TAMA – This week’s Tama City Council meeting started Monday evening with the light tap of a gavel. The first thing on the agenda was the appointment of Mark Patterson to the Planning and Zoning Board. This was approved quickly, and the council moved on to the next item.

Bruce Mann was approved to fill one of the two open positions for summer help with the Tama Public Works department.

After reviewing the bids, the city received to mow the pool the council went with Wes Upah.

Tama owned a part of a mosquito sprayer with Traer, Dysart, and Toledo until a few weeks ago. Traer replaced the original sprayer and decided to only spray for themselves and Dysart. The council approved going in with Toledo on a new mosquito sprayer. A few employees of the public works department of both Tama and Toledo are looking into getting certified to run the sprayer.

The proposed dog park was discussed and is well underway. The council approved going forward with buying fencing materials.

A public hearing to discuss the Box Culvert Repair project was set for April 15 at 5:30 p.m.

The council also approved advertising two of the pickups used by the public works department.

In Police Chief Jason Bina’s printed report, the department received 337 calls to service between Feb. 18 and March 18. These calls include five calls for narcotics, 21 for theft, and three for vandalism.

Jimmy Hicklin with Tama EMS reported receiving 235 calls so far this year, which is an average of 87 calls a month and is a whole month ahead of last year. Transports have been booming, Tama EMS has been averaging 32 transports per month for the last six months. With the transports and increased call rate, the emergency services department’s revenue has doubled.

The fire department reported they’ve had a couple of grass fires and a timber fire that lasted for a while. They have also received a grant for boots.

Public Works reported to be working hard and to soon start working on patching the streets.

The council informed everyone that Julie Shook will be retiring from the Tama Library on May 31. They have received multiple applications for her position.