Friday, September 17, 2010

News Items - September 20, 2010

1. IDA: Indianola Development Association reps will attend a joint meeting with council/trustees on October 11 to request funding for fiscal years 10/11 and 11/12. The city provided $29,000 supported by Hotel/Motel taxes and an additional $29,000 from TIF funds beginning in FY 10. 69K is budgeted this year for additional marketing materials. The new contract will be provided in October.

2. SWECS: The small wind energy conversion system (swecs) ordinance has passed out of P&Z and will be placed on the October 4 council agenda to set a hearing date (or it can be sent to committee). A copy of the recommendation will be in the packets on September 24.

3. JOINT MEETING: A joint meeting of mayors/councils from Carlisle, Indianola and Norwalk is tentatively scheduled for October 14 at 6:00 pm in the Norwalk Library.

4. METHANE STUDY: The South Central Iowa Landfill Board approved a study to determine the amount of methane generated by the landfill. Once complete, options will be discussed as to how to use/dispose of it.

5. STRATEGIC PLAN: In your packet is a draft copy of the Indianola Community School’s Strategic Plan for 2010-2015.

Friday, September 10, 2010

News Items - September 13, 2010

1. KELLEY TRAIL: The P&R Commission has asked Glen Cowan to submit a grant application to Safe Schools and Surface Transportation Trail Enhancement Programs for the approximate $625,000 cost to extend the Jerry Kelley trail from Memorial Park to Wilder School (see map). Commission member Jay Byers will attend a council meeting in September or October to discuss the project and discuss funding.

The Surface Transportation Enhancement program provided through the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Agency requires a 20% ($125,000) match which is the purpose of the Safe School grant application. If not received, however, a city commitment of the $125,000 is required to apply for the $400,000 Surface Transportation Enhancement Funds.

Also, Chuck Burgin is still working to get Qwest to remove/relocate poles on N 1st and W Franklin so the trail can be completed.

2. TRAFFIC SIGNALS: Signal controllers at 12th & Hwy 92 East, Valley Dr & 65/69, Ashland & 65/69, and Iowa Ave & 65/69 have been damaged during various storms throughout the summer and being repaired. Also, 3 of the 4 cameras at Valley Drive were damaged on August 20th.

The loaner controller units do not communicate with our system so the signals along Jefferson Way are not synchronized as designed.

Listed below are new and repair costs for the items and the time length for repair or delivery.

New Multisonic 820A $4,062.50 30 to 45 Days
New Detector Camera $3,562.50 30 to 45 Days
Controller Repair $600 to $2,000 2 to 6 Months
Camera Repair $600 to $1,600 1 to 3 Months

At issue is getting an answer to whether the controller and cameras can even be repaired. And if they can be repaired what other damage have they sustained to shorten their life span.

3. BUSINESS MAKEOVER: In the packet is a letter/invitation to a business makeover presentation from Linda Hayes who is working with ISU. The meeting is September 15 in the council chambers at 6:30 pm.

4. STEPHEN COURT CULVERTS: Per V&K’s Becky Ford, the new culverts will increase flow by 3 times over current capacity which is the equivalent of a 25-year storm. Had the culverts been in place this year, only the July 23 storm where 4-plus inches of rain fell in less than an hour would water have topped the street this year.

Friday, September 3, 2010

News Items - September 7, 2010

1. EAST IOWA SHARED SERVICE: Supt Dan Miers met with the property owners on Thursday the 26th and the consensus was to move forward with a sewer main that will eliminate the shared services. Quotes for the estimated $17,525 project will be presented at the September 20 council meeting.

2. STORM SUMARY: Department Directors met on August 30, 2010 to discuss the July 23 storm. Below is the summary:

• Emergency response happened as planned with the following departments responding: fire, police, street, water pollution control, electric, water and IMU administration
• Fire and police personnel worked with tornado affected neighborhood
• An emergency shelter was opened at the Middle School but closed a little after midnight due to no need
• Fire was kept busy with a wide variety of calls both inside and outside the community
• Police clerical staff assisted dispatch in answering calls
• Mayor Bresnan’s assistance at City Hall was greatly appreciated
• Staff are reviewing capabilities of the new phone system and may program adjustments for emergency events
• High vehicle traffic on West Euclid the next day was monitored for closure consideration but decided keeping it open to the volunteer cleanup effort was in the best interest of the neighborhood
• Electric is adding components to their communication system due to a couple minor weaknesses discovered during the event

FYI—The home on Stephen Court that had flooding in 2008 and 2010 was inspected by our staff the week of August 30. It was determined it had a cross-connection (footing tile connected to the sanitary sewer) and a sump pit/pump that was not connected to anything. When storm water and sewer backed up to the home thru the service, it went through the footing tile and dispersed under the foundation. A cavity was found under the home where the sump pit emptied thru a separate tile.

