City of Mechanicsville

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

September 11, 2006

The Mechanicsville City Council met in regular session on Monday, September 11, 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, Thomas Hall and Karrie Johnson.  Pam Logue-Newcomb was absent.  Others present included Jim Barber, Alan Zerbe,  Nate Baker, Bryan Lovell, Hugh LaMont, Berta Werling, and Jeri Kurth.

 

OPPORTUNITY for any citizen present to discuss items not on the agenda:  Jeri Kurth presented the Mayor and City Council with a donation of $853 in memory of her husband Dean Kurth.  Jeri requested that the funds be spent in his memory for the fire department.  The mayor and council thanked her for the generous donation in Dean’s memory.

 

CONSENT AGENDA: Jeff Christianson motioned, Larry Beck seconded to approve the consent agenda including the agenda, minutes from 8/07/06 with the correction of the next meeting being September 11, 2006, finance reports, and claims Roll call vote: Ayes:  Beck, Christianson, Johnson, and Hall. Nays: None.  Logue-Newcomb absent.  Motion carried.

The claims approved were as follows:

 

PAYROLL 8/15

WAGES

5,968.96

RJ ENDER

GRANT CFCC

837.00

COLLECTION SERVICE CTR.

CHILDSUPPORT

68.35

PAYROLL 8/31

WAGES

5,828.04

WELLMARK

HEALTH INS

2,522.97

DELTA DENTAL

DENTAL INS

148.97

BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK

PAYROLL TAXES

3,799.32

I P E R S

IPERS

1,664.37

CONNERLY CONSTRUCTION

HOUSING REHAB

21,410.00

US POSTAL SERVICE

POSTAGE

114.72

ADVANCED WATER TECH.

OP SUPPLY

337.20

AIRGAS, INC.

MED SUPPLY

128.09

ALLIANCE MEDICAL

MED SUPPLY

256.97

ALLIANT ENERGY

UTILITIES

6,062.57

ARAMARK UNIFORM SERVICE

CLOTH ALLOW

185.53

CASEY'S GENERAL STORE

VEH SUPPLY

100.85

CEDAR CO. SOLID WASTE

FEES LANDFILL

913.50

CONSERVATIVE PUBLISHING

PUBLICATION

422.34

L E DENDINGER

ATTY SERVICES

90.00

E C I A

HOUSING REHAB

5,148.44

HACH COMPANY

OP SUPPLY

67.40

IOWA WIRELESS

TELEPHONE

84.04

IA ONE CALL

PMTS TO AGENCY

30.60

JOHNSON CO REFUSE INC

RECYCLING

2,091.50

I I W ENGINEERS

ENGINEERING FEE

595.50

KEYSTONE LAB, INC

TEST FEES

479.00

KIRKWOOD COMM. COLLEGE

TRAINING

30.00

MECHANICSVILLE TELE. CO.

TELEPHONE

319.83

IOWA NETWORK SERVICES

MISC CONTR

155.88

NEW HORIZON FS INC.

VEH SUPPLY

947.34

ODD JOBS INC-JERRY DAKE

BURIALS

500.00

ODD JOBBER

CONTRACT WORK

1,410.00

QUILL CORPORATION

OFFICE SUP

229.23

RJ ENDER

GRANT CFCC

92.45

SHEPLEY PHARMACY

MED SUPPLY

398.35

STRACKBEINS, INC.

VEH SUPPLY

59.98

STAPLES

OFFICE SUPPLY

26.57

PMIC

OFFICE SUPPLY

144.85

UNITED LABORATORIES

MISC OP SUPPLY

701.10

WALMART

EQUIPMENT

333.05

KAYLENE WORBY

HOUSING REHAB

1,106.83

KOCH'S PAINT & LUMBER

SUPPLIES

294.63

WGH ARTS LLC

BOOKS

19.95

MARY WEETS

BOOKS

12.00

AMAZON.COM

BOOKS

580.63

EAST CENTRAL LIBRARY SER

CONTINUE ED

15.00

LEGISLATIVE INFO OFFICE

BOOKS

15.00

DEMCO

SUPPLIES

26.96

BATTERIES INCLUDED

FD BATTERIES

176.20

CITA

DUES

25.00

LUKE OBERBRECKLING CONST

ST REP MNT

1,594.55

QUARTERMASTER

CLOTH ALLOW

119.95

GALL'S, INC.

PD EQUIPMENT

162.95

ACCO, UNLIMITED CORP.

