Regular City Council Meeting
City Hall, Cherokee, Iowa
March 25, 2008 – 7:00 P.M.
A regular meeting was called to order on this date by
Mayor Henrich. Present:
Councilmembers Burkhart, Mallory, Stieneke, Leach, Peck, City Attorney
Miller, Clerk-Treasurer Taylor.
Chuck Black, 505 S. Craig, spoke
regarding the Ament Addition storm sewer project. The project was
started last fall and has been a mess all winter.
He said there is only one way out of the addition and
referred to a situation where the entrance was blocked for some time while
emergency vehicles responded
to a call. He also questioned why
Ament Addition residents were being blamed for storm water run-off
when storm water comes off the highway and runs down the west side of Roosevelt
dumping clear water
into the sewer. He said this would
just increase with the building of the new assisted living facility.
Councilmember Stieneke told Mr. Black that this item would be discussed later in
the meeting.
A motion by Councilmember
Stieneke, seconded by Burkhart, approved the second presentation of
an ordinance amending the allowable square footage for accessory buildings in
R-1 and R-2 zoning districts.
Roll call was: AYES: Stieneke, Leach, Peck, Burkhart, Mallory. NAYS: None.
As discussed during budgeting,
the council reviewed a resolution increasing daily admission fees to the
Bacon Aquatic Center by $1 making the daily fee $5 to generate approximately
$6,600 in additional
revenue. Councilmember Burkhart
said that last year wasn’t a full season and suggested leaving the
fee at $4 for children and increasing the fee to $5 for adults.
She also pointed out that with the aquatic center
being open an extra month this year, there could be as many as 3000 more daily
patrons and at $4/day this
would generate $12,000 in additional revenue.
Councilmember Stieneke feels it would be harder to keep
track of having different fees for children and adults.
What is considered an adult? Dan
Rollison, Recreation
Director, agreed with Burkhart that revenue could increase by $12,000 with
additional patrons. He said that he
had 80 applications for pool staff and if that is any indication of excitement
for the pool season, he feels it will
be a good year. Burkhart’s
concern is to make sure kids are able to swim.
Councilmember Leach doesn’t
see a problem with increasing the daily fee, as we need the additional income.
Stieneke said that although
there may be more patrons with a longer season, there would also be more
expenses. Dan said he has
been working on staffing costs and has come in just over the $65,000 allowed in
the budget, but has probably
figured a little on the high side. Stieneke
is also concerned about concession stand net loss last year and
suggested that an inventory be taken at least weekly, if not daily.
Dan indicated that he has been approached
by local grocery stores and may be able to save some costs on product.
He has also put out a lot of
promotions on the aquatic center – mailings to churches, dive-in movies, etc.
Dwight Varce, 605 W. Cedar,
said that he was on the pool committee and feels the daily admission fee needs
to be raised to $5. He said
there was money donated last year to help those who couldn’t afford admission.
The council shouldn’t be
afraid to charge $5, as people will continue to come.
A motion by Councilmember Stieneke, seconded by
Leach, adopted Resolution No. 08-07, increasing the aquatic center daily fee to
$5 and the 10-punch pass
fee to $45. Roll call was: AYES:
Stieneke, Leach, Peck, Burkhart, Mallory. NAYS:
None
A motion by Councilmember
Burkhart, seconded by Peck, unanimously approved the following under
“Consent Business”.
City council minutes of March 11th.
Renewal of class “C” liquor license – Jobies Pastime Lounge.
Renewal of class “E” liquor license – A to Z Liquor & Smoke Shoppe.
Kristi Quinn, SIMPCO, was present to review their
services in a city manager search. SIMPCO
works mostly
on a consulting basis, helping establish a search committee, writing and
placement of advertisements,
reviewing resumes, and interviewing questions and techniques.
