City of Mechanicsville

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

March 7, 2011

 

The Mechanicsville City Council met in regular session on Monday, March 7, 2011 at City Hall.  Mayor Boyd A. Stine was absent.  The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Pro-tem Gene Brown.  Council members present for roll call were Larry Beck, Calvin Paup, Deanna Cook, Carla Barnhart and Gene Brown.  Others present included Jim Barber, Alan Zerbe, Lonni Koch, Pat Albaugh, Dennis Coppess, Janet Barber, Danny Coppess, and Pat Gutwiler.

 

Receive visitors/public comment:  None.

 

CONSENT AGENDA:  Calvin Paup motioned to delete item 7a under old business from the agenda and to have it tabled indefinitely and to approve the consent agenda including the rest of the agenda, finance reports, claims, and minutes from 2/14/11. Roll call vote: Ayes: Brown, Beck, Paup, Barnhart, and Cook. Nays: None. Motion carried.

 

The claims approved were as follows:

 

IRS

TAXES

$3,539.48

IPERS

BENEFITS AND W/H

$2,040.13

CEDAR COUNTY RECORDER

RECORD FIRE CONTRACTS

$145.00

US POST OFFICE

POSTAGE

$174.16

BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK

BANK FEES

$21.75

ABC FIRE PROTECTION INC

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$58.05

ACS FIREHOUSE SOFTWARE

SUBSCRIPTION & ED MATERIAL

$210.00

AIRGAS NORTH CENTRAL

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$118.14

ALBAUGH, TOM

TRAINING

$98.55

ALL MED

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$142.12

ALLIANT ENERGY

ELECTRIC/GAS EXPENSE

$7,380.13

AMAZON.COM

LIBRARY MATERIALS

$297.61

AREA AMBULANCE SERVICE

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$70.00

BARCO MUNICIPAL PRODUCTS INC

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$147.50

BATTERIESPLUS

VEHICLE REPAIR

$38.03

BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK

PETTY CASH REIMBURSE

$56.89

CASEYS GENERAL STORE

VEHICLE OPERATIONS

$339.44

CEDAR COUNTY SOLID WASTE

PAYMENTS TO OTHER AGENCIES

$936.00

CLIA LABORATORY PROGRAM

OTHER CONTRACTUAL SERVICE

$150.00

DANS TIRES & MORE

VEHICLE REPAIR

$653.52

ENTWISLE, ANGIE

JANITORIAL EXPENSE

$250.00

FARM & HOME PUBLISHERS

SUBSCRIPTION & ED MATERIAL

$39.20

FARM PLAN

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$13.28

FOLLETT SOFTWARE CO

SUBSCRIPTION & ED MATERIAL

$769.00

GREENVALLEY AG & TURF LLC

VEHICLE REPAIR

$99.99

ICE CUBE BOOKS

LIBRARY MATERIALS

$27.14

IMFOA

MEETINGS & CONFERENCES

$50.00

IOWA ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPAL

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$446.25

IOWA OFFICE SUPPLY

OFFICE SUPPLIES

$159.98

JOHNSON COUNTY REFUSE INC

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$2,837.50

KAMBERLING, STEPHANIE

REFUND LIQ LICENSE

$97.50

KEYSTONE LABORATORIES, INC

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$217.10

KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE

TRAINING

$555.00

KOCHS SERVICE & SUPPLY LLC

BLDG MAINT & REPAIR

$124.63

LISBON-MT VERNON AMBULANCE

OTHER CONTRACTUAL SERVICE

$150.00

MECHANICSVILLE TELEPHONE CO

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

$323.67

NAPA AUTO PARTS

VEHICLE REPAIR

$10.19

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY

SUBSCRIPTION & ED MATERIAL

$34.00

NEWSWEEK

SUBSCRIPTION & ED MATERIAL

$90.00

QUILL

OFFICE SUPPLIES

$29.26

SEVENTEEN

SUBSCRIPTION & ED MATERIAL

$23.51

STAPLES

OFFICE SUPPLIES

$77.97

TIME

SUBSCRIPTION & ED MATERIAL

$35.00

TIPTON CONSERVATIVE & ADVERTIS

PRINTING & PUBLISHING EXP

$288.36

UTILITY EQUIPMENT COMPANY

OTHER EQUIPMENT

$57.06

WELLMARK BC BS

GROUP INSURANCE

$3,691.33

PAYROLL

WAGES

$12,344.85

 

Total Receipts and Disbursements for month of February by fund

Fund

Receipts

Disbursements

General

4,080.10

15,212.04

Road Use Tax

10,267.26

9,805.33

Employee Benefit

133.04

1,763.65

Local Option Sales Tax

6,891.01

 

Library Expendable Trust

232.40

 

Ambulance Trust

11,409.52

6,146.49

Fire Trust

.38

 

Water Utility

8,248.90

1,952.77

Sewer Utility

5,274.88

4,188.69

Solid Waste

7,983.87

4,827.63

Water Deposits

 

50.00

 

 

Public hearing on proposed 2012 budget:  The public hearing was opened and residents and tax payers were given an opportunity to present objections to or arguments in favor of, any part of the proposed 2011-2012 budget. There being none, Larry Beck motioned, and Calvin Paup seconded to close the public hearing.  Ayes all.  Hearing closed.

