City of Mechanicsville

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

December 12, 2005

 

The Mechanicsville City Council met in regular session on Monday, December 12, 2005 at City Hall.  Mayor David L. Furry called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  Council persons present for roll call were Larry Beck, Bryan Lovell and Chris Yancey.  Pam Logue-Newcomb arrived at 9:10 p.m. Martin Meyer was absent.  Others present included Alan Zerbe, Jim Barber, Sherie Paup, Rob Block, IIW; Karrie Johnson, Carla Barnhart, Diane Griffith, Rita Becker, John Deahl, Brad Tenney, Dan Paidar, Nate Baker, Connie Knutsen, Scott Kasik, and Jeff Kaufman.

 

OPPORTUNITY for any citizen present to discuss items not on the agenda:  None.

 

CONSENT AGENDA: Bryan Lovell, motioned, Larry Beck seconded to approve the consent agenda including the agenda, minutes from 11/14/05, finance reports, and claims.  Roll call vote: Ayes:  Beck, Lovell, and Yancey.  Absent: Meyer & Logue-Newcomb.  Motion carried.

The claims approved were as follows:

JACOB/MAYME ALLEN

15.15

SEEHUSEN INS. AGENCY,INC

100.00

GERALD DAWSON

36.65

SHIRTS-N-STUFF

212.00

WELLMARK

2,522.97

SWISS VALLEY

50.00

DELTA DENTAL

148.97

WALMART

409.84

IA LEAGUE OF CITIES

360.00

US POSTAL SERVICE

91.80

COLLECTION SERVICE CTR.

30.42

CEDAR COUNTY AUDITOR

1,043.60

CARRIE ALBAUGH

65.88

LUKE OBERBRECKLING CONST

420.00

JAMES BARBER

1,087.00

CARRIE ALBAUGH

107.06

RITA BECKER

90.16

THOMAS ALBAUGH

879.30

ROBERT L BULGER

30.41

JAMES BARBER

1,087.00

LINDA COPPESS

1,150.35

RITA BECKER

53.41

STEVE DAY

115.02

ROBERT L BULGER

29.44

KELLY EBY

411.26

LINDA COPPESS

1,221.03

JUDY HARTMAN

393.47

KELLY EBY

302.56

JOEY D WENNDT

168.74

JUDY HARTMAN

442.79

ALAN ZERBE

1,113.92

JOEY D WENNDT

157.52

THOMAS ALBAUGH

831.53

ALAN ZERBE

1,277.39

BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK

3,491.73

ODD JOBS INC-JERRY DAKE

850.00

I P E R S

1,556.31

E C I A

2,378.36

BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK

150.00

US POSTAL SERVICE

419.85

BARNES & NOBLE

136.99

QUILL CORPORATION

12.24

AMAZON.COM

562.02

DELTA DENTAL

148.97

DEMCO

43.74

WELLMARK

2,522.97

SILVER TREE COMPUTING

1,768.72

COLLECTION SERVICE CTR.

29.44

WALMART

4.97

DIRK ALBAUGH

4.62

IA OFFICE SUPPLY

132.67

NATE BAKER

11.54

MECHANICSVILLE TELE. CO.

241.26

RON BAKER

319.07

AIRGAS, INC.

155.24

DOUG COOK

49.87

ARAMARK UNIFORM SERVICE

139.95

MARILYN FITZGERALD

299.67

ALLIANT ENERGY

5,075.63

TRAVIS GALLOWAY

1.39

US POSTAL SERVICE

20.47

AMY HEINEN

9.23

BATTERIES INCLUDED

117.36

DEB KASIK

239.65

CASEY'S GENERAL STORE

33.08

SCOTT KASIK

289.51

CEC

33.00

GENE KNUTSEN

25.39

CEDAR COUNTY TREASURER

6,052.30

JAKE KOCH

19.40

CEDAR CO. SOLID WASTE

892.50

LONNI KOCH

383.25

CENTRAL PARTS WAREHOUSE

233.78

TERRY L KUDA

54.48

CONSERVATIVE PUBLISHING

275.73

INTL REVENUE SERVICE

78.96

ED M. FELD EQUIP. CO.

