Pocahontas council approves resolutions, consent agenda and hires part-time officer; two policies tabled

The Pocahontas City Council approved several routine items at its Jan. 5 meeting and acted on other administrative matters.

Consent agenda: The council approved the consent agenda, including minutes from Jan. 2, 2026, payment of prior bills and an alcohol license for Woods Supermarket. The consent motion was moved by Cody DeWall and seconded by Brian Stover; the record indicates the motion passed with all in favor.

Resolutions adopted: The council adopted Resolution 03-2026 (official newspaper), Resolution 04-2026 (adoption of local financial institutions), and Resolution 05-2026 (adoption of a city attorney). Each resolution was moved and seconded and passed by roll-call votes recorded in the minutes as unanimous Ayes for those items.

Resolutions tabled: Resolution 01-2026 (a code of conduct for council members) and Resolution 02-2026 (authorizing the city clerk to pay certain bills prior to full council approval) were discussed; Nicole Harrison raised the need for guidance on professional social-media posting and both items were tabled for future consideration.

Hiring and schedule changes: The council approved hiring part-time police officer J. Halsey; the motion was moved and seconded with a recorded roll call of all Ayes in the minutes. The council also approved changing its regular meeting time beginning in February to 5:00 p.m. on the first and third Mondays; that motion passed with roll-call votes recorded individually as Wes Van Donge (Aye), Wall (Aye), Harrison (Aye), Flaherty (Aye), and Stover (Nay).

Recording meetings: Council members discussed creating a policy on recording meetings and purchasing related equipment; the topic was discussed but no action or purchase was approved at this meeting.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:40 p.m.