REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
March 18, 2019
The City Council of the City of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, March 18, 2019, at 6:00pm in Fayette City Hall pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Wenthe presiding.
Roll call: Present - Council members Larson, Tucker and Wulfekuhle. Absent – Cowley and Nefzger.
Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the consent agenda items consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 3/4/19 and the claims list of 3/5/19 – 3/18/19. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Tucker, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes, carried.
Administrator/Clerk McGrane advised the council that the last quarterly utility bills have been sent out. On 3/12 & 3/14 McGrane worked with the software company to prepare for and start the conversion to monthly billing. McGrane is hoping they can get all the accounts converted by 3/22 and do the March meter readings on 3/25. The Public Works, Police and Fire all monitored the high river levels on 3/12 – 3/15, but nothing flooded to cause damage.
Police Chief Davis informed the council a few Fayette Officers helped with the 4H Omelet breakfast fundraiser on 3/17. Sgt. Brian Waid was notified that he will receive the Commissioner’s Special Award for Traffic Safety on 4/24 during the Governor’s Highway Traffic Safety Conference in Coralville.
Moved Tucker, seconded Larson, to discuss the Fayette Community Library Board of Trustees meeting minutes from 2/13/19. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Tucker, to approve the Fayette Community Library Board of Trustees meeting minutes from 2/13/19. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the Fayette Recreation Board meeting minutes from 3/4/19. All ayes, carried.
Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Larson, to discuss and consider forgiving a portion of the sewer charges for 310 Mechanic Street, due to a water leak that did not go through the city sewer. Kane and Linnie Magnuson, 308 Volga Street, own the property and were present. The Magnuson’s provided photos of the basement of 308 Volga Street that showed the dirt floor and a small portion of a cement floor. McGrane explained that Linnie had contacted him on 2/11/19 to advise they had a water pipe freeze and about 2 feet of water in the basement at 310 Mechanic Street. She had also emailed McGrane a video showing all the water in the basement. The Public Works employees also did witness the dirt floor in the basement. There was 1,890 cubic feet (cf) of water used in the last quarter (December – February) and the previous quarterly bill only had 660 cf used. McGrane recommended forgiving $105.71 of the sewer charges, which is 1,230 cf at the rate of $0.08595, because in past similar situations, the council took the average of their last bill and forgave the extra sewer charges that did not go through the city sewer system. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Tucker, to forgive $105.71 of the sewer charges for the Magnuson’s property at 310 Mechanic Street. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Tucker, to discuss and consider granting the Fayette Watermelon Days committee permission to use city right-of-way in the 100 block of E. Water Street to have a bottle and can drive fundraiser. Linda Tenney, a member of the Watermelon Days committee, was present and explained the idea. After discussion, moved Larson, seconded Tucker to approve the request of the Watermelon Days committee to use the city right-of-way in the 100 block of E. Water Street on Saturday, 3/30 from 10AM to Noon to have a bottle and can drive fundraiser. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss having a National Night Out event in Fayette and ask for sponsorships. Police Chief Davis explained the what the annual community-building campaign that promotes strong police-community partnerships is about. It would be held on 8/6/19 and Davis has reached out to the West Union PD, Fayette Co Sheriff’s Office and Oelwein PD to see if they would be interested in partnering for the event. After discussion, no action was taken so the council could review the information.
Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Larson, to discuss the Iowa DNR Fayette Water Supply Sanitary Survey. The survey is completed by the Iowa DNR every three years. After reviewing, moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Tucker to accept the Iowa DNR Fayette Water Supply Sanitary Survey report.
Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the second reading of Ordinance 502, an ordinance amending the code of ordinances of the city of Fayette, Iowa, by repealing and amending Chapter 27 by changing the number of Board of Adjustment members from 5 to 7. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Wulfekuhle to adjourn at 6:22pm.
