City Council to Meet Oct. 13, 2020

Included in each City Council information packet is a memo from the City Administrator offering a summary and context of items appearing on the agenda. We will begin publishing these memos here in our news feed to make them more accessible. You can sign up to be notified of news items, agendas and more by email.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health and safety concerns require City of North Liberty public meetings to be held electronically, so as to limit the spread of the virus. The public is invited to submit questions and comments in advance of the meeting for consideration submitting them to the City Clerk Tracey Mulcahey via email at [email protected].

This meeting may be accessed live by the public on the internet at northlibertyiowa.org/live.

Meeting Note

Tuesday’s meeting will be held virtually via Zoom and live streamed at Watch Meetings Live as well as available on the participants will log into the meeting in order to conduct business while the public will be able to watch the debate and decisions being made.

Consent Agenda

The following items are on the consent agenda and included in the packet:

• City Council Minutes (09/22/20)
• Claims
• Liquor Licenses
  • Fareway (renewal)
  • Rancho Nuevo (new)

• Change Order    #7,    Police    Station    Project, Tricon       Construction Group, ($26,952.20)
• Pay Application #14R, Police Station Project, Tricon Construction Group, $67,883.52
• Pay Application #15R, Police Station Project, Tricon Construction Group, $17,843.61
• Change Order #1, Ranshaw House Renovation Project, Phase 2, Wolfe Contracting, Inc., ($32,325.81)
• Pay Application #3, Cherry Street Sewer Project, Maxwell Construction, $35,100

• Pay Application #2, Aquatic Center HVAC Replacement, Apex Construction Company, Inc., $78,732.20

Transportation Assistance Program (NLTAP)

During his report, the Mayor will update the City Council on changes to the NLTAP that are being proposed by the Transit Task Force. The first modification includes adding Wal- Mart, for all purposes, to the list of acceptable locations. Currently, the program only allows stops at Wal-Mart for pharmacy pickups. The second addition includes North Liberty schools specifically for the purposes of picking up a sick child or to attend a conference or related teacher meeting. This change does not allow students or parents to use the cab service as a daily commuter route to the schools. These modifications can be made administratively and do not require council approval; thus, there is not an action item on the agenda.

FY 20 Audit Presentation

The FY20 audit and communication letter are included in the packet and Dustin Opatz with BerganKDV will be at Tuesday’s meeting to present the findings. Generally, staff is satisfied with the findings and, moreover, was very pleased with the working relationship with the auditing team. The one deficiency noted is in regards to internal controls, a deficiency that has been included in all previous audit reports because of the difficulty in segregating duties in an office with few employees. Staff and the auditing team recommend approval of the FY20 audit.

Green Belt Trail, Part 1 Final Plat

The public improvements for Green Belt Trail, Part 1, which includes 48 single family residential lots, have been completed and inspected. This subdivision is located just west of and adjacent to North Liberty Road and north of the Dohnovan Estates subdivision. Staff recommends approval of the final plat, the escrow agreement for signage and landscaping and the storm water management facility agreement.

Harvest Estates II, Part 6 Final Plat

The public improvements for part six of Harvest Estates, which includes Parker Court and Harrison Street and is located in the southwest part of the subdivision, have been completed and inspected. This part of the subdivision includes 30 single family residential lots. Staff recommends approval of the final plat as well as the accompanying storm water management facility agreement.

FY 20 Annual Urban Renewal Report

The Urban Renewal Report provides a history of the urban renewal and TIF projects, valuations and spending in North Liberty. This report, once approved, is required to be filed with the state. Staff recommends approval of the FY20 Urban Renewal Report.

Zoning Ordinance Revisions, Second Reading

This is a staff initiated amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. Changes include amending definitions, which in part include diagrams, amending the regulations for accessory buildings, reorganizing yard and height regulations into table format, and updating certain design standards. One of the proposed changes, increasing the maximum garage size for larger lots, was a suggestion from a citizen who was recently denied a variance by the Board of Adjustment. Staff agrees that larger lots should have the option for a bigger garage.

Staff is taking a phased approach to modernizing and making the Zoning Ordinance more user friendly. Another amendment is anticipated in the near future.

IT Coordinator Position

The top priority coming out of the cybersecurity audit last year was hiring an IT Coordinator for the City. Subsequently, the City Council agreed that the position should be a priority at the February Strategic Planning and Goal Setting Session. Staff has developed a job description and assigned a pay grade based on the compensation program’s scoring matrix. The position scored a 21 and has a salary range of $64k – $93k per year. As outlined in the job description, this position will spend 20% of its time in the library working on IT related issues specific to the library and its programming.

During the budget discussions earlier this year, Council agreed to allocate $75k from the FY19 surplus for cybersecurity related expenses. This allocation, plus previously budgeted library salaries will fund the new IT Coordinator position. Staff is seeking Council approval on Tuesday to move ahead with filling the position.

Additional Information: Light Rail Studies

The recently completed light rail study (Iowa City to North Liberty), as well as previous rail studies, can be found at the following link: https://www.mpojc.org/resources/publications.