City of Russell
Council Meeting
September 11, 2017, 7
p.m.
Present: Duane Bedford, Terry Newcomb, Chris Feehan, Casey
DeHoedt, Jim Larrington, and Mike Armstrong.
Jay Pierschbacher and Corey Paige came in later.
Duane Bedford called the meeting to order at 7 p.m.
Minutes were read and approved; Chris Feehan made the motion
to approve as read and Casey seconded the motion. Minutes were approved unanimously 5-0.
Casey motioned to approve the Income and Expense reports; Terry
seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously 5-0.
In Jeff Johnson’s absence, Duane stated that Jeff will be
sending more junk and debris letters out.
Chris stated that Jeff will be leading the parade on Saturday, Sept. 16
for fall festival. Jeff will talk with
residents who will be affected by street closures for parade.
Chris reported for the fire department. He asked if the fire department could move
boxes of new gear that was delivered be held in City Hall until after the fall
festival and the Council said that would be okay. Chris reported on the fire convention and
stated that Russell FD took third place in the competitions.
Mike Armstrong addressed the Council regarding the Chariton
Valley Regional Housing Trust Fund. Mike
asked the Council to make an annual donation.
The CVRHTF covers a four county region-Appanoose, Lucas, Monroe, and
Wayne counties and the fund is to assist low and moderate income homeowners to
repair and restore their homes. Casey
asked Mike if he would be willing to meet with people who have questions or
interested in getting these grants and he said that could be arranged. Mike stated that $7500 grants per project are
available and applications can be made at any time (there is no deadline). Chris made a motion to donate $1000 and Terry
seconded the motion.
Aye votes: Chris,
Terry, Casey
Jay and Corey not present at this time.
Corey came into the meeting at approximately 7:20 p.m.
The Council had a second reading of Ordinances 143 and 144
regarding charges for water and meter repair charges. There was no discussion. Chris made a motion to approve Ordinances 143
and 144 and waive the third reading of the ordinances; Terry seconded the
motion. The ordinances will go into
effect on the November 1 bill.
Aye votes: Chris,
Terry, Casey, Corey
Jay was not present at this time.
Duane discussed an ordinance for illegal dumping at the
brush dump and proposed a resolution instead of an ordinance. Duane stated that the city of Chariton has a
sign at their brush dump and the Council discussed having a sign put up like
the city of Chariton’s. Terry made
motion to approve the resolution on illegal dumping and Casey seconded the
motion.
Aye votes: Chris,
Terry, Casey, Corey
Jay was not present at this time.
The bids for shelter construction were opened. The Council discussed the cost of concrete
for the shelter. The Vredenburg
Foundation awarded the City of Russell a $10,000 grant to apply to the new
shelter. After discussion, Harry Reed was awarded the construction
bid for the new shelter. Terry motioned to
approve the bid for concrete to Scott McGee, and the electrical bid to Keith’s
Electric; Casey seconded the motion.
Aye votes: Chris,
Terry, Casey, Corey
Jay was not present at this time.
Jim reported on Water/Wastewater. Jim stated that he has 180 new meters coming
next week. Jim has replaced 4-5 curb
boxes in the last couple weeks. He also
stated that the seals for wastewater pump 2 needs replaced and he has ordered
them.
Jim talked with Bob Chipp about getting water at the old
school building and Jim is looking into the cost of a 1 ½ inch meter and will
do a pressure test. Jim attended a 2-day
water leak detection training in Ankeny and said that it was very informative. Jim reported to the Council that the lawn
mower broke down again and the clutch needed replaced. Jim stated that he and Lyle Dorsey put the
lattice on the bandstand and ran electricity to it, and thanked Casey Dehoedt
for her donation of paint and lattice for the bandstand.
The Council looked over the Street Financial Report and
Corey motioned to approve the report with Terry seconding the motion.
Aye votes: Chris,
Terry, Casey, Corey
Jay was not present at this time.
Chris made a motion to approve putting the Ford tractor up
for sealed bids with a deadline of October 31 and Terry seconded the motion.
Aye votes: Chris,
Terry, Casey, Corey
Jay was not present at this time.
Jay came into the meeting at 8:26 p.m.
The Council discussed needing a policy on culvert installation
requests by homeowners. It was decided
that if the culvert requested is for a new location, that an hourly charge plus
material will be charged. If the culvert
was already in place but needs replaced, there would be no charge to the homeowner. It was discussed that if a homeowner chooses
to put in their own culvert, it would have to be according to City specs. Jay stated that the Council should have an
ordinance or resolution regarding culvert installation. The Council will discuss at the October meeting.
Chris stated that he signed papers in Duane’s absence
regarding the bank building acquisition.
Chris also stated that he thought the Council members should do another
walk through. There was discussion
regarding a payment drop box for the bank building. Duane stated that a lease would still need to
be updated between the City of Russell and the U.S. Postal Service.
Jim Larrington’s health insurance plan will have an increase
of $60 per month. Corey motioned to
approve paying half of the increase for Jim’s health insurance; Chris seconded
the motion.
Aye votes: Chris,
Terry, Casey, Corey, Jay
Nay votes: None
Chris stated that the Council needs to discuss pay raises
for Jim Larrington and Kris Wilkins at the next meeting.
There was a homeowner request to remove sidewalk. The Council discussed this and decided to
table until the October meeting. Terry
stated that he had some complaints regarding horse manure on the streets. The Council will discuss at the October
meeting.
Chris motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Casey seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously 5-0.
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