City of Mechanicsville

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

December 14, 2009

 

The Mechanicsville City Council met in regular session on Monday, December 14, 2009 at the Memorial Building.  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, Bryan Lovell.  Jeff Christianson was absent.  Others present included Alan Zerbe, Lonni Koch, Sherie Paup, Tina Hanks, Rob Davis, Boyd Stine, Deanna Cook, Calvin Paup, Martin Meyer, Doyle Pickering, Kris Davies, David Ferguson, William Koch, and Steve Lacina and Trisha Gottschalk with CCEDCO.

 

Receive visitors/public comment:  None.

 

CONSENT AGENDA: Bryan Lovell motioned, Larry Beck seconded to approve all items under the consent agenda including the agenda, finance reports, claims, and minutes from 11/09/09. Roll call vote: Ayes:  Beck, Brown, Barnhart, and Lovell. Nays: None.  Christianson absent.  Motion carried.

 

The claims approved were as follows:

 ARAMARK UNIFORM SERVICE

ALLOWANCES - UNIFORMS

$157.59

ENTWISLE, ANGIE

JANITORIAL EXPENSE

$255.00

GREENVALLEY AG & TURF LLC

VEHICLES

$10,853.00

IOWA LEAGUE OF CITIES

MEETINGS & CONFERENCES

$230.00

IOWA NETWORK SERVICES

OTHER CONTRACTUAL

$116.91

IOWA ONE CALL

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$31.50

IWIRELESS

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

$144.11

NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS

CHARGES/FEES FOR

$1,140.10

SHEPLEY PHARMACY

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$114.31

WALMART

VEHICLE OPERATIONS

$45.12

WELLMARK BC BS

GROUP INSURANCE

$4,099.70

US POST OFFICE

POSTAGE/SHIPPING

$135.52

BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK

INTEREST PAYMENTS

$1,102.60

LYNCH FORD

VEHICLES

$23,160.00

AGVANTAGE FS INC

VEHICLE OPERATIONS

$1,730.00

AIRGAS NORTH CENTRAL

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$34.05

ALBAUGH, TOM

TRAINING

$60.30

ALL MED

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$473.65

ALLIANT ENERGY

ELECTRIC/GAS EXPENSE

$5,263.00

BARNES & NOBLE

LIBRARY MATERIALS

$94.80

BARRON EQUIPMENT COMPANY

BLDG MAINT & REPAIR

$170.00

BOOTS BODY SHOP

VEHICLE REPAIR

$60.00

CARUS CORPORATION

CHEMICALS

$363.40

CEDAR COUNTY AUDITOR

PAYMENTS TO OTHER

$1,047.80

CEDAR COUNTY SOLID WASTE

PAYMENTS TO OTHER

$1,056.00

DORIS FLOWER SHOP

OTHER SUPPLIES

$22.95

EAST CENTRAL LIBRARY SERVICES

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$12.00

ED M FELD EQUIP CO INC

ALLOWANCES - UNIFORMS

$202.50

ENTWISLE, ANGIE

JANITORIAL EXPENSE

$240.00

FIRE SERVICE TRAINING BUREAU

TRAINING

$450.00

HACH COMPANY

CHEMICALS

$84.26

HANKS, TINA

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$188.96

HAWKEYE INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS

VEHICLE REPAIR

$1,850.40

IOWA OFFICE SUPPLY

OFFICE SUPPLIES

$304.94

IOWA ONE CALL

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$18.00

IOWA RURAL WATER

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$225.00

JIMS AUTO BODY

VEHICLE REPAIR

$62.95

JOHNSON COUNTY AMBULANCE

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$150.00

JOHNSON COUNTY REFUSE INC

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$2,887.50

KEYSTONE LABORATORIES, INC

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$333.70

KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE

TRAINING

$345.00

KNUTSEN, CONNIE

TRAINING

$40.00

KOCH, LONNI

TRAINING

$400.50

KOCHS PAINT & LUMBER

BLDG MAINT & REPAIR

$205.24

LISBON-MT VERNON AMBULANCE

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$225.00

MECHANICSVILLE TELEPHONE CO

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

$324.13

MICROMARKETING

LIBRARY MATERIALS

$5.00

MUNICIPAL PIPE TOOL CO INC

OTHER PROF SERV EXP

$1,117.90

OVERHEAD DOOR COMPANY

BLDG MAINT & REPAIR

$81.50

PAUP, SHERIE

TRAINING

$13.50

POLHAMUS, JOEL

