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| Unofficial Summary of the Gilbert City Council Meeting | |||
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Gilbert City Council Meeting August 19, 2002
The meeting began at 7:06 pm at the city hall. Mayor Bob Jaquis and council members Chris Benda, Lynn Henn, Jon Popp, and Peg Uthe. Council member, Craig Allen, was absent. Joy Leister was appointed acting clerk to record minutes of the meeting. The consent calendar was approved. Visitors included two representatives of the Ames Public Library — Gina Millsap, library director and Lynne Carey, outreach coordinator. Gary Steel, maintenance supervisor for Gilbert, was also present as was David Dougherty of WHKS Company and Helen Gunderson, resident of Gilbert and editor of The Gilbert Gazette. The librarians left after the discussion about the Bookmobile. Gary stayed for most of the meeting. David and Helen stayed for the entire meeting. No one spoke during the open forum which is a time set aside for the visitors to talk about concerns that are not listed on the agenda. Agenda item #2 — Discussion of Bookmobile relocation: The mayor asked the librarians and Gary Steel if they had looked around town to determine sites with good potential for relocating the Bookmobile. (Note: the Bookmobile has traditionally parked near the elementary school; however, this summer, the school administration asked that the library either restrict access of youth to certain video programs or move the Bookmobile off of school property.) There was some talk about locating the Bookmobile in Lions Park, but then it was pointed out that the Porta-Potty at the park disappears right before Halloween, and Bookmobile staff and visitors would be left without handy access to restrooms. (Note: a person might also question if library staff and clientele would care to use a Porta-Potty during the late fall and winter seasons. Brrrr.) Then there was a meandering conversation as to where to put the Bookmobile — in one of the parks or on Main Street. One council member asked what the status of talks was between the library and schools and whether the Bookmobile indeed needed to be relocated. Lynne responded that the school had given the library the ultimatum to either adhere to the limitations on access to materials requested by the school or to move the Bookmobile. Gina said that in the short term, the library would be looking at a change in the Bookmobile schedule for being in Gilbert and that they would experiment with a Saturday visit. She said one possibility was for the Bookmobile to be in Gilbert on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 6:00 pm and on one Saturday a month for six hours. Lynne said they would try this for one semester. However, Lynne also had some concerns for children who ride the school bus, saying they would lose out on the amount of access to the Bookmobile they had under the traditional arrangement at the school. Gina said that once the library and city agreed on a setup, she would send a letter to all families who use the Bookmobile to tell them of the change of site and schedule. Gina then pointed to a potential problem of people being unable to return books conveniently and on time if the library went to the one Saturday a month setup. There was some discussion among the council members and mayor about possible sites for a drop box. Some of the suggestions included a box in a park or seeing if a local business would be willing to be a drop off site. (Note: we don’t understand why no one mentioned the possibility of a book drop off box at city hall, either at the front or back door.) The mayor said he would call Doug Williams, superintendent of the Gilbert schools, and tell him what "we’re doing for now" and that the council and library would work out the details of the plan. Lynne said the library staff will look at its Bookmobile schedule to establish consistent hours in order to give Gilbert full service. Gina said she wanted to give people lots of advance notice of the changes. Council member, Jon Popp, asked what kind of changes the library would make in its contractual fees for Gilbert if things didn’t work out with the Saturday schedule — or other alternative times — and the Bookmobile could come to town only 2.5 hours per week. Gina responded that the library was committed to providing high quality service to Gilbert but that she didn’t know the specific answer to Jon’s question. Lynne added that the library would need to look at its contract with Gilbert based on the yearly average for weekly use of the Bookmobile. The library representatives did note that circulation at the Bookmobile in Gilbert was up 24 percent this summer over last summer. The mayor noted that there seemed to be a consensus to "give the new plan a whirl." Gina said she wanted to meet with the council in January to report on Bookmobile usage and the feasibility of the new plan for being in Gilbert. Agenda item #3 — Discussion of railroad crossing repairs: The mayor asked Gary Steel to report on the situation in which the Union Pacific Railroad had supposedly repaired the rail line where it crosses Mathews Drive. Gary said he was exremely disappointed in the repair job and told a complex story of trying to communicate with the rail company and its representative in Eagle Grove and have the job done right. He said that the Iowa Department of Transportation even tried to pull strings to help right the situation, but that the DOT had no success. Gary said there is a process by which the city can apply for help with getting concrete crossing supports but there is a five-year wait to receive the help. He also said, "the best bet is to sit tight for the winter, see what the railroad does (to rectify the situation) then put in an application (for the concrete supports)." The mayor said a letter needs to go from the city or its attorney to the Union Pacific offices in Omaha. Gary said he has pictures of the site that could be sent with the letter. Jon Popp said that a carbon copy of the letter needed to be sent to the UP representative in Eagle Grove so that he would not be caught