The Carroll City Council has two meetings on the docket for next week. The council will convene early at 4:45 p.m. on Monday, June 23, at Carroll City Hall for a closed session under Iowa Code 21.5(1)(c) “to discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the governmental body in that litigation.” The council will adjourn following that discussion and reconvene at 5:15 p.m. for its routine meeting. One of the first items of business is the final reading of a proposed 7.5 percent increase to water rates for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, which was delayed earlier this month to explore alternative funding options for the approximately $5 million Northwest Pressure Zone Project. Councilman Jason Atherton had requested available federal funding be used to offset a combined 27.4 percent increase in water rates. City Manager Aaron Kooiker says staff determined, after additional research, that those dollars were included in the funding plan.
Without the surplus sewer funds, which originated from federal sources, the projected rate increase over four years would be 30.7 percent. Monday’s agenda also includes the second reading of an ordinance amendment regulating mobile food vehicles, peddlers, solicitors, and transient merchants in the community and a proposed policy change to support local contractors when submitting bids. The city proposes to create a “local preference,” which will favor local vendors’ bids when they are within two percent of the low bid for projects under $50,000 and one percent of the low bid between $50,000 and $100,000. Kooiker says the council will also have the opportunity to back two additional downtown façade grant projects by allocating 2.6 percent more funding to the initiative.
Other items on Monday’s agenda include a community mental health update from Dr. Amy Canuso, approval of a change order for the central business district resurfacing, and a certificate of completion for that project. The public portion of Monday’s meeting begins at 5:15 p.m. at Carroll City Hall. The meeting is open to the public and will be live-streamed via the city’s YouTube channel. Links to the agenda and video are included below.
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