The semi-monthly meeting of the City Council of Walcott, Iowa, was held on Monday, the 17^th day of February, 2014, 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, Jackie Huston, Linda Rivers, and Tom Schirman.

Jake Puck moved and Mengler seconded to approve the agenda. Motion carried.

Consent Agenda. Mengler moved and Koehler seconded to approve the consent agenda including the invoices, minutes from 2/3/14, January 2014 Financial Reports, Resolution 2014-6, Approving Wage increase for Building Official, and Resolution 2014-7, Adopting the 2013 Supplement to the Walcott Code of Ordinances. Motion carried with unanimous roll call vote.

Audience. Joe & Jessie Latsch and Joe Hahn.

Contract approval for Sanitary Sewer Inflow & Infiltration Study. Brockmann recommended waiting to approve the contract due to the concerns Attorney Schirman has with the contract. Koehler moved and Mengler seconded to table the contract until the next meeting. Motion carried.

Iowa U.S. Route 6 Renewal. Following discussion on the renewal, Koehler moved and Jake Puck seconded to approve the 2 year renewal for $150.00. Motion carried.

Ordinance 469-14, Amending Chapter 125, Pertaining to Mobile Home Park Regulations. Koehler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to approve the second reading of Ordinance 469-14. Motion carried with a unanimous roll call vote.

Splash Pad Advisory Committee. Mayor Kostichek requested approval to appoint the following committee members: Bridget Geigle, Danielle Blake, Lisa Holdorf, Leah Patton, Jackie Geigle, Heidi Wulf, and Amy Leuenhagen. Jackie Puck moved and Mengler seconded to approve the appointments. Motion carried.

Potential Parking Code Changes. The following parking restrictions were discussed for possible code changes-

√ò Right-of-way parking. Parking is currently prohibited on the street ROW that lies between the curb and the property line that is not covered by driveway. The recommendation would be to change it to curbline for areas that do not have a actual curb. Some areas may need to be exempted. Council consensus was to make the change.

√ò Front yard parking. This change would be to prohibit parking in front yards except on driveways. Corner lots have two front yards. Council consensus was to make this change.

√ò Side & rear yard parking. Possible restrictions could include: limiting the number of motor vehicles and/or towables to 2 or 3 in the rear yard or allowing a certain percentage of the rear yard to be hard-surfaced for parking. Due to the complicated nature of this issue and a lack of Council consensus, this topic will be put on a future agenda for discussion.

√ò Motor vehicles on jacks. The Council consensus was to limit vehicles being allowed outside on jacks. Approved jack stands versus other more dangerous materials was discussed. Length of time allowed for jack stand use was reviewed. Schirman and Rivers will return to a future meeting with recommendations.

Planning & Zoning Commission Concerns. Huston presented the following issues that were discussed at the P&Z meeting and are being brought to the Council for direction-

√ò Accessory buildings on larger lots. Current code allows lots that are larger than 20,000 sq. ft. to construct a second accessory building up to 3,000 sq. ft. Huston questioned if the accessory building would be considered too large if the house was only 800-900 sq. ft. P&Z did not have a recommendation to lower the square footage, so Koehler recommended leaving it as is and the rest of the Council did not disagree.

√ò Special Uses Permitted. Attorney Schirman recommended allowing residential use in conjunction with commercial use in C-1 and C-2 zoning. P&Z also would recommend this change. Council consensus was to proceed with the change.

√ò Car Ports. P&Z is recommending language that would consider approved car ports as part of the allowed square footage of an attached or detached garage and that the car port must be attached to the garage or primary structure. Council consensus was to add the language.

√ò Snow fences. P&Z had a request to allow snow fences to be placed in front yards as that is where they are likely needed. Currently, snow fences are not allowed in front yards. Following discussion, the Council determined that front yard snow fences could allow snow to drift on neighboring properties and did not consider them appropriate for front yards.

The recommended code changes will be prepared for a P&Z meeting.
Building Department : Resolution Awarding Contract for Demolition of Building. Rivers reported that the bids had been opened and some had been very reasonable. Tom has approved the contract and lawful disposal of the material is included. Following discussion, Koehler moved and Jake Puck seconded to approve Resolution 2014-8, awarding the contract for demolition to Holst Trucking in the amount of $3,488.00. Motion carried with unanimous roll call vote.

Police Department Report. Chief Blake gave the January 2014 call reports to the Council. He also reported on staffing in his department and that the damaged squad is still not repaired.

Public Works Department Report. Brockmann reported on winter related difficulties including another water main break and snow removal. He is still attempting to get an asbestos removal estimate for the recently purchased building on Main Street. Delays on the Bryant Street project were discussed. Council requested that Schirman contact the City Engineer to attempt to get the engineering on the project completed.

