City Council Minutes February 22, 2011

North Liberty City Council
February 22, 2011
Regular Session

Call to order.  At 7:00 p.m., Mayor Pro Tem Kuhl called the February 22, 2011 Regular Session of the North Liberty City Council to order. Council members present: Chipman, Donahue, Hoffman, Kuhl, Wayson; absent – Mayor Salm.

Others present: Ryan Heiar, Scott Peterson, Dean Wheatley, Kevin Trom, Tracey Mulcahey, Erika Harper, Steve Kuhl, Debra Hilton and other interested parties.

Approval of the Agenda.  Wayson moved, Chipman seconded to approve the agenda with removal of item number 12 “Firearms and Weapons on City Property” with further discussion at an upcoming work session. After discussion, the vote was: ayes – Hoffman, Wayson, Donahue, Kuhl, Chipman; nays – none. Motion carried.

Consent Agenda.  Hoffman moved, Wayson seconded to approve the Consent Agenda including City Council Minutes from the Regular Meeting on February 8, 2011; City Council Minutes from the Special Meeting on February 15, 2011, the attached list of claims; January Revenues; the Liquor License Application for Los Potrillo’s located at 40 Sugar Creek Lane, Units 5 & 6 for a Class C Liquor License with Sunday Sales Endorsement; and the Liquor License Application for Okoboji Grill at 1650 Jordan Street for a  Class C Liquor License with Sunday Sales Endorsement. The vote was: ayes – Wayson, Kuhl, Chipman, Donahue, Hoffman; nays – none. Motion carried.

Public Comment.  Jeff Dettbarn, 34 Holiday Lodge, spoke regarding the driveway to Holiday Lodge that was closed as a result of the Highway 965 and Golfview project.  He expressed concern about the inconvenience and safety.  He requested that the drive be reopened. Mayor Pro Tem indicated that information would be provided later in the meeting.

Bob Wise, Oak Ridge Road in rural Johnson County, asked for clarification on the weapons policy. Mayor Pro Tem Kuhl stated that the item would not be discussed tonight, but would be given significant time at an upcoming work session. Heiar indicated he would be requesting feedback from Council on the work session later in the meeting.

Nancy Lewis, 41 Holiday Lodge Road, expressed concern about closing the south drive leaving only one entrance to Holiday Lodge Park.  She met with Ryan Heiar and other staff today who explained the reasoning for the closure due to IDOT requirements.  She is seeking an exemption to allow the reopening of the drive.

City Attorney Report. City Attorney Peterson reported that there are two proposed closed sessions tonight. The second one concerning litigation is not necessary unless council wants to go into closed session for an update.

City Engineer Report.  City Engineer Trom provided updates on several projects. The Jones Boulevard bid opening was held this week. Plans for the Penn Street Turn Lanes Project are completed. The bid packets will be sent out this week. The public hearing will be held on March 8. Council will consider the award at the second meeting in March.  Staff is working on two agreements for the Golfview Drive Extension Project.  The public hearing and award of contract are tentatively planned for April. The Dubuque Street Trail project is let in Ames through IDOT on a date set by IDOT.  Staff has agreed to a June 13 start date. This date allows for construction on school property during the summer. Tentatively, the public hearing will be held on April 5 with contract awards at the April 19 Council meeting.  Trom will be attending a conference on the next Council meeting date.

City Administrator Report.  City Administrator Heiar reported that the way the list of claims is distributed to Council has been updated.  He asked for input on the process changes.

The Joint Meeting of Johnson County local governments will be held on February 23 at 4:30 at the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building.

At the last meeting, the farm management lease was tabled. After conversations with the City Attorney and Council, the City will approach this with an agreement between the City and the farmer directly. The City has had two offers on the land.  At some point, Heiar needs direction on how the ground should be leased.

In this Council packet, there is a report from the Fire Department. A more formal report will be presented by the Department at the second meeting in March.

An open house/project forum is planned for March 24 in the Gerdin Conference Center.  A specific room and time will be determined. The projects that will be presented include Penn Street Turn Lanes, Jones Boulevard Project, Dubuque Street Trail Project, Penn Meadows Parking Lot Project and the Golfview Extension Project.

Good publicity on the Washington DC trip was in The North Liberty Leader and on the City update on NLTV. Earmarks have been eliminated, but the legislators do want to help by providing letters of support for applications. Heiar encouraged Council to review the article and segment.

Heiar updated Council on the revised Resolution Number 11-22. The new resolution specifically shows the Assistant Library Director accessing only one account at Midwest One.

Heiar discussed work session timing relating to the Weapons Resolution with Council. The consensus was to wait until later in the legislative session or after adjournment.

Brian Crawford provided an update on the Highway 965 Construction project to Council. The Fairview Drive stop lights are expected to be functional the second week of March.  The stop lights at Ashley Court are more weather related in their timing.  The work will proceed as conditions allow. Crawford went on to talk about the southern closure in Holiday Lodge.  The geometric configuration of the realignment limits the access of driveway that close to an intersection. He stated that residents can choose the signalized intersection at Fairview or Westwood.  It is not uncommon to have one entrance for this number of units.  The queuing and stacking were reviewed. Safety is the concern. He stated that emergency vehicles from Coralville should have improved times due to the improvements on Highway 965 which would likely offset the closure of the drive in the mobile home park. Heiar stated that Lt. Venenga reported the Police Department responds to calls using a map. According to Venenga, this is a change, but not a safety issue.  The Police Department is able to respond very well to a call.

Council discussed the realignment configuration and the width of the streets in the park. The streets were designed to the width required at the time of construction. Mayor Pro Tem Kuhl would like to see the Highway 965 Project completed with the stoplights functioning and then have the Fire Department go in to see what the conditions are.  He suggested a conversation with the manager of the park to keep the streets as wide open as possible.

