The Webster City City Council discussed a marketing agreement with inTANDEM Marketing to continue retaining its services of website administration, social media management and public relations during the city council meeting at City Hall on Monday evening.
In Feb. 2019, the city council contracted services with inTANDEM Marketing for one year at a rate of $2,080 per month, which was spread across website administration, social media management, public relations, City Hall video boards and other miscellaneous duties.
In the agreement presented to the city council on Monday, the monthly retainer rate increased to $3,280 per month “to reflect the additional services and time required, including adding the management of a Webster City Parks & Recreation and Wilson Brewer Park Facebook pages,” as well as other marketing and public relations services.
Council member Logan Welch questioned why the marketing agreement was not a contract open for bids like other city service contracts. The rest of the council agreed that it isn’t something that needs to be bid on.
The council voted to approve the new monthly rates with inTANDEM through June 30, 2020. A new agreement will have to be authorized at that time, which will align it with the city’s fiscal year.
Welch was absent from the vote as he had left to be able to attend the caucuses.
Webster City Mayor John Hawkins was absent for the meeting, and council member Brian Miller filled the role of mayor pro tem.
The council held three public hearings during Monday night’s meeting.
The first was on the proposed plans and cost for the construction of the 2020 Second Street Reconstruction Project. The council received no written objections and no oral objections during this hearing.
Following that first hearing, the council approved the final plans, specifications and estimate cost for the 2020 Second Street Reconstruction Project.
Ken Wetzler, public works director, presented to the council the bids for the project. The engineering firm’s cost estimate was $4,712686.80, and Rasch Construction, of Fort Dodge, came in under that estimate at $3,531,816.71.
However, the council decided to table the actual awarding of the contract until the council authorizes a bond issue that will fund much of the project, which will be voted on at an upcoming council meeting.
The second public hearing was on the plans and cost for the construction portion of the 2020 Electrical Underground Conversion Project, with the third hearing on the plans and cost for furnishing materials for the 2020 Electrical Underground Conversion Project. There were no written or oral objections to either.
The council voted to award the construction contract for that project to Primoris T&D Services LLC, of Johnston, for $1,187,282.99. The contracts for the materials will go to three separate vendors for a total of $213,623.09.
The council received a presentation by Michael Maloney, of the D.A. Davidson Company in Des Moines, brokerage firm. Maloney addressed the council on municipal investment management.
Sheridan recommended having a work session with Maloney and the city council to discuss how D.A. Davidson can help the city manage the multiple capital improvement projects it has coming up.
Jennifer Crall, of Iowa Select Farms, also gave the city council a presentation on the installation of the “Little Free Pantry” program from the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation.
“This is a really exciting project for us,” Crall said.
Crall said the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation would like to install two little free pantries in Webster City – one outside Fuller Hall and one outside All Cultures Equal.
“The little free pantry is intendent to be a supplemental source for folks who find themselves in emergency situations,” she said. “Inside the pantry would be non-perishable food items and seasonal things that are needed.”
The city council will still have to approve a little free pantry to be installed outside Fuller Hall on city property.
The city council also set a time and date for a public hearing on the Urban Renewal Plan Amendment. That hearing will be at 6:05 p.m. on March 2.
The next city council meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Feb. 17 at City Hall.
View this article as it originally appeared in the Daily Freeman-Journal.
Last modified: February 4, 2020