City of Sioux City Council Meeting - January 26, 2026

A Busy Night at City Hall: Parks, Permits, and Progress

Hey Siouxland,

Your City Council had a full plate at this week's meeting, tackling everything from recognizing our city employees to exploring new housing opportunities to keeping our streets safe and clear. Let's break down what happened and what it means for you.

City Employees Recognized for Outstanding Benefits Program

Great news to start with: Sioux City just earned a Best-in-Class Employer Award from Gallagher Benefit Services! This isn't just a participation trophy — out of 70,000 employees Gallagher works with nationwide, they only give out a handful of these awards each year. Our HR team, led by Janelle Bertrand and Janet Fuller, has built a benefits program that beats national standards in several key areas: employer-paid benefits, flexibility, variety of options, employee engagement, and retirement support. This matters because a strong benefits package helps us attract and keep quality city employees who serve you every day.

New Faces for City Boards

We interviewed candidates for a few board openings:

• McKenzie Heiser is interested in joining the Parking and Skywalk System Board of Trustees. She works for Sioux City Community School District downtown and uses the parking ramps and skywalks daily, so she brings a real user's perspective.

• For the Parks and Recreation Board (which has two vacancies), we met Evan Paulma, a construction worker and former National Guardsman who loves using our facilities with his family, and Aaron Whitmer, a 20-year Sioux City resident who works from home and wants to give back to the community that he and his wife have chosen as their forever home.

These appointments will likely be finalized soon, and it's always encouraging to see residents step up to serve.

Big Ideas for Parks Properties: Housing Opportunities Ahead

This was one of the most exciting presentations of the night. Parks and Recreation Director Matt Salvatore laid out a comprehensive look at city-owned park properties that could potentially be repurposed for residential development — without sacrificing the quality of our park system.

First, some context: Sioux City actually exceeds national standards for parks. We have 11.7 parks per thousand residents (the national average is 10.2), and we maintain over 1,600 acres of parkland and nearly 42 miles of trails. But here's the thing: some of these "parks" are really just vacant lots or underused green spaces that the city mows. Meanwhile, our community desperately needs more housing, especially affordable housing.

Matt identified 17 properties totaling roughly 70-130 potential residential lots. These aren't your beloved neighborhood parks with playgrounds and ball fields — many are vacant parcels, unused green spaces, or oversized parks where a portion could be sold while the remaining park gets upgraded amenities. Here are some highlights:

• Carlin Park (actually property above the park): About 0.9 acres that could yield six lots
• Goldie Beck Park: A corner section (1.7 acres) that could be developed, with proceeds used to update the existing park amenities
• Hillcrest Park: 1.6 acres available, with development funds potentially improving the rest of the park
• Normandy Park: Currently just a vacant parking lot acquired for a future park that was never built — 4 acres available
• Several other properties like Kitty Park, Kohl's Addition, and Spalding Park that are really just open lots the city maintains

City Engineer Gordon Fair noted that most of these sites already have utilities nearby or would need minimal infrastructure investment — no major road work, water line upgrades, or expensive detention ponds in most cases. That's crucial because it keeps development costs down, which means more affordable housing.

Council members were enthusiastic, with Councilman Rick Bertrand emphasizing the importance of moving quickly and getting public input through the Parks Board. The goal is to have actionable plans by midsummer. If even a portion of these lots are developed, Sioux City could add significant infill housing without losing park quality — in fact, many parks would get improvements funded by the land sales.

Streets and Snow: Your Public Works Team in Action

Field Services Manager Patrick Simons gave us the rundown on what it takes to keep Sioux City moving. Our public works crews maintain 685 miles of paved roads and 69 miles of unpaved roads with 68 employees and a $10.5 million annual budget.

Some impressive numbers from the last construction season:
- The concrete crew (12 people) poured 2,100 yards of concrete at 122 locations
- The asphalt crew (18 people) filled approximately 46,000 potholes
- The dirt street crew (9 people) spread 5,000 tons of gravel and cleared ditches along 17,000 linear feet
- Street sweepers removed about 12,000 cubic yards of debris from our streets

For snow removal, the city runs 24/7 operations with 19 spreader trucks, 12 plow trucks, seven front-end loaders, and six motor graders. This season, crews have plowed nearly 39,000 miles and used 7,500 tons of salt/sand mix. The city aims to restore streets to passable conditions within 72 hours after a 4-inch snowfall.

Councilman Bertrand asked tough questions about gravel road maintenance and whether the city should continue trucking in gravel with small dump trucks or contract it out. He also pushed for more focus on gravel roads, reminding everyone that those residents pay taxes too and deserve good service. Expect some process improvements in how the city handles gravel delivery and road maintenance going forward.

There was also discussion about street overlay projects — the kind of resurfacing that extends the life of roads before they need complete reconstruction. The mayor noted that Sioux City used to spend $4-5 million annually on overlays but shifted resources to "complete street" reconstructions, which are much more expensive. Several council members expressed interest in returning to a more aggressive overlay program to prevent more streets from deteriorating.

Homeless Task Force: Progress and Challenges

Police Chief Rex Mueller provided an update on the city's Homeless Task Force, which has been operating for the past few months. Here's what's happening:

Encampment Activity: Between January 12-25, the task force identified 13 encampments and conducted 10 cleanup operations. The city is being proactive about not allowing permanent encampments to establish, which Councilman Bertrand emphasized should be standard practice.

