Sewer line transfer, yard waste site, utility bill late fees and Verizon antenna agreement top City Council's agenda

by Dwight Jones

The Waukon City Council met in regular session the evening of Monday, June 4 to address a short, seven-item agenda. Councilman Dave Sanderson was absent.
Following brief statements under Departmental Reports, the Council moved to the Regular Business portion of the night, with the first item addressed being the review of bids for the Fifth Avenue NE sanitary sewer improvements. The Council awarded the work to the low bidder, Skyline Construction, in the amount of $13,343.65.
Next, the Council revisited an item from the previous meeting regarding the sanitary sewer situation at the Parkview Trailer Court. Owner Dennis DeBuhr had expressed an interest in turning over a portion of private sewer within the park to the City but costs associated with the change and subsequent work that would be needed were unknown at that time.
Lyle TeKippe with TeKippe Engineering gave the Council a rough quote of $12,000 to make the changes, $3,500 of which would cover a manhole needed to connect the existing line to a new line. DeBuhr had expressed an interest in paying for the manhole, but the cost was more than the $2,000 he had anticipated. The Council agreed that moving forward with the project would be beneficial and asked DeBuhr if he would contribute $2,000, which he agreed to, and a motion was made and subsequently approved to move forward with the project under that shared-cost agreement.
The Council then approved a renewal of the City's contract with T&W Grinding and Compost Services for work done at the City's yard waste disposal site near the airport, with a slight increase from last year.  Also, the Council asked that the public be reminded of the availability of a tremendous amount of compost and mulch at the site that is readily available for use at no charge. Others have experienced tremendous results using the compost when mixed with top soil in yard projects, gardens, etc.
Though they look similar to the naked eye, the pile closest to the airport is the “oldest” and consists of the finest compost material. The others are not quite as broken down and provide more of a mulch-like product that also is useful for landscaping and other projects where such products are needed.

Late fees for utility bills were then discussed. City Clerk Diane Sweeney explained that some citizens had questioned when their due date for a water and sewer bill (normally the 20th of the month due) falls on a weekend or holiday why an additional day to pay is not allowed. The Council discussed the issue and agreed that the request made sense and will move forward with making the change, though the next month where a similar date situation would be an issue doesn’t arise until October. A drop box will remain for those who want to pay their bill over the weekend or other times when the office is closed.
City Attorney Jim Garrett then gave the Council an update on the ongoing discussions with Verizon regarding its lease agreement with the City for a cellular phone antenna in southeast Waukon.  Garrett said that Verizon had satisfied all of the concerns he had expressed and the Council approved the agreement.
The Council approved the date of July 2, 2012 for the date of the public hearing regarding the Urban Renewal Area expansion and plan amendment.  The change is being considered to assist with funding of the proposed Robey Memorial Library expansion.
In closing, the Council approved an ACH payroll policy to be used by the City, and the meeting adjourned after just under one hour of discussion.