Waterloo council revises committee structure, adds property committee and directs drainage review after resident complaint

The Waterloo City Council approved revisions to ordinance language governing council committees and added a new property committee to oversee city-owned properties, the council said during the meeting. Council members said the ordinance committee met recently to update language that no longer matched current practice.

“The city of Waterloo owns a number of properties, and I think it's time and we've all agreed that it was time to have a property committee,” a council member said while describing the committee change.

Separately in public comment, a resident showed photographs and urged the council to address drainage problems on 3rd Street before winter, saying, “All the downspots from all my houses, they've raised the street up ... And this winter, it's gonna freeze, and nothing's gonna drain.” The council directed staff to schedule a drainage-committee meeting so the resident could present the photos and the committee could examine the issue rather than placing it on a longer utility meeting agenda.

Council members approved the ordinance updates and the committee addition on a motion and roll call. The council also agreed to set a committee meeting and for staff to assist the resident in compiling materials for review.

No formal remedy or funding was adopted at the meeting; the direction was to review and prioritize the drainage problem at the committee level.