WATER OP SUPPLY

382.30

PAYROLL 9/15

WAGES

6,053.41

CONNERLY CONSTRUCTION

HOUSING REHAB

11,962.00

COPYWORKS

OFFICE SUPPLY

35.40

 

 

Total Receipts for the month of August by fund:

Agency-Water

100.00

Ambulance Trust

3293.49

Fire Trust

116.56

General

3457.29

Library Trust

21.89

Road Use Tax

8400.82

Sewer Utility

6865.96

Solid Waste

7670.61

Water

10747.16

 

Total disbursements for the month of August per fund:

Ambulance Trust

481.97

General

39705.16

Road Use Tax

1967.61

Sewer Utility

9443.44

Solid Waste

6091.54

Special Revenue Emp Benefit

2,663.11

Water Utility

2,114.53

 

 

GUESTS:  Hugh Lamont: Discuss alternative uses for the Elementary School Building.  Mr. La Mont shared with the council a discussion that took place during the Alumni Banquet this spring and stated that some citizens are wandering if there is an alternative use for the building.  There are trends you begin to see over time and growth has to be managed.  Several projects have taken historic structures and have had great success in converting them to a new use.  Some of these have been in the form of housing and community centers.  He requested permission from the council to contact people from ECIA, the school board, and people at the state level to see if there is any potential in this structure.  It would need to enhance what we already have and not take from it.  There may be some form of private-public development that may attract some new people.  It will take some time to review and may need to appoint a citizens task force to look into it, but at this point just asking to explore without any obligation to see what other people think might be possible.  The goal is to see if any ideas can surface and be practical before it is gone. 

 

Motion was made by Larry Beck, seconded by Karrie Johnson, to grant permission to research and explore opportunities for alternative uses and to encourage and support Mr. LaMont  in his research for alternative uses without any obligations from the city.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

 

ADMINISTRATION: 

Request to purchase/replace 4 picnic tables for the park, replace 6 tables in the Memorial Building; and purchase 4 shelving units for the library. Johnson motioned, Beck seconded to approve the purchases.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Sink in basement kitchen of Memorial Building leaking, garbage disposal upstairs leaking:  Zerbe indicated that the disposal leak has been corrected and he has temporarily shut off the water for the kitchen as the pipes go through the concrete floor.  Council directed that he proceed with tearing out the tile in the kitchen and as much of the concrete as necessary to replace the pipe to correct the problem.

 

The council was also informed that the library has plans to seek volunteers to paint the trim in the library prior to the new flooring being installed.  They also have an Eagle Scout working with them to help with moving the furniture.

 

The committee for the Safe Routes to school grant application met and identified a proposed route with IIW Engineers and ECIA working to put together the grant application. 

 

The sidewalk letters are being worked on with some verification still needed on the proper addresses as house numbers were not provided in some cases.   The General Contractor has requested a building permit for the school and still needs to provide information regarding the number of classrooms/auditorium seats in comparison to the number of parking spots required to meet the zoning requirements.  Council reviewed cemetery rules and directed that a letter be sent informing lot owners that the landscape edging and river rock will need to be removed from the gravesites, even though it looks very nice.  The edging is not currently an issue, but if everyone decides to do this, it will become a mowing nightmare and the purpose of the flat stones in this section of the cemetery was to eliminate the need for trimming.

 

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT:

Zerbe offered to answer any questions about the work logs submitted and requested vacation days for September 27 -29 for himself.  Beck motioned, Johnson seconded to approve vacation. Ayes all.  Motion carried.   Zerbe also reported that the sewer plant pumps were down this morning and the electrician did some program changes but was not sure was caused it.  Found out later that it is suspected that we lost one or two of the power phases with it being dropped for less than a minute the generator didn’t kick on; but it locked out the 3 pumps.

 

Sidewalk alley North Cherry Street, alley between Methodist Church and 109 Linn Street, alley north of 401 E First Street, the alley north of 101 North Madison Street and the alley near 400 E South Street:  The sidewalks in these alleys were identified on the sidewalk replacement lists as being deteriorated and need to be replaced. A motion was made by Jeff, seconded by Thom to add these to the list of the cement work that the city is having done.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Fall Clean Up October 3-6:  Council approved setting these dates for the fall clean up.

 

August 11 IDNR letter requiring additional sampling:  Normally 2 water samples are taken each month and one of them came back as being contaminated with bacteria.  Zerbe was required to take 3 repeat samples of which all have come back ok.

 

Retaining walls/back behind city hall:  Zerbe reported that the bank is too steep to mow and asked if the council would take a look at to see if something could be done to make it easier to maintain and to review the condition of the railroad ties behind city hall.  Council will look into.

 

FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Nate Baker reported that the fire department had 2 calls which included a storm watch on August 10 and one assist to A-3. He also indicated that 4 new radio batteries were purchased for $176.20 and CITA Dues.  For training this last month they cut up 2 cars at Ronnie Bakers.

 

Request to place tent in front of fire station on October 1 for pancake breakfast:  After due consideration, council approved request for putting up the tent but requested that it not block the traffic flow in the street.  Preferred that it not extend further than the parking area on the north side of the street.

 

AMBULANCE REPORT:  Sherie Paup submitted a written report showing a total of 16 calls for the ambulance which included 12 medical & 4 traumas.  Two were mutual aid with Clarence and Stanwood and 1 tiered with Mt. Vernon. 

