Council Meeting Minutes 5-7-18

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

May 7, 2018

     The City Council of the city of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, May 7, 2018 at 6:01pm in the Fayette City Hall pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Wenthe presiding.

     Roll call: Present - Council members Cowley, Larson, Nefzger (by speakerphone), Tucker and Wulfekuhle.

     Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to approve the consent agenda consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 4/16/18, the claims list of 4/17/18 – 5/7/18, the renewal of the beer license & native wine permit for Upper Iowa University/Aramark and the renewal of the liquor license, beer permit, native wine permit & Sunday sales for The Pumper. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.

     Moved Cowley, seconded Larson, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes, carried.

     This being the time and place published for a public hearing on the conveyance of an easement allowing the Fayette County Food Shelf (FCFS) to build upon city right-of-way (ROW) at the intersection of E. Water St. and Washington St., Mayor Wenthe opened the hearing and asked for comments. There being no comments, Mayor Wenthe closed the hearing. Moved Tucker, seconded Cowley, to approve Resolution 2018-10: Authorizing the approval of the conveyance at the cost of preparation of an easement allowing the FCFS to build upon the city ROW. Roll call, all ayes, carried.

     This being the time and place published for a public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) Budget Amendment, Mayor Wenthe opened the hearing and asked for comments. There being no comments, Mayor Wenthe closed the hearing. Moved Cowley, seconded Nefzger, to approve Resolution 2018-11: Authorizing the approval of the FY18 City Budget Amendment. Roll call, all ayes, carried.

     Mayor Wenthe advised the council it was the 50th year of the municipal Home Rule in Iowa and the flexibility it provides to make decisions at the local government level. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Tucker, to have the Mayor sign a Home Rule Proclamation recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the municipal Home Rule in Iowa and proudly supporting its continued authority. All ayes, carried.

     Upon Mayor Wenthe’s request, moved Tucker, seconded Larson, to appoint David Runyon to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a 5-year term starting on 6/1/18.

     Mayor Wenthe updated the council on the Main Street Bridge repair. After determining how much of a void was underneath the approaches, Fehr Graham received a bid for about $13,850 from Iowa Wall Sawing to repair the bridge, including the sidewalk. Iowa Wall Sawing believes they will be able to start repairing the bridge soon.

     Administrator/Clerk McGrane advised the council that Klock’s Island Park is now open. The city will no longer be offering the buy 6 nights, get the 7th night free at the campground to help recoup some money for the park to continue with upgrades. The bathrooms at Cardinal Park are also open. Cardinal Park was seeded on 4/26 which was the last thing on the list to be completed at the park. We have received $46,676.03 for the Parks and Trails and $5,068.99 for the Debris Removal from Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the flood damage. On 5/4 McGrane signed the last claim form for the Roads and Surfacing damage from the flood. McGrane attended the IMFOA Spring Conference 4/18-4/20 and the Fayette County Tourism Meeting on 5/1. On 4/11 the 2018 CDBG Fayette Owner Occupied Housing Grant application was submitted to the state. On 4/30 the 2018 Rural Business Development Grant application was submitted.

     Police Chief Pisanti told the council that this would be his final council meeting. Pisanti said it has been a great honor to work here. Pisanti gave a brief report. Mayor Wenthe thanked Pisanti for all he has done for the City of Fayette and wished him best of luck in the future.

   Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss the Fayette Community Library Board minutes from 4/11/18. Library Director Annette Butikofer was present and said she is looking forward to the Summer Reading Program that starts 6/1. Butikofer encourages everyone to register at the Fayette Community Library for the program and is hoping that 3,379 books get read, from people of all ages, through the end of August. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Tucker, to approve the Fayette Community Library Board minutes from 4/11/18. All ayes, carried.

     Moved Cowley, seconded Larson, to discuss financially assisting the Big Rock Country Club Golf Course with fixing cart paths. Bradley Minger with Big Rock advised there are 2 cart paths on the back 9 that are in need of repair and one path is currently unusable. To replace the cart path on hole 16 would be around $12,000. Frontier Mudjacking out of Ridgeway provided a quote for $14,869 to repair both cart paths. There may be some additional costs if they decide to install a drain tile along the path. Minger would like the city to help pay for some of these repairs. The Golf Course currently has about $2,000 budgeted to help with these repairs. After further discussion, moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Nefzger, to donate a $5,000 gift from the Bolger fund to the Big Rock Country Club Golf Course to be used toward the repairs of the cart path. Wulfekuhle, Nefzger, Cowley and Tucker ayes, and Larson nay, motion carried.

