The City of Waverly City Council on Monday, Jan. 6, approved a package of routine municipal measures including a 10% increase in municipal golf fees for the 2025 season, amended Arlington Cemetery rules and permit forms, a professional services agreement with WHKS for bridge inspections capped at $8,300, acceptance of the Public Services fueling-station gate installation as complete with a final payment of $43,029, and several mayoral appointments and appointments to council leadership posts.

Why it matters: The votes formalize routine operating changes and small capital and service contracts that affect recreation users, cemetery operations, infrastructure maintenance and city fleet fueling procedures. Several items drew brief operational questions from councilors and staff about implementation details such as credit-card fees at the golf course and whether the WHKS scope would include the rail-trail bridges.

The council approved the following motions and resolutions (all passed unanimously unless noted):

• Resolution 25-01 — Municipal golf fees: The council approved a 10% increase in both season tickets and daily fees for the municipal golf course for the 2025 season. Garrett (city staff) told the council that the fee table presented already reflects a 3% discount for customers who pay by cash or check; credit-card purchases will be roughly 3% higher. Council discussion noted that the golf operation paid roughly $20,000 in credit-card fees in the prior budget year and that rounds played last season were about 30,800. The council also highlighted an added Monday–Friday junior pass; weekend play remains available at an additional cost. The measure passed on a roll-call vote.

• Resolution 25-02 — Arlington Cemetery rules and updated foundation-permit form: The council adopted updated rules and an amended foundation-permit form for Arlington Cemetery. Garrett said the updates were primarily wording cleanups and inclusion of holidays that had been missed in prior versions. No substantive discussion was recorded; the resolution passed unanimously.

• Resolution 25-03 — Professional services agreement with WHKS and Company for 2025 vehicle and trail bridge inspections (hourly, not-to-exceed $8,300 including expenses): The council approved an hourly contract with WHKS for bridge inspections with a not-to-exceed fee of $8,300. Justin (city staff) clarified that the contract scope does not include an underwater or drawdown inspection of the rail-trail bridges because that work would require drawing down the river and specialized equipment (divers or remote camera) and would likely need to be scheduled for warmer months. The council discussed whether to defer that specific inspection depending on priorities; staff said it could be added to the project list for later consideration. The resolution passed on a roll-call vote.

• Resolution 25-04 — Acceptance of Public Services fueling-station gate installation as complete and approval of final payment ($43,029): Council voted to accept the fueling-station gate installation as complete and to approve final payment in the amount of $43,029. Justin reported the gates arrived the day of the meeting and were crane-set; piping and pump installation were underway and should proceed quickly if weather permits. The council asked operational questions about remotes and keypad access; staff said the city is assessing whether 10 remotes are sufficient and that newer city vehicles can be programmed and external keypad codes can be used for others. The resolution passed on a roll-call vote.

• Mayoral appointments and council leadership: The council approved several mayoral appointments and leadership assignments. Richard Purcell was reappointed to the Bremer County E911 Service Board (the agenda record was corrected in the meeting to show the term ends Jan. 1, 2026). Robert Frederick was appointed to the Municipal Airport Commission to fill a vacancy with a term ending May 1, 2025. The council also approved the mayor's appointment of Tim Kangas as mayor pro tem. All appointments were approved unanimously.

Discussion, directions and next steps: Most items drew brief operational or scheduling questions rather than policy debate. Staff was directed by council discussion to consider adding any required rail-trail bridge inspection to later project lists if the drawdown/diver requirement prevented an immediate inspection and to assess remote/keypad access needs at the fueling station. No item was tabled or failed.

Votes at a glance (tallies): All listed resolutions and appointments were approved unanimously. The roll-call tallies recorded seven affirmative votes and no negatives, abstentions or recusals.

Council and staff present: The meeting record shows the mayor presiding, City Clerk Carla (called for roll call), Justin (city staff), Garrett (staff presenting parks/golf and cemetery items), and council members who were recorded as voting in roll calls. The meeting also included guest attendee Al Charleston, introduced by Councilperson Jennifer Wolf.

What wasn't decided or specified: The meeting did not include a detailed scope or cost estimate for a drawdown inspection of rail-trail bridge piers (Justin said that would require a separate approach and likely summer scheduling). Several procedural details such as individual motion movers and seconders were not specified in the audio transcript; where a specific name was not stated on the record, the minutes list motions as moved and seconded and the council voted by roll call.

Next scheduled meeting: Not specified in the spoken record included in the transcript.