Hartley hires new public works superintendent

The search for Hartley's next superintendent of public works is over.

The city council on Monday hired Tony Weatherman, of Spirit Lake. He succeeds Curtis Conaway, who served the position for a short time last year following the resignation of Jaron Benz.

Weatherman's salary was set at $80,000, with a 3 percent increase after completion of a six-month probationary period and positive review. His first day on the job is today, Feb. 15. The city interviewed one other applicant for the position.

In other business, engineer Wes Boyer notified the council that Hartley's application to the Iowa DOT's Traffic Engineering Assistance Program (TEAP) was accepted.

TEAP provides up to 150 hours of free traffic engineering expertise to municipalities in the form of a traffic study. Studies identify cost-effective traffic safety and operational improvements as well as potential funding sources to implement the recommendations. Iowa cities without the resources of a staff traffic engineer are eligible.

Typical study subjects include pedestrian crossings, high-crash locations, traffic delays, safe school routes and parking issues. Hartley applied for the program to assist future decisions about a crossing on Highway 18 near the school.

The council will have a better timeline on when the study will be conducted once a traffic engineer is assigned and the iDOT approves the agreement.

Additionally, City Administrator Roxann Swanson announced that council members' personal phone numbers and email addresses will be removed from the city website. According to discussion, issues have arisen with scammers using the information to impersonate elected officials.

Citizens wishing to contact a council member or other local official may do so by calling City Hall.