Votes at a glance: Watertown council approves recruiting firm, endorses SkyWest and signs off on permits, contracts and budget items

The Watertown City Council took a series of votes on Feb. 3 on contracts, construction and operating items. Most passed by unanimous or near-unanimous roll call votes. Highlights and official outcomes are below.

Votes at a glance

- Recruiter for city manager: Approved — Council approved hiring Robert Half Group to assist in recruiting and vetting candidates for the city manager position. (Agenda item 9b; mover: Councilman Peters; second: Councilman Jerns; result: unanimous.)

- Essential Air Service (EAS): Approved — Council authorized the mayor and interim city manager to send a letter recommending SkyWest Airlines to the U.S. Department of Transportation for Watertown’s EAS contract. (Agenda item 9a; mover: Councilman Jerns; second: Councilman Danforth; result: passed, Peters recorded the lone no vote.)

- County parking-lot maintenance MOU: Approved — Council approved a memorandum of understanding between the City of Watertown and Coddington County to add two county parking lots to the city’s 2025 crack-and-chip project; the county will pay 100% for the courthouse lot and share 50/50 the lot at the Coke softball complex. (Agenda item 9c; mover: Councilman Jurins; second: Councilman Shutti; result: unanimous.)

- 2025 Miscellaneous concrete project: Approved (partial) — Council awarded the work for locations 3 and 4 to Seth Scapes LLC for $28,753 and rejected bids for locations 1 and 2 (bids for the latter exceeded estimates). (Agenda item 9d; mover: Councilman Tupper; second: Councilman Peters; result: unanimous.)

- City Hall elevator project: Rejected bids — Council rejected the single bid received for the 2025 City Hall elevator project because it was approximately twice the engineer’s estimate. Staff reported they can pursue repairs for an interim cost in the $30,000–$50,000 range. (Agenda item 9e; mover: Councilman Danforth; second: Councilman Jerns; result: unanimous.)

- Ordinance, second reading — Fines: Approved — Council held a second reading and approved an ordinance increasing the city maximum fine from $200 to $500 (adopts state changes for class 2 misdemeanors). City Attorney said the change does not mean every fine will be increased to $500. (Agenda item 11a; mover: Councilman Peters; second: Councilman Tupper; result: unanimous.)

- Building permit extension: Approved with reimbursement condition — Council extended the expired commercial building permit for the “Ruins” apartment project at 315 East Kemp and approved a condition to reimburse the waived extension fee if the developer obtains a certificate of occupancy (CO). Staff said the one-year extension is intended to allow completion; the developer asked that the fee (half the permit fee, listed at $12,341.50) be waived and council approved contingent reimbursement upon CO. (Agenda item 12a; mover: Councilman Bueller; second: Councilman Tupper; result: unanimous as amended.)

- Declare current City Hall surplus: Approved — Council declared the existing City Hall surplus and authorized staff to proceed with a sealed-bid sale (statute requires sealed bids or auction as the first step). Appraisal and sale terms to be returned to council for approval. (Agenda item 12b; mover: Councilman Danforth; second: Councilman Peters; result: unanimous.)

- Bridge inspection services: Approved — Council authorized Civil Design Inc. (CDI) to perform 2025 bridge and culvert inspections; the program is funded 80% by federal/state monies and 20% by the city (city share roughly $1,600 for the work this year). (Agenda item 12c; mover: Councilman Tupper; second: Councilman Shutti; result: unanimous.)

- Fire truck repair contingency: Approved — Council authorized use of contingency funds to repair a Watertown Fire Rescue engine after an internal-engine failure; staff estimated the overhaul at roughly $23,000 (engine replacement would have been costlier). Spartan (manufacturer) said it would assist in covering some costs; exact contribution not specified in discussion. (Agenda item 12d; mover: Councilman Tupper; second: Councilman Jerns; result: unanimous.)

What the votes mean

The council approved the immediate and operational items that staff and advisory boards recommended, including the airport recommendation to DOT and the hiring of a national recruiting firm. Several items include follow-up administrative actions (contract execution, appraisals, DOT petitioning for route changes, and implementation details) that staff must carry out and report back to council.

Records and next steps

Council members and staff noted specific next steps: staff will execute the Robert Half engagement and post recruitment links; airport staff will forward the SkyWest recommendation to DOT and monitor any DOT petition regarding route changes (for example, Minneapolis); staff will develop sale documents and an appraisal for the city hall property and will return to council to accept sealed bids or consider alternate sale methods if the bid process fails.