City of Mechanicsville

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

June 9, 2008

The Mechanicsville City Council met in regular session on Monday, June 9, 2008 at City Hall. Mayor David L. Furry called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Council members present for roll call were Larry Beck, Carla Barnhart, Gene Brown, Jeff Christianson and Bryan Lovell. Others present included Jim Barber, Alan Zerbe, Tom Albaugh, Rhett Taylor, Ron Baker, and Doug Clark.

OPPORTUNITY for citizens to present items not on the agenda: Doug Clark inquired about having more than 1 day/month to drop off yard waste and about the regulations regarding plantings in the right of way.

CONSENT AGENDA: Bryan Lovell motioned, Larry Beck seconded to approve the minutes from 5/12/08, finance reports, and claims. Roll call vote: Ayes: Beck, Barnhart, Brown, Lovell and Christianson. Nays: None. Motion carried.

The claims approved were as follows:

PAYROLL	WAGES	12506.18
US POSTAL SERVICE	POSTAGE	228.36
WELLMARK	HEALTH INS	2928.22
INTL REVENUE SERVICE	FICA/MC	3992.26
I P E R S	IPERS	1781.14
IA LEAGUE OF CITIES	TRAIN/CONF	20.00
US POSTAL SERVICE	POSTAGE	8.60
US POSTAL SERVICE	POSTAGE	85.41
BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK	MISC CONTR	20.76
LOUISE MERTKA	REFUND DEP	50.00
TIME	SUBSCRIPT	29.95
BARNES & NOBLE	BOOKS	105.47
IA OFFICE SUPPLY	SUPPLIES	117.15
MOVIE LICENSING USA	SUBSCRIPT	75.00
AMAZON.COM	BOOKS	281.15
AIRGAS, INC.	MED SUPPLY	78.92
ARAMARK UNIFORM SERVICE	CLOTH ALLOW	160.92
ALLIANT ENERGY	UTILITIES	4472.21
ALL MED	MED SUPPLY	106.55
CASEY'S GENERAL STORE	VEH SUPPLY	151.22
CAS MEDICAL SYSTEMS INC	VEH REPAIR	313.57
CEDAR CO. SOLID WASTE	FEES LANDF	1163.00
COPYWORKS	OFFICE SUP	335.00
DORIS FLOWER SHOP	KOHL GRAVE	50.00
FARM PLAN	MISC SUPPL	16.07
FRIENDS OF THE ANIMALS	CONTR FEES	50.00
GALL'S, INC.	OP SUPPLY	148.96
HACH COMPANY	OP SUPPLY	99.30
IA EMS ASSOCIATION	DUES/MEMBE	25.00
IOWA WIRELESS	TELEPHONE	115.78
JOHNSON CO REFUSE INC	RECYCLING	2232.50
KEYSTONE LAB, INC	PMTS TO AG	333.70
KIRKWOOD COMM. COLLEGE	TRAIN/CONF	35.00
CONNIE KNUTSEN	TRAIN/CONF	100.00
LONNI KOCH	TRAIN/CONF	40.00
KOCH'S PAINT & LUMBER	BLDG MAINT	48.16
LISBON-MTVERNON AMB SERV	MUTUAL AID	150.00
MECHANICSVILLE TELE. CO.	TELEPHONE	324.55
MIRACLE RECREATION EQUIP	CAPITAL EQ	2210.00
ACS FIREHOUSE SOLUTIONS	SOFTWARE LICENSE	210.00
NOVAK AUTOMOTIVE INC	VEH REPAIR	102.80
ODD JOBS INC-JERRY DAKE	BURIALS	410.00
DAN PAIDAR	MILEAGE	469.74
SHERIE PAUP	MILEAGE	27.00
MARCIA RALSTON	MISC SUPPL	90.24
SEEHUSEN INS. AGENCY,INC	INSURANCE	759.00
RYAN STEINBERG	MILEAGE	70.00
CONSERVATIVE PUBLISHING	PUBLICATION	161.64
WALMART	MISC SUPPL	71.56
WENDLING QUARRIES INC	MAINS	200.58
ALAN ZERBE	MILEAGE	63.90
E C I A	DUES/MEMBERSHIP	539.58
DES MOINES STAMP CO.	OFFICE SUPPLY	50.80
AGVANTAGE FS	FUEL	1710.70