CUSTOMER DEPOSITS

$24.77

QUILL

OFFICE SUPPLIES

$294.38

RICKARD SIGN & DESIGN

VEHICLE REPAIR

$90.00

SHEPLEY PHARMACY

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$31.43

TARGET

LIBRARY MATERIALS

$1.27

TIPTON CONSERVATIVE

PRINTING & PUBLISHING

$42.63

WADDELL, ASHLEY

CUSTOMER DEPOSITS

$14.75

WALMART

OPERATING SUPPLIES

$94.34

WELLMARK BC BS

GROUP INSURANCE

$4,099.70

COUNTRY WELDING INC

VEHICLE REPAIR

$345.00

US POSTOFFICE

POSTAGE/SHIPPING

$197.37

PATTEN EQUIPMENT

VEHICLES

$6,376.00

BOLAND RECREATION

OTHER CAPITAL OUTLAY

$624.00

BRIDGE COMMUNITY BANK

POSTAGE/SHIPPING

$47.69

PAYROLL

WAGES

11,852.30

 

 

Total Receipts and Disbursements for month of November by fund

Fund

Receipts

Disbursements

General

31,864.40

64,191.57

Road Use Tax

9,267.28

9,677.54

Employee Benefit

4,474.19

1,875.67

Special Revenue LOST

14,884.95

 

Tax Increment Financing

1,102.61

 

Library Expendable Trust

3.31

 

Ambulance Trust

11,424.49

2,547.93

Fire Trust

.35

 

Gift Trust-Kohl

26.01

 

Water Utility

7,534.21

835.84

Sewer Utility

6,248.40

2,674.18

Solid Waste

8,645.70

5,135.72

Water Sinking Fund

 

4,236.00

Agency-Water

 

28.90

 

 

REPORTS:

Park Board:  Tina Hanks presented a request to purchase a slide and 2 bouncy seats at a cost of $6,239 from donations received specifically for these items.  Bryan Lovell motioned, Gene Brown seconded to approve the purchase of the slide and 2 bouncy seats.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Tina also presented information on the equipment for the beginner course on the skateboard area which will use the funds received from the Cedar County Community Foundation Grant and the donations from RAGBRAI that were received for this project.  Larry Beck motioned, Gene Brown seconded to approve the purchase of the design and the equipment at a cost of $4600.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Request to apply for Tony Hawk Foundation Grant:  Larry Beck motioned, Carla Barnhart seconded to approve the request to apply for a Tony Hawk Foundation Grant which will help to fund additional skate park equipment.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Ambulance Report: Sherie Paup presented the ambulance report which included 16 medical calls and 5 traumas, with 2 refusals; 3 tiers with A-4, 1 Mutual aid with Johnson County; 2 were calls to Stanwood and 2 were calls to Clarence for a total of 21 calls.  Larry Beck motioned, Gene Brown seconded to approve the request for 7 EMT’s to attend the Cedar County EMS Fest at $20 each on January 30 which will provide continuing education hours.  Ayes all.  Motion carried. 

 

Fire Department Report: Lonni Koch reported 1 call for the month; which included A-3 being on fire at the fire station.   Lonni also provided a summary of calls for the year which was a total of 54 calls with 25 members.  The calls included 14 grass fires, 4 mutual aid, 3 house/barn fires, 3 search and rescue, 10 medical assists, 1 land life guard, 1 cancellation, 2 control burns, 4 alarms at the school, 7 storm watch and 5 misc. fires.

 

Police Report:  Police Chief Jim Barber was out on a call.  Written report was provided following the meeting which included 6 agency assists; 1 ambulance assist; 2 animal cases; 1 burglary; 18 citizen assist; 1 domestic assault; 6 harassment; 7 - 911; 1 theft; 2 traffic stops, 2 warnings; 23 warnings code violations for illegal parking, abandon vehicle, animal at large, harassment and 17 citations issued for illegal parking and disorderly conduct.

 

Public Works Report: Alan Zerbe reported that they finished vacuuming leaves; Municipal Pipe did sewer cleaning; water service line was repaired; garbage truck was taken in for maintenance; the insta-chains on the dump truck were repaired; and the bracket on the snow plow was repaired by Country Welding.