They have several people on staff that
have hired high-level personnel. SIMPCO
has helped N. Sioux City and Sergeant Bluff with the hiring of their
city managers. Ms. Quinn
recommended that the search committee consist of two councilmembers, a city
employee, and two members of the community who have sincere concern for the
city, possibly someone
with good interviewing skills. She, or another SIMPCO member, would then visit with the
committee and
help them get started. She
indicated that she would be conducting another hazard mitigation planning
meeting in Cherokee on May 6 and could meet with a committee at that time if the
council so desires.
Councilmembers Burkhart and Peck volunteered to serve on the committee
and Councilmember Stieneke
nominated City Clerk Deb Taylor as the employee representative.
Mayor Henrich reported that he had two
possible prospects for the city manager position, and both indicated that if the
council were not 100% behind
the hiring of a manager, they would not apply.
They have been reading past council minutes and have
followed what has been going on. Ms.
Quinn concurred and added that once someone is hired the council
must support that person. Mayor
Henrich asked the council to think about the issue and it will be placed
on the next agenda.
Mark Napier, Water Supt., was present to request the
purchase of a generator from Builder’s Sharpening &
Service at a cost of $1,475, less a $250 allowance for the current generator.
The generator will be shared
with the Street Dept. and after July 1 the Street Dept. budget will reimburse
the Water Dept. $500 toward
the cost. A motion by Councilmember
Stieneke, seconded by Peck, unanimously authorized the purchase
of a generator from Builder’s Sharpening & Service for a net cost of
$1,225.
Mark Napier requested the purchase of water meters for
the Spruce St. water plant, well #1 and well #4.
The low quote was from Dakota Supply Group for a cost of $8,392.51.
This is a budgeted item. On
a motion
by Councilmember Stieneke, seconded by Burkhart, the council unanimously
authorized the purchase of water
meters from Dakota Supply Group.
A motion by Councilmember Burkhart, seconded by Stieneke,
authorized soliciting bids for the city’s annual audit.
Motion carried.
Deb Sorensen, 400 Sequoia, was present to discuss a
frozen water line issue. She
reported that from February 22
until March 21 her water line was frozen and she couldn’t live in her house.
A welder did try to thaw the line,
but instead caused $200 damage to a neighbor’s electrical panel.
She understands that the City Code says
the homeowner is responsible for the water line from the main to the house.
However, the water line isn’t 5½’
deep as required by City Code. This
is very inconvenient and she feels something needs to be done.
Mark
Napier found that in talking to the neighbors the street grade was lowered after
the water lines were installed
and before the street was paved. This
street was installed in the 1960’s and he doesn’t know whether there
was any kind of inspections done at that time.
Although he doesn’t know for sure where the water line is freezing,
he is assuming it is under the street because that area is unprotected by snow
cover. In Ms. Sorensen’s case,
her service line goes across the street to connect to the main.
Ms. Sorensen indicated that her line froze one
other time since she purchased the house in 1994 and that the previous owner had
problems. Mark said that
their line locator gives them some idea of the depth of the line, but it isn’t
100% accurate. He guesses the line
to be 4½’ to 5’ deep. Councilmember
Burkhart asked how widespread this problem is in the area?
She
suggested sending out a survey to see how many residences are affected.
The council will research the
history of this problem and look at the options to remedy the situation.
The City Clerk reported that the owner of 411 S. 9th has
possibly found someone to demolish the house in
exchange for the lumber. However,
he would like the city to pay for a dumpster and the landfill costs.
The owner
is willing to deed the property to the city. The Clerk suggested paying for the dumpster and landfill
costs, but not
accept the deed until the house is demolished, to prevent liability to the city.
If the owner doesn’t demolish the
house, the city would eventually have to and would pay the landfill costs
anyway. The Clerk will check with
the
owner on the status of his plan.
The Clerk indicated that Kent Wenck, Building and Zoning
Official, talked with Mr. Strickland over the weekend
regarding his unfinished building on Lake Street.
Mr. Strickland said he would be here in April to work on the
building. The 6-month extension to
his building permit expired March 1. The
council asked City Attorney Miller
what their next step is. Is there
some type of penalty? The City
Attorney will review the options and report back
to the council.
Councilmember Stieneke recommended adding a streetlight
at the intersection of Indian and Roosevelt at a
cost of $26.47/month for the light on a steel pole.
