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Council takes on fire, water, budget & EVs
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · January 04, 2018
A variety of subjects from burning down the golf course club house to a proposal to install an electric vehicle charging station to hunting for good ideas to handle new wastewater standards dotted the City Council’s year-ending meeting.
The Dec. 18 meeting also included transitioning new members onto the council while wishing well to the outgoing elected officials.
Golf course
Cedars Edge golf course co-owner Jerry Sexton asked for permission to conduct a controlled burn on the old clubhouse, which the council approved.
The West Branch Fire Department would use the burn for training, Chief Kevin Stoolman said Monday. However, he wants to get past the sub-zero temperatures and into the 30s before setting a date.
Stoolman expects to conduct the burn on a weekend, hopefully in late January or early February.
Sexton said he hopes to break ground on a new clubhouse in February, “weather permitting.”
Electric vehicles
The city’s Planning and Zoning Committee is looking into the possibility of installing an electric vehicle (EV) charging station somewhere in West Branch, and Mayor Roger Laughlin said the Herbert Hoover National Park Service “might get in on that.”
The council heard from Alliant Energy’s Josh McKnight, who talked about programs and rebates available to the city. Answering a question, he said the power company may have “initiatives and partnerships” that can help pay for such a device.
“I look forward to working with you guys” in 2018, he said.
Wastewater
City Administrator Redmond Jones said the city is reviewing ways to prepare the city for a new way to treat wastewater.
After the city’s last wastewater permit expired on Jan. 2, 2008, the city has been waiting for the newer regulations, expecting them to be tighter than before. In a letter from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources sent in August. the amount of ammonia the city is allowed to discharge into the Wapsinonoc Creek must drop by about 66 to 84 percent, depending on the month.
The city currently uses a lagoon system. Jones said he toured a facility in Walcott and plans another tour in Skokie, Ill., which is piloting an algae-based system. Whatever the new system, Jones said the city should consider supplemental power like solar energy because any new system “takes a lot of power.”
“We want to make it sustainable and generate revenue,” he said. “An we want it to be innovative.”
Laughlin said the solar power must pay for itself.
“I would support it if it had a payoff time,” he said. “It can’t be indefinite.”
Budget
Jones put forth a schedule for working on the upcoming city budget, with a plan to complete it by March 5.
“Early indications suggest that our 2018-19 budget will be (a) tight budget year,” he wrote in a memo to the council.
Because of that, he asked department heads to create three proposals: One with a 5-percent reduction from the current budget, a second with no change in funding, and a third with a 3-percent increase. He notes that a “status quo” budget with an increase in operational costs “is still essentially a reduction.”
Council members
Laughlin presented certificates to outgoing City Council members Mary Beth Stevenson and Tim Shields, thanking them for their service.
He said the two contributed to “several noteworthy accomplishments” through sacrificing time and for making a dedication to community service.
Stevenson said it “was great to work with you guys,” even though the members did not always agree.
“We did the very best we possibly could,” she said.
Shields thanked the citizens for working with him and commended city staff for their “wonderful” work.
“I gained a whole new respect (for how cities work) and learned a ton,” he said.
The council then swore in new members Jodee Stoolman and Nick Goodweiler, and swore in the returning Mayor Laughlin.
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