City Council Minutes May 22, 2007

North Liberty City Council
May 22, 2007
Regular Session
Number 28

Mayor Salm called to order the regular session of the North Liberty City Council at 7:00 pm.

Council members present: Bahl, Kuhl, Moody, Wozniak, Wilkerson.

Others present. City Attorney Scott Peterson, City Engineer Kevin Trom, Acting City Administrator Tracey Mulcahey, City Planner Dean Wheatley, Adam Bohr, Street Superintendent Donald Colony, Lyn Caslavka, and other interested citizens.

Consent Agenda. Kuhl moved, seconded by Moody, to approve the Agenda and the Consent Agenda. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Bahl, Kuhl, Moody, Wozniak, Wilkerson; nays—none. Motion carried.

David Franker Recognition for Service on Council and as Mayor. Mayor Salm presented a clock to Franker for his service to North Liberty.

Swearing in of Councilman James Moody to serve on the Iowa State Board of Psychology Examiners. Moody was sworn in and he explained what his duties will be.

Public Comment. Herb Loops, 2900 North Liberty Road. Loops feels the City may be under pressure from the City of Coralville to mediate the annexation to the east of North Liberty. Loops urged the Council to stay strong and not go into talks with the City of Coralville.

Joanne Belknap, Township Clerk. Joanne also feels that the City should not enter into mediation with the City of Coralville. She would like the Alt Cemetery to stay with North Liberty and also the County Fire Protection Revenue.

Douglas Paul, lives on Peterson Place east of the Scanlan Farm. Citizens for Sensible Development are appreciative of North Liberty’s support. He feels that mediation is not needed with Coralville.

Official Announcements. Mayor Salm introduced new Council member Wilkerson.. She was appointed to fill Salm’s remaining term.

Dean Wheatly, City Planner, was introduced to the City Council and the citizens.

Bahl and Kuhl were appointed by Salm to the new Personnel Board. Moody will be an alternate.

The Mayor invited Council to be on KXIC Radio with him on Wednesday, May 30th.

May is Motorcycle Awareness Month. The Mayor asked citizens to be observant of motorcycles.

City Attorney Report. The time frame has passed for the filing of a petition calling for an election for the vacated Council seat of Salm. Wilkerson will hold the seat until November.

City Engineer Report. Trom reported that the section of 240th Street being paved between the railroad tracks and Progress Street has started and should be completed by the 4th of July.

The West Trunk Sewer Project preconstruction meeting will be Wednesday, May 30th Maxwell Construction was awarded the bid. The project is to be completed within three months.

The bid for the 270th Street paving is on this meeting’s Agenda.

The installation of traffic lights at Kansas Avenue and Penn Street is almost completed.

The I-380 Interchange review continues with the IDOT. The $400,000.00 STEPP Funding which the City applied for is still four to six weeks out for determination.

The new water tower will begin holding water in the next couple of weeks.

Trom gave an update on Well 5, which went down Friday night. The pump for Well 6 is ready to go, but the Superintendent would like to wait for cooler/rainy weather because it will take three to four days to put the new pump in.

The ASR Well Report was submitted to the EPA and DNR last week for their review. They will report determine if the site is feasible.

Acting City Administrator Report.
Park Plan Update: The Chairs of the committee, Mayor and acting City Administrator met with the consultant regarding the Parks Plan. Meetings have been scheduled beginning in June and a report will be ready for Council in July.

Changes in Polling Places: The County Auditor’s Office has reviewed the polling places used in previous elections. They have relocated the polling place from the fire station to the Community Center. For the June 12th election, the two voting districts will be in two separate rooms in the Community Center. For the November regular election, the polling places will both be housed in the Gerdin Conference Center. The Auditor’s Office feels this change will best serve the residents of our Community. They are conducting an informational campaign and contacting voters regarding the change.

Sidewalk Program 2007: The acting City Administrator, Water Superintendent, and Street Superintendent met, and feel each situation will be different and result in different costs. Staff recommends that Council require property owner, to make the repairs and bear the costs. Staff will notify all property owners that need to make repairs and give them a timeframe for completion. If the repairs are not completed in the time allowed, the City will make the repairs and assess the cost back to the homeowners.

The consensus of the Council was to proceed with the above recommendation with a completion date of September 10, 2007.

Adopt a Street Program: The City has been approached about allowing street adoption. Staff is working to put together a program. Staff is proposing requiring a minimum number of clean ups per year and determining who pays for the sign at start up. The minimum number of clean ups will determine whether the sign stays there or not. The Council recommended that staff proceed.

AIA Charette: Mulcahey gave Council a list of Department head suggestions for the American Institute of Architects proposed Charette. Council needs to choose one from the list to help the AIA assist the City with going through a community development process. The list consisted of:
1) New City Hall program and location
2) Building design standards to prevent monotony of suburbs
3) Vision/Mission Statement for North Liberty
4) Planning an addition for Penn Meadows Park
5) Community Center layout, to keep the middle/high school kids there, but make it more friendly for others in the community to use. The youths have made it into a hang out, and this has discouraged some mature adults from using the facilities.
6) Planning for other city properties.
7) Daycare location and program.

The Council members are to get their choice to Mulcahey.

An Affordable Housing Assessment is being done for North Liberty, Coralville, University Heights, Tiffin and Iowa City. They are looking to see if there is adequate housing in the area. We should see the results in November.

Jay Kohler has resigned from the Board of Adjustments effective June 22, 2007. The City will advertise the position.

The Fun Day’s Committee has asked the Council to sell wrist bands Thursday night. They should notify staff if they are interested.

270th Street Project. Public Hearing was opened at 7:32 pm and there were no comments. Public Hearing was closed.