Mayor's Report. Mayor Kostichek reported that the Municipal Building Committee had been meeting and was making progress. The next meeting is February 18^th.

Jackie Puck moved and Koehler seconded to adjourn at 7:32 p.m. Motion carried. All votes on motions were unanimous, unless noted.

The semi-monthly meeting of the City Council of Walcott, Iowa, was held on Monday, the 3^rd day of February, 2014, 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, and Tom Schirman.

Jackie Puck moved and Mengler seconded to approve the agenda. Motion carried.

Consent Agenda. Koehler moved and Jacob Puck seconded to approve the consent agenda including the invoices, minutes from January 20, 2014, minutes from January 27, 2014, and the liquor license renewal for Gramma's Kitchen and The Checkered Flag. Motion carried.

Audience. None.

Iowa U.S. Route 6 Renewal. Discussion was held on the U.S. Route 6 Tourist Association renewal. Council requested further information on the organization and their activities. Jackie Puck moved and Koehler seconded to table the renewal until further information is obtained. Motion carried.

Ordinance 469-14, Amending Chapter 125, Pertaining to Mobile Home Park Regulations. Jackie Puck introduced and moved to approve the first reading of Ordinance 469-14. Seconded by Latimer. Roll call ayes: Jackie Puck, Latimer, Mengler, Koehler, and Jacob Puck. Motion carried.

FYE 2015 Budget. Discussion was held on the proposed budget for FYE 2015 (July 1, 2014 : June 30, 2015). Rickertsen recommended increasing the tax levy rate from $10.00 to $10.12 due to the declining general fund balance and to allow for continued transfers to reserve funds for future equipment, vehicles, and projects. Projected vehicles/equipment purchases for FYE 2015 totals $585,000 and includes a new fire truck, snow plow, and pickup truck. Capital projects budgeted for FYE 2015 total $1,660,000. Rickertsen presented information on the rollback and changes to Iowa's property tax system. She explained that if the assessed values remain the same, residential property owners will see an increase in taxes, even without a levy rate increase, due to the rollback figures for FYE 2015, and commercial and industrial property owners will see a decrease. Mengler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to increase the tax levy rate to $10.12 for FYE 2015. Motion carried. This is the first levy rate increase since FYE 2008. A $.12 levy increase on a residential property with an assessed valuation of $100,000 would cost the homeowner approximately $6.50 for the entire year. Proprietary Funds (sewer, water, and garbage) were discussed and Rickertsen recommended increasing the sewer rate $.20 – $.25 per 1,000 gallons. Koehler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to increase the sewer rate $.25 per 1,000 gallons effective with the July 1, 2014 bills. Motion carried. Minimum bills (1,400 gallons and less) will increase $.35/month and an average bill of 5,000 gallons will increase $1.25/month. The public hearing for the FYE 2015 budget will be March 3, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.

Police Department Report. Discussion was held on the snow emergency procedures and the difficulty in plowing streets with cars parked on them. During a snow emergency, all vehicles and equipment shall be parked on the odd-numbered side of the street for odd-numbered calendar dates and on the even numbered side of the street for even-numbered dates. Even though an emergency is not declared it would be beneficial for residents to adhere to the policy during any snow fall. Chief Blake gave an update on the K9 squad.

City Clerk's Report. Rickertsen reported she was contacted in regards to selling the property at 1113 N. Main Street for commercial purposes. Council encouraged staff to pursue the inquiry. She also reported that due to recent changes to the Urban Renewal (TIF) laws, plan amendments are now required for all projects and rebates. She recommended council attend a meeting in Durant with Attorney John Danos to discuss the TIF regulations and changes on Wednesday February 26^th. Rickertsen will contact Danos to schedule a private meeting with him regarding potential projects and rebates. Rickertsen also reported that five bids were received for the dangerous building (barn) demolition project. The topic will be on the next regular agenda. Attorney Schirman will research if staff costs can be included with the cost assessed to the property owner.

Questions/Concerns. Mengler questioned the status of the Meier property/project. It was reported that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is in the process of determining elevations for the property. Rickertsen stated that the Floodplain maps are prepared by FEMA and are available to the public online. The City Engineer determined part of the lot may be in the floodplain area during his Site Plan review. During discussion, it was noted that the City is enthused about the proposed project and the City's proposed Main Street Enhancement project will help provide safe pedestrian access to the north Main Street area. Brockmann reported he is waiting for response for asbestos abatement for the property at the NW corner of Main and Lincoln Streets that the City recently purchased.

Jake Puck moved and Latimer seconded to adjourn at 7:25 p.m. Motion carried. All votes on motions were unanimous, unless noted.