Wall Lake City Council holds public meeting to discuss applying for a community development block grant to apply for new well project

…City council person takes issue with extremely short notice requirement, conversation gets heated.



WALL LAKE, IOWA - OCTOBER 25, 2010

1. Mayor calls for approval of minutes, but is interrupted by council member wanting to discuss the community development block grant.
- What is the Community Development Block Grant for?
2. No Written or verbal discussion.
3. Engineer not hired yet.



4. There has been no DNR order to construct a well.
- CDBG looks at large projects, this is considered a small project.
5. This is just a request, not a commitment.
6. Most of the grants that are applied for are for sewer and not water.
7. Minimum water at $75 per month will NOT be applied to Wall Lake.



8. Precise use of proposed Community Development Block Grant listed.



9. Minimum water rate of $75 dollars NOT required.




10. Requirements to qualifying for Community Development Block Grant listed.
- Public hearing closed at this point.


Later in the meeting, the issue was taken up again when the council discusses approving the process allowing them to apply for a CDBG

11. RFPs, (requests for proposal,) and RFQs, (requests for qualifications,) were sent out to three different companies.
12. The engineering firm MSA scored highest number of points on RFQs.
13. The engineering firm MSA scored highest number of points on RFPs.
- RFPs were for doing the grant application for a CDBG.
-- Application has everything needed to achieve success. (enough of population is low income, DNR approved, Etc.)
14. Most CDBG grants are for wastewater and not for water projects.
- This is because the DNR is cracking down on wastewater.
- Because there aren’t a lot of water projects, city may have a pretty good chance of getting grant.


15. Dispute about the validity of process begins…
- “I am not to be led like dumb driven cattle!”
- Council being forced to make a decision about CDBG application within a few days of deadline.
16. If the council doesn’t do this, they will not be eligible for a CDBG grant.


17. Council receives a clarification about the requirement that an engineer be procured. This affects the city’s ability to apply for a CDBG as it is a requirement. Morrow makes the point that no engineer has been procured and there therefore the grant cannot be applied for.


18. Morrow points out that the council is being asked to choose an engineer without having a bid for cost of service in front of them.


19. “Is there a fee for that? Is there going to be a fee for that? Do you have any idea if there’s going to be a fee for that?


20. Here we are five days from deadline and we have to have a proposal for an engineer. Do you think that was brought to us by design, or do you think that is just a coincidence?
- You have to put your trust in someone.
- You want to delay it and get more bids and we sit here all year not doing anything.
- This whole thing is so asinine; I can’t put it together in my head anymore.
- I don’t think the engineer steered us in the right direction.
-- Haven’t been led astray, but we have been steered by just one person.


21. Council votes 4-1 to approve MSA as engineer of record.

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