~~January 7, 2014 7:00PM.
Regular Board Meeting.
The Board of Aldermen held a regular meeting on Tuesday night January 7, 2014 at 7:00 PM. Those present included Mayor Greg Richmond, Alderpersons Calvin Wilson, Alice Kezar, Keith Kohley and Bill Hess. Also present were City Supervisor David Brodie, Chief Curt Drake and City Clerk Paula Brodie. Guests included Lois Kolb, Vicky Fields, Brian Mitchell, Timberly Condrey, Cory Knight, Jimmie Gideon and Katrina Hine from the McDonald County Press.
The Mayor called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.
The Board of Aldermen discussed the minutes from the regular meeting on Tuesday December 17, 2013. Ald. Wilson moved to approve the minutes from the regular meeting on December 17, 2013. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kezar, Hess, Kohley and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
The Board of Aldermen discussed the minutes from the Budget meeting on Monday December 16, 2013. Ald. Kohley moved to approve the minutes from the Budget meeting on December 16, 2013. Ald. Wilson seconded. Ald. Kohley, Hess, Kezar and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
The Board of Aldermen discussed the minutes from the Budget meeting on Tuesday December 30, 2013. Ald. Wilson moved to approve the minutes from the Budget meeting on December 30, 2013. Ald. Hess seconded. Ald. Hess, Kohley, Kezar and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
The Mayor acknowledged Cory Knight from the Goodman Locker Plant. Mr. Knight told the Board that to process the meat they have to send someone out to an individual’s property, kill the animal and bring it to the plant. He said that surrounding states had changed their laws making food processors not be allowed to kill animals on the owner’s property. He explained that those processing plants now completed the whole procedure at the processing plant, from killing to packaging the meat. He said that he was afraid Missouri would follow suite and that he would not be able to process animals anymore. He asked the Board to give him permission to do the complete process at his place of business in Goodman. He said that he would design a chute that the animal would be loaded in; he would then kill them, process the meat and the waste products would be picked up by a waste service. David stated he was concerned about the blood being put into the sewer system. He said that blood is one of the hardest things on the BOD of a treatment plant. He explained that Goodman’s treatment plant’s water went into what is called a losing stream, causing the Department of Natural Resources operating permit to be more stringent than in other Cities.
The Mayor stated that he was willing to have the complete processing done at the Locker Plant; however the city would need to look into what would be needed to keep the treatment plant in compliance. He asked if Mr. Knight could get a copy of the regulations needed for the Locker Plant itself.
The Board agreed to have David and Mr. Knight check into the regulations on the processing end and the treatment plant before making any final decisions.
Mr. Knight stated he hoped they could get it figured out before Missouri changes their restrictions. He stated that he might have to move his business to be able to complete the whole process at one place.
Citizens business:
The Mayor acknowledged Vicky Fields, who stated that during the water project, the contractors had moved one of her survey pegs. She stated that she had asked the past Mayor and Mayor Richmond to have the peg replaced. The Mayor stated that he thought that if she knew where her south survey peg was and the neighbor north of her knew where her south survey pin was, they should be able to run a string line allowing them to draw a straight line to calculate where her peg should be. She stated she would like to put up a fence between her and her neighbors. The Mayor stated if there were two known pins, they could find where her pins should be. Mrs. Fields said that if they thought it would work she would agree to let them try. David agreed that when the weather was better they would try to help her.
Mrs. Fields asked how many calls the police department answered. The Mayor stated that Curt could answer that question. She said that she listened to the radio and it seemed that the county had to respond to a lot of Goodman’s calls. Curt stated that the department had responded to over 900 calls last year and that when he was on duty they called him. He noted that when he was not on duty and neither was the other Goodman Officer, the county responded to calls for the city. She asked would it be more cost feasible to contract with the County for police protection. Curt said that the County is stretched too in the amount of calls they cover, so he didn’t think contracting with the County would get much more coverage for the Citizens of Goodman.
