MINUTES – REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
HAWARDEN PUBLIC LIBRARY

Monday, May 8, 2000 at 7:00 P.M.

Present: Mayor Jacobs; Council members: Dorhout, Cauwels, Harvey, Kallsen, Woodley

Staff Present: Craig Coffey, City Administrator; Tom Kane, Superintendent of Public Works; Patty Anderson, Telecommunications Director; Jim Pickner, City Attorney; Mike DeBruin, Police Chief.

1. Approval of April 17, 2000 Minutes. Moved by Woodley/Cauwels to approve the Minutes. Motion carried unanimously.

2. Approval of Claims for Payment. Moved by Harvey/Woodley to approve the Schedule of Claims. Motion carried unanimously.

3. Open Business from the Community (limited to a maximum of 5 minutes per item). There was no open business presented from the community.

4. Staff Reports/Discussion.

• Staff briefly discussed how studying the water rationing issue was going. Staff indicated that they had hired an engineer to determine what level should be used to issue a warning and at what level should we declare a water emergency. Staff is working up some conservation measures that could be taken if a drought gets to that point;
• Jeff Nohava resigned as ambulance director. A new ambulance director was not selected from the applicants interviewed. Staff said they will be re-opening the position.
• Action will be taken against the Hyde Plant on the outside debris and the water and truck well.
• It was also reported that the burnt house the Council had inquired about had been removed.

Old Business

5. Third Reading Ordinance No. 578. An Ordinance of the City of Hawarden, amending Section 12.44, Paragraph (C) Monthly Rates of the Code of Ordinances, thereby increasing the cable rates of the City. This is the proposed rate structure that was approved by the Citizen’s Programming Committee at their last meeting. Discussion ensued about the number of channels we have added (6 channels) and increased costs over the last 3 years.

Moved by Cauwels/Woodley to pass Ordinance No. 578 on third reading. Motion carried unanimously.

New Business

6. Proclamation of EMS Week. The Mayor proclaimed May 14-20 as Emergency Medical Services Week.

7. Rescheduling of May 15 Meeting to May 22. The Regular City Council Meeting was rescheduled for May 22 due to prior conflicts.

8. Televising of City Council Meetings. Mr. Coffey presented the Council with information on televising the Council meetings on our local TV channel and the equipment needed to do so. This would enable all the citizens to view each council meeting live. Moved by Harvey/Woodley to approve televising of these meetings. Motion carried unanimously. Further discussion ensued about the pros and cons of televising these meetings. Continued discussion on this item will be at the next meeting.

9. Request for Renewal of Class B Beer Permit with Sunday Sales. Moved by Dorhout/Harvey to approve the renewal of Class B Beer Permit with Sunday Sales for the Pizza Ranch at 723 Central. Motion carried unanimously.

10. High Speed Internet Contract. This item was reviewed and then postponed by general consent until the Council meeting of May 22, 2000. The City Administrator and City Attorney were directed to do further work on specific sections of the contract.

11. Seal Coat Bid Opening and Contract Letting. The three bids for seal coating for the City of Hawarden were opened and read at this time.

Moved by Kallsen/Cauwels to award the contract with Top Coat Construction pending a satisfactory staff review. Motion carried unanimously.

12. Penalties for Boyer Project. At the previous meeting a subcontractor on the job discussed the matter and asked that the fees be waived. It was recommended by staff to waive half the penalties and settle the matter. Discussion ensued about the contract, liens, damages, and quality of work. Moved by Woodley/Harvey to not waive the penalty fees. Aye: Woodley, Dorhout, Cauwels, Harvey. Nay: Kallsen. Motion carried.

13. Retirement Parties for Retiring Employees. Craig Coffey, City Administrator, asked that a policy be developed for celebrations given for retiring employees. He suggested that we adopt a schedule for when an employee departs from the City for retirement or resigns for another job. If the employee is forced to resign or is fired, then the schedule would not apply. He presented a draft one that reflects typically what has been done in the past.

Moved by Cauwels/Kallsen to approve the table for retirement of employees.

Aye: Woodley, Dorhout, Cauwels, Kallsen. Nay: Harvey. Motion carried.

Mr. Coffey was also directed to approach a recent retiree that did not receive a retirement party.

14. Position on Lutheran Social Services Property. Mr. Coffey, City Administrator, discussed with the Council items regarding the LSS property and wanted Council input on how some items should be pursued. He informed the Council that the Attorney, Mayor and himself would have a meeting with LSS on May 10 to discuss the property. After a brief discussion it decided to wait to see what LSS would present at the meeting on the 10^th.

15. Discussion Health Care Insurance. Mr. Coffey reported that we have until the 19^th of May to accept the offer from Principal Insurance, our current carrier, which would raise our rates 44% ($5,000 monthly). The Council agreed with Mr. Coffey to take bids from other companies in hopes of finding a more reasonable plan. The City Administrator was directed to temporarily extend our current coverage until a replacement is found.

16. Discussion of the Purchase of Property NE Corner of 10^th and Central. Discussion was held with the Council on the purchasing of the NE corner of 10^th and Central by the City while the current set of budget amendments was being done. The Council by general consent decided not to purchase the property. The Council wanted to follow previous terms set up to purchase the property.

Motion to adjourn carried.

______________________
George E. Jacobs, Mayor

ATTEST:

_____________________________
Craig M. Coffey, City Administrator