Author: Theresa Rose

Wayland City Council meeting at 7:30 pm in the Wayland City Hall

1. Public Hearing – 7:30 P.M. – FYE20 Budget Amendment #1

1. Public Hearing – 7:30 P.M. – Sanitary Sewer Rehab Project -2020 – Proposed Drawings, Specifications, Form of Contract, and Estimated Costs

4. Consent Agenda – Note: These are routine items and will be enacted by one motion without separate discussion unless a Council member requests an item be removed for separate consideration.
5. Minutes of April 15, 2020
6. Bills for Payment/CD Renewal
7. Report
8. Clerks Budgetary Report
9. Utility Dept. Report
10. Police Dept. Report
11. Firefighter Dept. Report

5. Citizen Forum –The Mayor and City Council welcome comments from the public for items not listed on the agenda. Please state your name and address for the record and limit your remarks so others may be given the opportunity to speak.  The Order of Business is at the discretion of the Chair.  No action will be taken.

1. Unfinished Business

1. Ongoing Discussion – City Hall Protocol for Corona-19 Virus Pandemic/Comm Events
2. Update on West Park Wetlands Project

7. New Business
   1. 2020-11 “City Budget Amendment & Certification Resolution–FY19/20 #1”
   2. 2020-12 “A Resolution Awarding Contracts For The Sanitary Sewer Rehab – 2020 Project”
   3. Contract for Services with SEIRPC for SRF Loan Sewer Rehab & Lagoon Upgrade Project
   4. West Park Wetlands Play Equipment Installation and Wood Fiber Proposal
   5. West Park Wetlands Security Cameras Proposal
   6. Authorize Mayor to Sign Agreement For Urban-State Traffic Engineering Program (U-STEP)
   7. Request for Support – Henry County Freedom Rock
   8. Review/Approve Fireworks Display Permit Application

8. Building Permits – Approved

-Henry County Habitat for Humanity-New Frame 42’ x 26’ house at 302 W 2^nd Street

        -Ron Scarff – 18’Lx12’Wx12’H wood gazebo at 110 W Cummings St.

-Raymond Delzell – 48’Lx56’Wx32’H wood fence at 402 S Pearl St.

-Alec Birdsell – 26’Lx24’Wx6’H wood privacy fence at 301 E Main St.

-Pauline Wyse – Re-roof house at 116 W Hwy 78

-Isaiah Stauffer – 12’x8’x8’ wood frame storage building at 303 W 4^th St.

-Greg Rich – Demolition of house and garage at 206 S Pearl St.

-Steve Miller – Demolition of barn at 309 W 2^nd St

9. Adjournment

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds will travel to Washington, D.C. to provide an update to President Donald Trump and his Coronavirus Task Force on the status of COVID-19 in Iowa, including the state’s efforts to reopen. There will be no press conference Wednesday, May 6th. Daily press conferences will resume later this week. 

Hy-Vee, Inc. announces that effective Wednesday, May 6, it will limit meat purchases at all of its locations.

Hy-Vee Statement:

We continue to work with industry leaders so we are prepared for any possible fluctuations in product and can best serve our customers. At Hy-Vee, we have product available at our stores but due to worker shortages at plants as well as an increase in meat sales, customers may not find the specific items they are looking for. Because of this, we are going to put a limit on customer purchases in the meat department. Effective Wednesday, May 6, each customer will be limited to four packages of a combination of fresh beef, ground beef, pork and chicken when they checkout at all Hy-Vee locations.

KEOKUK, Iowa – In April of 2017, the Division of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) Major Crime Unit and the Keokuk Police Department reopened the investigation into the June 2004 death of Bonnie Callahan, 73, of Keokuk.

On June 15, 2004, family members reported Callahan missing.  Later in the day, Callahan’s body was found along the bank of the Mississippi River front in Keokuk.  The circumstances surrounding Callahan’s death were considered suspicious. The investigation identified Nathanial Leo Ridnour, 34, as a suspect in Callahan’s homicide.

