Sigourney Council Discusses Rising Insurance Costs

SIGOURNEY – During the August 7 meeting of the Sigourney City Council, the council spoke with Paul Horak of Horak Insurance about the city’s insurance rate. The city is insured with the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP). Horak explained that it had not been a good year for insurance and that he had never seen the midwest so bad in the 24 years he had been an insurance agent. Sigourney’s insurance costs went up 40%, in part due to the city having previously been below the minimum cost for property insurance ICAP now requires. Horak stated that the blanket coverage for buildings went from $14,000,000 to $15,600,000.

Horak explained that, in the last five years, Sigourney had paid around $207,000 into ICAP and been paid out $238,000. He stated this was unsustainable, forcing ICAP to raise costs to maintain financial stability. Councilman Gary Iosbaker asked why insurance payouts had been so high. Horak stated it was because of inflation, rising building and vehicle repair costs, large law enforcement and discrimination settlements, and distracted driving causing more accidents. He noted that, in the past, massive disasters had mostly been concentrated in the Southeast and West, with their wildfires and hurricanes. That has changed, due to massive wind and hail storms hitting the midwest.

Horak stated the city could potentially save money by raising its deductible. Currently, the city has a $500 deductible. If the city were to raise the deductible to $2,500, it would save $2,697 in insurance costs per year. If the city raised to $10,000, it would save $5,394 in insurance costs. Horak stated, if the city had moved to $2,500 five years ago, it would have saved $13,485 and paid $11,500 more for property damage costs, for a $2,000 net. If the city had moved to $10,000 five years ago, it would have saved $26,000 but had to pay $29,000 more for repairs, a net loss. Iosbaker stated that, in the grand scheme of things, that wasn’t a lot of money. Horak stated it would be more significant if Sigourney had fewer claims, noting that Washington had only two claims in the last five years, while Sigourney had seven. Horak noted that ICAP charges a 1% deductible on losses deemed catastrophic, like the destruction caused by the 2020 derecho. The council decided to leave the deductible rate at $500.

Iosbaker brought up the idea of creating a Strategic Planning Committee to work on projects the council has discussed, like continued improvements to the square, finding new housing, figuring out what to do with memorial hall, work on the community center, work at the pool, and creating new amenities like a walking trail and a dog park. The committee would plan future projects, decide the city’s priorities, and seek out grants. Councilman Ed Conrad asked if the committee would be comprised of council members or members of the public. Iosbaker said he assumed it would be city driven, although other entities could be part of it depending on the project. Conrad said he was concerned about checks and balances and that the city would need to work with businesses for major projects. Mayor Jimmy Morlan suggested tabling the idea and discussing it more at the next meeting.

The council discussed the idea of building a community recreation center. Iosbaker explained that he had gotten in touch with the Iowa Economic Development Authority and made aware of a Boost Grant, designed to help small communities or organizationally challenged communities get projects off the ground. The $10,000 grant would require $5,000 matching from Sigourney or the community. Iosbaker explained that the city needs a committed group of community members working on the project to obtain the grant and stated that the group currently consisted of himself (representing KCED), Councilwoman Connie McLaughlin (representing the Keokuk County Community Endowment Foundation), Councilwoman Stephani Lentz (representing the city), Mike Bensmiller (representing Sigourney Schools), Matt Ives (representing Keokuk County Hospitals and Clinics), Daryl Wood (representing the county) and an undecided Kiwanis representative. The grant will give the city funds to begin the research and planning part of the project.

Iosbaker stated that he does not know where the rec center would be located and that he wants it to be built in conjunction with other towns in the county. He stated that the What Cheer City Clerk had stated her city would be interested in the project, because children currently lack activities in What Cheer, although transportation would be a problem. Iosbaker stated that the rec center would be similar to the one in Williamsburg and likely contain a gymnasium, elevated track, weight room, aerobics room, conference room, and kitchen. The council approved looking into the project more.

The council discussed a request from Cox Sanitation to send out a flier alongside utility bills telling people what they can and cannot do at the recycling plant. The costs of printing and folding the fliers will be handled by Cox. Councilman Adam Clark  asked if this had ever been done before. City Clerk Angie Alderson stated the city had sent out fliers for the County Emergency Management Department, but not for any private business. Clark raised concerns this would open the gates to other businesses using the city to get information out for free. The council approved sending out the fliers.

The council approved a substantial completion payment for the work at 114 East Washington. According to Alderson, the only work left to do is installing a faucet and an electrical heat baseboard. The owner of the building is ready to begin looking for tenants. Following a suggestion from Conrad, the council approved paying out $64,000 of the remaining $69,000 for the project, with the last $5,000 being held onto until it is completed.

The council approved paying $500 to Drive Technologies to redesign the city’s logo for use on the new website, after it was discovered the logo on the current city website is low resolution and that the city does not have the original file anywhere. Iosbaker recommended adding the year the city was established to the new logo. The council also approved changing the URL of the new website from www.sigourney-iowa.com to www.sigourney.com. The sigourney.com URL is currently owned by KCED, who used it back when it was named SADC. KCED has offered to give the URL to the city for free.

The council approved sending out display ads for a police chief and police officers again. The council approved hiring Katie Conrad as deputy city clerk.

The August 7 meeting was livestreamed by Steve Shettler.