Riverside pays full price of audit

The Riverside City Council voted 3-2 to approve the full payment of $26,500 to Ann M. Menke CPA for the audit the company performed in 2011. Councilors Christine Kirkwood, Kevin Kiene and Nate Kasdorf voted in favor of the motion while Ralph Schnoebelen and Bob Schneider voted against it.

The bill for $26,500 was more than double that which Ann M. Menke quoted the council at $11,000. That was an estimated fee to audit the city?s financial records for the fiscal year ending June 30. The contract the city signed with Ann M. Menke stated that $11,000 would be the maximum fee assuming that there were no unexpected circumstances encountered during the audit.

At the council?s Dec. 19

meeting, Menke told the council that the bill was so much more than the quote because her firm performed 150 more hours into researching the city?s funds than expected. The state auditor?s office received citizen requests to investigate specific funds. The state auditor?s office in turn requested Ann M. Menke CPA to perform these investigations, which it did.

The council also discussed the street lights on Enterprise Drive near Enterprise Park on the east side of town. The council voted 3-2 to have developer Steve Mann pay for two light poles, two lights and wires going to the poles. Schnoebelen, Schneider and Kasdorf voted in favor of the motion while Kiene and Kirkwood voted against it.

The council planned a work session at city hall for Monday, Jan. 16 at 5:30 p.m. The council will discuss street lights on Enterprise Drive at the work session.

In other news, the council approved its yearly contract with the Kalona Public Library. The contract allows residents of Riverside to use the Kalona Public Library at no cost to the residents. The contract is approximately $16,000 and lasts from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.

City Engineer Mike Hart told the council about several projects the city is engaged in. He said the project to add turning lanes to Highway 22 is nearly done. He said the sanitary sewer inflow and infiltration project is done. The city will now be able to detect inflow into the sanitary sewer via a camera.

Hart is in the process of creating the specifications for the splashpad. The council hopes to set a bid date for the project in February, have a public hearing in March and complete the splashpad by the end of May.

The council tabled a resolution to reappoint City Attorney Les Lamping.

The council named three depositories for city funds: People?s Trust and Savings in Riverside, Two Rivers Bank and Trust in Iowa City and Hills Bank and Trust in Hills. City Clerk Missy Carter said the city does not have any money in Hills Bank and Trust but the council wanted to keep that bank as an option.

The council accepted the resignation of utility billing clerk Jessica Van Auken. Her last day will be Wednesday, Jan. 18.

The council adopted a resolution to approve the purchase of approximately 10 acres of land for a new community building. The vote was 4-1 with Kiene voting no. The city will purchase the land on the north edge of town from John and Joanne Roetlin. The city will pay $7,100 per acre for the land.

The council adopted the second reading of an ordinance dealing with water rates and a second reading of an ordinance dealing with sewer rates.

The ordinance relating to water rates clarifies the fees for large uses and for deposits. The city requires a $50 deposit for water and a $50 deposit for sewer. Under the proposed ordinance, the deposits will have to be paid upfront when a person signs up for water or sewer. In the past, utility customers were allowed to pay their deposits on their monthly bills.

The proposed water ordinance states there will be a base charge of $9 per month for water and then $3 for each 1,000 gallons up to 100,000. Usage equal to or in excess of 100,000 will be billed at $5 per 1,000.

The proposed sewer ordinance has the same charges as the water ordinance with the exception that the $3 rate per 1,000 applies up to 50,000 gallons and that the rate is $5 per 1,000 gallons after that.

The city has used its quarterly check from the Riverboat Foundation to help pay for a fire truck for the fire department. The council learned Wednesday that the city had fulfilled its obligation to the fire department and would have $16,000 left over from the Riverboat Foundation. The $16,000 will go toward offsetting property taxes. The city contributed $275,000 toward the fire truck.