1. I&I CITIES: In the council packet is a list of 70 cities the IDNR designated for infiltration and inflow removal. When Indianola was first notified, there were about 10 cities. Dan expects the list to grow to about 110 in the next year.
Office Manager Skye Jacobs, Laurie Hebl, John Hoyman, Dan Miers and I met on the 11th to discuss the $2,000 loan program which is payable over 7 years at 5% interest. The loan is for homeowners having excessive costs to repair leaking services and that amount was set (by council) in 1996. Given the 13-year time lapse, the $2,000 is not covering the cost of some repairs we are seeing today. Our recommendation will be to raise the amount to $3,500.
In addition, Dan is contacting other cities to get comparisons on their (non-repair) fee. Given the cost of some of these repairs, our $50/mo fee can be less than the monthly loan amount. A recommendation may also be made to raise this fee creating incentive to remove/repair the I&I problem.
2. TAXES: City Clerk Diana Bowlin updated the tables (see packet) showing tax rates, taxable value/capita and taxes paid/capita for the 62 Iowa cities with a population of 6,500 and greater. Indianola ranks 12th, 28th and 12th respectively in those categories.
It is worth noting that while Indianola’s tax base/capita is 28th, our tax rate is 12th.
3. SUMMERCREST HILLS: A reminder the unveiling of the Summercrest Master plan will be held August 18 at 11:00 am on the development’s southwest corner. Please plan to attend.
4. LABOR DAY: Labor Day is Monday, September 7, so the council meeting will move to Tuesday the 8th. Please mark your calendars.
5. OLD SEWER PLANT: Kevin Halterman and I continue to discuss options regarding the former sewer plant land on N Country Club Rd. A recommendation will be brought to council in several weeks.
The land was originally bought from Dale Ewalt on September 22, 1950 for $3,000.
6. CENTRAL IOWA TRAILS: Glen Cowan has been working with the Central Iowa Trails group to draft signage and logos to be used on central Iowa trails. The idea is to have consistent signage/logos throughout the system.
An agreement has been drafted and will be considered by the Des Moines City Council in September and then taken to metro city councils for their review. The (no-charge) agreement will be on an October council agenda for formal consideration.
7. MUNICIPAL BUILDING PROGRESS: The two east columns have been replaced and work on the south entry columns will begin this week. Brick replacement and tuck pointing is still in process. Community Development should be completed within 2-3 weeks. The contractor plans on roof replacement shortly after September 1st.
8. PARK DEDICATION: The Park Dedication Committee met on the 11th after a somewhat lengthy process to get “zones” designated on the geographic information mapping system. The proposed ordinance was reviewed and is highlighted as follows:
• When new plats are submitted, developers will be required to dedicate .005 acres of land/single family dwelling to the city for trail development
• If the land is not part of our future trail system, the city can sell it and use the revenue for future trail expansion
• The developer has the option to voluntarily contribute financially in-lieu of a land dedication
The ordinance is similar to those in Johnston, Urbandale and West Des Moines and is based on the premise that new development creates a need for more park/trail space. Therefore new development helps provide the land necessary to expand.
A recommendation will be brought to council in a couple months.
9. ELECTRIC RATES: General Manager Todd Kielkopf reports that rates for street lighting ($95,000 average cost/yr) will remain the same with the new rate structure that will be recommended to the trustees effective November 1, 2009. Great news!!
10. LIBRARY: The Library Board hired Shive Hattery (same firm doing municipal building) to review the HVAC system for $8,000 plus expenses. The system is 25 years old and in need of replacement.
11. BLOOD SCREEN: The annual employee blood screen is scheduled for October 27.
12. MEETING: Just a reminder, Congressman Tom Latham, will hold a meeting on August 28 at the Warren County Administrative Building from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. to discuss policies and issues.
13. HWY 92 MEETING: The committee will meet August 19 at 3:00 p.m. in the council chambers to discuss:
• What is new to the DOT's Five-Year Program
• Project overview
• Project funding.
14. PARADES: A letter was received from residents expressing safety concerns about
parked cars, pedestrians and large trucks on parade routes. Captain Tab Bartling reviewed the letter and expressed similar concerns.
Tab’s recommendations follow:
• Street Department place temporary no parking signs on the parade route
• Police Department enforce the no-parking
• Semi trucks/trailers not be permitted on parades
These restrictions would be for larger parades such as the National Balloon Classic and Log Cabin Days.
A policy will be drafted and brought to council in September for consideration.
FYI – The policy should have a notification method to property owners along the route prior to the parade. One question is whether the notification (mail or doorknocker) should be the parade sponsor or city responsibility.
15. PHASE I I&I REPAIRS: VISU-SEWER started cleaning, measuring and inspecting sewer mains on August 13th. They started on Kenwood and will work their way through the Phase I project. The actual liner installation is scheduled to begin on August 25th.
Vanderpool will start on the N 1st St. repair next week. The repair location is between Clinton and Detroit on N 1st. St. They will then re-focus their efforts on the Phase I point repair list.
V&K has been working on the initial stages of Phase III. They had survey crews at the South Plant the week of August 10th. Becky Ford began the arduous process of reviewing Phase II manhole and sewer main inspection reports. The IDNR Phase II report must be submitted by September 4th.
16. CITY HALL ELEVATOR: Upon inspection, it was found that there is a substantial amount of water in the elevator pit. It, therefore, failed inspection and had to be shut down until the problem is fixed. Sewer Department personnel were working on the problem on Friday afternoon to determine if a new sump pump is need and/or if the line is blocked.
