October 3, 2016 Minutes

City of Walcott October 3, 2016

 

The semi-monthly meeting of the City Council of Walcott, Iowa, was held on Monday, the 3rd day of October, 2016, 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, and Jackie Puck.   Absent: Jacob Puck.  City employees present:  Jeff Blake, Josh Geigle, Randy Reimers, Lisa Rickertsen, and Tom Schirman.

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

Consent Agenda.  Koehler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to approve the consent agenda, including the invoices and minutes from September 19, 2016.  Motion carried.

Public Comments.  John Brockmann stated he had concerns with the drainage on Memorial Road.

South Downey Street Improvements Project.  Nate Stevenson, MSA Professional Services, was present to answer questions on the project and to recommend the approval of payment #4.  Koehler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to approve pay request #4, to All American Concrete, in the amount of $152,439.61, as recommended.  Motion carried.  Stevenson stated the street will be resealed once they are done with the seeding, although he was not sure of the seeding timeline, and that the bid documents did not include new manhole lids.

Concrete Pavement Replacement at Fire Station.  Mayor Kostichek stated he spoke with the former Public Works Director who stated both bidders were presented with the same information. There were still questions on comparisons between the quotes.  Assistant Fire Chief, Joe Hahn, will meet with the two bidders regarding the proposals in order to obtain further clarification.

Manhole Repairs.  It was suggested by the Mayor to delay action so the new Public Works Director can review the manhole inspection reports. The current quotes do not address all of the rehabilitation recommendations as listed in the manhole inspection reports, which were previously provided by Stanley Consultants Inc.  Mengler moved and Koehler seconded to table the repairs until the inspection reports can be reviewed by a new Public Works Director.  Motion carried.

James Street Water Main Project. 

  • Resolution 2016-52, Approving Contract & Bonds for the East James Street Water Main Project. Mengler moved and Jackie seconded to approve Resolution 2016-52.  Roll call ayes:  Mengler, Jackie Puck, Koehler, and Latimer.  Motion carried.
  • Construction Observation Services. Koehler had questions on the proposed part-time observation services. Specifically that it states services would be done by a Civil Engineer intern and that the original contract already included weekly visits by the engineer during the construction phase. Koehler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to have the Mayor obtain further information on the proposed services.  Motion carried.

North Main Street Mudjacking at Bridge Ends.  A bridge inspection report from 2015 indicated abutment undermining on the south abutment footing.  During the preconstruction meeting of the channel shaping project, it was noted that the project work will fix the current erosion and undermining of the abutment but if the void is not fixed the undermining will return. Two quotes were received and Mike Alberts from Concrete Lifting Services was present to explain the costs and work to be done.  Following discussion, Latimer moved and Jackie Puck seconded to hire Concrete Lifting Services, the apparent low quote, to complete the work as discussed, under both bridge approaches.  Motion carried.

Recreational Trail Lighting Options.  Koehler reviewed a spreadsheet with lighting options and costs.  Discussion ensued and Chief Blake stated he has not had any phone calls or complaints about any issues along the trail area and comments were made they felt the lighting wasn’t needed.  Mengler moved and Latimer seconded to not pursue lighting on the recreational trail.  Motion carried.         

Resolution 2016-53, Approving Public Works Director Job Description.  Koehler moved and Mengler seconded to approve Resolution 2016-53.  Roll call ayes: Koehler, Mengler, Jackie Puck, and Latimer.  Motion carried.

Level Dirt at Wastewater Treatment Plant Area.  Two quotes were received to level out a dirt pile at the City-owned property on the west end of Cedar Lane Drive.  Questions arose on why the pile of dirt needs to be moved and how it is beneficial to the City.  Attorney Schirman stated the dirt pile may be addressed in the farm lease.  Mengler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to table any action until Schirman has a chance to review the lease.  Motion carried.

Police Department Report.  Chief Blake stated he would like to have an additional officer help with the 5K run on October 22nd. Council had no problems with the request.

Fire Department Report.  Chief Geigle reported on some mold on the wall around the window and around an outlet on the north wall in the meeting room.  He stated he is working with the Building Official, Linda Rivers, on determining the problem and stated that the inside wall was never sealed during the meeting room renovation.  Rivers has suggested sealing the exterior concrete walls.   Geigle will continue to work with Rivers and bring additional information to a future meeting.

Council Member Comments.  Mengler stated she would like to wait until a new Public Works Director is hired to address concerns from John Brockmann regarding the drainage along Memorial Road. Jackie Puck reported on an email she received from a resident.

Public Comments.  Austin Burt arrived after the public comments section at the beginning of the meeting.  He requested permission for the Hearts and Hands Foundation to cut down some trees on the north side of creek and to remove a fence in the same area on the City-owned property at the west end of Cedar Lane Drive.

Koehler moved and Jackie Puck seconded to adjourn at 7:05 p.m. Motion carried.  All votes were unanimous, unless noted.

October 3 Signed minutes and claims

 

Skip to content