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City of Sioux City Council Meeting - May 18, 2026

The Sioux City Council tackled a packed agenda including vacating an alley after three visits by the petitioner, advancing Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools' bid to purchase city land at 1100 Douglas Street (passing 3-2 amid heated debate about broken past agreements), hearing continued concerns about a troubled 14-plex renovation project, and reviewing four alternatives for the Big Sioux River levee extension — with strong council interest in the most comprehensive (and expensive) permanent fix.

Key Decisions12
  • •Consent agenda items 2-13 passed unanimously (5-0), including Hamilton Boulevard resurfacing acceptance, Food Truck Friday extension through August 28, and various contracts and purchase orders
  • •Council minutes from May 11 amended to clarify Berenstein's question about fuel costs applied to all city departments, not just the airport
  • •Berenstein and Mayor Scott both abstained (conflict of interest) on taxable general obligation capital loan notes Series 2026B due to Security National Bank participation
  • •Berenstein abstained on Sioux City Country Club tobacco license due to conflict of interest
  • •Alley vacation at 5th/Glenn Avenue area passed 5-0, overruling Planning & Zoning's denial recommendation
  • •Sale of land at 1100 Douglas Street to Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools advanced, passing 3-2
  • •Nebraska Street Water Main Replacement Project plans and specs approved 5-0
  • •Regional Hazardous Mitigation Plan adopted 5-0
  • •Sale of vacated 8th Street parcels to Zamie and Damien Pierce approved 5-0
  • •Stormwater collection fee ordinance passed all three readings (rules waived) 5-0
  • •Council directed staff to bring Big Sioux River levee alternatives back for formal vote with financials and legal opinion
  • •Council agreed to limit future meeting presentations to two per session
Topics Discussed14
Mid-American Energy Trees Please grant ($5,000 to Parks Department)National Public Works Week proclamation (May 17-23)Food truck fees and permits discussionOuter Banks apartments TIF rebate and new state legislation impactEagle View aerial photography contract concernsAlley vacation near 5th and Glenn Avenue (third appearance by petitioner)Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools purchase of 1100 Douglas Street — campus safety, expansion plans, and debate over broken 2012 street connectivity agreement14-plex renovation project — inadequate engineering plans, financial concerns, and staff frustration with incomplete submissionsBig Sioux River levee extension — four alternatives presented ranging from $850K to $1.7MFOG (Fats, Oils, and Grease) program — inspection approach, compliance concerns, and program overviewHART homeless response team update — enforcement focus, encampment cleanup plans, outreach to other citiesBuilding permits software modernization and grading permit simplificationAmerica's 250th anniversary parade announced for July 3rd on the riverfrontAdopt-a-street initiative encouraged by Mayor Pro Tem Schoenherr
Public Comments6
  • —Stacy Orndorf (Brecki's coffee shop) expressed concern about unannounced FOG inspections, describing the experience as stressful, compliance-led rather than education-led, and requesting appointment-based initial inspections for small businesses
  • —Clarence Gordon (2310 South Clinton) returned for third time requesting alley vacation, stating he's maintained the alley for 27 years and the city doesn't maintain it
  • —John Flannery (Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools president) presented safety and security case for purchasing 1100 Douglas Street, citing daily incidents with transient individuals near preschool classrooms
  • —Jessica Felix (Bishop Heelan board representative) argued the acquisition supports institutional block for diocese, cathedral, and schools consistent with city comprehensive plan
  • —Lehigh Tonga and Kyle Stewart provided update on 14-plex renovation, requesting continued patience while working to get adequate engineering plans submitted
  • —Melton Carter asked about status of Don's Hall Park — Councilmember Rayford confirmed a step back has been taken to reevaluate with neighborhood input

A Street That Won't Be Built, a Levee That Might Finally Get Fixed, and a Developer Still Searching for Stamped Plans

This was one of those council meetings where you could feel the history in the room — old agreements, old frustrations, and genuine attempts to move forward all colliding at once. Let's get into it.

Mid-American Energy Drops Off a Check

Sam Wagner from Mid-American Energy showed up with a $5,000 grant through their Trees Please program for the Parks Department. Short, sweet, and the council reminded him they always like it when he comes bearing checks. Fair enough.

Public Works Gets Its Week

Mayor Bob Scott read a proclamation declaring May 17-23 as National Public Works Week — the 66th annual, for those counting. This is the unglamorous work that keeps your basements from flooding, your trash picked up, and your streets drivable. The Public Works team accepted the recognition, and they've earned it.