 

Administration Report:  Coppess reported receiving the abstract of votes from the November 3, 2009 election with the declaration of Boyd A. Stine duly elected for the office of Mayor and Deanna Cook and Calvin Paup duly elected for the office of Council person, all for a term of 4 years.  All have taken their oath of office.  Ogden and Adams are locating a contractor to do the work on the doors and will be providing a proposal with the cost.  Correspondence from Jane Pate, Ament provided an update on the sidewalk project which stated upon receiving approval from FHWA, Ament was able to complete one day of surveying before the snow storm.  They still need 1-2 days of additional field data before they can begin the design process.  A concept statement has been submitted and waiting for environmental approval.  Intentions for the use of the I-Job funds for the 4th Quarterly report, clerk was directed to respond as unallocated at this time.

 

Old Business:

Curb Cut (Martin Meyer):  Martin Meyer requested to have a curb cut in order to have access to his building.  This would remove at least 2 parking spaces.  Concerns expressed about the safety of pedestrians being hit by someone driving out of the building.  Motion to allow the curb cut for no more than 2 spaces was made by Larry Beck, seconded by Bryan Lovell.  Ayes:  Beck and Lovell.  Nays:  Brown and Barnhart.  Absent:  Christianson.  Motion defeated.

 

New Business:

DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON:

Parking Citations (Kris Davies):  Kris Davies stated that she received 4 parking tickets for violating the no parking from 3 am – 7 am and requested that they be reversed as she felt a warning or notice should have been mailed to the residents who live in the two block area to notify them that this was in effect whether or not it snowed.  Council stated they did not feel that they had the authority to reverse a ticket issued by the police and that the matter would be referred to the city attorney.  Council stated that she would receive correspondence in writing regarding the matter.

 

Snow Removal in alley (Kris Davies):  Requested that the alleys behind First Street be prioritized on the plowing schedule since they can not park on the street.

 

City participation with the ball fields (William Koch):  William thanked Mayor Furry for his service and the city council for working on the area for the kids to skateboard on.  He then presented information on a proposed ball field which could be located on the 4 acres to the north side of the elementary building.  It proposed a regulation softball field, some concrete, rock and excavating.  He stated that the council would need to press into and ask if games would be scheduled in Mechanicsville.  Larry Beck and Gene Brown volunteered to get with school officials to explore potential; allowing multiple use fields; and whether it is feasible.

 

Cedar County Economic Development Co annual update (Steve Lacina):  Steve presented an annual update on the accomplishments and goals of the Cedar County Economic Development Co.  He also introduced the administrative assistant Trisha Gottschalk.

 

Letter of Resignation from City Attorney Lowell Dendinger:  Council directed clerk to contact Doug Simkin, Gerald Denning, and William Sueppel to see if any would be interested in being appointed to the position.

 

Proposal from LL Pelling Co:  Larry Beck motioned, Gene Brown seconded to accept the proposal from LL Pelling on the seal coating for next summer.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.  The rates remained the same as last year. 

 

Purchase of Dump trailer & exchange of blade on pickup:  Gene Brown provided information on pricing received from 5 businesses for a 16 foot dump trailer.  Prices ranged from $6489-$8600.  Larry Beck motioned, Bryan Lovell seconded to purchase the trailer hitch trailer from Patten Equipment from Urbana at a cost of $6489.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

A motion was made by Larry Beck, seconded by Gene Brown to exchange the unused 8 foot pickup blade for a 9 foot blade at a cost of $650.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Bids received on sale of flag pole:  Two sealed bids were received on the flag pole.  Bryan Lovell motioned, Carla Barnhart seconded to accept the bid for $26 from Gary Bard.  Ayes all.  Motion carried.

 

Resolution to approve 09-10 budget amendment:  Motioned by Bryan Lovell, seconded by Larry Beck to approve the resolution 2009-11 amending the 09-10 budget  as published.  Roll call:  Ayes:  Beck, Barnhart, Lovell, and Brown.  Nays:  None.  Absent:  Christianson.  Resolution adopted.

 

Committee Reports:  None

 

Correspondence:  Photos were provided and reviewed on the repair of the ruts in the alley near the cemetery; North Cedar Route to Learning executed consultant agreement; and from Gov. Culver regarding Medicaid services will be reduced by 5% from the rates in effect on November 30.

 

Mayor’s Comments: Mayor Furry thanked the employees for all of their help and assistance during his time in office as there has been a lot accomplished.  He also provided a wish of good luck to the new council. Mayor Furry informed everyone about the celebration of life services that will be held at the library in honor of Kelly Eby, assistant librarian on Saturday, December 19.

 

Set next regular meeting date: 1-11-10 

 

ADJOURN:  There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, council member Gene Brown motioned, Larry Beck seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 9:43 p.m. Ayes all.  Meeting adjourned.

 

ATTEST:

 

____________________________                   ___________________________

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

City Clerk/Finance Officer