City of Mechanicsville

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

June 12, 2006

The Mechanicsville City Council met in regular session on Monday, June 12, 2006 at City Hall.  Mayor David L. Furry called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  Those present for roll call were Larry Beck, Jeff Christianson, Pam Logue-Newcomb, Thomas Hall and Karrie Johnson.  Others present included Alan Zerbe, Jim Barber, Sherie Paup, Nate Baker, Beverly Whitmore, Steve Whitmore, Pat Baker, Steve Johnson, Tami Bunge, Dina Wachendorf, Angela McCullough, Carla Barnhart, Diane Griffith, Colleen Svoboda, Earnest Albaugh, Mel Lindsey, Don Griffith, Chris Yancey, Janet & Dane Bescher.

 

OPPORTUNITY for any citizen present to discuss items not on the agenda: 

Beverly Whitmore, Steve Whitmore, Pat Baker and Steve Johnson, introduced themselves as the new managers of the Johnson Mobile Home Park and expressed their willingness to work with the council in enforcing the nuisance abatements and keeping the park clean, safe and a pleasant environment.  They also indicated that they are working on painting and cleaning up the house on South Madison and hope to have it rented soon.

 

CONSENT AGENDA: Larry Beck motioned, Jeff Christianson seconded to approve the consent agenda including the agenda, minutes from 5/8/06, finance reports, and claims.  Roll call vote: Ayes:  Beck, Logue-Newcomb, Christianson, Johnson, and Hall. Nays: None.    Motion carried.

The claims approved were as follows:

 

J & M DISPLAYS, INC

 FIREWORKS INS

745.00

PAYROLL

WAGES

5,759.82

WELLMARK

HEALTH INS

2,522.97

DELTA DENTAL

DENTAL INS

148.97

BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK

FICA/MC

3,588.58

I P E R S

IPERS

1,606.44

US POSTMASTER

OFFICE SUP

127.80

SWANK MOTION PICTURE INC

RECREATION

492.00

TIME

SUBSCRIPTION

3.00

BARNES & NOBLE

BOOKS

28.67

MOVIE LICENSING USA

SUBSCRIPT

75.00

AMAZON.COM

LIB VIDEO

162.78

BEV SCHWARTS/V.FAHRENKRO

REFUND DEP

50.00

BROOKE SMITH/JONATHAN LO

REFUND DEP

50.00

JASCON MASCHMANN

REFUND DEP

50.00

WILLIAM HORRGAN

REFUND DEP

50.00

TERRA & TIM BELL II

REFUND DEP

50.00

AIRGAS, INC.

MED SUPPLY

113.94

ALLIANCE MEDICAL

MED SUPPLY

200.29

ALLIANT ENERGY

UTILITIES

3,966.41

ARAMARK UNIFORM SERVICE

CLOTH ALLO

124.16

CARROT-TOP INDUSTRIES

BLDG MAINT

109.13

CASEY'S GENERAL STORE

VEH SUPPLY

175.04

C.J. COOPER & ASSOC. INC

DRUG TESTI

50.00

CONSERVATIVE PUBLISHING

PUBLICATIONS

303.38

CEDAR CO. SOLID WASTE

FEES LANDFILL

1,050.00

DORIS FLOWER SHOP

KOHL GRAVE DEC

27.50

E C I A

LAGOON UPG

3,927.36

ENVIRONMENTAL MGMT SERVI

MISC CONTR

7,596.72

FARM PLAN

MINOR EQUI

4.96

FRIENDS OF THE ANIMALS

CONTR FEES

100.00

HACH COMPANY

MAIN STRUC

92.00

IA EMS ASSOCIATION

DUES/MEMBE

50.00

I I W ENGINEERS

LAGOON UPG

300.00

IA CODIFICATION, INC.

CODIFICATION

2,800.00

IA ONE CALL

PMTS TO AG

27.90

IOWA WIRELESS

TELEPHONE

81.85

JOHNSON CO REFUSE INC

RECYCLING

2,091.50

KEYSTONE LAB, INC

PMTS TO AG

930.00

KIRKWOOD COMM. COLLEGE

TRAINING

160.00

LESLIE PENA-AMBULANCE

TRAINING

100.00

MECHANICSVILLE TELE. CO.

TELEPHONE

319.02

NEW HORIZON FS INC.

MISC SUPPL

1,108.30

QUILL CORPORATION

OFFICE SUP

25.91

SANDRY FIRE SUPPLY

OP EQ REPA

1,041.00

SHEPLEY SNYDER PHARMACY

MED SUPPLY

32.51

STAR EQUIPMENT LTD

BLDG MAINT

362.50

STRACKBEINS, INC.

