Minutes April 6, 2015

Regular Council Meeting

April 6, 2015    

     The City Council of the City of Fayette, Iowa, met in the Fayette City Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 6, 2015, Mayor Andrew Wenthe presiding.

     Roll call: Present - Council members Boberg, McGrane, Nefzger, Patrick, Sorensen.

     Moved Boberg, seconded Sorensen, to approve the consent agenda consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 03/16/15, correspondence and the Claims List of 03/17/15 – 04/06/15 along with the final payment to Portzen Construction for Contract A work at the wastewater treatment facility, pay request #4 to Blazek for Contract B at the sewer lagoons and with the addition of the Ambulance Service payroll (Dennis handed out copies of the payroll breakdown). On roll call, all voted aye, carried.

   Moved Sorensen, seconded Nefzger, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes, carried.

     Mayor Wenthe reported that Prairieland Blessing Industries filed for bankruptcy in late March after the new owners’ financing fell through. Wenthe said the Grundy Center National Bank along with Oelwein, Buchanan and Fayette County economic development officials are all pursuing avenues to keep the business open. He added that the business continues to operate and has a couple of interested buyers. Wenthe said he is aware that any action the city would take for incentives, such as tax abatements, must be approved by the city council.

     The mayor also reported that twenty applications had been received for the police chief position and the search committee would meet before the April 20th council meeting.

     Admin/Clerk Dennis reported that FEMA sent back the appeal to the flood insurance company regarding Fayette’s claim for the wastewater treatment facility, so she has followed up with the insurance company and is waiting for their reply. ~ Submitted a request to Fayette County Local Housing Trust Fund for funding assistance in the amount of $3,760 for our new housing inspection program. ~ Receiving a lot of positive feedback on the new city web site (www.fayetteiowa.com). ~ Pleased with the Iowa Workforce Development judge’s decision regarding our insurance appeal to Brad Gardner’s claim for unemployment. ~ Public Works men will be flushing hydrants on April 14th, spring clean-up for landfill items will be May 6th, and the Fayette Yard Waste Site will be opening April 15th. ~ Library Director, Linda Adams, hired Amy Murphy as a part-time worker at the library. Murphy started March 20th, with a 90-day probationary period as city policy states.

     Moved Boberg, seconded Patrick, tointroduce Karen Michelson, North Fayette Valley School Board member, for an update. Michelson said the whole grade sharing is working well with Valley School District and a merger is being planned in the next few years, which would have to be voted on by the public in both school districts. There would be a new school board then. Michelson spoke of the changed grading system to make sure the students understand the material, sharing a superintendent is working well and a grant funded three-year teacher leadership program that is starting. She added that the kids are adjusting well to all the changes. Michelson said all the school buildings are being used and will continue to be as long as the student enrollment doesn’t change much. She added there would probably be no job losses when the merger takes place.

     Concerning the buy-out proposals from two companies for the city’s Verizon Cell Tower Lease, Mayor Wenthe referred the matter to the Finance Committee. McGrane asked that an attorney familiar with cell tower leases review the proposals.

     Moved McGrane, seconded Nefzger, to approve the appointment of Nancy Wulfekuhle to the Recreation Board to fill the vacancy of Cristy Gardner. Nancy’s term will expire 11/01/2017. All ayes, carried                

     Moved Boberg, seconded Nefzger, to approve the meeting updates from the Recreation Board. The Rec. Board is going to have a pitching machine team in Fayette for the summer. They had a coloring contest for Easter with 4 age groups. They agreed to pay for the signs that will be installed on the Frisbee golf course on the north side of the river near Main Street. Summer sand volleyball adult teams will again play this summer in town. All ayes, carried.

     Moved Sorensen, seconded Boberg, to introduce and approve Resolution 2015-12: Resolution approving and authorizing a form of Loan and Disbursement Agreement by and between the City of Fayette, Iowa, and the Iowa Finance Authority, and authorizing and providing for the issuance and securing the payment of $1,700,000 Sewer Revenue Capital Loan Notes, Series 2015, of the City of Fayette, Iowa, under the provisions of the City Code of Iowa, and providing for a method of payment of said Notes and approve the form of Tax Exemption Certificate. Admin/Clerk Dennis explained that this was the final documentation for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources SRF loan for the work on the wastewater treatment facilities presently and over the past five years. She added that this is the same as other bonds and loans she has handled in the past. The interest rate is excellent at 1.75% for twenty years with a service debt from $101,000 to $104,000 per year. On roll call, all voted aye to approve Resolution 2015-12, Tax Exemption Certificate and Form of Loan and Disbursement Agreement, carried.    

     Moved Nefzger, seconded Patrick, to introduce for discussion Resolution 2015-05: Amending Resolution 2008-25, City Personnel Policy, by changing employee health insurance benefits for new employees in Section 5.1, Health & Safety. Admin/Clerk Dennis explained that this would only affect full-time employees hired after April 15, 2015 and needed to be put into place since the city is in the process of hiring a new police chief. The Personnel Committee still needs to have a meeting regarding a phase-out of some health benefits that was recommended by the Finance Committee and referred to them by the Mayor on February 17, 2015. On roll call, all ayes to approve Resolution 2015-05, carried.

     Moved Patrick, seconded Boberg, to approve the closing statement for the purchase of the vacant lot at 104 King Street from Donald & Patsy Brattebo in the amount of $7,500. The lot will be used for the construction of a new house by Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation. Dennis noted that the survey came out good and there were no issues on the Title Opinion prepared by Attorney David Hanson. All ayes, carried.

     There being no further business, moved Nefzger, unanimous, to adjourn at 8:07 p.m.

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