March 2, 2009
Wellman, Iowa 52356
The Wellman City Council met in regular session in the Council Chambers of the Wellman Municipal Building at 7:00pm. Mayor Ryan Miller presided with the City Attorney, City Administrator, City Clerk and following Council Members: Robert Goodrich, Karri Fisher, Marc Pennington, Steve Slaubaugh, and Matt Latcham; absent: no one. Also present were: Mary Coblentz from the news media, city employees Duane Covington, Jesse Gingerich and Rory White and five citizens and/or guests. The consent Agenda was approved upon motion by Goodrich, second by Slaubaugh and all aye votes. The consent agenda includes the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting, and the following claims:
| AFLAC | employee benefit | 169.85 |
| Alliant Energy | electric/various depts | 720.39 |
| Bancard | credit card charges | 474.89 |
| Brown Supply Co Inc | repairs | 64.62 |
| City of Wellman | utilities | 1,893.00 |
| Commercial Towel Service | mops,mats | 24.10 |
| Duane Covington | operator service fee | 2,300.00 |
| Cox Sanitation & Recycling | Feb recycling,stickers | 2,753.50 |
| Digicon Inc | work on skate rink comp | 75.00 |
| Farm Plan/Farmers Supply | parts | 4.30 |
| Federation Bank | payroll taxes | 2,770.59 |
| Freeman Foods | supplies | 123.79 |
| Jesse Gingerich | reimburse for cell phone | 43.00 |
| Glenn Guengerich | office lights | 20.00 |
| H&H Foodservice | supplies | 278.67 |
| Hawkeye Foodservice | supplies | 1,500.29 |
| Hawkins Inc | water chemicals | 251.00 |
| Howard R Green Company | engineering | 16,759.50 |
| I Wireless | Lampe cell phone | 38.57 |
| Iowa Assn Municipal Utilities | membership,repairs | 3,051.75 |
| J&B Repair | street cleaner repairs | 93.59 |
| J&S Plumbing, Heating | new city hall water heater | 692.26 |
| Keystone Laboratories | water testing | 171.00 |
| Daniel P Kitchen | city attorney fees | 382.00 |
| KOCH Brothers | annual maintenance cont | 990.00 |
| LL Window Cleaning | Feb window cleaning | 25.00 |
| Mahaska Bottling | concessions | 184.65 |
| Ryan Miller | mileage | 22.00 |
| Steve Miller | reimbursements | 72.30 |
| William Nickell | Feb lease payment | 150.00 |
| Paws & More | Feb contribution | 200.00 |
| Payroll expense | transfers | 13,824.82 |
| Purchase Power | meter postage | 900.00 |
| Quest Fore Inc | APGA goal survey | 382.80 |
| Reggie Tire | fuel | 112.50 |
| Dave Ross | Jan mileage&reimburse | 172.08 |
| Southeast Iowa Insurance Service | annual prop,liab,auto,etc | 48,712.00 |
| Standard Pest Control | Mar service | 25.00 |
| Technology Services of Iowa | lapel mic | 51.46 |
| TestAmerica | wastewater testing | 202.23 |
| Various Vendors | employee health benefit | 15.00 |
| Washington County Auditor | Mar law contract | 6,237.58 |
| Wellman Advance | publications | 282.86 |
| Wellman Auto Supply | supplies & parts | 163.43 |
| Wellman Emporium | Mar condominium fee | 86.52 |
| Wellman Telephone Company | phone services | 428.43 |
| Rory White | reimbursements | 43.00 |
| TOTAL EXPENDITURES | 107,939.32 | |
The Public Hearing to receive comments on the proposed FY10 budget and the five-year Capital Improvement Plan was opened at 7:03pm by motion from Pennington, second from Fisher and all aye votes. Max Lewis asked about insurance for the Activity Center and a TIF agreement with Allen Leichty. There were no other written or oral comments. Latcham moved to close the hearing at 7:08pm, Slaubaugh seconded and all voted aye.
Deputy Sheriff Randy Tinnis was present to receive comments and reports for the Sheriff’s department. He reported they have moved the sheriff’s office to the new facilities on Lexington Blvd near the new jail. There were no requests from the City Council.
Resolution No. 09-09 to adopt the FY2010 budget was introduced and caused to be read. Pennington moved to adopt Resolution No. 09-09, Goodrich seconded and upon roll call the vote was unanimous ayes. The Mayor affixed his signature.
Resolution No. 09-10 to adopt the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan was introduced and caused to be read. Latcham moved to adopt Resolution No. 09-10, Slaubaugh seconded and upon roll call the vote was unanimous ayes. The Mayor affixed his signature.
Consideration of Resolution No. 09-10 to enter into a contract with Wigen Water Technologies for Reverse Osmosis pilot testing was delayed as Attorney Kitchen had not yet arrived. he has made some changes to the contract and will review them with the Council.
The Council continued with Item 8 regarding discussion of City comp time policy. Goodrich asked that it be included with Item 13 to discuss employee staffing options.
Ross provided the members with five properties for nuisance abatement enforcement. He reviewed the issues with each property and asked for Council recommendation to proceed. It was indicated these properties should be cleaned up by next Council meeting. An update was requested at that time with Council consensus to proceed with all abatements.
Attorney Kitchen arrived at 7:15pm so the Council returned to Item 7, Resolution No. 09-11. The contract is with a different company than originally agreed upon as Wigen Water Technologies has a unit that fits better with our plant, is available now and will cost $13,000 less. Kitchen stated the original contract indicated if a problem occurred with the machine while in Wellman, it would be the City’s responsibility to replace. If the machine came to us old or with a defect, the City should not have to be required to replace it. Kitchen called and talked to the company and they were agreeable to delete that from the contract. Kitchen recommended approving the amended contract. Latcham moved to adopt Resolution No. 09-11, Goodrich seconded and upon roll call the vote was unanimous ayes.
Goodrich moved to set Monday, March 16, 2009 as the date for a Public Hearing to receive comments on the amended fy09 budget. Slaubaugh seconded the motion and all voted aye.
During the Public Forum Max Lewis asked about the budget amendment, the need to clean out city storm sewers, and his concern over collection of social security numbers for other entities.
During the general administrative discussion, Fisher asked about cold patching a section of street by the Post Office where a water main leak was repaired:
Pennington asked about limb/yardwaste pickup in the spring. Ross reported that would be started when weather permits with pickup every Monday.
A lengthy discussion was held on employee staffing options. Ross has advertised for a maintenance worker with full certifications but has not received any applications. The Council discussed various issues and the City’s need for an additional full-time worker. A representative from T&L Enterprises, a contracting firm to manage water and wastewater plants, was present to provide input on these operation issues. Duane Covington, current operator, also added information on the needs of the city’s facilities. The Council concluded that Ross should contact applicants from last year’s openings to determine interest there and advertise for the position as a certified grade II water and wastewater operator.
The Council briefly discussed the comp time policy and why employees have exceeded it by a large number of hours, due to snow removal this winter. It was suggested the policy be reviewed and discussed at the next meeting to deal fairly with employees and the city’s work needs.
With no further business Fisher moved for adjournment at 8:38pm, Slaubaugh seconded and all voted aye. The next regular City Council meeting will be Monday, March 16, 2009, 7:00pm in the Council Chambers of the Wellman Municipal Building.
Ryan J. Miller, Mayor | Donna B. Wade, City Clerk |