 

 

REPORTS:

Administration Report:  Coppess reported receiving the final copy of the Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan for Cedar County which includes the cities of Bennett, Clarence, Durant, Lowden, Mechanicsville, Stanwood, Tipton, and West Branch; there will be an IS 800 class on March 10th from 8:30-12:30 and again on March 30 from 6-10 which is recommended for elected officials (not required); Trees Forever will host a workshop on March 14 at 4:00 p.m. in Cruse Park for all residents wanting to learn about the proper care in trimming their trees; a copy of the recommendations from the DNR on the city water system was provided, the Spring IMFOA Conference will be April 13-15.  A state law requires pre-need cemetery sellers to attain continuing education units of 8 hours every 4 years, in order to comply Calvin Paup motioned, Carla Barnhart seconded to approve Coppess attending the continuing ed event in Waterloo on March 28, 2011 from 1 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.  The Tree Report received from the DNR will be made available for viewing on the city web page.

 

Public Works Report: Zerbe reported attending the Kirkwood class to attain the continuing ed requirements needed for his water certification; utilized sewer jetter to open a sewer line on east First Street; the DNR completed the water system inspection and provided some recommendations with no requirements; Spring Clean Up will be April 12 with it being limited to large items only such as appliances, furniture, tires, batteries, metal.  They will not pick up construction waste or garbage bags.  If it fits in a garbage bag, then it will fit in the weekly trash and should be disposed of in that manner.   The cemetery will be cleaned during the week of April 11-15.

 

Request to purchase 3 overhead doors and 2 openers: Zerbe provided two bids on replacing 3 over head doors and 2 openers at the shop.  Calvin Paup motioned, Dee Cook seconded to accept the proposal from the Overhead Door Company of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City at a cost of $8298.00.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Update on fluoride:  The IDNR provided information that stated the US Dept of Health and Human Services will propose that the recommendation for optimal fluoride levels be changed from a range of .7-1.2 mg/L to a single level of .7 mg/L.  Mechanicsville’s water naturally contains a level of .3 to .4 mg/L and is currently injecting to attain a level of 1.0 mg/L.  Calvin Paup motioned, Carla Barnhart seconded to discontinue injecting the fluoride and after further discussion Calvin Paup changed the motion to table making any changes until next month but to provide notice to the residents of the cities intent to discontinue injecting any additional fluoride into the water.  This motion was seconded by Deanna Cook.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.  Notices will be posted and included on the back of the water bill. 

 

Police Report:  Police Chief Barber reported 1 accident, 2 agency assists, 1 ambulance assist; 1 assault, 6 citizen assist; 9 criminal mischief; 1 harassment; 16- 911; 1 theft; 5 traffic stops with warnings; 8 warnings code violations illegal parking-no peddler license-curfew violation; and 2 citations issued for illegal parking.

 

Fire Report:  Lonni Koch reported a total of 4 fire calls which included 2/18 smoke smell in apartment; 2/27 10-50 rollover on X-40; 3/3 train vs. car; 3/3 alarm at elementary school.  She also report 168 has a hose that split and a primer valve on pump may be cracked.

 

Ambulance Report: Lonni Koch reported 23 calls with 11 being BLS; and 4 ALS; 3 refusals and 1 standby, 2 mutual aid for Stanwood; A-51 and Area Ambulance were each used for one call.  A-3 had a tire bulge which was repaired with 2 new tires and new shocks.  Ron Baker, Doug Wolfe, and Dan Baker went to inspect/view the new ambulance.  They discovered a few changes that need to be made before accepting for delivery.  Koch will be sending correspondence to one member inquiring of volunteer status.  Coppess was direct to invoice a student for reimbursement to the city for books and tuition fees for the EMT class that was not passed.

 

New Business:

Resolution 2011-9 to approve the proposed budget:  Motioned by Deanna Cook, seconded by Larry Beck to approve the proposed budget for fiscal year 2011-2012.  Roll call vote: Ayes: Brown, Beck, Paup, Barnhart, and Cook. Nays: None. Resolution adopted

 

Resolution 2011-10 setting the salaries for appointed officers and employees of the City for fiscal year 2011-2012:  Calvin Paup motioned,   Larry Beck seconded to approve the resolution setting the salaries for fiscal year 2011-2012, which included a 3% increase for Barber, Coppess, Zerbe, Walshire, Day, C. Albaugh, La Mont, J. Smith; J. Wenndt; a 7% increase for T. Albaugh; 20.6% for Hartman; and no change to the others listed.  Roll call vote: Ayes: Brown, Beck, Paup, and Barnhart.  Cook abstained due to conflict of interest. Nays: None. Resolution adopted

 

Authorize the removal of the tree in the cemetery:  After some discussion, Larry Beck motioned, Carla Barnhart seconded to authorize Zerbe to remove the tree from the cemetery.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Procedure for handling delinquent water bill when there are two residents that share the same shut off: Council reviewed ordinance 90.10 and 90.13 and determined that the neglect to pay the water bill constituted a nuisance and then a motion was made by Larry Beck, seconded by Deanna Cook to authorize sending a notice to abate the nuisance to the delinquent customer.  In order to abate the nuisance the resident will need to bring the bill current and install a separate service pipe so that each premise may be shut off independently of the other.  If it is not abated and no request for hearing is made, the City will abate and assess the costs against such person.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Committee Reports:  Calvin Paup reported that he would like the Mayor to be present to hear his report and therefore, will delay giving it until next meeting.

 

Correspondence: Information was received from the Cedar County Assessor on the intent to do a reappraisal valuation.

 

Set next regular meeting date: Monday, April 11, 2011

 

Mayor Comments: None. 

 

ADJOURN:  There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, council member Calvin Paup motioned, Larry Beck seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 7:57 p.m. Ayes all.  Meeting adjourned.

 

ATTEST:

 

____________________________                   ___________________________

Linda K. Coppess, CMC                                    L. Gene Brown, Mayor Pro-tem

City Clerk/Finance Officer