This time, I uses a version of the agenda that includes links to the applicable documents...I hope that helps you for following along. This will likely be an even more interesting council meeting than usual, as we'll be bringing up a past-defeated item (Kwik Star site plan) up for potential reconsideration (Item F.1 below). Lots of other items to discuss as well, include our proposed new city staff pay structure and a signficant new development near Hudson & Ridgeway (Gateway Business Park - not to be confused with Gateway Park downtown).
Follow along in person at City Hall or on Channel 15 at 7pm!
A. Call to Order by the Mayor.
B. Roll Call.
C. Approval of Minutes of the Regular Meeting of February 19, 2018. This action simply affirms that the minutes actually reflect the substance of the meeting and the votes which occurred -- not the validity of items in the discussion.
D. Agenda Revisions. I have no revisions.
E. Special Order of Business:
a. Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published February 23, 2018) The city was required to publicize tonight's hearing, and it did so.
b. Written objections filed with the City Clerk. Any letters or e-mails are noted here.
c. Oral comments. Stakeholders have the opportunity to present information and opinions on the project before it goes to a vote.
2. Resolution approving and adopting the plans, specifications, form of contract & estimate of cost for the 2018 Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project. After hearing the input (and having read the documentation linked above) City Council will vote on whether or not to approve the project. This is my first review of a Sanitary Sewer Rehab -- it's not the most glamorous aspect of city service, but one of the most essential. This is a prod for me to connect with the wastewater manager and get an in-depth (not literally) tour of the wastewater systems in Cedar Falls.
a. Receive and file proof of publication of notice of hearing. (Notice published February 23, 2018) Again, just saying we advertized that this meeting would take place.
b. Written objections filed with the City Clerk. Again, any written or e-mailed objections
c. Oral comments. Again, a change for stakeholders to present additional info.
4. Resolution approving a public improvement for the Campus Street Bridge Replacement University Branch of Dry Run Creek Project and authorizing acquisition of private property for said project. Council members vote to approve or disapprove of the project. I have no concerns for this; it all looks really straightforward.
5. Hearing on a complaint issued to B & B West, 3105 Hudson Road, for a first tobacco violation. No concerns, seems straighforward. City council has to approve the issuance of a $300 civil penalty for this, so the business charged has the opportunity to state their case.
a. Oral comments.
7. Hearing on a complaint issued to Great Wall, 2125 West 22nd Street, for a first tobacco violation. No concerns, seems straighforward. City council has to approve the issuance of a $300 civil penalty for this, so the business charged has the opportunity to state their case.
a. Oral comments.
F. Old Business:
1. Reconsider action taken relative to a Highway Corridor and Greenbelt (HCG) Overlay Zoning District site plan for construction of a convenience store/gas station and detached carwash on Lots 33 & 34 of Pinnacle Prairie Business Center North. (4515 Coneflower Parkway) I've posted my reason for the reconsideration at http://www.robgreeniowa.com/kwikstar. We voted last council session on both Kwik Star and Fareway on Greenhill Road; Fareway passed 6-1, but Kwik Star was defeated 4-3. The prevailing side can bring up the item for a re-vote. This Almost Never Happens, but in this instance, I believe it's warranted.
G. New Business:
1. 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.)
a. Receive and file the resignation of Eashaan Vajpeyi as a member of the Human Rights Commission. Glad for Mr. Vajpeyi's perspective on this important commission; it opens a seat for another thoughtful and inclusion-minded member of our community to step up to the plate. Any volunteers?
b. Approve the recommendation of the Mayor relative to the appointment of Evan Renfro to the Library Board of Trustees, term ending 06/30/2022. We had the chance to interview him in the 2/19 Committee of the Whole; no concerns.
c. Receive and file the Committee of the Whole minutes of February 19, 2018 relative to the following items: Like before, these
(1) Library Board of Trustees interview (Evan Renfro).
(2) On-street parking regulations for trailers.
(3) Butchering/harvesting animals within city limits.
(4) Recreation/Aquatics Programs.
