City of Russell
Council Meeting
July 11, 2016 7pm
Mayor, Duane Bedford called the meeting to order at 7pm. Council
members present were Chris Feehan, Casey DeHoedt and Terry Newcomb. Absent were
Corey Paige and Jay Pierschbacher. Others present were Craig Alexander, Vickie
Jordan and Deb Mason.
The minutes from the two council meetings in June were
reviewed. Casey approved the minutes and Chris seconded them. Motion carried
3-0.
Income and expense reports were reviewed. It was bought up
that it was important to get estimates in the future for larger projects such
as major street or sewer repairs. After a brief discussion, the income and
expense reports were approved by Terry and seconded by Casey. Motion carried 3-0.
Deb Mason wanted to know if the city was interested in
taking ownership back of the campground that was currently in the custody of
the Russell Community Club. The club has all but disbanded and there is a need
for someone to be responsible for the land. The club would like to donate the
land back to the city at no cost to the city. After discussion of the mowing and possible
ideas of what to do with the land it was agreed that the city should accept the
land back and work on ideas for future use of that property. A motion was made to accept the land and take
control of it from the community club. Chris approved the motion and it was
seconded by Casey. Motion passed 3-0. Deb will let the council know what needs
done to transfer the ownership of the land.
Vickie Jordan was present to let the council know that they
would have the trailer on their property torn down and removed by September 1st.
Her second item of business was to get
approval to have the streets closed off for the Wounded Veterans Rally this
coming weekend. She would like to close off the 200 block of Short Street
Friday evening 7/15 through Sunday noon 7/17 for this event. She has security
lined up for this event. There will be a band and poker run as part of the
event. There will tents set up, barricades, extra garbage cans and portable
toilets. Chris made a motion to approve the street closing on Friday July 15th
at 6pm through Sunday noon on July 17th. Terry seconded the motion.
Motion passed 3-0. Vickie also mentioned upcoming events in August and
September.
Per an email from the police, one business in town has been
cited for junk and debris. There was discussion on the properties in town that
haven’t been mowed. There was also discussion on a property on West Ames that
has junk and debris and hasn’t been mowed. The council will gather a list of
properties that need mowed or cleaned up and discuss these with Jeff.
Craig mentioned that the fire department was in process of
getting a repeater on the water tower. There will be a new antenna and new cable
installed. This project has funding from Lucas County E911 funds. He asked permission to install the equipment
and run new cable. Chris made a motion to approve this equipment and Casey
seconded it. The motion passed 3-0. He also bought up that the siren wasn’t
currently operating. The batteries need replaced and he was going to check into
the cost of batteries and how many were needed but gave the council a general
idea of the cost. Terry made a motion to approve replacing the batteries and
Casey seconded it. Motion passed 3-0.
Craig also bought up the possibility of making the
intersection at Prairie and Shaw into a 4-way stop. This has been discussed
several times in the past and will be tabled until more information is
gathered.
Duane discussed the LP contract. There were four bids
gathered and Agriland had the lowest bid. They are the same company that is
currently being used. Chris made a motion to renew the Agriland contract and it
was seconded by Terry. Motion passed 3-0.
There was discussion on purchasing flow meters for hydrants.
There was also discussion regarding the several hydrants in town that are
operating correcting and how to check to see which ones are and which ones
aren’t. It was suggested to include money in the next budget for hydrant
repair. Duane mentioned that Russell received another load of cold patch for
street repairs and there was discussion on potholes that needed repaired and
ones that had been repaired. There was discussion about the large hole outside
city hall at the corner of Ames and Maple. Craig thought he would have the
needed materials for the repair of the culverts in that hole. Chris made a
motion to have Craig get the materials for the repair and Casey seconded it.
Motion passed 3-0.
There was a brief discussion about a manhole cover on Main
Street that needs to be addressed. There was discussion about the possibility
of purchasing a blade for the city truck to use this winter to plow snow
instead of using the dump truck. Chris will look into the cost of a blade. It
was also noted that the passenger door of the city truck won’t open due to
previous damage. Chris will check about the cost of repair or replacing that
door. There was discussion regarding the culvert on Prairie St and Summerfield.
Duane was going to check to see if the county might be partially responsible
for repairs due to it being a main county road.
There was discussion on the repairs that need done as soon
as possible on the sewer pipes on the east edge of town. Chris and Duane have
asked for bids from a few contractors but haven’t received anything back. Duane
will check on getting those estimates. Duane will talk to Larry about ordering
the supplies for that project. Craig mentioned that he might have some supplies
available.
Duane let the council know that there are copies of the
preliminary reports regarding the city’s overall sewer repairs available at
city hall to review.
Old business was discussion of the Vredenburg grant. The
sorority was trying to get a grant for the repairs to the band stand. They have
estimates to repair the roof and paint the band stand. The city has grant money
for materials to replace the community building roof and that needs to be
addressed in the near future. The city is also waiting for the company to set
up a date to come and paint the tennis courts.
At 9:00 pm, Terry made a motion to extend the meeting until
the rest of the agenda was discussed. Casey seconded it. Motion passed 3-0.
There was a brief discussion about having the fire
department filling pools. Chris mentioned that is was fairly easy to keep track
of the usage due to the tanker truck that was used holds 3000 gallons.
Discussion went back to the Vredenburg grant and the
possible usage of Trojan field being turned into a recreation area. Casey has
done research on options and the cost of varied equipment. There were numerous ideas discussed including
a walking track, playground equipment, outdoor exercise equipment, Frisbee golf
and a community garden. It was discussed
that more lighting would be needed as well as security cameras and a way to
secure the property to keep vehicles out to prevent damage. Casey will work on
the details and writing a grant by July 22nd.
New business included a wage increase for the city clerk. A
$1 hourly wage increase after a ninety day probationary period was approved at
the time of hire. Her salary will go from $13 to $14 starting in August. The
increase was approved by Terry and seconded by Chris. Motion passed 3-0. There
was discussion on getting bids to remove a tree on city property behind city
hall. It was noted that Mo will be gone the last week of July. Wendy will cover
for water bills only but a sign will be posted that city hall will be closed
that week.
Chris made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:44 pm. Terry
seconded the motion. Motion passed 3-0.
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Mayor, Duane Bedford
Clerk, Mo White
