The Board of Aldermen held a meeting on Tuesday night March 5, 2013 at 7:00 PM. Those present included Mayor Greg Richmond, Alderpersons Kristin Lett, Calvin Wilson, Keith Kohley and Bill Hess. Also present were City Supervisor Davie Brodie, Officer Curt Drake, Emergency Management Director Denis Kolb and City Clerk Paula Brodie. Guests included Alice (Wilson) Kezar, Lois Kolb and Joyce Haynes.
The Mayor called the regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen to order at 7:00PM
The Board of Aldermen discussed the minutes from the meeting on February 19, 2013. Ald. Wilson moved to approve the minutes from February 19, 2013. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Wilson, Kohley, Hess and Lett voted aye with 0 nays.
The Mayor stated that the next item on the agenda was to acknowledge Carroll Bailey regarding debris from his property blowing over onto other people’s property. The Clerk noted that Mr. Bailey had contacted the City Hall and asked that she tell the Board that he is in the process of cleaning it up. She noted that he had also cleaned up the debris from his neighbor’s property. He asked that she communicate to the Board that he wanted the chicken houses gone too and that as soon as the weather got better he was going to remove them.
The Board discussed the medical insurance quotes from Anthem and Coventry. The Clerk noted that the bid from Coventry came in $1200.00 higher than the renewal quote from Anthem, so she proposed that the Board stay with Anthem. She stated that there were three options from Anthem that the board could choose from. The first was to renew the existing policy as it was last year at an increased cost of $3,000.00 more than budgeted for the year with the employees having the same out of pocket expense. She remarked that the second option was $1,000.00 more than the Board had budgeted for the year, with the same deductible but the employee paying out of pocket 20% of the deductible instead of the 10% they paid last year and the third choice was $1,000.00 less than they had budgeted for the year, with the deductible being raised by $1,000.00 and the employee out of pocket 30%. Ald. Lett stated she would like to see the deductible stay the same as last year.
Ald. Wilson moved to approve the second choice from Anthem for Blue Preferred Plus Option 1 with RX Option AK. Ald. Lett seconded. Ald. Lett, Kohley, Hess and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
The Mayor read Bill# 2013-435 for Ordinance #2013-445 by title only for the second reading to adopt and enact the changes to the code book from 2012.
Ald. Wilson moved to approve the second reading of Bill # 2013-435 for Ordinance # 2013-445 adopting and enacting the Code book changes from 2012. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Hess, Kohley, Wilson, and Lett voted aye with 0 nays.
Department head reports:
Curt Drake- noted that the Reserve Officer helping cover the school when it lets out.
David Brodie- noted that he had talked with Ray Mayfield about the estimated costs of running the main line to his property. He said that Ray had decided to have a well drilled instead. He said that Ray said there was a lot of red tape with MoDOT, the City and dividing up his land.
– noted that the transmission went out on the white work truck. He said that the white truck was the one the Board had agreed to keep so the transmission had to be replaced. He said he had called Poore’s about the price of a used transmission but they didn’t have one. He called Freeman to see if they had one and they said they would be able to order one. The cost is $575.00 plus a core charge of $75.00. He said he talked with Kevin Burrowes from Goodman Gas and Service about when he could install it and what he would charge. He said Kevin thought he could install it on Thursday for around $200.00.
– noted that Goodman Gas and Service is getting the tires on the wheels for the sludge truck.
Ald. Lett moved to purchase the transmission from Greg Freeman, for $575.00, with a $75.00 core charge and have Kevin Burrowes install it for $200.00. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kohley, Hess, Lett, and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
Denis Kolb- recognized Keith Kohley, second in command of the Goodman Emergency Management Department to talk about his involvement with the Crowder College Emergency Management Team. Keith Kohley stated he is now on the Emergency Management Team for Crowder College. He said the team is very active, holding meetings and in the future table top exercises. He noted that the City like the School must maintain an updated Emergency Management Plan. He noted having procedures in place helps with managing emergencies.
Dawn Bunch –had nothing to report (note her report was in the Boards packets).
Paula Brodie –noted that the city radios run on Anderson Water Works frequency. She informed the Board that recently they were having trouble with the radios because of increased radio traffic and static noise on the Anderson Water Works frequency. She noted that Jim Morgan had suggested changing out to a new frequency that he had to remove the problem of the increased radio traffic and static noise. She noted that while he was at the City Hall working on the repeater for the Fire Department he went ahead and programmed the city radios and the truck radios to run on that new frequency. She said that the city hall had two radios, one of them lent to the City by Jim because the one radio was too old to program. She stated that Jim would like permission to purchase a new one to replace the outdated one. She informed the Board that Jim thought he could get the radio for $200.00 on EBay. He has purchased several radios through EBay for the Fire Department and suggested this would be a good way to replace the older model. The Board agreed to allow him to find and purchase one. It was agreed that the Mayor could verbally approve the purchase of it. Denis stated he might be able to get another of the programmed radios like he purchased for himself and the Emergency Management Department for $225.00. It was noted that Mr. Morgan programmed the other city radios for free since the narrow band was started.
The Board discussed the following old business:
Calvin Wilson stated that he would like to see the Board look into having an awning installed on the front of the City Hall. He noted when the weather was bad there was not protection for the City’s customers. The Clerk noted that the stone on the front of the city hall needed to be worked on as many of them are loose. The Board agreed to get estimates from local builders to see if it would be feasible to have the work done.
The Board discussed the following new business:
David stated that he had not been able to find replacement edges for the snow plow. He said he had contacted Bus Andrews where the snow plow was purchased and they had informed him that they couldn’t be ordered any more. He said he had contacted other places in Joplin and on the internet and no one carries them anymore. He said that he had found Turner Diesel who said they could have them made for $147.00 a piece, which is less than what he had paid in the past for the ones from Buss Andrews. He suggested purchasing three or four which would last them for a couple of years. He said the shipping cost is $100.00 for 1,000 pounds, so it would be better to buy more at one time for the one shipping cost.
Ald. Wilson moved to allow David to order 4 at $147.00 a piece plus $100.00 shipping. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kohley, Hess, Lett and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
The Board discussed the bills including transfers in the amount of $20,302.96. Ald. Lett moved to approve the bills including transfers in the amount of $20,302.96. Ald. Wilson seconded. Ald. Kohley, Hess, Lett and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.
Ald. Kohley moved to adjourn. Ald. Hess seconded. Ald. Kohley, Hess, Wilson and Lett voted aye with 0 nays.