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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-08-1992 Clerical Clerical Committee City Council Chambers C~~- , ~ Awls-t-a-~ , 19 92 ' 6:30 P.M. Members Present: Larry Sarff, Jerry Bohler, Bob Molleck, Kevin Meade Others Present: Don Edwards, Jim Elson, Clif O'Brien, Gary Orwig, Ray McKinney, Mike Elam, George Spahn, Jim May, Chris Spears, Harry Steck, Bob DeRenzy, Will Taggart, Ross Gardiner, Gladys Young, Don Hopper Finance Committee Larry Sarff, Chairman Pat Wright, city treasurer, addressed the Committee first. She stated she wanted to explain the city's financial status at this point so that the aldermen would be aware of the city's standing. She stated that the budget less capital expenditures amounts to $3,227,073. Of this amount, 80p/o or $2,218,511 is budgeted for salaries. The anticipated revenues after the adjustments and without the surcharge funds amounts to $2,777,553. The amount of tax levy money is $1,139,076.76 with the actual amount available for the general fund is $148,970.58. The balance is levied for restricted funds. Pat stated that the council needs to watch their spending. She stated that she was surprised that the city's finances were in this shape so soon in the fiscal year. She informed them that if the state money did not arrive this week, she will have to use tax anticipation warrants for the bills and payroll. On the health care, Pat state that since the city changed to self-funding, it has been good. Last year the amount of claims was $354,000, with the claims so far this year being $302,514. She stated that she may be coming back to the council later in the year for a one time assessment for the health care contributions. On the water and sewer funds, Pat stated that they are now leveling off. She stated she felt it was her duty to inform the council of these things. The first item on the agenda was an insurance claim problem. Gordon Weaver addressed the Committee concerning a doctor bill resulting from surgery his wife had. The doctor bill was $1520. Mutual Medical has indicated they feel that $1120 is reasonable and customary. Mr. Weaver stated that with the 80% payment of the insurance company and the additional cost above the insurance company, he will have an out of pocket expense of $624.00. Discussion followed on whether anyone from the city had contacted Mutual Medical concerning this problem. Several aldermen stated they would like to see a list of the charges from the insurance company as to what they consider to be reasonable and customary charges. The Committee informed Mr. Gordon that someone from the city will check into the matter and this will be discussed further at the next city council meeting. The next item was a request from Gary Orwig to purchase a radio for the new sewer plant truck. The cost is $573.00 from Colson Radio. Bob Molleck made a motion to allow the expenditure. Seconded by Kevin Meade. Bob DeRenzy stated that he feels the ability to communicate with other departments is very important. Larry Sarff stated he witnessed, first hand, the inability to communicate in an emergency situation with Chief DeRenzy during the drowning incident at Lakeland Park. Mike Elam stated that some of the police radios are newer than the one Gary is wanting to replace, and they have found that some of the parts are obsolete. Voice vote. Motion carried. Demolition bids for the house at 68 North 5th Avenue were next on the agenda and opened by the secretary. One bid was received in the amount of $5,150.00 from Chuck Kinsel Trucking and Excavating. A bid bond in the amount of $777 accompanied the bid. The committee discussed the time frame involved in getting the tenant to vacate the property. A motion was made by Kevin Meade to accept the bid with the "Notice to Proceed" to be after November 1st. Seconded by Bob Molleck. Voice vote. Motion carried. The steel main was next on the agenda. Ray McKinney asked that this be tabled to the next meeting. Committee agreed. Chris Spears addressed the Committee concerning the proposal from Energy Services. I-ie stated he had checked references and provided an overview of that information. The members had several questions concerning how the review is performed on the utility bills. Chris was unclear as how the review is conducted but suggested a representative of the company come to the next committee meeting to explain the plan and answer questions. Committee agreed. The east plant was on the agenda next. This item was withdrawn. Clif O'Brien addressed the Committee with loader information. He stated that he had toured the Cat plant and the John Deere plant. Case does not offer tours without being on a waiting list. He stated that these three machines are similar and would be sufficient for the city. He stated that the specifications for these three endloaders are very similar with only slight differences. Clif stated the machines list for approximately $122,000. With a $10,000 trade in of the existing loader and with the municipal discount, the city would be looking at $70-75,000 to purchase a new loader. No action was taken at this time on the purchase of loader. Mayor Edwards informed the Committee that $79,000 of the sewer plant grant has been received. Bob DeRenzy informed the Committee that he had contacted K-Mart concerning the raising of the hydrants. They have in turn contacted G-M Mechanical to raise the hydrants. 