City of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa - City Council Special Meeting Minutes (10/21/26)

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 Community Center

903 Topaz Drive; 

Sergeant Bluff, IA 

1.  MAYOR/MAYOR PRO-TEM TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER:

a. Roll Call

Attendee Name Title Status

Shari Zenor Kiple Council Member

Absent

Kirk Moriarty Council Member

Present

Ryan Panowicz Council Member

Present

Mark Reinders Council Member

Present

Andrea Johnson Council Member

Present

Ron Hanson Mayor Present

The meeting was called to order at 5:27 pm.

Motion by Kirk Moriarty, seconded by Andrea Johnson to Approve the Agenda. Motion Carried. [Unanimous]

2.  COMMCON 19

Rajesh Brenner sang the National Anthem.

Jason Kvidera, Assistant City Administrator, reviewed smaller current and upcoming projects in town including the Airview Drive overlay, playground improvements, Warrior Road sidewalk, cleanout of the drainage ditch, and partnering with the school to install a pedestrian crossing and lighting at the east campus. Sioux City is currently installing a water main to connect their water plant to the water tower, this activity is resulting in single-lane traffic. He discussed the electric infrastructure improvements that are being made which include installing underground electric from South D Street to Port Neal Road, a circuit tie in at Warrior Road and Port Neal, and upgrades at the electric feeder at Old Town and Camelot. This is funded by an Iowa EDA loan at 2% over 15 years. The solar farm near the water plant went online in December 2025, it produces about 3% of our total power and the cost is 1 cent less that the wholesale we purchase from the power company. There will be water main replacements on C Street which are funded by SRF loans and will be done in phases, there will be a public information meeting on November 5th at the Fireside Room. He reviewed the upcoming extension of West Ridge Road and extension of water and sanitary sewer utilities.

Mayor Ron Hanson introduced the City Council members in attendance and described each of their delegated responsibilities. He discussed the various board and committees, we're always looking for volunteers to serve on the committees. He thanked Woodbury County Board of Supervisor candidates Kolby DeWitt, Jody House, and Brittney Wilson for attending. Ron reviewed various staff changes including the new Police Chief Jereme Muller, the new full-time Fire Chief Anthony Gaul. He recognized Laura Johnson for her hard work on The Market at the Rec Complex. He thanked all the City departments for their work.

Jerry Logemann, representing American Legion, reviewed a design concept for a new memorial. It would be 20-foot granite wall. The names on the bricks of the existing memorial would be transferred. They're trying to raise 58k for this project. Donations can be done through the mail or by reaching out to the American Legion.

Ron Hanson explained that the Residential Urban Revitalization (Tax Abatement) program will be expiring on December 31st as a result of Iowa State law changes that will impact the City. Those who want to apply for the abatement need to do so by December 17th. He discussed the new business Kidsey which brought their corporate office into the old MCI building, also in that building is FBM which is an insulation business. Sergeant Bluff Eye Care built a new building south of town. North of the eye care building is a new business Hometown Physical Therapy. Sir Lines A Lot is now located at Dogwood Trail. Off of First Street and Port Neal Road will be the Archives Bookstore and professional lease space. On First Street near Subway is Morningside Audiology.

Laura Johnson and McKenzie Matasovsky with a Community Group in support of School Bond addressed the crowd. They discussed concern with the primary building's entrance and the desire to improve safety. Water has been seeping through the walls in the primary gym creating maintenance and safety concerns. Very few of the restrooms in the primary building are ADA compliant, renovating the facility would require extensive restroom updates. The existing classrooms have outdated lighting, shifting floors, aging carpets, and asbestos beneath portions of the flooring. The plumbing, electrical, fire protection, control panels, and other systems through the building are again and would require upgrades. Mold was discovered in the ductwork throughout the primary building, the ducts have now been professionally cleaned, long-term solutions could cost as much as 250k. Replacing the primary building costs $38 million, remodeling costs $32 million and take 2 1/2 years and require portable classrooms. The school has a calculator on their website so that people can see the impact on their taxes if the bond is approved.

School Superintended Chad Janzen said that for the first time all four schools were simultaneously recognized by the US News & World Report as among the best schools. He discussed the Career and Technical Education program which included student run businesses which received $95k in revenue. Last year the Fire Science Academy started which resulted in 3 new SBL department members so far. With grant money the school purchased virtual reality x-ray tech equipment for students to learn how to be x-ray techs. They will be starting the Purple Star School Program to recognize schools that work with families connected to the military. He discussed the upcoming bond issue. The bond would be a $38 million dollar bond to replace the primary building and includes the cost removing the asbestos from the current building and demolishing it. He addressed the question regarding why they didn't use East Campus funds. The East Campus fields and courts were built without using any new tax dollars, when the bond passes the process to build can begin right away. He said the board has pledged not to increase the tax levy rate for any additional building project while this bond would be active, if growth requires more funds a future request would extend the timeline of the existing rate. If assessed values of properties go up, the district may lower the rate because the bond payment is fixed. If the rate is not lowered the extra funds go to the principal and saves taxpayers interest in the long run. He discussed the variety of items in the existing building that would need to be renovated if it were retained, as well as additions, with an anticipated cost of about $32 million. The other buildings also need care which include a roof at the elementary and HVAC systems at the high school. One of the HVAC units is estimated to cost $1 million to replace. The PPEL and Penny (SAVE) funds must cover the long-term maintenance across all the buildings. We will be losing about $200k in the Penny revenue over the next three years due to recent tax reform. There isn't money that is available to fix everything needed.

Regarding the bond he said that the tax calculator on the website takes into account the principal and interest payments on the bond. Sergeant Bluff has a higher-than-average teacher salary because this is a desirable place to teach and as a result a lot of veteran teachers which is reflected in test scores and recognition the school district has received. Salaries do not impact the levy or bond, the school receives funds for each kid in the school district from the State of Iowa. Open enrollment doesn't cost taxpayers in the district any money, it adds programs to our school district partially because of open enrollment funding. The primary building is not full, the bond is needed for a new primary building because the existing facility is aging. Early voting is available at the Courthouse as well as Shepherd of Peace Lutheran Church on October 26th from 2-8pm. He is open to talking to anyone who has questions.

3. ADJOURNMENT:

Motion by Kirk Moriarty, seconded by Andrea Johnson to Adjourn at 7:19 pm. Motion Carried. [Unanimous]

Mayor/Mayor Pro-Tem

Attest:

Danny Christoffers, City Clerk