Outreach and Success Stories: The task force contacted 14 new individuals and made numerous referrals to services. Officers are going above and beyond — giving rides, connecting people with treatment programs, and finding pathways out of homelessness. One officer recently helped get someone into treatment, and the person was picked up directly from the street.

Frequent Flyers: The task force is tracking 20 individuals who repeatedly cause problems. Between January 12-18, these 20 people had 26 contacts with police resulting in 13 arrests. Two are currently in jail.

Next Steps: Chief Mueller is meeting with judges on February 20th and has already met with the county attorney's office to discuss more effective approaches to repeat offenders. The goal isn't to criminalize homelessness itself, but to address criminal behavior and get repeat offenders the help they need — or appropriate consequences when they refuse help.

Council members emphasized that people who accept services and want help should receive it, but those who commit crimes, harass residents, or make downtown unsafe need to face accountability. The discussion included talk of strengthening loitering ordinances, though city legal noted this must be balanced with constitutional concerns. The focus is on public safety — employees and residents shouldn't feel unsafe walking downtown.

Tyson Event Center: Bringing Big Shows to Siouxland

Nick Palmeati and Chad Smith from Oak View Group (which manages the Tyson Event Center, Orpheum Theater, and Convention Center) shared some exciting updates:

Recent Successes: 2025 was a strong year with 97 events at the Tyson. Major shows included Parker McCollum, Gabriel Iglesias, Halestorm, and Lindsey Sterling. Comedian Nate Bargatze in September was the highest-grossing comedy show in the building's history — over 6,000 attendees.

What's Coming: The Offspring performs next weekend, and the Boomgards Rodeo returns (one of the biggest events of the year, typically selling out Saturday night).

Keeping UNI Sports: The task force renewed contracts with UNI volleyball (through 2028) and basketball (through 2029).

Councilman Bertrand made an important point: the Tyson Event Center is one of our best marketing tools. When people drive by on I-29 and see a big-name act on that electronic sign, it tells them Sioux City is a vibrant, exciting place. He urged OVG to think bigger and requested they include funding in their budget for "promoter money" — resources to buy down ticket costs and make Sioux City more attractive to major tours that might otherwise skip us for Sioux Falls or Omaha. The council wants to see more "wow factor" shows that make Siouxland proud.

The Convention Center is focusing on attracting more mid-week conference business, which brings visitors to town during the week (helping local hotels and restaurants). They successfully brought back the Siouxland Chamber annual dinner with 1,400 attendees, which is a big deal for the building's reputation.

Building Permits: Working Toward Faster Service

City Development Director Marty Dougherty and Building Official Darrel provided an update on permit processing times. The city surveyed seven similar Iowa cities and found Sioux City is generally competitive on residential permits but has room for improvement.

Councilman Bertrand pushed hard on this issue, emphasizing that slow permits hurt housing development. He made several points:

• We compete with South Sioux City and North Sioux City for builders, not just other Iowa cities, so those communities' processes matter
• The city should be more flexible — for example, issuing provisional permits while waiting for final details like truss specifications (which builders can't get until after ordering trusses, which they won't order without a permit — a catch-22)
• Simple items shouldn't delay permits — if a builder just needs to renew an expired bond or submit a beam specification, call them immediately rather than waiting for formal written review

The good news: the city is implementing new permit software that will require complete applications upfront (you can't submit without all required information), provide immediate online feedback, and streamline the review process. Staff is also committing to faster communication and more customer service focus.

Councilman Collett emphasized that if the inspections department needs more staff to speed things up, that investment will pay for itself with the first project approved more quickly.

Public Input: UTVs on City Streets?

Two residents, Penny Tobin and Scott Bishop, made a compelling case for allowing Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTVs) on city streets. These are the side-by-sides with roll cages, seat belts, headlights, turn signals, and other safety features — not ATVs.

Their arguments:
- UTVs are legal in Des Moines, Council Bluffs, South Sioux City, North Sioux City, and many other Iowa communities
- They're safer than mopeds and e-bikes (which are allowed on streets) because they have seat belts, roll cages, and safety equipment
- The state of Iowa legalized them in 2022 with safety requirements
- Many cost $30,000-$80,000 and get better gas mileage than trucks
- Current law means you can legally ride a horse down Hamilton Boulevard, but not a $50,000 insured UTV

Police Chief Mueller said he remains opposed based on previous presentations to council, citing enforcement concerns. He'll provide the council with his prior presentation on the topic. This issue isn't settled, but expect more discussion.

What's Next?

Council requested several follow-up items for upcoming meetings:

• Wastewater treatment plant update: Is the budget finalized? Is there a guaranteed max price? Has any scope changed?
• Art Center and Museum update before operating budget discussions
• Continued weekly updates from various departments as the council works through budget and operational improvements

Council also expressed support for the Twin Cities community during recent tensions, calling for calm, patience, and constructive dialogue.

Siouxland, your city government is working hard to improve services, create housing opportunities, keep streets safe, and bring quality entertainment to our community. As always, if you have questions or concerns, reach out to your council members — they want to hear from you.

Stay safe out there,

— SUX, your Siouxland Assistant