The Colchester City Council met Tuesday, Sept. 8, to hear an update on the application from Golf Garage for a liquor license and to act on several ordinance amendments.
Public Hearings
Prior to the regular meeting, the Council held two public hearings. The first was to hear public comment on the city's plans to offer credit card payments. Only one person addressed the council and spoke in favor of the plan. The second hearing dealt with the Class S liquor license for the Golf Garage. Four individuals spoke in favor of the mayor (who serves as city liquor commissioner) granting the license after the owners Blake and Devyn Denney filed an application.
Regular session
When the regular City Council meeting convened, local resident Gunther Weaver called for the city police to be more vigilant about speeding through the western section of Route 136 through town.
The Council then addressed normal procedures of accepting minutes, approving claims and accounts, and the City Treasurer's report.
Concerning action on the above-mentioned Class S liquor license. The issue of tinted windows came up; Mayor Mark Clark will speak with the Denneys and make the final decision by the end of the week. When asked about hours of operation, Devyn Denney indicated that plans call for the golf instruction and fitness center to be open from 6 or 7 a.m. until 8 or 9 p.m depending on clients and their individualized lessons. The Denneys are exploring being open on Sundays as well.
A significant portion of the meeting was devoted to first readings of several proposed ordinances. They are as follows: — 2026-10, an ordinance to amend Chapter 22 of the City Code regarding a dedicated investment account for a city hall renovation and additional construction; — 2026-11 and 2026-12, ordinances to amend Chapter 22 of the City Code regarding the purchase of police vehicles and public works vehicles; — 2026-13, an ordinance to add Section 12 to Chapter 22 of the City Code to adopt a policy and rules to accept credit card payments for authorized obligations; The Council will act upon the above ordinances at the October meeting.
— 2026-14, an ordinance to add Section 13 to Chapter 22 of the City Code regarding purchases and the uses of purchase orders. A department supervisor may authorize an employee of that department to make purchases when necessary, but there are restrictions: Any purchase up to $500 may be made without prior authorization of the City Council; purchases from $501 to $2,500 would require pre-authorization from the mayor or that department's City Council Committee; purchases over $2,500 would require full authorization from the entire City Council. The Council waived second reading of this ordinance and voted its approval.
Other Business
— Approved a contract with General Code, not to exceed $5,000 for the purpose of updating and codifying of the city code book; — Approved the purchase from B & B Livestock for the installation of a new flatbed for a street department truck for $4,275; — Approved changing part-time summer employee Michelle Taylor to a year-round part-time employee with new duties; — Approved a contract with Prairie Hills Land Bank Authority (PHLBA) code inspector to deal with vacant, abandoned, tax delinquent, or physically deteriorated properties within the city limits and get them back to productive reuse; — Approved cancelling contracts with T-Mobile and entering into contracts with AT&T for MIFI units (forms of WiFi hotspots) for police cars.
