August 1, 2016
Wellman, Iowa
The Wellman City Council met in regular session in the Council Chambers of the Wellman Municipal Building at 5:30pm. Mayor Ryan Miller presided with City Administrator, City Clerk and the following Council Members: Robert Goodrich, Jared Schneider, Fern Bontrager, Robert Freeman and Tracy Owens. Following the Pledge of Allegiance the Consent Agenda was approved upon motion by Freeman, Seconded by Bontrager and all aye votes. The consent agenda includes the agenda, minutes from previous meeting, and the following claims:
8/1 Payroll
Carrie Geno $366.99
Sandra K Miller $435.74
Allison R Watkins $257.31
Carol A Wilkins $947.43
Teresa K Lampe $953.15
Beth A VanWinkle $1,115.29
Betty Johnston $87.16
Travis D Hartley $1,048.50
Jesse J Meade $1,141.31
Josh VanWinkle $985.26
Christine D Huston $1,017.72
Kelly L Litwiller $1,606.41
FED Taxes $2,060.54
Beth VanWinkle- City Clerk July Petty Cash $78.52
Cox Sanitation July Large Stickers/Recycling $2,840.75
Jesse J Meade July Cell Phone Reimbursement $60.00
Josh VanWinkle July Cell Phone Reimbursement $60.00
Teresa K Lampe July Cell Phone Reimbursement $60.00
Kelly L Litwiller July Cell Phone Reimbursement $60.00
Travis D Hartley July Cell Phone Reimbursement $60.00
Library Cash Fund July Library Postage $29.58
New Life Community Church Parkside Cleaning $250.00
Treasurer State of Iowa July Sales Tax $3,248.00
Todd Troyer July Building Permits $105.00
Beth VanWinkle Clerk Schoold Mileage/Meals Reimbursement $172.85
Wellman Co-op Telephone Senior Dining Phone $30.42
Wellman Emporium Association Senior Dining Condo Fee $117.00
Alliant Energy City Utilities $12,129.21
Aramark Uniform Services Skating Rink Mops $74.64
Bancard Center Skateing Rink Itunes $5.16
Brown Supply Co Flange/Spigot/Gasket-Water Supplies $152.25
City of Wellman August City Utilities $934.79
City Sewer Service 6th Ave Waterjet Line $477.00
Cox Sanitation WWTP Dumpster $25.00
Elder Services Inc Sr Dining Spaghetti Suppler Supplies $96.44
Energy Economics Inc Gas Meter Testing $1,563.10
Iowa Assoc Municipal Utilities Gas Main Welding Work – 13th Street $2,171.34
Iowa Dept of Natural Resources NPDES FY16-17 Permit $210.00
KCTC August Server Fee $10.70
Koch Brothers BW/Color Copies – City Hall $148.67
Caleb Lampe Nuisance Property Clean-Up $425.00
Municipal Gas System Energy Efficient Furnace Rebate $325.00
William D Nickell August Yard Waste $175.00
Office Express City Hall Office Supplies $94.38
Paws & More City Contribution/Customer Donations $255.16
Reggie Tire F250/Mower/Loader Fuel $168.95
Sensit Technologies Calibration Gas $100.28
Standard Pest Control August Pest Control $45.00
Star Food Service Equip. Parkside Dinnerware $39.75
Thrapp Electric Parkside Parking Lot Lights $1,323.80
Utility Safety & Design Inc GPS/Gas Mapping & Odorizer $3,441.00
Wellman Advance Council Minutes/Utilities Notice $227.56
Wellman Co-op Telephone August City Telephone $676.54
Wellman Heritage Society Donation $75.00
Total $44,565.65
No one spoke in the public forum.
Resolution 16-40 A resolution setting the date for a public hearing on proposal hearing to enter into a General Obligation Sewer Improvement Loan Agreement and to borrow money thereunder in a principal amount not to exceed $125,000 was introduced and caused to be read. Public Hearing is set for August 15th, Federation Bank will be doing all the paperwork for financing. Freeman moved to adopt Resolution No. 16-40, Seconded by Bontrager and upon roll call the vote was unanimous ayes.
Resolution No. 16-41 A Resolution approving a Loan Agreement and providing for the issuance of $945,000 General Obligation Annual Appropriation Refunding Bonds, Series 2016A and providing for the levy of taxes to pay the same was introduced and caused to be read. Bontrager moved to adopt Resolution No. 16-41, Seconded by Owens and upon roll call the vote was unanimous ayes.
Council approved Preliminary Plat on Gan Garden Community Subdivision. Mark Ebersole was present and spoke to council about his plans for the 6 acre subdivision. He plans to create a community geared towards retired residents. His plans consist of 5 buildings with 10 units which will be rented, not sold. Owens moved to approve Preliminary Plat, Freeman seconded and all voted aye.
