City of
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
The
Mechanicsville City Council met in regular session on
CONSENT AGENDA: Jeff motioned, Pam seconded to approve
the consent agenda including the agenda, minutes from
The
claims approved were as follows:
|
EMERGENCY VEHICLE SALES |
CAPITAL
EQ |
116,090.00 |
|
PAYROLL |
WAGES |
5,225.19 |
|
HD SUPPLY WATERWORKS |
MILEAGE |
20.00 |
|
WELLMARK |
HEALTH
INS |
552.14 |
|
WELLMARK |
HEALTH
INS |
1,656.41 |
|
I P E R S |
IPERS |
1,468.35 |
|
BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK |
FICA/MC |
3,274.31 |
|
|
POSTAGE |
115.20 |
|
DAD'S BELGIAN WAFFLES |
MAC ACTIVITY |
874.95 |
|
BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK |
POSTAGE |
78.62 |
|
PAYROLL |
WAGES |
5,618.16 |
|
AMAZON.COM |
LIB VIDEO |
422.69 |
|
IA OFFICE SUPPLY |
OFFICE
SUP |
43.98 |
|
NEWSWEEK |
SUBSCRIPT |
74.00 |
|
BARNES & NOBLE |
BOOKS |
21.48 |
|
DEMCO |
SUPPLIES |
84.90 |
|
CONSUMER REPORTS |
SUBSCRIPT |
26.00 |
|
LINDA STRANSKY |
REFUND
DEP |
50.00 |
|
AIRGAS, INC. |
MED
SUPPLY |
107.33 |
|
|
MED
SUPPLY |
223.16 |
|
ALLIANT ENERGY |
UTILITIES |
7,913.87 |
|
AREA AMBULANCE |
MUTUAL
AID |
128.76 |
|
ARAMARK UNIFORM SERVICE |
CLOTH
ALLOW |
147.40 |
|
BEST WESTERN COOPERS MIL |
HOUSING
REHAB |
268.56 |
|
BANYON DATA SYSTEMS, INC |
MAIN/EQUIP |
770.00 |
|
CASEY'S GENERAL STORE |
VEH
SUPPLY |
36.00 |
|
CEDAR CO. SOLID WASTE |
FEES
LANDFILL |
1,018.50 |
|
CR PHOTO COPY |
MAIN/EQUIP |
82.34 |
|
L |
ATTY SERV |
285.00 |
|
FARM PLAN |
MINOR
EQUIP |
16.18 |
|
FRIENDS OF THE ANIMALS |
CONTR
FEES |
100.00 |
|
I I W ENGINEERS |
CAPITAL
IM |
2,500.00 |
|
IA ONE CALL |
PMTS TO
AG |
4.50 |
|
|
TELEPHONE |
95.48 |
|
JIMS AUTO BODY |
VEH
REPAIR |
21.80 |
|
JOHNSON CO REFUSE INC |
RECYCLING |
2,232.50 |
|
KEYSTONE LAB, INC |
PMTS TO
AG |
20.00 |
|
|
MILE/CONF |
30.00 |
|
CONNIE KNUTSEN |
CERTIFICATION
|
25.00 |
|
LISBON-MTVERNON AMB SERV |
MUTUAL
AID |
75.00 |
|
MECHANICSVILLE TELE. CO. |
TELEPHONE |
297.83 |
|
NEW HORIZON FS INC. |
VEH
SUPPLY |
1,049.25 |
|
QUILL CORPORATION |
OFFICE
SUP |
197.80 |
|
RADIO COMMUNICATIONS |
OP SUPPLY |
47.30 |
|
SHEPLEY SNYDER PHARMACY |
MED
SUPPLY |
22.97 |
|
SLEEP INN & SUITES |
HOUSING
REHAB |
512.94 |
|
CITY OF |
MUTUAL
AID |
100.00 |
|
CONSERVATIVE PUBLISHING |
PUBLICATION |
433.25 |
|
WALMART |
MISC
SUPPL |
477.58 |
|
ALLIANT ENERGY |
UTILITIES |
398.53 |
|
MARK & TERESA WETHINGTON |
HOUSING
REHAB |
500.00 |
|
KEYSTONE LAB, INC |
TEST FEES |
243.70 |
|
JOEL POLHAMUS |
EMT
TRAINING |
693.00 |
|
BATTERIES INCLUDED |
OTHER
EQUIP |
213.00 |
|
CLIA LABORATORY PROGRAM |
FEE |
150.00 |
|
COMPU FINANCIAL |
CAPITAL
EQ |
419.95 |
|
AIRGAS, INC. |
MED
SUPPLY |
108.58 |
|
CONNIE KNUTSEN |
MILE/CONF |
40.00 |
Total
Receipts for the month of January by fund:
|
Agency-Water |
150.00 |
|
Ambulance
Trust |
8,668.25 |
|
Fire
Trust |
140.72 |
|
General |
102,523.46 |
|
Library
Trust |
35.95 |
|
Road
Use Tax |
8,377.31 |
|
Sewer
Utility |
6,452.18 |
|
Solid
Waste |
7,827.65 |
|
Employee
Benefit |
203.88 |
|
Water |
8,862.45 |
Total
disbursements for the month of January per fund:
|
Agency-Water |
50.00 |
|
Ambulance
Trust |
117,925.93 |
|
General |
26,679.86 |
|
Road
Use Tax |
7,844.28 |
|
Sewer
Utility |
5,634.11 |
|
Solid
Waste |
5,303.02 |
|
Special
Revenue |
17,58.66 |
|
Special
Revenue Emp Benefit |
2,29.50 |
|
Water
Utility |
3,52.42 |
MEETING WITH TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES &
FIRE VOLUNTEERS:
The
council met with trustees in order to review proposed changes in the township
trustee fire and ambulance service contracts.
Nate Baker gave a presentation on his goals and the goals of the fire
