Council adopts six ordinances; city looking to borrow $2.19M

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Ordinances were added to the books Wednesday evening by the Mt. Pleasant City Council.

Meeting in regular session, the council passed the third readings and adopted six ordinances and had the first reading on two more proposed ordinances.

Council members didn?t waste much time in sweeping the ordinances into the books in 15 minutes. With moderate snow falling outside and more expected, nobody wanted to spend an exorbitant amount of time at the table.

New ordinances, once published, include the following:

? No parking on the south side of West Monroe Street from White to McCoy streets.

? Language clarifications in the city ordinance regarding animals. The new language includes the definition of a service animal as follows: Service animal means guide dogs, signal dog or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. Animals are considered service animals regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government. A service animal is not a pet.

? Deletion of ?supplemental electrical standards? from the city?s electrical code.

? Deletion of ?electrical con-tractors? from city code.

? Assigning appeals of the city?s electrical code to the construction board of appeals.

? Deletion of ?electrician examination fees? and ?electric license fees? from city code.

Upon the recommendation of city Building and Zoning Administrator/Electrical Inspector Jack Swarm and the city?s ordinance committee, the council passed the first reading on two other ordinances impacting electrical work.

The first ordinance sets the fee schedule for electrical permit fees and for what work permits and inspections are required.

?The state has minimum requirements for issuing permits that we have to follow,? Swarm explained. ?This sets requirements for when you need a permit and when you don?t need one. It also aligns our fees so they are more realistic.?

Following is the proposed fee schedule:

? Commercial/residential: $0 for minor work in an existing panel (no new circuits added);

? Commercial/residential: $10 for adding up to two circuits;

? New residential: $50 per unit, single or duplex, plus $5 per branch circuit;

? Existing residential: $35 per project exceeding two circuits, plus $5 for each new branch circuit;

? Commercial work adding more than two circuits: $25 per $1,000 of the electrical contract, $800 maximum charge.

? Regular inspections: $0;

? Correctional order inspections: $25.

Permits and inspections for all installations and alterations are required, unless all of the following conditions are met: the installation/alteration is performed by a licensed electrical contractor, residential electrical contractor or their employees; the installation/alteration does not in any way involve work within a new or existing switchboard or panel board; the installation/alteration does not exceed 30 amps; the installation does not exceed 277 volts, single phase.

Final ordinance action saw the council approve the first reading of a proposed ordinance adopting national electrical code and establishing license requirements. Basically, the ordinance aligns city code with the state code.

The city is proposing to borrow $2,190,000 in general obligation capital loan notes and will have a public hearing on the matter Tuesday, March 10, at 5:30 p.m.

City Administrator Brent Schleisman said the funds are for finishing the Iris Street project, the city?s match ($1 million) for grant funds for the Mapleleaf Drive reconstruction project and $450,000 for a new fire truck.

In remaining business, the council:

? Set March 10 at 5:30 p.m. as the date and time for a public hearing on the East Savannah and Prairie streets construction projects. The streets will be located in the Crossroads Business Park, east of Hy-Vee, and will open up approximately 20 acres of land for development.

? Approved an engineering service agreement with Shive-Hattery (cost of $25,000) for pilot testing of the wastewater treatment plant to determine the nutrient reduction capability of the basin.

? Set the public hearing on the fiscal 2016 city budget for Wednesday, March 4, at 5 p.m. in City Hall.

Council members meet again in regular session Tuesday, March 10, at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall. The regular meeting date is being moved ahead one day due to a conflict on Wednesday, March 11.