Monday night's top item is likely the approval of the recommendations of the Firefighter Transition Task Force (item #12); that item will be pulled for a staff explanation of the options and potential council discussion. Most of the other items on the agenda are fairly routine or administrative in nature. One exception is Item #16, which is a revised site plan from the developers of the River Place Plaza, which I also intend to pull for a short explanation of the proposed changes.
As usual, the regular City Council meeting begins at 7pm; at 6:15, the City Council will receive in Committee of the Whole a presentation from city staff about the proposed design & reconstruction of Cedar Heights Drive. I hope you can join us for either or both meetings in person, via Channel 15, or streaming live on YouTube.
Call to Order by the Mayor
Roll Call
Approval of Minutes
1. Regular Meeting of March 2, 2020. This enters the minutes into the record as an accurate reflection of what transpired at the meeting; it is not an appropriate time to debate the merits of the discussed topics.
Agenda Revisions
Special Order of Business
2. Hearing on a proposed resolution adopting and levying the final schedule of assessments for the 2019 Sidewalk Assessment Project, Zone 2. This assigns costs to the property owners who are responsible for sidewalks in front of their properties, and who did not carry out repairs on their own during 2019. While the public does not have an opportunity to comment in this case, the people affected by this proposed resolution can come forward to speak.
a) Staff comments.
b) Respondent comments.
3. Resolution adopting and levying the final schedule of assessments for the 2019 Sidewalk Assessment Project, Zone 2. This assigns the special assessments to the properties impacted.
4. Public hearing on a proposal to undertake a public improvement project for the Oak Park Sanitary Sewer Repair Project. This is the public's opportunity to comment on a sewer repair project in northwest Cedar Falls.
a) Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published March 6, 2020)
b) Written communications filed with the City Clerk.
c) Staff comments.
d) Public comments.
5. Resolution approving a public improvement for the Oak Park Sanitary Sewer Repair Project and authorizing acquisition of private property for said project. This approves the project described in #4 and allows it to proceed.
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.)
6. Receive and file the resignation of Carol Lilly as a member of the Parks & Recreation Commission. While it's a great loss for us, Carol's new job with Main Street Iowa will be a great benefit to surrounding communities!
7. Approve the following recommendations of the Mayor relative to the appointment of members to Boards and Commissions: No questions; council, staff and I had the opportunity to interview these excellent candidates two weeks ago for reappointment.
a) Sue Beach, Board of Adjustment, term ending 03/31/2025.
b) Amy Lang, Board of Adjustment, term ending 03/31/2025.
8. Receive and file the Committee of the Whole minutes of March 2, 2020 relative to the following items: This enters the minutes into the record as an accurate reflection of what transpired at the meeting; it is not an appropriate time to debate the merits of the discussed topics.
a) Board of Adjustment Interview - Sue Beach.
b) Board of Adjustment Interview - Amy Lang.
c) Hearst Visioning Committee.
d) Red Cedar Update.
e) Bills & Payroll.
9. Receive and file the Administration Committee minutes of March 10, 2020 relative to a hearing to consider the appeal of an employee grievance denial. No questions about this grievance hearing.
10. Receive and file Departmental Monthly Reports of January 2020. No questions about the departmental reports. It takes me about two hours to read through them each month; I recommend checking them out to better understand the challenging and often unsung work of our dedicated city staff.
11. Approve the following applications for beer permits and liquor licenses: City Council is the approving authority for all alcohol permits. No questions.
a) Barn Happy, 11310 University Avenue, Class B native wine - renewal.
b) Social House, 2208 College Street, Class C liquor & outdoor service - renewal.
c) The Stuffed Olive, The Roxxy and Deringer’s Public Parlor 314-316 Main Street, Class C liquor & outdoor service - renewal.
d) Voodoo Lounge, 401 Main Street, Class C liquor - renewal.
e) Happy's Wine & Spirits, 5925 University Avenue, Class E liquor - renewal.
f) Chad's Pizza, Birdsall Park Softball Complex, Class B beer & outdoor service - 6-month permit.
g) Chilitos Mexican Bar and Grill, 1704 West 1st Street, Class C liquor - new.