Bahl moved, seconded by Moody, to approve Resolution Number 07-96, A Resolution approving the proposed plans, specifications, form of contract and estimated cost of the 270th Street Improvement Project. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Wozniak, Wilkerson, Moody, Kuhl, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Bahl moved, seconded by Wilkerson, to approve Resolution Number 07-97, A Resolution Accepting the bid from Streb Construction for the 270th Street Improvements Project subject to substituting Terra seeding for hydroseeding at $7625.00; substituting epoxy pavement marking for waterborne paint $3102.50; and substituting epoxy symbols and legends for waterborne paint $1000.00. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Wozniak, Wilkerson, Moody, Kuhl, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Kuhl moved, seconded by Bahl, to approve Resolution number 07-98, A Resolution relating to financing of a proposed project to be undertaken by the City of North Liberty, Iowa, establishing compliance with reimbursement bond regulations under the Internal Revenue Code. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Wozniak, Wilkerson, Moody, Kuhl, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Street Department Equipment Purchase. Moody moved, seconded by Kuhl, to approve the purchase of the brush chipper and the shop hoist. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Wozniak, Wilkerson, Moody, Kuhl, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Urban Renewal Plan Amendment. Public Hearing was opened at 7:37 pm and there were no comments. Public Hearing was closed.

Moody moved, seconded by Wilkerson, to approve Resolution Number 07-100, A Resolution to declare necessity and establish an Urban Renewal Area, pursuant to Section 403.4 of the Code of Iowa and approve the Urban Renewal Plan Amendment for the 2007 Addition to the North Liberty Urban Renewal Area. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Wozniak, Wilkerson, Moody, Kuhl, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Budget Amendment. Public Hearing was opened at 7:39 pm and there were no comments. Public Hearing was closed. Bahl moved, seconded by Wozniak, to approve Resolution 07-101, A Resolution Approving the Budget Amendment for Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2007. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Wozniak, Wilkerson, Moody, Kuhl, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Delinquent Utility Bill Assessment. Kuhl moved, seconded by Bahl, to approve Resolution Number 07-102, A Resolution Authorizing the Assessment of Delinquent Amounts Owed to the City of North Liberty, Iowa to individual Property Taxes. During discussion, Council stated that they would like staff to look into the administrative cost involved in this process and report back. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Wozniak, Wilkerson, Moody, Kuhl, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Fox Valley Developer’s Agreement. Moody moved, seconded by Bahl, to approve Resolution Number 07-103, A Resolution Approving the Developer’s Agreement for Fox Valley Subdivision, Part One. During discussion, Paul Osterholt, member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, updated the Council what was required of the Developer on the Preliminary Plat and in the Covenants for Fox Valley in the ways of required trees, trail placement. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Bahl, Wilkerson, Moody; nays—Kuhl, Wozniak.

Bahl moved, seconded by Moody, to approve Resolution Number 07-104, A Resolution Approving the Developer’s Agreement for Fox Valley Subdivision, Part Two. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Bahl, Wilkerson, Moody; nays—Kuhl, Wozniak. Motion carried.

Fun Days. Kuhl moved, seconded by Wilkerson, to approve Resolution Number 07-105, A Resolution Authorizing the Use of Penn Meadows Park and City Equipment for Fun Days and Authorizing Temporary Street Closings in connection with the Fun Days Parade. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Bahl, Kuhl, Wozniak, Moody, Wilkerson; nays-none. Motion carried.

Blues and BBQ Fest. Kuhl moved, seconded by Bahl, to approve Resolution Number 07-106, A Resolution Authorizing the Use of Liberty Centre Park and City Equipment for Blues and BBQ Festival and Authorizing Temporary Street Closings. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Kuhl, Wozniak, Moody, Wilkerson, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Clear Creek-Amana Community School District. Kuhl moved, seconded by Bahl, to approve Resolution Number 07-57, A Resolution Approving the 28E Agreement between the City of North Liberty and the Clear-Creek Amana Community School District in regards to Gymnasium Expansion. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Wilkerson, Moody, Kuhl, Wozniak, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Bob’s Place Liquor License. Late in 2006, Council authorized the renewal of the liquor license for Bob’s Place. Staff had placed conditions on the liquor license renewal as shown in the attached documents. As of yet, the conditions have not been met. Police Chief Warkentin has reported a dramatic increase in arrest activity at the bar as well. Staff sent a request to Bob O’Rear to be present at the Council meeting, which he did not attend. Staff recommends that the Council deny the renewal of the Liquor License.

Moody moved, seconded by Bahl, not to renew the Liquor License for Bob’s Place. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Kuhl, Wozniak, Moody, Wilkerson, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

It was the consensus of the Council to have the City Attorney look at the Municipal Infractions process on getting the items completed by Bob O’Rear immediately.

City Administrator Position. The Council did not have this item in their packet. Acting City Administrator will e-mail it to the members and they are to get their comments back to staff as soon as possible.

Old Business. Bahl thanked the Water Department Staff for their work over the week-end with the problem at the plant.

New Business. Moody reported that Johnson County Emergency Management is about to make an offer to a new Coordinator.

Closed Session. Bahl moved, seconded by Kuhl, to go into Closed Session as according to the Iowa State Code Section 21.5 ( c ) “To discuss strategy with Council in matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the governmental body in that litigation. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Kuhl, Wozniak, Moody, Wilkerson, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Kuhl moved, seconded by Moody, to go back into regular session at 9:40 pm. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Kuhl, Wozniak, Moody, Wilkerson, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.

Adjournment. Bahl moved, seconded by Moody, to adjourn the meeting at 9:40 pm. After discussion, the vote was: ayes—Kuhl, Wozniak, Moody, Wilkerson, Bahl; nays—none. Motion carried.