New London officials approve shared grant-writer plan, authorize library board to manage project; fund transfers approved

New London — City leaders approved a memorandum of intent to create a part-time shared grant-writer position paid by the city, the chamber and the school district and voted to authorize the Library Museum Board to manage contracts, change orders and payment requests for the library project. The council also approved year-end financial transfers, including a motion to move $325,000 into the 2025 capital fund, $100,000 into the health insurance fund and $50,000 into economic development reserves.

The grant-writer position is proposed as a part-time role of roughly 25 hours per week and would be employed by the chamber, with each of the three partner entities contributing $15,000 annually, according to remarks by Chad (Staff member). Chad described the memorandum of intent before the committee, saying the three entities “were budgeting for a shan shared grant writer services” and that the group would “try this for 2 years and then reevaluate.” Oversight of the position was described as a joint effort led by Chad, April (Community representative) and Scott Bleck (School district representative).

Why it matters: officials said the arrangement mirrors a setup used elsewhere that has helped secure larger grants. Chad told the committee the city of Waupaca “they've seen multiple millions of dollars of, grants that they've been able to secure because of their grant.” The memorandum documents expectations, funding shares and a coordination plan; the item passed by voice vote.

On the library project, Chad presented a resolution to designate the Library Museum Board of Directors as the entity that will authorize contracts, change orders and payment requests on the city’s behalf for the library project. Chad explained that, under the city’s existing code and applicable state law, the library board is the usual authority for library projects but the grant had been awarded to the city, so the state needed written documentation that the board would manage project contracting. The resolution — intended to clarify for the state which governmental body would authorize work — passed by voice vote.

Council members asked how the council would receive updates. One attendee requested regular project briefings: “It'd just be nice because if somebody's asking us how the progress is going…and if we don't really hear nothing, it'd be nice to at least have something sent to us monthly,” said a council speaker. Chad and others agreed to provide regular staff notes or monthly updates from the Library Museum Board and indicated the board’s public meetings remain open to the council and public.

Cell-tower lease: Chad updated the committee on a proposed renewal of a lease for a cell tower located on city property by Floral Hill. He said obtaining comparable market data was difficult because many cell-tower lease deals are confidential. Chad reported limited benchmarking responses from peer communities and said the city’s proposed lease rate appeared roughly in line with comparable communities, noting some nearby communities reported higher rates or different escalation structures. Committee members agreed to defer final action for about a month to allow the landlord and tenant to provide additional information; no final vote was taken.

Hiring wage schedule: The committee approved a proposed hiring wage schedule for 2025 that would raise hiring rates by 2 percent. Chad described the schedule as applying to new hires or staff transferring positions, not to existing employees whose raises had already been addressed in the adopted budget. The measure passed by voice vote.

Year-end financials and fund assignments: Judy (Finance staff) presented an updated year-end financial report and proposed fund transfers. She said the city’s expenditures were close to budget — about 95.82% used — and that conservative revenue estimates left a general-fund surplus available to designate. After removing capital and debt items, she reported approximately $161,725 in additional general fund revenues and $457,000 of unspent operating appropriations, and recommended moving a total of $325,000 to the 2025 Capital Equipment and Projects Fund, $100,000 to the health insurance fund and $50,000 to economic development. The motion to assign those funds passed by voice vote. Judy also presented resolutions to assign fund balances and to amend the 2024 budget year-end figures; both resolutions were approved.

The committee discussed several designated funds in detail, including cable franchise funds, boat launch revenues, an economic development reserve and a retirement payout reserve. Judy told the committee the city has roughly $785,000 set aside for future retirement payouts and said the city’s reserve plan covered payouts into the early 2030s under current assumptions.

Other business and next steps: Chad and Judy said they will follow up with the cell-tower company for additional lease comparables and will circulate library project updates as the Library Museum Board provides them. The committee also agreed to revisit the cell-tower lease next month. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote.

Votes at a glance - Memorandum of intent: shared grant-writer (approved; voice vote). - Library Museum Board resolution (approved; voice vote). - Defer action on cell-tower lease renewal to allow additional benchmarking (no vote to approve lease; direction to wait one month). - Hiring wage schedule adjustment for 2025 (approved; voice vote). - Assignment of year-end funds: $325,000 to capital fund, $100,000 to health insurance fund, $50,000 to economic development (approved; voice vote). - Resolution assigning fund balances for year-end 12/31/2024 (approved; voice vote). - Resolution amending the 2024 budget (approved; voice vote).

Ending: Committee members and staff agreed to provide monthly or staff-meeting updates on the library project and to return with additional information on the cell-tower lease before any final agreement is approved.