Hartley Parks & Rec Dept. eyeing progress

Hartley City Council members on Monday were pleased to learn the local parks department has a pulse.

Hartley Parks & Recreation Board members Laura Mohni, Kaity Pedley and Drew Sweeney provided an update to the council about the group's plans. According to the trio, a variety of projects and programming are in the works with board members eager to provide more things to the community.

"It's nice to have an actual park board now," said Council Member Ron Hengeveld. "We probably have never had a parks board that wanted to do very much like this before."

The board is in the process of establishing an adult kickball league in Hartley, and is also planning to hold family movie nights this summer thanks to the recent acquisition of an outdoor projector. Additionally, members are investigating starting a pickle ball league and other potential programming events.

"I think in the past the board was mostly focused on organizing and hosting Little League," Mohni said. "We love doing Little League, but we want to be doing more."

In addition to Mohni, Pedley and Sweeney, Jena Steuben and Naet Hoaglund round out the board.

Board members questioned the council about what programs and locations they had jurisdiction over in Hartley and what the board was responsible for overall. The council will review ordinances and report back to the group.

The council was excited the board had full membership and looked forward to future ideas.

"If they want to improve the city, I think we need to be supporting them," said Council Member Matt Dolphin.

• Other business

Aside from fielding the park board's report, the council approved the purchase of a three-phase padmount transformer for $57,891. The equipment will be installed at Hartley Cold Services to accommodate increased power needs at the business.

According to discussion, there has been a dispute between the city and company over who is going to pay for the upgraded infrastructure. The council approved the purchase with the stipulation that Hartley Cold Services would pay for half of it, which is how previous grid upgrades have been divvied up in the past.

Additionally, the council approved the property and casualty insurance policy renewal, which increased 12 percent from the previous year.