City Council

CITY OF BRITT – BRITT IOWA – APRIL 6TH, 2021 The City Council of the City of Britt, Iowa met in pursuant to law and the rules of said Council in regular session at 7:00 o’clock P.M. the 6th day of April 2021. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Arndorfer, and the following Council members were: PRESENT: Stacy Swenson, Curt Gast, Karrie Wallen, and Paul Verbrugge ABSENT: Chad Luecht. The Mayor presented the agenda for approval. It was moved by Verbrugge and seconded by Gast to approve the agenda as presented. A roll call vote was had which was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, & Verbrugge Nays: None The motion carried. It was moved by Swenson and seconded by Wallen 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 03/16/2021 Regular Council Meeting b. Claim list in the amount of $81,393.22. Ayes: Swenson, Gast, Wallen, & Verbrugge Nays: None The motion carried, and the Consent Agenda items were approved and adopted. Department head reports were given. Linda Friedow, Library Director, reported the “One Book – One Britt” program is underway. The book, “This Tender Land” by William Kent Krueger, has been distributed to those who wish to join in on the virtual discussion with the author on Friday, April 16 th, 2021 at 7p.m. The front door will have an ADA push button installed by Rod Sinclair of ADG for a cost of approximately $2,000. The Enrich Iowa report has been submitted to the State Library of Iowa (this includes Direct State Aid funds as well as Inter-Library Loan and Open Access funding). The library board is considering eliminating fines. They have been eliminating all fines this past year due to their COVID plan. Fees for materials would still be collected. No final decision has been made yet. Recent board discussion about community requests brought forward a request for a “family reference” section and one titled “Celebration of Life”. No action was taken. The new programs of “Monthly Reading Challenge”, 3-2-1 GO bags and monthly Fun bags are being well received. The library is planning on Summer Reading programs, although smaller groups may be necessary. Vance Hagen, Public Works Director, reported Iowa DNR did a sanitary survey at the Water Treatment Plant. The department cleaned and moved snow in March. They flushed manholes with the help of Fire Chief Swenson. They removed snow fence and cleaned up the gravel that was pushed into residents’ yard during winter. The RO Pilot Study is now complete, and the trailer is ready to be picked up. They repaired a storm sewer blowout along Diagonal Street. Municipal Pipe has started the 2021 sewer line cleaning and televising. Iowa Pump Works installed new pumps and a panel at Golfview Lift Station location and a new pump at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Hagen passed his Grade II Water Treatment exam. The department did their monthly meter readings and shut offs. Hagen and two members of City Council interviewed applicants for the open position in the public works department. He made a recommendation to City Council to offer the position to the experienced applicant at $24/hr. plus three weeks of vacation. After the applicant works 2 additional years for us, they would get four weeks of vacation, which gives them full credit for the years they worked for us in the past. This candidate will also be eligible for the increase given with each professional grade progression. It was moved by Gast and seconded by Verbrugge to approve the recommendation presented at $24/hr. with three weeks of vacation for the first two years, the third year and thereafter the candidate will get four weeks. He will also be eligible for the wage increase after each professional grade progression. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Mark Anderson, Chief of Police, presented his report. Officer Trulson graduates the 21st of April and will start his field training when he gets here. Officer Mehmen is doing great and will begin academy on May 3rd, 2021. Anderson met with the builders used for the new patrol vehicle, hopefully we can get it on the road within the next few months. The police department needs a new desktop computer. The Mayor asked the City Administrator to get him in touch with our IT support. They had 154 calls for service in March 2021. Chief Anderson has been advised that a neighboring community is looking for police officers and we think we may have one of our police officers interested. That will put the officer one man down again. In addition, Mehmen will be going to academy in the beginning of May. Anderson asked council to allow him to rehire Officer Cram to the Britt Police Force. The original reason Cram had to leave the city has been resolved. She would be granted a $3,000 sign on bonus and would be required to sign a 3-year-contract. If she terminated her employment prior to the 3-years she would be required to pay back the $3,000 sign on. Her rate of pay would be the same as she left at $22.50. It was moved by Gast and seconded by Swenson to approve the rehire of Officer Cram with a $3,000 sign on bonus, she would be required to sign a 3-year-contract. If she terminated her employment prior to the 3-years she would be required to pay the city $3,000. Her rate of pay would be the same as she left at $22.50. