City of Russell
Council Meeting
October 8, 2018
Present: Duane Bedford (Mayor), Council members: Chris Feehan, Jay Pierschbacher, Terry
Newcomb and Casey DeHoedt. City
Maintenance Jim Larrington, Fire Chief Brian Beaty and City Clerk Cindy Smith. City residents present were Chris Knust,
Deloris Carroll and Sandy Braaksma.
Meeting was
called to order at 7:00 pm by Duane Bedford, Mayor.
Minutes from
the September 10, 2018 meeting were reviewed and motioned for approval by Chris
Feehan and seconded by Terry Newcomb.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays – None
Deloris
Carroll requested from the council to allow the placement of a satellite dish
on the city hall building as our building is blocking their reception at their
Southside bar location. This
installation was motioned for approval by Chris Feehan and seconded by Casey
DeHoedt okaying the installation of the satellite dish.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays – None
Chris Knust
stated that the cattle are still getting out and the council has been working
on an addendum to the current fencing requirements inside the city limits. Terry Newcomb has spoken with several cities
in the area to see what they require for fencing enclosures and has also
reviewed the Iowa Code books, it was also noted that the landowner is the responsible
party to have the correct fence put in place.
Duane Bedford has also spoken with Jim Medford, the city attorney, and
an addendum to our current ordinance #135 on fencing policy will be added to
correct the fencing issues that we are having, this addendum will have a 48”
tall woven fencing with at least one barbed wire on the top as a minimum. Once this addendum is completed, we will have
a special council meeting to approve and make the appropriate notification and
readings completed.
Sandy Braaksma
requested if the council could build some sort of building for the children to
wait in as they await the school buses.
This was especially requested so that the kids would have a place to
stay to be out of severe weather conditions.
The council stated that it was not budgeted for this year and also did
not know if time was sufficient for this year.
The council also directed her to contact the school board to see if they
could construct a building and that the city would be willing to assist as much
as we could. She will let us know what
she finds out.
The liquor
license renewal for Last Chance was received and this was motioned for approval
to renew by Casey Dehoedt and seconded by Chris Feehan.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays - None
Income and
expenses were reviewed and motioned for approval by Casey DeHoedt and seconded
by Chris Feehan.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays – None
Police
department report, Officer Johnson was not available for the meeting but issues
of stolen gas was brought up and missing/damaged signs. Duane will review these issues with Officer
Johnson.
Fire
Department report was given by Chief Beaty – turn out for the Fireman’s cookoff
had good attendance and raised approximately 3400.00. Chief Beaty also stated that they are in the
process of replacing SCBA tanks as some of the ones that we have are
outdated. Monies from a grant received
will be used as part of the monies needed to purchase these tanks. They will be replacing 6 tanks for an
approximate amount of $35,000.00. So
please donate to the fire department to keep our firemen safe!!
Chief Beaty
also requested approval from the council to add Zac Abbass as a new fire
fighter. This addition of Zac was
motioned for approval by Casey Dehoedt and seconded by Jay Pierschbacher.
Ayes – All approved
Nays – None
With this
addition the roster for the Russell Fire Department is now full!! Welcome Aboard Zac!!
Jim
Larrington gave his reports on the street, water and waste water
departments. Jim requested an update on
where we are in regards to having the improvements completed on the
sewers. Per Duane Bedford, we are still
awaiting approval on the plans from the engineering company and the state to
sign off on plans.
Water loss
is down from last year for 36% to 24%.
Over 100 new meters have been installed.
Owners must be present when these are installed as all meters are
located inside the houses.
The culvert
at Smith and Garfield has been replaced and weather permitting the culvert at
Smith and Chapman will be completed next week.
After all the rains, Shaw Street had to be reworked and a new ditch was
installed to help with water runoff, the road then was rerocked.
