City Council addresses Wellness Center, stop sign intersection issues

by Dwight Jones

The Waukon City Council met in regular session the evening of Monday, October 19 with a full Council in attendance.
Under Regular Business, the first two items addressed an ordinance ordering the vacation of public streets and utility/drainage easements in the Waukon Industrial Park Third addition, and a resolution approving the disposal of the City’s real estate interest in the same location. Both are required as part of the construction of a new Iowa Department of Transportation maintenance shed at that location. Both were approved.
Moving on to item #3, Danielle Bucknell with the Waukon Wellness Center was in attendance to discuss plans for the winter regarding snow removal at the Center. The first year the center was open, the City hired snow removal done by Byrnes Landscaping. Since, the City has tried to handle it on its own via street and water/sewer department employees. However, the early hours of operation make it difficult to do if there are other needs within the city at the same time.
Two entrances on the north side caused a great amount of discussion. They sit below ground level, and though they are required to be kept clean due to the possibility of a fire or other emergency, they are nearly impossible to maintain because as soon as they are cleaned out, blowing snow quickly fills them up again.  After much discussion, it was determined that Bucknell will get bids and bring them back to the next council meeting for review.
The topic of the Wellness Center continued with the next item, involving the ongoing discussion regarding noise complaints from neighbors due to the heating and cooling system. Mayor Keith Schroeder explained that he had been in discussions with a company that provides the equipment necessary to do testing to determine sound levels around the area. The mayor, two council members and others will be conducting tests later this week to help determine where levels currently are and to give a baseline so that in the event that changes are made, testing can once again be done to measure its effectiveness.
The mobile stop signs along Main Street, used primarily for student traffic before and after school, were again discussed.  Schroeder explained that traffic studies had also been done at the intersection of Third Avenue and Ninth Street NW, and it was determined that some sort of stop light is likely needed for safety reasons, though unless a grant could be located, it would likely have to be added at the City’s expense.
City Engineer Lyle TeKippe explained that, depending upon the type of lights added, costs could easily be in the $30,000 range. TeKippe was asked to review the situation and provide a cost estimate, which would give the Council more information to go on and could be used in the event that a grant was applied for. In the meantime, Councilman Joe Cunningham offered to speak with the Allamakee Community School District Superintendent to see if the school district had any additional input on the subject.
Next, the Council approved the hiring of Pat Engen as a full-time Street Department employee. Engen is currently a City employee working between the Street and Water/Sewer Departments. The Council approved his “transfer” with an effective date of November 1, 2009, at the wage of $10.65 per hour, the same as he currently receives. The City will once again start the hiring process to replace Engen’s “utility” position.
The Council then approved a change order and pay estimate in the amount of $156,501.15 to Skyline Construction for work involved in the Ninth Street SW Street Improvements Project.
Next, the Council followed the lead of the Planning and Zoning Board by approving the variance request of Paul Burroughs needed for the construction of a new garage for his property located at 116 First Street NE.
Following several “housekeeping” issues, the Council then addressed parking in front of Gus and Tony’s on Main Street. Some time ago as part of a much larger discussion, it was determined that the intersection at that location is dangerous due to limited visibility.  After discussing the matter further, the Council agreed to move the handicap parking spot to the west end and to not allow any parking in the final spot on the east end near the corner to hopefully free up some line of sight issues.
In closing, the Council discussed the removal of contaminated soil at the former C-Mart property. The City has received permission to use land at the airport to spread the contaminated soil to be “cleaned”. The soil will be tested and “turned”, with an expected time frame of six to eight months before the contaminates will have worked their way out of the soil. The City will be compensated for use of the land. The excavation proposal, along with the agreement to use airport property as listed above, were then both approved.