City of Mechanicsville

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

August 7, 2006

The Mechanicsville City Council met in regular session on Monday, August 7, 2006 at City Hall.  Mayor David L. Furry called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  Council members present for roll call were Larry Beck, Jeff Christianson, and Karrie Johnson.  Pam Logue-Newcomb and Thomas Hall arrived at 7:05 p.m.  Others present included Jim Barber, Alan Zerbe, Sherie Paup, Nate Baker, Don Griffith, Rich and Mary Jo Hainstock.

 

OPPORTUNITY for any citizen present to discuss items not on the agenda:  The mayor took a moment to introduce Mary Jo Hainstock, the new Superintendent for North Cedar and her husband to the Council and staff.

 

CONSENT AGENDA: Pam Logue-Newcomb motioned, Larry Beck seconded to approve the consent agenda including the agenda, minutes from 7/10/06, finance reports, and claims with an additional claim to Connerly Construction to be paid upon approval of the housing rehab inspection being satisfactorily completed.  Roll call vote: Ayes:  Beck, Logue-Newcomb, Christianson, Johnson, and Hall. Nays: None.    Motion carried.

The claims approved were as follows:

 

 

ABC FIRE PROTECTION, INC

177.75

Fire Ext Maintenance

AIRGAS, INC.

114.84

Medical Supply

ALLIANCE MEDICAL

161.85

Medical Supply

ALLIANT ENERGY

3,734.99

Utility

ARAMARK UNIFORM SERVICE

93.40

Clothing Allowance

BATTERIES PLUS

39.99

Amb: Supply

CR PHOTO COPY

98.67

Copier Maintenance

CEDAR RAPIDS WELDING

20.51

Oxygen

LINDA COPPESS

135.58

Mileage

DEMCO

76.94

Supplies

DEPT OF NATL RESOURCES

210.00

Wastewater Permit

E C I A

4,696.43

Housing Rehab

I I M C

100.00

Dues

I I W ENGINEERS

3,215.70

Engineer Services

IA LEAGUE OF CITIES

35.00

Workshop

IA ONE CALL

21.60

Locates

IOWA WIRELESS

95.49

Telephone

JIMS AUTO BODY

34.12

Vehicle repair

JOHNSON CO REFUSE INC

2,091.50

Recycling

KOCH'S PAINT & LUMBER

307.88

Light and generator repairs

KUNDE OUTDOOR EQUIPMENT

51.69

Trimmer maint

LISBON-MTVERNON AMB SERV

150.00

Mutual Aid

MECHANICSVILLE TELE. CO.

347.05

Telephone

QUALITY INN & SUITES

154.00

Conference Lodging

QUARTERMASTER

177.93

Uniform Allowance

STRACKBEINS, INC.

123.72

Mower Repairs

UNITED LABORATORIES

180.00

Sewer Supplies

WALMART

284.14

Supplies

CASEY'S GENERAL STORE

135.24

Fuel

CEDAR CO. SOLID WASTE

1,102.50

Landfill Fees

CONSERVATIVE PUBLISHING

281.97

Publications

CEDAR COUNTY TREASURER

80.00

Property Tax

NEW HORIZON FS INC.

1,015.39

Fuel

KEYSTONE LAB, INC

313.00

Testing Fees

RADAR ROAD TEC

35.00

Radar Certification

US POSTAL SERVICE

97.16

Postage

SCOTT KASIK

70.00

National EMS Membership

SHEPLEY PHARMACY

55.28

Med Supply

CONNERLY CONSTRUCTION

10,125

Housing Rehab

 

 

Total Receipts for the month of July by fund:

Agency-Water

150.00

Ambulance Trust

4,253.50

General

54,828.45

Perpetual Care

225.00

Library Trust

25.00

Road Use Tax

7,648.13

Sewer Utility

62,309.35

Solid Waste

6,845.49

Employee Benefit

376.13

Water

8,893.79

 

Total disbursements for the month of July per fund:

Ambulance Trust

716.45

General

29,705.88

Gift Trust

125.00

Road Use Tax

3,820.56

Sewer Utility

98,566.38

Solid Waste

9,593.95

Special Revenue Emp Benefit

2,662.26

Water Utility

2,933.15

 

