A regular meeting of the Wykoff City Council was held on September 11, with all members in attendance Rocky Vreeman, Mary Tjepkes, Mayor Al Williams, Clerk Becky Schmidt, Mary Sackett, and Richard Gleason. Citizens addressed the council to voice their objections to the enforcement of the city’s “junk ordinance.” One citizen asked who decides what is junk, and said she believes in reusing things rather than throwing them away.
Gleason pointed out that another property has a “Conditional Use Permit” (CUP) which was issued in 2011 for “Auto Shop Towing Impound Lot Apartment for Employee” (according to the permit) but that the property is clearly not being used as an impound lot, since vehicles stay there for many months. In response to citizens, Sackett replied that the assessor has stated that violators of the junk ordinance do decrease the valuation and enjoyment of the neighboring property owners, and she said, “We’re not picking on people, we have an ordinance.” The conditional use permit issue will be sent to the Planning and Zoning committee to consider, and send their recommendation back to the city council.
This council meeting marked a change in the seating arrangement at the council meetings, with council members sitting with their backs to the south wall. This change was implemented to make more room for citizens attending the meetings. The council also shared a list of guidelines for the city council’s meetings, including items such as how the agenda is made available to the public, visitors addressing the council, and the usual schedule of meetings (regularly on the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m.).
The council discussed bills submitted, including $710 and $350 regarding a previous problem at the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). It was pointed out that although the contractor did come out and attempt to fix the problem, he was not successful, and the problem was later fixed by someone else. The consensus of the council was that a lesser charge would be negotiated. Rick Whitney (Peopleservices) volunteered to speak with the contractor about this, and the council OK’d this.
The council considered an emailed request from Jodi Wiemerslage regarding a very large water usage bill, due to an unexpected pipe leak. Her email thanked the city for bringing it to her attention, and stated, in part, “Our basement flooded, so it must have been leaking for several days… If at all possible, we would like to ask the city of Wykoff to forgive some of the usage costs.” The council chose to handle this as it has with other similar situations, by adjusting the sewer portion of the billing, but not the water usage.
Vreeman brought up a situation in which a property owner has a very overdue water bill, and is now roughly $1,000. He stated, “The water should have been shut off.” The council considered removing the water meter, or putting a lock on it, but chose to take no further action at this time. The overdue charges, if unpaid, will be assessed to the property owner.
Fiona McClimon asked the council about putting in a skating rink in the winter, as a way to offer a positive activity for youth. Gleason suggested the backside of the ballpark could be a good spot. Mayor Williams said the city had a skating rink years ago, using 2x4s, but said the water leaked out when the sun melted the ice. Schmidt volunteered to look into the feasibility of creating a rink.
Wade Baker, representing the fire department, said he wants to amend his previous request to purchase 20 pairs of boots. While they were originally priced at $300 a pair, that has increased to $320 a pair. He explained that a grant will pay $3,000 of that, and he asked the council to OK $3,400 for the city’s share (rather than the originally approved $3,000). The council OK’d this change.
The council discussed the recent citywide cleanup day, and said it went well overall. The main suggestion for improvement was to get the word out sooner to citizens. It was also mentioned that having a “standard schedule” (such as the second Saturday in August, for example) could help people plan ahead.
The format of the council’s meeting minutes has been a topic of discussion at several recent meetings. The council voted 4-1 to settle upon the synopsis style of meeting minutes from now on. The council also voted to “de-identify” complaint issues before they are sent to council members for consideration. This means that the name of the citizen submitting the complaint will not be included.
Rick Whitney asked the council to approve two equipment purchases for the WWTP. The council OK’d these. Schmidt asked if the council would like her to pursue looking into options for the city to offer an option for citizens to make payments online. The council consensus was for her to proceed. The meeting adjourned about 9:15 p.m. The council’s next regular meeting will be Monday, October 9 at 7 p.m. The public is welcome.