The Keokuk Police Department and the DCI ‘s Major Crime Unit provided an updated case briefing to the Lee County Attorney’s Office and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office (Area Prosecutions).  On May 4, 2020, an arrest warrant was issued for Ridnour for the murder of Callahan. Murder in the First Degree is a violation of Section 707.2(1) of the Code of Iowa, a Class A Felony. If convicted, the charge carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole. On May 5, 2020, Ridnour was taken into custody by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office on the arrest warrant.

This was a joint investigation by the DCI’s Major Crime Unit, the Keokuk Police Department, the DCI Crime Scene Team, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office, the Lee County Attorney’s Office and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office (Area Prosecutions).

Ridnour’s arrest is the eighth arrest related to the DCI Major Crime Unit conducting cold case homicide investigations in a three-year period in the southeast Iowa area.  These investigative results are a combined effort between a DCI Major Crime Unit initiative and local law enforcement partnership focusing on cold case investigations.

DES MOINES – Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has been notified of 408 additional positive cases for a total of 10,111 positive cases. Henry County now has 37 cases, Louisa County 279, Washington County 149, Des Moines County 21, Lee County 16, Van Buren County 8 and Jefferson County 6. There have been an additional 3,000 negative tests for a total of 50,458 negative tests to date, which includes testing reported by the State Hygienic Lab and other labs.

According to IDPH, an additional 19 deaths were also reported, 407 are currently hospitalized, and 3,572 Iowans have recovered. At this time, 1 in 52 Iowans have already been tested.

According to IDPH the additional 19 deaths were reported in the following counties:

• Allamakee County, 1 older adult (61-80 years)
• Black Hawk County, 1 middle-age adult (41-60 years), 1 older adult (61-80 years), 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Dallas County, 1 older adult (61-80 years), 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Jasper County, 1 elderly adult (81+)
• Linn County, 1 middle-age adult (41-60 years), 5 older adults (61-80 years),
• Polk County, 1 adult (18-40 years),  1 elderly adult (81+)
• Tama County, 3 elderly adults (81+)
• Woodbury County, 1 elderly adult (81+)

The state of Iowa has released an updated dashboard on coronavirus.iowa.gov that will be updated daily to include comprehensive tracking of COVID-19 in Iowa. The new dashboard includes cases, deaths, and tests conducted in each county. The state is now providing demographic information that was not previously provided as well as Iowa’s epidemiological curve.

The Henry County Board of Supervisors held a work session Tuesday morning.  The purpose was to brainstorm potential costs to the county to operate emergency medical services.  HCHC currently owns EMS but has proposed the county take over the operation.  The supervisors have been working to pin down the actual cost to the county and to the taxpayers in order to ask county residents to vote on whether or not the transfer of the service should take place. However, coming up with a hard total cost is proving difficult.  Unknown insurance reimbursements contributes to the difficulty.  There are also some other costs to be considered.  For example, is it more cost effective to lease EMS facilities from HCHC or renovate the old law center.  Some of the other cost questions the board came up with today included phone and radio costs at the old law center, additional HIPPA liability insurance, additional IPERS contribution, and what would it cost  to contract with a company to do coding and billing?  There was also the question of will the ambulances and equipment be transferred over to the county at no cost?  The supervisors also want some assurance that the hospital won’t go to a separate private entity for patient transfer services. And….is HCHC still interested contracting with the county for supplies or does the county need to contract with a different supplier?  The board will hold another work session after investigating answers to these questions.

Week of April 28 – May 3, 2020

DES MOINES, Iowa (May 4, 2020) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly from April through November.

“Iowa saw a second straight week of considerable planting progress across the state. The planning of input providers and farmers, combined with favorable weather conditions, has the growing season off to a strong start,” said Secretary Naig. “The great progress has been a bright spot in a time with many disruptions due to COVID-19.”

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s site at nass.usda.gov/ia.

Crop Report

There were 6.1 days suitable for field work during the week ending May 3, 2020, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Warm, dry weather allowed Iowa farmers to advance planting well ahead of normal.

Topsoil moisture levels rated 3 percent very short, 16 percent short, 78 percent adequate and 3 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 2 percent very short, 8 percent short, 85 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus.

