OAKLAND ACRES CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

7:00 p.m. Monday, January 18, 2016

Oakland Acres Maintenance Building

 

Call Meeting to Order:  Mayor Lennie Smith called the council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Roll Call:  Carol Cerqua, Terry Morrison, Don Smith, Ted Schultz and Doug Weaver.  Absent:  None
Also present: Lori Smith, city clerk.

Inquiries from the Community: None

Approval of Minutes:  Weaver moved to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2015, meeting.  Schultz seconded.  Ayes:  All.

Mayor’s Opening Address and Report:  Mayor Smith reviewed meeting protocol for new members.

Treasurer’s Report:  Schultz moved to approve the December report as submitted. Morrison seconded. Ayes:  All.

Payment of Bills:  Don Smith moved to approve payment of the bills, excluding the snow removal bill, until the hours can be verified.  Weaver seconded.  Ayes:  All.

 

Payable to:

     Amount:

Description:

 

Lori Smith

 $    302.40

Salary

IPERS

 $       52.09

Employee retirement

Alliant Energy

 $       47.09

Utilities

Caldwell, Brierly, Chalupa & Nuzum PLLC

 $ 591.75

Legal fees - property dispute

Lennie Smith

 $    55.41

Snow removal

Andy's Snow Removal Service*

 $ 3,585.00

Snow Removal - December*

Iowa League of Cities

 $       25.00

ECIC Dues

US Treasury

$ 468.18

4th quarter 2015 payroll taxes

Total

$   4,561.74

* on hold until hours verified

Old Business                    

Ordinances and issues:  Mayor sent out latest legal documents to council.  Clerk will forward prior documents to new members.  Have had a discovery meeting.  Need to dramatically increase our legal budget in the next fiscal year.  Court date is set for October 2016.  Mayor reviewed the details of the suit with the members and discussed options to reduce legal costs, as legal fees are mounting and average more than $1,000 month.

2016 Projects:  Mowing, trees to cut down, replace posts along dam and solar lights for park.  Mayor demonstrated the solar lights and will post in the spring.

Directories:  Still need to get information from a few newer residents.  Clerk suggested mailing out directories with the next newsletter.

FY17 Budget:  Council reviewed recommended budget prepared by the clerk.  Members discussed road repair priorities.  Need to get list of road priorities before next meeting.  Clerk will get copies before the next meeting of Planning and Zoning's priority list.  Budget was tentatively set at $85,200.  Public meeting will be set before February's council meeting on February 8.

New Business

Council member responsibilities:  Tabled until next meeting.  Books of ordinances were given to new members.

Mowing:  Will continue to have the maintenance person continue to mow the park and dam area.

Housing Question:  Had a inquiry about building a storage container home here.  Need to have a certified engineer approve for Jasper County.  Mayor Smith is reviewing our ordinances to see if this is viable.  Tabled until next meeting.

Spring Clean-Up and Garage Sale Days:  Will have dumpsters from May 6-20, with the City-Wide Garage Sale on Saturday, May 14.  Will remind citizens of rules about dumping items.

Council Report:  None.

Clerk Report:   Schultz made a motion to approve the employment contract with our current lawyer.  Weaver seconded.  Ayes:  All

Maintenance Report:  None

Adjournment: Schultz moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m.  Weaver seconded.  Ayes:  All.

These minutes are as recorded by the City Clerk and are subject to council approval at the next City Council meeting.

 

________________________________________________       ___________________________________________                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Lennie Smith, Mayor                                                                                      Lori Smith, City Clerk