KDSN RADIO News
Denison City Council welcomes new Chief of Police, considers DMU and housing developments
The Denison City Council swore in a new Chief of Police at their first regular meeting of March on Tuesday night.
Brandon Rinnan says he’s ready to go to work as Denison’s police chief.
"This feels great. Being able to lead a great organization like this is something I take a lot of pride in. Really special for me especially tonight since my family got to share this moment with me," Rinnan said. "Just thanks to the council members, mayor, and department heads for giving me this opportunity. I think this is going to be a great adventure and I'm looking forward to it."
The council later approved their employment agreement with Rinnan so he can officially start his new position Wednesday. The members also approved a new city manager job announcement, position profile, and wage study with amendments including a new picture and added language about grant writing experience.
The council resolved to set a public hearing for Tuesday, March 15 at 5 p.m. regarding the budget for the next fiscal year after a presentation of the latest draft.
Denison Municipal Utilities submitted a request to install an electric vehicle charging station in the parking lot near 14th Street and 1st Avenue North. The council discussed the request for about 20 minutes before approving the underground installation of some needed infrastructure and will finalize more details of the project at a later date. DMU and the council also spent almost 10 minutes discussing a request for $200,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds for the Phase 1 water distribution project. That will be among the topics for the city planning session on March 15.
The members adopted the third and final reading of the Chapter 17 ordinance amendment increasing council pay to $50 per meeting and appointed Mike Vogt to replace Lisa Koch on the Northside Rec Board. They agreed to license Bogey’s Grille to sell liquor and amended their parklet lease with Wesco Industries for Hollywood Bake Shop to allow them to serve alcohol within the outdoor dining area.
The council touched upon the city’s burn ban after the Crawford County Board of Supervisors issued a countywide measure on Tuesday as well. Fire Chief Cory Snowgren explains some of the details.
"It's not the supervisors saying the City of Denison can't burn. We can still do what we need to do," said Snowgren. "We're talking about clumps of grass 18 inches around surrounded by concrete sidewalks and pavement with a fire truck sitting right there. I'm not overly concerned about that."
Jim Johnson approached the council again about a development agreement for up to seven houses in Denison. The conversation with Johnson included the city council, engineer, and clerk as well as CDC Director Evan Blakley. The city is reviewing the agreement again and hopes to take action on it during the second regular meeting of March.
You can find full city council meeting agendas and minutes here.
