Union Council Meeting April 14 2021
There are timecodes (00:00:00) showing when discussion of topics happened. To read the timecode it is Hours:Minutes:Seconds. These times are a rough estimate.
Italicized text - Union City Council original agenda sheet.
Bold text - Main points within the video from the Original Agenda Sheet
Bold and Italicized text - imported dates of meetings
Regular Text - Sub-categories or points of interest within the main points.
NOTES - A few Categories only have ‘NOTES’ with them. It gives a summary of the discussion.
AGENDA
UNION CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING CITY HALL UNION, IOWA
6:30pm Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Call to order
Pledge of Allegiance
Swear in new council member
Roll Call: Tom Bays, Alan Donaldson, new council member, Cindy Clemons, Candy Wait.
Public Comments
Approval of Agenda
Approval of Consent Agenda: March 9th and March 12 Minutes and Claims Paid.
Reports
Discuss and Action
Fill Water/Wastewater job opening
Opening for individual to fill in for water/wastewater, maintenance, and clerk
Fix Pool drain pit
Update on pool clean-up and painting
Tree on fence in alley behind 802 4th Street
Replace or repair lawn mower
Budget year amendment FY21
Utility charges: Leave at 2% increase for water and sewer; changes to garbage and landfill
Clean-Up day April 23—roll off overnight?
Cap off sewer lines in field
Ditch on Commercial Street
Rock on North Street
Radio Read Update
Fire hydrants
Christmas Decorations
00:00:00 Call to order
00:00:05Pledge of Allegiance
00:00:30 Swear in new council member
Old left do to medical. Nathan is filling in. Has past experience.
00:01:00 Roll Call: Tom Bays, Alan Donaldson, new council member, Cindy Clemons, Candy Wait.
00:01:20 Public Comments
NOTES: A resident moved into mothers old house. The town did gavel on her road, but didn't fix the road. Asking for potholes to be filled. Their car can get stuck in the potholes. Trucks come up and down causing the potholes. Possible solutions - More rock? Bigger rock? Resident is very appertiabe of the gravel that did come down. TOWN: will take a look
Resident talks about park damage. Her son did not break it. Ask about setting up a possible city day to have some kids help clean and paint the equipment.
Camera @ park? Kids pulled the batteries and SD cards.
00:07:30 Resident asks about doing something about John Hausburger and Savage’s yards. Car that got burned out is still there. Has other cars on the lot. Resident wants it cleaned up.
Letters have been sent.
Town: Can deal with the cars but junk is another story. If you do it to one then you have to do them to residents with bad yards.
00:14:00 Drainage near the creek. Town: Someone will clean it up. Have been working on it.
00:15:00 Approval of Agenda
00:16:00 Approval of Consent Agenda: March 9th and March 12 Minutes and Claims Paid.
00:16:20 Reports
00:17:00 Police Report - Traffic stop and violation of restraining order.
Water - Written report.
Fire - They tested the siren. The first Wednesday of the month at 9am and will lasts 3 minuets. Just got it fixed last week.
Maintenance - 197 radio reads set in. No more estimates, water reads will be actual. Plow on the truck because it was going to get fixed but the repair shop is delayed. Mower good to go. New sign posts in and will replace any damage signs from derecho.
Park will get raked. High school kids will repaint the court.
Shed cleaned out. The old hydrants are cleaned up and can be sold.
Moving burn pile north. Can't remove it yet because of FEMA. There's trash in the pile. Windows etc. That has to get cleaned out.
Residents keep putting out bush for john to pick up but doesn't do that anymore
26:15 Clerk - Loan has been set up. A resident sent in a bill of a city tree falling on his house during the derecho. The town won't do anything because its an act of god and therefore not the city's responsibility. There was a court appearance, the defendant did not show. Will reschedule.
