In the Monday night meeting, one of the significant items will be changes to the City's Personnel Policies (Item 8 below). I also have some comments on Item 15, which is the low bid for 2019 street construction. Finally, we're voting to set the date (Feb 18) for the hearing for proposed zoning changes in College Hill -- it's item 20 below, and starts as page 256 in this week's Council Packet. I'm sure that will be pretty controversial, so wanted make sure you knew it's coming up. We also have a Work Session at 4:50 to discuss the FEMA flood insurance map update, and at 5:35 is our annual city budget presentation during Committee of the Whole in the council chambers. The Council Meeting then kicks off at 7pm. Hope you can join us in person, online via YouTube, or on Channel 15.
Call to Order by the Mayor
Roll Call
Approval of Minutes
1. Regular Meeting of January 21, 2019. No concerns.
Agenda Revisions
Old Business
2. Pass Ordinance #2935, amending Section 29-107 of the Code of Ordinances by removing property located to the north of Arbors Drive and west of Richard Road from A-1, Agricultural District, and placing the same in R-1, Residence District, upon its third & final consideration. Discussed in previous council meetings; no concerns.
New Business
Consent Calendar: (The following items will be acted upon by voice vote on a single motion without separate discussion, unless someone from the Council or public requests that a specific item be considered separately.)
3. Receive and file the Committee of the Whole minutes of January 21, 2019 relative to the following items: This motion enters the minutes into the city record as an accurate reflection of the discussions which occurred at the meeting. No concerns.
a) West 1st Street Reconstruction Project Update.
b) Amendments to the College Hill Neighborhood Overlay Zoning District.
c) Bills & Payroll.
4. Receive and file Departmental Monthly Reports of December 2018. No concerns.
5. Approve and authorize execution of an Order Accepting Acknowledgment/Settlement Agreement relative to a First Tobacco Violation regarding Up In Smoke, 2218 College Street. The city is fining the business $300 for selling tobacco to a minor. No concerns.
6. Approve the following applications for beer permits and liquor licenses: City Council is the approving authority for all alcohol licenses and permits. No concerns.
a) Hy-Vee Gas, 6527 University Avenue, Class C beer - renewal.
b) Cottonwood Canyon, 419 Washington Street, Special Class C liquor & outdoor service - renewal.
c) Jorgensen Plaza (Table 1912, Diamond Event Center and Gilmore's Pub), 5307 Caraway Lane, Class C liquor & outdoor service - adding Class B wine.
Resolution Calendar: (The following items will be acted upon by roll call vote on a single motion without separate discussion, unless someone from the Council or public requests that a specific item be considered separately.)
7. Resolution approving and adopting a job classification for the position of Video Production Specialist in the Information Systems Division. No concerns; this replaces three part-time video production specialists with one full-time specialist. This change is necessary for the retention of qualified specialists for a complex position.
8. Resolution approving and adopting certain revised Personnel Policies. (Starts on Page 95) These revisions to the Personnel Policies (i.e. employee handbook) are in some cases due to changes in Iowa Code. I have some questions/concerns about a few of the proposed changes. I will also ask what channels the city used to obtain input and feedback from the city staff who will be impacted by these policy changes, as that was not described in the cover memo. If you have any additional questions or concerns about these changes, feel free to contact me via phone (319-804-8847) or e-mail.
1. In 208: Promotion, "seniority will not be a factor in determining transfer, promotion, interim or acting status, or layoff or recall, except as required in collective bargaining agreements." Does seniority matter at all, then (aside from what's allowed for in collective bargaining agreements)?
2. In 507: Employee Wellness (2) b:,Why are city council members and their families are offered discount rates to the Cedar Falls Wellness and FCenter? I understand that other city staff, the mayor and retirees are offered discounted rates to encourage use, because it (hopefully) translates to lower health care costs under the city's group health care plan. But city council members and their families are not covered by city health insurance. I strongly believe that members of City Council are simply representatives of their community, and to represent residents, we must have no special treatment from the city beyond what's required in the performance of our civic duties. I'll motion to change (a) to "Full time employees and mayor" and to remove (b) Elected officials (individual and family). For what it's worth, I pay $20 for an annual pass for my family. You have to pay $260. Is that fair?
3. In 903: Grievance Procedure: the city is proposing to change the procedure so that the final appeal level is the "Grievance Panel", which consists of the Mayor, City Administrator, and Department Directors. Up to now, the final appeal is to the Administration Committee (which is the City Council). I have great concerns about the inherent partiality of the Grievance Panel as the final say. I understand that the City Council probably should not be the final level, but would it be more appropriate to still retain an independent, non-city-staff 'supreme court' for these sorts of issues? Other cities use the Civil Service Commission for this purpose, and I believe the idea has merit for Cedar Falls as well.
9. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a lease relative to property vacated by the 2008 flood buyout programs. This is a standard practice, allowing individuals to lease city greenspace property from the city for $1. No concerns.
10. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Agreement for Storage of Portable Single Classroom Unit with the Cedar Falls Community School District relative to storage of two portable classroom units. Allows the school district to store two portable classrooms at the CF Public Works facility for up to two years, at no charge. No concerns.
11. Resolution approving and authorizing the expenditure of funds for the purchase of furniture from Storey Kenworthy, Kirk Gross and Office Concepts for the Public Safety Facility. This would account for $234.7K in furniture costs for the new public safety building. I am interested to know what furniture will be brought from the existing police department. Will all of that older furniture just be excessed at public auction during a remodel of city hall's lower floors? I'll ask.
12. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of one Owner Purchase Agreement and seven Tenant Purchase Agreements, and approving and accepting two Public Utility Easements, one Owner's Temporary Grading Easement for Construction and one Tenant's Temporary Grading for Construction Easement, in conjunction with the West 1st Street Reconstruction Project. Quite a bit of documentation here; the city would pay Farmers State Bank $47K for a section of the property at the SW corner of Hudson and 1st Street, plus obtain utility easements. No concerns.
13. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of Supplemental Agreement No. 1 with Snyder & Associates, Inc. relative to the 2017 Levee/Floodwall System Improvements Project. This allows Snyder to be paid an additional $20K for engineering services related to construction delays from the heavy 2018 rainfalls and multiple river crests. No concerns.
14. Resolution receiving and filing the bids, and approving and accepting the low bid of Peters Construction Corporation, in the amount of $404,938.53, for the Place to Play Playground Project. No concerns.
15. Resolution receiving and filing the bids, and approving and accepting the low bid of Peterson Contractors, Inc., in the amount of $4,711,475.14, for the 2019 Street Construction Project. In this project bid letting, the difference in project bids was only about $80K, or 1.6% of the overall project cost. I believe City Council should have a discussion about providing some sort of 'hometown preference" clause in our bid process which would favor doing business with companies located in Cedar Falls (Cunningham's offices are in North Cedar)...or outward to Waterloo and the Cedar Valley. I could see how that could be abused, and run the risk of crony capitalism, but I think it's worth discussing, for the advantages of keeping city taxpayer money in the community when practical. Not something to act on right away, but again, I think it's worth a discussion.
16. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of Supplemental Agreement No. 2 with Snyder & Associates, Inc. relative to 2019 Engineering Services. This allows Snyder to be paid an additional $80K for engineering services related to the analysis of Dry Run Creek in the vicinity of 18th Street, due to lack of stormwater capacity.
17. Resolution approving the closure of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program (a/k/a Section 8) Waiting List through July 31, 2019, as recommended by the Housing Commission. This will allow the city to process its upper goal of 240 serviced households using the applications on file. I had a very enlightening discussion with Lisa Ahern last year regarding the dynamics of Section 8 housing, its administration and challenges. No concerns.
18. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Addendum to the Preconstruction Agreement for Primary Road Project with the Iowa Department of Transportation relative to the West 1st Street Reconstruction Project. This allows the city to use $500K in federal transportation assistance for the reconstruction of West First Street. No concerns.
19. Resolution setting February 18, 2019 as the date of public hearing on the proposed FY20 Budget for the City of Cedar Falls. No concern about the date.
20. Resolution setting February 18, 2019 as the date of public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapter 29, Zoning, of the Code of Ordinances relative to the College Hill Neighborhood Overlay Zoning District. The general proposed changes are listed in a memo in the packet; it would be a significant modification of the zoning ordinances in College Hill. No concerns about the date.
21. Resolution setting March 4, 2019 as the date of public hearing on a proposal to undertake a public improvement project for the Ridgeway Avenue Reconstruction Project and to authorize acquisition of private property for said project. No concerns about the date for this project, which is part of the development of the new Fleet Farm near Ridgeway and Hwy 58.
Allow Bills and Payroll
22. Allow Bills and Payroll of February 4, 2019. No concerns.
City Council Referrals No referrals.
City Council Updates No updates.
Public Forum. (Speakers will have one opportunity to speak for up to 5 minutes on topics germane to City business.)
Adjournment
| Council Packet Link | |
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| Meeting Date | 02/04/19 |
