Royal hires new city clerk

One applicant was all that was needed to fill the position of Royal City Clerk.

The city council on March 13 approved hiring Jill Hickey to take over the duties of city clerk on Aug. 1. She will be paid $20 per hour, with a work week of 12-14 hours. No health insurance benefits are being offered to Hickey, who will also clean the Community Building.

Mayor Josh Toft and Council Members Mitch Fahnlander and Jim Virelli interviewed Hickey, who was the only applicant for the clerk position.

“She’s eager, she’s excited,” Toft said. “We’re excited about that.”

Hickey will begin learning about the position from City Clerk Barb Fletcher in the coming weeks. Fletcher formally announced last December that she is retiring on July 31.

• Property insurance package

With an April 1 deadline looming, the council approved the commercial property and liability insurance package for the coming year.

Ethan Lindquist, of the J&E Agency in Albert City, presented the package which is provided through the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool. J&E was the only agency that responded to the city’s request for package proposals.

According to discussion, the only significant change from the current package is an increase in the property deductible from $1,000 to $2,500. The change was made to minimize the increase in premium costs.

“That really helped keep your premium down,” Lindquist noted.

The premium totaled $13,396, which is only $160 more than the premium for the current year.

Worker’s compensation insurance is not included in the ICAP proposal. Lindquist was sure that coverage can be obtained, but was uncertain about the cost.

“It will be more expensive as a mono policy than bundled onto this one,” he said. “I would not even attempt to guess what [the cost] is.”

Lindquist noted that changes such as adding or removing city-owned buildings or equipment, continuing the surety bond or changing coverage could be made in the future.

• Other business

Officials from the Clay County Auditor’s Office inspected the Royal Community Building, which will be a voting location for the June 4 Republican and Democratic primary elections. They requested that the city patch the sidewalk in front of the building and address other minor issues.

Maintenance Superintendent Sherman Nielsen was granted permission to replace the city cell phone. He will also try to have the park open by March 30 if weather permits.

Discussion was held regarding the installation of surveillance cameras. A recent vandalism incident prompted the mayor’s suggestion that the idea be discussed.

Fletcher announced that Royal’s spring clean-up day is scheduled for May 13.