City approves sidewalk project
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The Mount Ayr City Council moved quickly through their agenda at their regular council meeting Monday. Mack Greene and Matt Henle were both absent from council proceedings.
The East Madison Street sidewalk replacement project contractor has been selected to tear out and replace uneven sidewalks just east of the square.
Sidewalk Project
Two bids were received last Thursday for the E. Madison Street sidewalk replacement project. Both bids were under the engineer’s estimate for the project, and it was noted that V&K Engineering has used both contractors.
Caliber Concrete LLC submitted the low bid in the amount of $243,578.20.
A second bid from TK Concrete, Inc. came in higher at $273,375.
The council briefly discussed working with TK Concrete in the past, and the current sidewalk project that Caliber is working on in Diagonal. Chandra Poore made the motion to approve the low bid, and the council agreed unanimously.
Pay Request
The council discussed whether to move forward with a pay request received from Precision Building and Spray Foam. Their low bid submitted for storm damage repairs was approved at the August 5 council meeting (Matt Henle abstained from voting).
It was noted that Matt Henle is the contractor for the roofing replacement project, and he is working with Ivan Stoltzfus as a subcontractor for all the flat roofs.
“He is asking for 30% upfront,” stated City Administrator Brent Wise.
Wise noted the entire project is expected to cost $300,000, with $100,000 being requested up front to pay for materials and supplies.
The council discussed the insurance claim amount, the deductible, and the remaining amount the city will need to pay prior to making a decision. Mike Wik motioned to provide $100,000 up front to cover material cost, Poore seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Regular business
In other regular business the council approved:
• A Class C Retail Alcohol License for Trails End Saloon LLC as part of the consent agenda;
• Resolution 2024-860 for the budget amendment approved at the August 5 meeting;
• The purchase of a new firewall for City Hall in the amount of $995.42 from MMIT Professional Services. City Administrator Brent Wise noted it was an unbudgeted expense. Council member Mike Wik noted the average life span for a firewall is 5-7 years, and suggested they plan ahead for future budget cycles.
• The appointment of Jim Uhlenkamp to the library board, replacing Meredith Dredge. The other board member, Mabel Trujillo, is an at large member and would be up to the County Board of Supervisors to approve.
Administrator Update
City Administrator Brent Wise discussed upcoming training opportunities for city staff members. He explained that water and wastewater licenses are good for two years and the Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) can be obtained at several upcoming training events and fall conferences. He reviewed staffing options and requested closing the office on a few dates so that educational needs can be addressed. Wise also requested closing City Hall for an afternoon to review water and sewer ordinances with all staff members and make sure everyone understands the ordinances the same way. He discussed closing the office again in October for a gWorks (public payment system) training day.
“I’m not a big fan of closing, but it could be some valuable training,” stated Wise.
Council members agreed that by giving the public enough notice, they saw value in closing the office for a short period of time for training.
Wise also discussed he would like to publicly announce summer recreation opportunities for next year to see how many lifeguards would have an interest in helping next year. He also wanted to start looking for a summer recreation director for next summer.
Council member Wik asked about the status of tree removal.
“Where are we on trees,” asked Wik, “Has Lincoln started?”
It was noted that Lincoln Lawncare is under contract for 20-21 trees, but there is another contractor that is interested.
A budget amendment was passed so they could cut down additional dead trees.
The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for Tuesday, September 3 due to the Labor Day Holiday.
