ACKLEY CITY COUNCIL met in regular session May 9, 2018 in the Ackley Civic Center with Mayor Erik Graham presiding. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Council members present: Judy Crawford, Pat Daggs, Al Jones, and Joe Wessels. Absent: Pat Hurt. Quorum present.
Jones moved, Wessels seconded, to approve the May 9, 2018 Agenda as listed. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Daggs moved, Jones seconded, to approve the Consent Agenda by one motion: a) April 14, 2018 Regular Mtg; April 27, 2018 Special Mtg Minutes as written. b) Bills approval authorizing payment of bills and transfers as listed. c) Place Reports on file: April 2018 Clerk Bank Reconciliation/Treasurer Report, April 2018 Clerk Budget Reports, April 2018 Deputy Clerk Utility Billing Reconciliation, April 2018 Fire Monthly Report, April 2018 Ambulance Monthly Report. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Wessels moved, Jones seconded, to open the public hearing at 7:03 p.m. on the second reading of proposed Ordinance No. 504 Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ackley, Iowa by Amending Section 99.02, Pertaining to Rate, and Section 99.07, Pertaining to Use of Funds. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried. No oral or written comments or objections were received. Daggs moved, Crawford seconded, to close the public hearing at 7:03 p.m. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried. Crawford moved, Jones seconded, to approve the second reading of proposed Ordinance No. 504 Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ackley, Iowa by Amending Section 99.02, Pertaining to Rate, and Section 99.07, Pertaining to Use of Funds. Roll call vote: Ayes-Daggs, Jones, Wessels, Crawford. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Daggs moved, Wessels seconded, to set a public hearing for the third reading of said proposed Ordinance No. 504 for June 13, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Daggs moved, Jones seconded, to open the public hearing at 7:05 p.m. on the first reading of proposed Ordinance No. 507 Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ackley, Iowa by Amending Section 65.02, Pertaining to Stop Intersections. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried. No oral or written comments or objections were received.
Jones moved, Wessels seconded, to close the public hearing at 7:06 p.m. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Wessels moved, Daggs seconded, to approve the first reading of proposed Ordinance No. 507 Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ackley, Iowa by Amending Section 65.02, Pertaining to Stop Intersections. Roll call vote: Ayes-Jones, Wessels, Crawford, Daggs. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Wessels moved, Daggs seconded, to waive the second and third readings of said proposed Ordinance No. 507. Roll call vote: Ayes-Jones, Wessels, Crawford, Daggs. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Jones moved, Daggs seconded, to adopt proposed Ordinance No. 507 Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Ackley, Iowa by Amending Section 65.02, Pertaining to Stop Intersections. Roll call vote: Ayes-Wessels, Crawford, Daggs, Jones. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Daggs moved, Wessels seconded, to open the public hearing at 7:07 p.m. on the sale of property locally known as 702 State Street, Ackley, Iowa. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried. Clerk Kelly DeBerg reported that one bid for $300.00 was received. The bidder requested that DeBerg ask the Council if they would consider vacating the alley between their house and this lot. Council agreed on a possession date of May 15, 2018. Jones moved, Daggs seconded, to close the public hearing at 7:08 p.m. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Daggs moved, Jones seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 18-27 Authorizing Disposal of Property Known as 702 State St. Roll call vote: Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
No bids were received on the property known as Parcel ID 891902227005 in Ackley, Iowa so the public hearing on the sale of said property was not held, and Resolution No. 18-28 Authorizing Disposal of Property was not voted on.
Jay Waddingham, Franklin County Engineer, presented the preliminary plans for the North Franklin Bridge Replacement Project. Waddingham expects a November or December bid letting with construction to take place next year.
Korey DeBerg, Grand JiVante CEO/CFO, shared with the Council that Grand JiVante was looking at refinancing, and explained that the best option for them was to obtain tax-exempt bonds through the City, which they can do because they are a non-profit organization. He further explained that any City can issue $10 million in bonds per calendar year, and because they are tax exempt they are lower rates, which would save Grand JiVante a considerable amount of money. Grand JiVante is requesting $4.5 million through the City which would leave the City $5.5 million should an unexpected need arise before the end of December. David Grossklaus, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, stated that these bonds would not be a debt of the City, and the City would not be liable should Grand JiVante default. Jones moved, Wessels seconded, to set a public hearing on the issuance of bonds on behalf of Grand JiVante for June 13, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. at the Ackley Civic Center. Roll call vote: Ayes-Wessels, Crawford, Jones, Daggs. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried. Keegan Murphy, Murphy’s Heating & Plumbing, presented a proposal for updating the heating and cooling in City Hall. Mayor Graham directed the buildings committee to review all the bids that have been received and come up with the best option by the June meeting.
