1. NEXT MEETING: The next meeting is April 5 at 6:00 pm.
2. JOINT MEETING: A joint meeting with the trustees is scheduled for April 12 at 6:00 or 6:30 (depends on trustee agenda) and the group will receive IDA’s progress report. Another item will be a review of the Employee Handbook changes.
3. BUILDING REQUEST: The Community Development Department received a request from Steve Skold of Castle Development for property improvements on the building at 201-211 N. Buxton that houses Funaro’s and John Hoyman’s Office. Chuck Burgin is reviewing the request to determine which costs are eligible and a recommendation will be placed on the April 5 agenda.
FYI—Council member Steve Richardson is part owner of this building. He voted “abstained” on March 15 and voted against the incentive policy on January 19.
4. PARK DEDICATION ORDINANCE: A meeting with Charles Becker and Ivan Webber will be scheduled next week to discuss the ordinance. Bob Kreamer plans to attend as well.
5. CITY HALL: There are still some unfinished items (exterior restoration, locker room) that are preventing final acceptance of the building improvements. However, a final walk-thru is tentatively scheduled for April 13.
6. SQUARE INCENTIVE PROGRAM: In your packet are a letter and the Indianola Downtown Incentive Program that was sent to 85 businesses on Friday.
7. SEWER PROPERTY: In your packet is a copy of the letter to the editor from Kenneth Duscheck regarding the sale of the former sewer plant land to the Indianola Country Club. Below is some information about the property explaining the $70,000 purchase price:
• Two sanitary sewer mains extend diagonal from southeast to northwest on the property.
• The former plant, aeration tanks, digester foundations and numerous service mains still remain under ground
• The land has sat idle since 1980 and no purchase offers have been made. Several developers have made inquiries but when informed of the property conditions, their interest disappeared
• A survey was taken by the Parks & Recreation Dept in August 2008 and only 47% of the responders favored a park on this site
• City, county and school tax revenue on a $70,000 valuation will be about $2,700 annually and may increase after the driving range is complete
• A letter was sent to 25 property owners in the immediate vicinity of the property advising of the potential sale and public hearing. Only one property owner attended the meeting with questions about the proposed sale
• The majority of the paving cost for Country Club Road at that time was paid for by F.A.U.S. funds
• Cost savings to the city for mowing and snow removal
• Of the approximate nine acres being sold to the Country Club, a little over 3 acres is designated as flood plain
8. W. EUCLID: By order dated March 19, 2010, the Iowa Supreme Court has retained
jurisdiction of the Gray appeal. The case will be submitted to the Iowa Supreme
Court without oral argument on May 18, 2010.
9. IDA: Myles Kappelman, Executive Director of IDA, announced his resignation
effective April 23, 2010.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
News Items - March 22, 2010
1. NEXT MEETING: The next meeting is April 5 at 6:00 pm.
2. SOUTH Y: Chuck Burgin and I met with Garden and Associates on the 18th and discussed the following:
• The project “estimate” is $775,000 including construction, engineering, 10% contingency, administrative and legal
• Based on a 2,975’ project length (extends about 45’ south of W. 10th) and 17% access assessment to W 10 property owners (does not include four properties immediately east of “Y” who would get normal assessments), the cost/ft assessment (using Flint) is about $110
• An access road to move traffic outside the roadway would extend from 10th to Hwy 92 on the east side. The proposed access road would extend thru and utilize the town home driveway/parking lot
• The opportune time to pave the project is mid-June thru mid-August to lessen traffic (mainly school and farm)
• Given the opportune time to pave and the lack of W Euclid court ruling, the project may be delayed until 2011
Garden engineer Brad Utemarkt is not available April 12 so I plan to put the project on the May 10 committee agenda for review and discussion.
3. I&I: In the packet is a meeting summary regarding Phases 3 and 4 of the I&I Program. Phase 4 is the South Lift Station improvements that include increasing capacity of the west equalization pond and adding return pumps/force main to the east equalization pond. Phase 3 includes review of all public mains/manholes for I&I.
