by Mari Radtke
The Marcus City Council on Monday February 10, voted to end the contract with City Attorney Justin Vondrak of Vondrak Law Firm in Hinton, Iowa. Failure to be responsive to questions of filing of necessary documents to advance law enforcement were cited as primary reasons for ending the contract that was signed just about a year ago. A special meeting Friday February 14 approved the proposal by Crary, Huff Law Firm of Sioux City.
A long discussion about funding the Community Center began with recognizing what the city does or has paid for in support of the Community Center. It was also questioned if they pay the insurance. Council members were unanimous that there is a really good Community Center board in place and that none of them would volunteer as much as they do. Council noted that the board does spend wisely. A figure to be used in the budget development prior to the proposed levy public hearing is $5000 for the Community Center. Austin Whited will continue to attend the board meetings and serve as a liaison.
Street repairs discussed included Fenton near Heartland Care Center and Walnut Street, both north and south. Fenton Street would need to be concrete to accommodate trucks that use it. Discussion of the street repair budget landed on the $45-50,000 range with the caveat that if Fenton Street comes in lower than expected they could move to Walnut Street.
The meeting opened by introducing Bob Gannon to the Council. Gannon has lived in Marcus for 16 years and was tapped by Mayor Pat Bunt to succeed Darrell Downs as Marcus Economic Development. Gannon brings a wealth of experience. Councilman Gary Edwards made it known he was unhappy with the timing of the announcement and request for approval to fill the big shoes left by the untimely passing of Downs. Bunt accepted Edwards’ comments and clarified that there were some projects at a critical juncture that couldn’t be allowed to be delayed.