A regular meeting of the Wykoff City Council was held May 9. All council members were in attendance (Lyle Morey, Barb Fate, Mary Sackett, Mayor Ryan Breckenridge, and Kaleb Himli). City Clerk Becky Schmidt and Deputy Clerk Luan Hare also attended.
One item of discussion was what to do about the city’s need for more office and training space. Basically, two options are being considered. First, the city could build-on at the current location. Second, the offices could be moved to another location. Two possible sites have been identified. Wykoff Commons and a downtown building have each made a proposal for renting office space to the city.
Mary Sackett shared information that she read from a spreadsheet she created to compare the two possible rental sites. She summarized that most of the details regarding the two sites are similar, including price, and stated, “If we want the larger, brighter office, it’s certainly going to be the Commons.”
Barb Fate asked if the city could move offices to the community center, since that is already owned by the city. Becky Schmidt explained that although that would be possible, the city would have to remodel the space, and it would mean less rental income for the city. She said the city currently rents out the community center on a frequent basis, and that some renters want the entire space, such as when dances are held.
The proposal from Wykoff Commons says they offer 1,000 square feet of office space, plus a kitchenette and private bathroom, for $450 a month, and a five-year lease. The other proposal, for 106 Gold Street, says it has 860 square feet of office space and a five-year lease. The “rent” is shown as “water/sewer services in lieu of rent.” Sackett had estimated this would be roughly $450 a month.
Mayor Breckenridge acknowledged the different opinions, and shared that he prefers the downtown location, saying, “I don’t believe we should be adding on to the fire station… I know Wade would like to have more space for training. I know both of our clerks would like to be uptown… so it feels like we’re all over the board.” He mentioned that the funds set aside for adding on would pay for roughly four years of rental costs at either the Commons or downtown. He suggested tabling the issue for now, and the council agreed.
The council returned to a discussion of 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 of 2022. Schmidt showed a letter she’d sent to PeopleService, informing them that they are welcome to submit a proposal for Wykoff to consider renewing services.
The council discussed the options of either hiring an individual with a Class B Operator’s license to manage the plant, or contracting with a company such as PeopleService. The council voted to advertise for bids on the issue.
Next, the council discussed a sinkhole that was recently discovered. Schmidt shared pictures of the sinkhole near the storage bins on Silver Street. She said there are actually two sinkholes, each 20 feet or deeper. Schmidt also noted that there have historically been a number of sinkholes in the area, so it’s not a new problem. The city will work on adding fill material, and a fence of some sort will be put up for safety purposes.
The council discussed a quote from Mike Meyer to create a sign to be posted at the Wykoff ballfield, honoring the late Mayor Al Williams. The council will ask Meyer to submit a quote for a smaller sign than the 5’x10’ sign price he quoted.
Wykoff’s next city council meeting will be Monday, June 13 at 7 p.m. at city hall.
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