MINUTES OF THE ROLAND CITY COUNCIL

WORK SESSION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2010

Note: The following minutes were approved by the Roland, Iowa, City Council at the council’s November 22, 2010, meeting.

The Roland City Council met for a work session on Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at 6:03 pm, at the Roland Community Center, with Mayor Roger Fritz presiding. Council members present at roll call were Duane Canny, Larry Ford, Corey Johnson and Jeri Neely. Also present were Street Superintendent Harold Hovick and Water/Wastewater Superintendent Nathan Hovick and one (1) visitor and member of the community.

It was moved by Neely, seconded by Ford to approve the agenda. All were in favor.

The purpose of the work session was to discuss several issues that have come up over the past couple of months that need to be looked at.

Flooding & Storm Sewer

N Cottonwood Street flooding. They discussed what has happened and/or changed over the past few years that could have effected this situation and what fixes could be looked at to keep it from happening again. Consensus of the council is to have the ditches cleaned out (this fall if possible) and create a swale in the field on the west side of the street. City Engineer Neil Guess will be contacted about putting together the cost estimate and plan for council approval. He will also be asked to put together a separate cost estimate for installing another culvert in the area.

Ryan Circle flooding. There was not much discussion on this area. Consensus of the council is to talk to the City Attorney to see if they can enforce the storm water easement and have the property owners remove the items that have been constructed in the easement. They are also going to wait and see what happens with the improvements the abutting farmer made by adding a second culvert under the trail and reshaping the field.

Britson Circle flooding. There was discussion on a couple of the proposed fixes presented by City Engineer Neil Guess at the previous council meetings. The majority of the council was not in favor of going through residents’ yards at this time. Consensus of the council is to have a berm constructed along the east side of the Britson Park property and then re-grade the area so that the water runs to the southwest towards the new storm sewer tile that Street Superintendent Harold Hovick is installing. City Engineer Neil Guess will be contacted about putting together a cost estimate and plan for council approval.

S Vine Street/Elm Street flooding. There was a brief discussion on this. This area when the water sheds off the abutting field on Elm Street. The farmer has done some work on the field, but it really should be completely terraced to fix the problem. There was also discussion regarding the county tile that runs through that area. Street Superintendent Harold Hovick stated he was told that once the drainage tile gets too bad to fix, the county will abandon the tile and the city will need to install a new one.

Bryan Nelson on Bryan Circle flooding. Street Superintendent Harold Hovick stated that the water is coming off the fields and once more homes are constructed in the area the problem should take care of itself. There is some ponding in the street. He will look at the curb & gutter to see if he can grind it down a little.

Sanitary Sewer

There was discussion on some of the issues that came up during the televising of some of the sanitary sewer mains. The 100 block of Logan Street will need some repairs due to the pipe being collapsed in a couple of areas and Green Street will need to be relined. There is also a belly in the main at Elm & Vine Street.

There was discussion on the sewer backup on Samson Street. There is a possibility that it could be backing up through one of the manholes. They are looking to see if they add three (3) more manholes and change the angle of them if this will take care of the backup problems in the area.

There was also discussion on the addition of a new trunk line to the sewer plant. They discussed a couple of options. The first was running the line from the pool through the back yards of Samson Street along the creek in order to avoid tearing up the street and the second was running the line from Elm Street to the sewer plant. If they run it down Elm Street, they could also install a new storm sewer main at the same time to help with the flooding in that area.

Consensus of the council is to contact another company to see if they can televise the sanitary sewer on Logan Street so the council can get a better idea of the condition of the pipe. City Engineer Neil Guess will be contacted to put together cost estimates and plans for an additional trunk line to the sewer plant and for the installation of three (3) manholes on Samson Street.

Storm Water Utility Charge

There was discussion on the implementation of a storm water utility charge to help pay for some of the storm sewer repairs down the road. Consensus of the council is to re-visit this at a later date. They are not interested in it at this time, especially with the significant water and sewer rate increases that took place in July.

Sidewalks

There was discussion on the installation of sidewalks and truncated domes. A couple of the new homes that have been constructed have only installed sidewalks on one side of their property and have not installed the truncated domes at the end of the sidewalk where it meets the street. There are several residents that have installed new sidewalks that have not installed the truncated domes where the sidewalk meets the street. Consensus of the council is to check with the City Attorney to make sure the city’s sidewalk ordinance is enforceable. If it is, then the property owners will be sent letters to correct the violations.

Selling of Property

There was discussion on the property the city has at 209 S Cottonwood Street and 218 N Main Street. Currently there is someone interested in looking at the property at 218 N Main Street. Consensus of the council is to have City Attorney draw up the necessary paper work that needs to be published for the sale of the property at 209 S Cottonwood Street.

Tree Trimming

There was discussion on the procedures for the tree trimming process. Council would like to see a copy of the letter so they can review it for next year. Consensus of the council is to review the letter that is sent out and to make sure there is better communication with the community when the process starts.

Cleaning up Junk/Unsightly Properties

There was discussion on the need to get a couple of properties cleaned up. The main issue is the enforcement of the city code. They are concerned with whether the current City Attorney is going to be comfortable with going after the properties. Consensus of the council is to visit with the current City Attorney to see what his position is. If he’s not comfortable with the enforcement, they will need to look for another City Attorney.

Safe Routes to School Program

There was not much discussion on the program. The city might be better off if they start a sidewalk program of their own.

MIDAS

Consensus of the council is to have Mayor Fritz visit with them to see what “value” we are getting for the annual fee we pay to belong to their group.

Lagoons

As of now, we are still waiting to see what the DNR is going to do. We can’t do anything until the DNR figures out what the rules are going to be.

Street Lights –Arthur/Bryan/Industrial Drive

There was discussion on the need for street lighting on the new streets that are being constructed. There will need to be approximately five (5) installed. At this time there is no electric in that area. Street Superintendent Harold Hovick is waiting to hear from the Alliant contact to discuss the situation.

Vacant Council Seat

The council has been given two (2) names of interested candidates for the vacant seat on the council. Consensus of the council is to have each one of them contact the two (2) candidates and visit with them so they can make an appoint at the next regular council meeting.

Council/Mayor comments consisted of the following: CM Ford stated that this was a very enlightening meeting; CM Johnson stated we need to keep up with keeping the residents informed on what is going on; and Mayor Fritz stated he posted a police update on his blog.

With no further business at this time, Canny moved adjournment of the meeting at 8:16 pm, seconded by Johnson. All were in favor. The next regular council meeting will be Monday, November 8, 2010, at 6:00 p.m. at the Roland Community Center.

_____________________________________ ________________________________________

Roger Fritz, Mayor Deneen Frost, City Clerk

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