HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-09-21-Work Session MinutesWAUKEE CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
WORKSHOP MEETING
SEPTEMBER 21,2005
Call to Order -The workshop meeting of the Waukee City Council was called to order
by Mayor Pro Tem Mertz at 7:10 PM.Mr.Mertz stated he would like to close the
meeting at 9:00 PM.
(1)City of Clive I City of Waukee Issues Future plans and needs of Clive for the area
now within the borders of Clive were discussed.The ease of providing service to the
area currently in Clive would improve if the border between the two cities was more
manageable.Council members interested in further discussions with Clive stated that it
would be the responsibility of Clive to visit with Waukee residents adjoining the Clive
border to determine interest or motivation for joining Clive.Council members Jeff
Mertz,Darlene Stanton and alternate Nick Gruber,once approved by resolution,will
continue discussion with the City of Clive.
(2)Policy,Process &Procedure for Gifts,Contributions or Waiving of Fees for
Charitable or Public Purposes The discussion began with a restatement of the current
Code Section 301.28(B),Building Permits Required where the last sentence reads:"The
Council may,for good cause shown waive the fee required herein where the building,
structure,accessory building or fence is constructed by a charitable,educational,or
religious organization for public purposes."Three out of five Council members thought
this sentence should remain in the Code Book and the Building Permit Fee should be the
only fee to be waived.Because of the method of calculating the Building Permit Fee,the
actual dollar amount to be waived would be in the $800 to $1,500 range.As discussed in
the meeting,staff members preferred not to waive fees of any kind,especially building
permit fees.It was staff preference that a separate account or a separate source of funds
for contributions/donations be established,which would provide for the occasional
request for contributions/donations.It was suggested that the sentence identified above
be removed from the Code Book and a separate entry describing a policy and procedure
be included in Code Section Ill.This would permit a written policy for
contributions/donations from a different source of funds.Council member Stanton
suggested there were a number of ways to fund a 'gift'account such as requesting
donations from residents.It was also suggested that funds be given only to those groups
or individuals requesting funds that are to be expended within the City of Waukee.After
further discussion,Council member Mertz indicated he would support,along with
Council members Peard and Stanton,deleting the last sentence in Code Section
301.28(B)as referenced above.This resulted in a majority of the Council agreeing to
place an ordinance on the October 3,2005 agenda deleting the last line in Section
301.28(B).City Attorney Steve Brick will write the ordinance.City Administrator Mark
Arentsen stated that a request had been received from Davis Homes,Inc.to waive the
fees for two homes being constructed,the profit from the sale of which would be donated
to the American Cancer Society.A majority of the Council suggested that staff
determine where those funds would come from and place the item on the October 3,2005
agenda.
(3)Public Works New Building(s)Construction Plans Public Works Director John
Gibson distributed an initial design of the proposed Public Works Facility,which would,
at first,replace the function of the some of the existing buildings.Location of the new
facility,use and tentative future plans to re-locate all of the facility and tum the current
space into a park area was also mentioned.
(4)Merit Pay Plan,Process &Procedure The current pay plan and method for review
was discussed.The Closure Plan,now three years old,needs to be reviewed and revised
using a current comparison with comparable cities.Jody Gunderson,Community
Development Director,suggested that those cities could be cities located closer to
Waukee than some of the communities originally selected three years ago.General
consensus of the group is that this should be reviewed and done by staff so as to
determine where the City pay scale is in relationship to its neighbors.Council,in
general,supported the concept of Merit Pay.Merit Pay would be distributed as a result
of a favorable staff review and would be given to those deemed most worthy.One
definition identified the Merit Pay as bonus money only.Another viewed Merit Pay as
being a certain percentage of the overall wage increase,which could be given to some;
but not all based on work performed.As part of the discussion staff were asked to state
their view on Merit Pay.Five out of seven staff viewed Merit Pay as a good thing,
especially when rewarding those who work harder and longer than their co-workers.The
other two staff members stated they were not in favor of merit pay because it tends to be
subjectively administered,creates more ill will amongst workers and tends to destroy
teamwork rather than improving it.Mayor Pro Tern Mertz requested information about
the Clive Personnel Program for wage increases.Although this issue was not resolved,
due to the closeness to nine 0'clock,the group moved to the next topic.
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(5)Full Time Fire Chief Position Mark Schmitt,Assistant Fire Chief,discussed the
budget and lack of funds for this year when discussing the Fire Chief position.Under
budgeting of the Fire Department has occurred in,minimally,the last two or three years.
From that and other expenses the department has a short fall of approximately $20 or $30
thousand for this year.Ass't Fire Chief Schmitt,who has been serving as the Acting Fire
Chief since Terry Sesker left earlier this year stated the general consensus of the Fire
Department was that an appointment of a volunteer Fire Chief would provide structure
and direction to the Fire Department,Staff will research the method for hiring a Fire
Chief and provide to Council.
(6)Comprehensive Plan Revisions,Update This item will be placed on the agenda for
the next workshop.
(7)Alice's Road Interchange and Road south from University -Financials,Plans,
Timeline,Update This item will be placed on the agenda for the next workshop
Mayor Pro Tern asked for a motion to adjourn.Nick Gruber moved.Darlene Stanton
second.Ayes:All.Nays:None.Motion carried 5-0.
Meeting Adjourned at 9:17 PM.
C.Paardekooper,Deputy Clerk
Attest: