Photo by Wanda Hanson
John Graupman of Bolton & Menk visited the Houston City Council meeting on July 11 to present pay applications #14 ($171,369.05) and #15 ($205,894.32) from Wapasha Construction. Graupman explained that there were two this month since last month’s pay application had failed to be submitted.
Graupman also submitted a change order to add new sidewalks at the wastewater plant; these were necessitated by a change in the route to complete tasks at the plant. In addition, more lab equipment for completing testing needs to be ordered, the railing on the biosolids tank needs to be updated, and new piping is needed to replace failing pipes on the decant system. In total, the change order was for $86,564.29 and another 110 days. Graupman assured the council that there was money in the contingency funds to cover the change order.
July 26 is now the substantial completion date; final payment will be due in January. The remainder of the work is expected to be completed by the end of August. The MPCA is in the process of reviewing the paperwork.
Graupman shared the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit paperwork that he is completing for the city. This is the wastewater permit which must be renewed every five years. MPCA charges a fee of $1,240 for the permit. According to Graupman, 90% of the permit will be the same next time and can be completed by city staff.
Hoedown fireworks
DLC Houston Guild applied for a fireworks permit for the Hoedown Days’ Friday night display. The council approved the permit contingent on the approval of Houston Fire Department Chief Steve Skifton.
Dusty Franzwa shared that the site for the launching of the fireworks has been moved slightly to accommodate the requirements of a larger buffer zone due to larger shells being used in the show. The fireworks have not been ordered yet because of the recent high humidity levels.
DLC has contracted with Flashing Thunder of Mitchell, Iowa to put on the display. Flashing Thunder has recently done the fireworks at Deer Creek Speedway on the Fourth of July and at Hormel’s 125th anniversary in Austin.
Ballfield rental fees
After an inquiry from a non-profit about using the city ballfield, the council felt a need to add the ball fields to the city facility ordinance. The council considered a fee of $50 per field with an additional security deposit of $100 if lights and scoreboard were to be used. The deposit would be returned if no damage or loss of handheld devices occurred.
No decision was made by the council; an addendum to the ordinance will be created and discussed with Park and Rec before next month’s council meeting.
Other business
In other business the council:
•Approved a variance for construction of a new deck at 210 Dawn Drive;
•Appointed Hein Bloehm and Jay Wheaton to the bike trail joint venture committee;
•Officially accepted the donation of a gift basket from Bolton & Menk and donated it to the fire department relief fund; the relief fund will raffle it off and use the proceeds to benefit the community;
•Learned that 10 new ambulance crew members have been added to ambulance staff; in addition a waiver may be available to the city for more people to take basic CPR training and then be able to accompany an EMT on ambulance runs;
•Began discussing what to do with the old community center building; currently the building is costing the city about $3,000 a year in utilities, insurance, elevator service contract, and phone and internet service (required by the presence of an elevator);
•Discussed the possibility of getting a rough estimate from Bolton & Menk for the cost of doing the bare minimum to be able to sell lots along Stoddard Street – this would include graveling a road; according to City Clerk Michelle Quinn, there has been interest in the lots from private parties.
The next meeting of the Houston City Council will be on August 8 at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall. The public is welcome to attend; a public comment period is available during the meeting.