It was originally hoped that thru Phases 1, 2 and 4, Phase 3 could be delayed for several years. However, V&K determined that the pump capacity cannot handle the highest peaks that IDNR says cannot overflow.
A recommendation to complete all phases with the exception of the return force main in Phase 4 will be made at the April 12 committee meeting. Supt Dan Miers and V&K’s Forrest Aldrich will attend.
Shared services continue to be discovered. The latest is on E Iowa and North 1st. Supt Dan Miers, staff and V&K are working to determine solutions.
FYI—Iowa Falls just passed an ordinance requiring a $100/month fee for illegally connected sump pumps to the sanitary sewer.
4. END LOADER: Ed Yando sent 4 request-for-proposals to replace the 1996 Case End-Loader and proposals will be received by May 12. $164,000 is budgeted in FY 10/11. A recommendation will be brought to the May 17 council meeting.
5. STIMULUS FUNDS: IDOT reps are now saying the second round of transportation stimulus funds may not be approved by Congress. When discussed originally, staff considered recommending:
• Buxton/Howard replacements between 1st and Clinton
• Iowa Ave widening from 1st to “L”
• J/K Realignment at Hwy 92.
Future developments will be reported when received.
6. TREASURERS REPORT: Finance Director Laurie Hebl reports the December and January reports are balanced precisely. There were no changes to the final balance but there were minimal changes to a couple sub-totals. The changes resulted from the new software transition.
The report should be completely balanced from February on.
2. SOUTH Y: Chuck Burgin and I met with Garden and Associates on the 18th and discussed the following:
• The project “estimate” is $775,000 including construction, engineering, 10% contingency, administrative and legal
• Based on a 2,975’ project length (extends about 45’ south of W. 10th) and 17% access assessment to W 10 property owners (does not include four properties immediately east of “Y” who would get normal assessments), the cost/ft assessment (using Flint) is about $110
• An access road to move traffic outside the roadway would extend from 10th to Hwy 92 on the east side. The proposed access road would extend thru and utilize the town home driveway/parking lot
• The opportune time to pave the project is mid-June thru mid-August to lessen traffic (mainly school and farm)
• Given the opportune time to pave and the lack of W Euclid court ruling, the project may be delayed until 2011
Garden engineer Brad Utemarkt is not available April 12 so I plan to put the project on the May 10 committee agenda for review and discussion.
3. I&I: In the packet is a meeting summary regarding Phases 3 and 4 of the I&I Program. Phase 4 is the South Lift Station improvements that include increasing capacity of the west equalization pond and adding return pumps/force main to the east equalization pond. Phase 3 includes review of all public mains/manholes for I&I.
It was originally hoped that thru Phases 1, 2 and 4, Phase 3 could be delayed for several years. However, V&K determined that the pump capacity cannot handle the highest peaks that IDNR says cannot overflow.
A recommendation to complete all phases with the exception of the return force main in Phase 4 will be made at the April 12 committee meeting. Supt Dan Miers and V&K’s Forrest Aldrich will attend.
Shared services continue to be discovered. The latest is on E Iowa and North 1st. Supt Dan Miers, staff and V&K are working to determine solutions.
FYI—Iowa Falls just passed an ordinance requiring a $100/month fee for illegally connected sump pumps to the sanitary sewer.
4. END LOADER: Ed Yando sent 4 request-for-proposals to replace the 1996 Case End-Loader and proposals will be received by May 12. $164,000 is budgeted in FY 10/11. A recommendation will be brought to the May 17 council meeting.
5. STIMULUS FUNDS: IDOT reps are now saying the second round of transportation stimulus funds may not be approved by Congress. When discussed originally, staff considered recommending:
• Buxton/Howard replacements between 1st and Clinton
• Iowa Ave widening from 1st to “L”
• J/K Realignment at Hwy 92.
Future developments will be reported when received.
6. TREASURERS REPORT: Finance Director Laurie Hebl reports the December and January reports are balanced precisely. There were no changes to the final balance but there were minimal changes to a couple sub-totals. The changes resulted from the new software transition.