Stump
removal has been completed. The
dirt/wood chips still need to be removed but the weather has hampered this
removal. Jim also had requested in last
council meeting the possible purchase of a dump trailer. The pricing that he found was approximately
$6,875.00 which includes a tarp cover.
The cost of this item could be divided between streets, water and waste
water and proceeds from the sale of the old backhoe, tractor and other items
would cover this cost. The final
approval on this purchase will be decided at the next special meeting that is
yet to be scheduled for later this month.
We are also
in need of a new windshield on the City truck.
The current windshield is cracked all the way across and obstructs the
view when driving. Jay Pierschbacher
motioned to approve the replacement of the windshield as this is a driving
hazard. Terry Newcomb seconded this
motion.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays – None
Chris Feehan
motioned to extend the meeting past 9:00.
This motion was seconded by Terry Newcomb.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays - None
Old business
that was discussed:
Engine
Braking/signs: Duane Bedford will review this with Jim Medford when he
discusses the addendum on the fencing ordinance to get this ordinance
completed.
Curbs –
Scott McGee has provided a quote on completing the required work on the
curbs/sidewalk to be in compliance with the insurance review. The price for this work is estimated at
$4,320.00. Jay Pierschbacher motioned to
approve the work to be completed by McGee Concrete to be in compliance with the
insurance company. This was seconded by
Casey DeHoedt.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays – None
Roofing on
City Hall building: Jim Larrington
showed pictures of the roof that Dean Whaley had sent to him on the
installation/repair of the scuttle hole and roof. It was found that we already had a scuttle
hole, just needed to be repaired so it is now easier to get on top of the roof
to repair. Dean also repaired holes in
the roof with black jack and meshing.
Caulking will be completed as the weather permits and Dean also stated
that the roof could be repaired with rolled aluminum that would last
approximately 3 years. Chris Feehan will
donate a 5 gallon bucket of aluminum mastic to have this completed. Chris Feehan motioned to approve the rolled
aluminum roof repair and this was seconded by Casey DeHoedt.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays – None
Tennis Court
fence: We did receive a bid from Pierce
Fencing for $2.938.00 to replace/repair the fence at the tennis courts. It was decided that the council will do the
work themselves knowing that if this repair doesn’t work what the price will be
to replace.
Alliant
Energy Rebate: All the lights have been
replaced with the energy efficient light bulbs for the city office, post
office, fire station and maintenance garages.
The report and application for rebates will be filed with Alliant
Energy. It was also discussed about
insulating the city garage as it uses a lot of energy to heat in the winter
months.
Christmas
Ornaments: We have received a few
donations and there has been a lot of interest shown from the facebook
notice. We will be picking out a few
decorations and showing on facebook so that people will know what they are
donating for and the pricing that these decorations will be.
New
Business: Community Building - it has
been brought up by several renters of the building that it needs a good
cleaning and they have volunteered to do the cleaning. The City will supply all the required
cleaning supplies and the building will be cleaned once or twice a month. Thank you for the 4H volunteers to work on
our Community building. It was also discussed
that the bathrooms are in need of new vanities, toilets and new exterior doors. Casey Dehoedt motioned for these improvements
to be completed and this was seconded by Terry Newcomb.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays – None
Trunk or
Treat will be on Saturday October 20th from 10:00 am to noon. It has been requested that the street be
closed between the city hall building and the fire station but leaving it open
enough to allow entrance into the post office.
Per Chief Beaty they will place a fire truck at each end of the
street. All council approved this
closing.
Begger’s
night will be on Halloween night the 31st of October from 6 to 8:00
pm.
Casey
Dehoedt motioned to adjorn the meeting at 10:00 and seconded by Jay Pierschbacher.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays - None
Casey
Dehoedt motioned to adjourn the meeting and this was seconded by Jay
Pierschbacher.
Ayes – All
approved
Nays – None
______________________
Approved by
Duane
Bedford, Mayor
_______________________
Attest
Cindy Smith,
City Clerk
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