REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
April 2, 2018
The City Council of the city of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, April 2, 2018 at 6pm in the ICN Room at the Fayette Community Library pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Wenthe presiding.
Roll call: Present - Council members Cowley, Larson, Nefzger, Tucker and Wulfekuhle.
Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the consent agenda consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 3/19/18 and the claims list of 3/20/18 – 4/2/18. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes, carried.
Mayor Wenthe informed the council that we are still taking community interest in the open positions for the Planning and Zoning Committee, the Board of Adjustments and the Recreation Board. If anyone is interested, contact City Hall. Wenthe put together a small housing task force based on one of the recommendations the city received from the creative placemaking plan. The group consisted of Dave Runyon, Jeff Bradley and Wenthe, with the hope of the group to grow. The group reached out to Lori Brockway with Upper Explorerland to find out if the group could partner with them to help with funds. Brockway is planning on attending a future meeting with the housing task force.
Administrator/Clerk McGrane advised the council that he has been finishing up the paperwork for Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management in reference to last summer’s flood. McGrane has also been gathering all the information needed for the CDBG Housing Rehab Grant and the USDA RBDG program to fund a revolving loan fund. McGrane reminded the council of some up-coming training opportunities they may attend.
Police Chief Pisanti told the council that he is finalizing the yearly report and it should be released soon. The biggest highlight in the report is that crime in Fayette was reduced by 40%.
Moved Tucker, seconded Larson, to discuss the Board of Adjustments meeting minutes. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Cowley, to approve the Board of Adjustments meeting minutes from March 15, 2018. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Nefzger, to discuss Lloyd Carnicle’s request to close off the 100-block of S. Main Street on the third Thursday of the month from May through September 2018. Carnicle advised this would be the 6th year of the Fayette Show and Shine Car Show. The council expressed their appreciation to Carnicle for organizing this event each year. Moved Larson, seconded Tucker, to approve Carnicle closing the 100-block of S. Main Street on the third Thursday of the month from May 2018 through September 2018 to host the Fayette Show and Shine Car Show. All ayes, carried.
Moved Cowley, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss John and Sharon Orr’s request to start preparing the land at the Open Air Market park (OAM) for the Freedom Rock. Sharon Orr updated the council on the progress of the Freedom Rock project. Orr advised they currently have the rock, the movement of the rock, the concrete, the fill and the dirt work all donated. Orr would like the city to remove the first tree to the east of the old drive-way in the city right-of-way at the OAM. The tree would be in the line of vision from the front view of the Freedom Rock to W. Water Street. Nefzger asked if the tree could be relocated. Orr advised the ground does need to be leveled out at the location. The slab of concrete would be 8 feet by 8 feet and the rock weighs between 6-7 tons. The goal is to pour the concrete this month (April) or in May. Wulfekuhle requested the Orr’s stake out where the cement would be poured for the rock at the OAM so the council may review the placement. Orr would like to request the rock with the UIU appreciation plaque on it be relocated to another location, such as near the beginning of the recreation trail at the OAM. They could possibly have their volunteers move the rock with the UIU plaque. Fayette is on the list to get the rock painted in the year 2020, but it could be painted in 2019. Orr advised she still needs to do fundraising to get the rock painted, which would cost around $6,000 to $7,000, but she believes it would be easier to do the fundraising when people can visually see the rock at the park. If they raise more money then what is needed, they would spend the money on landscaping around the rock. Moved Tucker, seconded Cowley, to table the request until after Orr stakes out the placement of the rock and the council can review it. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss community members starting a community garden on city property. Andrea Scott informed the council that the Women for Progress group, the Master Gardner’s and the Iowa State University (ISU) Extension Office have been working on the idea of creating a community garden in Fayette. They would like the community garden to be located on the city property at 6 S. Main Street, located between Full Circle Services and Poor’s Automotive. Scott said this location would be the most accessible for everybody in town and they would have access to water from Full Circle Services. Full Circle Services’ clients would be able to assist in helping with the garden. The group would also utilize rain barrels for water. The goal of the community garden is to help teach those interested on how to garden. The community garden would be