 

GUESTS:  Richard Hainstock request for Building permit to build a garage in the Fire Zone.  The council reviewed the proposed plans and the list of materials to be used and after discussing the project a motion was made by Beck, seconded by Logue-Newcomb to approve the permit.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

 

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

 

ADMINISTRATION:  Coppess reported that the Annual Financial Report for the city has been completed and published, the completion of the Codification of the Ordinances was done and each council member received 5 additional pages to be inserted into their copy of the code book; and reported that city hall was hit by lightening on Sunday morning which so far the list of equipment damaged includes a telephone, fax machine, 2 cards in the computer, the generator and a surge protector.  A request to attend a Construction Bidding procedures workshop on August 22 in Maquoketa at a cost of $35 was approved by Beck, and seconded by Christianson.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT:

Zerbe offered to answer any questions about the work logs submitted and reported to the council that the additional rip rap at the lagoon should wait until the ground freezes to prevent tearing up the new seeding.  The council was also updated on the final walk through of the lagoon from this afternoon and the check list of items left to complete includes venting the building at the lagoon, removing the old aerators, removing the silt fence, having the crane returned, final calibrating of the pumps, and installation of the phone line for the alarm notification.  Another item is to address the roadway drainage issue which the first step that may alleviate the problem is to clear and dredge the creek and include removal of the brush.  Some discussion was also held on the removal of the curtain wall of which Zerbe will take care of.  He also reported that he would be sending a letter to the DNR to report that the generator failed to start last week when we lost power due to the battery charger not being connected to it.  It caused the excess water to overflow into the creek without going through the treatment process.  This has since been corrected.

 

Due to the redesign of the lagoon, he is also working to reduce the build up of a sludge blanket which is done with a Lift Station Maintenance chemical.  The request to purchase 18 gallons at $35 per gallon was approved by Pam and seconded by Larry.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Council also discussed what to do with the former generator that was at the lagoon as it was determined that it wasn’t quite big enough to use as a back up at the new tower.  Larry motioned, Jeff seconded to put it up for sealed bids.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Zerbe reported a water leak on Crestview drive that required having residents water shut off in that area for about 20 minutes.

 

 

FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Nate Baker reported that the fire department had 4 calls which included a car accident, a false alarm accident, storm watch, and a false fire alarm at the elementary building.

 

AMBULANCE REPORT:  Sherie Paup reported a total of 21 calls for the ambulance which included 16 medical & 5 traumas.  Four were mutual aid with Clarence and 3 tiered with Mt. Vernon and 1 air care.   

 

Sherie also reported that the ambulance schedule has been revised with one EMT being on call each week night and 2 EMT’s on the weekends.  She reported receiving 2 new glucometers at no cost valued at $100 each and that the Cedar County EMS provided funds to purchase a new air way manikin to practice on and was valued at $1500.

 

A request to purchase a full body vacuum splint at $400 and a Ferno Cot at an approximate cost of $10,000 with the oxygen cylinder holder and head netting was approved with a motion from Pam and second by Karrie with $4500 being provided by the Ambulance volunteers and the balance from the Ambulance Trust Fund.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

POLICE REPORT:  Police Chief Jim Barber presented the council with his summary of activity (7/10/06-8/06/06) which included 3 agency assists; 2 animal cases, 12 citizen assist; 2 criminal mischief, 6-911, 1 theft, 5 traffic stops with 1 citations & 4 warnings.  One abatement served, 1 warning for city code violations and 2 citations issued for no peddler’s license, no valid drivers license and animal neglect.

 

Council member Beck also reported receiving a call regarding a barking dog of which the resident was informed to contact the sheriffs office while the dog is barking so that Barber could be contacted and a formal complaint process followed up on.

 

Council also directed that correspondence be sent to property owner to trim weeds.

