The West Liberty council met Tuesday, Nov. 21, to discuss continued efforts to revitalize a water well in the West Liberty Power Plant, a $125,000 project that will result in a third well for the city.
“The end date was the end of October,” said Leo Foley, Engineer for Veenstra & Kimm. Now he estimates that it will take until March 2024 before Well #2 is running automatically.
The problem is an automatic controller; or rather, the lack thereof. “They are just out, they’re probably not going to get that part until February,” he said regarding a supply issue.
Currently West Liberty uses two wells for water supply. One is in the City Water Plant and the other near West Liberty Foods. Meanwhile WL Foods uses its own well.
Once rehabilitation is complete, Well #2 will provide an additional source of water. It will be used in case of an emergency and has the potential to help the city better serve WL Foods.
The city has talked about the addition of a third well for years. Ultimately, the city council decided to rehab the old well in the powerhouse rather than build a new one.
The reason was simple, the cost of building a brand new well can easily reach over $1 million, while rehabilitation of an old, but already existing well, only costs a fraction the price.
In 2021 Well #2 was subjected to testing by Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and cleansed. Actual reconstruction and rehabilitation began in Spring of 2023.
As part of its rehabilitation, Well #2 has been acidized several times to improve its productivity. This is achieved by pumping acid into the well to dissolve accumulated scale deposits.
Two other improvements discussed by the council include addressing the roof above the well, as well as the installation of an electromagnetic flow meter.
“We’d like to get them working on it, at least part of it, this year,” Foley said of the roof. “There’s one part of it that has a leak that’s in the well area that’s held us up a bit.”
As for the electromagnetic flow meter, that wasn’t part of the initial plan. However, they’ve become the most popular way to measure the volume of flow in wells.
The council approved a change order to allow for the installation of an electromagnetic flow meter, or “mag” meter. City crews are already familiar with mag meters, since one is used for the well in the water department building.
Police chief hunt continues
If all goes according to plan, West Liberty could have a new police chief as soon as January 2024 thanks to a timeline laid out by the City’s employee committee.
Former Police Chief Eric Werling vacated the position in November in order to take a similar role in Anamosa to be near family. Interim Chief Don Strong is currently in charge.
On Nov. 7 the city council voted in favor of using an internal hiring process rather than hiring an outside party to lead the search. The position has been posted to several outlets.
The goal is to have the city manager contact finalists and schedule interviews by Dec. 7, by then background checks will be completed and references checked.
“We’re planning to do interviews the week of Dec. 11,” Mayor Ethan Anderson told the council. “It depends on the applicant; we have to work around their schedules.”
The mayor invited the Muscatine County Sherriff to be a part of the process. Because of scheduling issues, the county will attempt to send an officer on his behalf.
Mayor Anderson also invited incoming Mayor Mark Smith. “I feel like that’s important because it is a mayoral appointment, and this will happen two weeks before the end of my term.”
Holiday open house
Congratulations were in order following another successful Holiday Open House, which occurred Nov. 18-19 primarily in downtown West Liberty.
Organized by the West Liberty Chamber of Commerce, this was the second year in a row the event occurred over two days instead of just one.
“This was super important not just because this was providing an opportunity for families here in West Liberty to come out and enjoy our community,” said We Lead Director Ken Brooks.
“But we had hundreds of visitors coming from out-of-town and this was a perfect snapshot about what we have to offer here in West Liberty,” he said.
The Open House kicks off the holiday season each year by promoting local businesses and organizing entertainment in West Liberty.
Brooks wanted to give a shout out to everyone involved, including the Chamber of Commerce, as well as the City of West Liberty and its employees, especially the police department.
In other news
The property owned by Weile Chevrolet has been annexed by the city and now falls within city limits. More news on that in an additional story this week.
Cliff McFerren was appointed to the Board of Adjustments, the board that reviews requests for variances for zoning. The board has an additional seat available for anyone within city limits that’s interested.
The city will go with dormant seeding around street reconstruction projects at both Knotty Circle Dr. and Maxson Ave. Walking trail construction started this week at Maxson Ave.
The council voted in favor of a resolution to accept and approve the city’s annual financial report and authorize the city clerk to file it for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.
The council approved a retail alcohol license for El Patio. It also approved two vendor/voucher claims lists totaling more than $480,000.
Downtown parking signs have been updated so that the parking hours listed on the signs match the city ordinance. The next step will be reevaluating parking downtown in general.
The city will investigate ways to address the stray cat problem. Currently it uses a catch and release program; however, there is the possibility the city could team up with the state to institute a program that vaccinates and neuters the cats as well.
The council went into closed session to “Discuss strategy with counsel in matters that are presently in litigation or where litigation is imminent,” according to the meeting agenda.
Concerns have been raised about speeding and parking along Maxson Ave. by the Dutton Sports Complex. The street is being redone, along with the addition of a walkway.