Waukon City Council opens year with reorganizational meeting, routine business


New City Council leads Waukon in to 2016... The new Waukon City Council met in official capacity for the first time Monday night, 7 p.m., January 4, 2016 at the Waukon City Hall in regular session. The 2016 Council, a blend of new, former, and incumbent councilors dispatched a relatively short agenda of routine business at the meeting, laying the foundation for the 2016 session. Pictured above, left to right, are Dwight Jones, newly-elected councilor At-Large; Don Steffens, incumbent councilor Ward 3; Duane "Dewey" DeWalle, newly-elected Mayor; Ben Rausch, recently-elected councilor At-Large; Steve Wiedner, incumbent councilor Ward 1; and, John Lydon, newly-elected councilor Ward 2. Standard Photo Jason Meyer.

by Jason Meyer

The Waukon City Council met in its first session of 2016 Monday night, January 4. Calling the meeting to order at 7 p.m. was newly-elected Mayor Duane DeWalle.

First point of regular business, the Mayor appointed the Mayor Pro-Tem as newly-elected councilor Dwight Jones. The Mayor also appointed Police Chief, Asst. Police Chief, Police Officers, City employees, City Attorney, Asst. City Attorney, City Health Officer, and appointed the Council Committees. All officers and employees retained the positions held at the closing of the 2015 council. Likewise, the Council retained their meeting time and place, and reappointed The Standard as the official newspaper. The Council also retained Waukon State Bank and Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank as the City's official depositories, with a maximum balance of $8,000,000 per institution.

In new business, the City received an Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) FY 2016 Immediate Safety Enhancement grant of $1,487 for the removal of trees the IDOT have deemed an obstruction to the runway approach. The total cost of the project is upwards of $1,700, with the IDOT grant paying 85% of the total cost.

The Council also heard informative updates from Lyle TeKippe of the Fehr Graham Engineering Firm regarding the upcoming 2016 Street Project, as well as the Sewer Plant Project. The information was presented in an effort to bring the newly-elected members up to speed on the projects.

In other business, the council:
• approved liquor, wine, and beer permits for the Double D Liquor Store, as well as beer and wine permits for Dollar General.
• transferred $426 from the General Fund to the Capital Equipment Fund (Police), reflecting the sale of the Dodge Durango.
• established the Sewer Plant Improvement Fund to being budgeting funds for the upcoming replacement project.
• established the Franchise Fund to accurately account for monies received from the City's collected natural gas franchise fees.