The Fort Madison City Council met Tuesday night for their regular meeting and worked on plans for city projects and on rates for services at the cities cemeteries.
Public Works Director Larry Driscoll walked the Council through a grant application that would allow the city to save money on traffic flow at intersections, specifically Business 61 and 53rd street. Driscoll is applying for a grant that would replace stop signs currently in use with a round-about. According to Driscoll he has applied for grants for traffic lights in the past and has never had a request approved. He believes the round-about will make the intersection safer as well as help the city pay for some of the costs with a state grant. The council approved the resolution on a unanimous vote.
The Council also discussed and considered new rates for opening and closing graves at the cities cemeteries. The city in an effort to discourage burials on Saturdays was considering raising the fee to $1500, which was three times the weekday rate. Larry Driscoll says that the move was based on a few factors, the first being able to give his staff weekend off and the second was budgetary. Driscoll says by eliminating overtime, it allows the city to buy more equipment. The hours for the job have gone from five hours to just two hours since Driscoll took over for the city.
Councilman Matt Mohrfeld objected the higher Saturday rate and suggested that the city raise all rates slightly and then keep the Saturday rate at around $750 to open or close a grave. The council agreed that the rate structure needed more work and voted down the proposed rate schedule. City Staff will rework the plan according to the input from the meeting and present it at the next city council meeting.
