The Fountain City Council met on September 1, 2016 for its regularly scheduled meeting. All council members were present.
City Attorney
Motion by Gudmundson, second by Schott to hire Dwight Luhmann of Luhmann Law, LLC as City Attorney for the City of Fountain. Motion carried. The contract will be for the remainder of 2016 and the entirety of 2017 at a rate of $135/hr.
Bike program grant
Gail Boyum and Julie Gade with the Root River Trail Towns attended the council meeting to discuss the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) grant. Each town that chooses to participate will be loaning out 1950s style bikes free of charge. Each town will have bikes in a color specific to that town. The bikes will need to be signed out. Each participating town will receive $3,000 in grant money which can be used to purchase bike racks, helmets, etc. as well as maintenance on the bikes. The program encourages people to walk more and bike more. Motion by Ostby, second by Gudmundson, to participate in the SHIP program. Motion carried.
PACC
Tim Kiehne, President of the Preston Area Chamber of Commerce (PACC), addressed the council to promote the PACC, to offer more involvement with the City of Fountain, and answer any questions the council had.
Cedar Street
Cedar Street resident Dan Byer attended the council meeting to address concerns of speeding traffic on Cedar Street. As Police Chief Mosher was not in attendance the matter was tabled until the October 2016 meeting.
Consent agenda
Motion by Schott, second by Wangen, to approve consent agenda items including minutes from August 4, 2016 regular meeting, treasurer’s report and monthly city bills/fire dept.artment bills. Motion carried.
City maintenance
City maintenance worker John Hanson presented quotes for road work on First and Second Streets. Motion by Schott, second by Gudmundson, to approve having five sample cracks filled by Four Season Maintenance at no charge, and if the council approves of the work, they will proceed with patch and repair on the rest of First and Second Streets. Motion carried.
Motion by Schott, second by Wangen, to purchase four tires for the city’s 2005 Chevy truck. Motion carried.
Motion by Wangen, second by Ostby, to hire Central Tank Coatings, Inc. of Elgin, Iowa, to paint the water tower. Motion carried.
Fire department
Motion by Gudmundson, second by Schott, to purchase a base unit for the fire hall at a one-time discounted price of $3,000, which includes installation and programming of the unit. Motion carried.
Motion by Schott, second by Gudmundson, to approve a one-day liquor license for the fire department’s gun raffle on October 8, 2016. Motion carried.
Zoning committee
Motion by Wangen, second by Ostby, to deny a request by Jackie Hrstka and Ron Huey to allow an apartment in a commercial building. The ordinance states that there cannot be an apartment on the street level of a commercial building. The council upheld the ordinance.
Motion by Gudmundson, second by Ostby, to approve a request by Richard Kujath to expand the size of the building which houses his business. Motion carried.
Motion by Ostby, second by Gudmundson, to approve the construction of a residential storage shed by Tom Tienter. Motion carried.
Police Chief
Chief Mosher provided a report of August activity. August 2 – mailed out letters to clean up junk on property. Aug 14 – sent another letter to a resident to clean up property. Aug. 16 – sent out 14 letters for dog and cat owners who were not in compliance with licenses. If not purchased by Sept. 22, 2016, citations will be sent out.
Mayor
Motion by Ostby, second by Gudmundson, to accept the revised MPCA stipulation agreement and to create a draft. Motion carried.
Motion by Schott, second by Ostby, to approved the tax levy. Motion carried.