The Board began the business section of the meeting starting with the following unfinished business:
1. The Mayor noted that the Board was to open bids to clean up the property at 119 South First Street, owned by Jesse Brewington. Timberly Condreay stated that she did not know why they were putting the clean-up out for bid. She said that she and Brian Mitchel had been working on cleaning up the property. She said that she has been renting the property and they have been working on it. Greg stated that since he had been Mayor the property had been a problem. She informed the Mayor that they had been working on the property. The Mayor reported that he had talked with Mr. Brewington about the need to get the property cleaned up. He said that he had told him that the Board had placed an ad in the paper to have it cleaned up and that the cost would be added to the City taxes. He said Mr. Brewington was concerned about the cost. Ms. Condreay stated that there were several places around town that needed cleaned up. The Mayor agreed that there were other places around town that needed cleaned up. He noted that the City had mowed other properties during the summer, adding the charges to the property taxes. He noted that the Brewington Property had been talked about at various Board meetings over several years and that complaints had been voiced by other citizens about the looks of the property. He said the City was not in the business of cleaning up properties, but that when complaints are received the Board has to respond. He said that if the City does have to clean up a property, it does not make the city any money.
The Mayor opened the one bid that they had received to clean up the property. He stated that the bid was from Jimmie Gideon in the amount of $5,425.00 noted that the bid was not an itemized bid.
Ald. Wilson stated that when he was Mayor he had been told that the property was going to be cleaned up. He said it doesn’t seem to him that it was ever completely cleaned up during the last three years. He said he would like to see it finally cleaned up but that the bid was too high for what the Board wanted down.
Ald. Hess moved to reject the bid in the amount of $5,425.00. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kohley, Kezar, Wilson and Hess voted aye with 0 nays.
The Mayor stated that Mr. Brewington said he would see that the property got cleaned up. He said that he assumed that Timberly and Brian were the ones Mr. Brewington was talking about that would be cleaning up the property for him. The Mayor suggested the Board set a time frame for the work to be completed. Ald. Hess suggested giving them until the Board meeting on May 20th and then the Board could review it to make sure the property has come into compliance. The Board agreed to give them until the 20th of May to have the property cleaned up. The Clerk asked the Board if they wanted her to write a letter to Mr. Brewington, informing him of what they had discussed and what they had decided. The Board agreed that it would be good to have a written correspondence sent to Mr. Brewington.
The Board discussed the following new Business:
1. The board discussed Bill # 2014-441 for Ordinance #2014-451 increasing the minimum water rate from $13.50 to $14.00.
The Mayor read Bill # 2014-441 for Ordinance # 2014-451 by title only.
Ald. Kohley moved to approve the first reading of Bill # 2014-441 for Ordinance #2014-451 approving an increase on the minimum water rate from $13.50 to $14.00. Ald. Wilson seconded. Ald. Wilson, Kohley, Kezar and Hess voted aye with 0 nays.
2. The board discussed Bill # 2014-442 for Ordinance #2014-452 increasing the minimum sewer rate from $12.28 to $12.78.
The Mayor read Bill # 2014-442 for Ordinance #2014-452 by title only.
Ald. Wilson moved to approve the first reading of Bill # 2014-442 for Ordinance #2014-452 approving an increase on the minimum sewer rate from $12.28 to $12.78. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Hess, Kohley, Kezar and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
3. The board discussed Bill # 2014-443 for Ordinance #2014-453 increasing the minimum commercial water rate from $13.50 to $14.00. It was noted that the amounts were the same as Bill# 2014-441 for Ordinance #2014-452. The clerk stated that the amounts were the same but the Commercial rates were set up in a different code from the residential rates, so a change needed to be made to both codes.
Ald. Hess moved to approve the first reading of Bill # 2014-443 for Ordinance #2014-453 approving an increase on the minimum commercial water rate from $13.50 to $14.00. Ald. Kezar seconded. Ald. Hess, Kohley, Kezar and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
The Department heads gave the following reports:
a. Chief Drake -reported that he had been working on year end reports.
