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Norway council appoints mayor pro tem, approves special event and several funding and administrative motions
Summary
The council unanimously appointed Jeff Maro as mayor pro tem, approved the DDA 'Christmas in Norway' special event, authorized Parks & Rec to pursue replacement planning for Knights Kingdom using REC proceeds, approved a headgate project change order, rescheduled the November meeting and made routine banking and consulting appointments.
The Norway City Council took a series of routine and project votes after hearing presentations.
Appointments and event approvals: Council voted to appoint Jeff Maro as mayor pro tem. The council also approved the Downtown Development Authority’s special‑event application for "Christmas in Norway," which includes a parade, a market, tree sales at Veterans Park, an ornament workshop and fireworks; organizers described proposed street closures and volunteer needs.
Parks and capital projects: Council agreed in principle to use renewable energy certificate (REC) proceeds (an arrangement referenced with BP) to begin work on replacing the Knights Kingdom playground. Staff reported prior estimates for a full replacement near $675,000; council directed Parks & Rec to develop detailed pricing, public outreach and a project scope and authorized staff to earmark initial REC installments to seed the project with the expectation of seeking grants and fundraising to supplement the total cost.
Infrastructure change order: The council approved a change order for the Electric Department’s headgate project to address unforeseen design and installation deficiencies. The approved increase was $87,900 total, presented as approximately $29,285 per fiscal year over three years. Council asked staff to investigate potential recourse with the engineer or contractor.
Administrative items: Council rescheduled the Nov. 20 meeting to Nov. 25 at 6:00 p.m., approved a housekeeping change to bank signatories (removing former Treasurer Natalie Rossy and adding Kevin [name appears in transcript as 'Kevin joa']), and approved a consulting agreement with former city manager Ray Anderson (RDA Services LLC) not to exceed $5,000 total for the term described in the motion. The meeting concluded with mayor and council comments and a unanimous adjournment vote.
Votes at a glance (as recorded in the meeting): - Approval of agenda: unanimous (all present members recorded as yes). - Approval of minutes (Oct. 16, 2024): unanimous. - Approval of manifest 2024‑20 ($87,700): unanimous. - Appointment: Jeff Maro as mayor pro tem — recorded unanimous yes votes. - DDA special-event application ("Christmas in Norway"): approved, unanimous yes votes recorded. - Allocation/directive to pursue Knights Kingdom replacement using REC proceeds and to turn the project over to Parks & Rec for development: motion approved, recorded yes votes from council members present. - Headgate project change order (increase $87,900; ~$29,285/year over 3 years): motion approved, recorded unanimous yes votes; council asked staff to check for contractual recourse. - Reschedule Nov. 20 meeting to Nov. 25, 6:00 p.m.: approved. - Update bank signatories (remove Natalie Rossy; add Kevin [as recorded]): approved. - Ray Anderson consulting agreement (RDA Services LLC), not to exceed $5,000 total: approved.
Next steps: Staff will follow up on procurement and engineering recourse for the headgate project, Parks & Rec will prepare pricing and public input for the playground replacement and WISDOT/DNR will provide surveys and an appraisal and a draft three‑party agreement on the proposed land sale for council review.
