August 17, 2020

Posted: August 14, 2020 | Updated: September 13, 2023

AGENDA

NOTICE AND CALL OF PUBLIC MEETING

 

GOVERNMENTAL BODY:                         THE CITY COUNCIL OF CRESCO, IOWA

DATE OF MEETING:                                   AUGUST 17, 2020

TIME AND PLACE OF MEETING:             7:00 P.M. CITY HALL, 130 N PARK PLACE

 

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE ABOVE MENTIONED

GOVERNMENTAL BODY WILL MEET AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SET OUT ABOVE.  THE TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR SAID MEETING IS AS FOLLOWS:

 

ROLL CALL:  BRENNO, McCARVILLE, FORTUNE, BOUSKA, CARMAN

 

ACT ON THE CONSENT AGENDA: All items listed under the consent agenda will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a request is made prior to the time council votes on the motion.

 

  1. Approval of the Agenda
  2. Approval of the Claims
  3. Approval of Minutes from August 3, 2020
  4. Approval of Minutes from August 3, 2020 Worksession
  5. Approval of Minutes from August 5, 2020 Special Meeting with Planning & Zoning

 

STAFF REPORTS: There may be action taken on each of the items listed below.

 

  1. Public Works
  2. Police
  3. Administration
  4. Committee Updates

 

BUSINESS:  There may be action taken on each of the items listed below.

 

  1. Request for Street Closing Permit for the Alley between Elm St and 2nd St SE for a Tractor Pull on September 19, 2020
  2. Third Reading of Proposed Ordinance 485 which Amends Section 5.12 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cresco, Iowa, Pertaining to the Residency Requirement
  3. Approval of Ordinance 485 Pertaining to the Residency Requirement
  4. Resolution Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to Sign a Temporary Construction Easement for the 5th Avenue Southwest Storm Sewer
  5. Resolution Directing the City Clerk to File the COVID-19 Streamlined Project Application with FEMA
  6. Resolution Requesting Reimbursement from the Iowa COVID-19 Government Relief Fund
  7. Motion to Set the Public Hearing for Proposed Ordinance No. 486 to Amend the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cresco, Iowa, by Amending Provisions Pertaining to Fireworks
  8. First Reading of the Summary of Proposed Ordinance No. 486 Amending the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cresco, Iowa, by Amending Provisions Pertaining to Fireworks
  9. Resolution Authorizing the Approval of and Participation in a Joint Powers Agreement and Declaration of Trust for the Iowa Public Agency Investment Trust, Authorizing Investments through the Fixed Term Automated Investment Program of IPAIT and Authorizing IPAIT to Designate and Name Depositories
  10. Discuss Long-Term Debt Interest Rates and Possible Refinancing
  11. Motion to Waive the Building Permit and Connection Fees for BDM Developers, LLC
  12. Discuss Notice of Public Hearing for the Board of Adjustments for Special Use Permit for City as Property Owner
  13. Discuss Iowa DNR Wastewater Treatment Facility Inspection Report
  14. Discuss Changes to Utility Bill Formats and Mailing Procedures
  15. Discuss City-Owned Street Light by Library
  16. Discuss Issues Regarding COVID-19 Pandemic

 

COMMENTS FROM AUDIENCE:

 

ADJOURN:

 

THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN AT THE DIRECTION OF THE MAYOR PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 21, CODE OF IOWA AND THE LOCAL RULES OF SAID GOVERNMENTAL BODY.  POSTED AUGUST 14, 2020.

MINUTES

Mayor Bohle called the Cresco City Council meeting to order on August 17, 2020, at 7:00 pm. Council Members Brenno, McCarville, Fortune, Bouska, and Carman were present. No council members were absent.

Bouska made the motion to approve the consent agenda which included approval of the: agenda; claims; minutes of the August 3rd meeting and worksession and August 5th special meeting with Planning & Zoning. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

Public Works Director Freidhof reported: (a) Street Department is repairing intakes, spray patching, and chip sealing; (b) Water Department is repairing valves and repaired a watermain leak on 3rd St SW; (c) Sewer Department is repairing manholes and repaired a water leak at the WWTP. We will need to discuss replacement of this at budget time due to several leaks in last few years; (d) Bergo Environmental will be here in about 3 weeks for asbestos abatement at the Scene Shop. They applied for the DNR permit. We will apply for reimbursement of this expense from the Zonolite Trust; (e) Vernon Springs Brewery will need to pretreat their waste to address potential pH issues.

Police Chief Ruroden reported they are still accepting applications to fill the open position after Officer Cox resigned. They have been busy with investigations. Part-time Officer Doepke is putting in long hours in Cedar Rapids doing cleanup for the DOT. The new truck has been ordered and delivery should be in December.

