City Council

CITY OF BRITT – BRITT IOWA – JULY 16th, 2019 The City Council of the City of Britt, Iowa met in pursuant to law and the rules of said Council in regular session in the Council Chambers in City Hall at 7:00 o’clock P.M. the 16th day of July 2019. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Arndorfer, and the following Council members were: PRESENT: Stacy Swenson, Curt Gast, Karrie Wallen, and Chad Luecht ABSENT: Paul Verbrugge The Mayor presented the agenda and asked for a motion to approve. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Wallen to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried by unanimous vote. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Verbrugge that the following items contained in the Consent Agenda be approved and adopted: All items listed under the Consent Agenda will be enacted by one motion with a roll call vote. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a request is made prior to the time Council votes on the motion. Consent Agenda items may include any non-controversial subjects. a. Approve Minutes of the 07/02/2019 Council Meeting b. Approve Minutes of the 07/08/2019 Special Meeting w/Fire Board c. Claim list in the amount of $117,249.66 A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast , Wallen, and Luecht Nays: None The motion carried, and the Consent Agenda items were approved and adopted. The City Administrator gave her report. The City has received a formal offer to purchase the lot on Main Ave next to the old bank building. The offer is for $5,000 from Jared Wingert. After discussion held by Council it was decided to move forward with the intent to sell the property. Sawyer will follow the rules set forth by the State of Iowa to sell City owned property. Sawyer stated they have had numerous complaints both in person, over the phone and on our social media site regarding the recent issue with their recycling not being picked up. We are working with the residents and Waste Management to resolve the issue. (If anyone has been affected by this please contact City Hall to report it.) Finally Sawyer reviewed the tree bids we received for the 2019/2020 season. The City received 4 bids from the following businesses: K&C Tree Service for $22,150.00, Jim’s Tree Service and Snow Removal for $19,500.00, Ptacek Tree Service for $19,250.00 (this does not include the removal of any trees/tree trimming only) and Malek’s Complete Tree Service for $18,150.00. It was moved by Swenson and seconded by Gast to accept the bid from Malek’s Complete Tree Service in the amount of $18,150.00 to complete the City’s tree trimming and removal needs for the 2019/2020 season. Motion carried by unanimous vote.  Fire Chief Jon Swenson presented the Fire Board’s recommendation for the purchase of a new 1250 Gallon Spartan Pumper Truck from Spartan Motors USA in the amount of $431,227 for delivery of 360 days after receipt of order and signed contract, completion of a preconstruction conference, signed acceptance by all parties and receipt of chassis. Swenson reviewed the bids with Council. He also noted we already have two Spartan trucks, so they are familiar with their products. It was moved by Gast and seconded by Luecht to accept the proposal from Spartan Motors USA, Inc. in the amount of $431,227 for the purchase of a 1,250 Gallon Spartan Pumper Truck. Motion carried unanimously. Arndorfer discussed options we have available for our website design. At this time we have 3 different quotes available. Arndorfer noted that all 3 quotes will be presented at the next council meeting on August 6th . Next, Arndorfer spoke of our need for a strategic plan. This is one topic that has been on the Mayor’s list to do since he took office. We had a robust, in-depth option presented to us earlier this year, but it would have cost more than $20,000 to complete. We have been offered a unique proposition from HueLife, a company who specializes in working with organizations and communities to engage, collaborate, innovate and change for the greater good. In our case, this would be the creation a Strategic Plan for the City of Britt. The strategic planning process will include a structured, participatory process for articulating the priorities for Britt, based on a long-term common vision. The cost for the strategic plan will be $5,000. The reason it is so inexpensive is because this will serve as a final project for a member of HueLife. This individual will also be working with a senior member of staff at HueLife to complete the plan. The Council was provided an example of a similar plan done for Victoria, MN. Swenson noted it is a good start. It was moved by Luecht and seconded by Swenson to proceed with the strategic planning session with HueLife to complete a Strategic Plan for the City of Britt for $5,000. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Wes Brown of Bolton & Menk was present to discuss the water town renovation project we put out for bid. Brown sent out 5 bid requests and only got back 1, which came in quite a bit higher than expected. He called several companies he expected to receive a bid from and asked why they didn’t submit a bid. Two of the contractors stated the timeline was the issue. They said they already have a full schedule this year and wouldn’t’ have time to complete the project by the date required in the bid package. He also called the one we received the bid from to ask why they were so much higher than expected. They said due to the age of the water tower they added some extra monies in the bid for the unknown factors such as the condition of the metal once they sandblasted the paint off the tower. It is the recommendation of Bolton & Menk to go out for bid again with the deadline to complete in 2020 and see if they can come in with a lower bid than the one we received. Council agreed. Discussion of the bulk water station was next. The estimated price of a station, similar to the one in Algona, will cost less than $15,000 to build if the Public Works department builds and insulates the building themselves. Our station would include the option to take cash or credit card. The project is estimated to pay for itself with the sales from the bulk water. It was moved by Gast and seconded by Wallen to proceed with the building the bulk water station, not to exceed $15,000. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Hagen was instructed to report back the lead time to order and receive the electronic modules. Arndorfer updated the City Council on items discussed with the City Attorneys. Changes to the Sunset Ridge covenants was discussed. The Assistant City Attorney Frances Schiro will prepare the necessary documents to go out to the residents. Arndorfer and Sawyer held a meeting with the existing residents at Sunset Ridge Housing Development before the council meeting to discuss the proposed change to the existing covenants. The proposed change is to reduce the minimum square footage of a home on two lots. Currently the rules for two lots state the home must be placed in the center of said lots and be a minimum of 2,400 square feet not including the garage, basement and porch. The change would reduce the minimum square footage to 2,000 square feet not including the garage, basement and porch. To make changes to the covenants the majority (80%) of the owners have to approve the change. The City currently owns 71% of the lots in Sunset Ridge. They will need an additional 3 lots to reach the required percentage to make the change. One owner, who attended the meeting, said he is fine with the proposed change and Arndorfer had a brief conversation with the owner of 2 lots and they indicated they would also be fine with the change. A letter, created by Schiro, to approve the changes to the covenants will be mailed to the existing residents at Sunset Ridge for them to confirm their decision. Chief Anderson has also provided Schiro with all the open nuisance abatements. With no further business it was moved by Gast and seconded by Luecht to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Debra R. Sawyer, City Administrator/Clerk Ryan L. Arndorfer, Mayor “These minutes are as recorded by the Clerk and are subject to Council approval at the next regular meeting.” VENDOR DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ACCO POOL LIQUID CHLORINE $788.00 AGSOURCE LABORATORIES ANALYSIS $3,474.50 ALLIANT ENERGY ALLIANT $13,140.65 BASE CAFETERIA $30.00 BIDCO BUDGET REQUEST $10,000.00 BRITT DRAFT HORSE ASSOCIA BUDGET REQUEST $3,500.00 BRITT FOOD CENTER SUPPLIES $830.06 BRITT HOBO DAYS ASSN. BUDGET REQUEST $15,000.00 BRITT TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE BUDGET REQUEST $7,700.00 C J COOPER POLICE TESTING $35.00 COAST TO COAST GLOVES $145.37 COUNSEL OFFICE & DOC TONER $7.95 DOLLAR GENERAL-CHARGED SA SUPPLIES $61.15 EFTPS FED/FICA TAX $6,158.45 FENCHEL, DOSTER, BUCK LEGAL SERVICES $448.00 H C HISTORICAL SOCIETY BUDGET REQUEST $1,500.00 HANCOCK CO CLERK OF COURT GARNISHMENT $219.50 HANCOCK CO HEALTH SYSTEM WILLIAMS SCREENING $235.00 HANCOCK COUNTY AG MUSEUM BUDGET REQUEST $1,000.00 HANCOCK COUNTY COMMUNICAT 1ST HALF COMM CTR $15,034.43 HANCOCK COUNTY ECON DEVEL BUDGET REQUEST $5,500.00 HANCOCK COUNTY FAIRBOARD BUDGET REQUEST $2,500.00 HANCOCK COUNTY SHERIFF GARNISHMENT $185.30 IMFOA/CERTIFICATIONS CERTIFICATIONS ONLY $140.00 MAXYIELD COOPERATIVE GAS $1,933.40 NATIONWIDE RETIREMENT DEFERRED COMP $20.00 NIACOG NORISC FY '20 MEMBERSHIP DUES $1,613.82 NORTH IOWA MEDIA GROUP PUBLICATIONS $652.09 NORTHERN LIGHTS POOL CONCESSIONS $832.01 PAYROLL CHECKS ON PAYROLL CHECKS 07/03/2019 $20,188.43 PSI CITY ENVELOPES $324.06 STATE HYGIENIC LABORATORY ANALYSIS $26.00 THILGES AUTO BODY, INC. UPFITTING LABOR FOR CAMERA $3,319.75 TRULSON AUTO SOLENOID $104.78 U S POSTMASTER UB BILLS $272.93 VERIZON PD PHONES $329.03 CLAIMS TOTAL $117,249.66