 

Old Business:

Discussion and possible action on:

Street widening/curb and gutter:  The committee prepared a map of streets that did not have curb and gutter and after discussing the various areas decided the original issue was to get First Street widened to eliminate the hazard created by the narrowing of the street.  Council directed Coppess to follow up with the engineer to revise the original estimate to address extending First Street to the full width and to put concrete or asphalt to the city limits in both directions and not to include any curb and gutter at this time.

 

Sidewalk notices: Council directed clerk to send a certified letter to the one property owner on South Street who has not completed the maintenance of the walk as directed last spring. 

 

The council members prepared a list of walks that needed to be repaired and directed the clerk to proceed with sending out the notices to property owners upon receipt of the final list.  The repairs will need to be completed by August 1, 2007

 

Safe Routes to School Program (IDOT) Grant application, ECIA will charge $1500 to write grant application.  Appoint volunteers to be on committee to identify/specify project area.  A motion was made by Larry, seconded by Karrie to approve having ECIA assist with the grant application at a cost of $1500 and appointed John Sandberg, Ernest Albaugh, Karrie Johnson, Jim Barber, Jeff Christianson, Mary Jo Hainstock (and/or her representatives from school), and the clerk to serve on the committee.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Appointing Jim Hohnke to the Planning and Zoning Commission:  A motion was made by Pam, seconded by Jeff to appoint Jim Hohnke to the P&Z Commission.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

New Business:

DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON:

 

Storm Water Culvert Drainage Issue near lagoon:  This item was discussed earlier with the Public Works report, a motion was made by Jeff, seconded by Larry to get bids to clear the area from Oberbreckling, JJJ and/or anyone else interested in the project.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

HF2590-- allows information concerning emergency preparedness and security procedures to be confidential if the information is for protection of people or property and the people or property could be jeopardized by its disclosure.  To receive confidentiality protection, cities need to adopt a formal policy identifying which records are deemed confidential.  Sample policy provided by Iowa League of Cities and upon review of the sample policy a motion was made by Larry, seconded by Karrie to accept the security information policy as provided.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Review and authorize publishing of notice for sealed bids on Ambulance:  Pam motioned, Thom seconded to approve publishing the notice for bids on the sale of the ambulance.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Expiration of 3 year Farm Lease and authorization to send notice of termination and to publish notice for accepting bids for another 3 year term:  Larry motioned, Jeff seconded to send out and publish the notices.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

New Wastewater Disposal System Construction Permit Application Fee:  This was a notification that effective July 1, 2006 the DNR would be charging a $100 application for construction permits for wastewater disposal systems.

Committee Reports: 

Safety Committee Minutes:  Pam and Jeff reviewed additional notes from the safety committee of which the top 3 goals of the Fire Department are 1)Everyone goes home-maintaining everyone’s safety through proper equipment and training; 2) goal to purchase 5 complete fire fighter suits each year 3) Make plans to update the vehicles.

They also reviewed information on a NIK Drug ID kit and a telescoping Keson Compact measuring wheel for traffic accidents for the police department.  The committee is also using information on the internet from www.isomitigation.com to make sure that the equipment and training needs for the fire department correspond with insuring a good ISO rating (Insurance Services Office) for the community.

 

Garbage Truck:  Reported that research will continue on possibly just replacing the body of the garbage unit.  Also some discussion about leaves and brush being picked up at the curb but the remaining issue is if that the city needs to have a burn site that is not within ¼ of a mile from any resident or if it is closer than that then the property owners need to sign a waiver that permits the city to burn at that location.

 

Energy Audit:  Thom reported talking with Alliant Energy regarding the energy audit.  This will be scheduled in the near future and will most likely take 2 days to complete.  (September 5& 6)

 

CORRESPONDENCE: 

Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast will be held September 3 at the Fire Station.

 

Mayors Comments:  The Mayor thanked Thom, Larry, and Keith Busse for their assistance in replacing the coat racks in the Memorial Building.  Everyone was encouraged to keep up the good work.

 

Set next regular meeting date:  9/11/06

 

ADJOURN:  There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, council member Beck  motioned, Logue-Newcomb seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 9:12 p.m. Ayes all.  Meeting adjourned.

 

ATTEST:

 

____________________________                     _______________________________

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

City Clerk/Finance Officer