Board of Aldermen Meeting

CITY OF WILLARD BOARD OF ALDERMEN REGULAR MEETING February 12, 2024 6:00 p.m. Staff present: Interim City Administrator Donna Stewart, Project Engineer Steve Bodenhamer, Director of Finance Carolyn Halverson, Police Officer J.D. Landon, Public Works Director Justin Sorgen, Planning and Development Director Mike Ruesch, Parks and Rec Director Jason Knight, and City Clerk Dona Slater. Attorney James Newell was present. Citizens in attendance: Larry Whitman, Terry Kathcart, Steve Cobb, Megan Applegate, Angie Wilson, Debbie Ihrig, Jennifer Henggeler, and Mark Lancaster. Call to Order Mayor Baird called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Roll Call The City Clerk conducted the Roll Call. Alderman Smith-present; Alderman Swatosh-present; Alderman Biellier-present; Alderman Lancaster- present; Alderman Keene-present; Mayor Baird-present; Alderman Hall-not present. Agenda Amendments/Agenda Approval. Discussion/Vote Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Biellier to approve the Agenda. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Smith, Biellier, Lancaster, Keene, and Swatosh. Consent Agenda. Discussion/Vote Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Lncaster to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Biellier, Smith, Lancaster, Keene, and Swatosh. Current Outstanding Invoices, Drafts and Check Paid Invoices for January/February 2024. Discussion/Vote Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Smith to approve the current outstanding invoices, drafts, and check paid invoices for January/February 2024. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Swatosh, Keene, Smith, Biellier, and Lancaster. Citizen Input Angie Wilson thanked the Board for recording and broadcasting the meetings as requested by citizens. She said the minutes from the November 2, 2023, meeting show no citizen input but there was and requests the minutes be changed to include those comments. She also said the mayoral statements are not correct in the January 22, 2024, minutes and requests these minutes be changed to reflect what was actually said by the mayor. Megan Applegate thanked the Board for recording the meetings. She said she wanted to bring up an event from the November 27, 2023, meeting where the Board denied waiving Sunshine fees for a request to send bank statements to the State Auditor. She stated the request was because a former mayor and alderman embezzled from his employer. She had requested the number of Sunshine requests the City had received in 2023 and how many were charged. The City received twenty-five requests. She questioned why only the one 02/12/2024 BOA Minutes Page 1 request was charged a fee. She said subsection 7 of the City’s Ordinance says the Board can waive fees. She asks the Board to be more consistent going forward. Larry Whitman said this year’s election in November will be the best election turnout. He requests the City put a sales tax proposal on the November ballot for cannabis sales in case the City ever has a dispensary. Ronald McDonald House Proclamation Mayor Baird read the Proclamation proclaiming February 12, 2024, through February 18, 2024, as “Ronald McDonald House Week”. Presentation by Jennifer Henngeler, Army Corp of Engineers, regarding water from Stockton Lake. Discussion Ms. Henngeler gave a brief background on reallocation of water from Stockton Lake to be used by surrounding communities in the event of a prolonged drought. She stated they are selling storage not water. The proposal is to reallocate ninety-three thousand (93,000) acres of storage. Cities will receive storage equal to the percentage they pay for. Annual payments will need to be made. The cities can sell the storage they don’t use to other municipalities. The city will need to build a treatment facility before any storage of raw water. Bid approvals for the Parks department. Discussion/Vote 1. Pool Bid 2. HVAC Bid 3. Baseball Fields Bid 1. Pool Bid Mr. Jason Knight stated he received three bids for pool basin sandblasting and painting. He reached back out to the lowest bids, and they don’t pay prevailing wages. He said all references were positive and he recommends Mongan. Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Keene to accept the bid from Mongan for the sandblasting and painting of the City pool. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Smith, Biellier, Keene, Swatosh, and Lancaster. 2. HVAC Bid Mr. Knight said he received four bids for an HVAC unit. DeLong Plumbing was the lowest bid for a 20-ton unit. He recommends accepting the bid from DeLong. Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Biellier to accept the bid from DeLong Plumbing for a new HVAC unit at the Willard Recreation Center. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Lancaster, Smith, Swatosh, Keene, and Biellier. 3. Baseball Fields Bid Mr. Knight said he received four bids for the renovation project of the City’s baseball and softball fields. Based on their lower cost, proven experience, and notable references, he recommends Ross Contracting and Excavation. Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Smith to accept the bid from Ross Contracting and Excavation for the renovation projects of the baseball and softball fields. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Keene, Swatosh, Biellier, Lancaster, and Smith. Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to accept a proposal and contract with Tyler Technologies for timecard software and machines. (1st Read) Discussion/Vote Ms. Donna Stewart said the City currently has two separate software systems for timekeeping and payroll. The software did not interface properly, and this is creating more work for staff. She said Tyler now has 02/12/2024 BOA Minutes Page 2 software and hardware for timekeeping. The timekeeping and payroll can be done from the same software. Ms. Carolyn Halverson said the new software will pay for itself in three years. The first read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Keene to approve the Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to accept a proposal and contract with Tyler Technologies for timecard software and equipment. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Swatosh, Keene, Smith, Lancaster, and Biellier. Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to accept a contract with iamGIS for software for Public Works. (1st Read) Discussion/Vote Mr. Justin Sorgen said we can use our existing hardware with this software. It will speed up work orders and can be customized to establish maintenance schedules. He stated the cost is not in the 2024 budget, but he will re-arrange the time frame on some projects to pay for the software. The first read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Lancaster to approve the Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to accept a contract with iamGIS for software for Public Works. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Keene, Swatosh, Lancaster, Smith, and Biellier. Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Carl Brown of GettingGreatRates.com for water and sewer rate studies. (1st & 2nd Read) Discussion/Vote Ms. Donna Stewart said Carl Brown was the most professional and thorough guy she could find. He can do the studies cheaper and comes well recommended. He will do more than one scenario. The first read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Smith to approve the Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Carl Brown of GettingGreatRates.com for water and sewer rate studies. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Swatosh, Lancaster, Biellier, Smith, and Keene. The second read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Keene and seconded by Alderman Lancaster to approve the Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with Carl Brown of GettingGreatRates.com for water and sewer rate studies. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Smith, Keene, Lancaster, Biellier, and Swatosh. Sewer Project Status Report Mr. Steven Bodenhamer said Allgeier Martin has focused on force main construction materials and is looking at metal instead of PVC pipe. They are hydraulic modeling the force main design. They have completed the field surveying. Mr. Bodenhamer is drafting policies for Civil Rights Compliance. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Voluntary Enforcement Report Mr. Bodenhamer said Donna Stewart, Justin Sorgen, Trevor Hoffman, and himself met with the Southwest Regional Office of DNR on December 1, 2023, to discuss enforcement action due to sewer overflows caused by joint failures at the 94 Lift Station force main. Our case has been assigned to Payton Killian. Mr. Killian confirmed they have received all our submitted documents. We are waiting for a voluntary enforcement document. Meadows East Lift Station Easement. Discussion/Vote Mr. Bodenhamer said initially the City did zero due diligence and just took over the mess at the Meadows East Lift Station. There is no easement platted for water and sewer utilities. The current owner wants to 02/12/2024 BOA Minutes Page 3 formalize an easement agreement. Mr. Bodenhamer is requesting a vote to acquire the easement and pay the property owner. Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Biellier to acquire the easement and to pay the property owner. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Swatosh, Lancaster, Biellier, Keene, and Smith. Recess the Open Session Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Biellier to recess the Open Session. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Alderman Lancaster, Smith, Keene, Swatosh, and Biellier. The Open Session recessed at 7:23 p.m. Open Executive Session Motion was made by Alderman Keene and seconded by Alderman Biellier to open the Executive Session. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Smith, Lancaster, Swatosh, Biellier, and Keene. The Executive Session opened at 7:26 p.m. Close Executive Session Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Smith to close the Executive Session. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Biellier, Lancaster, Smith, Keene, and Swatosh. The Executive Session closed at 8:08 p.m. Re-open the Open Session Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Biellier to re-open the Open Session. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Keene, Swatosh, Biellier, Lancaster, and Smith. The Open Session reconvened at 8:11 p.m. Adjourn Meeting Motion was made by Alderman Smith and seconded by Alderman Keene to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Lancaster, Biellier, Keene, Swatosh, and Smith. The meeting adjourned at 8:11 p.m. __________________________ ____________________________ Dona Slater, City Clerk Sam Baird, Mayor 02/12/2024 BOA Minutes Page 4