free to anyone who participates and helps with the garden. They are still working on all the details, but Scott believes any produce that is grown would be given to those who help with the garden for free. If there are any left-over produce, then they may be able to sell it at a low price at the Fayette Farmer’s Market or provide it to our local Food Shelf. The ISU Extension office thought they may be able to offer some canning classes, as well. If the garden doesn’t go over well, they have people from the organizations who would help clean the property back up so the city employees would not be responsible. If the council approves the groups to use that property, they will have someone come down to do soil testing. Scott advised they currently have about 10 consistent volunteers to assist with the community garden. If anyone has any questions or would like to help, they can contact Andrea Scott at either Scott Pharmacy or Yoga Genesis or find the Women for Progress group on Facebook. Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the Women for Progress, the Master Gardner’s and the ISU Extension Office to start a community garden on the cities property at 6 S. Main Street. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss providing permission to the Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation (NEICAC) to exchange the lot at 104 King Street with another lot in town. Pastor Andy Sayer with the Fayette Community Church (FCC) informed the council that the FCC is growing and have exceeded the space in their current building. They are currently looking at expanding their building to the north where they currently have a parking lot. The parking they currently provide is not large enough for all the vehicles they currently bring in. They would utilize the lot at 104 King Street for additional parking as they expand their building. Sayer advised the FCC has spoken to NEICAC and they are willing to exchange lots if the FCC could find another lot in town for them to build a house on and as long as the city council grants permission for NEICAC to exchange lots. Sayer advised the FCC would be willing to cover any fees that NEICAC would request from them to help reimburse for the expenses that have already went in to that property. After discussion, moved Nefzger, seconded Larson, to approve the land exchange of 104 King Street between NEICAC and the Fayette Community Church pending the purchase of the lot on Main Street. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Tucker, to discuss the Fayette County Fair Board’s (FCFB) request for a donation. At the previous council meeting, Andy Bilden had advised the council that the FCFB is hoping to offer a free carnival for fairgoers this year. To help cover the cost of the carnival, they are asking cities in Fayette County for donations. The city of West Union donated $5,000 and the city of Hawkeye donated $1,000. After discussion, moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Larson, to donate $1,200 from the Bolger Fund to the Fayette County Fair Board to help with carnival expenses. All ayes, carried.
Moved Cowley, seconded Larson, to discuss the 28E Agreement between the Fayette EMS and the Fayette County EMS Association. After discussion, moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the 28E Agreement between the Fayette EMS and the Fayette County EMS Association. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss Resolution 2018-09. After discussion, moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to adopt Resolution 2018-09: agreeing to apply for financial assistance with the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development to finance a revolving loan fund project for the city through the USDA RBDG Program and commit $100,000 of local match funding towards this project pending the approval of the RBDG application. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss Roland Vazquez request for financial assistance from the city to try and bring members of the Chicago Cuatro Orchestra to the Fayette Opera House for a performance and to give a presentation at the Fayette Community Library. Tucker advised the Recreation Board met and decided to not financially assist with this event because their finances are tight due to the events they already have planned. The Friends of the Library will be helping financially. After discussion, moved Cowley, seconded Nefzger, to decline financial support for this event, but the city will help with marketing the event through the cities website and social media. All ayes, carried.
Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Cowley, to discuss new housing construction, rehab and business incentives. Nefzger suggested we try and get Jim Thompson to present to the council about tax abatement and other incentive ideas. After discussion, the council would like to reach out to Thompson to see if he can give a presentation and to put out the current incentive ideas to the community for feedback. Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to table this until a future meeting.
There being no further business, moved Wulfekuhle, unanimous, to adjourn at 7:05pm.
Following this meeting, at 7:17pm, the mayor and council held a work session to discuss vacating part of a city right-of-way or possible easement of property in the 10-block of Washington Street. The work session adjourned at 7:44pm.
