December 21, 2020

Posted: December 18, 2020 | Updated: September 13, 2023

AGENDA

NOTICE AND CALL OF PUBLIC MEETING

 

GOVERNMENTAL BODY:                         THE CITY COUNCIL OF CRESCO, IOWA

DATE OF MEETING:                                   DECEMBER 21, 2020

TIME AND PLACE OF MEETING:             7:00 P.M. VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM

 

Note: Council Members will be utilizing ZOOM to attend the meeting remotely due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The public can attend by logging in to the meeting online at

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83613179210. Meeting ID: 836 1317 9210 or by telephone

+1-312-626-6799 Meeting ID: 836 1317 9210

 

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, McCONNELL, 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 December 7, 2020
  4. Approval of Class C Liquor License (LC) (Commercial) with Sunday Sales to Big Daddy Hideaway Corp d/b/a Hideaway Lounge
  1. Approval of Parade Permit for Portions of 7th St W, Alley between 4th Ave W and 3rd Ave W, N Elm St, and 1st Ave for Driftrunner’s Snowmobile Torchlight Parade on January 23, 2021
  1. Approval of Excavator License for:
    1. James Henry dba Henry’s Backhoe Service
    2. Mracek Plumbing, Heating & Electric LLC
    3. Mehmert Tiling, Inc
    4. Skyline Construction Inc
    5. Mudslingers Inc
    6. MB Inc
  2. Approval of Tree Surgeon Licenses for:
    1. Tarzan Tree Service LLC
    2. Total Tree Care LLC
    3. Richard Kittelson Consulting LLC
    4. Wilson Custom Tree Trimmers LLC
    5. Tim Walton d/b/a Tim Walton Tree Service

 

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. Motion to Award Hotel/Motel Tax Grants for Tourism Projects
  2. Request for Extension until July 1, 2021 to Build House at 218 5th Avenue East by A&J’s Construction
  3. Motion to Approve the Offer of Employment for a Full-Time Wastewater Operator Position
  4. Discuss Revolving Loan Repayment for COVID-19 Business Continuation Loans
  5. Discuss Possible Purchase of gWorks Virtual FrontDesk Cloud Application
  6. Bryan Sheehy to Discuss Drainage Issues Around 7th St West and Highway 9
  7. Discuss Change of Time for City Council Meetings
  8. 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 DECEMBER 18, 2020.

MINUTES

Mayor Bohle called the Cresco City Council meeting to order on December 21, 2020, at 7:00 pm. Council Members Brenno, McConnell, Bouska, and Carman were present. Fortune arrived at 7:03 pm. No council members were absent.

Mayor Bohle explained that due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, as to protect the employees, council members, and the public, the meeting is being held electronically. The log-in for the Zoom meeting is available online at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83613179210. Meeting ID: 836 1317 9210 or by telephone +1-312-626-6799 Meeting ID: 836 1317 9210.

Carman made the motion to approve the consent agenda which included approval of the: agenda; claims; minutes of the December 7, 2020 meeting; Class C Liquor License (LC) (commercial) with Sunday sales to Big Daddy Hideaway Corp d/b/a Hideaway Lounge; Parade Permit for portions of 7th St W, alley between 4th Ave W and 3rd Ave W, N Elm St, and 1st Ave for Driftrunner’s Snowmobile Torchlight Parade on January 23, 2021; Excavator Licenses for: James Henry dba Henry’s Backhoe Service, Mracek Plumbing, Heating & Electric LLC, Mehmert Tiling, Inc, Skyline Construction Inc, Mudslingers Inc, MB Inc; Tree Surgeon Licenses for: Tarzan Tree Service LLC, Total Tree Care LLC, Richard Kittelson Consulting LLC, Wilson Custom Tree Trimmers LLC, Tim Walton d/b/a Tim Walton Tree Service. Bouska seconded and it passed all ayes.

Public Works Director Widell reported: (a) conducted interviews for the waste water position and should have an offer to accept at the next council meeting; (b) T&W Grinding ground up the leaf pile at the yard waste site one afternoon last week; (c) Street Department has been busy trimming low hanging branches on boulevard trees and getting them cleaned up so our equipment can clear without branches hitting them; (d) over the weekend somebody painted graffiti on the Welcome to Cresco sign at the 2 mile corner. The Street Department cleaned it up and they were able to get it all off of the sign, thankfully.

