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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/28/2026 MEMORIAL HALL COMMISSION January 28, 2026 5:00 p.m. Veteran's Memorial Hall Pledge of Allegiance 1. Roll Call 2. Approval of Agenda, as proposed or amended. 3. Approval of Minutes of November 19, 2025. 4. Citizens Oral Comments 5. Chairperson's Report • 6. Committee Reports: a. Building and Grounds—Chairperson Mel Wittwer b. Operations—Chairperson David Grimm c. Education/Historical/Artifacts Preservation—Chairperson Frank McCaw d. Finance/Fundraising—Chairperson James Lentfer 7. Unfinished Business a. First discussion on proposed amendments to the Constitution. 8. New Business 9. Adjournment Nancy Higby Deputy City Clerk *Next meeting scheduled for February 25, 2026. MEMORIAL HALL COMMISSION November 19, 2025 5:00 p.m. Veterans Memorial Hall Members present: Craig White in the Chair, Randy Miller, David Grimm, Richard Day, Stephen Grimm (A),Mel Wittwer, Frank McCaw, Jim Lentfer and John Mrzlak. Also in Attendance: Nancy Higby, Deputy City Clerk Moved by Wittwer seconded by S. Grimm,that the agenda be approved. Voice vote-Ayes: Eight. Motion carried. Moved by S. Grimm seconded by Lentfer,that the Minutes of October 22, 2025, be approved. Voice vote-Ayes: Eight. Motion carried. Citizen's Oral Comments Rick Grimm shared that the Iowa Merci Boxcar is on display at Antique Acres in Cedar Falls and if anyone is interested in seeing it just give him a call. He provided his phone number and shared that it is free and part of what he does as caretaker. David Grimm shared that Rick is also a member of the"40 and 8", which is an organization he feels should be a member of this commission. Jim Lentfer commented that it would call for an amendment to the Constitution.He further shared that if we haven't yet removed Rolling Thunder,we should do so at the same time. Craig White commented that it will take some time to accomplish with this board's requirement of two separate meeting votes followed by the city council's requirements. Randy shared that Heidi had previously mentioned that she would like to consider representing her organization at the new year. Moved by Lentfer seconded by Day to table the amendment(s) until January. Voice vote-Ayes: Eight. Motion carried. Frank McCaw mentioned that the Cedar Valley Civil War Roundtable has regular monthly meetings on the third Thursday except for July and August. There will be a meeting tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. at the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa on Greenhill in Cedar Falls. The program is going to be on The Code Duello, or art of dueling, during the civil war. The meeting will also be available via Zoom. Treasurer's Report—Vacant Nancy Higby asked if the Treasurer's Report should still be read, and it was decided to roll it into the general report given by Jim Lentfer. November 19, 2025 Page 2 Chairperson's Report Craig White reported on the successful event for the generals and the high costs expected for the next Honor Flight. Committee Reports Building, Grounds & Operations—Chairperson Mel Wittwer Mel Wittwer reported that Phase I of the kitchen renovation is complete and will reach out to the architect and Greg Ahlhelm to plan for Phase II. Mel shared that Laura Benson is interested in creating a database for grave registration. He asked how the board would feel about lending out the documents. Dave Grimm explained that our documents are basically duplicates since Black Hawk County Veteran Affairs is required to keep track of every veteran's burial location. There was a discussion of the logistics of scanning the forms and the importance of maintaining the original documents. The documents were given to Frank to coordinate artifact handling. Moved by S. Grimm seconded by Wittwer to have Nancy Higby scan the documents to a thumb drive and return the documents to Veterans Memorial Hall. Voice vote-Ayes: Eight. Motion carried. Mel mentioned that the city has removed the flags and Randy has placed them back into storage. He reported on the ineffectiveness of the current cleaning crew and noted that there is no evidence they are doing anything and questioned if the contract could be terminated. Jim Lentfer commented that the cost of janitorial services comes out of the $5,000 set aside for Veterans Memorial Hall contract services fund. Mel will reach out to Greg Ahlhelm on this and the Phase II renovations. Operations—Chairperson David Grimm Dave reported that he had received a lot of comments praising the Veterans Day event and that people really liked the idea of firing from the bridge. He provided an overview of the upcoming 2026 programs and provided available styles, sizes and costs for the T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. The required minimum order is 48 items, and noted that we are currently looking at a cost of approximately $1,000. Dave questioned if they are required to get 3 bids for the T- shirts. Nancy Higby will check the purchasing policy. Dave shared that he attended a meeting last week to discuss the possibility of grant funding and learned that a 50% fund match is required. So, depending