February 21, 2011

The semi-monthly meeting of the City Council of Walcott, Iowa, was held on Monday, the 21^st day of February, 2011. Mayor Couper called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Council members present were: Dietz, Koberg, Koehler, Kostichek, and Puck. City employees present: L. Rickertsen, J. Brockmann, J. Vaughan, and J. Hahn.

Puck moved and Koehler seconded to approve the agenda. Motion carried.

Consent Agenda. Kostichek moved and Puck seconded to approve the consent agenda including the invoices, minutes from February 7, 2011, and January 2011 Financial Reports. Motion carried.

Audience: Jon White, Brent Puck, Mike Byington, Kris Burt, Andy Willey, and Janice Dawson.

Recreational Trail & Park Project. Discussion was held with Engineer, Jon White, regarding the dirt on the project disposal site. Brockmann stated the property owner requested the height of the lot not to exceed 2.8', measuring from the street elevation of the NE corner of the lot, and the property owner also requested a gradual slope. The contractor will be asked to utilize the entire disposal site and council consensus was to push any remaining dirt to the adjacent city-owned lot south of the disposal site. Discussion was also held on the grading of the project site. White stated he did a walk-through last fall and the contractor agreed to come back once the ground is suitable to fine tune the problem areas. Further discussion was held on the seeding, and cracked sidewalks. Trail Committee member Brent Puck questioned if there were any remaining activities outside the scope of contract with Verbeke-Meyer and White stated all known costs are already included.

Vision Committee Report. Committee members Brent Puck, Mike Byington, and Kris Burt were present to report on the recent Vision Committee meeting. Discussion was held on a welcome sign at the north end of Main Street and the possibility of a smaller sign near the intersection of Blue Grass Road and Memorial Road. Puck distributed the survey results from the Visioning meeting held May 27, 2008, and questioned if there are any items on the list the committee could be doing legwork on. Following discussion, Koehler moved and Kostichek seconded to allow the Vision Committee to continue working on the welcome sign and to pursue Main Street enhancement. Motion carried.

Ordinance 451, Adding Chapter 142, Recreational Trails. Kostichek moved and Dietz seconded to approve the second reading of Ordinance 451. Roll call ayes: Kostichek, Dietz, Koberg, Puck, and Koehler. Motion carried.

Resolution 2011-9, Set date for Public Hearing on Loan Agreement. Koberg moved and Puck seconded to approve Resolution 2011-9. Roll call ayes: Koberg, Puck, Dietz, Kostichek, and Koehler. Motion carried. The public hearing will be at 6:00 p.m. on March 7^th and the loan agreement is for refunding the 2006 General Obligation Bonds and funding for a sewer lift station project.

RAGBRAI. The City received notification regarding Walcott being a pass-through town for this year's RAGBRAI event. Kris Burt presented an update to the council regarding the initial planning meeting, meetings with past RAGBRAI pass-through communities, and a meeting/workshop with RAGBRAI officials in April. Burt stated they would like the City to cover the costs of portable toilets (approximately $2,000) and payroll for city personnel to work July 30^th. Mayor Couper also discussed obtaining a large tent to be placed at Victory Park, where food and activities will be available. Burt reported an email address of walcottragbrai@gmail.com has been established and a link will be on the City's website posting meeting notes, routes, etc. Mayor Couper stated this is a great opportunity to showcase Walcott and stated the Chamber of Commerce is taking the lead with this event. Koberg moved and Dietz seconded to approve the RAGBRAI XXXIX Pass-Through Town Agreement for July 30^th. Motion carried. The agreement does state that the City agrees to shut down outdoor activities by 2:30 p.m.

Fire Department Report. Koehler questioned if Hahn had contacted someone to look at a possible expansion of the fire department. Hahn stated he has not yet but stated he was told that a soil sample may need to be done first as the area may be too wet.

Police Department Report. Chief Vaughan state the armed robbery at the Comfort Inn has led to charges being filed.

Public Work's Report. A project worksheet was presented for a new desktop computer. Brockmann stated the old computer will be used solely for the GPS/GIS system. Following discussion, Koehler moved to approve the purchase of a new desktop computer, not to exceed a cost of $1,856, contingent that a second bid is obtained. Motion carried. Brockmann reported on the clean-up from the snow storm in early February. The Governor declared Scott County a disaster county, therefore State resources could be utilized to assist with clean-up at no cost to the City. Brockmann stated there were State trucks and equipment in Walcott for 1 ¬Ω days to assist with the clean-up.

City Clerk's Report. Rickertsen reported that the Zoning Board of Adjustments granted a Special Use Permit and Variance to Central Petroleum Company.

Questions/Concerns. Brent Puck questioned if the council would consider absorbing some of the costs of additional engineering fees for the recreational trail in the next budget. Rickertsen stated the proposed budget for FYE 2012 has been sent out for publication and budgeted expenditures cannot be higher than the published amount, although discussions can occur during the budget year and budget amendments can be made accordingly. Andy Willey, Night Owl Wireless, was present to thank the City for giving his business the opportunity to install the new water meter registers.

Puck moved and Koehler seconded to adjourn at 7:52 p.m. Motion carried. All votes on motions were unanimous, unless noted.