January 22, 2007

The regular meeting of the Slater City Council was called to order by Mayor Richard Rewerts at 7:30 P.M. on January 22, 2007, at City Hall, 105 Greene St., Slater, Iowa. The roll being called the following Council members were present and absent: Present: O’Donnell, and Staples. Electronic connection – Pritchard. Absent: Cook and Schick. Others in attendance were Public Works Director LaDonna Chriswell, Colin Chriswell, Allen Munsterman, Chris Peterson, Steve Birkestrand, Cherryl Benning, Jeremy Schlee, and Ronna Lawless.

Steve Birkestrand requested time at a future meeting to continue discussion of acquisition by the City of the responsibilities related to the Log Cabin currently being handled by the Community Club. The building is owned by the City.

Cherryl Benning submitted her letter of resignation as part-time city staff.

Colin Chriswell indicated that the former "Pool Committee" has approximately $10,000 from the can drive and would like to recommend that the funds be spent for a permanent shade structure (pergola) at the pool. Attempts will be made to include this with the Park and Recreation Committee budget consideration. The funds must be coordinated through the proper accounting channels to assure legal accountability.

Don Schick arrived during the discussion.

Colin Chriswell presented a letter outlining his opinion on several items. He recommended Council implement a special assessment program for street improvements. He further expressed his preference not to establish new revenue streams through new enterprise funds and user defined charges, but rather by raising the property taxes.

Finally, the Chriswell family has generously created a Chriswell Family Community Grant in the amount of $1,500 to further community development. Deadlines for the application are February 17, 2007 with grant awards anticipated to be announced March 13, 2007. Colin indicated that interest has been expressed in an application relating to signage directing people to the business district. It was the consensus of the Council that if the sign placement met statutory requirements they would not have any objections.

It was moved by Staples, seconded by O’Donnell to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2007 meeting. The motion passed with record vote as follows: Yes: Staples, O’Donnell, Schick and Pritchard, No: none.

It was moved by Staples and seconded by O’Donnell to approve expenditures totaling $84,570.66 as follows:

The motion passed with record vote as follows: Yes: Staples, O’Donnell, Schick, and Pritchard. No: none.

Al Munsterman of Snyder and Associates presented a detailed overview of the preliminary draft of the Slater 2006 Water System Study. The report uses a 20 year planning period. Preliminary costs of proposed improvements are identified and priorities were reviewed by the Council.

During the study, reports from citizens about non harmful color in the water were addressed by a series of water analysis samples. Water quality tests show the presence of organic materials in the raw water from the current aquifer including tannins and lignin which can produce color. The cost of addressing the color is $300,000 and ranks in the top 8 priorities for proposed improvements. The preliminary report is on file for public inspection.

The top priority is to address water treatment plant residuals by construction of a below ground 50,000 gallon concrete equalization tank. The water treatment residual is then pumped to the sanitary sewer system. This improvement is mandated by the Department of Natural Resources and is not an optional construction item. The cost is estimated to be $220,000 and needs to be addressed immediately.

It was moved by Staples and seconded by Schick to authorize Snyder and Associates to prepare a proposal for design engineering services. The motion passed with record vote as follows: Yes: Staples, Schick, O’Donnell, and Pritchard. No: None.

A general timeline was discussed anticipating the possibility of a May 2007 bid letting, summer 2007 construction and fall 2007 for the system to be operational.

Kurt Estrem expressed interest regarding serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission. It was moved by Pritchard and seconded by Staples to appoint Kurt Estrem to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Don Schick. Mr. Estrem’s term will expire in February of 2010. The motion passed with record vote as follows: Yes: Pritchard, Staples, Schick, and O’Donnell. No: none. The Mayor declared the motion carried.

A lengthy discussion was held regarding capital projects and associated engineering costs. The Council provided guidance as to items be prioritized for inclusion in the preliminary fiscal year 2007-2008 budget draft. A few items agreed upon were R38 improvements inside the City limits, a minimum of $5,000 to establish a storm water enterprise fund, preliminary engineering modeling of Fourmile Creek rough budget numbers ranging from $10,000 - $15,000 in fees, and updates of the Zoning Ordinances, Subdivision Ordinance, Site Plan Ordinances a range of $9,000 - $15,000 in fees is anticipated. Other items desired to be included were undetermined log cabin structural evaluation and repairs, costs associated with 505 Linn property likely $150,000 - $200,000, website upgrade $6,000, newsletter costs $2,400, phone system $5,000.

It was noted that this is only a partial list and priorities will need to be set when it is determined how much money is available and what cuts the Council will need to make to balance the budget and have a reasonable cash balance to address cash flow for the first quarter or fiscal year 07-08 and expenses that are unable to be anticipated at the time of budget development. It was also restated that the reliance on Local Option Sales Tax to balance the General Fund needs to be geared to one time expenditures if possible. Budget work sessions will be announced later.

Mayor Rewerts reported that the January 17th public input meeting on the Comprehensive Plan was well attended by a cross section of individuals. The public is encouraged to provide input to City Hall at the earliest possible date to be included in the final plan. A draft of the document remains available to the public at City Hall and the Library. Final adoption of the plan will likely be early March after the Planning and Zoning Commission reviews the final draft and makes a recommendation for approval to the City Council.

City Administrator North requested Council feedback regarding expanded offices hours being made available to the public at City Hall. This would require a change from the current 7:00 -12:00 with a closed lunch period and then resuming at 12:30 and closing at 3:30 p.m. daily.

She indicated that on a trial basis she would like to try a more citizen friendly approach opening at 9:00 and remaining open until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. This schedule is more in keeping with other local hours and in line with a more traditionally accepted business model. It was noted that these are public hours. It is recognized that with only one full time staff person there may be times when the office will be closed, however, staff cell phone contacts can be made available. She was authorized to proceed with the new hours effective January 29, 2007. At this time, the public works staff will continue to work from 7:00 – 3:30.