Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/5/2022 - Work Session*** Proof of Publication *** State of Iowa Black Hawk County Waterloo, City of - Legals 715 MULBERRY ST. WATERLOO IA 50703 ORDER NUMBER 219785 The undersigned, being duly sworn, on oath, do depose and say that I am an authorized employee of the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, that The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier is a weekly newspaper regularly published and printed in the English language in the City of Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa, and has a general circulation in the said city and county; and that I personally know that the notice, a true copy of which is hereto affixed, was published in the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier on the following days, to -wit: Section: Legals Category: 950 Legal Notice PUBLISHED ON: 12/20/2022 TOTAL AD COST: 146.47 FILED ON: 12/21/2022 That the issues of said paper containing said notice were duly circulated in the regular manner. AAA GVImkt Gya-ka.h- Notary Public in and for Said County SHERRIE KILTS Commission Number 772917 • My Commission Expires ow. May 9, 2024 ; ! 190114Ji.2 aeq.rto,zaimmr,3 yM 14SW; ,P 461/ ' t *** Proof of Publication *** COUNCIL WORK SESSION December 5, 2022 3:35 p.m. Harold E. Getty Council Chambers Members present: Boesen, Nichols, Amos, Chiles, Grieder, Wilder, and Feuss. Absent: Amos, Nichols, and Chiles. Mr. Feuss appeared via Zoom. Mr. Chiles and Mr. Nichols arrived at 3:39 pm. 101028 - Grieder,Wilder that the Agenda, as proposed, be approved. Voice -vole Ayes: Four. Motion Carried. 101029 - Grieder/Wilder that the Minutes, as proposed, for the Work Session on Monday, November 21, 2022, at 5:30 p.m., be accepted and approved. Voice vote -Ayes: Four. Motion canted. Objective: Discussion of an ordinance establishing collection fees for delinquent payments. Kelley Felchle, City Clerk, explained that she has been working together with the Fire Department and Legal Department to look at entering into a contract with Municipal Collections of America. She provided an overview of the ordinance, which would allow the city to pass along the associated costs of the collection process on to the individuals who owe on the delinquent payments. Kelley reviewed the labor intensive and process that the clerk's office currently uses to collect debt, which is through the assessment process. Pat Treloar, Fire Chief, explained that the fire department has used a debt collection service for well over a decade, and noted that thousands of dollars are collected through the income -offset program which is relatively easy if you have a good social security number. Along with Kelley Felche and Martin Petersen, they have decided to pad ways with the current company and wish to sign a new contract with Municipal Collections of America. Mr. Grieder questioned If there was anything in place to provide assistance with individuals who are financially burdened and unable to pay their debt before sending this to collections. Kelley Felchle explained that her office has low-income fee reduction applications that people can fill out annually which will reduce the amount they see on their water bills. Pat Treloar stated that they are very flexible and do work with individuals to agree on a payment plan that keeps them out of collections. Mr. Boesen mentioned that Operation Threshold is another way people can receive assistance. He stated that he sees the benefit of collections, particularly for the delinquent sewer and garbage accounts, as they are assessed through taxes. With the delayed timeline for tax billing, many homes change ownership making the debt unceilectable. Objective: Discussion of amendments to the Travel Policy. Bridgett Wood, Finance Manager, ex- plained that the amendment she propo- ses is to make travel requests under $200, approved at the department head level instead of the Mayor. Mr. Chiles thanked Ms. Wood for moving forward with this amendment and he is in full support. Mr. Grieder questioned what general portion of these requests would meet this threshold and what sort of reduction would we anticipate in terms of paper- work. 8ridgett Wood explained that she has kept a log since she started with the city and in September alone there were fifty such requests. Kelley Felchle provided additional infor- mation on the number of travel requests that passed through the system last year, redundancy in processing, and the clerk staff's involvement to electronically record and file. Mr. Boesen commented that many of these are online courses viewed from the staff members own office, so it makes sense to move this direction. Objective: Discussion of lilting a vacancy on city council. Kelley Felche provided information on holding a special election vs. appoint- ment The earliest a special election could be held would be February 71h and if a run-off Is needed, that would be held on March 7th. The county estimates the cost of holding a special election to be about $7,500, and $15,000 if there would be a run-off. If council chooses to move forward with an appointment, the council sets the process with the exception of certain parameters we need to meet to satisfy state code. She then explained the process and timeline for appointing a new council member, and stated that the public could still petition to hold a special • ; flak tiet r- • - ' * * * Proof of Publication *** ehevaon uy couectehg signatures utxn Ward 4, even after the council appoint- ments someone. Mr. Chiles questioned i1 Mr, Amos would be able to vote on an appointment. Kelley Felchle confined, es he will still be actively serving as council for Ward 4 through January 4, 2023. Ms. Wilder questioned 11 council inter- views the applicants or it the public also interviews. Kelley Felchle explained that council gets to decide the process. but she suggested council drive the interview, but requests public input on the type of questions they would like asked. Mr. Grieder shared his concems on political bodies choosing their member- ship. He outlined a few things that he would like to see as pad of the process that would show the applicant has a general level of support from the community in Ward 4. Kelley Felchle provided the timeline if council should decide to choose an appointment over a special election. Council continued to discuss their con- cems and preferences for the process of en appointment. Objective: Discussion of adding parklets to Downtown Waterloo. Jessica Rucker, Main Street Waterloo and Complete Streets Advisory Commit- tee, gave a presentation on the downtown parking study done in May 2021, and its subsequent recommendations. The Com- plete Streets Advisory Committee re- viewed and voted on the recommenda- tions they wanted to place focus on over the next year. In February of 2022, the Black Hawk County Master Pedestrian Plan was adopted. Within the planning and zoning recommendations of this master plan, one of these was to create parklets to provide more outdoor seating and space while maintaining pedestrian through zones. She explained that it is the goal to finalize and adopt the parklet manual and guidelines by February 2023. Mr. Boesen questioned how the city can justity losing out on parking revenue through this program and if the applica- tion process would help to recoup this revenue. Jessica Rucker explained that the appli- cation fee. She is working with Republic Parking to determine what the revenue is from one space during that period of time. The data has been focused on the 300 block of West Fourth Street. Mr, Boesen questioned how this would work on Lafayette and Sycamore with the angled parking. Jessica Rucker explained that the space would be perpendicular to the curb rather than horizontal. Mr. Boesen questioned who is on Main Street Design Counsel. Jessica Rucker explained the professio- nal composition of the board members. Mr. Boesen confirmed that the parklet must abide by all city codes and regulations, such as outdoor sales for beer and liquor permits. Jessica Rucker commented that the outdoor seating resolution requires that the cafe be situated adjacent to the licensed premise. Mr. Chiles commented that he is happy to see this project moving forward and shared that Alexandria, Virginia has them amply throughout the street in old town. They bring a lot of business to the downtown. He commented on the amount of players involved in the project and questioned who is actually responsible for the collection of the applications. He shared that fees need to be collected by the city. Mayor Hart commented that this would be a great enhancement to downtown Waterloo. 101030 - Chiles/Boesen that the meeting be adjourned at 4:57 p.m. Voice -vote Ayes: Six. Motion carried. Kelley Felchle City Clerk