Monday, July 18, 2016

City Council Minutes



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.



_________________________________                                                  ________________________

Mayor, Duane Bedford                                                                                  Clerk, Mo White




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