Total Receipts and Disbursements for month of May by fund

Fund	Receipts	Disbursements
Agency-Water	250.00
Ambulance Trust	11,710.67	3,710.22
Fire Trust	68,081.28	207,684.00
General	31,948.06	17,143.22
Gift Trust	25.73
Perpetual Care	225.00
RAGBRAI	425.00
Road Use Tax	7,224.70	7,890.09
Lib Exp Trust
Sewer Utility	5,140.14	4,536.53
Solid Waste	8,002.21	7,362.10
Special Revenue LOST	26,372.88
Employee Benefit	3,223.32	2,850.54
Water Utility	5,056.03	3,932.70
Water Sinking Fund	2,500.00	21,991.25

REPORTS:

Ambulance Report: Coppess read the ambulance report which included a total of 24 calls with 20 being medical, 4 traumas, 3 mutual aids with A-5; 2 with A-51, 2 with A-57, 1 lifeguard, and 1 refusal. The ambulance transported 2 patients from Stanwood, responded to one call for Lisbon, used A-9 1 time. Ron Baker presented information on the portable suction unit that is no longer repairable and requested a replacement be purchased. Larry Beck motioned, Jeff Christianson seconded to approve the purchase of a replacement suction unit at a cost not to exceed $500. Ayes all. Motion carried.

Fire Department Report: Rhett Taylor reported a total of 5 calls with two being storm watch, a standby at Lisbon station for Mt. Vernon, a grill fire, and Assist A-3. The next safety meeting has tentatively been set for July 10.

Police Report: Police Chief Jim Barber reported 1 accident; 8 agency assists; 3 animal cases; 16 citizen assist, 1 fire department assist; 1 harassment; 9-911, 1 theft; 6 traffic stops, 64 warnings, 4 abatements filed, 4 warnings included an illegal parking, animals at large, and harassment.

Public Works Report: Zerbe reported a broken water main; hydrants flushed, cleaning streets and storm sewers. Located two hydrants that need to be replaced and 2 valves wouldn’t shut down. A change in the yard waste date for July was made from July 5 to July 12. A motion was made by Bryan Lovell, seconded by Jeff Christianson to approve the purchase of replacement volleyball net at a cost of $153 plus shipping. Ayes all. Motion carried.

Administration Report: Coppess reported that the extension office representative is scheduled to look at the 2 trees to determine if diseased; the traffic counters were returned to Ames via Pastor Jim Roth; the FEMA Grant close out worksheet needs to be completed and returned by the end of the month. Also, informed council of an increase in the charge for the mat rental at city hall.

New Business:

DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON:

Dust Control application: Zerbe contacted Pat Gutwiler regarding the application of Calcium Chloride and received a quote of 90 cents/foot to be applied in 2 trips. Binns and Stevens, Oskaloosa, were also contacted and provided a quote of $832.50 per trip plus mileage of $301.25 if it was a required special trip. A motion was made by Larry Beck, seconded by Bryan Lovell to approve the quote from Gutwiler to make 2 applications for a total cost of $1107 (1230 feet). Ayes all. Motion carried.

Ditch cleaning east of school drive: Council reviewed pictures sent by Harvey Anderson along with his memo stating that the pictures show the dirt that was left in the ditch by the utility contractor when the extension of the water and sewer lines were completed. Council feels that the dirt is a result of the erosion of the soil from the school construction and not a result of the water/sewer extensions.