unawares of the complaint. Gary concluded the conversation by saying that he has, "nothing but praise" for the DOT representative who helped him with the railroad crossing issue. Agenda item #4 — Discussion of Vision 2000 Wetland Dam modifications: Gilbert apparently has received a letter from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources giving the city a September 30 deadline to deal with a dam that is part of the Vision 2000 park project and marsh. (Note: Vision 2000 is a non-profit group that has been in operation since the early or mid-1990s for the purpose of developing land given by the Upstill family to the city and the Gilbert schools for a park.) The mayor said the letter from the DNR included three options. Two of those were to lower or remove the dam. (Unfortunately, our note-taking wasn’t fast enough to record the third option.) The mayor said that he had met with representatives of the Vision 2000 and the city attorney to develop a strategy to deal with the DNR and the owner of the property adjacent to the park. (Note: the owner is apparently a Mr. Roth who lives in northwest Iowa and has an estranged relationship with the city). The mayor added that one option would be to offer the owner a high amount of money for the property even though much if not all of the land is in the flood plain. The mayor asked David Dougherty to talk about a proposal for a hydraulic study of the flood plain area. (Note; David is an engineer from WHKS Company which is a firm in Ames that provides Gilbert with engineering services on a retainer basis.) David spoke about how his firm had done a hydraulic study for the Village North Sixth Addition that is being developed by Rich Lepper. Some of the land is near the flood plain boundaries. David said there is a need to extend the "flood plain models" to the north then look at ways to re-channel water (in the area of the Vision 2000 project) to keep any flood water on city property. He added that part of the goal is to to keep the wetland area that has been developed as part of the Vision 2000 project. The mayor said there is a possibility that the hydraulic survey would indicate the problem isn’t as bad as it is currently perceived. He added that the benefits of the survey are not limited to resolving the current situation but that it could have other uses as well. The mayor indicated that Dave had submitted a work order to do the hydraulic study. Chris Benda noted from papers in front of him (presumably, part of the packet distributed to council members prior to the meeting) that the work order said the cost was not to exceed $6400. The council then passed a motion authorizing Dave to proceed with the study. The mayor added that he and David had gone before the council meeting to look at the drainage in Lions Park. He felt that it was particularly important to focus on finding solutions for the problems there ... especially in light of the current spread of the West Nile virus. Agenda items #5 and #6 — Stop sign at the intersection of Rothmoor and Jensen: The council opened a public hearing to receive input on Ordinance 282 to create a four-way stop at the intersection of Rothmoor and Jensen. (Note: the ordinance was written in response to several residents of the area who came to council meetings this summer and expressed concerns about speeding vehicles and the potential threat that the fast-moving traffic made to the safety of neighborhood children. There had already been one hearing on the ordinance at the last meeting; however, no one spoke during either of the two hearings.) The council then waived what would have been the third of a required three readings and passed the ordinance. (Note: city councils have the right to waive hearings, but the Gilbert mayor and council have been reluctant to use that option because they do not want the public to think corners are being cut. However, in this case, the concerned residents had requested the stop sign be put in place before school started, and waiving a third hearing seemed appropriate.) The mayor then asked Gary Steel if he had stop signs on hand and instructed him to install the four-way stop as soon as possible. Agenda item #7 — Discussion of Certificate of Deposit renewal procedure: Apparently the council and mayor had papers in front them that had been distributed in their packets outlining a new process for dealing with certificates of deposits. There was a bit of discussion about the need to space the CDs out so they did not all mature at the same time. Jon Popp also pointed to the interest rates and dates of renewal that had been added to the list of CDs and said the addition of the information would be very helpful in making decisions. There was a consensus to adopt the procedures. Nothing was said, however, about the steps that would be taken or the line of authority involved in recommending and approving CD changes. Council member, Lynn Henn, asked the mayor if he was comfortable with the report. The mayor said he had not studied it closely. Jon Popp asked, "Who put it together?" The mayor responded, "Dianna." (Note: Dianna Schmidt is the city clerk.) Jon then asked who was responsible if there was an error. (Note: in the past there have been a few concerns at city hall about accuracy of reports. On more than one occasion, it has been recommended that the mayor or a council member proofread reports prior to them being presented to the full council, knowing that an individual person, no matter how astute at dealing with detail — whether in publishing a spreadsheet or newsletter — can catch all errors. Jon’s question was not directly answered. Council member, Peg Uthe, tried to clarify what the process involved by asking if it were a simple matter of taking numbers from the books and putting them in the right spot in the report. The mayor said he is counting on having a balance left from the street funds to keep in reserve and use when curbs and gutter and a new man hole are installed on Prairie View. He said the job will be done when Rich Lepper completes his new addition sufficiently to loop Christian Peterson Avenue all the way to the east and