Meeting Minutes of the Richmond City Council

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Council Meeting

 

Item #1- Call to Order/Pledge of Allegiance

 

Meeting was called to order at 6:00pm

 

Members Present: Jim Hemmesch, Scott Kron, Tim Paczkowski

Members Absent: Jeff Mackedanz, Mike Mathiasen

Also Attending: Randy Jenniges, Engineer, S.E.H.; Gordon Dingmann, Public Works Director

 

Item #2 - Approval of Agenda

 

Mayor Hemmesch asked if there were any additions or corrections to the agenda.

 

Motion made by Councilor Kron to Approve Agenda, seconded by Councilor Mathiasen; Passed unanimously.

 

Item #3 - Public Hearing: 2013 Main Street Project: City Engineer, Randy Jenniges

 

Mayor Hemmesch opened the Public Hearing.

 

Engineer Randy Jenniges handed out the assessment roll for the properties involved.  He reviewed the following items.

 

A.            Why we are doing the Streets we have identified:  

            We looked at the infrastructure under the street, some systems are collapsing,    freezing up and failing

            We also looked at how the Streets are rated: good, fair, poor.

 

B.            What work will be included in the 2013 Main Street Project?

            Street, sewer, water, storm sewer, turf restoration, street-scraping, power         relocation, private electrical.

 

Streets and work involved: (maps are located at City Hall for anyone to look at)

 

STREET NAME

STREET

SEWER

WATER

STORM SEWER

TURF RESTOR

2ND STREET NW (fir to grant ave and jay to king):

X

X

X

X

X

2ND ST NE

X

 

X

 

X

1ST NW (fir to hall ave)

X

X

X

X

X

1ST ST SW (grant across hall ave)

X

X

X

X

X

MAIN ST (near grant to jay ave)

X

X

X

X

X

GRANT AVE (2nd st sw across 2nd street nw)

X

X

X

X

X

HALL AVE (1st st sw across main st)

X

 

 

X

X

CENTRAL AVE (main st to 1st st sw)

X

If line is in poor cond.

this will be done

 

X

IVY AVE (main st to 1st st nw)

 

X

X

 

X

JAY AVE (main st to 1st street sw)

X

 

 

 

X

 

C.            Costs of the Project: 2.1 Million

            County Portion 700,000.00

            City portion 1.6 million

            Residence portion 350,000.00 (25% of project costs)

            Street Fund – City put away 200,000.00

            Grants & Misc – 100,000.00

           

Levy: City will bond for 850,000.00.   The City was approved for a PFA low interest loan, which would be about $50,000.00 per            year, for 20 years.  The City Council is considering a 2% increase in property taxes which = $12000.00

           

 

D.            Questions: Questions asked by residents attending the public hearing.  Engineer response in italics

 

            How are assessments done and for how long?

30$ per foot

 water  2000.00

Sewer 1000.00

 

            Assessments – done for about 10 years 5 or 5.5% (council will need to approve the time)  Residents may pay in full without interest if they pay by November 1, 2013.  After that the assessment will be placed on the tax rolls.

           

 

            Are these assessments numbers exact? The numbers on the handout are estimates.  The project still needs to be designed and bid.  Also, the actual location of sewer or water may affect the assessment.  After the design phase is completed and if the utilities end up being replaced in front of your property you will be assessed the water sewer charges. 

 

            When will we know the final assessment?  There will be a public hearing for the final assessment sometime in the fall of 2013.

 

            Will everything be replaced, like if the sidewalk is okay will it still be ripped up?  For the most part, if it is in good shape, with no problems, it will not be replaced.

 

            Will they put stubs in for empty lot?   If it is determined to be buildable lot a stub will be put in.

 

            Why redo something that works?  As Engineer, I would not recommend doing a street project over an infrastructure that is failing.

 

            Will they tie into the clay tile at my home? Yes, we will tie into the clay tile.  The City cannot make the owner change that.

 

            Is there a cap on the amount one property owner can pay or can they keep assessing a property owner over and over?  This City doesn’t have a cap, but does try to keep it fair for all residents.  Good example is Central Ave – those who were assessed the full length of their property will not be assessed again.  Those who were assessed for a portion of their property will be assessed the remaining portion.  Example:  a property is 150 by 71 and they were assessed 79 feet previously they will be assessed 71 feet this time.

 

Item #4-Adjournment

 

Mayor Hemmesch asked if there were any additional items for the Council to consider.  Hearing no further comments, he asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting.

 

A motion was made by Councilor Paczkowski, to adjourn the meeting, Seconded by Councilor Mathiasen.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

Mayor Hemmesch declared the meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm  

 

Next Council Meeting September 27, 2012: Public Hearing for the business owners regarding the 2013 Main Street Project

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Martin Bode

Administrator/Clerk/Treasurer