 

POLICE REPORT:  Police Chief Jim Barber presented the council with his summary of activity (8/7/06-9/10/06) which included 1 accident, 16 agency assists;1 ambulance assist; 2 animal cases, 3 assist motorists; 21 citizen assist; 6-911, 3 traffic stops with 3 warnings.  5 abatements served, 9 warning for city code violations (illegal parking, abandoned refrigerator, no peddler’s license, unlawful burning, curfew violation, noise disturbance) and 1 citation for failure to abate.

 

Request to purchase Drug testing kit $100 and tape roller for $30:  Beck motioned, Johnson seconded to approve the purchase.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Old Business:

Discussion and possible action on:

Street widening/curb and gutter:   The council reviewed information provided by IIW on 3 options.  The first option included extending curb and gutter to the west city limits and widening the street to 33 feet wide for 575 feet for a cost of $174,589.00 plus $20,000 for sidewalks.  The second option included curb and gutter only in front of the existing housing (300 feet) ; match the street width at Washington and First; with a 28 foot wide roadway including 2 feet wide gravel shoulders at a cost of $136,804.00 plus $10,000 for sidewalks.  The third option does not include any curb and gutter but extends the pavement/concrete to the West and East city limits at a cost of $130,194.00.  Larry motioned, Jeff seconded to proceed with the scope of the project being defined as in Option 3.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Summary of Energy Audit:

The primary recommendations were to insulate at city hall, Memorial Building, Medical Center, library and spray on in heated part of shop in order to take advantage of the 70% rebate on cost of materials and labor from Alliant, reduce temp in bay area to 50-55 degrees, replace furnaces and a/c at city hall/Fire station & in the bay area use radiant heaters as well as at the maintenance shop.  The city would need to apply for a custom rebate on radiant heaters.  Additional recommendations were to replace windows in the Memorial Building/Post Office and city hall with a $25 per window rebate; add weather stripping to bottom of doors in bay area; and replace all thermostats with 7 day programmable ones.  A motion was made by Jeff, second by Thom to proceed with getting bids on the insulation work, the radiant heaters, windows and other items in order to complete recommendations per the audit.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

New Business:

DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON:

 

Proposals for Storm Water Culvert Drainage Issue near lagoon:  Two bids were received and opened from JJJ Enterprises and Luke Oberbreckling in the amounts of $10,100 and $3,850 plus $200 for the seeding.  Larry motioned, Karrie seconded to accept the low bid from Oberbreckling.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

IIW August 10 letter on the final walk through.  The council reviewed the letter and is awaiting completion of the 11 items listed.

 

Request from 606 E South Street regarding symptoms of Emerald Ash Borer in Ash tree.  Council reviewed the request from the property owner and the information provided by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship indicating that the tree did not have Emerald Ash Borer.  The Entomologist predicted that if more borers attack the tree it could weaken and become a hazard.  Council directed that it should be put on the list to be monitored for future removal.

 

2006 Legislative Changes Update ordinances for HF 2333 prohibited sales and acts and HF 2365 disorder conduct.  Karrie motioned, Larry seconded, to approve Iowa Codification preparing the ordinances and updates for the Code Book at a total cost of $200.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Resolution to approve Street Finance Report:  Beck introduced, and Christianson seconded to approve Resolution 2006-17 approving and adopting the annual City Street Financial Report from July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006 as presented.  Roll call vote:  Ayes:  Hall, Christiansen, Johnson, and Beck.  Nays:  None.  Absent: Logue-Newcomb.  Resolution adopted.

 

Letter of Support for the Safe Route to School Grant application:  Larry motioned, Karrie seconded, to approve the letter of support as printed.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Consideration to changing the speed limit for school zone:  Council agreed that they plan to do this; however, was not prepared to take action at this time.

 

Committee Reports: 

Safety Committee:  Jeff shared a proposed vehicle replacement plan with the council and used a visual aid of the choke cable out of 165 to demonstrate the age of the fire department pumpers.  It was reported that the butterfly on the carburetor is stuck and not operating properly.  Council directed that Jeff contact someone who is knowledgeable in working on this age of equipment to repair it.  Some discussion was also held about what the funding options are for funding a vehicle replacement schedule which included borrowing funds and perhaps some of the local option sales tax collections.   It was also suggested that the number of vehicles be reduced so that the maintenance bill is not so high and more funds would be available that way.

 

CORRESPONDENCE:  Cedar County Solid Waste Commission sent information about a proposed rate increase in landfill fees, IDOT is promoting a Walk to School Day on October 4, Cedar County Emergency Management is having a training session on September 18 from 10-1, and the Iowa Municipal Clerk’s Academy sent a Thank you to the Mayor and Council for allowing the clerk to attend the Academy.

 

Mayors Comments:  None

Set next regular meeting date:  10/9/06

 

ADJOURN:  There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, council member Beck  motioned, Christianson seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 p.m. Ayes all.  Meeting adjourned.

 

ATTEST:

 

____________________________                     _______________________________

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

City Clerk/Finance Officer