Council Approves Second Reading Of Rental Inspection Program
by Pam Blomgren
The Oskaloosa City Council meeting lasted just barely 45 minutes last evening (March 20) and, intertwined with routine activity, were familiar strains of sentiment heard in earlier meetings: ‘we don’t need this’ and ‘this isn’t necessary.’
Following the community comments section – of which there were none – and the consent agenda, which drew a couple comments from Council members, the item which drew the most emotion was item 6D: “Consider an ordinance to add Chapter 15.60 – Rental Housing Inspection to the Oskaloosa Municipal Code and to amend Chapter 15.04.150 – Board of Appeals in the Oskaloosa Municipal Code.”
Council member Tom Walling had a couple language questions before the vote was taken. He wanted to make sure the ‘two ex-officio members’ actually did get appointed and requested a verbiage change from ‘may be appointed’ to ‘shall be appointed.’ He also wanted to make sure the review process actually did take place and requested clear and concise language addressing the review. City Attorney David D. Dixon indicated the ‘may’ to ‘shall’ was not a material change but the requested review language was and would force a return to first reading status. Following discussion, it was determined the review process was addressed in the Administrative Policy which attaches itself to the program and ordinance change, and the motion was changed to include the ‘may’ to ‘shall’ language.
Opponent of the program, Council Member Aaron Ver Steeg, however, said adamantly “any change has to go back” to the first reading. “We have a country that is trying to deregulate and here in Oskaloosa are trying to regulate. It makes no sense to me. We are trying to put something in that we do not need. We have everything on the books right now to correct the problem.… This type of a regulation is not going to change anything. It is a unnecessary code…. It needs to go away tonight with a 7-0 vote.”
Ver Steeg continued expressing his views indicating that if there was a problem with a rental property all it takes is a phone call, an invitation, and then any property can be entered and inspected. “I had rental property for 20 years and I know what you can do and what you can’t do and those things haven’t changed.”
Council Members Steve Burnett and Doug Yates asked for clarification regarding entrance. Following comments by City Manager Michael Schrock and Dixon, it was stipulated that, without this program, an invitation was required for inspection purposes. When the vote was taken, the second reading of adding the Rental Housing Inspection chapter to the Oskaloosa Municipal Code and the amended Board of Appeals code passed 5-2. Ver Steeg and Council Member Tom Jimenez both voted no.
In other business, the Council voted to reduce sanitary sewer charges for one property but denied reduction on another. Both requests had been continued from the last council meeting in an effort to give the affected residents an opportunity to personally address the council regarding the reduction.
Donna Saner requested a reduction in the sanitary sewer charges billed for her residence due to a leak before the maintenance man shut the water off in January. No explanation was given as to what caused the leak. Hector Briceno requested a reduction in the sanitary sewer charges billed for his residence stating pipes froze and “numerous gallons of water leaked all over his living room and kitchen.”
The Sanitary Sewer Leak Policy for Oskaloosa was reviewed which reads, in part, “The City shall not provide sanitary sewer customers a reduction or waiver in service fees or charges due to a water leak, excessive usage, accidental usage, or catastrophic events. This includes interior or exterior leaks on a property for residential or commercial customer accounts.”
Ms. Saner was present at the meeting and told the council she rents (the mobile home she lives in), didn’t have the funds to address the extra costs, and no one really knows where the leak occurred. She said she saw no evidence of a leak anywhere, and the owner had been contacted. Mr. Briceno was not present.
In a 7-0 vote, the council voted to reduce Ms. Saner’s by half to be, according to Yates, “consistent to what has been done previously.” In a 7-0 vote, the council voted not to reduce sanitary sewer charges for Mr. Briceno. Mayor Krutzfeldt asked for some logic as to the denial. Ver Steeg, the council member who made the motion, said, “He left his heat on low and then left. That’s exactly (what prompted) this code change in 2010, for things like this. If you’re going to leave Iowa in the winter time, keep your heat on in the building to keep your water from freezing.”
Other items addressed at the March 20th Council Meeting included:
Held a public hearing and passed an ordinance amending Title 16, Chapter 16.04 of the Oskaloosa Municipal Code pertaining to Subdivisions
Passed a resolution to participate in reconstructing the shared salt storage facility at the Iowa Department of Transportation maintenance facility
Approved Amendment No. 2 to the contract with Garden and Associates Ltd. for the 2017 Sanitary and Storm Sewer Improvements Projects
Passed the first reading of an ordinance amending compensation for the Mayor which would increase the salary to $6,000 annually beginning in 2018
