A crowd filled the council meeting room during the Wykoff City Council meeting on August 13. A public hearing was held regarding the city’s plans to restrict parking on “green spaces.” All council members were in attendance: Rocky Vreeman, Mary Tjepkes, Mayor Al Williams, City Clerk Becky Schmidt, Mary Sackett and Richard Gleason.
During the public hearing, several citizens spoke, including Mitch Grabau, who asked, “Who brought this up, and what are we trying to accomplish?” Richard Gleason answered, “That would probably be me… The green space is being used to park on, in some instances, and we’re trying to not have that be used for parking.” He further explained that the city understands that there will be exceptions for scheduled ball games and other special events. Also, the council had previously indicated there would be a process for citizens to request permission to park on the green spaces.
Grabau then asked about the form or process for citizens to request such permission. Council members said there is no paper form to fill out, but citizens should simply contact the city clerk’s office and explain their request. Mary Sackett said there would not be a fee for such requests. Grabau and Wade Baker asked what criteria will be used to determine if a request will be granted or denied; there was no clear answer. Baker responded, “So it’s almost kind of worthless, if you don’t have guidelines to go by.” Gleason shared his opinion that without an ordinance, the city would not be able to enforce anything.
Lively discussion continued, with Mayor Williams interjecting, “One person at a time!” Becky Schmidt summarized, “There are people who are parking vehicles on green space, and leaving them for days. And that’s what this is trying to avoid.” The public hearing ended at 7:30 p.m., and the council then opened their regular meeting. The council voted to approve the ordinance addendum (#71.031) as proposed (Rocky Vreeman voted against).
The council discussed a bill for $5500 for replacing a water valve that was damaged when it was shut off by Generation X Construction. There was discussion regarding whether this cost should be paid by the city or the contractor. Mayor Williams will talk with the contractor about this.
A citizen, Jerry, representing the Choppers MC motorcycle club, addressed the council, and Mary Sackett said there is a concern regarding motorcycle engine noise after 9 p.m. Jerry said the club aims to be an active and cooperative part of the community, adding, “We’ll do our best” (to limit the noise).
Mitch Grabau spoke up regarding his concern of streets in need of repair (Silver and Pearl streets). Daren Sikkink (WHKS) will obtain pricing info for the city for the two most cost-effective options for fixing these streets (chip sealing, and grinding up & resetting the street surface). Sikkink said neither option would likely be possible this year, since street crews are wrapping up their summer projects.
Wade Baker (Fire Chief) spoke to the council about fire department equipment needs, including his suggestion that the department be approved to purchase an upgraded thermal imaging camera, at a cost of $4,600. He also noted that the department needs to start replacing some outdated firefighter gear. It was suggested that the department and the city agree upon a rotating schedule to gradually replace worn-out or outdated gear, so that the budget won’t be hit overly hard in any one year.
The council approved a resolution regarding banking of hours by city employees (“comp time”) as read by Mary Sackett. Also, following a suggestion by Daren Sikkink, the council approved a feasibility study on a joint county/city project to repair County Road 5/Gold Street in 2019. Sikkink suggests that while the street is being repaired, it would make sense to also replace the utilities there.
The council discussed how to proceed regarding the Storlie and Shaw property. Becky Schmidt said if the council chooses to proceed with the abatement process, a letter must be sent spelling out what is expected, and a deadline, and a penalty that will be enforced after the deadline. The council voted to move forward with the abatement process. The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. The council’s next regular meeting will be Monday, September 10 at 7 p.m.
Leave a Reply