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The Monona city council met last night.
Consideration of Resolution 11-01-1747 Approving a Renewal and Amendment to the Employment Agreement with the City Administrator (Mayor Kahl, City Attorney). Passed 6-0 with a raise and 2-year extension.
Apparently we are not allowed to include an anti-Bears clause in our employment contracts. Perhaps it could be covered under the EAP. Or we could set up a Maoist-style reeducation camp.
(An aside: Wow, I just Googled reeducation camps and stumbled across the right-wing's equation of diversity training with actual reeducation camps. What an insult to all the people who actually suffered through real reeducation camps. Gee, I remember when conservatives actually cared about such real victims.)
New Business
a. Consideration of Ordinance 1-11-624 Amending Chapter 13 of the Code of Ordinances Concerning Operation Signs (Plan Commission). Discussed; likely to pass easily at the next meeting.
b. Consideration of Resolution 11-01-1748 Approving an Agreement with Vierbicher Associates, Inc. to Provide Engineering Consulting Services for a Traffic Impact Analysis Study of the East Broadway Corridor (Public Works Committee). Rules suspended and Resolution Adopted 6-0.
c. Consideration of Ordinance 1-11-625 Amending Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinances Concerning the City Engineer/Director of Public Works (City Administrator). Discussed; will probably pass at the next meeting. This proposal would split the city engineer and public works director position, which are combined under the current ordinances. The Monona city engineer/public works director resigned effective Friday, January 21, so the city needs to fill those positions.
The mayor and administrator propose to contract out for all engineering services and hire an in-house public works director who might or might not be an engineer (probably not). I asked for a job announcement to be developed by the next meeting so we know what the plan is. My request was joined informally by other alders and agreed to by the mayor. Over the years, Monona has gone back and forth on whether to have an in-house or contract city engineer. I have serious reservations about not having a professional engineer on staff.
d. Consideration of Resolution 11-01-1749 Contract for Brush Collection and Disposal Services (Public Works). Discussed; likely to pass easily at the next meeting. The item came in about $13,580 under budget. I plan to propose that we add a fifth monthly collection ($8,000). The new contract would be with Johnson Tree Care instead of the city's waste dispsoal contractor as is currently done. Garbage and recycling disposal will remain as is. A new waste disposal contract is due this spring.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
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I know others will feel diferently, but I'm fine with brush collection as it is.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think would be great would be an extra recycling pickup between Christmas and New Years. Our large bin is just about the perfect size 50 weeks out of the year, but after the boxes (shipping and gifts), paper, and extra food containers, the container between Christmas and New Years is pretty packed.
"What I think would be great would be an extra recycling pickup between Christmas and New Years."
ReplyDeleteThat's a good thought, but in the past the contractor pairs our collection with collection in another community on our off week. In other words, their trucks and workers are working soemwhere else when they aren't in Monona.
A year or two ago I went purchased a second RC bin from the city mainly because the one was getting too full and I had top really cram stuff in it. That's a one-time cost and may be a solution for you if you have space for asecond bin.
Say-I have a question.
ReplyDeleteAt what point, does ANYTIME Princeton club's GIANT vehicle on Monona Drive turn into a UNauthorized billboard? I think it is a bit much.
Not sure, but I'm checking
ReplyDelete"Not sure, but I'm checking "
ReplyDeleteThanks-I do appreciate all of your hard work.
Doug:
ReplyDeleteI'm neither here nor there on in-house vs. contracted engineer, but if the council does do in-house, it absolutely has to provide a salary that's competitive with other muni's. I think the city's struggles in keeping in-house engineers directly relates to the wage the city is willing to pay for this post -- it's a cliche, but you get what you pay for, and the council needs to recognize this (particularly council members who view themselves as mini-in-house engineers -- which is not terribly helpful for the staff engineer). The city has done well by hiring key staff in administrative posts -- library, parks and rec, administrator -- via competitive salaries; it ought to take a similar tack with the engineering post if kept in-house.
I'd like to propose that we do not add another brush pickup, but instead teach people how they can use "normal" amounts of brush (when you haven't cut down a tree or something) ON their own property. (I would even suggest we have fewer pickups, but maybe after we educate people and they actually change their behavior?) I don't put out brush anymore, but just break it up and spread it over the wooded areas of my property. Better for all.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the recycling bins: if you'll compact your recyclables -- feet are all you need -- you can fit more into your bins and not have to put them out as often. This saves truck fuel, lowers emissions, and, if everyone would do so, it would even save the city money.