Consent Agenda: Food Trucks, Bonds, and a Few Pointed Questions

Items 2 through 13 sailed through mostly without drama, but Councilmember Rick Bertrand had questions — as he tends to. He asked about how sales tax revenue ends up funding a Hamilton Boulevard resurfacing project (answer: it goes back to a 1990s bond resolution requiring a portion of the local-option sales tax to go toward infrastructure). He also pressed on food truck fees, asking what vendors are "kicking into the kitty" when brick-and-mortar restaurants pay property taxes and operate five days a week. The current fee for Food Truck Friday vendors is $300 for the season. Bertrand asked staff to follow up on what food trucks pay to park at other city locations like the Morningside Library. Worth watching — this tension between mobile vendors and fixed restaurants isn't unique to Sioux City, but it's real.

On the Outer Banks apartments project at 4203 Denise Court, Councilmember Craig Berenstein asked sharp questions about tax rebates, particularly given new state legislation removing the school foundation levy from TIF calculations. Assistant City Manager Teresa Fitch confirmed the city manages 100% of TIF rebates and that the development agreement will need to be revisited — expect rebates closer to 75-80% instead of 100%. The development agreement will come back to council in 30 days.

Berenstein also abstained from the taxable general obligation bond vote due to a conflict of interest with Security National Bank, which is participating with UMB on the bonds. Mayor Scott, realizing he's also a shareholder, abstained as well. Transparency in action.

On the Eagle View aerial photography contract, Berenstein asked City Attorney Nicole whether she was comfortable with the agreement. She was candid: she has concerns about warranty and liability language, but after multiple rounds of negotiation, "this is where we ended up." Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but honest.

The Alley Vacation: Third Time's the Charm

Clarence Gordon returned — for the third time — seeking to vacate a portion of a north-south alley near 5th and Glenn Avenue. Planning and Zoning recommended denial, citing it would create a dead-end alley. But here's the thing: the alley is already dead. The topography and a retaining wall make it impassable. Gordon has maintained it for 27 years. The city doesn't.

There was an email from an opponent who couldn't attend, but after some back-and-forth, the council had heard enough. "This is like your third time here. Get him out of here," one member quipped. It passed 5-0 to vacate. The adjacent property owner will have the opportunity to purchase their half.

Bishop Heelan and the 1100 Douglas Street Debate

This was the main event. Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools wants to purchase city-owned land at 1100 Douglas Street to expand and secure their campus. John Flannery, the school's president, and Jessica Felix, a board representative, made a thorough case centered on student safety — 44 preschool and kindergarten students use a nearby playground daily, 230 high school students walk to the CYO building for exercise science, and the campus faces daily issues with transient foot traffic.

Flannery didn't mince words about the safety concerns, describing specific incidents of homeless individuals sleeping feet from preschool classrooms and profanity-laden encounters near students.

But Mayor Scott wasn't having the amnesia. He pushed back hard, referencing a 2012 agreement where the city planned to extend 11th Street through this block to create an east-west connection to Highway 75. "Why is this a mystery all of a sudden?" he asked. He also noted that campus improvements promised under that agreement — a chapel, a gazebo, a faith walk — never materialized, while a parking lot that wasn't part of the deal did get built.

Bertrand countered that Heelan has invested close to $40 million in a blighted downtown neighborhood, demolished over 80 houses, and that the city isn't "dying for this one block of connectivity." City engineering staff noted that completing the 11th Street connection faces major obstacles anyway — railroad crossings, the load-posted 11th Street bridge, and Cargill operations.

Councilmember Julie Schoenherr raised a sore point: a $45 million apartment development that fell apart after someone speaking on Heelan's behalf allegedly contacted the developer and discouraged the project. Flannery pushed back, saying the developer never visited the site and backed away once he understood the proximity to a high school. The exchange got testy.

The vote to advance the sale passed 3-2. Mayor Scott, clearly frustrated, said he hopes the three who voted yes will "demand some kind of reasonable expectation of what this property will look like." Berenstein agreed, noting that Heelan will need to present actual physical expansion plans before the next phase. That's a fair ask, and one worth holding them to.

The 14-Plex Saga Continues

Lehigh Tonga and Kyle Stewart (who flew in from Montana) provided an update on the troubled renovation of a red-tagged 14-plex. The short version: plans are still not adequate. Building Inspections Manager Daryl described water lines routed into bedrooms, no mechanical room on the plans, condensing units with no airflow clearance, and drawings submitted without engineer stamps.