department, which also included a review of the proposed budget. He also summarized the departments history
with applying for grants which included an application in 2002 being denied
when applying for a truck grant; 2003 the department was awarded $57,000 for
air packs and protective gear; and 2004 $26,000 for extrication equipment.
Council member Jeff Christiansen then
presented a proposal for purchasing a replacement truck which included new
trucks priced in the range of $200,000-$210,000 and examples of 3 used trucks
at 10 years old or older in the $130,000-$200,000 price range and the
possibility of coming up with a down payment and financing the balance for 5-6
years.
One of the proposed changes in the contract
included deleting the 8 ½ cents that has
been collected in the past for the ambulance service for this next year and
allocating it to the Fire Trust Fund, in order to help with the purchase of a
replacement truck. The explanation
being that the ambulance trust fund has accumulated sufficient funds and even
after the recent purchase of a new 2006 Ambulance at a cost of $116,090 the
fund has a remaining balance of nearly $100,000. These funds accumulate from billing patients
for the use of the ambulance and an occasional memorial or donation for the
vehicle and equipment replacement.
In
addition to reallocating the 8 ½ cents to the Fire Trust Fund, an additional 11
¾ cents was proposed to be collected from the townships to also be put towards
the cost of replacing at least 2 of the trucks with one new one. The additional 11 ¾ cents would bring the
townships up to the maximum tax levy allowed by state law for providing fire
service which is .6075. Trustees
indicated that they would rather see other alternatives explored as a source of
revenue rather than having to raise taxes.
But they also agreed that there was a need for replacing the trucks.
Other
options discussed included sending out a fund drive letter of which the
trustees present indicated that they were in agreement with participating with
the town council on this effort. The
fire and ambulance volunteers requested that it be done sometime after their upcoming
dance so that the public would not be asked to donate to both items at the same
time. The truck letter drive will be
held up until more specific information is available about the requirements
being requested in the truck purchase. A
discussion about applying for grants with the City of
Other
generalized questions were also fielded by the Mayor, council and fire chief. The townships were requested to contact city
hall with what they planned to do regarding the contracts for fire service.
Public Hearing Urban Renewal Plan: The mayor opened the public
hearing on the question of designating an expanded Mechanicsville Urban renewal
area by adding and including the property generally described as twenty acres
of real property recently annexed to the City of Mechanicsville and situated
immediately north of 125th Street.
The proposed amendment to the urban renewal plan will also remove the
existing expiration date from the Plan.
The City
Council investigated and found that notice of the intention of the City Council
to conduct a public hearing on the designation of the 2007 Addition to the
Mechanicsville Urban Renewal Area and on an urban renewal plan amendment had
been published according to law and as directed by the Council and that this is
the time and place at which the Council shall receive oral or written
objections from any resident or property owner of the City. All written objections, statements, and
evidence heretofore filed were reported to the City Council, and all oral
objections, statements, and all other exhibits presented were considered.
