REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
July 6, 2020
The City Council of the City of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, July 6, 2020, at 6:00 pm in the Fayette Community Library pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Wenthe presiding.
Roll call: Present - Council members Potratz, Tenney, Tucker and Wulfekuhle. Absent - Post
Moved Potratz, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the consent agenda items consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 6/15/20 and the claims list of 6/16/20 - 7/6/20. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes, motion carried.
Mayor Wenthe updated the council on hiring Jon Kullen on 6/29/20 as a part-time, seasonal employee to assist the Public Works department over the summer. He will work through 8/17/20 for 21 hours a week.
City Administrator/Clerk McGrane informed the council he is still finishing up on end of the fiscal year items. McGrane assisted the Mayor and Public Works Director Hildebrand with scheduling interviews and attended an Iowa Dept. of Revenue zoom meeting on 6/26/20. McGrane advised the council that Boike's paid off their high utility bill that they were granted permission to make payments on. The council requested an updated utility delinquent report at a future meeting.
Police Chief Davis advised the council they have been busy the last week. Today was police officer Nicole Ball's first day working for the City of Fayette.
Moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss and approve the Fayette Board of Adjustment meeting minutes from 6/16/20. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Potratz, seconded Tenney, to discuss and approve the Fayette Planning and Zoning Commission meeting minutes from 6/30/20. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss allowing Upper Iowa University (UIU) to install solar panels on their property located near the 600 block of Wadena Road. Kent Kraus and Todd Linquist with Eagle Point Solar and Jesse Pleggenkuhle with UIU was in attendance to present the plans and answer questions. Pleggenkuhle advised UIU may possibly place rock around all the solar panels otherwise they'd be mowing around them. Moved Potratz, seconded Tucker, to approve allowing UIU to install solar panels as presented on their property located near the 600 block of Wadena Road. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Potratz, to discuss allowing Tricia Whittle to place a bench at Klock's Island Park in memory of Jeanne Africa. McGrane explained that Tricia met with Hildebrand and him to discuss the best location of the bench. Moved Potratz, seconded Wulfekuhle, to grant Tricia Whittle permission to install a bench at Klock's Island Park in memory of Jeanne Africa. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Potratz, seconded Tucker, to discuss Adam Hildebrand's salary increase in FY2021. Jerry Hildebrand, Public Works Director, updated the council on justifying the reason why Adam deserves to raise up the wage scale from #10 to #9. Hildebrand advised Adam has been in charge of the paperwork, documenting and installing/repairing the radio transmitters for the water meters. The council inquired if an updated job description was needed. It was discussed if this would be considered another normal job duty as new equipment and software continues to be purchased in all city departments or if this was something that a new certification would be needed. It was mentioned there was no special certification needed to work with the radio transmitters. Concerns were discussed about when an employee should receive a step increase on the wage scale. In recent years, employees only received step increases if a new certification was received or a promotion took place. It was expressed the great job Adam has done for the city. Moved Tenney, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the normal annual years of service increase but to not approve the step increase from scale #10 to #9. Tenney, Tucker and Wulfekuhle - ayes; Potratz - nay. Motion carried.
Moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss adding to the existing trail to connect to Lovers Lane. McGrane updated the council on the poll results and the other option provided by Nate Post, by adding to the trail from the hotel parking. Jon Biederman with Fehr Graham was present to discuss the estimates. A preliminary estimate to add to the existing trail along the south side of HWY 93 to Lovers Lane would be around $56,917 or $39,353 to add to the existing trail along the north side of HWY 93 to Lovers Lane. The estimate would be for an 8 feet wide asphalt trail or a 5 feet wide cement trail. There is a utility pole on the north side that Biederman could find out if it could be moved. Biederman estimated between $30,000-$40,000 to move the water line on the south side of HWY 93 if the council decided to go with a cement trail. It was discussed where would the funding come from. Grants would need to be investigated. Biederman advised the DNR REAP grant is a possibility as well as a community foundation or state grant. The council mentioned funding could also come from the Bolger fund or the Park fund. The council would be willing to start investigating funding/grant options and come back to the council with ideas. No action was taken.
Moved Tenney, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss repairing W. Water Street between HWY 150 and S. Main Street. Biederman provided a preliminary estimate and reconstruction narrative and discussed it with the council. Biederman advised the existing road on Water St. was replaced around 1995 and usually the estimate is to replace within 15 to 20 years. Core samples were taken in a few places along Water St. and every one showed 3 inches of asphalt. Today, a minimum thickness for a residential street is 4 inches, however, Biederman would recommend a 5 inch thickness since this road gets a lot of truck and tractor traffic. The eastbound lane or southside of W. Water St. shows more wear and tear probably because of grain hauling traffic. The curb and gutter is in fair to good condition so they would only repair the bad sections which would roughly be 20% of the length. They would add subdrain tile along both sides of the road which wasn't done before. A new 6 inch water main would be installed to replace the 4 inch line. The water line is now required to be 10 feet away from sanitary sewer lines, so that would be moved. They would add a new city sewer line to the blocks that currently do not have them. They are assuming the storm sewers are in good shape. They would install some larger storm sewer lines in a few spots. They would reconstruct and upgrade the sidewalks to make them ADA accessible. Biederman advised an estimated time frame for a project like this would be about 3 months. Wenthe advised the city does have bonding capacity and McGrane will provide more financials at a future meeting. Biederman advised the ideal time to bid for a project like this would be in January to get the best prices. The estimated contract amount for the project was $771,180. Moved Potratz, seconded Wulfekuhle, to continue the process on reconstructing W. Water Street and provide finance options to the council. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss Resolution 2020-10. Hildebrand advised he just started offering property owners who do not have a separate curb stop the option of the city capping the water line so the property owner does not have to pay a minimum utility bill if no one is residing/operating out of the premise. Since it does require some expenses and time for a city worker to cap and uncap the line, Hildebrand recommends we add a fee for this service. Moved Potratz, seconded Tenney, to approve Resolution 2020-10, a Resolution adding a $50 fee to cap and a $50 fee to uncap a water line. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tucker, seconded Potratz, to discuss the first reading of Ordinance 510. Chief Davis explained this is the first step of the process of implementing automatic traffic enforcement cameras along HWY 150 in the city limits of Fayette. Davis advised this is the same ordinance that Oelwein, West Union, Maynard, Clermont and other Fayette County cities that are considering this program and initiative are passing to make everything uniform countywide. The ordinance was reviewed by the city attorney. Davis advised when the program starts, there will probably be a 3 month warning period for everyone. The council would like clarification if the new code allows for warnings being issued instead of only fines. Davis advised he will have the company he believes the council should contract with to attend the next council meeting. Moved Potratz, seconded Tenney, to approve the first reading of Ordinance 510, amending the Fayette City Code Chapter 63, Speed Regulations, adding section 63.13, automatic traffic enforcement. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Wulfekuhle, seconded Tucker, to discuss purchasing cyber liability insurance at $500 per year. McGrane updated the council on the price increases for Access Systems and explained a little of the cyber liability insurance. Wenthe requested McGrane gather some examples of claims the insurance would cover and provide at a future meeting. No action was taken.
There being no further business, moved Potratz, unanimous, to adjourn at 7:25 pm.
