REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
September 16, 2019
The City Council of the City of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, September 16, 2019, at 6pm in Fayette City Hall pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Wenthe presiding.
Roll call: Present - Council members Larson, Potratz and Wulfekuhle. Absent – Cowley and Tucker.
Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the consent agenda items consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 9/3/19, the claims list of 9/4/19 – 9/16/19, renewal of the Class C liquor license with outdoor service and Sunday sales for Shiners Bar & Grill and renewal of the Class C beer permit, class B wine permit and Sunday sales for Dollar General/Dolgencorp, LLC. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Potratz, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes, carried.
Mayor Wenthe thanked everyone who helped out with Watermelon Days. Wenthe toured the new NE Iowa Community Action house at 505 S. Main Street and reminded the council that applications are still being accepted for anyone interested in purchasing. Wenthe advised that Administrator/Clerk McGrane and he attended a community conversation with other city leaders and representatives from Alliant Energy on 9/5. A variety of topics were discussed including where Alliant Energy’s priorities were moving forward including investments and the future rate increases. Individuals may reach out to Alliant Energy to express any concerns. Upon the Fayette Ambulance Service and Wenthe’s request, moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to appoint Haydn Martin to the Fayette Emergency Medical Service. All ayes, carried.
Administrator/Clerk McGrane informed the council that City Hall finished notifying utility customers who received a partial water deposit refund. It is tentatively scheduled to install the new server 10/2-10/4. McGrane also met with Upper Explorerland on 9/4 to review the Revolving Loan Fund and everyone needs to continue to help promote the incentive.
Police Chief Davis advised the council that the City of Fayette was chosen to host the next Governor Traffic Safety Bureau’s meeting in October as they discuss the plans for 2020. Davis and McGrane attended the E911 meeting to learn about Fayette County’s future plans on emergency communications.
Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss forgiving a portion of the sewer fees for Laura Gleissner due to a leak. Gleissner explained she had a water leak under the crawl space of the house and the water was not going through the city’s sewer system. Assistant Public Works Director Adam Hildebrand did view the leak prior to it being fixed and confirmed it was not going down the city’s sewer system. McGrane had provided a history of Gleissner’s utility usage and figured out an average usage. Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to forgive $108.93, which is an average of prior usage, of the sewer charges from Gleissner’s utility bill, 306 E. State St., due to a water leak that did not go down the city’s sewer system. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Potratz, to discuss having Public Works employees verify newly installed mailboxes to make sure they meet the City Code requirements. Kevin Lehs was in attendance to share his idea of having a form that the city would provide indicating that any new mailboxes that are put up would be inspected by the city to indicate if they meet City Code requirements or not. Once the form is filled out, a copy would be sent to the owners of the property. Public Works Director Jerry Hildebrand was in favor of the form but indicated most times the city is not notified when new mailboxes are put up. It is the home owner’s responsibility to contact the city and to call in a locate prior to digging to install a mailbox. Lehs felt the form would help clarify if a mailbox was in compliance or not if it were to get hit by a snow plow. The city code states if a legally placed mailbox is damaged by the city snow plow, it will be repaired or replaced by the city. The code also states if the mailbox is damaged by the windrow (wall of flying snow) hurled by a passing snow plow, the city will not repair or replace the mailbox. Lehs pointed out he believes the city snow plow drivers go too fast around town which doesn’t help. Hildebrand explained a few things about the snow plows including that the plows must go fast enough to provide enough momentum for the snow to get completely off the road. After they plow and the city receives more snow, the narrower the streets will get if they don’t get the previous snow completely off the road. After further discussion, Larson recommended this topic be referred to the Streets Committee. No action was taken.
Moved Larson, seconded Potratz, to discuss Fayette County Economic Development and Tourism. Mallory Hanson, with the NE Iowa RC&D and contracted by the Fayette County Supervisors to be the Fayette County Economic Development & Tourism Director, provided a short presentation to the council. Hanson explained her first priority is reaching out to all the cities, banks and other organizations to gain support in becoming a part of a new organization and forming a board. Hanson shared that the goal is to make the new organization a 501c6 because there will be more flexibility to change and grow in specific areas. Hanson has already established a Facebook page and website, www.visitfayettecountyiowa.com, and hopes to continue promoting Fayette County as she continues to work on establishing the organization. Hanson encouraged the city to be a part of the new organization and to continue paying the same rate as in the past, which is around $1500. Hanson has already visited Elgin, Clermont, West Union and Westgate and they are all on board to be a part of the organization. Fairbank has declined to be a part of the organization. Hanson hopes that the majority of the money they receive this year from those who want to be a part of the organization would be saved until the board is able to approve what they want to spend it on. Hanson has recently finished a quarterly report that she would provide the Fayette City Council. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Potratz, to continue to support the Fayette County Economic Development and Tourism at the current rate we have been supporting and what we have budgeted. All ayes, motion carried.
There being no further business, moved Potratz, unanimous, to adjourn at 6:40 pm.
