Waukon City Council discusses personnel items in special session, sewer and other matters during regular Monday session

by Joe Moses

The Waukon City Council met in a pair of sessions this past week. Coverage of both the Council's September 27 special session and its October 3 regular session appears below.

SEPTEMBER 27 SPECIAL SESSION
The Waukon City Council met for a special session Tuesday, September 27 to discuss the proposed City Manager position and the Girls Cross Country 5K cancer benefit event, and to review applications for the Assistant Payroll/Assistant Utility Billing Clerk position. Councilman Dwight Jones called the meeting to order in Mayor Duane DeWalle's absence.

Park, Recreation and Wellness Director Jeremy Strub provided details about the 5K Run/Walk Color Run being sponsored by the Waukon High School girls cross country team. The event will take place this Saturday, October 8 with registration starting at 8 a.m. and a start time of 9 a.m. Strub had previously discussed that the event is a benefit for local teachers Joe O'Neill and Deb Tweedy to help support their respective battles against cancer. Three crossing guards will be present as a safety measure. At the previous meeting, the Council was supportive of the event and added the event to the September 27 agenda for approval, which was granted.

The Council reviewed applications for the Assistant Payroll/Assistant Utility Billing Clerk position within the Waukon City Clerk's office. Fourteen applications were received. The applicants were referred to individually by assigned number, not names, to keep the identities of the applicants confidential from the public and media in attendance. The Council narrowed the list down to five applicants based upon experience and education relating to the job responsibilities. Waukon City Clerk Allen Lyon will provide a recommendation for hire at the October 17 City Council meeting following the completion of interviews conducted by the interview committee consisting of Lyon and staff members.

The proposed City Manager position was discussed by the Council. It was agreed that this candidate will need to be well-rounded in many different facets relating to city management and administration. Knowledge of planning and zoning, engineering and nuisance abatement were mentioned. The Council agreed that the candidate will need to serve as a point of contact for the City, work with Department Heads and be able to make decisions in a timely manner and be accountable for those decisions and results.

This would be a full-time, salaried position requiring flexibility with scheduling to meet the needs of working with multiple City departments. Lyon discussed that the candidate should be familiar with SUDAS, which stands for Statewide Urban Design and Specifications. This standard provides uniformity with other communities and provides many advantages including reducing costs, reducing confusion due to differing specifications and encourages more bidders on city projects. Councilman John Lydon will be preparing an initial draft of the City Manager job description with input from other Council members.

OCTOBER 3 SESSION
The Waukon City Council met in regular session Monday, October 3 to discuss a full agenda of items including snow removal, sidewalks and a storm water utility fee. During the Public Comments portion of the meeting, Ardie Kuhse with Waukon Economic Development addressed the Council and presented some information regarding the proposed City Manager position and job description that is being developed.

Under Departmental Reports, Waukon Police Chief Phil Young briefly discussed that the Police Department has been very busy. Street Superintendent Keith Burrett shared that the new end-loader had arrived and he received a demonstration on its operation. Burrett also commented that while he was away, three storm sewers had collapsed within the city.
Park, Recreation and Wellness Director Jeremy Strub discussed that the fall recreation sports are beginning. He also advised that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has added small bluegills to the City Park pond and they may be mature enough to be caught next year. Bass and catfish have also been added to the pond, he said.

The public hearing for the $90,000 bond for making improvements to the municipal ambulance garage was opened and closed without comment. The public hearing for the $1,600,000 bond for financing the storm water detention facility and associated costs was also opened and closed without comment. Resolutions for these two bonds were approved individually later in the meeting. The public hearing for the 2016 Trenched Storm Sewer Improvement Project was also opened and closed without any comments.

Under Regular Business, the variance request for Lee and Letha Folsom at 701 West Main Street was approved. This is a ten-foot front yard setback on the east side to allow a porch to be replaced and a patio lengthened. A tax abatement for Gwen Brainard at 96 Sixth Avenue SW was also approved for her primary residence.

An update regarding the alley between East Main Street and First Avenue NE behind the initial block of Allamakee Street was provided by Senior Project Manager Lyle TeKippe with Fehr Graham Engineering. TeKippe advised that improvements and repairs are ongoing with an office building at that location. He said he plans to have bids for the storm sewer and alley work for the next Council meeting, and that work will commence when the building repairs and renovations are completed.

The Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) service invoice was approved by the Council for administrative services from July 21 through August 20 of this year for a total amount of $1,657.50. The Storm Water Utility was also discussed by the Council. With recent events including three sections of storm sewer collapsing, the Council was in agreement that a small storm sewer utility fee may be necessary for continued repairs and replacement of the City’s storm sewer. A public hearing on the matter has been added to the October 17 City Council agenda for that purpose.

Storm water run-off was addressed by the Council, noting that issues have arisen with downspouts and sump pumps channeling water downhill or into a neighbor’s yard causing basement flooding or soil erosion. City Attorney James Garrett will be researching the matter in more detail and will provide the Council ordinance examples from other cities.

The 2016 Trenched Storm Sewer Improvement Project plans, specifications and contract were approved by the Council. As qualified low bidder on the project, Ray’s Excavating of Edgewood was awarded the contract for this project. The T&W Grinding agreement for one year was approved by the Council to provide compost grinding services at the City yard waste site.

The property of LeRoy Nolting at 207 Fourth Street NW was the next agenda item discussed by the Council. A shed on Nolting’s property has been a concern for several years, as the building has deteriorated with the sides bowing out while being full of scrap and various items. The Council approved to coordinate with the Park, Recreation and Wellness Department and the Streets Department to remove the shed, with the labor to be used in the shed’s removal to be determined.

Sidewalks were the next agenda item discussed. The Council was in agreement that sidewalk improvements in front of some downtown businesses are needed. Residential sidewalks were mentioned as well with severe cracking and upheaval due to tree roots being concerns. The Council approved coming up with a plan and exploring options to address sidewalk issues with individual businesses and homeowners.

Snow removal was addressed by the Council, noting that snow is to be removed from business and residential sidewalks in a timely manner. Garrett shared that private contractors should be used if City personnel are unavailable for snow removal on residential sidewalks that are not being shoveled. The Council approved a minimum charge of $200 and a $200 per hour rate for snow removal on sidewalks by City personnel or private contractors when the property owner does not comply with the snow removal ordinance.

Parking RVs, campers, travel trailers and boats was also discussed by the Council. Long-term parking of RVs and campers was seen as a concern when it blocked street or driving visibility, creating a hazard. Garrett will be researching this issue and providing examples from other cities. No action was taken at this time.

The purchase of a new traffic signal pole for the intersection of Allamakee Street and Spring Avenue was approved, as this pole has been struck and damaged by vehicles and needs to be replaced. The EPA Compliance Plan and Waste Treatment Facility Plan were addressed by Jeremy Bril, Staff Engineer with Fehr Graham Engineering. Bril provided an overview of the reporting process to the EPA and DNR necessary to be compliant. The Council approved Fehr Graham’s agreement and compliance plan.

The Water Department lift station portable generator agenda item was tabled by Water/Sewer Superintendent Bob Campbell’s recommendation. Campbell will address this issue at a later time. TeKippe also provided an update on the 2016 Sanitary Sewer Spot Repairs, explaining that collapsed sections are a priority and some repairs may need to be pushed to the spring season.

City Clerk Allen Lyon addressed the City’s reimbursement policy. During a recent audit, auditors noticed that a non-itemized receipt was turned in for reimbursement following a hotel stay from a training and educational conference. Lyon explained that any City employee must turn in an itemized receipt for reimbursement or it may not be accepted. Itemized receipts displaying individual charges will verify that no unauthorized expenses have been made or will need to be subtracted from the reimbursement. Lyon will have a draft of the updated reimbursement policy for the October 17 City Council meeting. No action was taken at this time on the matter.

Under Other Matters, Lyon discussed some concerns with the windows in City Hall needing replacement. Lyon also addressed the phone system in City Hall, noting that a phone system upgrade may be necessary since the current phone system was created by a company no longer in business, and repairs and maintenance will become an issue. Mayor Duane DeWalle discussed a proposal from First Presbyterian Church for the addition of curb and gutters to assist in moving water away from the property.