Committee of the Whole Meeting

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City Hall – Council Chambers February 19, 2018 The Committee of the Whole met in the Council Chambers at 5:50 p.m. on February 19, 2018, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Mayor Jim Brown, Tom Blanford, Frank Darrah, Susan deBuhr, Rob Green, Daryl Kruse, Mark Miller, and David Wieland. Staff members attended from all City Departments. Pat Kinney with the Waterloo Courier, Evan Renfro, and other members of the community attended. Mayor Brown called the meeting to order and introduced the first item on the agenda, Library Board of Trustees Interview – Evan Renfro. Mr. Renfro gave a brief introduction of himself. He stated he is a professor at the University of Northern Iowa. He answered a few questions from the council. Mayor Brown introduced the second item on the agenda, On-Street Parking Regulations for Trailers. Kevin Rogers, City Attorney, reviewed other larger cities in Iowa and conducted other research over the parking regulations. He reviewed the current ordinance for parking and stated the ordinance refers to “gross capacity”. He stated the language should be clarified and to use terms in the Iowa Code Chapter 321 dealing with Motor Vehicles. He reviewed the staff recommendation: No person shall park a motor home, camper, travel trailer, fifth-wheel travel trailer, motor sports recreational vehicle, boat, off road utility vehicle, manufactured or mobile home, all-terrain vehicle, semi-tractor, semi-trailer, bus, tank vehicle, special truck, multipurpose vehicle, motor truck, road tractor, truck tractor, commercial motor vehicle, commercial vehicle, commercial trailer, panel delivery truck, light delivery truck other than pickup, implement of husbandry, special mobile equipment, construction equipment, or any other trailer capable of transporting any of the above, on any public street or right of way or in any public parking lot at any time. This section does not apply to persons actively loading or unloading, or to persons actively engaged in providing services or conducting operations for or upon adjacent or nearby premises, provided that such persons are otherwise legally parked. Mayor Brown opened it up for discussion. Mr. Rogers stated the current ordinance is difficult to enforce. He also explained there are parking permits used for construction/job trailers who park on the street. He explained the ordinance is only for street and right of way parking, and does not affect vehicles parked in driveways. David Wieland motioned to have staff draft the proposed ordinance. Tom Blandford seconded the motion. Motion failed 3-4. (Aye: Blandford, Darrah, Wieland; Nay: deBuhr, Green, Kruse, Miller) Mayor Brown moved on to the third item on the agenda, Butchering/Harvesting Animals within City Limits. City Attorney Rogers stated currently the Code of Ordinance does not specifically regulate the butchering of animals for personal consumption within the city limits. He reviewed the staff recommendation: No person shall within the city limits slaughter, butcher or process any animal or fowl on public property or, within the sensory perception of any person not on the  same premises, on private property. In addition, any remains must be disposed of in a sanitary manner and in accordance with the law. Mayor Brown opened it up for discussion. Jeff Olson, Director of Public Safety Service/Police Chief, stated they have had four complaints (two are of one resident) in the past year. Mike Johnson, 2214 Vine Street, had a picture taken from his yard of his neighbor’s yard. He stated he also observed the dead carcass in the back of a vehicle for a few days. Susan deBuhr motioned for staff to draft the proposed ordinance, seconded by Mark Miller. The motion carried unanimously. City Attorney Rogers continued with the review of disposal of animal carcasses. He reviewed the code section which addresses this. He explained this is difficult to enforce since it cannot be proven that the person owned or had control over the animal at the time of the death. Also, the current ordinance does not address leaving carcasses on public property. He reviewed the staff recommended change to the ordinance: No person shall place or allow to be placed any dead animal or fowl in any public right of way or other public place in the city. No person shall allow any dead animal or fowl which the person owned or had control over at the time death to remain in any public right of way or other public place for more than twenty-four hours after death. No person shall allow any dead animal or fowl to remain on such person’s premises for more than twenty-four hours after death. Such persons, and all other persons in possession of a dead animal or fowl within the city, shall properly dispose of such dead animal or fowl within twenty-four hours. Mr. Rogers stated this is consistent with the Iowa Code 167.18. Tom Blanford motioned for staff to draft the proposed ordinance, seconded by Rob Green. The motion carried unanimously. Mayor Brown introduced the fourth item on the agenda, Recreation/Aquatic Programs. Chris Schoentag, Recreation Program Supervisor, reviewed a PowerPoint presentation. He stated they have been using a new financial software over 1-year and it is shared by the Hearst Center and Tourism. He stated they recently upgraded the fitness equipment; he reviewed the location of this new equipment throughout the Rec. Center. Mr. Schoentag reviewed the membership statistics and recreation rental fee revenues. Brock Goos, Recreation Program Supervisor, reviewed the recreation programs offered to the youth, ages 4 yrs – 6th grade. He reviewed the number of participants. He stated the adult softball program has seen a decline in participation and pickle ball is on the rise. Mr. Goos reviewed other offerings the Recreation Center has as well as some of the revenue figures. Mr. Schoentag reviewed the gate and swim lesson attendance and revenues associated with them at the Falls Aquatic Center. A brief discussion was held. Mayor Brown introduced the final item on the agenda, bills and payroll. David Wieland moved to approve the bills as presented and Susan deBuhr seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously. There being no further discussion Mayor Brown adjourned the meeting at 6:52 p.m. Minutes by Lisa Roeding, Controller/City Treasurer