Special City Council Meeting
                                                          City Hall, Cherokee, Iowa
                                                        October 16, 2007 – 7:00 P.M.

A special meeting was called to order on this date by Mayor Henrich.  Present:  Councilman Varce,
Mallory, Stieneke, Leach, Peck, Clerk-Treasurer Taylor.  Absent:  City Attorney Miller.

Mayor Henrich reported that Police Officer James Buck is resigning as of October 24, 2007.

Councilman Mallory said he should not have voted to have this special meeting and suggested
that council members not receive their $40 meeting fee for this meeting.  He feels the matter for discussion regarding the city manager search could have been included on the next regular meeting
agenda of October 23.  On a motion by Councilman Mallory, seconded by Peck, the council voted not to receive their $40 fee for this meeting.  Roll call was:
AYES:  Mallory, Stieneke, Peck
NAYS:  Leach, Varce

At the October 9^th meeting, the council heard a proposal from Clarence Krepps, Kuehl & Payer,
regarding a city manager search.  Councilman Stieneke reported that Mr. Krepps could not be present
this evening as he had another meeting to attend.  The council indicated they had all reviewed the information passed out at the last meeting.  Councilman Peck noted in the information that the city
would pay for the candidates’ travel expenses.  He didn’t feel this should be the city’s responsibility.  Councilman Mallory agreed and said that especially those from out of state could be quite costly. 
He also doesn’t feel the city has the money to hire someone to do this search.  Councilman Stieneke
asked Mark Buschkamp to explain about travel expenses.  Mark indicated that it is quite common to
pay a candidate’s expenses especially for this level of candidate.  Linda Burkhart, 929 Harris, said
that the school paid the expenses for school board candidates and that this is not an unusual request in order to get the candidates here.  It is well worth it to get the right person.  Councilman Mallory is just concerned about where the money will come from for all these expenses.  A motion was made by Councilman Varce, seconded by Leach to hire Clarence Krepps, Kuehl & Payer, to proceed with a city manager search.  In further discussion, Councilman Mallory said they haven’t discussed what the salary
will be for an administrator.  Councilman Varce said that they already know the past experience on salary and where the money comes from.  Dan Morrow, 409 S. 8^th, asked how long you can legally skim money from the utilities to pay the cost of a search and administrator salary.  Councilman Varce indicated that previous administrator’s have been paid from the general fund, as well as the utilities.  Councilman Peck said that there continues to be water and sewer projects that need addressed.  Councilman Mallory questioned the limit of funds you could take from the utilities and pointed out that at budget time the council is always looking for ways to cut expenses.  When Councilman Stieneke pointed out that everyone has a boss, Mr. Morrow indicated that the Mayor is the boss.  Councilman Stieneke said that the Mayor
is a part-time position. Councilman Mallory feels the council is spending money they can’t afford to spend and that the council should do the job they were elected to do.  Councilman Stieneke indicated that he has spent 20-25 hours a week for the last several weeks trying to put together a safety manual and pointed out that an equipment inventory hasn’t been done in years.  These are things the city manager should
take care of.  After discussion ended, Mayor Henrich called for a vote on the motion to hire Mr. Krepps
for the city manager search.  Roll call was:
AYES:  Varce, Stieneke, Leach
NAYS:  Mallory, Peck

Councilman Stieneke passed out a list of qualifications/traits that the Mayor, council members and department heads are to prioritize on a scale of 1 to 5.  Mr. Krepps would like these completed and returned to him by October 24^th.  A motion by Councilman Leach, seconded by Varce, appointed Mayor Henrich as the liaison between the council and Mr. Krepps.  Motion carried.

On a motion by Councilman Varce, seconded by Leach, the meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.
Motion carried.

News media – Ken Ross, Chronicle Times.

Dennis Henrich – Mayor

ATTEST:

Debra Taylor, CMC

City Clerk-Treasurer