3. OFFICER WAGNER: In the packet are letters of commendation from Sheriff Mike Balmer (Jasper County) and Sergeant Brian Sher for effort by Officer Mesha Wagner regarding two burglary suspects that were apprehended on July 31. Hats off to Mesha!!

4. FEMA ON-SITE VISIT: FEMA personnel spent all day Wednesday and Thursday morning visiting all the various sites of damage for the city and utility. Damage since June 1 has ranged from telephone replacement and alarm panel repair to culvert extensions and sewer main repair. Superintendents from streets, parks, water pollution control, electric and water described in detail what occurred and what was or will be needed to repair or improve the site. FEMA will pay to return the site to before event condition and will consider some Section 406 Hazard Mitigation. Mitigation must be cost-effective as determined by FEMA which means benefits exceed costs or the ratio of benefits to costs is greater than one.

Staff continues to repair, document and work with consultants to bring infrastructure back to original or improved condition. All eligible expenses will be reimbursed 75% by federal and 10% by state.

5. HOMECOMING PARADE: The annual Homecoming Parade will be held on September 23 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Friday, August 27, 2010

News Items - August 30, 2010

1. NEXT MEETING: The next council meeting is Tuesday, September 7 at 6:00 pm.

2. FEMA MEETING: Indianola was well represented by city staff on Thursday, August 26 for Indianola’s FEMA Kick-Off Meeting. Staff now has 60 days to identify and categorize all storm damage to public property between June 1 and continuing. They will be working with state and federal officials to ensure Indianola’s infrastructure is returned a condition the same or better than before the rain events. Cost sharing on eligible projects is 75% federal, 10% state and 15% local.

3. SOUTH SEWER MAIN BREAK: Vanderpool’s completed the emergency sewer main repair at the south plant lift station Wednesday night.

4. NORTH 1ST SEWER: The sanitary sewer on N 1st is being replaced as part of I&I’s Phase II. When the sewer was opened, the services were found to be below the main which is why there have been problems for many years. There are 8 sewers that will be replaced with a change order of $14,080. Since the sewer is open now and residents will need sewer service, the contractor is moving forward. The change order will be placed on the September 7 agenda for formal consideration.

5. BALLOON MUSEUM DITCH: Van Hauen did not start on the 25th as planned and is now looking after Labor Day. They are working to set up a meeting on-site with Elder to do some initial grading and clear trees to the west side of the balloon museum building prior to starting the box culvert. Elder may be in before Labor Day but Van Hauen will let us know

6. JOINT MEETING: Mayor Bresnan and I met with Carlisle/Norwalk mayors/administrators on the 25th. One of the items discussed was a joint meeting with all elected officials in October. The tentative date is Thursday, October 14 but that will be confirmed later.

7. 19TH STREET: Paving is complete and erosion control will begin this fall.

8. STORMS: The last of the 3 neighborhood meetings was held on the 25th and Forrest Aldrich has a better understanding of the issues that occurred on July 23. A recommendation will be brought to council in several weeks.

I asked Forrest to prepare a proposal to provide a plan/spec for the repairs outlined in the Storm Water Utility information coupled with the neighborhood meetings. A recommendation will be brought to council in September or October.

9. 2011 STREET REPLACEMENT PROJECT: Three proposals were received for engineering the 2011 Street Replacement Project (special assessment) as follows:

Company Design/Gen’l Services Resident Review

• Snyder & Associates $ 98,800 $57/hour
• Stanley Consultants $115,150 $62/hr
• Veenstra & Kimm $106,500 $60/hr

A recommendation will be made at the September 7 meeting.

