Lees moved, second by Pilger, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voice vote. All ayes. Motion carried.

FINANCE – Health Insurance – Administrator Mandsager said the City received notice from Blue Cross Blue Shield that insurance premiums were going up about 25% beginning in January. He said staff has been getting quotes from other insurance providers. He also said we need to sign a contract for the coming year. However, we can sign up for one month at a time until all of the research is completed. He said as it stands now he would recommend staying with BCBS for another year. Mandsager said he will report back to Council as soon as more information is received.

Ethanol Road Update – Mandsager said J.D. King, Des Moines County Engineer, received bids last week for the Ethanol Road Project. He said the bids came in higher that anticipated. He said according to the 28E Agreement the City was estimated to pay $61,000 for grading, instead it will be $85,000. Council Member Johnson said this is unacceptable. He said he is getting frustrated with estimates that are low, that the City agrees to, then later finds out the cost is much higher. He said he thinks the City should pay only for the amount originally estimated. Council Member Lees said she agrees. Council Member Crowner said that is hard to do with the wording in the Agreement. Mandsager said the additional culvert accounted for 20% of the additional cost. He said the culvert was estimated at 100 feet when it was actually 200 feet. It was the consensus of the Council Members that the City’s approval of the project was based on Mr. King’s estimates. Mandsager will write a letter to the Supervisors explaining the City’s position on the additional cost. Mandsager will also double check the length of the road.

City Hall Heating and Cooling – Mayor Trousil said the Council needs to decide on the heating and cooling systems for the New City Hall/Police Department Building. He said the Council has three options. Option One is a Water Source Heat Pump; Option Two is a Variable Volume Air Handling Unit; and Option Three is a Ground Source Heat Pump. He said all three options have it pros and cons; they are all on the leading edge of technology. He recommended Option 3. Some of the Council Members expressed concern about the wells used in Option 3. Hockett said we should make sure we would not violate the City’s new Well Ordinance. Options One and Two require cooling towers which are noisy. The Council expressed concern about ground contamination, warrants on parts and labor and conformance with the well ordinance.

STREETS – Administrator Mandsager said he had met with Danielson’s to discuss Division Street development. Council Member Crowner said he is getting tired of wasting time waiting for Danielson to progress on the project. He said we are getting ready to begin work on a new budget and we have no figures to work with for this project. Mandsager said we need to get the land gifted to the City and to try to find another funding source for the project.

The Council discussed the new traffic signal at Target and the Mall. With the installation of this signal, left turns are no longer allowed at Farm King. The Council realizes this is an inconvenience for those accustomed to turning there. The Council Members agreed they did not realize left turns would not be allowed there or that the cement island would be there. Hopefully as travelers get used to it, it will not be such an inconvenience.

Mayor Trousil asked Public Works Director Fry to put snow fence on the east side of the old City Hall site.

SANITATION– Public Works Director Fry said public works is vacuuming storm sewers all over town. He said this is something they do routinely.

UTILITIES – Council Member Hockett said we need to discuss back-up power for utilities at budget time.

PUBLIC SAFETY – There was nothing to report.

It was the consensus of Council Members to rent the house the City just purchased at 1110 W. Mt. Pleasant Street until the City needs the property to re-align Gear Avenue at Mt. Pleasant Street.

Consider Payment to McClure for Engineering Services for the Agency Road Widening Project – Crowner moved, second by Lees, to approve payment in the amount of $6,000 to McClure Engineering for work completed on the Agency Street Widening Project. Voice vote. All ayes. Motion carried.

Lees moved, second by Crowner, to approve hiring Kristy Ervine at a starting wage of $13.15 per hour which is 90% of the current salary for that position. She will begin December 30 and serve one year probation. Voice vote. All ayes. Motion carried.

Consider Agreement with French-Reneker for Assistance with Hwy 34 Transfer of Jurisdiction – Administrator Mandsager said the IDOT has requested that we accept jurisdiction of the remaining portion of Mt. Pleasant Street to our West City Limits. If we accept this transfer, the State is obligated to bring the street up to good repair. The State can do this prior to our acceptance or we can agree upon a figure that we bring Mt., Pleasant up to this standard and the state will give this funding to the City to either bank or use for whatever purpose.

Mandsager said in order to not rely solely on State findings; we should have an engineering firm provide the City with their findings and a cost estimate to bring the street up to a state of good repair. French-Reneker proposed to review the street and prepare a cost estimate for a lump sum fee of $1,450. Johnson moved, second by Crowner, to approve contracting with French-Reneker for assistance with Highway 34 Transfer of Jurisdiction for a lump sum fee of $1,450. Voice vote. All ayes. Motion carried.

Council Member Crowner said perhaps the City needs to discuss with French the problem with jobs running over. Council Member Johnson said perhaps the City should consider hiring our own engineer. After discussion Crowner moved, second by Pilger, to approve an amendment to the engineering contract for the Shottenkirk Development in the amount of $1,200. Voice vote. All ayes except Hockett and Johnson. Motion carried.,

Consider Amendment to Engineering Contract for West Glasgow Paving Project – Administrator Mandsager presented information from French-Reneker regarding a budget increase of $6,200 for services rendered on the West Glasgow Paving Project. According to Don Jordison the Engineering Services Agreement allowed for 40 days of observation and the Contractor was actually on the project for 58 days. He said the Contractors extended work period increased the time when Engineering Services during construction was needed. He said because the project was completed 43 calendar days after the stated contract completion the City could assess liquidated damages (43 days @ $300 per day) against the contractor. The actual amount assessed should reflect additional cost incurred by the City as a result of the late completion. One of these costs is the additional engineering services cost related to the extended construction period.

Council Member Johnson said he believes if the road had gone in straight to begin with they would not have been on the job that long in the first place. He believes part of the problem was engineering and he is not willing to pay for their mistake. Council Member Crowner said he agrees with Johnson however, payment needs to be made for work completed. He said the City did end up with two good streets. Council Member Pilger said he is not willing to withhold money from work done, if we are not happy with their work we should hire someone else.

Crowner moved, second by Hockett, to approve a budget increase in the amount of $6,200 for engineering services rendered on the West Glasgow Paving Project. Voice vote. All ayes except Johnson who voted nay. Motion carried.

Consider Resolution Approving State Mutual Aid Compact – Lees moved, second by Hockett, to approve a Resolution adopting the Statewide Mutual Aid Compact. The Compact allows participating counties, cities and other political subdivisions to provide in advance for mutual assistance in managing any emergency or disaster. Roll call. Ayes: Lees, Crowner, Hockett, Pilger and Johnson. Nays: None. Motion carried.

CITIZEN’S INQUIRIES: Polly Rein, 417 W. Burlington Avenue, asked the Council when they are going to discuss reducing the minimum water rate for residential customers. Mayor Trousil said this will be discussed during the upcoming budget work sessions.

MAYOR’S INQUIRIES: There were none.

ADJOURN – There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. upon motion by Lees, and second by Johnson. Voice Vote: All Ayes. Motion carried.

Approved Terrie L. Simonson, City Clerk

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