City Clerk Girolamo reported: (a) the next council meeting will be Wednesday September 9, 2020 due to the Labor Day holiday; (b) working online preparing the AFR and SFR so they can be tied to the Audit Report so that can be finished up; (c) compiling and preparing to apply for a FEMA grant for COVID reimbursement; (d) Park & Rec will not have 5th & 6th tackle football this year but are hoping to offer flag football and volleyball this fall and basketball in the winter. Fees will not be collected until the start of the program in case they need to be cancelled; (e) we received a $2,000 Howard County Community Foundation Grant today which was funded by Alvin & Karen Voyna Family Fund for Prairie Springs Recreational Trail repair.

McCarville reported the Airport Commission is working on increasing the hangar rent. It appears that there is only one person seriously interested in a hangar so they have decided not to proceed with building new hangars at this time.

Bouska reported the Regional Housing Committee meeting was postponed until next month. The Personnel Committee is meeting with all supervisors in following up on employee surveys. They will report to Council when they are completed.

Brenno reported that he was going to discuss the Park & Rec activities and that they are just not sure how everything will work out, so they are being flexible. Fitness Center memberships are down 28 to about 660. They are looking at purchasing a new treadmill. East Park bleacher project did not receive any bids but they are working with a contractor to get a quote.

Mayor Bohle reported the Cresco Tractor Pullers have withdrawn their request for a street closure.

Mayor Bohle performed the third reading of Ordinance 485 to amend Section 5.12 in the City of Cresco Code of Ordinances pertaining to the residency requirement. Bouska made the motion to approve the third reading. Brenno seconded and it passed all ayes. Carman made the motion to approve Ordinance 485. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

Carman made the motion to approve the resolution authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to sign a Temporary Construction Easement for the 5th Avenue Southwest Storm Sewer. Bouska seconded and it passed all ayes.

Carman made the motion to approve a resolution directing the City Clerk to file the COVID-19 Streamlined Project Application with FEMA. Brenno seconded and it passed all ayes.

Bouska made the motion to approve a resolution requesting reimbursement from the Iowa COVID-19 Government Relief Fund. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

Bouska made the motion to set the public Hearing for Proposed Ordinance No. 486 to Amend the Code of Ordinances of the City of Cresco, Iowa, by Amending Provisions Pertaining to Fireworks. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

Bouska made the motion to approve the first reading of the summary of proposed Ordinance No. 486. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

Bouska made the motion to approve a resolution authorizing the approval of and participation in a Joint Powers Agreement and declaration of trust for the Iowa Public Agency Investment Trust, authorizing investments through the Fixed Term Automated Investment Program of IPAIT and authorizing IPAIT to designate and name depositories. Brenno seconded and it passed all ayes.

A summary of the long-term debt interest rates were reviewed. Most are not callable until June 2021 and 2022. It is expensive and takes a long time to go through the process. Council requested that Piper Jaffray be contacted to review our options and get us estimates of the cost and potential savings.

Bouska made the motion to waive the building permit and connection fees for BDM Developers, LLC for the condos being built in accordance with the Development Agreement. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

The Board of Adjustments is having a public hearing on August 25, 2020. This is the second step in the approval process for the Cresco Food Technologies’ request for a special use permit.

The City received a letter of noncompliance from the Iowa DNR. The city actively addresses I&I issues and annually performs inspections and slip lining of sewer mains. The main issue is the south lift station. Council will discuss another sump pump inspection program on the south side where we have the most issues during heavy rainfalls.

Iowa League of Cities is recommending that cities should consider using envelopes instead of postcards for utility bills due to privacy issues. The additional cost is estimated to be about $260 per month for the 1500 bills mailed. The postcards are often lost or damaged in the mail service. Council agreed that we should switch to mailing bills in an envelope and consider a promotion to encourage emailing of bills.

A street light needs to be replaced by the Library. We will contact Alliant to see if they will take over ownership. The issue is getting permanent wiring to the light. The Library wants to make sure the light remains on that corner.

Library Director Kay reported the Library is still closed but are allowing patrons in to use computers on a reservation basis. The Fitness Center, Theatre, and City Hall are working well with the COVID precautions that have been implemented. Mayor Bohle has received calls from residents concerned about the public taking the COVID seriously and not wearing masks. He reminded the public to be aware of COVID issues and to respect other people. Howard County has one of the highest per capita rates of COVID even though our total number of cases are lower than surrounding counties.

Mayor Bohle asked for comments from the audience and there were none.

Carman moved to adjourn at 7:35 pm. Brenno seconded and it passed all ayes. The next regular Cresco City Council meeting will be Wednesday, September 9, 2020, at 7:00 pm at Cresco City Hall.

 

Mayor Mark Bohle
City Clerk Michelle Girolamo

Documents

2020 City Council Agendas, Minutes