The tentative project schedule is:

Sept 2010 Hire engineer
Oct/Nov Review streets for replacement
Dec 2010 Public info meeting with property owners
Dec 2010/Jan 2011 Develop plan/spec
March 2011 Receive bids
May/Oct Project construction

Friday, August 20, 2010

News Items - August 23, 2010

NEWS ITEMS


TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Tim
DATE: August 18, 2010


1. NEXT MEETING: The next meeting is Tuesday, September 7 at 6:00 pm.

2. SEWER PLANT: On August 15 Operator Kevin Crawford saw smoke coming from the Main Control Center (MCC) in the maintenance building and discovered the plant lost one phase of its three-phase power. Consequently several pumps lost power.

A Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) was damaged and several fuses where blown. Breakers tripped including the Country Club re-use water pump that may have suffered damage as well.

This VFD cost $5,700.00 to remove and replace on the 16th. The drive unit controls the influent flow to the treatment plant and is very critical to plant operation.

3. I&I: Chuck Burgin, John Hoyman, Skye Jacobs, Dan Miers and I met on the 19th to discuss methods to encourage property owners to make I&I repairs instead of paying the monthly fee. Options include:

1. Increasing the fee
2. Filing a municipal infraction (court action)
3. City performs repairs

After discussing, options 1 & 2 will be recommended for elected official discussion on September 13.

4. SOUTH Y: Garden’s Brad Uitemarkt reports the proposed storm pipe extending west along the south side of the Halsted property is 24” and is sized for larger than a 10-year storm. However, he will review 30” and 36” pipe options to determine the potential for reducing overland drainage even more.

Upon review of the properties several times this week, standing water was noted south of the driveway and in the field southwest both before and after Wednesday’s rain. This project will make a significant impact on removing the water and keeping it away from the garage (referenced at Monday’s meeting).

The option sending storm water north needs careful review due to the required length (and size) of pipe. This option will likely cause more overland drainage (over it’s current path) because water will have to flow 1,300’ underground before it outlets into the pond. The original option requires water to flow only 300’ underground before it outlets.

Brad Uitemarkt’s review and recommendation will be brought to committee in September or October.

5. AG ZONING: Residents are allowed to keep farm animals including horses, cows, etc, in the city as long as the property is zoned agricultural and the animals are kept 300’ away from a residential development.

6. LIBRARY HVAC: The Library Board recommended Shive Hattery re-design the Geo Thermal system and also design a replacement conventional system. Getting bids on both options will provide valuable information as to which systems are the most efficient and economical. The recommendation will be to reject the bids on September 7 and re-start the process.

7. FIREWORKS: Fire Chief Brian Seymour approved a fireworks permit for Simpson on August 29 as part of their festivities to welcome students. Per policy, the city is a named insured on Simpson’s $2 million general liability insurance policy.

8. AMPHITHEATER: The backstage wall and room concrete block were completed but due to weather, no other work has been done. Grading and paving of the access drive, backstage doors, sidewalk connection and sod/seeding remain.

9. MCCORD PARK EQUIPMENT: Glen Cowan received installation pricing from 5 companies that range from $10,000 to $12,000 to 15% to 35% of equipment cost. Based on these costs the staff recommendation will be to install the equipment in house.

Friday, August 13, 2010

News Items - August 16, 2010

1. GOALS/PRIORITIES: In the packet are the goals/priorities established by elected officials on the 9th. Bob Kreamer’s will be added next week.

2. TRUSTEE MEETINGS: The trustees are considering televising their second meeting (4th Monday) of each month instead of their first meeting (2nd Monday). Also, their first meeting may then be moved into the conference room upstairs in the east hallway.

If that occurs, mayor and council could consider moving the committee meeting (2nd Monday) to 6:00 pm.

3. DART: There are 8 Ride-Share vans serving 75 riders in Indianola and surrounding area.

4. WELLNESS/COMMUNITY CENTER: The Planning Committee would like to discuss Tax Increment Finance revenues at the September 13 council study meeting.

