A regular meeting of the Wykoff City Council was held April 11. Council members in attendance included Lyle Morey, Mary Sackett, Mayor Ryan Breckenridge, and Kaleb Himli. City Clerk Becky Schmidt and Deputy Clerk Luan Hare also attended. Barb Fate was absent.
The council discussed operations at the city’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Currently, the city contracts with PeopleService for the operation and maintenance of the WWTP, and the current contract runs through August 2022.
Mayor Breckenridge stated, “I proposed a special meeting on this topic because right now the water treatment plant is our biggest expense, and we’ve been running in the negative for the past four years. We have a contract that is being renewed, and I think before we proceed with the contract, we need to sit down with PeopleService, and see how we can cut back on some expenses.”
Breckenridge went on, “I asked myself, am I doing everything I can to bring those costs down… and the answer is no. So I’d ask the council, as a council, are we doing everything we can to watch the expenses at that place?” Becky Schmidt stated that, “One of the biggest problems why it runs in the red a lot, is they depreciate out so fast.” She also said chemical costs have risen steeply, for several reasons.
Mary Sackett recalled, “Originally, when we went into this, with PeopleService, it was a huge savings.” Schmidt replied, “It still is, labor wise,” and she explained that if Wykoff were to hire its own B Operator for the WWTP, that would be very costly, especially with benefits included. She added, “A B Operator is hard to come by, because once they get their license… they start here as a C, get their license as a B, and then they move on to these big cities that pay the big bucks.” A special meeting of the council and PeopleService is set for 2 p.m. on April 14.
Regarding repairs to city streets, Kaleb Himli shared, “We met with the financial advisor (Mike Bubany) about the road projects in town. He pretty much told us that we have enough money in the budget this year to do the small overlay sections in town.” He added that the other portions of the project, which involve water/sewer, curb and gutter, will have to wait until 2023. Schmidt added, “We’re figuring about half a million dollars on the Main Street and the Line Street project, and we’re thinking anywhere between $80,000 and $100,000 on the overlays.” The council approved this plan.
The council discussed options for the city offices and training space. Wykoff Commons has made a proposal to the city to lease space for five years, for $450 per month. Schmidt explained that a local business owner has made a similar offer (the business owner chose to remain anonymous at this time). The other option would be for the city to build an office and training space. Council members shared their preferences, but the issue was tabled.
A special election will be held May 24. Schmidt explained that the city needs to appoint four election judges (Becky Schmidt, LuAnn Hare, Teri Mensink, and Teresa Schiefflebein). She stated, “I have to have a Democrat, a Republican, and an Independent, and we have one of each of those in there.” The council approved these appointments.
Schmidt explained that the local 4-H club has a $2,000 grant to use to put in flower beds at the Jailhouse. She said the city will need to also put some money towards the project, since the 4-H money is a matching grant. She said the 4-H involvement will likely begin May 15.
The citywide rummage sale is scheduled for May 27 and 28. Schmidt said if enough residents sign up to participate, the city may advertise the event with a map showing which homes will participate.
Wykoff’s next city council meeting will be Monday, May 9 at 7 p.m. at city hall.