A Regular Meeting of the Hills City Council Was Held on Monday, April 12, 2010 at The

A regular meeting of the Hills City Council was held on Monday, April 12, 2010 at the Hills Fire Station.

Mayor Russell Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Council members present were: Steve Harris, Merle Hill, Thom Kirkpatrick, Tim Kemp and Cathy Knebel. . Others Present: Bonnie Hansen, City Clerk; Ron Wolfe, Maintenance; Jim Malmberg, Fire Chief; Attorney Ben Hayek; Kathy Septer, Randy Lackender, Angie Rummelhart, Linda Monroe, Zack Tanner and his Scout Troop, Joan Ockenfels, Nancy Hebl, Shelly Klein and Bruce Endris.

A motion was made to accept the Consent Agenda by Kemp and seconded by Knebel. Ayes: 5 Motion passed.

Public Discussion was opened at 7:01 PM. Several members of the audience were present to present their views on the ICCSD School redistricting scenarios. Shelly Klein spoke on how the people present would like the town represented and was wondering if the Council supported the group. The Council agrees with the group. The group has asked Council Member Merle Hill to speak at the ICCSD board meeting on Tuesday, April 13. Council member Hill has agreed to do this. This meeting is open to the public. Paula Altmeir presented a document she had written with pointers she would like pointed out to the board. They are:

·  District will need more 3 more bus routes than the 1 route they currently have if the Hills students are moved to City High/South East in order to stay within the State guidelines on how long a student can be on the bus.

·  By moving only the City of Hills and Regency to the East side, they would remove the rural catchment. This would increase the isolation City of Hills and Regency and lower the socio-economic issues on the East side as the rural catchment contain some of the upper economic factors of Hills Elementary

·  Regency is in serious decline.

·  Hills do not offer families many opportunities- they are in a flood plain, small, depend on outside population for the employment of businesses, population is aging, no real wealth, not thriving and would have the longest commute.

·  She felt the City of Hills was voting “with their feet”, withdrawing of students to other districts, transfer of students within the district and enrolling in private schools. She felt the Town had given up on the school.

·  The argument that the commute to the East side was weak and should not be used. Most of the other schools had issues with travel issues and increase of travel time

·  Should ICCSD send the Hills Elementary district to the East side, she felt the City of Hills should see about withdrawing from the ICCSD and join some other district-she did point out the rural catchment would not move with the City of Hills.

Shelly Klein had spoken with a local realtor and stated this realtor felt like the move would definitely hurt home sales and development in Hills. Linda Monroe stated she felt the end result of Hills moving to the East side would be the closing of Hills Elementary in the long run.

The Council stated again how disappointed they were at the lack of parents and school board at the public meeting held at Hills Elementary on March 8. The suggestion was made for perhaps a special meeting to be held again with the board and the Council at either the Board Office or the Community Center. If this could be set up, the Council would be agreeable on attending.

Public discussion closed at 7:33.

Zack Tanner was present to update the Mayor and Council on his Eagle Scout project of recycling light bulbs. Bulbs were delivered to all homes with an explanation of his project.

Randy Lackender was present to update the Council on what he wanted for his new business. He would like better water drainage beside his business by installing some asphalt in this area. Ron had spoken with two contractors and had verbal bids. The Council asked for written bids to be prepared for the next meeting, April 26.

Resolution 2010-08 de-annexing some of the property that joins the City of Hills to the City of Iowa City was presented. A motion was made to accept this resolution by Kirkpatrick and seconded by Kemp. Roll Call was held. Ayes: 5 Resolution passed.

The L L Pelling bid for spring seal coating and street work was presented. A motion was made by Knebel and seconded by Hill to accept this bid. Ayes; 5 Motion passed.

The Emergency Plan discussion was tabled until the next meeting.

Attorney Hayek stated the Hills Fire Department was now the Hills Fire Fighters Association as of April 5, 2010.

Items on the Action List:

·  Siren

o  The fire department discussed with the council of a couple of ideas for the placement of the siren given to the City. Further investigations will be made and suggestion will be at the April 12 meeting.

·  Deputy Clerk

o  Segregation of duties of the clerk was discussed. Some suggestions were made and this will be explored and explained at the next meeting.

·  Board of Adjustment Vacancy

o  Council Member Kemp has a suggestion and will have a possible candidate for the next meeting.

·  Agreement with Action Sewer

o  The agreement between the City of Hills and Action Sewer for an exchange of work for two years for in exchange of the sewer truck was given to the Council. A motion was made by Hill and seconded by Harris to accept this agreement.

·  Main Street Repairs

o  Discussion was held regarding some future planning for Main Street with Johnson County Road Improvements in the next two years.

Fire Department Report: The “grass rig” truck is now in service. This rig is #86. The fundraising from the Dance was improved over some of the previous years.

Attorney Report: The attorney updated the Council on Yoder Roofing procedures. He had researched questions regarding patio cafes and gave his opinion on this-as long as the right-of-way was not affected, no ordinances were needed.

Sewer Report: Bruce has been looking in generator prices and will have something for the next meeting.

Maintenance Report: Ron reported the curb at Hills Bank had been repaired. Ron discussed some of street working that needed to be done on Third Street and Brady Street. Discussion was held regarding some conflicts in the new development with the placement of storm drains. The Mayor will contact the builder to discuss.

Mayor: Stated the committee for the redistricting had completed their meetings.

Clerk: No Report.

A motion was made at 8:50 PM to adjourn the meeting by Knebel and seconded by Hill . Ayes: 5 Motion passed.

______Attest: ______

Mayor Russell Bailey Bonnie Hansen, City Clerk