REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
January 15, 2018
The City Council of the city of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, January 15, 2018 at 6pm in the Fayette City Hall pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Pro-Tem Nefzger presiding.
Roll call: Present - Council members Cowley, Larson, Nefzger, Tucker and Wulfekuhle.
Moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the consent agenda consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 1/2/18, the claims list of 1/3/18 – 1/15/18, and the December 2017 Financial Reports. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Treasurer's Balance for Fund Accounts as of December 31, 2017: Total December Receipts: $152,989.21 (General $67,392.80; Streets $13,401.11; Employee Benefits $8,678.88; LOST $8,340.87; TIF $259.14; Bolger $1,116.95; Library Fund $4,767.63; Debt Services $4,234.03; Water $5,953.59; Sewer $29,036.71; Sewer Fund $9,575.50; Storm Water $232). Total December Disbursements: $142,165.17 (General $58,719.82; Employee Benefits $12,347.37; Library Fund $1,328.66; Water $10,815.04; Sewer $47,644.28; Sewer Fund $11,310). Treasurer’s Balance: $2,897,149.47.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes to approve, carried.
Administrator/Clerk McGrane informed the council that the city started paying 8 employees by direct deposit as of the first pay period of 2018. All the 2017 tax forms have been completed and distributed/mailed. McGrane also provided the busy meeting schedule over the next few weeks as the city prepares the budget for FY2019.
Police Chief Pisanti advised the department is working on a case involving a cat shot with an arrow.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to approve the Fayette Community Library Board Minutes from December 13, 2017 and the Library Director’s January 10, 2018 report. All ayes, carried.
Moved Cowley, seconded Larson, to discuss Diego Duran and Charles Miles water/utility bill from 520 Mechanic Street. Duran and Miles advised the council that they had a broken toilet that was running during the last quarter. City Administrator McGrane contacted Duran the beginning of December to advise them their bill was $3,873.24 and they must have a water leak. They were unaware that they would be charged for the water and sewer for the broken toilet. The manager of the dwelling was contacted and the water for the broken toilet was turned off. Tucker advised she had spoken with Duran and Miles and informed them about an Emergency Funding Grant through UIU they would be eligible for that could help them cover about $1,000 of the cost. They were also advised about Helping Services of NE Iowa that may be able to assist with some of the costs. Moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to waive the late fees for the high water/utility bill for Diego Duran and Charles Miles at 520 Mechanic Street. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to introduce Bryce Bentley with Ridihalgh, Fuelling, Snitker, Weber & Co. to discuss the Fiscal Year 2017 City Examination. Bentley gave a presentation and discussion of findings and recommendations of the FY2017 audit.
Moved Larson, seconded Tucker, to consider and approve contracts, code of conducts, policies, procurement standards, affirmative action plans and other paperwork for the CDBG Grant for the Downtown Project. McGrane explained he received an updated project cost estimate from WHKS Engineering, making the total cost estimate $3,404,470. He presented this number to Speer Financial to update their spreadsheets and breakdown of costs for the project. Speer Financial suggested the following recommendation if the council decided to move forward with the project: $350,000 – CDBG Grant, $336,000 in Water Revenue SRF, $466,000 in Sewer Revenue SRF, $590,000 – Bolger Fund. Then, the city would be able to get a General Obligation (GO) Bond for $1,665,000. For the city to pay back the GO Bond in 15 years, the taxes would need to increase to approximately $251.46 per property assessed at $100,000. The city would also have to increase water and sewer rates to be able to pay back the Water and Sewer Revenue SRF portion. The city would need to spend a minimum of $590,000 of the Bolger money to be able to get the city down to their debt capacity to be able to take out the GO Bond. McGrane explained the council could not decrease any of the storm water drainage expenses from the project or they would lose the CDBG Grant money, but they could decrease the cost by removing the water and sewer replacement. Public Works Director Jerry Hildebrand recommended the council focus on fixing other water and sewer issues around town that need attention before the downtown area. McGrane explained if the council wanted to accept the grant and continue with the project, the council needed to continue to move forward with the paperwork, contracts and studies or we risk the chance of not getting the project completed in time to receive the grant money. After discussion, moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to decline the CDBG Grant. All ayes, carried.
Moved Tucker, seconded Cowley, to discuss Resolution 2018-01. Moved Larson, seconded Tucker, to decline Resolution 2018-01: Adopting Policies Compliant to the 2017 CDBG Grant for Storm-water Improvements. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss Resolution 2018-02. This states all regular meetings of the council shall be called to order on the first and third Mondays of each month at 6:00PM. If a holiday falls on the same date as a regularly scheduled meeting, the council meeting will take place the following evening at the same time. Notice of any change of time convening a regular meeting shall be given to the news media in ample time for them to inform the public of the change. The time of starting a special or adjourned meeting shall be sent in the motion to adjourn, in the call by the Mayor, or in the request by the necessary number of council members. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Larson, to approve and adopt Resolution 2018-02: Changing the Time of Regular Meetings of the Council to 6PM. Roll call, all ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss Resolution 2018-03. This adds the following sentence to Section 3.2, Holidays, in the City of Fayette Personnel Policy: Part-time employees shall not be entitled to any holiday pay. Moved Cowley, seconded Larson, to approve and adopt Resolution 2018-03: Adding No Holiday Pay for Part Time Employees to the Personnel Policy. Roll call, all ayes, carried.
Moved Cowley, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss Resolution 2018-04. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Larson, to approve and adopt Resolution 2018-04: Reappointing and compensation schedule to Patrick B. Dillon of Dillon Law, PC, for City Attorney of Fayette, Iowa. Roll call, all ayes, carried.
There being no further business, moved Wulfekuhle, unanimous, to adjourn at 7:25pm.
