NH council appoints city attorney

NEW HARTFORD – The New Hartford City Council approved Bruce Toenjes as its new city attorney as part of regular business on Oct. 5.

Toenjes was recommended by current attorney Emily Pittenger and City Clerk Shawna Hagen and Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Brewer agreed that Toenjes was working in the same directions as the city would like.

In other business, the council and Mayor Dennis Canfield decided to scrap a town-hall format that had been trialed in previous meetings prior to the formal council meeting beginning due to lack of interest and the difficulty for some members of the council to attend the town hall meetings in time. Public discussions will return to dedicated time for public forum.

Mayor Canfield thanked JR Cole for his work in preparations at Packwaukee Park for the recent Pumpkin Festival and mentioned he’d like to meet with Cole in the near future to discuss a water tower freeze issue.

Mayor Canfield also reported on a library board meeting he attended and added he is pushing for an update from the contractor on splash pad progress, as well as reaching out to the city engineer.

In other business, the council:

- Set Trick or Treat for Oct. 31 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.;

- Approved the Iowa SRF Enviromental Review after a public hearing;

- Postponed a K&W Coating presentation until November;

- Postponed Evergreen Heights Development updates for the purposes of minor completions and developing a resolution.