January 29, 2018 Minutes

City of Walcott January 29, 2018

A special meeting of the City Council of the City of Walcott, Iowa was held on Monday, January 29, 2018, with Mayor John Kostichek calling the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.  Council members present were: John Brockmann, Tim Koehler, Lisa Mengler, Jacob Puck, and Larry Smith. Absent:  None. City employees present were:  Jeff Blake, Lisa Rickertsen, and Paul Stagg.

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

FYE 2019 Budget Review and Discussion. Chief Blake presented the call reports as requested. Council members agreed they couldn’t justify adding an additional full-time officer.  Discussion was held on adjusting officer schedules, additional weekend hours, and coverage during special events.  An additional $8,200 for part-time wages and taxes will be added to the budget.  Discussion ensued regarding possible water and sewer rate increases in order to support the operations, maintenance, and improvements of the utilities.  Water and sewer rates were compared with four other local communities and with the proposed rate increase, Walcott’s minimum rates were nearly $13/month less than the next lowest and $37/month less than the highest. Per the contract with the garbage contractor, their rate will increase 4% effective July 1, 2018.  The following proposed rate increases will be included in the budget: $.15/1,000 gallons for water, $.35/1,000 gallons for sewer plus a base increase of $1.00/account, and garbage $.54/month.

Future Capital Improvement Projects. A review was held on the recent rankings by the Mayor and Council on proposed capital improvement projects. Discussion was held on having the City Engineer prepare cost estimates for the top projects in each category.  Following further discussion, Stagg was asked to have the City Engineer provide an estimate to prepare cost estimates for the top project in each category.

Mengler moved and Puck seconded to adjourn at 5:50 p.m.  Ayes:  All.  Motion carried.