April 6, 2009
Wellman, Iowa 52356
The Wellman City Council met in closed, work and regular session in the Council Chambers of the Wellman Municipal Building starting at 5:00pm. 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 at roll call were city maintenance workers Jesse Gingerich and Rory White.
The consent Agenda was approved upon motion by Latcham, second by Pennington and all aye votes. The consent Agenda includes the agenda, minutes of the previous meeting, and the following claims:
| AFLAC | employee benefit | 582.33 |
| Alliant Energy | electric/various depts | 4,767.50 |
| Baker & Taylor Books> | library books | 708.55 | Baker Paper Company | supplies | 24.00 |
| Bancard | credit card charges | 842.61 |
| City of Wellman | utilities | 1,221.04 |
| Clayton Energy | Feb&Mar nat gas purch | 98,372.19 |
| Duane Covington | operator service fee | 2,300.00 |
| Cox Sanitation & Recycling | Mar recycling,stickers | 4,636.00 |
| Dorsey & Whitney | legal fees | 25,877.26 |
| Federation Bank | payroll taxes | 2,995.13 |
| Freeman Foods | supplies | 259.80 |
| George Lawson Consulting | library planning | 4,113.25 |
| Don Gingerich | building inspections | 140.00 |
| Jesse Gingerich | reimburse for cell phone | 43.00 |
| Glenn Guengerich | repairs | 112.00 |
| Hawkeye Electric Motors | repairs | 235.00 |
| Hawkeye Foodservice | supplies | 1,694.20 |
| Hawkins Inc | water chemicals | 233.50 |
| Hills Bank & Trust | credit card charges | 147.23 |
| Howard R Green Company | engineering | 8,959.41 | Humphreys Sound | repairs | 311.00 |
| Christine Huston | mileage | 126.50 |
| I Wireless | Lampe cell phone | 45.83 |
| Imagetek | repairs | 230.00 |
| Iowa Assn Municipal Utilities | newsletter | 166.12 |
| Iowa Public Employees Retirement | employee retirement | 2,594.88 |
| JW Foods | UPS fees | 175.60 |
| Teresa Lampe | reimbursements | 60.14 |
| Mahaska Bottling | concessions | 145.60 |
| Matt Parrott & Sons | forms | 254.92 |
| Menards | supplies | 69.94 |
| Ryan Miller | mileage | 22.00 |
| Sandy Miller | mileage | 52.25 |
| Municipal Gas System | deposit refunds&rebate | 326.41 |
| Municipal Supply Inc | repair parts | 534.71 |
| Municipal Water System | deposit refunds | 226.71 |
| William Nickell | Apr lease payment | 150.00 |
| Northern Water Works | meter reader | 102.38 |
| Parkside Activity Center Fund | CDBG funds transfer | 78,998.15 |
| Paws & More | Apr contribution | 208.00 |
| Payroll expense | transfers | 16,577.04 |
| Petty Cash Fund | postage,etc | 25.30 |
| Proforma | laser checks | 194.62 |
| Quill Corporation | office supplies | 258.52 |
| Reggie Tire | fuel | 327.50 |
| Dave Ross | Mar mileage&reimburse | 291.56 |
| Standard Pest Control | Apr service | 25.00 |
| Technology Services of Iowa | recorder | 30.78 |
| TestAmerica | wastewater testing | 328.86 |
| Titan Machinery | OSHA training | 260.00 |
| Treasurer State of Iowa | state wht & sales tax | 4,973.00 |
| Trio Gas & Hardware | supplies | 11.97 |
| Upstart | library supplies | 208.89 |
| Various Vendors | employee health benefit | 1,271.67 |
| Washington County Auditor | Apr law contract | 6,237.58 |
| Washington County Engineer | dust control permit | 25.00 |
| Washington Evening Journal | subscription | 104.50 |
| Wellman Advance | publications | 370.86 |
| Wellman Auto Supply | supplies & parts | 40.52 | Wellman Emporium | Apr condominium fee | 86.52 |
| Wellman Farm Center | repair parts | 2.40 |
| Wellman Scofield Library | interfund transfers | 13,250.33 |
| Wellman Telephone Company | phone services | 456.10 |
| Wellman Volunteer Fire Dept | 1/2 annual allotment | 10,000.00 |
| White Cap Construction | shop tools | 407.61 |
| Rory White | reimbursements | 43.00 |
| WT Cox Subscriptions | library subcriptions | 384.39 |
| Yotty Ace Inc | supplies | 11.97 |
| TOTAL EXPENDITURES | 299,270.63 | |
At 5:08pm Goodrich moved to enter into closed session regarding personnel issues. Slaubaugh seconded the motion and all voted. The closed session was at the request of City Administrator Dave Ross. At 5:36pm Slaubaugh moved to reconvene in open session and take a ten minute break. Pennington seconded the motion and all voted aye.
