This week at City Hall we worked on a great goal setting session with Jeff Schott from the Institute of Public Affairs, discussed zoning changes and rental housing code concepts at Planning and Zoning, and carried on a whole host of other projects in each of the departments as outlined below. In the Finance department, staff continues to enter and cross check city garbage containers, verifying the serial numbers match addresses. A new order of 35 and 65 gallon containers are in, and being placed with customers. The Automated Meter Reading project continues to move forward at a rapid pace. Accounting and water department staff have coordinated efforts to get almost 2,600 ERTs installed out of the 3,700 total meters. We are shooting for 90% completion (3,330) by the end of November. Waverly Light and Power and Accounting are looking at the next generation of meter reading systems that use collector stations with auto downloads of water and electric reads eliminating the need for staff to drive and walk around to get meter reads. The annual audit is coming up , with auditors here the third week of September, so staff is busy preparing documents and work papers in advance of their trip. In Public Works and Engineering, bituminous seal coating is scheduled to start the week of August 5, and asphalt paving on 16th Street SW is finished. Finishing touches including curb, concrete work, and pavement markings will be installed next week. Cedar River Parkway Phase I design is in its final stages, with a status update scheduled for the Study Session on August 26. The Sidewalk Repair Program for 2013 work will begin after Labor Day, and the Cedar River LOMR will be moving ahead at an accelerated pace, thanks to communication between the Mayor and Senator Grassley and FEMA. However, the project now will require remapping the Dry Run Creek under current conditions and improvements. This will add some engineering expense for the City, but will remove an additional 100 homes and businesses from the current flood plain. Public Services have been busy patching streets ahead of the seal coat project. This is a good method for preventative maintenance on city streets in an attempt to keep as much water out of the road base as possible. The Water department continues to assist with meter change outs, and have repaired 2 water leaks in the past week. Solid Waste staff is placing 35 and 65 gallon curbside bins into the city as residents place their requests. The group at the Water Pollution Control Facility are upgrading valves and pump parts to keep the plant running, and are preparing for their annual sludge hauling events. Equipment Services is finishing up adding equipment to the two replacement single axle trucks that will be put in service soon, and preparing specs for a replacement street sweeper and side-load single stream recycling truck. Line maintenance is repairing catch basins impacted by the winter freeze-thaw cycle, and are preparing to jet-clean sewer lines. Root foaming, a process that eliminates tree roots in sewer lines and the potential for sewer backups due to roots, is starting this fall. Lines are selected based on previous problem lines and those that are up for renewal in the cycle. Leisure Services is working with the Golf Commission and Golf Pro on a new golf course management contract. The goal is to enhance players’ experience at the city course, increase rounds played, and stabilize the tax dollars put towards maintenance. The Golf Commission is also looking at ways to reach out to women golfers with a survey under development. New equipment recently approved by Council is now in and being put into service. Next Wednesday at the pool is the last “Wacky Wednesday” with 2 for 1 admissions and specials on concessions. On Saturday, August 10 at 9 AM is the Family Triathlon that starts and ends at the pool. This low stress event has no timing or set requirements, just to do your best and have fun! The Skate park Group is scheduling a work day in the next few weeks to replace all of the worn out parts at the skate park. They are also planning a Saturday of skating lessons in the morning with competition in the afternoon. The Library Director recently received an update on the Downtown Waverly Historic Survey. More than half of the building evaluations are done on the east side of the river, and the City is on track to have a National Register Historic District approved by the National Park Service in the summer of 2014. The National Register Historic Districts for SE Waverly and NW Waverly should be approved before the summer of 2014. The Library is also reviewing a full-time Information Services Librarian position, with hopes to revise the description and fill by mid-September. Planning and Zoning is continuing to work to improve the enforcement means of ensuring code compliance. Staff is finalizing infraction ordinance amendment and will allow Planning and Zoning Commission to review and forward to Council with comments. This is likely to occur before rental housing code considerations. Staff is also working to finalize a draft Rental Housing ordinance amendment to present to Planning and Zoning in a workshop format along with Council. Calls continue to come into the office regarding the depositing of materials along the river and Cedar Lane area. Staff is required to uphold the Iowa DNR requirements for armoring riverbank areas and ensuring no negative impacts to the river’s flow. Thursday night, Planning and Zoning approved a rezoning request for the property at 4th Street SW and 13th Ave SW where the proposed Kwik Star will be located. The item will be next reviewed by City Council. Finally, city staff along with Chamber staff and business/property owners are beginning to review parking needs in the downtown area in light of the new multi-family housing/apartment projects that were recently awarded grant funding. The Police Department had its annual physical fitness test this past week with 82% of the officers eligible passing. The standard is the same as the exit standard from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy upon graduation. Maintaining a physically fit department ensures officers can meet the demands of the job and also assists in lower medical bills for the City. Captain Jason Leonard from the department trained 346 Waverly Health Center employees on how to react to different threats and serious situations in the hospital. This training has also been provided to the school district and will be given to the State of Iowa Library Conference later this fall. Tuesday, August 6 is the National Night Out hosted by WPD and is intended to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for local anti-crime programs, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships. Join WPD and your neighbors in Kohlmann Park. As you can see, the city staff continue to work hard to implement Council and Community priorities and to ensure the highest level of services possible can be delivered to the community daily. If you have any questions about these items or anything else, let’s visit.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 13:24:57 +0000
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