REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
June 5, 2017
The City Council of the City of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, June 5, 2017 at 7:30pm in the Fayette City Hall pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Wenthe presiding.
Roll call: Present - Council members Kragnes, Larson, Nefzger and Tucker. Absent – Wulfekuhle.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson, to approve the consent agenda consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 5/15/17 and the claims list of 5/16/17 – 6/5/17. Roll call, all ayes, carried.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes, carried.
Mayor Wenthe informed the council that Upper Iowa University hired Superlandscapes to repair the wooden bridge on the rec trail between Fayette and the Volga River Recreation Area. They had finished repairing it before Memorial Day weekend. UIU will take care of the bill. Zach Mannheimer will be back in Fayette on June 15 to meet with more people and local groups as he continues the Creative Assessment for Fayette. The Fayette Fire Department will be touring UIU with some of the UIU facility staff this week so the department can be more prepared for any fire-related emergencies.
City Administrator/Clerk McGrane advised the council that Lance Butikofer, NFV student, met with Public Works Director Jerry Hildebrand and they installed the Little Library at the Open Air Market on June 2. Data Technologies installed the new accounting & payroll software and did on-site training with McGrane and Deputy Clerk Sellers on May 16, 17 and 18. Ray’s Excavating started the 2017 Water System Improvements project on Madison & Jones Streets on May 17. The look-out tower that UIU paid for is completed along the rec trail.
Police Chief Pisanti informed the council the department will be attending a training at UIU this week on critical incidents. Mayor Wenthe praised Chief Pisanti for handling a recent emergency at UIU with a student. Wenthe advised he heard many positive comments about the way the incident was handled and the positive outcome.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson, to discuss American Tower Corp. conditional offers on the land lease for the cell tower. The city attorney recommended the city not negotiate at this time since there are still quite a few years left on the lease. After a brief discussion, the council agreed to not accept an offer at this time.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson to discuss the Fayette Rec Board minutes from May 25, 2017. Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson to approve the minutes. All ayes, carried.
No motion to discuss bringing fiber-optic services into Fayette for businesses with Alex Soderquist, Hawkeye Telephone Company, as he was not present.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson, to consider purchasing three replacement police radios. Chief Pisanti told the council during a recent emergency call, one of the police handheld portable radios malfunctioned. He has used the radio that failed for about a year and half. The new handheld radios cost $310 each from Fayette Electronics. The department currently has 3 handheld radios that they rely on, so the new radios would replace these. Moved Tucker, seconded Kragnes, to purchase 3 police handheld radios for a total of $930. All ayes, carried.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson, to consider purchasing a snow blower and rotary broom for the John Deere, as budgeted for FY2017. John Deere in Oelwein quoted a total of $4,675 and John Deere in Sumner quoted a total of $4,187.29 for both items. Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson, to purchase the snow blower and rotary broom from John Deere in Sumner for a total cost of $4187.29. All ayes, carried.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Nefzger, to consider contract change order number 1 from Ray’s Excavating LLC for work completed on the 2017 Water System Improvements project on Madison and Jones Streets. The order included an increase in cost of $34.00 for increasing the culvert. Moved Larson, seconded Kragnes, to approve change order number 1. All ayes, carried.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Nefzger, to introduce the second reading of Ordinance 493 – Amending the code of ordinances of the city of Fayette, Iowa, by repealing and amending sections 92.02 of water rates and 99.02 of sewer service charges under chapters 92 and 99. The ordinance increases water and sewer rates by 2% on all rate levels to keep up with inflation, continue with improvements, replacing water and sewer lines, and replacing water meters. The minimum sewer charge will increase from $59.09 to $60.28 per quarter. The minimum water charge will increase from $38.01 to $38.77. The rate increase will begin on September 1, 2017, which is billable in December 2017. All the water and sewer rates shall automatically increase 2% per year on June 1 unless changed by resolution of council. Moved Kragnes, seconded Nefzger, to approve the second reading of Ordinance 493. On roll call, all ayes, carried.
Moved Tucker, seconded Kragnes, to introduce the second reading of Ordinance 494 – Amending the code of ordinances of the city of Fayette, Iowa, by repealing and amending section 106.09 of landfill fee under chapter 106. The ordinance increases the landfill fee by $0.25 per quarter. The increase is due to Fayette County increasing the landfill cost by $1.00 per person, per year starting in July 2017. The rate increase will begin on July 1, 2017, which is billable in September 2017. After discussion, moved Kragnes, seconded Nefzger, to approve the second reading of Ordinance 494. On roll call, all ayes, carried.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Nefzger, to introduce the first reading of Ordinance 495 – Amending the code of ordinances of the city of Fayette, Iowa, by adding regulations for a grass, weeds, vines and brush code as chapter 52. After receiving many complaints about multiple over-grown lawns throughout town, Chief Pisanti and Administrator McGrane felt a specific chapter to help enforce the issue was needed. The city attorney reviewed and supported the new chapter. The ordinance requires owners to cut their grass, weeds, vines and brush when it exceeds approximately eight inches in height or which are obnoxious or unsightly. For the first violation in each calendar year, the property owner shall be notified and will have five days to correct the condition. If the property owner fails to maintain the property after notice, the work will be done by city employees or by a contractor and billed to the property owner. For subsequent violations on the same property in the same calendar year, a written notice will not be sent to the owner. The work will be done by city employees or by a contractor and again billed to the property owner. Failure to pay shall result in the cost being assessed against the property for collection in the same manner as a property tax. After discussion, moved Nefzger, seconded Larson, to waive the second and third readings of Ordinance 495. All ayes, carried. Moved Tucker, seconded Larson, to approve the first and final reading and adopt Ordinance 495. On roll call, all ayes, carried.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Nefzger, to introduce the first reading of Ordinance 496 – Amending the code of ordinances of the city of Fayette, Iowa, by repealing and amending section 50.02 (10) of nuisance abatement procedure under Chapter 50. The ordinance modifies weeds, brush to read: Dense growth of all weeds, vines, brush, grass, other botanical growth or other similar vegetation in the City which constitutes a health, safety or fire hazard or which are obnoxious or unsightly. It also refers to Chapter 52, the new grass, weeds, vines and brush code. After discussion, moved Kragnes, seconded Larson to waive the second and third readings of Ordinance 496. All ayes, carried. Moved Kragnes, seconded Nefzger, to approve the first and final reading and adopt Ordinance 496. On roll call, all ayes, carried.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson, to introduce Resolution 2017-13. After a brief discussion, moved Tucker, seconded Kragnes, to approve and adopt Resolution 2017-13: A resolution considering grass and weeds longer than 8 inches in height and debris to be a nuisance and obnoxious to the public. It also establishes the following rate for city actions taken to abate nuisances: $250 for mowing, per lot, plus $50 per hour for each hour over the first hour spent on mowing and cleaning of the property, and cleaning of debris shall be assessed at a rate of $100 per hour. Roll call, all ayes, carried.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Tucker, to discuss the City of Fayette’s position with fireworks. After discussion, the council decided to stay with our current policy at this time.
Moved Kragnes, seconded Larson, to consider a written RFP to engage a CPA firm to perform the City’s required annual examination for the year ending June 30, 2017. After discussion, moved Kragnes, seconded Nefzger, to write and release an RFP to engage a CPA firm to perform the City’s required annual examination. All ayes, carried.
There being no further business, moved Nefzger, unanimous, to adjourn at 8:29pm.
