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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-25-1992 Mechanical Mechanical Committee City Council Chambers August 25, 1992 6:30 P.M. Members Present: Harry Steck, Dick Coay, Jim May, Chuck Chapman Others Present: Don Edwards, Jim Elson, Clif O'Brien, Ray McKinney, Gary Orwig, George Spahn, Bob DeRenzy, Mike Elam Ed Reed, James Elson, Will Taggart, Ross Gardiner, Don Hopper Public Safety & Traffic Committee Chuck Chapman, Chairman The first item on the agenda was the fire report. Bob DeRenzy stated that the monthly report was self-explanatory. No action was necessary by the Com-ni ttee. He stated that he has a problem with the fire hydrants at the K-Mart store. He stated they are too low and have weeds growing around them. Clif O'Brien stated that he had talked with the contractor at the time of the job and he is sure that the extensions were paid for to bring the hydrants up. Discussion followed. It was decided that Chief DeRenzy, who has the appropriate authority, will talk with K-Mart concerning this problem. The police report was next. Mike Elam stated that the monthly report was self-explanatory. No action was necessary at this time on the report by the Com~ni ttee. An aldermen asked what happens to cats that are picked up by the animal control officer. Mike stated they are held for seven days for claiming by the owner. The ESMA report was next. Howard Williams' was not available. Ed Reed stated there was no written report since there had been no activity by the agency. No action was necessary by the Committee at this time. At this time Tom Homer addressed the Committee concerning the property at 826 South 2nd Avenue. He stated that Emma Lou Harney had lived in the property, had died November 1989, the city had filed for demolition in the fall of 1991 and on June 15, 1992 a fire destroyed the house. This left a nuisance in the area. Dwayne Bishop, Tom t-iomer's client, had offered to dernolish the house for the lot. He believed he could acquire the property for the cost of the clean up of the debris. Mr. Bishop was under the impression he would have a clear title. On July 8th, Mr. Bishop signed an agreement which was approved by the City Council to clean up the property. The agreement provided that Mr. Bishop would receive a quit-claim deed from Ms. Visser, sister to Emma Lou Harney, and from Joel Picton, heir through the will. Mr. Homer stated that Mr. Bishop should have gone to an attorney but did not. On July 27th a letter was sent from the Mayor stating that Mr. Bishop had lived up to his agreement and had done a good job. Mr. Homer stated that the value of the clean up was approximately $4,000-5,000. Once Mr. Bishop received the deeds, he asked Mr. Homer to file them. Upon checking the land records it was discovered that the 1989 and 1990 taxes had been sold to Charles Bellemy, the 1991 taxes have not been paid and Mr. Bishop is responsible for the 1992 taxes. In addition, there vas a lien on the property for approximately $5,000 which has since been released. Mr. Homer stated that Mr. Bishop did not receive the property from the estate. The estate was never opened that the attorney has been providing the services pro bono, which means for no pay. Mr. Bishop was lead to believe that he would have clear title to the property. The city attorney had knowledge of the liens in the fall of 1991 vrhen the petition was filed. Mr. Homer stated that they are not threatening a lawsuit but feels the city should consider their obligations. The city impuded to know about the liens. They feel it was not intentional on the city's part but are requesting the city set the matter right with Mr. Bishop. He requested compensation in the form of the city paying the taxes and in the future provide a disclaimer in the agreement and provide more time for research. The Committee discussed placement of the city lien and Mr. Bishop's lien in hopes that Mr. Bellemy would forgive his lien. Jim Elson stated that the city did have knowledge of the taxes and Mr. Bishop assumed some things. He was free to check the status of the property. Mr. Bishop did have ten days to clean up the property, after signing the agreement, not ten days from the date the City Council approved the agreement. In fact, Mr. Bishop had the agreement four to five days prior to his signing it. Jim stated that it was common knowledge that Ms. Harney had died in 1989. An obvious questions should have been, who is paying the taxes on this property. He stated that it was an unfortunate incident but Mr. Bishop did the work under false assumptions. Mayor Edwards stated that he can see middle ground here. Dwayne Bishop was caught in an unfortunate situation but he did relieve the area of a nuisance. Mr. Homer stated that Ivlr. Bishop is requesting compensation in the amount of $1654.12 to clear up the back taxes. Bob DeRenzy stated he feels somewhat responsible in that he had talked with Mr. Bishop about cleaning up the lot. There was a lot of pressure put on the city to clean up the lot. His discussion with Mr. Bishop may have prompted him to talk with the Mayor concerning the possibility. A motion was made by Chuck Chapman to recommend to the city Council to check into the availability of funds and to pay $1654.12 to P~7r. Bishop. Seconded by Jim May. Voice vote. Motion carried. No further action was taken by the Committee and the Public Safety and Traffic Committee was adjourned. 2 Streets and Garbage Committee Richard Coay, Chairman The first item was addressed by Clif O'Brien. He stated that if the city is looking at a future purchase of a new loader, he would like to start looking at loaders and get the specifications together. He stated that if the present loader is running, the city may get $10,000 in trade in. Discussion followed concerning the fact that the loader will not make it through the winter and financing the purchase. A motion was made by Dick Coay to have Clif O'Brien check into loaders, get the specifications together, check prices and financing for a new loader. Seconded by Jim P~1ay. Chris Spears stated that surcharge funds will not be available until February or March next year but the city should be receiving $200,000 from the EPA. Part of this could be used for the loader. Voice vote. Motion carried. Dick Coay stated he would like the Committee to review the landfill fees again. He stated that Peoria County charges $14.00 per ton compared to $20.00 per ton for Cuba. Chris stated that other facilities had contacted the City as well and feels the city should go out for bids. Clif O'Brien stated that Canton may also become a transfer station for some companies. This would keep our trucks at home and possibly be cheaper for the city. No action was taken on the matter at this time. No further business was discussed and the Streets and Garbage Committee was adjourned. Lake, Buildings & Grounds Committee Harry Steck, Chairman Bids were opened for the sale of the house at 504 South 5th Avenue. Three bids were received and were as follows: Lyle Staley - $6,500; Danny Swise - $6,000; and Gerald Levasseur Jr. - $8,200. The bids were referred to the Legal and Ordinance Committee for review by Chuck Chapman and seconded by Dick Coay. Voice vote. Motion carried. The possibility of extending the lease of the lake lots was next on the agenda. Harry asked the city attorney for a breakdown of the number of leased lots and the amounts of the leases. This matter was tabled until the next meeting. The clean lakes resolution was next. This was a referral from the City Council. The resolution provided approval for an agreement between the City and Crawford, Murphy & Tilly to conduct the study for the clean lakes program in an amount not to exceed $37,000. A motion was made by Chuck Chapman and seconded by Dick Coay to refer the resolution to the Council for approval. Voice vote. Motion carried. No business was discussed and the Lake, Buildings and Grounds Committee was adjourned. 3 Public Works - Water and Sewer Committee Jim May, Chairman The first item was an easement on Myrtle Street. The owners of the housing on East Myrtle have extended the sewer line to service the facility and are now wanting to provide an easement for the city and turn the sewer line over to the city. A motion was made by Dick Coay and seconded by Chuck Chapman recommending acceptance of the easement. Voice vote. Motion carried. The installation of a water line on East Myrtle was discussed next. Mayor Edwards stated that this is east of Eastview School and would service four lots. Mr. Giebelhausen owns one of the lots and is wanting to have water available. Mr. Giebelhausen has tried to contact the other lot owners but have been unsuccessful. Committee discussed the matter in that the majority of those present felt that this had been resolved previously in that the city had decided to put the water line in place and assess additional tappage fees for the cost. Clif O'Brien stated he could put the line in prior to winter. No further action was taken on this matter. At this time the Committee heard a request from Don Kingsley to install individual water meters in his trailer court. He stated he would need 16 meters with the city reading the meters and billing the individuals. Ray McKinney stated that Sherwood Forrest installed individual meters but they read them and bill the individuals themselves. Sherwood Forrest pays one water bill, which is for the main meter only. Five Sisters has individual meters with no main meter. There have been numerous problems with deposits, shut-offs etc. Ray stated that the ideal situation is like Sherwood Forrest. This provides that if there is a water leak, the owner is responsible, not the city. Mr. Kingsley stated he is willing to install the meters and will maintain the lines inside the court. He wants the individuals billed separately with the difference between those meters and the main meter would be paid by him. He also requested that he be allowed to pay for the meters over a six month time period. Discussion followed concerning the fact of charging a deposit for the eleven rented trailers. Harry Steck stated he felt these were no different from house tenants who have to pay deposits. A motion was made by Chuck Chapman and seconded by Dick Coay to have staff work up a cost estimate on the proposal and bring the information to the City Council for review. Voice vote. (1 nay) Motion carried. Clif O'Brien requested permission to purchase a power washer. He stated that prior approval was given by the Committee but the funds were not available. He stated he would like to purchase the washer from the water and sewer account. He anticipated the cost to be $4,000. A motion was made by Dick Coay and seconded by Chuck Chapman to approve the expenditure through sealed bids. Voice vote. Motion carried. 4 Gary Orwig addressed the Committee with a request for approval for the repair of the digester motor. The work was done by Advanced Electric in the amount of $751.22. A motion was made by Dick Coay and seconded by Chuck Chapman recommending approval of the expenditure. Voice vote. Motion carried. Gary Orwig requested permission to purchase a radio for the new truck_ He stated the two quotes were: Colson - $573,50; and Motorola $699.00. Gary stated that the present radio would be used at the plant as a base unit. A motion was made by Harry Steck and seconded by Chuck Chapman to approve the purchase. Voice vote. Motion carried. Gary Orwig requested permission to have the old backhoe overhauled. He stated he had obtained two price quotes for the repairs. The quotes were: Wheelers Truck Garage - $2658 to $3500; and, Phil PChbck - $1675. A motion was made by Harry Steck and seconded by Chapman to approve the repairs in the amount of $1675 by Phil Pemble. Voice vote. Motion carried. Gary Orwig requested permission to have a motor from the Industrial Park lift station repaired by Kewanee Electric in the amount of $500.00. A motion was made by Harry Steck and seconded by Dick Coay recommending approval of the expenditure. Voice vote. Motion carried. The next item on the agenda was the discussion of the 13ob Wheeler water bill. Mayor Edwards stated that 1~1r. Wheeler had requested this to be put on the agenda. Since Mr. Wheeler is not in attendance, Mayor Edwards suggested that this item not be discussed. Committee agreed. Jim PJlay asked about the status of the street light request for West Walnut Street. Dick Coay stated he had looked at the area and found that two street lights should be installed. A motion was made by Harry Steck and seconded by Chuck Chapman to have the resolution placed on the next City Council agenda. Voice vote. Motion carried. No further business was discussed and the Public Works - Water and Sewer Committee was adjourned. Kayma Duncan - Committee Secretary 5