00:29:20 Discuss and Action
00:29:25 Fill Water/Wastewater job opening
NOTES: Densis job is open. He wants to keep the job but he has to fill out the app to become a city employee. Had another application turned in. May be hired for part time. Help the clerk, wastewater, and Maintenance. Use to have someone do them all but not anymore. Takes a lot of time and funds that the town doesn't have to only have one person do all three jobs.
Town: has to have a full council to accept Densis app. (Missing Allen.) The reason being is Densis is related to the Mayor.
00:34:40 Opening for individual to fill in for water/wastewater, maintenance, and clerk
NOTES: The person who entered the water/wastewater job was interviewed. They are willing to train and be under everyone.
Motion: With Mayor permission - can start a temp hire for training. 38:25 Approved
00:39:20 Fix Pool drain pit
NOTES: Pool drain level has collapsed. Plan is to dig outside of the pump house and add a shut off valve there. looking to be 2000-3000 dollars to repair.
Motion: authorize to use up to 4k to had a new shut down valve - Approved 41:10
00:41:20 Update on pool clean-up and painting
NOTES: Looks almost brand new. Pool needs painted but waiting for good weather. Getting the pool ready is on track.
00:42:30 Tree on fence in alley behind 802 4th Street
NOTES: City tree fell on resident fence. It's an act of god therefore not the city's responsibility. Motion: Clerk will send a letter letting them know its an act of god and town is not liable.
00:45:50 Replace or repair lawn mower
NOTES: John already fixed and ready to go. (Mentioned in Maintenance report)
00:46:00 Budget year amendment FY21
NOTES: Comparing what is and what is suggested adjustments should be. Have to be in the paper next Thursday to have the hearing before the next council meeting. It's just basically adjusting from the year of what has already been spent.
50:30 Motion to publish and have a hearing at the next meeting - May 11th. Approved - 51:25
00:51:50 Utility charges: Leave at 2% increase for water and sewer; changes to garbage and landfill
NOTES: Losing money on garbage but had a large reserve. Landfill is fine. Clerk suggested taking 25 cents from landfill to garbage.
Average uptick is 2% on water every year, but can go up higher if the town council wants to. This is to make sure the town council looks at it and makes sure that they are collecting enough money.
54:45 Motion - Move 25 cent from land fill to garbage and leave water increase at 2% Approved 55:10
00:55:15 Clean-Up day April 23—roll off overnight?
NOTES: Allen has talked to knight sanitation. Date works. Someone has to keep an eye on the dumpster. Will just have the dumpsters down here and people can dump there. No Tires, Batteries.
Cindy will get more info on what you can and cant drop off. City will send an email blast and hang up posters.
01:02:30 Cap off sewer lines in field
NOTES: Was discussed a little in public comments - Sewer line goes into the lagoon, but passes under the field. Hard rain or flooding causing backup. Need to dig up the sewer line, seal them, raise them. Farmer not happy about manholes in his fields but fine with easement. There are different options. Water is just coming into the manholes and needs to be plugged up.
01:07:50 Ditch on Commercial Street
NOTES: Got bids to get the ditch to flow, neighbor has issues also. Water just sits in the ditch and floods basements. Both sides of the street need a culvert.
Looking to get more bids. - Nate sent a complaint last year about derecho damage causing water standing again.
01:10:45 Rock on North Street
NOTES: It use to be dirt. Got a milling in and made a hard surface road but wearing down. Mayor but on agenda but not here to comment on it
Table 1:13:45
01:14:10 Radio Read Update
Mentioned in Maintenance report
01:15:00 Fire hydrants
NOTES: One Fire Hydrant leaked at the golf course. When town fixed 3 others in the past they got 3 more. Use one of those to fix the one at the golf course (2 left) One old hydrant can be rebuilt.
The fire Hydrant on 3rd and Carnie, that is black doesn't it work
01:18:50 Christmas Decorations
NOTES: They came down but no one knows who did it. Town did. Stored in the 2ed story of the shed. Probably can clean the shed and store them there.
1:21:50 Adjourned.