Minutes of the City of Crescent Regular Council Meeting
Monday, August 11th, 2025. Meeting called to order at 7:00p.m. by Mayor Chuck Hildreth. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Brand, Flott, Hargens, Powers and Schmidt. Fire Chief Peterson present.
CONSENT AGENDA | Motion by Flott to approve consent agenda, seconded by Brand; Hargens, Powers, Schmidt; all ayes. Motion carried.
DISCUSSION | Reversing the Ordinance Banning Chickens. Hannah Skaanning addressed council with lifting the ban on chickens within the city limits. Possible stipulations would be no more than six, no roosters, requiring permits, educational course, no free-range, must have permission from neighbors. Coop must be fully enclosed, predator-proof and 10ft from neighbors. Flott spoke in favor. Brand spoke in favor. Mayor stated other cities with chickens recommend not lifting ban due to difficulty in monitoring regulations, loose chickens. Schmidt stated larger cities have more manpower to regulate. Skaanning suggested that Animal Control could regulate. Mayor stated they may be required to submit proof of vet care. Flott offered to provide ordinance for next meeting. If neighbors complain, could result in loss of chickens, fines, court fees for both resident and city, etc. Clerk stated that the City is not able to pass legal fees on to residents if it goes to court. Hargens asked about waste and how it’s disposed of. Audience member stated that people purchase it for fertilizer. Audience member suggested complaint-based enforcement would be most efficient and less time-consuming. Schmidt suggested we contact Animal Control before making a decision.
DISCUSSION | Emmi and Coley O’Halloran spoke on the Farmer’s Market. They’d like to host a Fall Festival at the end of the season. They asking for funding from the city. Council asked about liability. Clerk will check into both. They shared some of their ideas for next season.
DISCUSSION | City vs 210 E. Florence Dogs. There is a court date scheduled for Oct. Council would like to proceed.
DISCUSSION | Clerk is researching a city-wide texting system for alerts and other communications. Council suggested moving forward and gathering additional bids.
DISCUSSION | Meeting Pay. Clerk and Fire Chief are currently paid for meetings at a rate that was set prior to ‘06. Clerk suggested considering it overtime, but paid with comp time, saving city approx $1500 per year. Council is in favor. Resolution to be provided at next meeting.
FYI | Senior Info Day set for October 4th from 9a-4p at the Community Hall.
FYI | Repair of Vet’s Monument Sitting Wall. Mayor submitted two bids. Insurance is paying 100% of the repair work which is approx $13,000. If we go over, agent will cover balance.
FYI | Beautification Minutes provided. Working on banners and bracket/pole options. Solar lights added to entrance sign. To be added to T-intersection. Will be replacing rose bushes around gazebo at Vet’s Park.
FYI | Story Explorer’s Kids Book Club. The City will be hosting the first Book Club this Saturday and every 3rd Saturday after.
RESOLUTION 128-2025 | Acceptance of Planning Commission Approvals.
a. FENCE PERMIT | Doug Ingram at 114 Powells St.…Approved via Email 7/18/25. Mayor suggested tabling pending mowing. Motion by Flott to table, seconded by Brand; Hargens, Powers, Schmidt; all ayes. Motion tabled.
b. BUILDING PERMIT | Jerry Hanke at 202 E. Florence St….Approved via Email 7/31/25. Motion by Flott to approve, seconded by Brand; Hargens, Powers, Schmidt; all ayes. Motion carried.
c. DRIVEWAY PERMIT | Pat Morgan at 1411 Golden Hills Dr….Approved via Email 8/4/25. Motion by Brand to approve, seconded by Hargens; Flott, Powers, Schmidt; all ayes. Motion carried.
d. ROW PERMIT | Quick Current Fiber Optics…Tabled pending answers to questions. Motion by Hargens to table, seconded by Flott; Brand, Powers, Schmidt; all ayes. Motion tabled.
e. FENCE PERMIT | Sherry Rewolinski at 118 E. Florence St….Approved. Motion by Flott to approve, seconded by Brand; Hargens, Powers, Schmidt; all ayes. Motion carried.
f. DISCUSSION | Community Acknowledgment for Building in Floodway for Chuck Kinney at 708 Johnson St. Signed by P&Z Chair. No vote necessary.
RESOLUTION 129-2025 | Approval of Purchase of GHI Outlot 1. Mayor will contact Denny Collins as there is no HOA. Craig has been mowing. Motion by Powers to approve, seconded by Brand; Flott, Hargens, Schmidt; all ayes. Motion carried.
MAYOR’S REPORT | $10,000 water tower bypass (approved a year ago) will be installed next week allowing them to sandblast interior. It’s been paid for. Spent $13,000 for new controls at tower. Need to update communication line between tower and PRV station. Phone line doesn’t work a lot of the time. $3900 for new controls which will communicate to mayor, public works and PeopleService. $500/yr after the 1st year. We are currently paying $75/month for service that doesn’t work. Also looking at updating the two lift stations. Tower went dry because we didn’t receive notice. This results in automatic 3-day boil order. Also had trees at the tower trimmed back. Craig trimmed brush around tower. Also need to fix drain at tower. When it over flows, it ends up in private property. Hasn’t overflowed since May ‘23. Four inch drain line clogs with mud. Our tower pushes 480 gals/min. Should only be pumping 250 max. We can get by with six inch line at 100’
which will triple the flow out of pipe.
In talks with bank on borrowing money for new Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF). Should be a short loan.
At a stand still with WWTF project until we determine where to put power lines. MidAmerican requires a 30’ ROW.
MAINTENANCE | Report submitted. Asphalt work done in several areas. Someone dumped gravel on Jackson St. so could not make the necessary repair there. That person will be billed for removal.
PEOPLESERVICE | Report submitted.
PARK BOARD | Music at Vet’s Park Thursday.
CVFD | 21 calls for July. 200 so far this year. Committee working on sponsorships for calendar.
PUBLIC FORUM | Audience member asked about protection of PRV station. Must go through County since it’s on County property. They’ve told us no to most options due to driver safety since it’s close to road.
Audience member asked if all residents will be required to pay for GO Bond for new WWTF. Answer is yes, it’s required according to bond attorney. It will likely be approx. $100/yr. Also asked if ROW in front of Golden Hills is our responsibility to mow? Craig mowed some areas before he went on vacation. Flott stated the area along the south side of the highway is hard to mow due to homeowners debris. We will clean the debris out of ditch and mow.
ADJOURNMENT | Motion by Hargens, seconded by Brand to adjourn; Flott, Powers, Schmidt, all ayes. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.