City of Tekoa
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
For September 16, 2019
I. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Troy Wilson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Council members present at the meeting were Wilson, Lee Burchfiel, Bethany Fletcher, Alyssa Heagy, Roy Schulz, Wendy Sienknecht and Dave Tysz. Clerk/Treasurer Kynda Browning was also in attendance. Audience attendees who signed in were Bill and Diane Harp and John Jaeger.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Wilson asked those present to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance.
III. PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION: Sarah McKnight from SEWEDA was in attendance to talk about the SEWEDA organization.
Diane Harp was in attendance and talked about the Healthy Tekoa Coalition, the Neighbor’s Watch and some things they will be doing in the future.
IV. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Bill Harp was in attendance and talked about the house near the trail, the use of Spring Street, the lack of a sewer line to the home, and the stop sign on the corner of Sherman and Spring Street is missing. Troy Wilson said he is talking to Ted Blaszak about the sewer line, and he will have the building inspector look at the building.
John Jaeger was in attendance and talked about the stop sign that was replaced on the corner of Alder and Crosby. He also asked the council to consider waiting until after the election to make a decision on the community center use agreement.
The mayor said he has received quite a few comments about the stop sign across from Ruhl Park. After discussion, the mayor recommended we leave it the way it was before it was moved.
V. CORRESPONDENCE: There was none.
VI. OLD BUSINESS:
A. COMMUNITY CENTER RENTAL RATES: Mayor Wilson asked the council if they want to discuss this tonight or wait until after the election. Alyssa Heagy would like to wait until after the election. Wendy Sienknecht would like to vote on it tonight so it can be put to rest, because it is what the advisory committee recommended. Dave Tysz said it needs to be put to rest. He said all the rates are not set in stone, and they can be changed any time. Alyssa talked about less prices for non-profit and committees, but she thinks the private rate is fair, and she would like to have a sliding scale for people who can’t afford a $75.00 rental rate. There was discussion. John Jaeger talked about some of his concerns. Wendy asked about what the policy is for the buildings the city owns. Wendy Sienknecht said we should take a vote. Shelly Asmus said she appreciates all the hard work the committee put in and thinks we should go ahead and pass it. Fran Martin said neither the girls circle nor the boys circle don’t have any money to rent the community center, so they will be staying at the school. Wendy Sienknecht made a motion to accept what the advisory committee came up with. The motion died for the lack of a second. Alyssa Heagy made a motion to change the community center rate to $10.00 up to 8 hours for youth groups, senior groups and classes, and non-profit groups. Keep the private event charge at $75.00, keep the cleaning fees at the listed amounts, include an application process for individuals or groups for free or reduced rates to use the community center, and review this motion in six months. Roy Schulz seconded the motion. Roy Schulz, Dave Tysz, Lee Burchfiel and Alyssa Heagy voted yes. Wendy Sienknecht and Bethany Fletcher voted no.
B. SUPER USER WATER/SEWER RATES: Browning presented a rate sheet increasing the cost of meters over 1-inch. It also charges the nursing home a rate-per-bed for sewer. There was discussion. Browning will type it into a resolution and present it at the October council meeting.
C. FIRE PIT ORDINANCE: We will table this. Alyssa Heagy asked if anyone has input, she would appreciate it.
D. MAYOR/COUNCIL WAGE REVIEW: Mayor Wilson said his eyes have been opened on how much time being the mayor takes and he would like to be compensated. Wendy Sienknecht made a graph comparing 20 towns and figured the mayor should make somewhere between $300 and $500. Dave Tysz made a motion to pay the mayor $500. Alyssa Heagy seconded the motion; Bethany Fletcher asked where the money would come from. Browning told her from current expense. Alyssa Heagy and Dave Tysz voted yes. Roy Schulz, Bethany Fletcher, Wendy Sienknecht and Lee voted no. Bethany Fletcher said she is concerned that we won’t have enough to pay it out of the current expense fund. Browning said she is anticipating around $195,000 for a carry-over. There was discussion. Wendy Sienknecht made a motion to increase the monthly salary for the mayor to $450. Dave Tysz seconded the motion; all council members voted yes, except Roy Schulz and Bethany Fletcher voted no.
VII. NEW BUSINESS:
A. CITIZEN OWNED BUILDINGS: We are waiting for appraisals for the buildings.
B. SURPLUS CHAIRS: We will put the extra chairs in city-owned buildings instead of marking them as surplus items.
C. SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT AT SEWER PLANT: We will get more information for the next meeting.
VIII. REPORTS:
A. MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Wilson announced there is a candidate forum on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Empire Theatre.
B. CLERK/TREASURER REPORT: She did not have a report.
C. COUNCIL REPORTS: Roy Schulz said the fuel is working at the airport.
Wendy Sienknecht said RDI is having the kids paint on the wall at the Rockford Fair this weekend. Wendy Sienknecht asked when the community center will be done. Mayor Wilson said we are waiting for the people to do the floor.
D. FROM THE AUDIENCE: Matt Korn was in attendance to talk about the museum. He asked how our city views our museum. He has never been able to visit the museum, and he would like to know when we can get it opened for people to visit it.
IX. CONSENT AGENDA:
A. August 19, 2019, MEETING MINUTES: Roy Schulz made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Alyssa Heagy seconded the motion; all council members voted yes.
B. APPROVE BILLS FOR PAYMENT: Roy Schulz made a motion to pay EFT payroll warrants 14275 through 14286 in the amount of $27,564.56 warrant numbers 14287 through 14324 and EFT warrants in the amount of $61,019.88 as presented. Alyssa Heagy seconded the motion; all council members voted yes.
X. ADJOURNMENT: Roy Schulz made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 p.m. Alyssa Heagy seconded the motion; all council members voted yes.
APPROVED:
________________________________
Troy Wilson – Mayor
ATTEST:
________________________________
Kynda Browning – Clerk/Treasurer
|