There were no objections. It was noted that the Planning & Zoning
Commission had met and approved the final draft of the subdivision as well as
recommended proceeding with the changes to the urban renewal plan, and the
consultation meeting that is required to be held with the school district, area
community college and the county was scheduled and held on 1/25/07 at 5:30 with
no other participants showing. A motion
to close the public hearing was made by Pam Logue-Newcomb, seconded by Jeff
Christianson. Ayes all. Motion carried. The Mayor announced the
hearing closed.
Public hearing for the 2006-2007
Budget Amendment was
opened by Mayor Furry. There were no
written or oral comments made regarding the proposed changes as published in
the paper. Motion was made by Pam,
seconded by Jeff to close the public hearing.
Ayes all. Motion carried. The Mayor announced the hearing
closed.
Guest Tom Decker, Dynamic Broadband presented information regarding his
company and a proposal to put an antenna on the old water tower to allow a
choice of internet providers to the residents in town. Some pictures of the proposed antennae were
passed around as well as some background information about the company was
presented. Tom also gave the council
members a sample contract that could be signed allowing the company to place
their equipment on the tower. The
council will take the request under consideration at the next meeting.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS:
FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Nate Baker reported 4 calls for the last month with 3 being
car accidents and 1 electrical pole fire.
Requested a programmable thermostat be purchase at a cost of $60 for
city hall/fire station in order to try to solve the issue with the building
being too hot or too cold, 3 members Dan, Lonni and Jake Koch attended
Chief Baker also requested that his
letter of resignation be accepted. A motion was made by
Christianson, seconded by Hall, to accept the letter with the resignation being
effective
AMBULANCE REPORT: Sherie Paup reported 24 calls with 3
being traumas and 21 medical. There were
4 mutual aids with A-5, one with A-7, one with A-51, and 1 canceled in
route. A request for 4 EMT’s to Code1
(Lonni and Sherie 2 days at $175 each and Ronnie and Connie 3 days at $214 each
for a total of $778 for training in
Update on Zoll monitor purchase:
Additional information regarding the 12 lead monitor was made available
to the council from the Medical Director, although they may have a call where
there is not a local paramedic available, an EMT-B or EMT-I could hook up the
monitor and make the information available for when a trained paramedic became
available and it would allow the patient to be expedited through the ER based
on the information that was being gathered from the monitor while they are in route
to the hospital. A request to proceed
with the purchase and put in service in March and to pay $21,892 for the unit
after
Police Report:
Police Chief Jim Barber presented the council with his summary of
activity for the month which included 3 accidents, 23 agency assists; 2 animal
cases, 3 arrests; 1 assist motorists, 1 assault, 15 citizen’s assist; 1
criminal mischief; 1 domestic assault, 1 fire department assist; 1 harassment,
5 - 911, 5 traffic stops with 2
citations, 3 warning’s. In addition to 3
nuisance abatements filed, with 12 code violation warnings for illegal parking,
curfew violations, and 6 citations for illegal parking, fail to abate nuisance,
no valid drivers license, and speeding.
Public Works Report: Zerbe was absent, however, had submitted a request to
purchase a PH meter for $420 which was approved with a motion by Pam
Logue-Newcomb, seconded by Thomas Hall.
Ayes all. Motion carried.
Administration Report:
Coppess reported receiving an application from Who’s on First for
permission to sell Beer and Wine at the new restaurant, however, the sketch and
notarized signatures wouldn’t be turned in until later this week. Pam motioned, Tom seconded to approve subject
to the paperwork being completed. Ayes
all. Motion carried.
It was
noted that President’s Day is February 19, and garbage will not be picked up
until Tuesday, however, recycling would be picked up as normal on Monday. The Housing Rehab project completion date was
extended until September, the income survey rate of return is just over 50%, information
for a matching grant from Alliant Energy was received, and an Outdoor
Advertising Application was approved for Bridge Bank.
Old Business:
Discussion and possible action on:
Review
IIW’s concerns regarding the First Street Improvement Plan and determine how to
proceed: Council discussed and received
a comment from the audience requesting council to prepare for making
New Business:
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON:
2007-2 Urban Renewal Plan
Resolution:
Council Member Pam Logue-Newcomb moved the adoption of