on the cost of the job, it could be quite a lot of money. Mel Wittwer commented that the first step is to decide what we want done and then get an estimate for the phase II before speaking with Bridgett. Moved by McCaw seconded by Wittwer, that the board officially recognizes the efforts of David Grimm, Randy Miller, Mel Wittwer, Jim Lentfer and others involved in the successful Veterans Day event. Voice vote-Ayes: Eight. Motion carried. November 19, 2025 Page 3 Educational/Historical/Artifacts Preservation— Chairperson Frank McCaw Frank provided an update on the artifacts committee, including the display of uniforms and the inventory of items on the second floor. Finance/Fundraising—James Lentfer Jim presented the consolidated financial statement as of November 11, 2025. The amounts listed below represent the various account balances. WC Foundation City of Waterloo Fountain- $5,908.28 Brick Fund- $7,291.68 Cole/Hultman - $5,830.00 Courbat Memorial - $3,895.12 General Fund - $4,805.05 Artifacts Project- $444.85 City Budget- $4,972.12 Moved by Lentfer seconded by Grimm to approve a payment to Dickeys in the amount of $110.00 for the printing of programs. This is to be paid out of the city budget for small office supplies. Voice vote-Ayes: Eight. Motion carried. Unfinished Business None. New Business Jim Lentfer commented that the board was to have elections this month and proposed that if the current chairs want to maintain their positions, and no one wants to take their seat, we could make a motion and settle that business tonight. Moved by S. Grimm seconded by Lentfer that the positions for the General Chairperson, Craig White and Vice Chairperson, Randy Miller, remain the same for the coming year. Voice vote- Ayes: Eight. Motion carried. Moved by White seconded by Mrzlak to re-appoint Mel Wittwer, David Grimm, Frank McCaw and Jim Lentfer to chair their respective committees for the upcoming year. Voice vote-Ayes: Eight. Motion carried. Randy explained he will not be here for the next few months and wanted to comment on a few things before he leaves. He asked that Heidi Warrington be sent the past six months of meeting minutes so she can get familiar with what has been happening. He expressed his appreciation for everyone who participated in making the Veterans Day event so great and emphasized the need for a permanent sound system and the cost and logistics of purchasing four new speakers. November 19, 2025 Page 4 Randy shared his frustration with the city's handling of the Veterans Memorial Hall and the need for better oversight. The board members discussed the poor condition of the flags on the bridge on the day of the event noting that it reflected poorly on our organization. Randy commented that he believes the lights on the bridge should be on during the day for both Veterans Day and Memorial Day but learned that Mainstreet Waterloo controls the lighting and it could be difficult to make that happen. He shared that he is unsatisfied with the situation regarding ownership and responsibility of this building. He would like to get a separate meeting set with members of the county board of supervisors, county and city attorneys and someone from both finance offices to discuss the matter. With no further business before the commission, it was moved by S. Grimm seconded by D. Grimm that the meeting be adjourned at 6:01 p.m. Voice-vote Ayes: Eight Motion carried. Nancy Higby Deputy City Clerk Project Transaction Report CITY OF t TERI.00 G/L Date Range 11/14/25 - 01/21/26 Include Sub Ledger Detail Sorted By Project - Gil_ Account - Date Journal Sub G/L Date Journal Type Ledger Description Source/Reference Revenue Debit Amount Credit Amount Actual Balance Net Change 01MYR.0009- MAYORS RESTRICTED PROJECTS,VETERANS MEMORIAL BRICK WALKWAY Life-to-Date ($6,731.68) 01MYR.0009 Total ($6,731.68) 01MYR.COURBAT-MAYORS RESTRICTED PROJECTS, MEMORIAL HALL COURBAT MEMORIAL Life-to-Date ($3,895.12) 01MYR.COURBAT Total ($3,895.12) 01MYR.MEMRTECT-MAYORS RESTRICTED PROJECTS, MEMORIAL HALL ARTIFACTS PROJECTS Life-to-Date ($416.97) 01MYR.MEMRTECT Total ($416.97) Grand Totals Run by Nancy Higby on 1/21/2026 11:17:33 AM Page 1 of 1 1128128,948 AM Gmail Budget Performance Report jim lenffer<veteransmemorialhallwathrloofegmail.com> Budget Performance Report 1 message Bridgett'Wood <BridgettMood©waterloo-ia.org> rue, Jan 21. 2026 at 9:17 AM To:jim lontter<voteransmemorialhallwaterloo@gmail.com> Jim, The column of the attached report that has the'remaining amount for FY25 budget is the Budget-YTO Transactions. 371 -Building&Grounds was over budget by$657.20 1390-Other Contractual was under budget by$214.83 1400- Utility Service was under budget by$1,527.34(this is a line the is controlled by the Buildings Department for utility services) 1561 -Ofticz Supplies 6,Minor bqUIpMnt was under budget'ay Overall there was$1,755.95 remaining out of the$13,815.00 budget( ,815.0t)was the original budget and it was amended to add$5,000.00). Thanks, RridoPtt Wood F/171111CP bil*Priew` 715 Mulberry St. aterloo. IA 50703 CITY OF WATERLOO 0: 319-29I-432 CITY oF TE' 11410 n.001 010i4 DISCLAirot The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the