Public Works Director Rod Freidhof thanked the Council and Staff for working with him and stated it was a pleasure working with everyone. He feels confident that Nate will do a good job filling his position as PWD. His last day of work is December 23rd. The Council thanked him for his service over the last 30+ years at the City.

Police Chief Ruroden reported that he will be conducting interviews this week for the two officer positions. The new truck should be delivered soon and hopefully Racom will get the equipment installed so we can use it.

City Clerk Girolamo reported ServLine currently has 263 sewer service line warranties and 244 water service line warranties in Cresco; (b) Housing Rehab project has 2 houses completed, one in construction, one going out for bids January 14th, and the other two are in the initial process; (c) there is another broken loop for the in-floor heat at the Fire Station. Neal spent a lot of time cleaning up the water and they were able to shut off that loop. Hopefully the rest of the in-floor heat continues to work or we will need to look at replacing the heating system; (d) Jeff and Shirlee Haw plan to build a shed on their property adjacent to the sewer driveway. There is an easement for access for fieldwork. Council agreed that an updated easement should be drafted, recorded, and paid for by Haws; (e) the Iowa Department of Management is still working on the budget program and hope to get it to us within the next couple of weeks so we can meet our public hearing deadlines.

Bouska reported the Regional Housing Authority had their audit with one small item that was corrected. There are currently 15 port-outs but Senator Ernst is introducing legislation at the Federal level that would address this problem. They are moving services to the cloud. At the Howard County Economic Development meeting, Regional Health Services reported they discovered discrepancies in the State’s reporting of death count by county and the State is correcting. They are doing a large volume of COVID tests and getting a second machine. Elma will qualify as a Rural Health Clinic which will help with reimbursement purposes. Howard County reported A46 is paved across the county. Winneshiek County reported COVID cases are down after the mask mandate was implemented.

Carman reported the Library is open to the public.

Brenno reported the Park Board has received over $50,000 for the East Park Bleacher project. The Fitness Center is down to 610 members which is a decrease of 100 from a year ago. The check-ins are less than half of normal. They are discussing offering some specials to encourage participation after the vaccines curb the pandemic. Rick McCarville is retiring and his last day of work is January 15th. The Park Board is working on new job descriptions and changing some duties so they can possibly replace Rick and Bill with one Director and an assistant.

Hotel/Motel Tax of $5,429.55 was received this quarter with two applications received for $6,500. There was a lot of discussion regarding the Driftrunner’s application for Snowfest. The Tourism Committee and the City Council were concerned with funding an event that could turn into a “super spreader” of COVID. Brandon Plaht and Zach Gooder explained Driftrunner’s options and plans for trying to keep people safe and making changes as they go. They also pointed out that the trails are maintained throughout the winter which brings in a lot of tourists that stay in the hotels and support our community. The Council encouraged the Driftrunners to apply next quarter for more funding if the event goes smoothly. Brenno made the motion to approve the recommendation of the Tourism Committee and award Hotel/Motel Tax Grant to: Driftrunners 50th Annual Snowfest for $2,500 of the $5,000 requested; Vernon Springs Welcome Sign for $1,500. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

Bouska made the motion to approve the request for an extension until July 1, 2021 to build house at 218 5th Avenue East by A&J’s Construction due to COVID issues. Lost property tax will be paid by A&J for five months. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

The agenda item for an offer of employment for the wastewater operator position was tabled until next meeting.

Carman made the motion to extend the interest free period for the Revolving Loan COVID-19 Business Continuation Loans for another year until January 1, 2022. Repayments would then be due starting January 15, 2022 with a 1% interest rate. Bouska seconded and it passed all ayes.

Girolamo explained that the City’s software program is offering a new website option where the City could enable users to log in to review their accounts as well as make payments by credit card or electronically from their bank. This would also allow landlords to monitor their properties. This would save time and be more accurate for recording payments while allowing users more access to their information. The cost is $960 per year for 100 users and $3,000 initial setup fee which will be discounted by $1,000 if enrolled by the end of December. Bouska made the motion to approve the enrollment and purchase of gWorks Virtual FrontDesk Cloud Application. Carman seconded and it passed all ayes.

Bryan Sheehy discussed drainage issues around 7th St West and Highway 9. He fears that a new building will cause even more flooding problems in the future. The proposed new building plans to install a retention pond, with all downspouts directing the water into the retention pond, to slow down the runoff. An Engineer’s study was done in 2007 for the storm sewer issue; four bids were received for about $800,000, which included some sanitary sewer corrections as well. The sinkhole is still an issue that needs to be addressed as part of this project. Council instructed staff to have WHKS update the Engineering report to determine an estimated cost as well as different options for helping to alleviate the drainage issues. Council wants WHKS to include options that surrounding commercial and/or residential properties could do to help with the runoff.

