Waukon City Council addresses variety of issues

by Dwight Jones

The Waukon City Council met in regular session the evening of Monday, September 19 with a full council in attendance. Under Departmental Reports, Street Superintendent Randy Murphy announced that there is plenty of screened compost/mulch available at the yard waste disposal site should anyone in the public need any.
Moving on to Regular Business, Sara Berges of the Allamakee County Soil and Water Conservation Service provided quotes for a water and sediment control basin at the Waukon City Park. The low bid was provided by Jim Hanson Construction in the amount of $2,190.40. The basin will be constructed to help reduce ground run-off and infiltration of Indian Springs Pond in the City Park. The Council approved the bid.
Will Ament was in attendance representing Robey Memorial Library to update the Council on the library’s ongoing plans for a proposed expansion. Ament explained that his board had been working with a consultant, Ralph Savoy of Cedar Rapids, to determine the feasibility of obtaining adequate fund raising to move forward with the project. Savoy was also in attendance and explained that his initial response is that the Waukon project has a very good possibility of being successful. Plans will begin soon on developing a team of volunteers, etc., with actual fund raising to begin in November and another push in the spring.
Dani Bucknell, Director of the Waukon Wellness Center, was in attendance to ask permission from the Council to sell raffle tickets in an effort to raise the final $9,000 to pay for a climbing wall for the facility. A gambling license is required, which would be submitted in the City’s name, and the Council approved moving forward with the project.
Police Chief Clark Bollman then explained that his “pool” for reserve officers is currently light and he was asking for permission to qualify two additional officers for this fill-in duty. Though the individuals he is interested in “hiring” would already be qualified police officers, there is some additional testing needed that would be a minimal expense to the City. The Council approved Bollman to move forward with the suggestion.
Next, the Council revisited the possible purchase of an ATV-type vehicle for use at the City Park, but the issue was tabled in an effort to receive more input from the Park and Recreation Board.
Next, the Council approved the use of city streets for a Colon Cancer Coalition awareness 5k run/walk October 1 and a Healthiest State Initiative 1k walk October 7. The Healthiest State event will be held at two sites – one in town near Fareway and the other at the Waukon High School track. The public is welcome to walk at any of the above and should contact the appropriate party for more details.
City Attorney Jim Garrett then provided the Council with an update on the proposed reprecincting being done as part of the recent U.S. census. Garrett explained that the version previously approved by the Council was not approved by the Iowa Secretary of State but that minor adjustments had been made and the plan was finally approved.
The Council then addressed some concerns on a high curb area in front of the West Side Café. There were concerns that lowering the curb could result in some water run-off issues, and they were discussed. The Council will continue to consider its options and no action was taken at this time.
The sports field project near the Wellness Center was again reviewed. There are several concerns that the grading may not be adequate and that the seeding that was done may need to be addressed. City Engineer Lyle TeKippe agreed to speak with Park and Recreation Director Jeff Snitker to try to get a dialogue started between the City, Sodko - the company that managed the seeding, and Skyline Construction - the contractor in charge of developing the fields, to ensure that the proper steps were taken to allow for a quality final product.
Noise concerns near the Wellness Center were then revisited. The cement wall that was built earlier this summer has helped and the Council discussed how much additional improvement could be found and at what cost. No action was taken.
The Council then approved a pay estimate in the amount of $66,733.37 to Winona Mechanical for work at the Northgate Lift Station Project, in addition to $243,526.74 to Skyline Construction for work on Third Avenue NW.
Following some final “house cleaning” details, the meeting was adjourned following just over two hours of discussion..