connect that street with Prairie View. General discussion among council members: Chris Benda said that he and the mayor had been talking about the idea of having a wading pool in Gilbert like the one at Brookside Park in Ames — or perhaps a step above the one at Brookside — and to have a fountain. He added that although it would not be a "real size pool," a wading pool would at least be a start. (Note: Chris has been active on the Vision 2000 board whose plans for developing the land given by the Upstill family includes a pool and community center. Some members of Vision 2000 and other residents of the area have been frustrated that fund-raising efforts have not been more successful and that there is no indication of having a pool in the near future, if at all. In fact, at the last meeting of Vision 2000, Gene Upstill who donated the land and who has been president of the group, conceded that it might be appropriate to let go of the idea for a pool and community center at this time, finish the loose ends of projects that the organization is working on, commend themselves on a job well-done, then phase out the organization or at least let it lie dormant until there are new members with new ideas and energy). Peg Uthe said it would be wise to do some research. That in these days, there probably would have to be testing unlike years ago when people could simply put water in a play area and let children splash around. Chris said that the wading pool at Brookside is drained every night. The mayor encouraged council members to look at the Brookside wading pool. He also said that other things could be added such as features like ones that Roland has at its wading pool. Peg brought up the business of Squaw Valley and a proposed new housing addition there. Someone had come to her expressing concern about the Gilbert Planning and Zoning Commission and its role in approving the addition. The mayor said the reason Planning and Zoning acted was because the commission didn’t want to simply pass on business sent to it by the county. He also said that people who oppose the development should go through the County Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. Peg asked, "So we really don’t have jurisdiction?" David Dougherty, the engineer from WHKS, said that a city could enforce its zoning regulations within a two-mile area from its city limits. The mayor said, "Maybe the county drew the two-mile line from the lagoons." (Note: the lagoons for Gilbert’s sewer system are southeast of town). The mayor went on to say, "We got involved as a formality to make sure we were exercising our authority." Peg thought that the person who had expressed concerns to her probably had thought the City of Gilbert could have reinforced the concerns of the opponents of the new development. The mayor responded that the city was trying to avoid getting in the middle of the controversy. David gave an example of a town exercising authority within a two-mile area from its boundaries. He said that the City of Ames made the developers of Cameron Heights (northwest of Ames) follow some Ames zoning standards. (We think he said Ames enforced its rules for the development's water system but not for the curbs and gutters.) David also talked about the complexity of the Cameron Heights situation since the Zenia (a rural water company) will be providing water to the area but that the Westory Fire Department may choose not to hook up to Zenia’s water because the department doesn’t want the responsibility for potential damage to Zenia lines. The mayor reported that the Story County Planning and Zoning Commission had been ready to publish its long-range plan but got unexpected feedback and had to take a big step backward. The setback was a disappointment to many people, including the mayor. (Note: there have been some preliminary discussions between the county and the cities of Ames and Gilbert to plan an area between the two towns that would not be developed. Also, Gilbert had been planning to work with the county and do a joint planning process. However, Gilbert will now forge ahead on its own and not wait for the county to re-do its plan.) Lynn Henn mentioned that there are a couple of new trees in a park that are leaning and need to be staked up. He will talk to Gary Steel, and have Gary do the job. One of the council members asked, "What’s the scoop on the train ride?" Apparently, the Union Pacific Railroad has an extended an invitation for council members to ride the train from Ames to Story City and back on August 30. The mayor said, "It’s a PR thing." The meeting adjourned at 8:12 pm.
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This unofficial summary provided by Gilbert Gazette editor, Helen D. Gunderson. When the minutes of a meeting become available (after they are approved at the next council meeting), we will post them. You may also wish to look for the minutes in the fine print of the legal notices in the Ames Tribune about 14 days after a council meeting. If someone has an eye for proof-reading and finds typos, mis-spelling, grammar, or other errors, please let us know so we can make corrections. It's difficult and time-consuming to prepare the summary, and although it would be wise to find a copy editor before posting the summaries, we feel it is important to make the essence of the material available to the public as soon as possible. Also, the city council tape records each
meeting, and the clerk maintains the cassettes for use in writing the
minutes and clarifying future questions about meetings. As far as we know,
those tapes are part of the public record (unless the a city uses the
tapes only for preparing minutes then destroys the tapes). And as far as
we know, citizens and other persons may arrange with the clerk to listen
to the tapes at city hall. |
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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world — indeed it's the only thing that ever has!" Margaret Mead, American anthropologist |
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c2002 The Gilbert Gazette
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