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, and Wallen. Nay: Verbrugge. Motion carried. Lastly, Officer Benjamin Mehmen was sworn in by Mayor Arndorfer. Jon Swenson, Fire Chief, presented his report. Swenson announced he was back on duty. The department had 1 mutual aid call last month with Crystal Lake Fire Department. They got a new battery positive pressure fan with grant money for the 727 truck. For training they worked on CPR recertifications with WHAS and learned the “Art of Reading Smoke” at a structure fire. Mike Boomgarden, Zoning Administrator, presented his report. He issued eight building permits in March 2021 and spoke with 26 residents about building permits. He also attended a Zoom meeting with the Board of Adjustments. Doug Weiland was present to discuss the Hancock County Wellness Coalition/Live Healthy 5k. They are planning to have the 5k race (1k for the children) on May 1st, 2021 and would like to use Lion’s Park shelter as the registration area. Registration will start at 7 a.m./Race to begin at 8 a.m. for adults and 9 a.m. for the children. The race will happen in conjunction with the Wellness Fair. The race will leave Lion’s Park to 3 rd Street SW to Main Street to 2nd Street NW. They are asking for traffic control from the police department. It was moved by Verbrugge and seconded by Swenson to approve the use of Lion’s Park for the Live Healthy 5k and the Wellness Fair. The city will provide police support to the race route from 3 rd Street SW to Main St to 2nd St NW. Motion carried by unanimous vote.  Mike Birchem, formally of Renner and Birchem now Fort & Schlegel C.P.A., P.C., was present to discuss the city’s audit for Fiscal Year 2019/2020. The audit included an analysis of our books. The receipts and expenses are down when compared to 2018/2019. This is due to bond issues in 2018/2019. As of June 30th, 2021 funds were equal to approximately $2.6M in cash, $2.3M in restricted funds and approximately $1.3 M. in unrestricted funds. Findings were discussed and changes were made if necessary. The City Administrator presented her report. Sawyer presented Change Order #1 for the 150,000 Gallon Elevated Storage Tank. Per the discussion at the last meeting. This change order does not have any change to the overall bid for the project. It only includes additional wording that is now required by the Iowa DNR. It was moved by Gast and seconded Wallen to approve Change Order #1 for the 150,000 Gallon Elevated Storage Tank as presented. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Next, Sawyer and Wes Brown of Bolton & Menk shared their findings regarding the relocation of the current water tower. As we know, the State Historic Preservation Office and the Iowa DNR have told us that before we can tear down the existing water tower, we needed to prove whether it is an historic site. We had an outside organization that expressed interest in moving the tank to their location and utilizing it for fire suppression. Brown worked to find a cost of moving the structure and spoke with 4 contractors and all the contractors reviewed the inspection report performed on the tower in February 2019 and the existing photos. All but one said that they would not relocate this tower due to the poor condition and the fact that it is riveted. Riveted connections can be problematic as they will tend to loosen and/or leak after enduring the stress of the move. The only company that would move the tower is charging 80% of the cost to build a brand-new tower. A large portion of this cost is associated with the lead paint abatement and repainting of the entire tank and support legs. Because of the significant challenges and costs associated with potentially relocating the tank, this option has been rejected. We are going to suggest to the State Historic Preservation Office and the Iowa DNR that we would like to instead pursue an option to memorialize the tank by creating a historical shadowbox or other type of display at City Hall or at the new water treatment facility. It is envisioned this would include historical stories and/or photos of the tower, and potentially some significant pieces salvaged form the tower during its demolition, such as rivets or a section of a lattice leg. Brown will send this to those agencies to see if it would be an acceptable option. As summer is quickly approaching Sawyer discussed the pass options the Britt Aquatic Center will be offering. Currently, we offer a family pass for $130, individual pass for $85 and a punch pass for $35. Daily pass is $4, and you can buy a non-swimmer pass for $2. She suggested we offer our discounted price off the family and individual pass through the first week in May 2021. Those provide a $10 discount each. It was moved by Swenson and seconded by Wallen to approve the prices as presented and allowing the discounted prices to be extended through he first week in May 2021. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Finally, Sawyer discussed the new programs NIACOG if offering. They sent information about their available programs for housing rehabilitation. The sizes of projects ranging from $1,000 to $25,0000. These plans are called the Regional Home Repair Program and they offer an Emergency Home Repair Program for residents ages 62 or older. Information regarding these programs are available at Britt City Hall. Arndorfer requested we add the information about the plans to our Facebook account with a link to NIACOG’s website. Mayor Arndorfer presented his report. Arndorfer provided an update on the outstanding municipal tickets. Deputy Clerk Ibarra and Chief Anderson have been working on tracking he outstanding tickets the City has open. They were advised to create a system in which we track the tickets, allowing them their grace period to pay said ticket and send a follow up of some sort to collect on the outstanding tickets. Sawyer will check to see if the Iowa Offset Program can be used for this purpose as well. The Mayor suggested we change the amount of the ticket a dog owner will received if his/her dog is picked up for roaming around town (dog at large). He suggested $50 for the 1st offense, $100 for the 2nd offense and 3rd offense and beyond it will be a municipal infraction. He also suggested we not reset the tickets at the beginning of each year. It was moved by Wallen and seconded by Gast to approve the proposed change for dog at large tickets to be: $50 for the 1 st offense, $100 for the 2nd offense and 3rd offense and beyond it will be a municipal infraction. There will be no reset at the beginning of each year. The vote was as follows: Ayes: Swenson, Gast, and Wallen. Nay: Verbrugge. Motion carried. Sawyer has been instructed to contact the city attorney to have the ordinance updated. It will be presented at the next meeting. With no further business it was moved by Gast and seconded by Swenson to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried by unanimous vote. __________________________________ ______________________________________ Debra R. Sawyer, City Administrator/Clerk Ryan L. Arndorfer, Mayor VENDOR DESCRIPTION AMOUNT A P CLEANING SERVICES CLEANING BUILDING $650.00 ABSOLUTE WASTE REMOVAL TRASH/RECYCLING $13,424.60 AFLAC AFLAC-PRE-TAX $42.76 ALLIED ENS LLC MONIORING LICENSING $485.90 AMAZON LIBRARY- SUPPLIES $25.48 AMERICAN PATCHWORK LIBRARY- PERIODICAL 2YR $36.97 ARAMARK MOPS/MATS $411.46 BASE MEDICAL REIMB $71.68 BOLTON & MENK WATER SYSEM IMPROV PRELIM $9,017.50 BRITT FOOD CENTER LIBRARY-SUPPLIES $37.90 BROWN SUPPLY INC MUELLER REPAIR $260.00 C J COOPER PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTING $35.00 CARD SERVICES UNIFORMS $5,553.39 JET FROM MANHOLE @ CARLSON DRAINAGE INTERSECTION $250.00 COLOF DIGITAL WEBSITE SUPPORT $169.00 COMM 1 PHONE/INTERNET $580.56 DEBRA SAWYER 65W CHARGER (LAPTOP) $19.97 DELTA DENTAL OF IOWA DNTL/VISN-PRETX $489.08 DO IT YOURSELF LIBRARY- 1 YR SUBSCRIPTION $19.96 EFTPS FED/FICA TAX $4,728.50 GIFTS SEW SWEET POLICE UNIFORMS $365.40 H C SECONDARY ROADS SAND $290.70 IA ASSOC MUNICIPAL UTILI WATER MEMBER DUES $750.00 IA DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY ONLINE WARRANTS & ARTICLES $300.00 IMFOA SPRING CONFERENCE ELIZABETH $125.00 INGRAM LIBRARY-BOOKS $1,584.68 IOWA DEPT OF INSPECTIONS FOOD LICENSE (POOL) $150.00 IOWA LEAGUE OF CITIES IMPI ELIZABETH IBARRA $448.00 IPERS POLICE IPERS $6,022.92 KIOW ADVERTISING $111.59 MICRO MARKETING LIBRARY- AUDIO $108.02 MID AMERICA BOOKS LIBRARY- JF BOOKS $227.40 MIDWEST BREATHING AIR SYS ANNUAL TEST $1,068.22 MIDWEST TAPE LIBRARY- DVD $56.23 NEXT GENERATION TECH INC OFFICE 365 $91.15 NORTH IOWA LIBRARIES LIBRARY-SUPPLY BARCODES $125.00 NORTH IOWA MEDIA GROUP PUBLICATION FEES $942.00 OFFICE OF AUDITOR OF STAE ANNUAL AUDIT FEE $175.00 PAYROLL CHECKS PAYROLL CHECKS ON 03/24/2021 $14,542.93 PAYROLL CHECKS PAYROLL CHECKS ON 03/31/2021 $1,039.59 PRESTO-X-COMPANY PEST CONTROL $49.00 PRITCHARD AUTO SERVICE SALES $38.95 REDING ELECTRIC, INC GOLFVIEW PUMP $2,136.37 SMART APPLE MEDIA LIBRARY- JNF BOOKS $150.73 STANDARD & ASSOCIATES INC TESSTING FEES $122.50 STATE HYGIENIC LABORATORY TESTING $1,762.00 STATE TREASURER STATE TAXES $1,475.00 SWENSON'S HARDWARE LIBRARY-SUPPLIES $13.58 THIS OLD HOUSE LIBRARY-PERIODICAL 1 YR $25.00 TRULSON AUTO VEHICLE REPAIR/ MAINT. $244.88 UHC HEALTH-PRE-TAX $8,049.67 WHITFIELD & EDDY LEGAL FEES $2,492.00 CLAIMS TOTAL $81,393.22 GENERAL FUND $41,382.12 LIBRARY FUND $4,556.32 FIRE DEPARTMENT FUND $1,099.67 ROAD USE FUND $2,585.27 EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FUND $15.00 LOST-ECO DEV/MISC REV FUND $169.00 CAPITAL PROJ-WTP PROJECT FUND $9,193.19 WATER FUND $15,146.44 SEWER FUND $6,996.21 STORM WATER FUND $250.00