(5) Bills & Payroll.
d. Approve and adopt action taken at the Committee of the Whole meeting of February 19, 2018 relative to the following items: This action simply affirms that the minutes actually reflect the substance of the meeting and the votes which occurred -- not the validity of items in the discussion.
(1) On-street parking regulations for trailers.
(2) Butchering/harvesting animals within city limits.
e. Receive and file the City Council Work Session minutes of February 26, 2018. This action simply affirms that the minutes actually reflect the substance of the meeting and the votes which occurred -- not the validity of items in the discussion.
f. Receive and file Departmental Monthly Reports of January 2018 These are always very interesting to me; our city staff does a lot! Of particular interest to you may be the Police Reports for the various shifts. It's been eye-opening to me to see the diversity of crime in our city -- stuff which often a reguar resident doesn't see in the course of their day. So these reports help me to appreciate what's really going on out there. Some are particularly worrying (like the increase in suicide attempts over the last decade) and a few are a little amusing (i.e. "What the heck were you thinking?"). We are considering requesting quarterly reports, to take a little of the work burden off staff in compiling these monthly.
g. Approve a request for street closures for the Downtown Show and Shine, May 6, 2018. No concerns. Car show!
h. Approve and authorize execution of an Order Accepting Settlement Agreement relative to a First Tobacco Violation regarding Metro Mart, 103 Franklin Street. No concerns; this action just accepts a settlement from a previous tobacco sales offender.
i. Approve the following applications for beer permits and liquor licenses: No concerns.
(1) Pheasant Ridge Golf Course, 3205 West 12th Street, Class B beer & outdoor service - renewal.
(2) Happy's Wine & Spirits, 5925 University Avenue, Class E liquor - renewal.
2. 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.)
a. Resolution deleting the pay for an employee in the position of PT-Community Service Officer I in the Police Operations Division. No concerns.
b. Resolution deleting the pay for an employee in the position of Public Safety Officer in the Police Operations Division. No concerns.
c. Resolution establishing the pay for a new employee hired in the position of PT-Community Service Officer I in the Police Operations Division. No concerns.
e. Resolution establishing the pay for a new employee hired in the position of Traffic Operations Supervisor in the Public Works & Parks Division. No concerns.
f. Resolution establishing the pay for an employee assigned to the position of Acting Battalion Chief-POC in the Fire Operations Division. No concerns.
g. Resolution establishing the pay for an employee reclassified to the position of Public Safety Officer in the Police Operations Division. No concerns.
h. Resolution adjusting the pay for two employees in the position of PT-Community Service Officer I in the Police Operations Division. No concerns.
i. Resolution approving and adopting the Classification and Compensation Study relative to job classifications and pay grade allocations for certain employees of the City of Cedar Falls. This one's significant, even though it's buried down in the list a little. On 2/28 the council met with a consultant in a "work session" to hear the results and recommendations for updating our city staff payscales. It had not had a major review in 20 years, and fortunately the consultant found that our pay structure was actually really well in keeping with the market (kudos to Director Rodenbeck and the finance people). The big recommendation was to consolidate 142 different pay bands into just 20 (similar to what we had in the military). They also recommended "minimum", "baseline" and "maximum" hourly pay rates for these 20 positions that I thought sounded reasonable. The consensus was also to bump that minimum and maximum by 5%, since we as a city run a little leaner on people (i.e. fewer staff per capita than other cities), and we ought to reward that. It doesn't mean that all current staff get a 5% pay increase...just that when their initial pay upon getting hire, and when they hit their max based on performance and longevity, it will be 5% more that what we see as the market rate for that position / experience / performance level. It makes sense, in my book.
j. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of an Amendment to Agreement for Animal Control Services with the City of Waterloo, Iowa. My only concern for this is that Cedar Falls is paying its fair share into this. And I had no idea that, which a squirrel gets smushed, we pay Waterloo $68 to scoop it up and send it to that farm your mom said Rover went to. Reading this was one of those fascinating city council things where I said, "Huh -- so that's how that works". Also, deer are $79 to dispose of -- so please stop hitting them!
k. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a grant agreement with the Black Hawk County Gaming Association relative to construction of pickle ball courts at Orchard Hill Park. Council is asked to accept $50K from BHCGA to help build the new pickleball courts; no concerns, since Council already approved the project itself.
l. Resolution approving the Certificate of Completion and accepting the work of Aspro, Inc. for the 2017 Street Restoration Project. No concerns.
m. Resolution approving the Certificate of Completion and accepting the work of Blacktop Service Company for the 2017 Seal Coat Project. No concerns.
n. Resolution approving and accepting the contract and bond of Peterson Contractors, Inc. for the 2018 Street Construction Project No concerns.
o. Resolution approving funding and authorizing execution of an Application for Assistance with the Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation District relative to the University Avenue Bioretention Cells. We are being asked to approve the sending of an application for some grant funds to help pay for bioretention along University Avenue.
p. Resolution approving and authorizing execution of a Form of Contract for Asbestos Removal with Advanced Environmental Testing and Abatement, Inc., in conjunction with a nuisance abatement relative to 216 Iowa Street. The city is going to demolish the house at 216 Iowa Street, and found asbestos. So this is to pay the contractor $1000 to remove it, which will have to happen before the house can come down. No concerns.
q. Resolution approving the Pinnacle Ridge Minor Plat. This resolution would allow four parcels of undeveloped land in the Green Creek Road area to be combined into just two (in other words, from four small plots into two larger ones) for the building of single-family homes. No concerns.
r. Resolution approving the preliminary plat of Gateway Business Park at Cedar Falls. This is a major item, and will be part of City Council approvals for some time to come as individual site plans come forward. This property at the south end of town (right next to Ridgeway Avenue) would add office buildings, hotel(s) and an event center.
s. Resolution setting March 19, 2018 as the date of public hearing to consider entering into a proposed Agreement for Private Development and to consider conveyance of certain city-owned real estate to ACOH, L.L.C. No concerns; this just sets the date for the hearing.
t. Resolution setting March 19, 2018 as the date of public hearing on the proposed vacation of utility easements on Lots 2 & 4 in Auditor’s Mill Company Plat. No concerns; this just sets the date for the hearing.
u. Resolution setting March 19, 2018 as the date of public hearing on the proposed vacation and dedication of utility easements on Lots 32 and 33 of Pinnacle Prairie Business Center North. No concerns; this just sets the date for the hearing.
v. Resolution setting March 19, 2018 as the date of public hearing on a proposed vacation and conveyance of a portion of Dallas Drive right-of-way to John G. Investments, Inc. No concerns; this just sets the date for the hearing.
w. Resolution setting March 19, 2018 as the date of public hearing on proposed amendments to the FY18-19 Annual Consolidated Plan and FY15-19 Consolidated Plan for the Community Development Block Grant and Home Programs. No concerns; this just sets the date for the hearing..
x. Resolution setting March 19, 2018 as the date of public hearing on the proposed adoption by reference of the 2017 Edition of the National Electrical Code and certain amendments thereto. No concerns; this just sets the date for the hearing.
3. Pass an ordinance amending Chapter 6, Animals, of the Code of Ordinances relative to butchering and disposal of dead animals, upon its first consideration. We discussed this item at the Committee of the Whole meeting on 2/19; I was surprised that an ordinance like this wasn't already in the books. It's to limit where hunters and other gamespeople (is that a word?) can dress the animals they've shot. So, it has to be out of sight of the public and neighbors (I believe putting up a tarp would do it, if your property is close to others). It also describes how dead animals must be disposed of -- you can't just leave them out in your pickup bed for a couple of days (significant health/sanitation problems there). Seems like a no-brainer, and I'm glad this will allow local law enforcement to take action on something that's hopefully a rare occurance.
H. Allow Bills and Payroll. No concerns.
I. City Council Referrals. No referrals at this time.
J. City Council Updates. No updates at this time.
K. Public Forum. (Speakers will have one opportunity to speak for up to 5 minutes on topics germane to City business.)
L. Adjournment.
| Council Packet Link | |
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| Meeting Date | 03/05/18 |
