OAKLAND ACRES CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

7:00 p.m. Monday, May 10, 2010

Oakland Acres Golf Club House

Call Meeting to Order: Mayor Lennie Smith called the meeting to order at 6:59 p.m.

Roll Call: Anita Allwood, Robin Elliott, Roger Fisher, Nancy Minner, and Michael Osten were present. Also present: Chuck Griffith, Christina Machin, and Duane Venenga.

Inquiries from the Community: There were none.

Approval of Minutes: Minner moved to approve the minutes of the April 12, 2010 meeting as submitted. Fisher seconded. Ayes: All.

Treasurer’s Report: Allwood moved to approve the April treasurer’s report as submitted. Elliott seconded. Ayes: All.

Payment of Bills: Fisher moved to approve payment of the bills. Minner seconded. Ayes: All

*Payable to:*	*Amount:*	*Description:*
IPERS	$21.19	Retirement fund
Alliant Energy	$81.04	Electricity
Ramsey-Weeks Inc.	$2,699.00	Insurance
Petty Cash	$42.11	Office expense and postage
Christina Machin	$308.18	Salary for April
TOTAL	*$3,151.52*

Mayor’s Opening Address and Report

Mayor Smith reported that he has been keeping very busy with cleaning up from the storm which is putting him behind on other things and he apologizes for that. He also wanted to publicly apologize to a resident for the misspelling of his name when the postcards were recently mailed out. It was an error on our part and our records have been updated.

Old Business

Maintenance Building Update: Smith updated the Council that he will be digging the hole and putting a post in for the new socket. Once the hole is dug, the electrician will be able to come out and put the socket in and the necessary wiring. Council discussed the need for repair on the maintenance building roof. The galvanizing is washed away and the roof is actually leaking in one corner. A bid was received last October. Smith will bring the bid to the next meeting for approval.

Road Repair: Chuck Griffith, Planning and Zoning Committee, reported on the completion of the new curb at the intersection of Fore Seasons Drive and Oakridge Drive with a total cost of $15,699. The original bid was for $13,000. One reason for the overrun was that there was a culvert underneath the corner that no one knew about. The old culvert had to be dug out and then a new end was put on it and another 20 feet of culvert out to the northeast. Second, patches were made to the road by the stop sign per Smith’s request. Finally, the new curb was expanded to 20 feet wide with a layer of new asphalt on top. Griffith also discussed a hump left at a resident’s driveway. According to the resident, it is tearing up their car. Griffith reported that the hump could be milled possibly at the same time as the work is being done to the entrance.

The bid from Manatt’s is $55,000 to finish the road work from the entrance off Highway 6 to the intersection of Fore Seasons Drive and Oakridge Drive. The road will be widened to 20 feet with an asphalt overlay on all of it. Manatt’s would like to start the work soon. Griffith will contact Manatt’s to set up a meeting with Smith.

Tree Clean-Up: Smith reported that he felt the tree clean-up went very well. The start was delayed due to weather but they finished up by 4:30 p.m. They shredded the brush as they went and ended up with a truckload and even had to go back and get a pick-up load.

L.O.S.T. Usage: Currently, 80% of the Local Option Sales Tax is allocated to the Community Betterment Fund and 20% to the General Fund. The proposal made was to change the allocation to 80% General Fund and 20% Community Betterment Fund. Smith asked for disagreements from the community. There were no disagreements from the community; and therefore, the change will be made effective 6-1-10.

Assignments for City Directory: Smith distributed a list of residents to each Council Member that they will be responsible for visiting to update information for the city directory. Smith asked this to be completed by the next meeting.

New Business

City Mail: The city’s mail will now be delivered to 39 Fore Seasons Drive, Grinnell, IA 50112. Smith will be getting the mail and distributing to the clerk as needed.

Garage Sale: Smith reported that there were nine garage sales for the community-wide garage sale with a lot of people coming out to buy things. He heard several positive comments about the event and thought overall it was a success.

Siren and Grants: The siren did not go off the other day during a test. Smith thinks more than likely the internal mechanisms are worn out. According to the Jasper County EMS, there is an application for a grant to help alleviate the cost of either repairing the old siren or purchasing a new siren. The first step will be to see if the siren can be repaired. Smith will ask S&S Electric to come and give estimates on repairing the old one as well as a replacement.

Other New Business: Duane Venenga presented a color scheme for the use in painting the school bus stop shed. Venenga reported that the cost to repaint the East and West Entrance Signs was $136. The Council also discussed the use of solar lights to light the entrance signs at night. Venenga will check on the prices of solar lights.

Council Reports: Elliott advised the Council that the playground equipment is outdated and unsafe. She reported that she would like to form a committee for this project. Elliott will look into any grants and/or funding that may be available. If there are any community members interested in helping with this project, please contact Robin Elliott.

Michael Osten publicly apologized for missing previous meetings.

The Council discussed the need for a newsletter to be completed soon. Some of the things to be included are the success of the garage sale and tree pick-up, city directory update, upcoming road work, proposed playground project, and an introduction to the new city clerk.

Clerk Report: The clerk presented options for the city to purchase a laser printer. Osten suggested that the clerk look into the Dayton group as they went out of business and are selling all of their office equipment. Fisher made a motion to approve spending up to $800 for a new black and white multifunctional printer that prints on both sides. Allwood seconded. Ayes: All.

Maintenance Report: Smith reported that he has the tile for the park and for the resident at the corner of Oak Ridge Drive and Eagle Drive. One Dig has been called and Smith hopes that there is the only one area that is plugged. A lot of places along side of the roads need rock. Trees have been cleaned out of the dam. There are still trees that need to be taken out of the fence line along the south side of the dam and a big tree on the north side of the dam.

Adjournment: Fisher moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:38 p.m. Elliott seconded. Ayes: All.

Respectfully submitted,

Christina Machin, City Clerk

(These minutes are subject to council approval at the next regular city council meeting.)

The next regular meeting of the Oakland Acres City Council is scheduled on Monday, June 14, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at the Oakland Acres Golf Club.