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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Work Meeting_11212023 CITY OF IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING IONA CITY HALL NOVEMBER 21,2023 6:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Daniel Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael Thompson, Council Member Peter Wadsworth, Council Member Evan Mann, Public Works Director Zech Prouse and City Clerk/Treasurer Keri West. ABSENT: City Attorney Andrew Rawlings. VISITORS: Kirsti Cook,Janell Fullmer, Bill Koester and Rylea Farrens. ITEMS OF BUSINESS: Discussion of 2024 City Council Meeting Dates—Clerk West stated she has drafted a proposed City Council Meeting schedule for 2024 for the Council to discuss for approval at the December meeting. She continued and stated as discussed in previous meetings, she has initially scheduled the Council Meetings to take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month, except for months with conflicting holidays. Clerk West then stated Janell Fullmer of Eleve Dance had expressed concern over the current proposed schedule and is here to discuss her suggestions with the Council. Mrs. Fullmer stated her company is considering not holding classes on the evenings of City meetings, but the Planning & Zoning Meetings and City Council Meetings are held on different nights of the week. She continued and stated if the City could have all meetings on the same day of the week,they would be willing not to schedule classes those nights to allow for less noise and congestion during City meetings. Mrs. Fullmer stated if the P&Z and City Council could both meet on Thursdays on different weeks, they would not schedule their weekly classes on Thursdays. Clerk West stated Thursdays would be difficult from an administrative perspective because the City Office is closed on Fridays and there are many tasks that need to be completed after the meetings. Council Member Thompson suggested holding the P&Z Meetings on the second Tuesday each month, instead of Wednesdays. All agreed. Mayor Gubler suggested moving forward with that schedule, subject to approval by the P&Z Commission. Clerk West stated she will draft the Resolution for City Council approval in December. Discussion of Iona City Code § 10-1-24: Open Park Space; pertaining to developer requirements — Mayor Gubler stated the City Council recently updated the Code to require green space in each development. He continued and stated a developer has approached the City and has asked if they could make a monetary contribution to the City for use in developing a new park, or maintaining current parks, rather than having a small green space in individual developments. Council President Geray stated he is not in favor of amending the City Code to allow developers to contribute money to City parks. He continued and stated he believes the objective of the Open Park Space section of the Code was to provide green space in each development. This gives the local children a place to play, rather than traveling to a larger park. Council Member Thompson agreed and stated there will be a lot of organized sports and activities that take place in the City Park and will take place in the new park on 49th North. Neighborhood parks will be used by those neighborhood residents where they don't need to worry about other activities to schedule around. Mayor Gubler stated he doesn't see a problem with this option for developments that are adjacent to a City park. Council President Geray agreed, but said that should be considered as a variance, rather than automatic approval in the IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING -NOVEMBER 21, 2023 City Code. Director Prouse agreed and stated the Code already has the variance process stipulated for that type of situation. He continued and stated he agreed with Council President Geray's statement about the intention of the green space for the neighborhood residents to utilize. All agreed. Discussion of Iona City Code § 6-4-10: Installation of Mailboxes within Public Rights of Way —Mayor Gubler stated this topic was brought up in a previous Council Meeting and it was decided to postpone a determination on how to amend the Code until more data had been reviewed. He continued and said he has discussed this topic with Director Prouse and they have determined that all mailboxes should be a minimum of 18" off the road. Mayor Gubler stated they agreed that the current requirement of 6" off the right-of-way is too close to the road. He then stated if a resident wants to create a masonry mailbox it needs to be even further from the road. Director Prouse suggested adding an engineering consistency to those structures that includes some sort of breakaway component to the structure. Mayor Gubler stated if the structures are further off the road and the resident is responsible for their own snow removal in front of the mailbox, he doesn't feel a breakaway structure is necessary. Director Prouse stated he is concerned about vehicles hitting the masonry mailboxes and the damage that could cause to the vehicle itself and the people inside the vehicle. Council President Geray stated he has mixed feelings about that requirement. Discussion continued regarding various ways to achieve a breakaway structure. Mayor Gubler suggested having residents sign a liability waiver if they choose to install a mailbox different than allowed by the City Code. Director Prouse expressed concern over this option since the City is responsible for the right-of-way. Audience member Bill Koster suggested a requirement that all masonry mailboxes need to be placed on private property, rather than the right-of-way. Council Member Mann stated the post office would not be able to deliver the mail if the mailbox was 15-20 feet off the road. Mayor Gubler agreed. Council President Geray asked if anyone from the City had communicated with the residents that had voiced concern over this topic. Mayor Gubler stated he and Director Prouse had discussed this together and took into consideration the residents' concerns that were mentioned during that City Council discussion. Director Prouse summarized his suggested amendments to include a minimum and maximum setback, as well as the caveat that residents who choose to utilize the maximum setback are responsible for maintenance and snow removal. Council Member Thompson stated he would like to allow certain types of masonry mailboxes because they are aesthetically pleasing and can break away if hit. Director Prouse stated the City will need to communicate with the post office to make sure they approve of the parameters the City is considering. All agreed. Council Member Wadsworth asked if this would affect new homes that are required to have curb and gutter. Mayor Gubler stated the updated Code that requires curb and gutter addresses this issue independently and is addressed in the development agreement. Clerk West stated the post office no longer allows individual mailboxes in new subdivisions. She continued and stated they are requiring all new subdivisions to have community mailbox units. Mayor Gubler stated he will discuss this with Attorney Rawlings and will request that he drafts an amendment for approval at the December meeting. General Fiber Project Discussion — Council President Geray asked if the City has had any contact with Direct Communications. He continued and stated he is concerned they are not contacting residents that have opted in for their service. He further explained they completed the drop to his house, but they did not communicate with him prior and therefore the box was not installed in the location that he would have preferred. Clerk West stated she has not talked to 2 IONA CITY COUNCIL WORK MEETING -NOVEMBER 21, 2023 anyone directly recently. She then read the zone updates as posted on Direct Communications' Facebook page. Clerk West further explained Direct Communications posts project updates on their Facebook page once or twice each month. Council President Geray asked if the City has received any feedback from residents that have the service. Clerk West stated she has not heard from anyone at the City Office. Audience member Rylea Farrens stated she has friends that are using the service and are very happy with it. Director Prouse stated Fybercom has finalized their open Right-of-Way Permits to begin their one year warranty period. He continued and stated they are done for the winter with all their main line work. Meeting Adjourned: 6:37 p.m. COUNCIL APPROVED: December 19, 2023 Damel Gubler, Mayor ATTEST: &is W./at- Keri West, City Clerk/Treasurer 3