The report should be completely balanced from February on.
Friday, March 12, 2010
News Items - March 15, 2010
1. HILLCREST ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN: P&Z discussed recommending architectural design standards (brick, E.F.I.S., culture stone, nova brick) on two occasions and are now asking for more council direction (see March 9 minutes). The item will be placed on the April 12 committee agenda.
2. SQUARE BUILDINGS: In the packet is a response from Ryan Ellis representing Barbara Martsching. John Hoyman intends to discuss the request and the result will report to elected officials next week.
3. SNOW BLOWER: $60,000 is budgeted to replace the 20-year old snow blower the Street Dept uses to clean the square. Ed Yando and Chuck Burgin are drafting a spec that will include both single (current) and two-stage units and a recommendation will be brought to council in 4-6 weeks.
4. ROUTER: Kurt Ripperger will put the memo, agenda and news items on the web page and show interested elected officials how to access it on Monday. Please bring your laptops.
5. SEWER SOFTWARE: $20,000 is budgeted to replace the 8 year-old software in the Sewer Dept. Supt Dan Miers sent 4 RFP’s and received 3 quotes. Pipeline Data Management was the low quote at $6,175 and after a thorough review by Kurt Ripperger and Dan, the PDM software will be purchased.
6. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: In the packet is a letter from a satisfied customer who had assistance from Building Inspector Rich Parker and Community Development Director Chuck Burgin. Hats off to both!!
7. CHANNEL 7 USE POLICY: In the packet is the use policy for the government access channel. I asked Ivan Webber to review it and he reports it would be applicable for the LED message board. Ivan cautioned that if it were opened to private or non-profit use, it is open to all entities. The city could not discriminate on how the board is used.
Also, please check the proposed location of the message board (marked by a temporary banner east of city hall) and advise of any visibility issues.
8. WORK COMP: RoxAnne Hunerdosse reports work comp claims thus far are about $28,000 compared to premiums of $153,000. Very good news as the claims affect rates.
9. SEWER REPLACEMENT: Chuck Burgin is getting temporary easements for the sewer main replacement north and east of the Casey’s Store on E Hwy 92. This stretch was discovered during the I&I review and it was separated from the Phase 1 repairs due to its complexity.
V&K is working on the plan design and will have something to council in several weeks.
10. IDA UPDATE: Mark Vickroy provided the following summary of items discussed at the Board meeting on March 9th:
• The SIFE group from Simpson (Students in Free Enterprise) is working on videos to be posted on our website.
• SIFE is also working on a questionnaire to be sent out to current Indianola businesses.
• A list of local businesses was discussed, with direction for Myles to contact. There is a short questionnaire that they will be asked to complete. The first round of contacts will include City State Bank, Downing Construction, Harverst Innovations, and Pizza Ranch.
• The new development guide will be unveiled on Tuesday, March 23 (I believe Shirley provided a copies for Council packets). A reception will be held from 4-6pm at the meeting room at the Wells Fargo Bank building. Myles sent out an e-mail invitation yesterday afternoon. Coffee and cookies will be served.
• The guide will also be sent out to approximately 200 site selectors. An electronic version will also be posted to the IDA website.
• The PDI (Professional Developers of Iowa) Conference will be held on Wednesday, May 26. Indianola has been chosen as their Focus Community. There will be a bus tour of Indianola, with a reception to follow at Summerset Winery.
• Financials were reviewed and approved with no questions.
Also in your packet is IDA brochure.
11. DECK AGREEMENT: The Brick House deck agreement will be placed on the April 5 council agenda.
12. SQUARE CLOSURE: In 2009, the following requested to close the square: Chamber of Commerce (Arts & Crafts & Holiday Extravaganza), Indianola Bike Night, Indianola Parks & Recreation (Costume Party & Parade), Indianola RAGBRAI Committee, Warren County Corvette Show and the Warren County Health Fair.
