ACKLEY CITY COUNCIL met in regular session, January 11, 2017, in the City Hall Council Chambers with Mayor Erik Graham presiding. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Council members present: Robert Harms, Sue Ibeling, Al Jones, Joe Wessels, and Dale Brass. Absent: None. Quorum present.
Ibeling moved, Brass seconded, to approve the January 11, 2017 Agenda as listed. Roll call vote: Ayes-All. Motion carried.
Wessels moved, Harms seconded, to approve the Consent Agenda by one motion: a) Dec 14, 2016 Regular Mtg; Dec 29, 2016 Special Mtg Minutes as written b) Bills approval authorizing payment of bills and transfers as listed c) Place Reports on file: Dec 2016 Clerk Bank Reconciliation/Treasurer Report; Dec 2016 Clerk Budget Reports; Dec 2016 Deputy Clerk Utility Billing Reconciliation; Dec 2016 Ambulance End of Month Report; Jan 11, 2017 Development Director Report; 4th Qtr 2016 Prairie Bridges Financial Reports; FY 2016 Fire Yearly Run Report. Roll call vote: Ayes-All. Motion carried.
Brass moved, Ibeling seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 17-01 Setting Reimbursement Rate For Payment of Mileage When a City Employee Uses Personal Vehicle For City Business – Calendar Year 2017. Roll call vote: Ayes-All. Resolution adopted.
Ibeling moved, Wessels seconded, to set a Public Hearing to approve the Third Reading of proposed Ordinance No. 479 Amending Section 92.09 by Changing Water Deposit from $100.00 to $150.00 for Feb 8, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. Roll call vote: Ayes-all. Motion carried.
Jones moved, Brass seconded, to set a Public Hearing to approve the First Reading of proposed Ordinance No. 488 Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ackley, Iowa by Amending Section 90.10, Pertaining to Installation of Water Service Pipe for Feb 8, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. Roll call vote: Ayes-all. Motion carried.
Lee Gallentine, Ryken Engineering, informed the council that other than seeding Paul Williams has completed the ditch cleanout from 4th and Worth south to the creek.
Brass moved, Jones seconded, to approve the contract with Ryken Engineering for engineering services for the South Butler Street Project. Roll call vote: Ayes-all. Motion carried.
Jones moved, Brass seconded, to approve the contract with Ryken Engineering for engineering services for the Water Tower Repainting & Repair Project. Roll call vote: Ayes-all. Motion carried. The inspection has been completed. The company that did the inspection is not recommending that the entire outside be sand blasted, but they are recommending several alterations to the water tower be completed. Jones and Brass, who are on the Water/Sanitation Committee, recommended that bids be obtained to complete the work. The council is considering having the new logo painted on the tower. This project is in the budget for next year.
Ibeling moved, Jones seconded to approve the contract with Ryken Engineering for engineering services for the Sanitary Sewer Lining Project. Roll call vote: Ayes-all. Motion carried. Gallentine stated that the sanitary sewer has to be lined at some point so if they begin now it will show the DNR that the City is making progress. Also, Gallentine stated that there is approximately $140K in the budget now and for every $1 spend in town it will save $2 at the new plant.
Harms moved, Wessels seconded, to approve the revised Application for Excavation in Public Right-of-Way permit form. A change was made to who approves the form and a statement of the permit was added. Roll call vote: Ayes-All. Motion carried.
Jefferson Fosbender, Development Director, provided a draft of an agreement between the Ackley Development Commission and the City of Ackley. The agreement will outline the expectations of each party. The ADC will approve the agreement at their next meeting and present it at the Feb council meeting for approval from the City Council.
Fosbender also informed the council that business cards with the new logo have been designed and are available for City officials and employees to purchase from Ackley Publishing.
Ibeling moved, Jones seconded, to pay the dues for the Region 6 Planning Commission Membership. Roll call vote: Ayes-All. Motion carried. This is the organization that did the housing study for Ackley and also helps with grants and loans as well as many other services.
Discussion was held with Royce Sicard regarding the charges on his utility bill. Wessels moved, Ibeling seconded, to remove the garbage and landfill charges from his account because it is a business location. Commercial accounts do not receive nor get charged for these services. Roll call vote: Ayes-All. Motion carried. Sicard was still unclear on why he had to pay storm sewer charges, but the council informed Sicard that there is other farm ground in the city limits that is getting charged for storm sewer as well per the City Ordinance.
Steve McDowell, McDowell & Sons Contractors, Inc., was present to discuss garbage service. With the current contract the City has with McDowell the fee is based on a higher number of residents that what the City is billing. Therefore, the City is paying out more than what they are collecting. McDowell has agreed to amend the contract with the City to use the City’s actual count of residents billed each month to determine how much the City pays McDowell. With this change council has agreed to allow residents who will be gone for 60 days or more to opt out of garbage service while they are gone. The council has also agreed to restructure the fees charged to residents for garbage and landfill to more accurately align with what the City is paying out. A new ordinance will be wrote to allow the City Clerk to recalculate the landfill charge each year based on the annual Recycling Assessment the City receives from Hardin County Solid Waste & Recycling and a resolution will be wrote to change the garbage fee charged to match McDowell’s fee. In total, residents should see a reduction on their utility bill in the future.
Wessels commented that when the police department was located in the Depot, which is owned by the City, the City paid for all the utility bills. Now that the Heritage Center occupies the building, the city still pays all of the utility bills even though the Heritage Center is not part of the City. Wessels was questioning if the City should still be paying these expenses as he is needing to know for budget planning. No one knows of any agreement between the City and the Heritage Center. Brass commented that he feels they are an asset of the City. Wessels and Ibeling will address the issue with the Heritage Center and possibly write up an agreement.
Discussion was had among the council on whether or not a Community Club existed in Ackley. City Hall had received a phone call from a 4-H club that claimed they were a member of this club, along with other groups, and they claimed that because of this membership they received free use of the Civic Center. They also said that several members of this club had their own key to the Civic Center. Since no one on the council was aware of this club and who all has keys the lock will be changed at the Civic Center. Prior notice of this will be posted on the Civic Center door instructing individuals to contact City Hall if they want to use the Civic Center.
Mayor Graham shared with the council a DOT compliance form that the City was asked to complete. There were many demographic questions on the form. Fosbender volunteered to attempt to complete the form as he has some of that kind of information on record.
Mayor informed the council that the he received a letter from PeopleService stating that there will be a fee increase effective July 1, 2017 of 1.7%.
Public Comments: None
With no further discussion, Harms moved, Brass seconded, to adjourn at 8:59 p.m. Ayes-All. Motion carried.
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