Council discussed changing the time for future Council meetings to either 5:30 or 6:00 pm. Carman made the motion to amend the ordinance to change the time of Council meetings to 5:30 pm. McConnell seconded and Fortune, Brenno, Carman and McConnell voted aye. Bouska voted nay. The motion passed by majority vote.

City Hall remains closed to the public but the Fitness Center, Theatre and Library are open with social distancing precautions. In January, the public works departments will return to regular personnel. This still enables the City to have a certified sewer and water operator, Adam Barnes, in the Street Department if the sewer and/or water department has an outbreak.

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

Carman moved to adjourn the Council Meeting at 8:19 pm. Bouska seconded and it passed all ayes. The next regular Cresco City Council meeting will be Wednesday January 6, 2021, at 7:00 pm at Cresco City Hall unless a virtual meeting is deemed necessary.

 

 

 

_____________________________                     _______________________________

Mayor Mark Bohle                                                     City Clerk Michelle Girolamo

Mayor Bohle called the Cresco City Council meeting to order on December 21, 2020, at 7:00 pm. Council Members Brenno, McConnell, Bouska, and Carman were present. Fortune arrived at 7:03 pm. No council members were absent.

Mayor Bohle explained that due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, as to protect the employees, council members, and the public, the meeting is being held electronically. The log-in for the Zoom meeting is available online at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83613179210. Meeting ID: 836 1317 9210 or by telephone +1-312-626-6799 Meeting ID: 836 1317 9210.

Carman made the motion to approve the consent agenda which included approval of the: agenda; claims; minutes of the December 7, 2020 meeting; Class C Liquor License (LC) (commercial) with Sunday sales to Big Daddy Hideaway Corp d/b/a Hideaway Lounge; Parade Permit for portions of 7th St W, alley between 4th Ave W and 3rd Ave W, N Elm St, and 1st Ave for Driftrunner’s Snowmobile Torchlight Parade on January 23, 2021; Excavator Licenses for: James Henry dba Henry’s Backhoe Service, Mracek Plumbing, Heating & Electric LLC, Mehmert Tiling, Inc, Skyline Construction Inc, Mudslingers Inc, MB Inc; Tree Surgeon Licenses for: Tarzan Tree Service LLC, Total Tree Care LLC, Richard Kittelson Consulting LLC, Wilson Custom Tree Trimmers LLC, Tim Walton d/b/a Tim Walton Tree Service. Bouska seconded and it passed all ayes.

Public Works Director Widell reported: (a) conducted interviews for the waste water position and should have an offer to accept at the next council meeting; (b) T&W Grinding ground up the leaf pile at the yard waste site one afternoon last week; (c) Street Department has been busy trimming low hanging branches on boulevard trees and getting them cleaned up so our equipment can clear without branches hitting them; (d) over the weekend somebody painted graffiti on the Welcome to Cresco sign at the 2 mile corner. The Street Department cleaned it up and they were able to get it all off of the sign, thankfully.

Public Works Director Rod Freidhof thanked the Council and Staff for working with him and stated it was a pleasure working with everyone. He feels confident that Nate will do a good job filling his position as PWD. His last day of work is December 23rd. The Council thanked him for his service over the last 30+ years at the City.

Police Chief Ruroden reported that he will be conducting interviews this week for the two officer positions. The new truck should be delivered soon and hopefully Racom will get the equipment installed so we can use it.

City Clerk Girolamo reported ServLine currently has 263 sewer service line warranties and 244 water service line warranties in Cresco; (b) Housing Rehab project has 2 houses completed, one in construction, one going out for bids January 14th, and the other two are in the initial process; (c) there is another broken loop for the in-floor heat at the Fire Station. Neal spent a lot of time cleaning up the water and they were able to shut off that loop. Hopefully the rest of the in-floor heat continues to work or we will need to look at replacing the heating system; (d) Jeff and Shirlee Haw plan to build a shed on their property adjacent to the sewer driveway. There is an easement for access for fieldwork. Council agreed that an updated easement should be drafted, recorded, and paid for by Haws; (e) the Iowa Department of Management is still working on the budget program and hope to get it to us within the next couple of weeks so we can meet our public hearing deadlines.