With regards to the purchase of the property, the City worked closely with the representative of the Alberhasky Family, Mike Pugh. The City paid an additional $10,000 “inconvenience” fee for the closing of this driveway. The owners were very aware of the closure. The owners were relied on to share the information about the closure of the private driveway with the residents of their complex.  Heiar plans to visit with the manager to talk about what can be done relating to parking and access. Crawford offered to assist.

Councilor Chipman asked why IDOT wanted it closed. Crawford stated that having traffic enter the roadway that close to a stop sign from the driveway would result in have cars stacked during increased traffic/peak volume times.  Chipman asked if there was no design that would satisfy IDOT.  Crawford responded that this is accurate.

Mayor Report.  Mayor Pro Tem Kuhl reported that at the work session last Tuesday night, Council consensus was to set the levy at $11.03 which represents a $0.17 reduction.  The 2010 Census count is 13, 374 making North Liberty the second fastest growing city.  The Road Use Tax revenues will roughly double compared to the previous fiscal year allowing for the purchase another snow plow and hire another staff person.

Kuhl clarified the position on the statement that says they “saved the city 8,000,000.” With a cash flow analysis of the original scenario, with a minimum assessment on a $30 million building, the tax yield would be $6.6 million plus the taxes for any increase in the valuation of the land.  Kuhl estimated this will add $1.54 million over a twenty year period.   If the City would have made $18.5 million in payments toward the project, it would have been offset by about $8.14 million in the tax proceeds above the base investment. This results in a $10 million net investment on the City’s part, which is where the City is now with the approved agreements.  The project was approved due to having the ability to attract a valuable asset to that side of the town.

Councilor Chipman stated that the $18.5 million cost would have been incurred if no additional properties were sold at this site. The City would have been selling lots and collecting property taxes.  The difference between the original proposal and the approved proposal is that the time period the project is paid with TIF is reduced. This is good for economic development. TIF proceeds are used to pay for many of the City’s Capital Projects.

FY 2010 Audit.  Donahue moved, Chipman seconded to approve Resolution Number 11-18, A Resolution accepting the Audit Report for Fiscal Year 2010 as completed by Greenwood and Crim, P.C. Steve Kuhl of Greenwood and Crim, P.C. presented the Audit Report for Fiscal Year 2010. After discussion, the vote was: ayes – Kuhl, Chipman, Donahue, Hoffman, Wayson; nays –none. Motion carried.

Community Survey.  Dean Wheatley and Dan Weis presented the proposed City Survey.  1,000 households of 5,500 in North Liberty will receive the survey. Survey goes out in a typed addressed envelope with a stamped return envelope included. Council discussed the survey, methodology and data collection. Councilor Wayson proposed having and additional survey available through the web after this scientifically significant survey is completed.  The consensus was to move forward on the Community Survey.

FY 2012 Budget and Capital Improvements Plan.  Wayson moved, Hoffman seconded to approve Resolution Number 11-20, A Resolution to fix a date for a public hearing on the FY 2012 Budget and Capital Improvements Plan for the year ending June 30, 2012 for the March 8, 2011 Council meeting. After discussion, the vote was: ayes – Chipman, Kuhl, Wayson, Hoffman, Donahue; nays – none. Motion carried.

Jones Boulevard Project.  Hoffman moved, Wayson seconded to approve Resolution Number 11-21, A Resolution accepting the Bid from Horsfield Construction for the 2010 Jones Boulevard Improvement Project.  After discussion, the vote was: ayes – Hoffman, Donahue, Kuhl, Wayson, Chipman; nays – none. Motion carried.

Depository Resolution.  Chipman moved, Wayson seconded to approve Resolution Number 11-22, A Resolution designating Hills Bank & Trust Company, US Bank, Midwest One, University of Iowa Community Credit Union, Liberty Bank, Collins Community Credit Union, and Corridor State Bank as Depositories for Public Funds belonging to the City of North Liberty, Iowa.  After discussion, the vote was: ayes – Donahue, Chipman, Wayson, Kuhl, Hoffman; nays – none. Motion carried.

Old Business.  City Administrator Heiar thanked Department Heads and Mulcahey for all the work resulting in a high quality audit.

Councilor Hoffman thanked Salm & Heiar for traveling from the Quad Cities for the trip to Washington DC to save $200 on each airline ticket.

Negotiation Strategy Session.  At 8:26 p.m., Donahue moved, Chipman seconded to move into the exempt negotiation strategy session pursuant to Iowa Code Section 20.17(3) to discuss strategy relating to labor negotiations. The vote was: ayes – Wayson, Hoffman, Kuhl, Chipman, Donahue; nays – none. Motion carried.

At 9:02 p.m., Hoffman moved, Chipman seconded to return to open session. The vote was: ayes – Kuhl, Chipman, Donahue, Wayson, Hoffman; nays – none. Motion carried.

Litigation Issue.  At 9:04 p.m., Donahue moved, Hoffman seconded to move into Closed Session under Iowa Code Section 21.5.1(c), to discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation is imminent where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the governmental body in litigation. The vote was: ayes – Chipman, Hoffman, Wayson, Donahue, Kuhl; nays – none. Motion carried.

At 9:21 p.m., Wayson moved, Hoffman seconded to return to open session. The vote was: ayes – Donahue, Kuhl, Hoffman, Wayson, Chipman; nays – none. Motion carried.

Adjournment.  At 9:22 p.m., Donahue moved, Wayson seconded to adjourn. All ayes. Meeting adjourned.