Nuisances, pool, garbage on city agenda
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The Mount Ayr city council covered a wide range of topics at their regular meeting Tuesday, September 6.
The meeting was postponed from its regular first Monday date due to the Labor Day holiday.
Nuisances
Following a 40-minute closed session with city attorney Erin Hardisty to open the meeting, the council voted to enforce the municipal infraction for failure to comply with a nuisance abatement at 304 S. Douglas Street.
The council also approved moving forward with citing municipal infractions on nuisance properties at 700 and 701 E. Jackson Street.
According to Iowa Code, “A municipal infraction is a civil offense punishable by a civil penalty of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars for each violation or if the infraction is a repeat offense, a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars for each repeat offense.”
Pool work
City administrator Brent Wise asked for council approval to tear out a large section of concrete at the municipal swimming pool at Judge Lewis Park to inspect and possibly repair recirculating pipes located under the pool deck.
At an estimated cost of $13,652, city workers would remove a 260×6 foot section of concrete deck to reach the pipes below. Workers would then repair the pipes, backfill with gravel, and rebuild the deck.
However, Wise told the council he was unsure what they would find once the pipes were exposed, including significant cavities due to the constant erosion of leaking water.
In debating whether to spend the money when repairs are not certain, Wise said the most recent pool inspection stated the pool would not pass the next inspection if the leak problem was not solved. In that case, the pool would remain closed next summer.
If repairs can be made to satisfy required water levels, the pool could remain open until such time as construction on a new pool could begin.
The council approved Wise’s request to move forward with the pool work on a 3-2 vote, with council members Jessica Bishop, Brad Elliott, and Jordan Stewart voting in favor and council members Mack Greene and Ken Robertson voting no.
Garbage rates
The council returned to a discussion from the August 15 meeting related to a shortfall in the city’s garbage utility fund.
As shared at the previous meeting, garbage revenue for the past fiscal year of $239,477 fell far short of the $306,127 needed for the city to break even. (This total included $30,000 set aside per year to purchase a replacement garbage truck when the need arose.)
At Tuesday’s meeting, Wise shared calculations for increases to garbage rates aimed at getting closer to the break even amount.
Wise provided two different sets of calculations, one with a base rate of $22.50 per month for residential customers and one for rate of $22 per month.
The current residential rate is $18.73 per month.
A fee of $22.50 for residential customers (and pro-rated for customers using 2-, 4, and 6-yard carts with one, two, or three collections per week) would generate an estimated $303,750 per year.
A $22 fee would generate an estimated $297,000 per year.
Wise added extra revenue from special pick-ups, potential fuel surcharges, and unscheduled services could increase those amounts by another $21,885, bringing the garbage utility more in line to break even.
A public hearing on proposed rate increases is set for the October 3 council meeting.
Other business
In other business the council:
• approved connecting the county fairgrounds to the city sewer system;
• heard a preliminary report about the recent smoke testing of the city’s sewer system. City worker Robbie Mason said the testing had located several places where the system had failed due to broken or plugged lines. A full report should be available by the end of the month.
• learned the owners of the new house on Dunning Avenue must move the building or seek a variance from the housing board.