He has had several people contact him about this intersection
being so dark and hard to see. Also,
there is a lot of traffic because of the ball fields.
Councilmember Leach
said it’s one thing if this is a safety issue, but he’s not in favor of
adding a light just so someone can find a
street. Mayor Henrich reminded the
council that several streetlights on Hwy. 59 had to be removed as a cost
saving measure. A motion was made
by Councilmember Stieneke, seconded by Burkhart, to add a streetlight
at the intersection of Indian and Roosevelt.
Roll call was: AYES: Stieneke.
NAYS: Leach, Peck, Burkhart,
Mallory. The motion died for lack
of a majority vote.
Councilmember Stieneke asked the council to consider
reducing the speed limit on N. Roosevelt from Bow
Drive to Hwy. 3. The speed limit is
currently 35 mph and he is recommending 25 mph.
He has had several
calls regarding the speed limit because of the ball fields, residences and
schools. Councilmember Leach
talked with Barb Radke and Larry Weede from the school and they weren’t aware
of any problems concerning
the speed limit. They would rather
have permanent 4-way stop signs installed at the intersections of Bow and
Roosevelt, and Indian and Ridgeview, rather than just school stops, as people
don’t seem to know when to stop.
A motion by Councilmember Stieneke, seconded by Burkhart, authorized
drafting an ordinance to set the
speed limit to 25 mph on Roosevelt from Bow Drive to Hwy. 3.
Roll call was: AYES: Stieneke, Peck, Burkhart,
Mallory. NAYS: Leach.
Councilmember Mallory had talked to Kent Wenck about
looking at some buildings that need to be demolished
and some areas where trees need to come down.
He feels that everyone in the community needs to do their
part to keep the city looking as good as possible.
He also suggested that city employees jot down addresses
of places that need looked at. The
City Clerk reported that Sanitary Services would have clean up days on
April 24 and 25, and city crews will have a city wide clean up on April 30,
which will include the pick up of
appliances and tires. After that
date, the Police Dept. will begin issuing nuisance abatement notices. The
Mayor reminded the council that if the Police are to issue notices the council
has to stand behind them.
Councilmember Mallory said that over a year ago the
council had talked about cutting back or eliminating the
node on S. 4th Street adjacent to Central Bank because it is
constantly being driven over. Nothing
has been
done yet. He also suggested that
the Street Dept. use something other than metal stakes to mark the nodes
for snow plowing purposes. He feels
something more flexible and less dangerous should be used.
Mayor
Henrich reported that Street Supt. Jim Agnitsch said the stakes would be removed
when the frost goes out
and that something different will be used next year.
Councilmember Stieneke feels that penalties should be
assessed against the contractor on the Ament Addition
Storm Sewer Project because the delay in the project completion has resulted in
additional engineering fees
and inconvenience to residents. The project was supposed to be completed by November 1, 2007.
Mayor
Henrich indicated that there would be a meeting in the next week or so with the
contractor, engineer, inspector
and Jim Agnitsch to discuss the project.
On a motion by Councilmember Stieneke, seconded by
Burkhart, the council went into closed session at 8:40 p.m.
to discuss labor negotiations as per Iowa Code Chapters 21.5(c) and 20.17(3).
Roll call was: AYES: Stieneke,
Leach, Peck, Burkhart, Mallory. NAYS:
None.
A motion by Councilmember Stieneke, seconded by Leach,
brought the council back into regular session at
9:20 p.m. Roll call was: AYES: Stieneke, Leach, Peck, Burkhart, Mallory.
NAYS: None.
A motion by Councilmember Burkhart, seconded by Stieneke,
unanimously authorized the City Attorney to continue
to negotiate in good faith with both bargaining groups.
On a motion by Councilmember Leach, seconded by Mallory,
the meeting was adjourned at 9:23 p.m. Motion
carried.
News media – Paul Struck, Chronicle Times; Nikki Thunder, KCHE.
ATTEST:
Debra Taylor, CMC
City Clerk-Treasurer