Winnebago Economic Development Authority specialist Dave Schmidt provided the City Council with more information about the Blandin Foundation Grant which the city will be receiving. He also shared an idea the EDA is pursuing to bring food trucks to the city since there is no longer a restaurant in town.

Winnebago Fire Department chief Bret Osborn attended the Aug. 14 Winnebago Council meeting to address the council concerning a problem with the siren located behind City Hall.

“As all of you are aware, on Aug. 5, the Winnebago Fire Department was called out to spot for weather that had moved into the area. Just north of town, less than a mile away, a funnel cloud was spotted by a trained spotter,” Osborn commented. “Had it come to the ground and stayed, the track it was on would have hit the very northeast corner of town. I called for the sirens to be set off and the big one behind City Hall failed.”

Osborn explained that Alpha Wireless looked into the problem and they believe the receiver board had low voltage which did not allow it to receive any signal.

“Upon further inspection and testing of the control box, I was made aware that many of the components inside the box are no longer serviceable or available for replacement,” he continued. “It was highly recommended by Alpha Wireless that we get quotes to upgrade the siren.”

Osborn presented a couple of different options for the council to consider and recommended purchasing a new siren from Federal Signal Corporation for $21,470.

“It is a mechanical siren which is what 80 percent of the neighboring towns are using,” Osborn explained. “These sirens are more reliable and can run off of either AC or DC electricity.”

The council approved the purchase of the new siren.

“This was a very close call and as chief I want the residents of Winnebago to know that siren is going to work in the event we need it,” Osborn concluded.

The council also took time at the meeting to begin preliminary budget discussions.

“State law requires us to pass a preliminary levy by Sept. 30,” city administrator Judi Hynes reminded council members. “Once that is passed we can lower it, but we cannot raise it.”

Hynes shared figures from work she had been doing on the budget which showed an increase of $165,253, or a 17.92 percent increase over last year’s levy.

“Again, that is before we start looking for places to reduce spending,” Hynes said.

With two council members (Paul Eisenmenger and Calvin Howard) unable to attend the council meeting, no decision was made on setting a time for a budget work session.

Winnebago EDA (Economic Development Authority) specialist Dave Schmidt had good news to share with the council.

“As I am sure many of you already know, the city of Winnebago was awarded a $120,000 grant from the Blandin Foundation which is to be used for owner occupied home rehabilitation,” Schmidt commented. “I expect to have the funds transferred to the city by the end of August and we will be releasing details of the program in the next two weeks.”

Schmidt said the EDA received approval to add another $20,000 to the total so that $140,000 will be available for distribution.

“The money may be used to purchase major structural products such as furnaces or air conditioners along with paint or siding,” Schmidt noted. “As far as getting a grant – as long as you meet the qualifications, the grants will be awarded on a first come, first serve basis. Again, there will be a news release once we are ready to start receiving applications.”

Schmidt also shared another idea the EDA is working on.

“Given the unfortunate fact that the only restaurant in town has closed, we would like to invite a different food truck to come to the city on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays over the noon hour to offer different dining options for people wanting to dine in the city,” Schmidt said. “They would park their trucks on Highway 169 by the Hospice Tree lot with their service window facing the sidewalk. So far, we have two different vendors interested.”

When asked about needing a permit, Hynes responded they would have to get a permit which would also have a $50 fee.

After some discussion, the council voted to waive the $50 fee for the rest of this year but the businesses will still be required to obtain a permit.

Schmidt concluded his report by sharing that both the Winnebago Ambulance and Fire Department were in the process of applying for grants from the United States Department of Agriculture and were looking for letters of support from the council, which the council voted to give them.

City engineer Matt Cole was at the meeting and gave the council an update on the progress of the Cleveland Avenue Project.

“I visited with Ulland’s project manager and foreman after the last construction progress meeting and prepared an updated schedule,” Cole reported. “It is no surprise that they are behind schedule because of all of the rain we have received to date. All of their other projects are also behind so they have not been able to bring any additional crews to help work in Winnebago. With those things in mind, they are planning to stop construction this season just past the Second Street Northwest intersection. This will allow them to get all the concrete and bituminous work done before winter. They plan to complete the First Avenue Southwest water main tie in so the city can still mill and overlay First Avenue Southwest this fall.”

Following Cole’s update, the council approved Pay Estimate No. 4, in the amount of $270,207, to Ulland Brothers, for work done from late June to late July.

In other business, the council:

• Approved a one-year lease with Heidi Stevermer for the former UHD building at a cost of $500 per month. Staff will also explore the possibility of selling the building to Stevermer.

• Approved the purchase of lifts for manhole covers on First Avenue Southwest at a cost of $4,855.

• Agreed to purchase a new computer for the city administrator’s office since the current computer will not be able to run Windows 2011 next year. The cost of the computer, two 24-inch monitors and installation of programs totaled $2,297 and will be purchased from Bevcomm.

• Approved the purchase of cameras and equipment from Bevcomm to monitor the wastewater treatment plant, the Public Works shop, the water treatment plant and the library. Six companies were contacted for quotes and only Bevcomm responded. The cost of the project is $14,662.

• Accepted the resignation of Larry Stauffer from the Winnebago Fire Department. Stauffer served for 38 years which is believed to be the longest anyone has served the department.