VEH REPAIR

145.78

WALMART

CAPITAL EQ

341.44

CONNERLY CONSTRUCTION

HOUSING REHAB

10,924.00

PAYROLL

WAGES

9,418.07

LISBON-MTVERNON AMB SERV

MUTUAL AID

75.00

CONNERLY CONSTRUCTION

HOUSING REHAB

11,112.00

ADVANCED WATER TECH.

OP SUPPLY

335.20

E C I A

LAGOON UPG

2,930.11

COLLECTION SERVICE CTR.

P.T. WAGES

16.69

STATE AUDITOR

AUDIT EXP

7,600.00

KOCH'S PAINT & LUMBER

BLDG MAINT

1,840.57

 

Total Receipts for the month of May by fund:

Agency-Water

250.00

Ambulance Trust

1348.36

Fire Trust

74.80

General

31,506.86

Road Use Tax

7260.70

Sewer Utility

30,611.61

Solid Waste

7,992.88

Employee Benefit

2934.03

Water

7690.64

 

Total disbursements for the month of May per fund:

Gift Tree Trust

500.00

Ambulance Trust

114.60

General

20,707.51

Road Use Tax

3,704.43

Sewer Utility

8,003.92

Solid Waste

6,556.58

Special Revenue Emp Benefit

2,624.16

Water Utility

3,185.04

 

GUESTS:

Tami Bunge, Love Is a Hug Preschool proposal/discussion:  Tami Bunge, Angela McCullough, and Dina Wachendorf represented the Love Is a Hug Preschool and expressed their desire to get council input regarding a new 5,000 square foot facility on the new school grounds and proposed to include the current Kid’s Club.  They would like the city to apply for a CDBG grant in the amount of $300,000 on their behalf and a USDA loan for $300,000.  They would like to pattern this project after the one in Lowden.  They are working on a preliminary Architect Report and plan to charge $100 per week for extended care and requested input from the council for moving forward with an application to apply for the grant funds.  The council indicated that they would be willing to work with the group as much as possible.

 

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

ADMINISTRATION:  Coppess submitted a written report which included updates on the replacement of the refrigerator at the park, no electricity in the Memorial Building which was due to rotted conduit and wiring on the main electricity coming into the building; the tank cleaning has been completed and removed; attendance at the ground breaking ceremony for the kids at the new school site, followed up with State Auditors office and the filing of the Audit which will be done 6/16/06; Building permit violations, property owners curb valves needing to be replaced,  communication sent to IIW regarding the electrical hoist at the Lagoon; information being requested on water and sewer maps from contractors who are preparing bids for the new school and a copy of the plans being submitted to IIW to review with the city’s interest in mind (fire hydrants, size of pipes, and possibly overseeing an application to the DNR for a Water System construction permit and a Wastewater Construction Permit.) ; a land lease application being sent to the railroad, and a request to attend Clerk’s Academy in Ames July 19-21 with the registration being $160.  Larry Beck motioned, Pam Logue-Newcomb approved the request.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT:

Zerbe submitted work logs and informed council that the Annual Drinking Water Quality Report had been completed and sent to the paper for publication.  He also requested input from the council regarding selling the old generator from the lagoon or whether they wanted to keep it to use as a back up to well number 3.  If the generator is kept and put to use; then a building will be needed to house the unit. Directed Zerbe to gather more information and verify that the unit will work for that application.  If the unit is sold it will need to put up for bids.

 

Zerbe also submitted a list of trees that needed to be trimmed as they do not meet the 15 foot street clearance or the 8 ft above the sidewalks.  Zerbe provide 2 sealed bids one from Cy’s Home Improvement for $3,475 and one from Odd Jobber for $2,340.  Council reviewed Ordinances 135.10 and 151.03 and directed that a letter be sent to the property owners giving them an opportunity to trim their own tree, hire their own contractor, or request that the city complete the work and bill the property owner for it.  If the property owner fails to respond, the city may perform the work and assess the costs against the abutting property owner for collection in the same manner as property tax.  It was also noted that the cost of removing any dead or diseased tree is  the city’s responsibility to remove of which the bids received included the removal of a tree on South Jackson. Zerbe added that he had an additional tree in the park to trim and a broken branch in another that needed to be removed.  Beck motioned to get a bid for the two additional items and directed that a notice be sent to trim trees and include the prices from the low quote in the letter giving the owners an opportunity to participate with the work that city is having done or to have the work completed on their own.  Karrie Johnson seconded the motion.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Zerbe requested vacation for July 10-14 and it was approved with a motion by Pam and seconded by Larry.  Ayes all.