13. ENVELOPES: Four requests have been made for return envelopes.
2. SQUARE BUILDINGS: In the packet is a response from Ryan Ellis representing Barbara Martsching. John Hoyman intends to discuss the request and the result will report to elected officials next week.
3. SNOW BLOWER: $60,000 is budgeted to replace the 20-year old snow blower the Street Dept uses to clean the square. Ed Yando and Chuck Burgin are drafting a spec that will include both single (current) and two-stage units and a recommendation will be brought to council in 4-6 weeks.
4. ROUTER: Kurt Ripperger will put the memo, agenda and news items on the web page and show interested elected officials how to access it on Monday. Please bring your laptops.
5. SEWER SOFTWARE: $20,000 is budgeted to replace the 8 year-old software in the Sewer Dept. Supt Dan Miers sent 4 RFP’s and received 3 quotes. Pipeline Data Management was the low quote at $6,175 and after a thorough review by Kurt Ripperger and Dan, the PDM software will be purchased.
6. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: In the packet is a letter from a satisfied customer who had assistance from Building Inspector Rich Parker and Community Development Director Chuck Burgin. Hats off to both!!
7. CHANNEL 7 USE POLICY: In the packet is the use policy for the government access channel. I asked Ivan Webber to review it and he reports it would be applicable for the LED message board. Ivan cautioned that if it were opened to private or non-profit use, it is open to all entities. The city could not discriminate on how the board is used.
Also, please check the proposed location of the message board (marked by a temporary banner east of city hall) and advise of any visibility issues.
8. WORK COMP: RoxAnne Hunerdosse reports work comp claims thus far are about $28,000 compared to premiums of $153,000. Very good news as the claims affect rates.
9. SEWER REPLACEMENT: Chuck Burgin is getting temporary easements for the sewer main replacement north and east of the Casey’s Store on E Hwy 92. This stretch was discovered during the I&I review and it was separated from the Phase 1 repairs due to its complexity.
V&K is working on the plan design and will have something to council in several weeks.
10. IDA UPDATE: Mark Vickroy provided the following summary of items discussed at the Board meeting on March 9th:
• The SIFE group from Simpson (Students in Free Enterprise) is working on videos to be posted on our website.
• SIFE is also working on a questionnaire to be sent out to current Indianola businesses.
• A list of local businesses was discussed, with direction for Myles to contact. There is a short questionnaire that they will be asked to complete. The first round of contacts will include City State Bank, Downing Construction, Harverst Innovations, and Pizza Ranch.
• The new development guide will be unveiled on Tuesday, March 23 (I believe Shirley provided a copies for Council packets). A reception will be held from 4-6pm at the meeting room at the Wells Fargo Bank building. Myles sent out an e-mail invitation yesterday afternoon. Coffee and cookies will be served.
• The guide will also be sent out to approximately 200 site selectors. An electronic version will also be posted to the IDA website.
• The PDI (Professional Developers of Iowa) Conference will be held on Wednesday, May 26. Indianola has been chosen as their Focus Community. There will be a bus tour of Indianola, with a reception to follow at Summerset Winery.
• Financials were reviewed and approved with no questions.
Also in your packet is IDA brochure.
11. DECK AGREEMENT: The Brick House deck agreement will be placed on the April 5 council agenda.
12. SQUARE CLOSURE: In 2009, the following requested to close the square: Chamber of Commerce (Arts & Crafts & Holiday Extravaganza), Indianola Bike Night, Indianola Parks & Recreation (Costume Party & Parade), Indianola RAGBRAI Committee, Warren County Corvette Show and the Warren County Health Fair.
13. ENVELOPES: Four requests have been made for return envelopes.
Friday, March 5, 2010
News Items - March 8, 2010
1. LEAN: In your packet are Glen Cowan’s and Grace Swanson’s LEAN progress.
2. SQUARE BUILDINGS: Community Development Director Chuck Burgin had a meeting with building owners on the Square’s east side to discuss some partial brick collapse. It is likely the city will receive a funding request thru the new Downtown Building Incentive program.