Correspondence from City Attorney on the following:

Policy Resolution: City Attorney Dendinger provided a proposed revision of the policy statement. He deleted items which were already addressed by the Iowa Code or the Code of Ordinances and left blanks for the fees as those rates may want to be adjusted by the council on a periodic bases. No action taken.

Ordinance on Fire Service Fees and Charges & Resolution establishing the fees for the use of the fire service: Dendinger recommended adding a statement: “All other provided services not listed herein shall be billed at a minimum of $250.00 up to a maximum of $500 unless otherwise waived by the City Council or other authorized officer. Any unpaid fees may be assessed.” Further research will be done on whether the city can assess unpaid fees against property outside of the city limits. It was also noted that the township agreements would need to be amended in order to comply with the proposed fee schedule and a discussion on whether the current contracts would be amended or whether it would be addressed when they went through the annual review in December/January.

28E Agreement and Garbage Truck proposal: Council reviewed a draft of a 28E agreement to share in the purchase of a garbage truck with Clarence. After a lengthy discussion and identification of some additional questions, Clarence Mayor Mike Blake was contacted during the meeting. It was determined that because Mechanicsville did not wish to purchase a share of the 5 year old truck that Clarence currently owned, then Clarence did not want to enter into an agreement with purchasing the new truck together. Mechanicsville Council determined that the city still needed to do something about replacing our 14 year old truck. The council is facing a 12% price increase for the Labrie model, if an order is not signed by Friday, June 13, at 1:00 p.m. A motion was made by Bryan Lovell to enter into the purchase agreement & proceed with purchasing the truck at a cost of $181,363 plus approx. $20,000 for the containers with the option to cancel the order by June 23, and seconded by Larry Beck. Further discussion was held on possibly giving additional consideration to the Heil truck that was last quoted at $148,410 in December and having it quoted with the joy stick and longer arm if available. Ayes: Beck, Brown, Christianson, Lovell. Nays: Barnhart. Motion carried. Council then decided to meet Thursday, June 12 at 7:00 pm in special session to make the final decision on which truck would be ordered and this would eliminate having to possibly cancel the order if the Heil model is chosen. A trade in allowance on our current truck will also be requested from the Labrie representative.

Invite to Library Open House Jun 14 9 -11am: Invitation was read.

Review of Ordinances concerning livestock 55.05 and Zoning Ordinance 165.10 Item 10: Council reviewed the two ordinances and the facts surrounding the circumstances for the request and determined that the ordinance would stand as is, and indicated that the lot would need to be mowed or baled. It was not an issue of operating the business as a sale barn, but rather an issue of raising livestock within the city limits contained within an electric fence. The issue has previously been to court and the party pled guilty.

REAP program grant application: Council was provided with a copy of the letter for the DNR’s REAP Program and will look into it further.

Length of time vehicle can set on lawn w/o moving: This was a question that had been asked of the Mayor and discussed by the council. There is not currently an ordinance that regulates the time, but vehicles do need to be tagged and be operable. There are rules that regulate length of time on the street and the parking area between the curb and sidewalk areas.

Filling treasurers position (interview date) Larry Beck, Gene Brown, Mayor Furry, and Clerk will interview candidates on June 25 at 6:00 p.m.

Committee Reports: TEAP Kick off meeting was held: Barnhart reported Larry Wieke. PE met with the sidewalk committee and then went to the school to monitor the traffic. He will make his report and send us a copy when it is completed.

Correspondence from the US Highway 30 coalition was received, as well as, the Iowa League of Cities on the anti degradation water quality rules and the 110th Annual conference.

Mayor’s Comments: Mayor Furry thanked everyone for their work.

Set next regular meeting date: 7-14-08 at 7:00 p.m. and the special meeting 6/12/08 at 7;00 p.m.

ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, council member Larry Beck motioned, Bryan Lovelll seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 10:15 p.m. Ayes all. Meeting adjourned.

ATTEST:

____________________________ _______________________________

Linda K. Coppess, CMC David L. Furry, Mayor

City Clerk/Finance Officer