Waukon City Council awards City Park trail loop project, approves cellular antenna placements

by Dwight Jones

The Waukon City Council addressed a 14-item Regular Business agenda at its regular meeting the evening of Monday, July 16. All council members were present.
Following brief discussion under Departmental Reports, the Council approved a long-term lease with Verizon for cellular antennas within the city. The Board of Adjustment needs to give final approval at its upcoming meeting due to a conditional use permit that is required. No problems receiving such approval are expected.
Councilman Joe Cunningham then explained to the rest of the Council that the City had received notification that its request to reallocate funds to “loop” the Waukon City Park trail project back to the park had been approved by the REAP Grant board. The Council then approved moving forward with the project, awarding the work to Skyline Construction in the amount of $17,600.
Irv Fosaaen and Howard Van Ruler with Waukon Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) were in attendance to discuss the possibility of adding a lighted 4’10”x8’10” sign, similar to the one located in New Albin, at the stoplight intersection downtown. The proposal showed the sign being mounted on two poles within the existing plaza centerpiece that currently exists. WEDC is currently accumulating funds for the sign, which will cost $25,375, but was asking the Council about its interest level and if the City would be willing to pay for electrical infrastructure work and ongoing expenses to operate the sign, and its willingness to remove one ash tree that would interfere with the project. No decision was made and discussions will continue.
The Council then re-approved its contract for monitoring the ground contamination at the former C-Mart property on West Main Street. The site has not yet been deemed clean.
Mayor Loren Beneke then explained to the Council that he was approximately one month away from reviewing the list of candidates for the proposed committee responsible for establishing criteria for the new Police Chief later this year. No action was taken.
Lyle TeKippe with TeKippe Engineering then gave the Council an update on accumulating traffic counts on Third Street NE, information that would be important regarding the proposed street project there. Similar counts will be done on other streets as well for comparison purposes. TeKippe will work with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) to move forward with the testing.
Property tax exemption applications were approved for Sean Milbrandt and David and Patricia Stillwell. Final approval is required through the County Assessor’s Office.
The Council then approved a proclamation naming July 28, 2012 as National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day within the City of Waukon. Following the approval of several fund transfers, the meeting was adjourned after approximately one hour of discussion.