 

Zerbe was also directed to investigate getting the street sweeper fixed so that the water sprayer can be run with it, in order to not have to wait until it rains to sweep the streets.

 

POLICE REPORT:  Police Chief Jim Barber presented the council with his summary of activity (5/8/06-6/11/06) which included 1 accident, 10 agency assists; 3 animal cases, 2 Assist Motorists;1 assault,  18 citizen assist; 1 fire department assist, 9-911, 7 traffic stops with 3 citations & 4 warnings.  One abatement served, 4 warnings for city code violations including illegal parking, noise disturbance and 7 citations issued for speeding, serving under age liquor, and disorderly conduct.

 

Barber also reviewed a citizen’s complaint about excessive speeding on North Linn and through the yield sign on West Second.  Upon review of the situation he recommended to the council to replace the yield signs with stop signs.  Council directed to have an ordinance prepared and discussed at the next meeting.

 

FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Nate Baker reported that the fire department had 3 calls which included 2 storm watch and a car fire/overheated.      

 

The departments training in May included pumper/tanker operations for 3 hours with 15 members.  164 had been put back in service, the members of the department contributed the labor needed to fix the brakes and no parts were needed, 1-6-5 needs a new master switch, spark plugs and carburetor repairs.  There are 4 members who have registered to take the FFI test (Kurth, Koch, Nebergall, and Kasik) but who have not yet taken the test.  Baker indicated that the bill will need to be paid because they have registered.  They will have until February, 2007 to complete the test.  Baker inquired about the status of the heating system for the station/city building.  Council indicated that they have contacted Alliant for the energy audit and we are on the waiting list to be scheduled.  We do need to reply with the square footage, addresses and current heating systems of which Zerbe was requested to gather this information.

 

Baker requested approval to expend the balance of the department’s budget for some handheld flashlights, goggles, and a new face shield.  Further discussion resulted in a motion from Pam, seconded by Jeff to pay the balance due on the FF1 testing and authorization to purchase a mask for up to $450.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

AMBULANCE REPORT:  Sherie Paup reported that the ambulance had a total of 17 calls for the month with 14 medical, 3 trauma and 6 were for mutual aid calls. 

 

Council reviewed information gathered by the Safety Committee regarding the proposal for a new ambulance.  The recommendation from the safety committee is to proceed with ordering the new ambulance not to exceed $114,140 dollars and to continue on a plan to replace the unit every 5-6 years. It will be 6 months to delivery and give the city an opportunity to sell A-3 ourselves or at the time of delivery have the amount reduced by the $28,000 offered for trade in value.  The motion was made by Pam, seconded by Jeff, to make the purchase.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Sherie updated the council on repairs needed to A-9 which turned out to be nothing major.  The steering gear assembly $550, A/C repair $400; new muffler and tail pipe; tires were fine for a total of $1321 for the repairs.  The ambulance department suggested a cap on major repairs of $600 as no one wants to go down to only one ambulance, they do need to get a lock on the cabinets for the med bags.  Larry motioned, Karrie seconded to approve up to $1321 for the repairs.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Requested EMS Instructor Training for Scott Kasik on June 28-30 of which $395 will be paid for by the County, and the request for the city to pay mileage and motel costs which was approved with a motion by Pam, second by Jeff.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Sherie informed the council that a grant for $1000 was received from St. Luke’s Health Care Foundation to go towards a power flex cot which will cost $11,000.  Sherie indicated that the volunteers are working to raise ½ the costs with the other ½ to be paid from the Ambulance Trust Fund. 

 

Paup also informed the council about an issue that has come up in reference to the city paying for an EMT student’s classes and books and the student did not file the paper work to take the written exam or do the clinical time.  She requested the council to seek reimbursement from the student according to city policy.

 

Old Business:

Discussion and possible action on:

Set date for public hearing on the adoption of the proposed Code of Ordinances of the city and adopt resolution to direct the clerk to publish the notice for the hearing: Beck motioned, Christianson seconded to set the public hearing for 7/10/06 and adopt the resolution to direct the clerk to publish the notice for the hearing. Ayes:  Beck, Hall, Christianson, Logue-Newcomb, and Johnson.  Nays: None.  Resolution 2006-12 was adopted.