– asked to be able to hire a couple of reserves. He stated that one of the candidates was Thomas Bentz. He said that Mr. Bentz had completed the Police Academy in May, was certified and continuing his education to receive a Criminal Justice Degree. He said Mr. Bentz would like to work for the department as a reserve to get some experience. Curt stated that Mr. Bentz would be willing to work a whole shift at one time, which would be very helpful. The Board discussed the need for reserves, how many hours they are asked to work in a month, per Police Department Policy and how many reserves they should hire. Ald. Kezar stated she thought it was good to hire new officers, to give them training and experience. Ald. Wilson moved to allow Thomas Bentz to come to work for Goodman as a Reserve Officer. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Hess, Kohley, Kezar and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
– informed the Board that John Epperson had asked to be put on as a reserve. He noted that Mr. Epperson had applied for the job that was given to Officer Cagle and that he worked for Southwest City and Lanagan. He stated that in the past Mr. Epperson had been employed by the City of Goodman, but left the City’s employment after a very short amount of time and that was a concern to him. Ald. Wilson was concerned because he already worked part time at South West City and is acting Chief of Police of the City of Lanagan.
Ald. Kezar stated that it might be better to see how the first reserve worked out before hiring any others. Ald. Hess said if he is already an officer, he didn’t see any problem with putting him on as a reserve.
Ald. Kohley stated that he had talked to Mr. Epperson during the week and that he was very interested in being hired as a reserve officer for Goodman.
The Mayor asked for a motion to put John Epperson on as a reserve officer. Ald. Kohley moved to hire him as a reserve officer. Ald. Wilson seconded. Ald. Hess, Wilson, Kezar and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.
-informed the Board that he had not had any contact with Officer Cagle since he left to have shoulder surgery. He noted that Bill had not returned his FMLA paper work to the City yet. Chief Drake noted that the personnel policy requires a note from the Doctor stating why the need for the surgery, what it would entail and the length of time he would have to be off of work. It was noted that the Doctor would also have to give him a release back to work letter and it should include a statement saying he was able to perform all of his duties. Chief Drake told the Board he would keep them informed about the situation.
The Board discussed getting the Expedition fixed. They agreed to have Curt take it to a mechanic. It was noted that the mechanic needs to drive it to see how it is working. Ald. Wilson asked if the City’s insurance would cover a person driving it that was not an employee. It was noted that since he was a mechanic he would have his own insurance that should cover him driving others vehicles.
b. David Brodie-informed the Board that the new pump and motor has been installed at the well on School Street. He noted that the cost was $25,700.00. He also stated because the pump had quit, the chlorinator pump had kept running and now was making noises like it was going to quit.. He said he had went ahead and purchased a replacement pump. He noted that DNR requires the City to chlorinate so they had to have a new pump ready to drop in when the other quits.
-informed the Board that he was going to be hauling sludge.
c. Denis Kolb – had nothing to report
d. Dawn Bunch – Monthly report in packets.
e. Paula Brodie – noted that the signups for open Board positions will be from December 17, 2013 until January 21, 2014. Positions open will be Northward Alderperson (Calvin Wilson), Southward Alderperson (Keith Kohley) and Municipal Judge (Clyde Davidson).
-noted that she had gotten the quote back from Coventry on the medical health insurance. She stated that it was a higher deductible, higher coinsurance for $1,000.00 more a month. She said that Tim Roark had suggested waiting to see how the renewal comes in from Anthem in February.
– reported that Clyde Davidson had talked with Michael Wasson about getting someone to be the Recreation Director. She stated that Michael said he would be doing the intermural basketball this spring and would talk to the Recreation Board about encouraging someone signing up for the Director’s position.
The Board discussed the bills including transfers in the amount of $47,518.27. Ald. Wilson moved to approve the bills including transfers in the amount of $47,518.27. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kohley, Kezar, Hess and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
Ald. Kohley moved to adjourn. Ald. Hess seconded. . Ald. Kohley, Kezar, Hess and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
_________________________
Greg Richmond, Mayor
Attest: _____________________________
Paula W Brodie, MRCC, City Clerk Approved: ____________________
Date: ________________