Wilton City Council Meeting Minutes for 4/23/2012
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Regular Meeting
April 23, 2012
The Council for the City of Wilton, Iowa met in regular session in the Council Chambers at City Hall on Monday April 23, 2012. Mayor Ira Bowman called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. The Mayor then led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Council Members present at this meeting: Richard Garrison, Robert Barrett, Steve Owens, Matt Fowler, and Keith Stanley. Absent: none. Also present at this meeting City Administrator Joel Laws, City Attorney Gerald Denning, Advocate News Correspondent Derek Sawvell, Muscatine Journal Correspondent Charles Potter, Norman Grunder, Dick Valet, Mike Reichert, Thelma Nopoulos, Mike Hoekstra and Roger Johnson.
The agenda was presented for this meeting. It was then moved by Member Stanley seconded by Member Fowler that the agenda be approved as presented. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None
Minutes for the regular meeting held April 9, 2012 were presented for approval. A motion was made by Member Barrett seconded by Member Owens that these minutes be approved as read. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
Minutes for the special meeting held April 13, 2012 were presented for approval. A motion was made by Member Fowler seconded by Member Owens that these minutes be approved as read. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
CITIZENS:
At this time Dave Darby, Executive Director of the Iowa US Route 6 Tourist Association, spoke to the Council. The Association’s goal is to get traffic back on the old Route 6 corridor (County Rd F58). The group feels there is a growing interest in traveling on Route 6, but if you follow the signs in Iowa, you spend 40% of the time on Interstate 80. As Director, he is proposing to network three towns (Wilton, Durant and Walcott) together to boost tourism along old Route 6. Dave displayed a “Historic Route 6” sign and he would like to place these signs at the end of each corridor, located at the junction of 280 east and the west end of IA38,along with a few in between. If an entity is a member of the Association the signs are around $75 and $100 for non-members. Route 6 is a non for profit entity and on behalf of this group he would like to make a presentation to the three cities. He would share what can be accomplished, demonstrate what other states are doing and discuss ideas to make that happen. Dave has talked with Marcia at the Community Center and is looking at having the meeting sometime in June. He would advertise the meeting and anyone that is interested could attend. Right now he is just looking for cooperation and wants this to be a team project. Mayor and Council thanked Dave for his presentation and asked to let them know when he gets a meeting scheduled.
Roger Johnson, representing Oveson’s Refuse, said that he had spoken to the Council earlier in the year about renting the baler at the City shop. He wanted to know if any decision had been made on this request. Member Stanley said that he and Member Barrett were on this committee to research this request and no confirmed decision had been made. Council does want to make sure that there is some type of contract in writing and if the City employee that runs the baler would have to be on Oveson’s work comp and not working with the City at the time the baler is being used. The City Clerk will check with the insurance company to see if there any specifics that need to covered if a rental agreement is made. The City will contact Roger when there is an agreement to be discussed. Members thanked Roger for reminding them of the request and apologized for the delayed response.
CONSULTANTS:
Community Center Director Marcia Hetzler could not attend this meeting but did send a monthly report to the Council. The new tables and chairs that were ordered are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. She is also looking to purchase a podium and an a/v cart. She has been borrowing these items from the school and feels the center should have their own. Several business meetings have been held and the audio/visual system is proving to be a wise investment. The next Community Center Board meeting is Wednesday May 16th at 6:00PM.
LEGAL ITEMS:
A proposed embargo Resolution was presented to the Council for consideration. Mayor Bowman reported that a committee meeting was held at 4:00 today. Attending this meeting were: City Attorney Denning & Degan, Streb Construction rep & their attorney, Members Barrett and Fowler, Chief Leathers and the City Administrator. The Mayor said that after this meeting he is optimistic that an agreement between the City, Streb and Muscatine County may be getting closer. The goal is to have more information from the attorneys, engineers, police and citizens. Mayor and Council still want to protect the best interest of the Wilton residents as they have heard some concerns. With all of the entities working together it is hoped that the best solution can be reached for all parties involved. There may be a change that 104th Street can be used for this truck traffic. The County Supervisors will try to get this concern on their agenda for their meeting next month and the City will be waiting to hear from them. Members added that the City does not want to postpone the progress; they just want to stand up for they feel is the best solution for the City of Wilton. It was the consensus of this Council that this Resolution be tabled and a tentative meeting will be scheduled for April 30th.