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.)
12. Resolution approving and adopting the recommendations of the Mayor's Firefighter Transition Task Force relative to a Transition Plan for the immediate implementation of the Public Safety Officer Program, approving and adopting a revised job classification for the position of Public Safety Officer, the Form and Content of a Letter of Recommendation, the Form and Content of a Resignation of Employment and Release Agreement; and authorizing the City Administrator to execute any and all such approved documents as necessary. This plan presents severance and PSO transfer options for the eight firefighters displaced by the February Council action. This is a fairly long resolution title because the action includes several components that are tied together. The task force has carried out my charge, and I look forward to the council discussion. If council adopts the recommendations, then we can move forward with discussions with the former firefighters for their preferred path.
13. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Agreement with INVISION Architecture, LTD for design services relative to the Recreation Center Locker Room Upgrades. This provides $225K in taxpayer funds for a complete remodeling of the locker rooms at the Recreation & Fitness Center. As a user of the locker rooms, I know how tight and awkward they are...looking forward to seeing the remodel complete, hopefully before the end of August.
14. Resolution approving and authorizing submission of the City's FY2020-2024 Public Housing Agency (PHA) Five Year Plan. If council approves this plan, then it will be sent to U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) for final approval as part of ongoing federal funding.
15. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Funding Approval/Agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) relative to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. This document allows the City of Cedar Falls to disperse $253K in federal funds to local projects related to housing. No questions.
16. Resolution approving a revised Central Business District Overlay Zoning District site plan for development on Lot 3 of River Place 3rd Addition. This plan would permit the developer to modify the original plans to the downtown Plaza, which is currently under construction at the corner of 2nd and State. I have no questions about the staff recommendations.
17. Resolution approving and accepting the contract and bond of Peterson Contractors, Inc. relative to the 12th Street Reconstruction Project. Approval will commit $1.09M in taxpayer funds to the rebuild of 12th Street in the vicinity of Walnut Street. No questions.
18. Resolution receiving and filing the bids, and approving and accepting the low bid of Benton's Sand & Gravel, Inc., in the amount of $208,144.62, for the 2020 Permeable Alley Project. Approval will allow this year's two permeable alley projects to proceed.
19. Resolution receiving and filing the bids, and approving and accepting the low bid of Peterson Contractors, Inc., in the amount of $3,385,340.30, for the 2020 Street Construction Project. Approval will allow this year's street reconstruction projects to proceed.
20. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Professional Service Agreement with Shive-Hattery, Inc. relative to the Greenhill Road/South Main Street Reconstruction Project. Approval would provide the contractor with up to $391K in taxpayer funds for the design of a new intersection at Greenhill and Main. At the bottom of Page 222, the traffic modelling includes alternatives for either signallized or roundabout, so approval of this resolution is not a committal to one approach or the other.
21. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Temporary Construction Easement Agreement for Stairway, in conjunction with the Downtown Streetscape and Reconstruction Project. This interesting item allows Humble Travel to rebuild their own stairway, which is in the public right-of-way at the NW corner of Main and 2nd Street. I'm not sure if this means the city is paying Humble $36K or vice-versa; I'll have to ask.
22. Resolution setting April 6, 2020 as the date of public hearing on the proposed vacation and dedication of storm sewer easement on the northeast corner of the property at 312 West 1st Street. No question about the date of the hearing.
Allow Bills and Payroll
23. Allow Bills and Payroll of March 16, 2020. No questions.
City Council Referrals
City Council Updates
Staff Updates
Executive Session
24. Executive Session to discuss Property Acquisition per Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(j) to discuss the purchase or sale of particular real estate only where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price the governmental body would have to pay for that property or reduce the price the governmental body would receive for that property, following Public Forum. No questions about the executive session.
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 | 03/16/20 |
