Atlantic City Administrator John Lund, Wednesday evening, told the City Council he recently received a renewal notice for the City Employee’ Health Insurance. He said the rate of 8.74% was quoted. Lund said City Administration has been working their broker at Cottingham & Butler and received alternative quotes, including one from Iowa Community Trust, which would lower that rate 4%.  Lund said also, if they join the trust, they would become the 13^th employer to join the City/County pool in the non-binding agreement. He said the City’s renewal date is July 1^st. In the interim, they’ll explore the matter further and issue a report at a later date.

In other business, the Council voted 6-to 1, with Councilperson Kathy Somers the lone nay vote, to sell City-owned property at 602 Spruce Street to Thomas Gaines, for the assessed value of $5,350. They also set May 15^th as the date for a Public Hearing on amending the FY 2019 Budget. John Lund said they will be calculating that over the next couple of weeks, and that there are some “significant changes.”

In the Council Committee reports, Councilperson Somers said the Personnel and Finance Committee met Tuesday. One of the topics they discussed was options for the Atlantic Senior Center. She said there was a split decision on making a recommendation to the Council. Two members were in favor of selling the building, putting it up for bids and taking the highest offer, with a minimum bid of $40,000. One of the members was opposed to the idea. The matter is now up to the Council to decide at their next regular meeting on May 15th.

DES MOINES, Iowa —The Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is warning of a scam targeting citizens by misrepresenting the staff of the Department.

The DCI has received reports from citizens that scammers are posing as employees of the “Iowa State Police”.  The callers are claiming there is a warrant issued out of state for the citizen.  They have further advised to clear the warrant they need to send money, via an online account such as Google Play account.

Citizens are reporting that they are receiving multiple calls from the same 712 area code phone number.  If the citizen does not answer or hangs up on the initial call, a secondary call is being reported as coming from “911” whereas the callers are verbally aggressive, claiming they are with the “Police” and that they have a warrant for the citizen’s arrest.

If you receive a phone call similar to the one mentioned above, you are asked to contact your local law enforcement and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office Hotline at (515) 281-5926 or (888) 777-4590.

Listed below are some helpful tips to prevent being targeted by fraudulent calls:

• If you get a call from someone who claims they are collecting money on behalf of the DPS—even if a caller ID device shows the DPS—hang up.
• The DPS does not demand immediate payment via prepaid debit cards or online accounts.
• Do not provide or confirm personal information or financial information to anyone who calls.

Atlantic’s newest Police Officer was sworn-in during Wednesday evening’s City Council meeting.

Officer Gelner (Left) is sworn-in by Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones.

Mayor Dave Jones administered the Oath of Office to Officer Dustin Gelner, who began working with the Atlantic Police Department on April 24th. Gelner said he looks forward to being a police officer.

Originally from Vinton, Louisiana, Gelner met his wife Michelle, an Atlantic native, while serving in the Army for five-years. Prior to becoming a Police Officer, Gelner worked as a Supervisor for a construction and welding company out of Walnut. Michelle Gelner is a nurse at CCMH. The family has lived in town for about three-years.

The Gelner family

The couple has a two-and one-half year old son, and recently welcomed a daughter, who is now three months old.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a bill that creates a system for children needing help with mental health issues. Speaking at a ceremony Wednesday, Reynolds said the new law requires core services for children, regional crisis stabilization, mobile response teams, 24-hour hotline access to services, and $1.2 million for home and community-based children’s mental health services. The goal is to eliminate the waiting list that currently exists.

The bill was one of Reynolds’ top priorities and while it passed with bipartisan votes, lawmakers did not provide the full funding she requested. Reynolds says her commitment is to develop long-term funding for mental health services to propose next year.

Standing in front of supporters and a family who lost a child to suicide, Reynolds said the new system is life-changing and replaces a stigma associated with mental illness with hope.