Iowa farmers planted 39 percent of the expected corn crop during the week ending May 3. Although great progress was made, in 2015 Iowa farmers were able to plant 54 percent of their corn crop during the same week. This is the first time since 2010 that at least three-quarters of the corn crop has been in the ground by May 3. Forty-six percent of the soybean crop has been planted, a full month ahead of last year and over two weeks ahead of the five-year average. This is the highest proportion of the soybean crop planted by May 3 since records began in 1974. Farmers were able to plant over one-third of the expected soybean crop during the week ending May 3. Only 6 percent of Iowa’s expected oat crop remains to be planted, with 54 percent of the oat crop emerged.

Pasture condition rated 65 percent good to excellent. Pastures and hay fields are greening up. Cattle movement to pastures increased this week.

Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Warm weather returned to Iowa as temperatures averaged up to six degrees above normal across portions of the state during the reporting period. The statewide average temperature was 59.1 degrees, 5.2 degrees above normal. Spring-type showers and thunderstorms were also observed, though dry conditions persisted; all stations reported below average rainfall with the largest departures in south central Iowa.

Southerly winds and partly sunny skies remained through Sunday (26th) afternoon and evening with daytime highs pushing into the upper 60s and low 70s. Cloud cover increased into the early morning hours of Monday (27th) as a disturbance brought a line of showers and a few thunderstorms into western Iowa. The line remained somewhat organized, though dissipated as it moved though central Iowa into the early afternoon hours; cloud cover cleared most of Iowa’s northwestern two-thirds allowing temperatures to rise into the upper 70s. Clouds over southeastern Iowa held temperatures in the low 70s. Light showers reformed in eastern Iowa during the evening hours with rain totals for the day generally under a few tenths of an inch across southwestern Iowa; Mount Ayr (Ringgold County) reported 0.42 inch. Clouds were on the increase in advance of a low pressure system that propagated across Iowa through the day on Tuesday (28th). Measurable totals were reported across much of Iowa with the highest amounts in the northwest as well as in east-central Iowa. De Witt (Clinton County) reported 0.67 inch while Primghar (O’Brien County) observed 0.60 inch; totals at remaining stations were generally under a few tenths of an inch. Additional light showers formed on the backside of the low as it moved out of eastern Iowa.

Iowa experienced windy conditions on Wednesday (29th) as high pressure quickly moved in behind the low. Highs stayed in the 60s as clouds cleared from west to east. Winds died down through the late evening hours as skies cleared. Overnight lows dropped into the 40s with upper 30s observed in the northwest quadrant. Thursday (30th) was a beautiful spring day with abundant sunshine and pleasant temperatures. Highs reached into the upper 60s north to low 70s south. Overnight lows were seasonal, falling into the mid to upper 40s as cloud cover gradually increased into Friday (1st). Morning lows ranged from the mid 50s northwest to low 40s southeast. Partly cloudy and warmer conditions greeted Iowa through the day with a southerly wind helping daytime highs into the upper 70s and low 80s; some stations in northwest Iowa approached the 90-degree mark. The statewide average high was 80 degrees, 13 degrees above normal. Clear skies and mild conditions were reported into early Saturday (2nd). Morning lows remained in the upper 50s and low 60s, up to 12 degrees above normal. During the late morning hours, spotty showers pushed into western Iowa behind a weak cold front and moved over portions of Iowa for most of the day. Cloud cover was variable with a light northerly wind. Mid 60s and low 70s were reported statewide as clouds increased into Sunday (3rd). Rain totals for the previous 24 hours were light, ranging from a trace at multiple stations to 0.20 inch in Salem (Henry County).

Weekly rain totals ranged from trace amounts at several stations to 1.12 inches at Keokuk Lock and Dam (Lee County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.15 inch while the normal is 0.93 inch. Little Sioux (Harrison County) reported the week’s high temperature of 90 degrees on the 1st, 22 degrees above average. Iowa City (Johnson County) and Stanley (Buchanan County) reported the week’s low temperature of 33 degrees on the 27th, on average nine degrees below normal. Four-inch soil temperatures were in the mid 50s north to low 60s south as of Sunday.