The next order of business before the Council was to discuss a proposed Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Wilton, Iowa By Updating Title 14 Under Section 14.16, Entitled Water Rates” was then presented to the Council for discussion. This will increase the water rates starting in the month of June 2012 and for each year after that until June 2016. The utility bills that come out on July 1, 2012 will reflect this increase. After a discussion, it was moved by Member Stanley seconded by Member Garrison that said Ordinance be passed on second consideration. The question being upon the foregoing motion, the roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
It was then moved by Member Barrett seconded by Member Fowler that the requirement that said Ordinance be considered and voted on for passage at two Council meetings prior to the meetings at which time it is finally passed be suspended and that said Ordinance be fully adopted. Upon the question of suspending said requirement, the roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried
Upon the question of suspending said requirement, the roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried
Thereupon the Mayor approved said Ordinance, declared said Ordinance fully adopted, assigned the number 492 to said Ordinance and ordered that said Ordinance be added to the City Ordinance Book.
The next order of business before the Council was to discuss a proposed Ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Wilton, Iowa By Updating Title 15 Under Section 15.28, Entitled Treatment Plant Charges and Rentals” was then presented to the Council for discussion. This will increase the water rates starting in the month of June 2012 and for each year after that until June 2016. Such increase will be shown on the utility bills that are mailed out on July 1, 2012. After a discussion, it was moved by Member Stanley seconded by Member Owens that said Ordinance be passed on second consideration. The question being upon the foregoing motion, the roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
It was then moved by Member Barrett seconded by Member Owens that the requirement that said Ordinance be considered and voted on for passage at two Council meetings prior to the meetings at which time it is finally passed be suspended and that said Ordinance be fully adopted. Upon the question of suspending said requirement, the roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried
Upon the question of suspending said requirement, the roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried
Thereupon the Mayor approved said Ordinance, declared said Ordinance fully adopted, assigned the number 493 to said Ordinance and ordered that said Ordinance be added to the City Ordinance Book.
A Resolution entitled “A Resolution Adopting the Wilton Municipal Electric Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2013” was presented to the Council for discussion. Also attached to the Resolution was the detailed budget for the Light & Power. After due consideration, it was moved by Member Stanley seconded by Member Fowler that the same be adopted. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
Thereupon the Mayor declared said Resolution No. 042312 adopted.
POLICE ITEMS:
Chief Leathers requested that it be approved for him and Janet Boorn to attend the Shieldware class in Ankeny. They will be leaving the afternoon of Monday April 30 and will return on Thursday May 3rd. This is the yearly conference for updates to the police software. It was moved by Member Fowler seconded by Member Stanley that the request be approved. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
The Chief then told the Members that quite a few bicycles have been accumulated from either being lost, misplaced or stolen. These bikes are being stored in the shop behind City Hall and the Chief is requesting that they be donated to a non-profit. After discussion it was moved by Member Stanley seconded by Member Barrett that the Chief be in charge of donating the items to a non-profit organization. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
Chief Leathers told the Mayor and Council that he felt that they were doing a great job standing up for the City of Wilton and its citizens. He had attended the committee this afternoon with regarding the embargo and he was proud to see what the committee is doing for the best interest of Wilton.
CORRESPONDENCE:
An invitation from Max Roth was read inviting the Mayor and Council to his Eagle Scout Court of Honor. This will be held on Sunday May 6th at his home. For part of his Eagle Scout Project, Max redid and maintained the landscape around the illuminated W sign on the west end of town.
