City of Russell
Council Meeting
May 7, 2018, 7 p.m.
Present: Duane Bedford, Chris Feehan, Jay Pierschbacher, Casey
DeHoedt and Terry Newcomb. Jim
Larrington, Jeff Johnson, and Larry Templeton were in attendance. Corey Paige did not attend due.
Minutes taken by Kris Wilkins.
Duane Bedford called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Minutes of the April 2th meeting were read and approved; Chris
Feehan made the motion to approve as read and Casey seconded the motion. Minutes were approved unanimously 4-0.
The Income and Expense reports were read and approved. Chris made a motion to approve as read and Terry
seconded the motion. The income and
expense reports were approved unanimously 4-0.
Chris reported for the fire department for Brian and stated there
was nothing new to report. Kris will get
in touch with Brian regarding City’s fee for fire protection.
Jeff Johnson reported that the police vehicle needed rear
brakes. Chris stated that we may be able
to do that in house.
There was discussion about loud music after a certain hour of the
day. The Council also discussed
livestock, such as chickens and cows, not properly fenced in.
Larry Templeton spoke about his track being accident free for six
years. Larry wanted to propose to the
Council that he set up a track at the football field for events which would
make income for the City. The Mayor and
Council were concerned about liability insurance and Larry stated he would help
the City get the necessary waivers and documents that he uses. The Council was also concerned about the
added noise in the neighborhood. Also
the City may be selling the athletic field or may be developing it for
community recreation and/or exercise.
The Council looked over the ordinances for junk and debris that
Jim Mefferd prepared for the Council.
The Council will have a second reading of ordinances on May 30. The Council discussed abandoned trailer
houses which can be considered a junk vehicle.
Ordinance 148 on Junk and Abandoned vehicles was read and approved;
Terry made a motion to approve and Chris seconded the motion.
Aye votes: Terry,
Chris, Casey, Jay
Nay votes: None
Ordinance 149 on Miscellaneous Junk and Debris was read and Casey
made a motion to approve as read and Jay seconded the motion.
Aye votes: Terry,
Chris, Casey, Jay
Nay votes: None
The second reading of the ordinances will be at the May 30
Council meeting.
Jim reported on water. Training
on the radio read meters went well. Jim
has been flushing hydrants.
A contractor hasn’t responded to phone messages on doing road
work on Smith Street. The Council
discussed cisterns that have been found and need some fill.
Duane reported that the backhoe loan conditions are being
finalized with Midwest Heritage Bank and Ahlers & Cooney will be drawing up
the paperwork but it is becoming a very slow process. He also stated that Zeigler Caterpillar would
like the balance paid within two weeks. The
Council decided to pay off the backhoe invoice with general funds since it has
been months since having the equipment.
When the loan funds come in, the general fund will be reimbursed. Jay made the motion to pay the remaining
$65,000 owed to Ziegler Cat for the backhoe and Terry seconded the motion.
Aye votes: Terry,
Chris, Casey, Jay
Nay votes: None
The public hearing for a general obligation loan was cancelled
that was to be held at this May 7 meeting and will be rescheduled and published
in the newspaper.
Jim reported on the Streets.
Jim has been patching pot holes and has more cold patch ordered. Jim has cleaned up West Street ditch and
getting Stanton Street ready for sealcoat.
Prairie Street has been tilled and seeded again. There was discussion on replacing a storm
sewer culvert on Denny Shields property and it was decided to check with him
and discuss at next meeting.
Jim stated that he caught some kids throwing rocks on the tennis
court and suggested that the fence on the east side of the tennis court be
fixed or replaced. Discussion was held
about the fence and whether to try resetting the old fence or hire a firm to
replace it.
Jim stated that several lights are out in the Community Building
and suggested the Council replace them.
Chris suggested getting an energy audit on the Community Building. The Council also discussed again the
cancellation of the phone at the Community Building. Duane said that a phone was not included on
the emergency site agreement with the Red Cross. Chris made a motion to cancel the phone at
the Community Building and Terry seconded the motion.
Aye votes: Terry, Chris,
Casey, Jay
Nay votes: None
Chris stated that the AED pads are due to expire at the Community
Building and will need replaced.
When Keith Fenton worked on the HVAC systems for the City
building, he found that there are 4 meters on the building. Alliant Energy was called to evaluate this
and it was determined that we can take out two of the existing meters. Keith wanted the Council to okay him to
change out some of the electrical to get the air conditioning to work for City
Hall and the Post Office. Jay made a
motion to take out two meters and re-wire electrical for the HVAC system and
Chris seconded the motion.
Duane stated that the City of Russell received a grant of $2800 from
the Coons Foundation for the bandstand project.
Duane will be requesting a grant from the Vredenburg Foundation also. The Council discussed getting bids for the
roof and concrete. Jay stated that he
would like the Community Band to play in the bandstand when it is completed.
Jim brought up the possibility of obtaining grant money to
replace old street signs. Jim also
stated that he would like to purchase a cart for the sprayer. He didn’t want to attach to the new
mower. The Council agreed and Terry made
a motion to purchase the cart from Lockridge Lumber and Chris seconded the
motion.
The Council discussed a special meeting date for the 2017-18
Budget Amendment. The date will be May
30 at 6 p.m.
Chris motioned to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 p.m. and Casey
seconded the motion. Motion carried
unanimously 4-0.
No comments:
Post a Comment