Discussion and action was taken regarding landscaping at Jet Therapy. Litwiller presented council with an estimate from Terra Enterprise. Miller stated that this is a project that he’d like to see get done. Freeman motioned to have this project move forward with cost not to exceed $2,000, Seconded by Schneider and all voted aye.
Council discussed the Deer Meadows Subdivision Roads. Bontrager explained to council the issues their home is having due to street creep of the city street. She’s met with a contractor who has advised them that they will need to repair the foundation of their home and do a couple expansions on their driveway to help alleviate the problems. The contractor has also advised the city to do an expansion in the street as well. Council is worried about spending the money on the expansion on the street if in fact the whole street will need to be torn up and replaced. Litwiller explained to council that the street to the north is having the same issues. Council recommended that Litwiller round up a few other contractors and have them all meet to discuss what solutions they may have for fixing these issues. This item was tabled and will be brought back to council after Litwiller has more information.
Discussion and action was taken regarding Comp Time payout for public works employees. Litwiller questioned council on how they want to handle comp time that exceeds the 80 hour cap. She explained that they have one employee who has 94 hours of comp and is still acquiring hours due to being on call. Bontrager moved to pay out hours that would take the employee down to 65 hours and start giving Friday afternoons off to whomever is on call, Schneider seconded and all voted aye.
Discussion and action was taken on WATV equipment purchases. Larry Thurman was present to discuss the needs for upgrading equipment. The upgrades include a camera, battery pack, head phones, SD cards, and a mixer which would cost roughly $4000. Council mentioned complaints from residents about not being able to hear the council meeting while watching on television and questioned whether this was a poor microphone issue. Thurman will look into options on upgrading microphones. Council feels more comfortable on purchasing the camera for this year which was budgeted for and to look into mixer and microphones for next year. Bontrager moved to purchase cameras and all the accessories, Schneider seconded and all voted aye.
Discussion and action was taken on the purchase of utility boxes for public works trucks. Litwiller explained to council that the guys would like to get utility boxes on the new truck and also the F250 so that they can store all the supplies for gas calls in them. They currently have to run back and forth from shop to site all the time because they’ve got nowhere to store these items. They would also like to purchase floor mats and seat covers for both trucks. She also explained that the new truck needs a safety light and a headache rack put on. Estimate for everything for the new truck is $3734.59, and estimate for the F250 is $3844.87. Council questioned whether both trucks need to have utility boxes put on. Schneider moved to purchase all equipment for the new truck and to purchase only seat covers and floor mats for the F250, Owens seconded and all voted aye.
Discussion and action was taken on computer/tablets for public works employees. Litwiller explained to council that the only communication the office has with the public works employees is by phone. She feels it would be easier if they had the capability to receive e-mails and do their own ordering of supplies on-line. It would also free up time for us in the office. She’s received an estimate from Itech for 1330.92 for a desktop computer and feels this would be the best route for the guys. Owens moved to approve, Bontrager seconded and all voted aye.
Council discussed the Molczyk Sewer Line. Litwiller explained to council that when she contacted Tim Cutsforth to start moving forward on this project she was not aware that an engineer would need to be involved in this and the cost of the engineer was not included in the bid that council approved. She was told that the engineering will cost another $11,000 on top of the original $17,000. Heather Molczyk was present and stated that her and her husband have discussed and are not able to pitch in any extra money. Council questioned whether they could contact another engineer to see if they could do for a cheaper amount. Scott Ritter with Hart-Frederick Consultants was present and asked council if he could take a look and see what their company would be able to do it for. Litwiller will send him the information and present to council and Molcyzk’s when she receives them.
In council reports, Owens mentioned that the potholes on 13th street are getting really bad. Litwiller wanted to update council on Friday’s sewer line issues. She fears that this may be a similar situation to the 11th Street Sewer project. Thursday a resident was doing routine sewer maintenance which lead to Wellman Co-op having sewer back up in a back room of their building on Friday. Brad Boyse and City Sewer came and did what they could to make everyone okay for the weekend. They fixed the line where it was broken and put in clean outs first thing Monday. City Sewer has to repair cable before they can camera the rest of lines to see what other issues might be there. Boyse and City Sewer questioned her about who’s responsible for covering the bill. She told them that the city will pay for what’s been done for now, until we can determine what we’re dealing with. Wellman Telephone still has problems somewhere under the building but until City Sewer can camera the lines they can’t do any more. Litwiller will keep council updated.
With no further business Bontrager moved to adjournment at 7:12 pm, Owens seconded and all voted aye. The next regular City Council Meeting will be held Monday, August 15, 2016 at 5:30 pm in the Council Chambers of the Wellman Municipal Building.
Council entered into a work session following regular scheduled meeting at 7:20pm for discussion on Abandoned and Nuisance properties. During the work session council decided to keep pushing nuisance properties and to contact Brent and Merle, who handle nuisance properties in Washington, and see if they can’t give us some pointers on how to proceed with handling them in the future. Work session adjourned at 8:18pm with no action taken.
Minutes transcribed by the City Clerk are subject to Council Approval.