Bouska reported the Regional Housing Authority had their audit with one small item that was corrected. There are currently 15 port-outs but Senator Ernst is introducing legislation at the Federal level that would address this problem. They are moving services to the cloud. At the Howard County Economic Development meeting, Regional Health Services reported they discovered discrepancies in the State’s reporting of death count by county and the State is correcting. They are doing a large volume of COVID tests and getting a second machine. Elma will qualify as a Rural Health Clinic which will help with reimbursement purposes. Howard County reported A46 is paved across the county. Winneshiek County reported COVID cases are down after the mask mandate was implemented.

Carman reported the Library is open to the public.

Brenno reported the Park Board has received over $50,000 for the East Park Bleacher project. The Fitness Center is down to 610 members which is a decrease of 100 from a year ago. The check-ins are less than half of normal. They are discussing offering some specials to encourage participation after the vaccines curb the pandemic. Rick McCarville is retiring and his last day of work is January 15th. The Park Board is working on new job descriptions and changing some duties so they can possibly replace Rick and Bill with one Director and an assistant.

Hotel/Motel Tax of $5,429.55 was received this quarter with two applications received for $6,500. There was a lot of discussion regarding the Driftrunner’s application for Snowfest. The Tourism Committee and the City Council were concerned with funding an event that could turn into a “super spreader” of COVID. Brandon Plaht and Zach Gooder explained Driftrunner’s options and plans for trying to keep people safe and making changes as they go. They also pointed out that the trails are maintained throughout the winter which brings in a lot of tourists that stay in the hotels and support our community. The Council encouraged the Driftrunners to apply next quarter for more funding if the event goes smoothly. Brenno made the motion to approve the recommendation of the Tourism Committee and award Hotel/Motel Tax Grant to: Driftrunners 50th Annual Snowfest for $2,500 of the $5,000 requested; Vernon Springs Welcome Sign for $1,500. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

Bouska made the motion to approve the request for an extension until July 1, 2021 to build house at 218 5th Avenue East by A&J’s Construction due to COVID issues. Lost property tax will be paid by A&J for five months. Fortune seconded and it passed all ayes.

The agenda item for an offer of employment for the wastewater operator position was tabled until next meeting.

Carman made the motion to extend the interest free period for the Revolving Loan COVID-19 Business Continuation Loans for another year until January 1, 2022. Repayments would then be due starting January 15, 2022 with a 1% interest rate. Bouska seconded and it passed all ayes.

Girolamo explained that the City’s software program is offering a new website option where the City could enable users to log in to review their accounts as well as make payments by credit card or electronically from their bank. This would also allow landlords to monitor their properties. This would save time and be more accurate for recording payments while allowing users more access to their information. The cost is $960 per year for 100 users and $3,000 initial setup fee which will be discounted by $1,000 if enrolled by the end of December. Bouska made the motion to approve the enrollment and purchase of gWorks Virtual FrontDesk Cloud Application. Carman seconded and it passed all ayes.

Bryan Sheehy discussed drainage issues around 7th St West and Highway 9. He fears that a new building will cause even more flooding problems in the future. The proposed new building plans to install a retention pond, with all downspouts directing the water into the retention pond, to slow down the runoff. An Engineer’s study was done in 2007 for the storm sewer issue; four bids were received for about $800,000, which included some sanitary sewer corrections as well. The sinkhole is still an issue that needs to be addressed as part of this project. Council instructed staff to have WHKS update the Engineering report to determine an estimated cost as well as different options for helping to alleviate the drainage issues. Council wants WHKS to include options that surrounding commercial and/or residential properties could do to help with the runoff.

Council discussed changing the time for future Council meetings to either 5:30 or 6:00 pm. Carman made the motion to amend the ordinance to change the time of Council meetings to 5:30 pm. McConnell seconded and Fortune, Brenno, Carman and McConnell voted aye. Bouska voted nay. The motion passed by majority vote.

City Hall remains closed to the public but the Fitness Center, Theatre and Library are open with social distancing precautions. In January, the public works departments will return to regular personnel. This still enables the City to have a certified sewer and water operator, Adam Barnes, in the Street Department if the sewer and/or water department has an outbreak.

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

Carman moved to adjourn the Council Meeting at 8:19 pm. Bouska seconded and it passed all ayes. The next regular Cresco City Council meeting will be Wednesday January 6, 2021, at 7:00 pm at Cresco City Hall unless a virtual meeting is deemed necessary.

 

Mayor Mark Bohle
City Clerk Michelle Girolamo

2020 City Council Agendas, Policies