5. WEB PAGE: Several employee staff members have been reviewing our web page and are suggesting updates including:

• Combining all current sites into one main location. (Library, P&R, City, IMU) IMU will continue to have a second site that is dedicated to the more technical aspects of their business, but that site will also be designed to complement the City's (we're designing them at the same time)
• City wide calendar. Searchable depending on what information you would like. (meeting times, Library programs, Park & Rec. activities, etc.)
• Secure login" function. Can be used to deliver council packets and such. Also would allow in the future secure electronic employment application delivery.
• Ability for users to opt in and out of electronic delivery of City publications.
• Allows multiple users to update specific areas instead of funneling everything back to one person. (Police can update their pages whenever they need to, Library manages their own pages, etc.)
• Web based administration eliminates the need for software purchase. Also allows for many levels of users.
• Overall facelift and change of focus from department based navigation to needs based navigation. Allows easier navigation for the end user that is not familiar with the overall structure of City Government. For example, on the current site in order to view Building and Zoning Ordinances you would have to know that you need to navigate to the "departments" tab, and then to "Community Development" and then to the "Building and Zoning Ordinances". The new site would allow a user to select a drop down that begins with "I would like to..." and then select "view Building and Zoning Ordinances"

The city page has not been updated for approximately the last 7 years and the estimated cost is about $5,000. The schedule is to have the new site up and running by the end of January 2011.

Friday, August 6, 2010

News Items - August 9, 2010

1. SOUTH “Y” PAVING: Garden Associates Brad Uitemarkt is unable to attend the meeting Monday night. This item will be placed on the next Council Study Committee or council agenda. Also Chuck Burgin has spoke with Steve Darr and he is opposed to additional water. He is also planning to speak with Koethe today.

2. I&I: In the packet is a list of 51 non-compliant I&I properties that are being billed monthly, and, a list of 40 non-compliant properties that “will” be billed. Supt Dan Miers, Office Manager Skye Jacobs, John Hoyman and I will meet next week to discuss the lists to determine how they can be reduced and then provide a recommendation at the September committee meeting.

FYI—In the packet are two articles regarding flooding in Des Moines and Urbandale. The articles show such occurrences are not exclusive to Indianola. Cities do not build storm water systems to handle 2-3 or more inches of rain in an hour or so.

3. NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS: The following meetings are scheduled:

East Girard 6:00 pm August 10 City Hall Training Room

D and Boston 6:00 pm August 18 City Council Chambers

Stephen Ct 6:00 pm August 25 City Council Chambers

Given the difficulty in scheduling dates, a report will not be made until the September 7 council meeting.

4. PRESIDENTIAL DISASTER: Warren County has been included in the Presidential Disaster Declaration #1930 thereby making Indianola eligible for public assistance for government infrastructure. RoxAnne Hunerdosse and Chris Longer are working to ensure Indianola’s eligibility and will fill out the appropriate applications when available.

No report yet from Warren County Emergency Management Coordinator as to funding for private individuals and businesses.

5. W HWY 92 SEWER: At the pre-construction meeting on the 6th, the contractor (Underground Company) indicated they would bore under South Y and not disturb the roadway. There will be little inconvenience to Y and W 10th residents.

6. DEER HUNTING: Over the years the city has received requests to hunt deer with a bow in the city. Our code does not prohibit using a bow in the city, but, does not allow hunting. Given the deer population in some areas of the community, I have asked Chief Bonnett to review other metro hunting ordinances and recommend an option for Indianola. A recommendation will be brought to a future committee meeting.

7. 2011 STREET REPLACEMENT PROJECT: Community Development Director Chuck Burgin sent request for proposals for engineering services on the 2011 Street Replacement Project. About $2.5 million is budgeted to replace 20 or so blocks of streets. A recommendation will be brought to council in September.

8. HEALTH POOL: The health insurance pool is at about $960,000 thru July. Good news but we are bracing for the federal health insurance costs.

9. 19th STREET: Paving of 19th Street as well as backfilling behind the curb has been complete. Chuck is working on repair of the yard of the four residences. Priority Excavation still needs to remove and repair a small area of East First Avenue.

10. AMPHITHEATER: Concrete has been placed in the main stage area, block was delivered and will start being laid on August 6, 2010.

11. ON LINE BILLING: Billing Clerk Lindsey Offenburger reports there are 730 customers registered for online billing, 82 customers have opted for an on line bill (only) and 71 customers will receive their bill online and by mail.