December 2, 2014 Council Minutes
Tuesday, January 27th, 2015December 2, 2014
Those Present: Matt Argyle, Ada DeClark, Joe DeClark, Glenn Hunter, Clerk Lynette Smith, Doug Thompson, Mayor Bob Van Cleave, Mable Whitmore, Officer John Martinez, Sandra Donato
Meeting called to order: 7:10 pm Invocation: Councilmember Glenn Hunter
The chair entertained a motion from councilmember Joe DeClark that the council accepts the published agenda. Councilmember Glenn Hunter seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Minutes from the November 3, 2014, regular council meeting were read. The chair entertained a motion from councilmember Matt Argyle the council approve the minutes as read. Councilmember Ada DeClark seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council. Minutes from the November 6, 2014, special council meeting were read. The chair entertained a motion from councilmember Ada DeClark the council approve the minutes as read. Councilmember Glenn Hunter seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Sandra Donato came before the council to inform them that she is putting her home and property up for sale and part of her property lies within the City limits and the other parts are in the County. She plans to sell about 1.68 acres with the home and is keeping the other acreage and is hoping to begin planting Ginseng in the spring. She doesn’t need approval from the council for her lot split because she still has plenty of acreage to do what she is planning and is not rezoning the property.
Keller Associates sent a progress report for the month of November and sent a Certificate of Substantial Completion for the Mayor to sign. The wastewater project is finished for the winter and they will be back in the spring to complete the rest of the project.
Resolution #2014-001, a resolution authorizing the Mayor or Council President to sign all applications, grant agreements and other documents relating to drinking water planning grants, was read in its entirety by Clerk Smith. Councilmember Ada DeClark made the motion to approve the Resolution as it was read. Councilmember Matt Argyle seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken and is as follows: Ada – yes, Joe – yes, Matt – yes, Glenn – yes.
The council agreed to give employee’s a bonus for Christmas. The motion was made by councilmember Ada DeClark to give John Martinez, Lynette Smith and Doug Thompson a bonus of $200.00 each for Christmas. Councilmember Glenn Hunter seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The Mayor and Officer Martinez have been working with the ITD Office of Highway Safety to get grants for the police department. They want to perform an audit on our financials to see our history of grants received and say we need to add new ordinances for seat belts and traffic within our City. Lynette will continue looking into the program and get them the information that they need to see if it is all going to be worth it to pursue these grants or not.
Councilmember Joe DeClark informed the council that construction on the new city equipment shed is underway and they will continue to work on it as much as they can with weather permitting. He also asked Lynette to get Christmas cards for the councilmembers to sign and send to businesses that the City has been working with closely throughout this year with the wastewater project.
Councilmember Ada DeClark reported that the Christmas party went well again this year. We had just the right amount of food and everything that everyone who was there was able to eat and meet with Santa. She also made the motion to give Santa $100.00 for his time for coming to the City Christmas party. Councilmember Matt Argyle seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried.
Police Report: Officer John Martinez made 34 contacts for the month of November. He also had a camera installed in the police car this month that was donated by the City of Montpelier.
Maintenance Report: Doug Thompson gave his report for the month of November stating that he winterized the sprinkler lines at the sewer ponds and was able to get the generator hooked up so when the power goes out at the sewer ponds the generator will kick on. He attended the construction meeting with the engineers and Taylor Construction to finalize the project for the winter. He also winterized the chlorinator building for the water system and put up Christmas lights in the Park. He plowed the streets a couple of times and now has the sander on the service truck. He dug one grave at the cemetery and marked for a headstone.
Office Report: Clerk Smith reported that there are 27 delinquent water and sewer accounts for the month of November.
The chair entertained a motion from councilmember Ada DeClark the council approve checks and vouchers for the month of November 2014 in the amount of $15,195.15 in the general fund, $10,135.82 in the water fund, $244,677.88 in the sewer fund with all funds totaling $270,008.85. Councilmember Matt Argyle seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
The chair entertained a motion from councilmember Ada DeClark that the council adjourn from the December 2014 council meeting at 8:30 pm. Councilmember Joe DeClark seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried the council.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynette Smith, City Clerk