Council Meeting Minutes 7-18-2016

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

July 18, 2016

     The City Council of the City of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, July 18, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Fayette City Hall pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Wenthe presiding.

     Roll call: Present - Council members Kragnes, McGrane, Nefzger, Wulfekuhle (7:32).

     Moved McGrane, seconded Nefzger, to approve the appointment of Curtis E. Larson to the city council to fill the vacancy of Todd Sorensen who resigned because he moved out of town. All ayes, carried. Mayor Wenthe then administered the oath of office to Curtis Larson and he was sworn in as a city council member. His term will be until the next city election in November 2017. Nancy Wulfekuhle arrived at this time.

     Moved Nefzger, seconded McGrane to approve the consent agenda consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 06/20/16, IDNR approval letter for the sewer main lining/repair project, Claims List of 06/21–07/18/16 including Change Order #2 from Heartland Asphalt for the Big Rock Road project decreasing the cost by $31,648.68, the June 2016 Treasurer’s/Clerk’s Report & Budget Report and Investments Report ending 6/30/16. Roll call, all ayes, carried.

     Treasurer's Balance for Fund Accounts as of June 30, 2016: General $226,462.54; Streets $368,697.07; Debt Service $13,551.51; Water Utility $246,827.51; Water T&A $19,723.51; Sewer Utility $407,070.38; CDBG Sewer ($262,465.91); Landfill/Recycling $1,282.89; Yard Waste $5,518.87; Bolger Fund $187,377.89; TIF $41,387.06; Storm Water $4,324.31; Downtown Project ($24,926.26); Franchise Fees $34,468.32. June Receipts by Fund: General $19,446.03; Streets $15,219.76; Debt Service $3,127.15; Water Utility $3,012.92; Water T&A $2,700; Sewer Utility $49,148.82; Lf/Recycling $907.20; Yard Waste $184; Bolger $2,369; TIF $57.93; Local Option $6,696.49; Storm Water $140.07; Franchise Fees $2,005.37. Receipts $105,014.74. June Disbursements by Fund: General $111,352.64; Streets $149,941.32; Water Utility $26,768.12; Water T&A $6,062.47; Sewer Utility $106,563.37; CDBG Sewer $68,475.90; Bolger $1,745.75; TIF $7,282.66. Total Disbursements: $478,192.23. Investments: $1,283,905.06. Bank Balance $2,553,204.75. Balance with Library Funds $2,643,875.91.

     Moved Kragnes, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes to approve, carried.

     Upon the mayor’s request, moved McGrane, seconded Nefzger, to approve the appointment of Becky Wadian to the Library Board to fill the vacancy of Bruce Ingersoll and also to reappoint Diane Mohs to the Library Board. Both terms will expire on 6/30/2022. All ayes, carried.

     Administrator/Clerk Dennis reported she signed a two-year agreement with Convenient Payments Company (CPC) to use for credit card processing for utility payments. Jayhawk Utility Billing Company works with CPC. CPC had the lowest customer fees of all the companies Dennis compared and they will furnish a link so Dennis can put a portal on our city web site so customers may pay utility payments and parking tickets/municipal citations on-line or in the Clerk’s office with a credit card. ~ Dennis reported that Jayhawk Utility Billing Co. installed the new software program, Jayhawk Utility Suite, and provided six hours of training on the system to Deputy Clerk Sellers and Dennis. ~ Michael Saathoff transferred the information from the Police web site to the city web site. An Upper Iowa University IT student changed the path from GoDaddy so citizens may go directly to the police site by typing in: www.fayettepolice.com (or they may go through the city web site). ~ July 6th the contractor started installing the two new warning sirens and finished on July 12th. Alliant Energy still needs to connect the electricity to the sirens and then they will be tested. ~ Thirty-two resumes have been received for the City Admin/Clerk position. The hiring committee will meet the evening of July 21st to review them and decide who to interview.

     Police Chief Pisanti introduced Ben Davis, Fayette’s new police officer, who started working for the city on June 27, 2016. Pisanti also said the Fayette Police Department is currently conducting a two-week code enforcement sweep intended to identify and remove abandoned and junk vehicles at properties throughout the city. Three vehicles have already been removed by the owners and several others are pending removal. Failure to remove a junk vehicle can result in a nuisance abatement case being brought against the property owners.      

     Moved Kragnes, seconded McGrane, to introduce the FY2016 Ending Balances Transfers to Savings and Budget Transfers. Admin/Clerk Dennis explained that the auditors require council approval for the end of the year transfers, even though this is city policy and is discussed during budget meetings. The funds remaining on June 30th are put into savings for equipment, vehicles or projects for the following fiscal year. Moved Nefzger, seconded Kragnes, to approve the transfers. All ayes, carried.    

   Moved McGrane, seconded Wulfekuhle, to introduce for discussion Ordinance 484, Rental Housing Code. All ayes to discuss. Mayor Wenthe explained that the ordinance is being proposed because of the condition of some of the rental properties in town and the concern by the council for health and safety of the tenants. Wenthe added that after the ordinance is official, the inspections wouldn’t start until June 2017. He added that half of the town would be done the first year, then the second half would be done the following year so the property owners who have several houses won’t have all of their properties inspected at once. Four landlords were present: Chris Kragnes, Shawn Kleppe, Kyle Bugenhagen, and Jim Mitchell. They voiced their concerns and weren’t in favor of the ordinance. Several items were pointed out, so a couple of revisions are needed in the ordinance. Council member Kragnes asked how the mileage cost for UERPC is calculated, so Dennis said she would check on that. McGrane said we have to start somewhere because unfortunately there are some landlords who don’t keep up their houses. Moved Kragnes to table the first reading of Ordinance 484, Rental Housing Code, seconded by Larson. All ayes, carried to table.

     Moved McGrane, seconded Kragnes, to approve the Recreation Board meeting minutes of June 13, 2016. All ayes, carried.                     

     There being no further business, moved Nefzger, unanimous, to adjourn at 8:43 pm.

There is no place like home. And there is no place like Fayette.

11 S. Main Street

563.425.4316

info@fayetteiowa.com

Pay Your Utility Bill

Pay Now2

Pay your Fayette Parking Ticket

Pay Now2