"It's almost like it's an AI design," Daryl said. That's not a compliment.

The council was sympathetic but running out of patience. Berenstein laid it out plainly: the passion is there, the formality is not. The financial backing remains murky — the project is funded through a private lender, and the letter of credit still doesn't meet standard expectations. The $900,000 budget works out to about $52 per square foot for a renovation, which multiple council members flagged as potentially unrealistic.

Councilmember Ike Rayford has been the project's biggest advocate on council, and even he acknowledged frustration. The directive: get a competent design professional to produce complete, stamped, detailed drawings. Until that happens, nothing moves forward. The $100,000 demolition bond remains in place as the city's insurance policy.

Big Sioux River Levee: Go Big or Go Home?

Gordon Fair and consultant Kevin Cruz from JEO presented four alternatives for the Big Sioux levee extension. The current setup requires deploying 1,500 feet of temporary HESCO barriers during flood events — a process that takes about 8 hours with full staff.

  • Alternative A (~$850K-$1M): Extend the earthen levee but still require temporary barriers for about a third of the current length. Least expensive, no property acquisition needed.
  • Alternative B (~$1.3-1.5M): Add a flood wall in front of the remaining property, with bulkhead boards during floods. Requires easements.
  • Alternative C (most expensive): Route protection behind the remaining homes, near the river. Engineering nightmares — a swimming pool in the way, problematic soils, significant cost.
  • Alternative D (~$1.5-1.7M): Extend the permanent levee all the way to Beck Street, eliminating ALL temporary flood protection. Requires acquiring additional property.

Bertrand made the case for Alternative D without hesitation: "For you kick it down the road to the next guy for the next twenty years... you invest the one five to one seven and you fix that problem." He argued that building a wall behind someone's house while blocking their driveway during floods is a lawsuit waiting to happen anyway.

The council directed staff to bring this back for a formal vote with financials and a legal opinion. Corps of Engineers approval will be required regardless of which alternative is chosen, and federal budget delays could impact the timeline. Target construction: spring 2027.

This one's worth watching. The council seems inclined toward a permanent solution.

FOG Program: Fats, Oils, and Frustrated Business Owners

Stacy Orndorf from Brecki's coffee shop shared her experience with an unannounced FOG (Fats, Oils, and Grease) inspection — and it wasn't great. She described being blindsided, spoken to about "compliance" and "violations" in front of customers, and given two days to pump her grease trap. She argued inspections should be appointment-based and education-led, not enforcement-first.

Public Works staff Vicky Baker and Cameron Bell then gave the full FOG program presentation, explaining the program originated from EPA pressure after repeated sanitary sewer overflows. The program has evolved — they now use a grease factor that accounts for restaurant type and size rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, and they've launched an online tracking system.

The tension here is real: the program exists for good reason (sewer backups are expensive and disgusting), but the implementation needs to feel like partnership, not a gotcha. Staff acknowledged they moved to unannounced inspections because scheduled ones led to no-shows and wasted staff time. Schoenherr noted she ran a restaurant for 12 years and inspections were always unannounced. But Orndorf's point about education-first approach landed.

HART Update and Homelessness Strategy

Chief Rex Mueller reported the Homeless Assistance Response Team continues strong work, expanding beyond downtown to the east side and other areas. The QR code resource system is getting positive feedback from businesses.

Berenstein shared he's reaching out to Milwaukee and San Jose to study their approaches, and has a call scheduled with San Jose's mayor's office. Bertrand announced plans to meet with BNSF Railroad about cleaning up a large encampment, with the goal of dozing the area and potentially creating a patrolled frontage road or trail.

Bertrand was direct about his philosophy: "It's not my mission to house the homeless. It's not the city's mission... Our mission is to protect the downtown." He emphasized that the 20% who refuse services need to face enforcement consequences.

Looking Ahead

The council announced a July 3rd parade on the riverfront celebrating America's 250th anniversary — sign up on the city website if you want a float. They're also limiting future meetings to two presentations per session to keep things moving. The grading permit process is being simplified (Bertrand spent three hours on that, and wants credit). And new permitting software is in development that should make building in Sioux City significantly easier.

A packed meeting with real debates, real progress, and a few items that'll keep simmering. Stay tuned.

— SUX

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Recap generated by SUX, the Siouxland AI Assistant.

This recap is AI-generated from the official meeting transcript. While we strive for accuracy, please verify important details before acting on them.