262.00

BRETT MORAVEK

3.69

E C I A

7.50

DAN PAIDAR

7.85

FARM PLAN

82.91

KERRI PODUSKA

377.71

DAVID L. FURRY

196.46

JOE SMITH

12.93

I I W ENGINEERS

1,786.50

WES STRICKLER

203.63

JIM SCHROEDER CONSTRUCTI

110,953.92

LARRY BECK

166.23

IA RURAL WATER ASSN.

225.00

DAVID L. FURRY

1,152.57

IOWA WIRELESS

100.90

CONNIE KNUTSEN

464.52

JOHNSON CO REFUSE INC

2,091.50

DAN KOCH

461.75

KEYSTONE LAB, INC

165.00

JOHN KUEHNLE, CITY TREAS

277.05

KIRKWOOD COMM. COLLEGE

25.00

PAM LOGUE-NEWCOMB

166.23

LONNI KOCH

317.70

BRYAN LOVELL

138.52

KOCH'S PAINT & LUMBER

14.60

MARTIN MEYER

55.41

NEW HORIZON FS INC.

1,006.17

SHERIE PAUP

802.55

ODD JOBBER

450.00

CHRISTINE YANCEY

138.52

QUILL CORPORATION

155.06

COLLECTION SERVICE CTR.

55.41

 

Total Receipts for the month of November by fund:

Agency-Water

101.80

Ambulance Trust

4,813.97

Fire Trust

80.44

General

22,053.40

Gift Trust

22.17

Library Exp Trust

5.84

Road Use Tax

8,044.40

Sewer Utility

5,590.08

Solid Waste

6,881.05

Special Revenue

5,728.80

Water Utility

7,261.40

Special Rev-Emp Benefit

2,899.71

 

Total disbursements for the month of November per fund:

Agency Water

151.80

Ambulance Trust

829.85

General

24,180.41

Road Use Tax

18,118.83

Gift Trust

14.00

Sewer Utility

3,006.85

Solid Waste

6,699.82

Special Revenue-Opt Tax

5,053.19

Special Revenue Emp Benefit

2,640.61

Water Utility

2,301.56

 

PUBLIC HEARING:  The mayor opened the public hearing to hear comments for or against the proposed budget amendment.  There being no comments or questions, Larry Beck motioned, Chris Yancey seconded to close the public hearing at 7:04 p.m.  Ayes all.  Hearing closed. 

 

GUESTS: 

Jeff Kaufman updated the council and asked for feed back on legislative issues.  The three issues he reviewed with the council included property tax reform; the sex offender bill, and a major health insurance initiative.  He thanked the council for including the survey in the recent newsletter and also indicated that he published it in the Tipton Conservative.  He is hoping to get at least 750 responses back as he wants to represent the views of Cedar County.

 

John Deahl addressed the council concerning his views of the restrictions of residential units within the first floor of the commercial zoning district and asked about procedures in requesting a change.

 

Diane Griffith and Carla Barnhart requested to have the rental fee at the Memorial Building waived for a proposed annual scholarship fundraiser for a North Cedar Student in memory of Donald Griffith, Jr.- Euchre Tournament.  The motion was made by Lovell, seconded by Yancey to waive the fee for the event on January 28, however, a lease agreement would still need to be signed and a damage deposit made.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Brad Tenney requested to have a 30 day extension for his nuisance abatement.  The motion was made by Lovell, seconded by Beck, to extend the abatement deadline from December 30 to January 30, 2006.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Rita Becker informed the council about an offer from the Senior Citizens to provide funding for the installation of some acoustic tile on the ceiling of the Memorial Building.  Information she had gathered indicated that these ceiling clusters have a potential of eliminating 80% of the echo and cost about $3/ square foot.

 

DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

ADMINISTRATION:  Coppess requested to attend the Main Street Iowa informational program that was being put on by IDED over the ICN.  Lovell motioned, Beck seconded approve the request to attend.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Complaints about walks not being shoveled:  After a review of the sidewalk ordinance and discussion about how to handle the complaints, Lovell motioned, Yancey seconded, to proceed with door tagging the residents who have not shoveled notifying them that they have 24 hours to clean the walk off.  If not done, the city will need to follow through with the guidelines in the ordinance by cleaning it and assessing the charges to the property owner in the same manner as a property tax. 

