November 16, 2015 Minutes
City of Walcott
November 16, 2015
The semi-monthly meeting of the City Council of Walcott, Iowa, was held on Monday, the 16th day of November, 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, Lisa Rickertsen, Linda Rivers, and Tom Schirman.
Approval of Agenda. Mengler moved and Jacob Puck seconded to approve the agenda. Motion carried.
Consent Agenda. Rickertsen reported on the transfer details included in Resolution 2015-40. She also reported the proposed winter maintenance agreement from Scott County, in the amount of $572.68, for snow removal on the extension of county roads located within our city limits is the same cost as last year. Koehler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to approve the consent agenda including the invoices, Resolution 2015-40 -Transfer of Funds, October 2015 financial reports, and the 2015-2016 Winter Maintenance Proposal with Scott County. Roll call ayes: Koehler, Jackie Puck, Jacob Puck, Latimer, and Mengler. Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes from November 2, 2015. Moved by Jackie Puck and seconded by Latimer to approve the November 2nd minutes. Mengler abstained due to absence from meeting. Motion carried.
Main Street Streetscape Enhancement Project – Approval of Sidewalk Change. Rivers reported on the meeting with the project engineer regarding the request from Denny Puck to raise the sidewalk to help with Puck’s concerns that he has with water continuing onto his property. The written documentation from the engineer states the property owner (Denny Puck) may need to improve the flow in the ditch line at some point in the future, but that is outside the scope of this project. The cost from the project contractor to regrade the sidewalk and reset forms is $2,000. John Brockmann was present and stated he didn’t feel the City should spend more money and that Pucks could put a quarter turn into their berm. Discussion was held on the cost to reset the forms since some areas need to be regraded upon completion of the gas line relocation. Council expressed they didn’t feel the City should pay for additional cost to reset forms due to utility relocations. Following further discussion, including that the Council had no issues with waiting until spring to complete the sidewalk, Mengler moved and Koehler seconded to table the sidewalk change until a breakdown of costs (resetting and regrading) is received from the project contractor. Motion carried. Rivers was asked to obtain written documentation regarding compaction concerns with the recent utility relocation work.
Building at 1113 N. Main Street – Realtor Contract. The current realtor contract for the building at 1113 N. Main Street, with Nick Bert at Mel Foster, expired November 5th. Jeff Heuer, Ruhl Commercial, was present as requested by the City Council. Heuer reported on some issues with the building being split level and ADA requirements, and requested a one-year contract. Koehler discussed reducing the selling price of the building, which was recently listed at $180,000. Following further discussion, Koehler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to entertain a proposal from Jeff Heuer for a one-year listing. Motion carried. Heuer will prepare a proposal to present to council at their next meeting.
Stop Sign Request at Intersection of James and Downey Streets. Discussion was held on the request from Korry Kraft to install a stop sign at the intersection of James and Downey Streets. Other residents within the area, Bernard Brus and Andy Brus, expressed they didn’t feel the stop sign on James Street was necessary to control speed. Chief Blake reported he didn’t feel there was excessive speeding on James Street and agreed the stop sign is not necessary. Mengler moved and Jacob Puck seconded to deny the request for a stop sign at the intersection of James and Downey Streets and to request more police presence in the area. Motion carried.
Policy and Administration Committee Recommendation – 2016 Employee Health and Dental Insurance Benefits. Mengler reported on the recommendation from the Policy and Administration Committee (Mengler and Jacob Puck) to move to Wellmark’s EnhancedBlue 1500 Gold Health Insurance Plan, beginning January 1, 2016. Wellmark representative, Jennifer Rice, was also present and reported on the changes moving from the current Grandfathered plan to a new plan. Rice stated once the City leaves a Grandfathered plan, they cannot go back and the new plans are age rated, therefore if the employees remain the same the premium costs will increase each year due to ages. The proposed plan has higher deductibles, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums but will save several thousands of dollars in premiums each year. Jackie Puck questioned if other companies had been researched. Rickertsen responded that rates from other companies were received but two companies with comparable plans had higher out-of-pocket costs and premium savings were not significant, if any. The Committee had agreed to remain with a Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan. Mengler moved and Jacob Puck seconded to approve switching to the EnhancedBlue 1500 Gold Plan (beginning January 1, 2016) and increase the deductible reimbursement to $1,000 and reimburse up to 50% of the coinsurance, at a maximum of $1,000/year, for employees hired after October, 2009. Motion carried. All other employee health reimbursements will remain the same.
Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment/Study at 101 S. Main Street. Rickertsen reported on the email from Elizabeth Kemp, MSA Professional Services, regarding the Phase 2 assessment costs. Koehler moved and Mengler seconded to approve hiring MSA Professional Services for the Phase 2 environmental site assessment study, not to exceed $8,340. Motion carried.
Resolution 2015-41, Obligating Funds from the Consolidated Walcott Urban Renewal Area. Rickertsen reported the Resolution obligates scheduled payments up to $49,300 with respect to the City’s Development Agreements with Iowa 80 Truckstop Inc., Ossian Walcott Investments LC, JDW Holdings LLC, Sterling Partners LLC, and Eugene Meyer for fiscal year ending June 30, 2017. Jacob Puck moved and Jackie Puck seconded to approve Resolution 2015-41. Roll call ayes: Jacob Puck, Jackie Puck, Mengler, Latimer, and Koehler. Motion carried.
Police Department Report. Chief Blake reported on the status of the new squad and that the 2008 Ford Expedition is ready to be disposed of. Koehler moved and Jacob Puck seconded to proceed with selling the 2008 Ford Expedition. Motion carried. Blake also reported on an upcoming DOT Inspection class he would like to attend with Officer Mayberry.
Public Works Department Report. Approval of Chlorinator Equipment. Council questioned why there were not two bids presented, as stated in city policy, for the chlorinator equipment. Bowman was not present during the meeting so the item will be placed on the next agenda.
Mayors Report. Mayor Kosticheck remarked upon communication with the public. It was stated that the minutes are published in the North Scott Press, available on the city website, and posted on the outdoor bulletin board at City Hall. Rickertsen reported that cities are only required to report action (motions/votes) taken during meetings and every detail about discussions are not reported in minutes. The public is encouraged to attend meetings to hear all detailed discussions.
Questions & Concerns. The City extends thanks to the volunteers that put up the Christmas decorations on city poles and at Welcome Park. Eugene Meyer questioned the brush pile at the compost facility. Bernard Brus had questions regarding snow removal. Korry Kraft, who was not present earlier for the discussion regarding his request for a stop sign at the intersection of James and Downey Streets due to a fire call, asked what decision had been made. Mengler reported on the council’s action and Chief Blake stated he has already done three traffic studies in that area. John Brockmann had questions regarding transfers of funds for the Main Street Streetscape Enhancement Project and televising of sewer lines.
Jackie Puck moved and Latimer seconded to adjourn at 7:28 p.m. Motion carried. All votes on motions were unanimous, unless noted.