June 1, 2015 Minutes

The semi-monthly meeting of the City Council of Walcott, Iowa, was held on Monday, the 1st day of June, 2015, at Walcott City Hall. Mayor John Kostichek called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Council members present were: Tim Koehler, Virgil Wayne Latimer, Lisa Mengler, Jackie Puck, and Jacob Puck. Absent: None. City employees present: Jeff Blake, John Brockmann, Lisa Rickertsen, Linda Rivers, and Tom Schirman.

Approval of Agenda. Latimer moved and Jacob Puck seconded to approve the agenda. Motion carried.

Audience. Joe & Kelly Quick, Gene Meyer, Janice Dawson, and Kent Arp.

Consent Agenda. Mengler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to approve the consent agenda including the invoices, minutes from May 18th, and minutes from May 27th. Motion carried.

RAGBRAI Update. Joe and Kelly Quick gave an update on the RAGBRAI pre-ride on June 6th. They questioned if the condition of E. Bryant Street could be improved. Brockmann will be doing minor repairs and clean-up to the street this week.

FYE 2016 Sidewalk Reimbursement Program. Rivers presented a list and pictures of properties requiring sidewalk repairs. The list includes twenty-three residential, owner-occupied properties which are eligible for the Residential Sidewalk Repair Program (RSRP). Koehler moved and Jacob Puck seconded to approve the list as presented. Motion carried. Property owners that qualify for the RSRP will receive a reimbursement of 50% of sidewalk repair costs.

Main Street Streetscape Enhancement Project. Rickertsen stated the contract and bonds had not been received yet so the resolution to approve the documents will be placed on a future agenda.
Resolution Establishing Project Fund & Authorizing Transfer of Funds. Mengler moved and Jacob Puck seconded to approve Resolution 2015-21. Roll call ayes: Mengler, Jacob Puck, and Jackie Puck. Nays: Koehler and Latimer. Koehler stated since he didn't vote for the project he has to vote no.
Construction Observation. Rickertsen stated the project engineer recommended a full-time inspector to oversee the construction of sidewalks, driveways, lighting, and pedestrian bridge. Discussion was held on the proposal received from Missman, Inc. for the construction observation services. Since Rivers is a certified electrical inspector and would be inspecting the electrical and sidewalks anyway, discussion was held that she could do the construction observation/inspections and to contact the engineer with other items, such as the pedestrian bridge span extension. Rivers reported she viewed the plans and requested the electrical panel be moved so that it is behind a pole adjacent to city-owned property instead of locating it in front of an existing business. Mengler moved and Koehler seconded to have Rivers do the daily construction observation/inspections and to contact the engineer with items as needed. Motion carried.

Public Works Director Position.
Resolution 2015-22, Approving Public Works Director Job Description. Changes to the Public Works Director job description were made as discussed during the special meeting on May 27th. Koehler moved and Jacob Puck seconded to approve Resolution 2015-22. Roll call ayes: Koehler, Jacob Puck, Latimer, Mengler, and Jackie Puck. Motion carried.
Review of Benefits. Koehler asked Brockmann for an approximate retirement date to facilitate hiring a replacement. Brockmann responded his estimated date would be mid-September. Koehler moved and Mengler seconded to table the review of benefits. Motion carried. Review of benefits for new hires will be discussed at a future special city council meeting.

2015 Pavement Markings. Mengler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to approve participating in the Pavement Marking Program with Scott County. Motion carried.

Ordinance 479-15, Amending Chapter 99 Regarding Sewer Rates. Koehler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to approve the third reading of Ordinance 479-15. Roll call ayes: Koehler, Jackie Puck, Jacob Puck, Latimer, and Mengler. Motion carried. The rate will increase by $.50 per 1,000 gallons, beginning with the July 1, 2015 billing.

Ordinance 480-15, Amending Chapter 92 Regarding Water Rates. Jacob Puck moved and Mengler seconded to approve the third reading of Ordinance 480-15. Roll call ayes: Jacob Puck, Mengler, Latimer, Koehler, and Jackie Puck. Motion carried. The rate will increase by $.50 per 1,000 gallons, beginning with the July 1, 2015 billing.

FYE 2016 Wages. Koehler stated when determining wage increases he believes all benefit cost increases should be taken into consideration. Following discussion, the Policy & Administration Committee, Mengler & Jacob Puck, moved and seconded to approve a 1.5% hourly wage increase for employees for FYE 2016. Ayes: Mengler, Jacob Puck, and Jackie Puck. Nays: Koehler and Latimer. Motion carried. A resolution will be prepared for the June 15th meeting.

Police Department Report. Chief Blake reported on the $18,000 grant received from Scott County Regional Authority towards a new squad and $4,000 grant from the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau for officer overtime pay towards traffic safety.

Public Works Report.
Purchase of Tractor. Brockmann presented a project worksheet for the purchase of a new John Deere utility tractor with a 59" two-stage snow blower and a 72" mower deck. Concerns regarding the value of the purchase and adding to the city fleet were expressed from Mayor Kostichek and council. Brockmann stated the current tractor is not capable of handling the amount of snow that will be on the new sidewalks on the city-owned lots on N. Main Street and it has an enclosed cab. He also stated the current tractor would not have much of a trade value and could be kept as a back-up. Following further discussion, Jackie Puck moved and Latimer seconded to approve the quote from River Valley Turf, not to exceed $36,995.54, for a new John Deere tractor, snow blower and mower deck. Motion carried.
Additional PT Grade 3 Wastewater (WW) Operator. Brockmann stated he hired an additional part-time Grade 3 WW Operator to assist at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). This individual will be assisting with the lab certification and staff coverage at the plant. Koehler questioned if this would help with eliminating some over-time at the plant and Brockmann responded that it would not. Following discussion, Koehler moved and Mengler seconded to approve the hiring of Anthony Rupe as a part-time Grade 3 WW Operator, at the current part-time certified operator rate of $35.53/hour, to assist with lab set-up and staff coverage for time-off. Motion carried. Once the lab is certified it will eliminate paying for some monthly testing fees to an outside facility.

City Clerk's Report. Rickertsen stated the Walcott Chamber of Commerce questioned if they could place their welcome banner on the city-owned lot at 1113 N. Main during Walcott Day and RAGBRAI events. Jacob Puck moved and Mengler seconded to approve the request from the Chamber of Commerce as presented. Motion carried. Rickertsen also reported the Zoning Board of Adjustment will be meeting on June 10th at 6:00 p.m. regarding a fence and driveway variance request from the property owner at 200 W. Flagg Street.

Questions/Concerns. Mengler questioned the project at Victory Park. Brockmann stated there is poor drainage between the north shelter and swings. He will be installing tile and sidewalks from the shelter to the playground area.

Koehler moved and Mengler seconded to adjourn at 7:33 p.m. Motion carried. All votes on motions were unanimous, unless noted.