The Jefferson City Council met last night in regular session.

The Council approved the 2016 fiscal year budget following a public hearing.  The tax levy will drop from $15.28 to $15.26 per $1,000 property valuation.  Water and wastewater rates will each increase by three percent.

The next public hearing was about land acquisition for the City-owned airport.  The engineering firm is DGR Engineering from Ankeny and Dustin Leo spoke about the details of the proposed project.  The 14/32 runway would need to be extended from 3,200-feet to 4,000-feet to handle smaller corporate jets.  The three areas of concern are extending the runway protection zone, building restriction line and realigning the gravel road in accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulations.  All landowners of the approximate 52 acres of land were in agreeance to sell their land.  The Council approved the purchase and it will now go to an appraiser for fair market value for the land.

The Council then approved the contract plans, specifications and estimate of cost for the 2015 Sanitary Sewer and Manhole Rehabilitation Project.  Engineer John Milligan said the project was estimated at $315,000 and the lowest of two bids was for $179,364.24 from HydroClean.  The Council approved the bid.  The completion date to rehab the 12-inch Interceptor Line is by September 1st.

The Council also approved the performance and payment bonds of $697,789 for the two Water and Sanitary Sewer Improvement Projects to Sharnweber Water Conditioning Incorporated along with payment bonds for computer upgrades to the water plant.

The Council set March 24th as the date to receive bids before a public hearing for the 2015 Grimmell Road Lift Station Access Improvement Project.

Other items the Council approved were the appointment of Sean Ostendorf as the Parks and Recreation Assistant Director, paying $4,500 to remove asbestos from 107 South Olive Street and the City’s insurance for the next fiscal year of $137,043 with Unger Insurance.

Finally, Mayor Craig Berry formed a committee to set up guidelines for allocation of funds from Hotel/Motel Tax.  The committee is made up of Councilwoman Lisa Jaskey, Councilman Larry Teeples, City Administrator Mike Palmer and Mayor Berry.