 

PUBLIC WORKS REPORT: Work logs were submitted and reported that they had one water main break and have been busy moving snow.

 

POLICE REPORT:  Police Chief Jim Barber presented the council with his summary of activity (11/14/05-12/11/05) which included 1 accident; 17 agency assists; 1 alarm; 1 animal case; 4 assist motorist; 1 assault;1 building check;14 citizen assists; 11– 911, 3 traffic stops with 3 warnings; 1 abatement filed; 1 bad check notice served;  6 warnings for code violations including 4 snow route violations, 2 snowmobile violations; 4 citations issued: dog at large; public urinating, assault, disorderly.  He also reported a total of 40 abatements with 37 resolved and 3 pending.

 

FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Dan Paidar & Nate Baker presented the fire report which included 3 calls for the month and requested to spend $700 for 2 flood lights each for 165 and 164 at $80; interior lighting for 162 at @$200 and an inverter to help run lights and save battery for 162 at $180.  Beck motioned, Lovell seconded to authorize the expenditure of $700.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Dan and Nate also presented a proposed budget from the fire department which came in at a total of $57,720 which included consideration for purchasing a gas infrared tube heater for the apparatus room estimated at $8000; $2500 for SCBA and pump certification; $2500 for training for 15 members to attend winter fire school; and $3000 for a portable generator to use at accidents and fire scenes.  They also indicated that they would like to have an additional $49,000 budgeted for a down payment on a new truck, which would almost deplete the Fire Trust account.  Paidar indicated that the $17,000 that was spent on the recent purchase for the truck from Hiawatha in July was just a “band-aid” to the problem.  Council thanked them for their input and indicated that no decisions could be made until valuation information was received and all the requests put together.  Most likely all the departmental requests would probably have to be prioritized and some things will need to be cut, as there is only so much money available.

 

AMBULANCE REPORT: Sherie Paup reported that the ambulance had 4 medical calls, 2 traumas, 3 mutual aid; and 2 refusals for a total of 9 calls for the month. 

Sherie also requested to purchase 3 coats for drivers 2 @ $60 and 1 at $65. Beck motioned, Lovell seconded to approve request.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

A request to purchase a preventative maintenance contract at a cost of $350 per monitor was approved with a motion from Beck, and a second by Yancey.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Sherie also requested to purchase books and testing fees for new EMT’s Leslie Pena and Jake Koch.  Yancey motioned, Lovell seconded to approve the request.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Sherie also presented the proposed ambulance budget that totaled $10,850 dollars with the major funding requested to be allocated as $2800 to training, $1700 to vehicle supply and $1800 for vehicle repairs. Council expressed appreciation for the input.

 

OLD BUSINESS-Discussion and possible action on:

Emptying, cleaning and removal of tank—proposal from Environmark: A motion was made by Beck seconded by Yancey, to proceed with contacting EMS (original bid) to see if proposal was still valid and to proceed with disposing of the contents and the tank.  Ayes all.  Motion carried. (Information about a possible grant being available to help with the funding of this project was received on Wed. Majority of council members and Mayor contacted after the meeting to inquire about authorizing sponsorship of the grant application in order to submit it by the 12/31/05 deadline. )

 

New Business

Discussion and possible action on:

Resolution to adopt budget amendment 2005-19: Lovell motioned, Beck seconded, to adopt the resolution amending the budget for fiscal year ending June, 2006.  Roll call vote:  Ayes:  Beck, Yancey, Lovell.  Nays: None; Absent:  Meyer and Logue-Newcomb.

 

Resolution for updating employee handbook definition of part time employee:  After review of the current definition a motion was made by Lovell, seconded by Beck to adopt resolution 2005-20 stating that the new definition in Section II 2.3 Regular Part Time employee shall read: Part-time employees work regular stated hours and are employed on jobs with fewer than 40 scheduled hours per week.  Roll call vote: Ayes:  Beck, Yancey, and Lovell.  Nays: None; Absent:  Meyer and Logue-Newcomb.

 

Resolution for updating employee handbook definition of seasonal/temporary employee:  After review of the current definition a motion was made by Beck, seconded by Lovell to adopt resolution 2005-21 stating that the new definition in Section II 2.4 TEMPORARY OR SEASONAL EMPLOYEE shall read: Temporary or seasonal employees may work either a full or part time schedule but are hired for a specific project or for a finite period of time and do not receive any benefits.  Roll call vote: Ayes:  Beck, Yancey, and Lovell.  Nays: None; Absent:  Meyer and Logue-Newcomb.

