Waukon City Council addresses variety of topics at its regular Monday meeting

by Dwight Jones

The Waukon City Council met in regular session the evening of Monday, November 18 to address a 14-item Regular Business agenda.  The full council was in attendance.

Under Departmental Reports, Police Chief Phil Young informed the Council that 10 candidates had successfully passed the physical testing required to fill the current opening for an officer within the department.  Young, Mayor Loren Beneke and one or two council members will begin the interview process soon.

Moving to Regular Business, the Council discussed safety issues in the area of Fourth Street SE. Ellen Mellick and Dennis Klocke, who live in that area, expressed concerns with children, elderly and the many people that walk along the street. Steve Wiedner, who is the Councilman for that ward, agreed to continue to review the situation.

Next, the Council approved hiring Brink Custom Services at the rate of $45 per hour to perform snow removal duties at the Waukon Wellness Center.

A short discussion then took place regarding the possibility of changing a portion of Second Street SW to one-way. Especially during bus time at St. Patrick School, that street can become very congested. No decision was made and the issue was tabled.

The sidewalk in front of Video Connection on Main Street was recently repaired, and the Council discussed payment options for the property owners, who owed their portions of $576 and $2,381, respectively. The Council agreed to allow two years for the lower amount to be repaid, three years for the larger amount, both at four percent interest.

The possibility of dredging the pond at Waukon City Park was then reviewed. Councilman Joe Cunningham explained that it would cost roughly $80,000-$120,000 to dredge the deepest part of the pond to 15 feet with sides tapering to six feet. The pond was originally 13 feet deep but over time has been filled with silt. Changes to water run-off areas, etc. have been made to reduce the possibility of it silting in yet again, with other possible changes also discussed. The Council approved spending up to $300 to apply for a permit to dredge the pond, a required step in applying for grants, etc. No work would be started until funding sources have been identified.

Mayor Beneke then spearheaded a discussion on the feasibility of building a new fire station sometime in the future. He stated that the fire board had asked for some details on what the City might be thinking, as this issue has been on and off the table for the past decade or longer.  A possible building site has been identified in the Industrial Park, and the fire board will likely hire a firm to review the site to do a feasibility study on whether it would make sense to build there or not. There were discussions that should a fire station be built, the current site could either be sold or used for other City services, such as the Street Department, but should something happen, it would continue to be a long and tedious process.

The Council then approved a change order and pay estimate in the amount of $60,706 to Skyline Construction for work involved with the 2013 Street Improvements Project.

The council then approved the annual TIF and City Financial reports, in addition to four separate resolutions for fund transfers, etc. The meeting was then adjourned following roughly 70 minutes of discussion.