 

Sidewalk Inspection Assignments:  This topic generated much input from the audience which included many willing to accept the responsibility of maintaining their walk; however, were requesting adequate time to get the work done; some were seeking assurance that “everyone” would be required to put in a walk.  There were several examples of locations that would make this very difficult to do.  It was also suggested that the city should develop a plan to help pay for the costs associated with the sidewalk improvements of which a response from others in reference to this was that “I’ve paid for mine I don’t want to pay for anyone else’s”.  A concern was also expressed on getting walks developed at the new school location.  The council indicated that they felt that they needed to do what the code says in reference to the maintenance of the walks and the lists of identified sidewalks needed repaired were turned into to the Public Works committee and will be reviewed for consistency.

 

Additional information on Street Improvements:  Coppess informed the council that she had followed up with the engineers in reference to a question that proposed to expand the initial street project to include all other streets within the city limits that did not have curb and gutter and whether it would help to spread out the legal fees to make it more economical to assess the costs.  The legal fees would also increase slightly but it would be more economical to include all streets in the assessment package if the assessed option is chosen.  But it will also increase the total project costs and may result in money needing to be borrowed.

 

Update on park clean up night:  Park equipment in the Pleasant Hill Park has been painted, and the equipment in Cruse Park was given a second coat.  Additional work was done on the tennis court with a grinder in an attempt to remove the layer that is peeling and there was not much success in that part of the project.  The park committee will investigate the costs to tear out and replace with concrete as the condition of the asphalt in the courts appears to be beyond repair.

 

Update on Solid Waste meeting:  Mayor Furry reported meeting with the Mayors of Stanwood and Clarence to discuss the feasibility of sharing a garbage truck.  They reviewed a 28E agreement that is used by Lowden and in summary indicates that each town would fill it up when they got done, each town would pay their own tipping fees, repair costs would be shared based upon populations.  There have been no commitments to this point only information being shared.  Copies were provided to all council members and they will review.

 

New Business:

Appointing Brian Boots to the Board of Adjustments & Robert Boyd & Jeptha Randolph to the P&Z:  Motion was made by Larry, second by Pam to re-appoint Boots and Boyd to the respective boards.  Randolph’s appointment was held until confirmation is received that he is interested in serving another term.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Application for Cigarette Permit (Bubba’s Bar & Grill & Casey’s):  Pam motioned, Larry seconded to approve the permits.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Resolution to approve budgeted Transfers:  Tom motioned, Pam seconded to approve a transfer of $10,000 from the General Fund to the Fire Trust Fund for the future purchase of replacement equipment.  Ayes:  Beck, Christiansen, Johnson, Logue-Newcomb, Hall.  Nays:  None.  Resolution 2006-13 adopted.

 

5 year Agreement for Maintenance and repair of Primary Roads in Municipalities with IDOT:  Larry motioned, Pam seconded, to authorize the signing of the agreement and assigned resolution number 2006-14.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Programmatic Agreement among the Federal Highway Administration, the State Historic Preservation Officer and the IDOT regarding the implementation of improvements on historically significant segments of the Lincoln Highway.  Larry motioned, Karrie seconded to authorize the signing of the agreement and assigned resolution number 2006-15.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Support of Highway 30 traffic study:  The highway 30 coalition had met with the Mayors of the northern part of Cedar County and requested each town provide for monetary support in order to complete a study for the completion of the 4 lane highway from Mt. Vernon to Clinton.  It was motioned that if each community supports the study, and the County Supervisors are willing to pay the balance, then the City of Mechanicsville will contribute $500 towards the project.  It was motioned by Larry, seconded by Tom to approve the monetary support in the amount of $500.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

CORRESPONDENCE: 

Trees Forever Thank You: Council reviewed a thank you from the Trees Forever Group for contributing to the project.

 

NIMS Statement of Compliance letter:  Larry motioned, Jeff seconded, to sign and return the NIMS Statement of Compliance Letter.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Iowa League of Cities Conference:  Council member received information about the conference in their packet.

 

Committee Reports: 

Safety Committee:  Pam reported that the soft stretcher is in, they will be reviewing another request for an ambulance coordinator position at the next meeting, Nate gave list of equipment and priorities, and the issue with the city paying for training and not seeing any services in return.

 

Mayors Comments:  Continues to get complements about the improvements made in the bathrooms at the Memorial Building, reminded everyone about the Movie Night in the park and informed the council that he would be attending a ceremony in Marion to accept the Governor’s Volunteer Award on behalf of the MAC Committee.

 

 

Set next regular meeting date:  7/10/06

 

ADJOURN:  There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, council member Beck  motioned, Johnson seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 p.m. Ayes all.  Meeting adjourned.

 

ATTEST:

 

____________________________                     _______________________________

Linda K. Coppess, CMC                                         David L. Furry, Mayor

City Clerk/Finance Officer