 

REQUEST TO REVIEW 3.3 DRIVERS License verification and implementing procedures to spot check for validity:  Motion was made by Lovell, seconded by Beck that a procedure be implemented for employees & volunteers to annually provide a copy of their driver’s license to the city clerk.  The information shall then be supplied to the police chief in order to complete random checks for valid licenses effective January 1, 2006.  Ayes:   Beck, Yancey, Lovell, Logue-Newcomb.  Nays:  None.  Absent: Meyer.  Motion carried.

 

REVIEW 3.11 UPDATE PERSONNEL FILES WITH CITY CLERK:  Reminder that all employees & paid volunteers are responsible for updating their information with the city clerk.

 

IMPLENTATION OF A DCI BACKGROUND CHECK FOR ALL PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL: Council agreed that the background check with the DCI should be done prior to submitting the persons name to the council for approval.

 

PROPOSED JOB DESCRIPTION FOR PAID AMBULANCE COORDINATOR FOR 30 HOURS/WEEK ON-CALL:  Lovell presented a job description for a part-time paid ambulance coordinator that was prepared and submitted by the ambulance department.  The description puts an emphasis on having daytime coverage available during set hours and paying an individual to be available to go on calls.  He stated that the public safety committee had been working towards a job description that was focused on the completion of the back log of paperwork rather than the availability of medical care.  Concerns about paying one individual to go on a call or to be just “on call” and not paying others could create disharmony among the volunteers and may eventually lead to issues related to wanting equal pay for equal work at some point in the future.  Logue-Newcomb motioned, Lovell seconded to submit a copy of it to the city attorney for evaluation.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

ABSTRACT OF ELECTION & OATH OF OFFICE:  COUNCIL, MAYOR, And CLERK: The council reviewed the abstract of the city election that was received from the County Auditor and then the Oath of office was given to Coppess, Pam Logue-Newcomb, Dave Furry, and Karrie Johnson for the upcoming year.

Plan to fill vacancy on Board of Adjustments created by Tom Hall being elected to council effective 1-2-06.  Council directed that a notice be put on cable asking for volunteers to serve.

 

Request to change yield signs at Jefferson and West Second to Stop signs:  After a review of the proposal, council directed that an ordinance be prepared for reading at the next meeting.

 

PROPOSED BUDGET ITEMS/PROJECTS IDEAS:  Projects mention by council for consideration during the budget planning process included tennis courts, widening of First Street, a welcome sign, and park improvements.

 

Iowa Community Based Seed Fund proposal from Lisbon:  Mayor Furry reported that Coppess and he had been asked to meet with the Mayor of Lisbon and their City Administrator to review grant opportunities for sharing.  One of the items included the Iowa Community Based Seed Fund which is a revolving loan fund program sponsored by IDED and would be administered by a board.  Its purpose is to assist the start up of new business.  More research would need to be done before committing to the project.

 

L.L. Pelling and MSI Street improvements proposals:  Council reviewed the two bids and a motion was made by Beck, seconded by Logue-Newcomb to verify that the two items were the same product and to proceed with awarding the bid to MSI.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Memorial Building Lease Agreements:  Council reviewed lease agreements from USPS and the Medical Center.  The mayor will continue working with the Medical Center to find alternatives for the items being stored in the old X-Ray room.

 

Committee Reports: None.

 

Announcements:

January 12 MLA part 2: Logue-Newcomb indicated that she would also like to attend this session.

Region 6 Homeland Security Training for municipal offices and emergency response personnel: will be held Jan. 16 & Jan 23 in Mechanicsville.

January 17 LOST election

 

Set next meeting date:  1/09/06

 

MAYORS COMMENTS:  Mayor Furry thanked the retiring council members for their time and efforts for serving their community this past year.

 

ADJOURN:  There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, council member Beck motioned, Yancey seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 10:40 p.m.  Ayes all.  Meeting adjourned.

 

 

ATTEST:

 

____________________________                     _______________________________

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

City Clerk/Finance Officer