At 5:47pm Slaubaugh moved to enter into work session, Latcham seconded and all voted aye. Attending the work session were the Mayor, City Administrator, City Clerk, Council Members Goodrich, Pennington, Slaubaugh, and Latcham, Duane Covington and Mary Coblentz from the news media.
At the beginning of the work session a letter was read from Councilmember Fisher tendering her resignation from the City Council, effective immediately. The City Attorney and Clerk briefly reviewed the procedures for filling the vacancy and the various options the Council has.
In work session matters:
- * Reviewed the list of applicants for the Public Works Director position. Ross summarized the five applicants who hold certifications as required for this position. There were five more applicants who have no certifications or inadequate certifications at this time. Ross has compiled the interview questions and suggested they interview only the five with full certifications. Slaubaugh asked to have Duane Covington provide some technical questions to add to the interview list. Covington commented that it is important the applicants understand this is a working director and not just an administrative position. It was decided to attempt to get the interviews set up for Thursday, April 9, 6:00pm with a second option for Monday, April 13, 6:00pm.
- * Four mowing bids were reviewed. A fifth bid was received but only included one park. The four bids submitted per mowing were: Lawn Boys: $525; 4 Aces: $488; Joe and Gwen TeBockhorst: $484; and Kalonial Lawncare: $480. These bids include all City-owned property with the exception of the four secured areas.
- * City engineer proposals were received from three companies: Shive-Hattery, Iowa City; Howard R Green Company, Cedar Rapids; and French-Reneker-Associates, Fairfield. It was agreed to start the next regular Council Meeting on April 20 to interview the three companies.
- * Downtown Crosswalk has been requested by a couple citizens. Pros and cons of painting the crosswalk and where to paint it were discussed. Ross will do more research and bring it back to the Council.
- * GIS Equipment has been discussed by the Council for some time. Ross reviewed some options he has obtained including Howard R Green Company assisting in setting up the mapping system. The Council concurred it was important to move forward with this project. Ross indicated he would find the funding to get it implemented.
- * City Ordinance Codification is needed to bring the City Code Book up to date. The cost will be $4500 to include an electronic version. The Council agreed it was important to complete this.
- * City Comp Time Policy was briefly discussed. Goodrich would like all comp time bought out at the end of each fiscal year. Latcham suggested increasing the minimum from twenty hours to forty hours. It was decided to wait until the Public Works Director was hired to have input from him on this issue.
- * The Special Assessment Policy was not ready for review. Ross suggested waiting until the City Engineer is selected to have their assistance in completing this policy.
- * An Alley Maintenance Policy was briefly reviewed. This will be brought back to the Council for action.
- * Three bids for paving 3rd Street have been received. Ross recommended accepting All American’s bid of $37,000. They also included new curb and gutter along that street. Pennington encouraged including a timeline for completion to include liquidated damages should the project not be done by the completion date.
A short recess was called at the end of the work session to set the room up for the regular Council meeting. This session opened at 7:08pm. Joining those who attended the work session were three representatives from Howard R. Green Company, two owners of 4 Aces Lawn Care and three citizens.
No one from the Sheriff’s Office arrived to receive comments concerning law enforce-ment.