"And on the recycling bins: if you'll compact your recyclables -- feet are all you need -- you can fit more into your bins and not have to put them out as often. This saves truck fuel, lowers emissions, and, if everyone would do so, it would even save the city money."
ReplyDeleteIs this a parody?
Do you climb on top of your car and jump nto your recycling bin? Could you post a YouTube of how you do this?
"I'd like to propose that we do not add another brush pickup, but instead teach people how they can use "normal" amounts of brush (when you haven't cut down a tree or something) ON their own property. (I would even suggest we have fewer pickups, but maybe after we educate people and they actually change their behavior?)."
ReplyDeleteFirst, just FYI, if you cut down a tree, you should arrange for your contractor to haul away whatever you don't want.
Second, your offer to "educate" people is guaranteed to rub people the rub wrong way. Work on your phrasing; like the city could "offer news ways of handlng their brush."
I don't really have a "wooded area" in my yard. I have trees surrounded by grass (more or less).
Third, until people do change their ways we should provide good brush collection. The less frequent the brush collection, the longer the brush will sit by the curb at some places. The frequency of brush collection doesn't really change the volume of brush collected in total; it spreads out the brush collection over fewer or greater number of collections.
I would much rather have a city engineer on staff, but only if you pay enough to get a good one and that will be a lot. Otherwise, contract those services out. I assume Mr. Marsh will find out the going rate for a good city engineer? I know you can't know the cost for contracting until you let it out for bids but however we do this, we won't get what we don't pay for.
ReplyDelete"Third, until people do change their ways we should provide good brush collection. The less frequent the brush collection, the longer the brush will sit by the curb at some places. The frequency of brush collection doesn't really change the volume of brush collected in total; it spreads out the brush collection over fewer or greater number of collections. "
ReplyDeleteExactly and our town tends to STINK in the summer due to the amount of brush sitting on the curb.
"our town tends to STINK in the summer due to the amount of brush sitting on the curb."
ReplyDeleteI have to say I've not noticed stinky brush piles. Stinky lake, stinky lagoon, stinky dead fish, yes.
No experience in this area-do you?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/21/pearlman.online.civility/index.html
"Second, your offer to "educate" people is guaranteed to rub people the rub wrong way. Work on your phrasing; like the city could "offer news ways of handlng their brush.""
ReplyDeleteBoy. I didn't write that I wanted to send people to a "re-education camp," just that we should "teach" and "educate." When did those become bad words? I didn't know education was a bad thing.
"Is this a parody?
Do you climb on top of your car and jump nto your recycling bin? Could you post a YouTube of how you do this?"
Your asking if compacting recyclables was a parody -- was that a joke? Surely everyone has crushed an aluminum can before. One can also do that with plastic milk jugs, tin cans, and almost everything else that you put in your recycling bins. You can even stack your paper neatly before putting it in the bin. By not adding a lot of extra air by being wadded up or unstacked, the paper takes up less space.
I wouldn't climb on top of my car unless I wanted to jump up and down on it to crush it and put it in my bin. (Now THAT was meant as a joke. ;-))
"I didn't know education was a bad thing."
ReplyDeleteEducation is not a bad thing (of course). Telling people something like "you need to be educated and we are going to do it" sounds - to me - a little condescending. It's just about the way things are presented.
"Your asking if compacting recyclables was a parody -- was that a joke?"
No. You said "if you'll compact your recyclables -- feet are all you need -- you can fit more into your bins." I thought you meant that you somehow climbed into your bin and stomped on the stuff. I see now that you meant that you step on it *before* you put it in the bin not after.
This pre-smushing method is superior to post-smushing method applied to the RC material after it is in the bin.
Yeah, I do all that too. I also use my inside RC can to smush the stuff down even more once it is in the bin.
I'd still like to see somebody jumping into their RC bin though.
It's very easy to be snarky in a web comment. It's also easy to take other people's words as snarky (or condescending) when they don't mean them to be.
ReplyDeleteIt's very easy, when people toss off comments quickly, to not be clear on their meaning. It's also easy to read more into what people write than what they intended.
It takes effort to write comments that mean something -- comments that aren't just reactionary, but actually try to add something to the "conversation." I think responses that maintain a positive questioning attitude -- one that opens the conversation instead of closing it down -- would be a better route to solving problems.