Moravia City Council Regular Meeting – January 12, 2021

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# Cemetery – Councilman Ehrle inquired if the City should continue to plow snow at the old cemetery since usage is so limited and the roads are narrow and hard to plow with the truck. There are stones on the edge of the road, making it difficult to blade. A skid loader was used to remove the snow after the last storm. Council agreed by consensus to continue to remove the snow with a skid loader, but that it is not a priority. Ehrle also discussed a proposed expansion of Hillcrest Cemetery. A map was reviewed that has a separate access road for the burn pile with trees and rocks to help hide the burn pile from the cemetery. Gary proposed only opening one section at a time of the expansion and having the option of a standard burial, flat head stones, and a cremation wall. Costs of approximately $10,000 will be presented at budget workshops with a goal to complete the project in August. Rock for the expansion as well as the current roads was discussed.

Parks – Councilman Martin stated the Christmas lights around the gazebo need to be removed. Councilwoman Kirby has received one estimate for a new furnace/air conditioner at the community building/library. Bill Benjamin will be getting a second estimate from Paul Simpson. Mayor Pro Tem Baty requested they get three estimates. City staff is planning on taking down the Christmas lights on Wednesday, January 13.

# Streets – Chip and seal was discussed.

Water – Delinquent accounts were reviewed. Clerk Stogdill reported 58 delinquent accounts that were sent letters. Four waters were shut off for non-payment this month. Mitch Main reported water readings have been up since Christmas. City staff will read meters at the end of next week so will know if a leak is at a residence. The lagoon does not show as much of an increase as the water, so it is not going through the sewer. The leak could be in a field or cattle lot and we would not know. Sewer – The drop at the man hole with the main break has been installed. Mayor Pro Tem Baty requested Chris Sheldon to start turning in his readings daily to Mitch Main.

# Nuisance Properties were reviewed. Stump property has until June 15 to comply. The Council discussed moving of junk vehicles from one property to another instead of getting rid of the vehicles. The trailer at 310 West North Street was discussed. Lose metal in yard has been blowing. City staff picked up some of it in the street. Julia Ewing will be contacted about picking up the metal and debris and told not to burn trash.

# City Staff – City Clerk Sharla Stogdill reported the ICAP safety grant for $1000 has been approved. Payment will be received in a few weeks. A generator would qualify for the grant for this year and Mitch will purchase in July under the new fiscal year expenses. Chariton Valley Electric gave a discount on utility bill this month, passing on a portion of their profit margins. The credit was for $772.20 for the City. Thicker post cards have been purchased to print the utility bills on in hopes of reducing damage and tearing of the bills when mailed. Ordinance 92.09 requiring $150 deposits from renters and homeowners was discussed. Currently, the ordinance states the deposit is returned when the resident moves and the account is in good standing. The clerk receives a lot of complaints about this when the resident purchases the home and has no plans to move. Council agreed to review the ordinance starting in February with the rule that the deposit will be returned in one year if the home is purchased and the water has not been shut off during that year for non-payment. If the water has been shut off, the time starts over. Clerk will prepare ordinance change and there will be three readings beginning in February. An email was sent to the Council to see if they wanted to vote for a representative on the Iowa Rural Water Association board. No members of the Council knew any of the candidates running and did not wish to place a vote. Work is in progress for tax preparation of 1099’s and W-2’s to take to H&R Block to prepare. Budget prep work is in progress. A decision must be made on the health insurance for full-time employees in order to know how much to budget for the cost. Income surveys for Pathfinders was discussed. At last count, we needed 20 more surveys completed and the city has received twelve more since then. Financial reports were reviewed with the Council. Mitch Main discussed a water leak that was repaired. Two manhole lids close to driveways were installed and rock hauled in. There have been two snow storms where snow removal was done. The orange truck blew a hydraulic hose. The cost to repair the truck was approximately $550 plus their labor time to repair it. The skid loader needs new tires again. The tires only last one year at a cost of $600. Better tires cost $1000 but it is not known if they would wear better for the city’s uses or not. Motion by Ehrle and seconded by Baty to purchase the better tires for approximately $1000. Roll Call Vote: Martin-Aye, Baty-Aye, Kirby-Aye, Ehrle-Aye. Motion carried.

# Resident Complaints – None received.

# The appointment of council committees was discussed. Council agreed by consensus to keep the committees the same and possibly change them when the new councilperson is appointed.

# Motion by Kirby and seconded by Ehrle to appoint Sharla Stogdill as the City Clerk/Treasurer. Roll Call Vote: Martin-Aye, Baty-Aye, Kirby- Aye, Ehrle-Aye. Motion carried.

# FDIC insurance for public funds was discussed and an email had been sent to the mayor and Council. The information received from Iowa Trust Bank stated since the town of Moravia’s deposits are public funds, our entire balance is covered by the Iowa Sinking Fund. The Iowa Trust and Savings Bank Auditor tracks their public funds on a daily basis. They can take in public funds to the extent of their capital and after that, they are required to pledge with the State of Iowa. All public funds up to their capital limit are covered. If they exceed, they would do the pledging with the State Treasurer, but have never had to. This means that the city’s deposits are covered regardless of the amount. Motion by Martin and seconded by Ehrle to approve Resolution #1-2021 designating Iowa Trust & Savings Bank as the official depository of the city with a maximum depository amount of $500,000 total checking accounts and $500,000 total savings accounts. Roll Call Vote: Martin-Aye, Baty-Aye, Kirby-Aye, Ehrle-Aye. Motion carried.