Crawford moved, Jones seconded, to accept the bid from Hay Construction in the amount of $2,855 for construction repair work on the second floor in City Hall. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Daggs moved, Crawford seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 18-26 Amending the Employee Handbook to Include Discounts in the Benefit Section. Roll call vote: Ayes-Jones, Wessels, Crawford, Daggs. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Daggs moved, Jones seconded, to adopt Resolution No. 18-29 Authorizing a Transfer from FY16. Roll call vote: Ayes-Jones, Wessels, Crawford, Daggs. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Crawford moved, Jones seconded, to approve the temporary hiring of Ronnie Oltrogge at a rate of $10.00 per hour effective May 1, 2018. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Crawford and Daggs each presented information they had separately gathered from other cities that provide their own garbage service. Wessels moved, Daggs seconded, to accept the bid for a 20 yd rear loading garbage truck from Elliott Equipment Company in the amount of $147,275 along with a bid of $5,750 for dumpsters. Roll call vote: Ayes-Wessels, Daggs, Jones. Nays-Crawford. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
Crawford informed the Council about an opportunity through the USDA for some funding for equipment to help with the safety concerns at the schools. The grant money would cover about one-third of the cost. The rest would have to be shared between the schools and the City. Police Chief Shimon updated the Council on the status of two nuisance properties. Both properties are still in the waiting period after notification.
Lee Gallentine, City Engineer, updated the Council on several items. He presented them with an updated design plan for the City Hall sidewalk and informed them that the storm sewer is under the sidewalk and is not in good shape. Gallentine gave two options. The storm sewer could be relined at a cost of $10,000 or replaced at a cost of $20,000. Council agreed that the storm sewer should be replaced and directed Gallentine to get quotes for the sidewalk and the storm sewer repair. Gallentine presented the findings of the survey of the pocket wetland and explained that it wasn’t as bad as he was expecting. The lower cost needed to do the cleanout of the wetland could help offset the cost to repair the storm sewer at City Hall. The contractor for the 2016 Street Project has completed everything except for one driveway that he will patch the next time he is in town. Wessels moved, Jones seconded, to approve the final payment of $23,852.27 and accept the 2016 Street Project. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.
The Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project is out for bids and they will be presented at the June meeting. Gallentine informed the Council that Paul Williams cancelled his contract with the City for Storm Sewer Cleaning and Televising. About 30% of the work has been completed. Council directed Gallentine to obtain bids for the remainder of the work to see what their options are.
Dustin Ingram, Economic Development Director, informed the Council that he has accepted a position in Ames.
Updates were given on old business. Mayor Graham informed the Council that Mike Smith, City Attorney, has requested a structural engineer’s report on the Ackley Family Dental building. Notices will be sent out to Ackley Family Dental and the Times Citizen stating that they need to take care of their buildings. Graham stated that the power lines were disconnected last week at 626 Main St. The City is now waiting for the contractor to return. Graham also informed the Council that interviews for the positon of Public Works Director have been conducted, and the position has been offered to a candidate.
DeBerg informed the Council that she spoke with Smith on the Industrial Park Subdivision Final Plat and that Franklin County is going to require all the normal processes including preparing a new plat, conducting a lien search, contacting all the owners and their lenders, and obtaining a title opinion. DeBerg explained that bond counsel advised that the City should wait to get one loan for the purchase of the pickup truck and the garbage truck. Now that the purchase of the garbage truck has been approved, she will contact several financial institutions to get the best rate, and move forward with the proceedings with the bond counsel.
Public Comments: None
With no further discussion, Jones moved, Daggs seconded, to adjourn at 8:31 p.m. Ayes-Crawford, Daggs, Jones, Wessels. Absent-Hurt. Motion carried.