REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
June 21, 2021
The City Council of the City of Fayette, Iowa, met Monday, June 21, 2021, at 6:00 pm in the Community Room at the Fayette Community Library pursuant to law and rules of said council, Mayor Wenthe presiding.
Roll call: Present - Council members Post (via telephone), Potratz, Tenney, Tucker and Wulfekuhle.
Moved Potratz, seconded Tucker, to approve the consent agenda items consisting of the regular meeting minutes of 6/7/21 and the claims list of 5/29/21 - 6/18/21. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tenney, seconded Potratz, to approve the agenda as presented. All ayes, motion carried.
Upon Mayor Wenthe’s request, moved Potratz, seconded Tenney, to appoint Joshua Crosbie to the Fayette Tree Board to finish the term of Tereasa Lenius expiring 12/31/2021 and Brenda Hildebrand can be a back-up if another vacancy opens. All ayes, motion carried.
Upon Mayor Wenthe’s request and the recommendation of the Fayette Ambulance Service, moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to appoint Traegen Kramer to the Fayette Ambulance Service. All ayes, motion carried.
City Administrator/Clerk McGrane showed the light box for professional photography that was donated to the city by the Iowa State Extension Office and Small Business Association. McGrane has communicated with the library to house the light box for anyone to check it out. McGrane also showed the Freedom Rock Interpretive Sign that was completed. We will plan on installing it later this summer when the W. Water Street project is about finished. Kelly & Miller Insurance is our new local agent for IMWCA Worker's Compensation. We currently did not have a local agent and IMWCA recommended we find one. McGrane virtually attended the Clerks Association meeting on 6/17 where he discovered the current W. Water Street improvements project would probably not qualify for the American Rescue Plan funds because of Davis-Bacon wages. McGrane attended a virtual meeting with the Fayette Library staff and Access Systems on 6/17 to assist them with their information technology. Fayette city hall and the library will be closed on Monday, 7/5 for the holiday. The next council meeting will be Tuesday, 7/6.
Police Chief Davis advised he is still moving forward with abatement issues with the Glen Smith property. Another Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau STEP grant project will be conducted over 4th of July. Davis has received 3 new radars that were paid for by the STEP grant and should be installed next fiscal year.
Moved Tenney, seconded Tucker, to discuss and approve the Fayette Community Library Board of Trustees meeting minutes from 6/9/21. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tenney, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss and approve the Fayette Tree Board meeting minutes from 6/16/21. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tenney, seconded Potratz, to discuss and approve the contract change order number 1 for the Water Street improvements project 20-897. Jon Biederman from Fehr Graham was present to provide an update and explanation. He advised the sanitary sewer is all in, operational and services are hooked up. They are currently working on the storm sewer. One connection to the water main is completed at the intersection of S. Main Street. This change order is because they ran into a lot of rock when digging for the new sanitary sewer line and did not want the rock back in the trench because it's hard to compact. The rock was removed and replaced with another material. There will most likely be a little more cost because of the rock for the new water main. The subdrain tile that is part of this project will not be needed for the full length of the road because of all the rock. This will help offset some of the costs. The city contracted with Chosen Valley for trench compacting testing and everything is passing. The pay estimate number 2 is for work done in May which is mostly the sanitary sewer work. The project is a little behind schedule but hopefully will pick up. Moved Potratz, seconded Post, to approve the contract change order number 1 for the Water Street improvements project 20-897 in the amount of $15,939. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tenney, seconded Potratz, to discuss and approve partial pay estimate number 2 to Heartland Asphalt, Inc. for the Water Street improvements project in the amount of $56,499.83.
Moved Tenney, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss and consider adopting policies for shelters in the city parks. Concerns were discussed about campers parking close to the shelters at Klock's Island, especially with the middle shelter near the playground where visitors do not have an area to sit while children play at the playground. Public Works Director Jerry Hildebrand was present to discuss the issue. It was decided to make sure there is a picnic table in the playground area for visitors. It was also discussed about fixing the City Code Parks Board chapter by either eliminating it, combining it with the Recreation Board or appointing people to the Parks Board. McGrane will reach out to the Recreation Board and gather more information for a future meeting. No formal action was taken.
Moved Tenney, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss and consider approving police officers taking home police vehicles. Chief Davis informed the council that Officer Barker lives 6 miles and Officer Ball lives 1 mile outside of Fayette. Davis was requesting permission for officers who are on call to take home a police vehicle. This way they have a safe and quicker response time to respond to call outs. The council requested Davis to work on a policy and present it at the next council meeting. Moved Potratz, seconded Tenney, to let on call officers that live within a 10 mile radius from the city of Fayette, contingent on a policy being approved at the next meeting, take home a police vehicle. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tenney, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss and consider changing insurance on 606 W. Water Street. McGrane explained our insurance provider recommended we change from full coverage to liability coverage for 606 W. Water Street. Moved Potratz, seconded Wulfekuhle, to only have liability insurance for 606 W. Water Street. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tenney, seconded Wulfekuhle, to discuss and consider keeping grant money for the Revolving Loan Fund. McGrane explained that the Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) funds awarded to the city of Fayette for a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program expired on 6/12/21. A letter was sent requesting another extension; however, it was denied. The city may either continue the program and use the $27,930 of grant funds received for the RLF, return the grant funds and continue the RLF program with the cities funds or discontinue the RLF program all together. It was recommended to return the grant funds and continue the RLF program with the cities funds because there would be less paperwork involved and the city could adjust the rules to the program as needed. Moved Tucker, seconded Wulfekuhle, to return the grant funds for the RLF and to continue the RLF program utilizing the city's own funds. All ayes, motion carried.
Moved Potratz, seconded Tucker, to go into closed session per Iowa Code 21.5(1)(c) to discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the governmental body in that litigation. Roll call, all ayes, motion carried.
Moved Tenney, seconded Wulfekuhle, to open regular session. Roll call, all ayes, motions carried.
Moved Potratz, seconded Wulfekuhle, to approve the tentative settlement agreement between Myron Crawford and the City of Fayette and Continental Western Insurance Group. All ayes, motion carried.
There being no further business, moved Potratz, unanimous, to adjourn at 7:18 pm.
