The Wykoff city council held a regular meeting on July 8. Council members in attendance included Lyle Morey, Mayor Al Williams, City Clerk Becky Schmidt, Mary Sackett and Richard Gleason. Mary Tjepkes was absent. The council discussed final steps regarding the Main Street project, as well as next steps on the upcoming County 5 project.
Regarding the Main Street project, Daren Sikkink, representing WHKS, said, “To finish out the project, I’d like to do a final walk-through, maybe with the Streets committee.” Becky Schmidt said that contractor Generation X has requested full payment of the remaining funds, but Sikkink said there is a 5% retainage built in, and the expectation is that the city assure that everything is done satisfactorily before the retainage is paid. He said he would not recommend paying the retainage yet. He explained that one thing he recommends is that the city receives proof that all subcontractors have been paid, prior to paying the retainage.
The council approved a resolution approving plans and specifications for the County 5 project, and also advertising for bds. The council also heard from County Engineer Ron Gregg, who explained the timelines of the upcoming County 5 project. He said that when bids are received, “We will then, after the bids are opened, we’ll go through them ourselves, and then we’ll take them to the county board meeting on the 13th (of August), and at that time, we’ll request award of the contract to the lowest responsible bidder (contingent upon the city of Wykoff also approving the project). Sikkink and Gregg asked the city to consider rescheduling the August city council meeting, from August 12th to either the 13th or 14th, so that all necessary approvals can be done appropriately and promptly. The council chose to reschedule the next meeting for Tuesday, August 13.
A citizen, Kendra Moechnig, addressed the council, stating in part, “My boyfriend and I are looking to continue growing our family… in Wykoff. We noticed that there’s a vacant area that goes unused, that the city of Wykoff owns…” She described the area near the former track and baseball field, and asked if the city would consider selling a lot there for construction of a home. Mayor Williams replied, saying, “The only thing is, that area that you are requesting, over here beside the ball park,… there is a cavern… it’s a pretty good sized one. So I don’t think that area is available for housing.” No formal action was taken.
Rick Whitney addressed the council with a request regarding the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant operations. He suggested the city purchase a tank to store the “Micro C” product that is used at the plant, so the city could buy it in bulk and get a much better price. He said the tank would cost roughy $7800, but would result in annual savings around $20,000. He said the city currently pays 62 cents a pound for the product, but he saw a quote of 23 cents per pound if bought in bulk. The council approved this request.
Fire Chief Wade Baker said he has completed interviews to fill firefighter vacancies, and has three applicants he would like the city to approve. The council approved the three, pending their background checks being completed satisfactorily.
The council discussed the situation of overnight rentals of the Jail Haus. Becky Schmidt said that now that these reservations are done through AirBnB, there has been a large increase in rentals. She explained that after checking, she discovered that any revenues from these rentals must be used for costs at that location, since the city is not allowed to be “in the hotel business.” She also explained that another option was for the Historical Society to purchase the site, and that she had informed them of this.
Mary Sackett informed the council that a local student, Reese Wolf, has spearheaded a project to stock and install a “lending library” kiosk of books that citizens could borrow and return, on their honor. The council voted to approve installing the kiosk when it is ready to go.
The meeting adjourned at 8 p.m. The council’s next regular meeting will be Tuesday, August 13 at 7 p.m.
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