Also, in the packet is a letter from John Hoyman to building owners on the north side of the Square regarding engineering service proposal.
3. MAINTENANCE CONTRACT: In the packet is Chuck Burgin’s recommendation for an agreement with Air-Con Mechanical for quarterly maintenance on the municipal building’s HVAC system. It will begin immediately.
4. IMMI: I will attend the Iowa Municipal Management Institute March 24-26 in Iowa City.
5. BRAVO: I mentioned to Shirley that from my perspective the $2,500 could be cut from the budget (assumes the $11.30 tax rate) based on a call from Bravo the end of January stating that the proposal in December was not approved by the executive board.
The original proposal was for the city to join Bravo (which collects funds from public sources and redistributes them to cultural entities/projects/programs) for $2,500 initially and committing 2/7 of only “new” hotel/motel tax revenue. According to executive director MD Isely, the executive board changed that to be $2,500 initially and 2/7 of “all” hotel/motel tax revenue. The cost of the executive board’s change is an “additional” $17,000/year since Indianola’s 7% tax generates nearly $60,000 annually and is already committed to economic development, tourism commission and P&R programs. The $17,000 is the equivalent of a 4-cent tax increase.
However, if Simpson is the prime benefactor, perhaps the city can partner with them to pay the city’s membership fee thereby eliminating any burden on the tax rate and/or need to cut city programs. The partnership would be a “win-win” as Simpson receives Bravo funding and the city does not cut programs or increase taxes.
6. BUDGET CUTS: Per council direction on March 1, the following have been cut from the FY 11 Budget:
Department Reduction Amount Description
City Manager $4,000 Intern
Community Development $500 Plan Cabinet
Mayor & Council $600 Mayor’s Desk
Clerk/Finance/Public Info $900 Receipt printer & credit card swipe/scan
Police $1,000 Delay replacement of 1 radar unit
Fire/Ambulance $1,000 Delay replacement of bunker gear (1 coat)
Library $1,000 Delay replacement of 2 computers
Park & Recreation $800 Pickard Park concrete parking stalls
Park & Recreation $200 Memorial Park concrete for trail
7. VEHICLE TEXTING: Effective immediately the U.S. DOT prohibits texting while driving commercial vehicles (vehicles which require a CDL to drive). This would be our Jet Truck (WPC) and dump trucks.
8. ENVELOPES: The cost of adding return envelopes with the utility bill is about $1,400 annually. However, the cost increases to about $6,700 annually because the return envelope will increase postage when placed with other materials that are already planned to be sent with the utility bill envelope. This information includes IMU Newsletter or updates every other month.
A better solution is for customers to request return envelopes (phone or email) that will be sent separately by first class mail (to the customer). The Clerk’s Office printed about 500 return envelopes and will advertise their availability in the newsletter, weekly flyer, channel 7, web page, etc. A note will also be placed on the billing statement advising customers they can obtain return envelopes simply by requesting them or stopping at City Hall.
9. HILLCREST DESIGN STANDARDS: P&Z will again discuss architectural design standards on East Hillcrest (industrial park) at their March 9 meeting. The standards were a top council goal/priority (1.71 out of 3) last October.
A recommendation will be brought to council in April or May.
10. ROUTER: Kurt Ripperger installed the router so council members can bring their laptops to test the equipment. The goal is for council members (that choose) to access the agenda packet thru laptops at the meeting.
11. JOINT MEETING: A reminder the council/trustees will meet jointly on April 12 to receive IDA’s progress report. The meeting will start around 6:30 or so. Please mark your calendars.
12. BRUSH FACILITY: After receiving 3 quotes, the mulch service was awarded to J.C.’s services for $6,400. J.C.’s also had the contract last year and did a good job. They intend to begin as soon as weather allows
FYI—All mulch was used during 2009 so the “recycling” program is working.
The street department piled the brush in windrows for easier access and a quicker thaw throughout the piles.
2. SQUARE BUILDINGS: Community Development Director Chuck Burgin had a meeting with building owners on the Square’s east side to discuss some partial brick collapse. It is likely the city will receive a funding request thru the new Downtown Building Incentive program.
