The Wykoff City Council held a regular meeting on March 9. All council members were in attendance (Lyle Morey, Richard Gleason, Mayor Al Williams, City Clerk Becky Schmidt, Mary Sackett and Mary Tjepkes).
Daren Sikkink, from the engineering and planning firm of WHKS, addressed the council regarding two proposed resolutions regarding the County State-Aid Highway 5 reconstruction project. Sikkink stated that this is to be a joint project between the city and Fillmore County, and he explained, “The county is responsible for doing the pavement, or the street work, on this project, and the city is generally in charge of the utilities, so the sanitary sewer and the water main.”
Sikkink said there are a few exceptions to this, such as storm sewers, which are being divided between the county and city. Becky Schmidt then added, “We did get a $16,000 kickback from Fillmore County because they took more of the storm drain sections than was originally proposed… so that will be refunded by Fillmore County.”
The council approved both resolutions proposed. The first spelled out a total city-portion of the cost to be $558,000. Of that, $446,400 is to be paid by the city, and the remaining $111,600 is to be paid through assessments of the applicable property owners. The council set a public hearing regarding the assessments for April 20 at 7 p.m. at the Community Center.
Mike Bubany, on behalf of David Drown Associates, Inc. (public finance advisors) addressed the council regarding specifically how to borrow the money for the County 5 project. He summarized that although paperwork refers to it as a loan, it’s actually a bond issue. He explained, “Whenever a city borrows money, you’ve got to make sure that you’re following statutory guidelines, structuring your debt appropriately.” He suggested the city will need to borrow roughly $580,000.
Becky Schmidt pointed out that Wykoff has a portion of that amount that could be used, to reduce the amount borrowed. Bubany said that’s an option, but he explained that since interest rates are currently so low, it could make sense to borrow the full amount, and keep some funds back for any upcoming need. After discussion, the council voted to borrow the full amount. The council rescheduled April’s regular council meeting to Tuesday, April 14, to allow Bubany to return at that time to finalize the bond paperwork with the city.
Regarding the Wykoff Jail Haus Bed & Breakfast, Schmidt said there continue to be issues regarding phone/internet connectivity at that location. She said Arvig is able to provide internet service to that site for a cost of $72 per month, with no installation fee. She added that if this is done, the city would then have the ability to lock and unlock the Jail Haus remotely. She suggested that if the council chooses this option, the nightly charge for renters could be increased from $75 to $85.
There was discussion on the previous agenda item of the Community Hall ramp. There were no bids received for moving the ramp, so Mayor Williams suggested buying a mid-size snowblower that could be used to clear snow from the ramp. He said snowblower prices will be reduced now, since winter is essentially over. The council voted to approve buying a snowblower at a cost no greater than $750.
The council discussed the issue of a light pole that had previously been knocked down. Becky Schmidt explained that if the city wished to simply cover the hole, it has to be done with a custom-made plate, which is expected to cost around $1,000. The council decided to replace the light pole instead.
Wykoff’s Administrative Fees list was updated, to include that for multi-unit locations (such as the trailer park), there would be a monthly water base rate ($18.70) charged for each household or business. The council approved this list as presented.
As mentioned above, the council’s next regular meeting will be Tuesday, April 14 at 7 p.m. The public, as always, is welcomed.
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