     Moved Cowley, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss partnering with Upper Iowa University with financial support for an Iowa Economic Development Authority Enhance Iowa/CAT grant to make improvements to the UIU Rec Center and swimming pool. Ismael Betancourt with UIU advised the UIU Rec Center needs the floor replaced as it is about 3 years over the 12-year life expectancy. The swimming pool also needs some repair and the heating and cooling units need repair. The total amount of repairs is $1.1 million. UIU will be applying for a CAT grant that, if awarded, will pay for 25% of the entire project. To make their grant application stronger, they are looking for financial partners. Council members discussed if they provide financial assistance for the grant, then the Fayette Rec Board may have access to UIU’s facilities at no cost or a discounted cost and Fayette residents may receive a discount off of memberships to the UIU Rec Center. Betancourt believed that would be possible. After further discussion, moved Tucker, seconded Cowley, to become a co-applicant of the CAT grant with UIU and to use $10,000 from the Local Option Sales Tax designated to be used for the Rec programs in fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022, making a total contribution of $30,000, if the grant is awarded and with the understanding that Fayette residents receive a minimum of a 75% discount for UIU Rec memberships from fiscal year 2020 through 2022. All ayes, carried.  

     Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss the 28E Agreement with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) for Dispatching Services. The council had requested Chief Pisanti to continue negotiating with the FCSO on the agreement. Pisanti advised the Sheriff was willing to decrease the three annual fees by $700 to $3,983 for FY2019, $4,652 for FY2020 and $5,321 for FY2021. The council had previously budgeted 75% of the annual fees to be taken out of the police budget and 25% taken out of the ambulance budget for FY2019. After discussion, moved Nefzger, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve and sign the Dispatching Services Contract with Fayette County, Iowa, and the FCSO. All ayes, carried.

     Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Cowley, to discuss forming a small committee to draft paperwork for the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) and start reaching out to the public for serving on the committee. After discussion, Wulfekuhle and Tucker volunteered to be on the RLF committee and will present the paperwork to the council at one of the next council meetings.

     Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss the storm water drainage system violation by Matt Properties, LLC at 105 W. Madison along King Street. After discussion, moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to have the Fayette Public Works Department repair the storm water drainage at 105 W. Madison Street by digging out the ditch and notify Chris Matt of when it will take place. All ayes, carried.

     Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Larson, to discuss updating the rental business property lease contract for 9 S. Main St. After discussion, moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to add to the contract a $350 deposit, add a $10 per day late fee after the 1st business day of each month for non-payment of rent and to take out “except for ordinary wear and tear or damage without fault or liability of Tenant.” All ayes, carried.

     Moved Cowley, seconded Tucker, to discuss hiring a new Police Chief, starting date and starting salary. The Police Committee met and recommends the council promote Fayette Officer Benjamin Davis as the next Fayette Police Chief with a starting salary of $48,000 per year. Davis would be placed on the current wage scale around $48,000. Davis’ starting date would be on 5/12/18. After discussion, moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Nefzger, to promote Benjamin Davis as the Fayette Police Chief starting May 12, 2018 with a starting salary of $48,000 per year. All ayes, carried.

     Moved Tucker, seconded Cowley, to discuss the high-water bill at 404 Wadena Road Lot #202. Craig and Jeanie Kleitsch provided pictures and a receipt of the leaky valve that proved the water did not drain through the city’s sewer system. McGrane advised Public Works Director Jerry Hildebrand said he feels this is adequate proof to forgive some of the sewer charges. After discussion, moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Cowley, to have McGrane find a fair amount of the sewer charges, by figuring out their average usage for this time of year, on the March 2018 to forgive. All ayes, carried.

     Moved Nefzger, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss the rental code. After discussion, McGrane advised the council to review the rental code and documents associated with it and bring any revisions or changes to the next council meeting. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Nefzger to continue to move forward with the rental code. Wulfekuhle, Nefzger, Cowley and Tucker ayes, and Larson nay, motion carried.

   There being no further business, moved Nefzger, unanimous, to adjourn at 7:54pm.

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