Also, in the packet is a letter from John Hoyman to building owners on the north side of the Square regarding engineering service proposal.
3. MAINTENANCE CONTRACT: In the packet is Chuck Burgin’s recommendation for an agreement with Air-Con Mechanical for quarterly maintenance on the municipal building’s HVAC system. It will begin immediately.
4. IMMI: I will attend the Iowa Municipal Management Institute March 24-26 in Iowa City.
5. BRAVO: I mentioned to Shirley that from my perspective the $2,500 could be cut from the budget (assumes the $11.30 tax rate) based on a call from Bravo the end of January stating that the proposal in December was not approved by the executive board.
The original proposal was for the city to join Bravo (which collects funds from public sources and redistributes them to cultural entities/projects/programs) for $2,500 initially and committing 2/7 of only “new” hotel/motel tax revenue. According to executive director MD Isely, the executive board changed that to be $2,500 initially and 2/7 of “all” hotel/motel tax revenue. The cost of the executive board’s change is an “additional” $17,000/year since Indianola’s 7% tax generates nearly $60,000 annually and is already committed to economic development, tourism commission and P&R programs. The $17,000 is the equivalent of a 4-cent tax increase.
However, if Simpson is the prime benefactor, perhaps the city can partner with them to pay the city’s membership fee thereby eliminating any burden on the tax rate and/or need to cut city programs. The partnership would be a “win-win” as Simpson receives Bravo funding and the city does not cut programs or increase taxes.
6. BUDGET CUTS: Per council direction on March 1, the following have been cut from the FY 11 Budget:
Department Reduction Amount Description
City Manager $4,000 Intern
Community Development $500 Plan Cabinet
Mayor & Council $600 Mayor’s Desk
Clerk/Finance/Public Info $900 Receipt printer & credit card swipe/scan
Police $1,000 Delay replacement of 1 radar unit
Fire/Ambulance $1,000 Delay replacement of bunker gear (1 coat)
Library $1,000 Delay replacement of 2 computers
Park & Recreation $800 Pickard Park concrete parking stalls
Park & Recreation $200 Memorial Park concrete for trail
7. VEHICLE TEXTING: Effective immediately the U.S. DOT prohibits texting while driving commercial vehicles (vehicles which require a CDL to drive). This would be our Jet Truck (WPC) and dump trucks.
8. ENVELOPES: The cost of adding return envelopes with the utility bill is about $1,400 annually. However, the cost increases to about $6,700 annually because the return envelope will increase postage when placed with other materials that are already planned to be sent with the utility bill envelope. This information includes IMU Newsletter or updates every other month.
A better solution is for customers to request return envelopes (phone or email) that will be sent separately by first class mail (to the customer). The Clerk’s Office printed about 500 return envelopes and will advertise their availability in the newsletter, weekly flyer, channel 7, web page, etc. A note will also be placed on the billing statement advising customers they can obtain return envelopes simply by requesting them or stopping at City Hall.
9. HILLCREST DESIGN STANDARDS: P&Z will again discuss architectural design standards on East Hillcrest (industrial park) at their March 9 meeting. The standards were a top council goal/priority (1.71 out of 3) last October.
A recommendation will be brought to council in April or May.
10. ROUTER: Kurt Ripperger installed the router so council members can bring their laptops to test the equipment. The goal is for council members (that choose) to access the agenda packet thru laptops at the meeting.
11. JOINT MEETING: A reminder the council/trustees will meet jointly on April 12 to receive IDA’s progress report. The meeting will start around 6:30 or so. Please mark your calendars.
12. BRUSH FACILITY: After receiving 3 quotes, the mulch service was awarded to J.C.’s services for $6,400. J.C.’s also had the contract last year and did a good job. They intend to begin as soon as weather allows
FYI—All mulch was used during 2009 so the “recycling” program is working.
The street department piled the brush in windrows for easier access and a quicker thaw throughout the piles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)