REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
May 6, 2019
The City Council of the City of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, May 6, 2019, at 6:01pm in Fayette City Hall pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Wenthe presiding.
Roll call: Present - Council members Cowley, Larson, Nefzger, Tucker and Wulfekuhle.
Moved Cowley, seconded Larson, to approve the consent agenda items consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 4/15/19 and the claims list of 4/16/19 – 5/6/19. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tucker, seconded Cowley, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes, carried.
Mayor Wenthe advised the council the Fayette County Supervisors have made the decision to not provide funding to the Fayette County Economic Development Commission (FCEDC) and he doesn’t see how it will be able to move forward in the future without their funding. Wenthe is currently the city of Fayette’s representative on the FCEDC. Wenthe advised they will be meeting and doing a final audit and conducting an inventory of all the assets. They will also be working with the Fayette County Supervisors on what their plan is for county-wide economic development. Whatever funds that will be left over will go towards a severance pay for the employees and cities may receive some funds back.
Mayor Wenthe recommended appointing Brock Wissmiller to the Board of Adjustments. Wulfekuhle recommended appointing Tim Wulfekuhle because he serves on the planning and zoning board and helped with the City Code making him more knowledgeable for this board. Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to appoint Tim Wulfekuhle to the Board of Adjustments for a five-year term. Cowley, Larson, Tucker – ayes, Nefzger nay, Wulfekuhle abstained. Motion carried.
Upon Mayor Wenthe’s recommendation, moved Cowley, seconded Wulfekuhle, to appoint Darwin Dean to the Board of Adjustments for a five-year term. All ayes, carried. Upon the Fayette EMS/Ambulance Service recommendation, moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Cowley, to appoint Kyara Dahlstrom to the Fayette EMS/Ambulance Service. All ayes, carried. Upon the Fayette EMS/Ambulance Service recommendation, moved Cowley, seconded Larson, to appoint Johnathan Garcia to the Fayette EMS/Ambulance Service. All ayes, carried.
Administrator/Clerk McGrane informed the council the S. Main Street bridge joint repair is tentatively scheduled for Friday, 5/17 and work will continue through the weekend. The bridge will be closed during that time. McGrane also provided information on the legislation updates including the property tax bill that relates to local government budgets and the taxation of property by modifying how city and county budgets are established and approved. The next Highway 150 Coalition meeting will be held on 5/29 at the Fayette Community Library. The IA Dept of Management will hold four, free workshops covering urban renewal areas and tax increment financing around Iowa. McGrane shared the dates and locations to council members if they are interested in attending.
Fayette Police Chief Davis updated the council on the National Night Out event scheduled for August. Davis said they have Gundersen Health System’s helicopter, a Fire Safety Trailer and music scheduled for the event, so far.
Moved Larson, seconded Tucker, to discuss and consider drafting a contract for a temporary business at 9 S. Main Street. Jake Dale and Clayton Lieb, UIU students, were present and advised they had started a business last fall called Driftless Area Guide Co. They offer outdoor apparel and a guide service for the Driftless region to promote the bluffs, cold-water trout streams and other tourist information. They would like to have a downtown store front for the month of September through November to sell their apparel and offer their guide services. Wenthe and McGrane had met with Dale and Lieb earlier and had suggest they come to the council to inquire about the vacant building at 9 S. Main Street. Wenthe and McGrane explained they could use this as an experiment to try an incubator or pop-up store. The idea is to have a month-by-month contract where the renter is responsible to pay for all the utilities plus a small percentage of profits. The idea is to give a low-cost place for people to experiment and try-out their business and determine if its something they would want to pursue in the future. Moved Nefzger, seconded Wulfekuhle, to move forward with gathering information and drafting a contract to host a temporary renter in the 9 S. Main Street building. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss the contract change order number 4 for the Sanitary Sewer Repair and CIPP Lining Improvements project, division 1. Moved Tucker, seconded Nefzger, to approve the contract change order number 4 for the Sanitary Sewer Repair and CIPP Lining Improvements project 16-137 division 1. All ayes, carried.
Moved Cowley, seconded Larson, to discuss the approval of partial pay estimate number 6 to Tschiggfrie Excavating. Moved Nefzger, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve partial pay estimate number 6 to Tschiggfrie Excavating for the Sanitary Sewer Repair and CIPP Lining Improvements project 16-137 division 1 contingent upon receipt of all necessary Davis-Bacon wage documentation by UERPC. All ayes, carried.
Moved Nefzger, seconded Larson, to discuss Resolution 2019-8. Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Larson, to approve Resolution 2019-8: Accepting the project and approving payment of partial payment number 4 (final) to Visu-Sewer for the Sanitary Sewer Repair and CIPP Lining Improvements project 16-137B, division 2. Roll call, all ayes, carried.
Moved Cowley, seconded Tucker, to discuss purchasing a mower at the cost of $5,922 using finances from the Parks savings account. Public Works Director Jerry Hildebrand advised he had planned to purchase this next year, but we need the mower sooner. Hildebrand received a quote from P&K Midwest in Sumner for $5,922 (includes trade-in) and a quote from Bodensteiner Implement in Oelwein for $6,396.95 (includes trade-in). Moved Larson, seconded Wulfekuhle, to purchase a new mower from P&K Midwest in the amount $5,922 out of the Parks savings account. All ayes, carried.
Moved Tucker, seconded Cowley, to discuss options to spend donations from Floyd Alber. A few options to use the money for included the Community Garden and the Freedom Rock. Wulfekuhle also suggested using the money to purchase a digital sign for the city. Wulfekuhle shared that the Community Garden and Main Street Matters are joining together, and the city had budgeted $1,000 that they plan on using but would like an additional $500. After discussion, moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Cowley, to use $500 of the Floyd Alber donation to the Community Garden and Main Street Matters committee. All ayes, carried.
Moved Larson, seconded Cowley, to discuss adjusting the monthly water/sewer capital fund fee. McGrane had provided some information from surrounding communities that currently charge water and/or sewer capital fund/infrastructure fees and the majority charge the fee per meter/bill. Hildebrand suggested charging a percentage of usage per meter/bill that would go toward the capital fund fee to make it fair. McGrane advised he can work on some figures to show the council how a percentage system would work at a future meeting. No action was taken.
Moved Cowley, seconded Tucker, to go into closed/executive session per Iowa Code 21.5(1)(j) to discuss the purchase or sale of particular real estate only where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the City would have to pay for that property or reduce the price the City would receive for that property. All ayes, carried.
Moved Nefzger, seconded Wulfekuhle, to go out of closed session. All ayes, carried.
Moved Nefzger, unanimous, to adjourn at 7:30pm.