COUNCIL ITEMS:
A request from the Wilton Chamber of Commerce was read. They were asking permission from the City for the use of the downtown streets Founder’s Day to be held August 24th & 25th. There was a map attached to the request showing the specific areas that were being requested. There was a question on how far the carnival was going to be on the west end of 4th Street at the intersection of Cedar. The Clerk will contact the Chamber to get this answer and this request will be tabled and be on the agenda for the next regular meeting.
A quote was read from ITP for a stackable smart switch and Netgear UTM9 was presented to the Council for consideration. This was received after the City had ITP come to City Hall and assess what needed to be done to get the controls of the illuminated sign switched over. City Clerk explained that this router will help to segment all of the different computer networks within City Hall. Total price for this switch and set up is $1718.30. After discussion, it was moved by Member Stanley seconded by Member Owens that this quote be approved. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
After conferring with the State Auditor and Bond Counsel it was determined that funds with the Debt Service Fund could be used to make the LCC interest payment. The City Clerk was asking permission from the Council to approve the use of these funds for this payment in the amount of $36,685.95. After discussion, it was moved by Member Fowler seconded by Member Garrison that this quote be approved. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
Since the vacation schedule for the City employees was changed from accrual to total given at the first of the year, it has been found that some clarifications need to be made. The personal policy will be updated and the changes will be presented at the next regular Council meeting.
Advertising for the City Administrator position was discussed. It was decided that an ad would be placed in the Iowa League of Cities City Scape magazine and also posted on the IAMU page. Both of the services are free because the City is a member of each organization. We will also be checking with a couple of companies that provide the service of searching for employees. At this time Thelma Nopoulos thanked Joel for his time served in Wilton and for his work in the different areas of the City.
Member Stanley asked that since the shed behind City Hall was cleaned out was the old tractor ready to be sold? Chief Leathers will check about listing this tractor or EBay or Craig’s List.
Since it is spring time and a lot of debris is falling into the streets, mainly samara from maple trees, Member Stanley requested that the City do residential street sweeping in the near future.
Member Owens had a couple of items that he wanted to be checked on: the basketball nets on the court behind City Hall and the toys at the Parks need mulch. He also asked about the progress of the new concession/storage building at West View. Joel said that the Park Board has not met yet this spring to make any more decisions.
There were problems with the zero turn mowers and Member Owens asked if there has been anything done about repairs or a purchase. Joel said that parts are on back order for the one mower and quote requests had been sent out for a new mower. He sent five bid letters out and only received two back. He was still waiting for other responses.
Member Garrison reported that he has been out of circulation for the last couple of weeks. After the last regular meeting he was in the hospital for surgery and he was happy to report that all went well. He also said to the Chief that he was out of sorts when he directed his comments to the Police Department at the last meeting.
All members commented on the condition of the parks. They said there were tournaments held this weekend and the parks seemed to be in good shape. Member Barrett said he would like to consider some type of parking area for Cherrydale. There was a tournament there this weekend and there were cars parked all along the streets and also in the grass areas of that park.
ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS:
Joel reported that the aerobic digester had to be pumped because rags had clogged the pipes. Spring leaf pickup was done this past week. The tree service will be here this week and will be removing trees on Pine Street and W 6th. Public works employees are trying to keep up with the maintenance in the parks and have sprayed for weeds and hauled dirt to the low spots. Hydrants will be flushed on Friday April 27th.
BILLS:
The Financial Statements were accepted and placed on file. It was moved by Member Garrison seconded by Member Stanley that the total disbursements of $248,152.72, approved by the Finance Committee, be allowed and instruct the City Clerk to pay the same. The roll was called and the vote recorded as follows:
Ayes: Garrison, Barrett, Owens, Fowler, and Stanley
Nays: None Motion Carried.
No further business, the Mayor adjourned this meeting.
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Mayor Ira Bowman
Attest:
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City Clerk Lori A Brown