. The building has been purchased by Clear Lake Investments to reportedly be modified into housing for foreign H2 Visa workers. Truss Pros and Precision Wall in Britton have made use of these workers for a number of years.
Jamie brought up a number of concerns. She questioned if the property was zoned to allow such housing. She also cited concerns regarding the workers being ken to people who lived in the same properties as the workers and claimed they were responsible for destroyed and stolen property, smoking cannabis and loud music. She questioned if the city could guarantee her safety in her neighborhood if they move into the building. She asked the council if the city could get involved in matter to avoid causing unhappiness among neighbors.
Mayor Clyde Fredrickson noted that he had investigated the zoning matter and if the city starts flagging zoning violations, a significant number of city businesses would be forced to move. He also emphasized that in the past there has been a tendency to ‘blame the outsiders’ for things they did not do.
Fredrickson reminded everyone that these local businesses who use the visa program cannot find enough workers locally.
He added that if the workers get in trouble or violate rules they are quickly sent back.
Various councilmembers said that the workers who live near them or that they are aware of have been fine and not problematic. Fredrickson concluded that the city does not really have any legal standing to tell businesses how they have to operate with employees but said he would continue to have conversations with Josh Kraft about the matter.
The baseball/softball group was at the meeting to present a plan for a lighting project they hope to complete next year. This would add lighting at the main baseball field. The project has to be approved to allow the city to seek a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant for the lighting. The project was approved. The city had previously budgeted $100,000 for improvements to the fields that will be used on tiling work on the field this year, as per the committee.
The council discussed bids for the airport fuel system project. The project will add two 5,000 gallon fuel tanks.
Two bids were received with the lowest from the company Acterra out of Iowa. The bid was for around $715,000. City Engineer Chris Peterson noted however that a certain part oi Acterra’s bid was over what had been stipulated. Peterson had been in contact with the company who said they would lower the bid to a final amounl of $698,000. The city voted to accept the bid pending the receipt of an FAA grant.
Pool Manager Laken Atkinson presented quotes for flooring improvements to the bathhouse at the swimming pool. The council approved chipping and sealing the floors for $12,000. They accepted a propane bid of $1.56 for propone from Full Circle.
The group approved the second reading and adopted an ordinance that changes the requirement for flat headstones in a certain part of the cemetery. They also approved the annual report to be sent on for a legislative audit.
In other board business, Finance Officer Jennifer Athey announced that the city was approved for a Community Foundation Grant for the Veteran’s Memorial. Jo Bush and Rachelle Kilker were hired for custodial work at the Event Center at a rate of $26/hour.