Andrew Marsh of Howard R Green Company, reported on the status of the Water Treatment Improvement Project. The pilot project equipment has been secured and will be delivered when other preliminary procedures are completed. Marsh reported the DNR is requiring the City to implement breakpoint chlorination and hydrant flushing before the pilot system is set up. This will mean a very strong chlorine smell and taste to the City water which will last throughout the three-month pilot testing phase. In looking at the method to dispose of the treatment waste water, the DNR has indicated they will not allow this to be emptied directly into Smith Creek from the water plant. Therefore, it will have to go through the wastewater plant. In looking at the flows at the plant, recent years show a large spike in flows causing concern if the plant can handle this additional waste. Indications are the high flows are due to storm water infiltration into the sanitary sewer system. The City has committed to televising and smoke testing to determine the cause of the storm water flows. Marsh voiced concerns the DNR may not allow the additional waste to the plant due to the high flows unless they feel the issues are being addressed and can be corrected in a timely manner. The other option would be to run piping to a point just south of the sewer plant to run the water treatment waste with the discharge at the wastewater plant. This would be at a significant cost but may have to be added to the construction plans. Marsh said this issue will not delay the pilot plan. He cautioned that through the pilot period there will be noticeable taste and odor issues with the City water but no health risks. The Council agreed to move forward with the pilot study and to address the wastewater plant issues.
Resolution No. 09-15 to apply for a Washington County Riverboat Foundation grant on behalf of the Washington County Library Association to provide software and hardware to allow county libraries and schools to interconnect was introduced and caused to be read. Latcham moved to adopt Resolution No. 09-15, Goodrich seconded and upon roll call the vote was unanimous ayes.
The Council had reviewed the mowing bids during the work session. Three bids were very close. The Council agreed they were happy with TeBockhorst’s performance last year. Goodrich moved to award the 2009 contract to TeBockhorst for $484 per mowing. Slaubaugh seconded the motion and all voted aye.
Three engineering firms submitted proposals to become the City Engineer. Latcham moved to set 5:00pm on April 20, 2009, prior to the regular City Council meeting to interview the firms. Slaubaugh seconded the motion and all voted aye.
Following the discussion and recommendations in the work session Goodrich moved to approve All-American Concrete for the 3rd Street paving contract with the stipulation of a deadline date and liquated damages should the project not be completed in a timely manner. Pennington seconded the motion and all vote aye.
Ross requested modifying City policy to change the work schedule from Sunday through Saturday to be changed to Saturday through Friday. This will help in adjusting out overtime hours for call outs over the weekends for city workers. Goodrich moved to approve, Pennington seconded and all voted aye.
After consideration, Goodrich moved to set 6:00pm, Thursday, April 9 as the time to interview applicants for the Public Works Position should they be available, with the second choice as 6:00pm, Monday, April 13. Latcham seconded the motion and all voted aye. Ross will contact the applicants to set up appointments.
Rex Link, President of the WATV Cable Commission asked for Council approval of Bob Grigsby to work as a volunteer for the station performing tasks such as post-production editing, program scheduling, etc. Slaubuagh moved to approve the appointment, Latcham seconded and all voted aye.
A minor change order in the Parkside Activity Center project in the amount of $250 was approved upon motion Goodrich, second by Slaubaugh and all aye votes.
During the Public Forum Covington asked for direction regarding training for the newly hired Public Works Director. Covington has a new job offer and will need to be leaving his position with Wellman in a few weeks. It was generally the Council’s opinion he should use his best judgment in how quickly the new employee trains as to when he resigns from this position.
In General Administrative discussion, Pennington congratulated Teresa Lampe on a well organized event for the Easter Egg hunt held last Saturday.
Latcham encouraged the City staff to do what they can to expedite appointment of two rural members for the Board of Adjustment. This is the County Supervisors’ responsibility and needs to be done soon. Latcham also mentioned the fire department will be contacting business owners to develop records of floor plans for all buildings so in the event of a fire, the department will know key locations of stairwells, flammable materials, etc.
With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 7:47pm.The next regular City Council meeting will be Monday, April 20, 2009, 7:00pm in the Council Chambers of the Wellman Municipal Building.
Minutes transcribed by the City Clerk subject to Council approval.