Silvis clerk flags software transition, Angel Tree and food-drive coordination at Nov. 4 meeting

City Clerk Amy Malmstrom told the Silvis City Council on Nov. 4 that the city is "deep within the software transition," asking for patience as staff and vendor support finish setup and fix remaining issues over the coming week.

Amy said staff has been "amazing" during the changeover and that the new system should improve reporting and budgeting, though she warned "we are going to have some bugs" during the transition. Alderman Craig Pirmann asked about the timeline; Amy said she expects most issues to be resolved within about a week.

On community assistance, Amy announced the Angel Tree program has 17 family requests so far and asked aldermen and community members to contribute. She also asked for donations to the local Food Pantry at Christ United Methodist and offered to have staff coordinate pick-up when the pantry is closed.

Alderman Joshua Dyer described a Quad Cities effort to stock the Riverbend Food Bank amid broader regional needs and volunteered to collect donations dropped at the Silvis Fire Department and bring them to Greg Johnson’s office for distribution. Dyer said the idea responds to a bottleneck where Riverbend is open only during regular business hours; using fire stations would provide more convenient drop-off times.

Alderwoman Chrissy Winters added that Hy-Vee is offering free meals for children 12 and under Monday through Friday and $3 meals for those over 12, and urged residents to use available resources.

Public works reported that the 14th Street watermain replacement is underway and expected to continue about another week and a half, with reconnections occurring as work completes.

No formal council action was recorded on these informational items; the remarks were recorded as staff reports and aldermen comments.