Council advances IT contract, testing and renovation contracts and park fee changes; sends items to full council

The City Council at its April 7 workshop voted to advance several staff-recommended contracts and a parks fee code amendment for further action by the full council.

City staff recommended a three-year IT and VoIP services contract with NOC after an RFP and interviews. "We decided that it was, a good idea to go with, NOC for additional 3 years," a staff member told the council, and said the all-in price in the recommended contract would be about $28,000 compared with roughly $36,000 the city paid the prior year. Staff said five firms submitted proposals and identified AQM, Essential Network Technologies (Forward Slash Technology), GFI Digital and NOC as proposers; staff said one other finalist carried additional on-site or per-occasion charges that made NOC the lower all-in option.

The council moved the IT item forward on a voice vote. Motion: move to send the IT and VoIP services contract with NOC to the regular council meeting. Motion by Hautmeyer; second by Briggs. Voice vote: all said aye.

Other items the council advanced included: - A temporary site license agreement for an annual cell-on-wheels deployment at the fair (staff described this as a repeat of last year and said the contract is renewed annually). Motion by Baer; second by Patke. Voice vote: all said aye. - A material-testing and inspection agreement with Cochran for the Fox Crest extension (bridge/culvert and roadway tied to a development agreement). Staff described the contract as an "at most" cost; the firm will perform testing per required tests. Motion by Patke; second by Briggs. Voice vote: all said aye. - A design contract with Horn Architects to renovate the old pool bathhouse into park office space and conditioned storage. Staff said capital-improvement sales-tax funds are budgeted for the work, with roughly half in the current year and the remainder in the next budget year. Motion by Holtmeyer; second by Patke. Voice vote: all said aye. - A parks user-fee code amendment that reduces many facility deposits and adds fees (including new rental fees for a riverfront playground pavilion, motorsports events, line-marking for utilities at the fairgrounds, pickleball-court rentals and a disc-golf tournament fee). Staff said some deposit levels were lowered to avoid pricing users out and that permit scheduling and a pavilion-permit card have reduced confusion. Motion by Packy; second by Baer. Voice vote: all said aye. - Riverfront restroom addition and renovation (phase split): staff said the project is supported by a Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant of $250,000 with a grant expiration of Oct. 31, 2026; the council moved the contract forward after staff explained the work includes an ADA-accessible connection, heated year-round family-change restrooms and renovations to the existing building. Motion by Packy; second by Hope Howard. Voice vote: all said aye.

All items were advanced from the workshop for action at a future council meeting. No roll-call tallies were recorded in the workshop for these voice votes; motions recorded in the transcript are by mover/second as noted above.