2 Bills were next. One change was noted. Under the Police Department, Mike stated that the Weirauch Florist bill is a union bill not a department bill. A motion was made by Bob Molleck and seconded by Jerry Bohlen to send the bills to City Council with the correction. Voice vote. Motion carried. No further business was discussed and the Finance Committee was adjourned. Negotiations, Grievance and Personnel Carmittee Bob Molleck, Chairman The first item was the drug testing. Bob Molleck informed the Committee that James Elson is presently working on the drug plan. No action was necessary at this time. A workman's comp claim for Jason Ketcham was next. The Committee felt that this had been taken care and withdrew the item from the agenda. At this time David Zahtler addressed the Committee concerning a deferred comp plan for city employees. It was noted that Aetna already has a plan in place through payroll deduction. Mr. Zahtler stated that Pebsco is endorsed by the United States Conference of Mayors. Pebsco is the administrator for the plan. Mr. Zahtler made a presentation on the plan explaining the maximum allowed per year to invest in the plan, the types of investments available and the potential return. Mr. Zahtler stated that there is no cost to the city. The deferred comp program is already set up through payroll deduction and no additional work, other than a monthly check to Pebsco, would be involved. Discussion followed concerning the options available through Aetna and whether bids would be necessary to approve the plan. Kevin Meade felt the city should study the option further. Bob Molleck stated he would like to see the department heads talk to the employees to see if another plan is wanted by the employees. Larry Sarff made a motion to have Chris write a letter to the Aetna representative inviting him to the next meeting to make a presentation. Seconded by Kevin Meade. Voice vote. Motion carried. Mayor Edwards stated that he would like to discuss the employment status of Rhonda Lindsey. He stated she has applied for social security disability and is concerned with whether she wilt have a job when she is ready to return to work. Does the receipt of social security benefits terminate her as an employee and from the city's insurance. Committee requested Jim Elson to look into the matter to determine the status of this employee and to have further discussions in executive session. No further business was discussed and the Negotiations, Grievance and Personnel Committee was adjourned. 3 Cam~unity and Industrial Development Committee Kevin Meade, Chairman The first item of discussion was the Director's report. Chris informed the Committee of the following items: A) A site visit was conducted by DCCA representatives on the grant application for the installation of a new sewer line on West Walnut Street. He stated that the city will not be notified of its disposition until October or November. B) Rural Partners have completed a needs assessment study which will be made public this fall. C) The CIC advisory committee has met twice. He stated he will leave it up to the company to update the public on those meetings. D) On the matter of repairs to Enterprise Drive, Chris stated that he had checked with Pat on the availability of funds and there is sufficient funds for the repairs. Clif O'Brien stated he anticipates $2-3,000 for the removal of asphalt and installation of concrete in the area of LaRoma Pizza. A rehab loan request from Martha Huff was next. Chris stated that this is in the amount of $1800 with a $900 match for the replacement of signs at Drapery Designs and Interiors. A motion was made by Bob Molleck and seconded by Larry Sarff to approve the application. Voice vote. Motion carried. A rehab loan request from Bob Naylor was considered next. This is in the amount of $2500 to be matched with $2700 of private funds for Naylor' Retail Store at 24 1/2 and 26 South Main Street. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Bob Molleck approving the request. Voice vote. Motion carried. No further business was discussed and the Community and Industrial Development Committee was adjourned. Legal and Ordinance Committee Jerry Bohler, Chairman The first item was the affirmative action plan. Chris stated he and James have met, changes are being made for review at the next meeting. The matter was tabled at this time. The building housing 414, 416 and 418 Dean Court was discussed next. There have been several complaints filed on this house. Mike Elam stated that this house is in the process of being transferred to another owner. The prospective owner came to see him and presented a list of the items he has done to fix up the house and eliminate some of the problems. Mike stated that he has agreed to sign a 4 consent to search if necessary for the police department to monitor his progress. Will Taggart stated that the property has been transferred to the new owner and has been in to see him concerning this property. No action was necessary by the Committee on this matter. The bids for the sale of the property at 504 South 5th Avenue was next. Three bids were received ranging from $6,000 to $8,200. Chris stated that the property was appraised for $10-15,000 from the outside. A second realtor agrees with the appraisal, on the low end, upon his review. After possession was obtained, it was discovered that the kitchen had been stripped of cabinets. The attorney's are presently corresponding with the previous owner concerning the return of the cabinets. The city presently has over $15,000 in the property. Mr. Levasseur, one of the bidders, stated that he felt the city should have placed a minimn,im bid on the property. In fact, he had asked if there was a minimum. If the city re-bids the property, a minimum should be placed in the ad to eliminate the low bids. A motion was made by Bob Molleck and seconded by Larry Sarff to reject any and all bids. Mayor Edwards reminded the Committee that winter is coming and the city will have to heat this building. He stated that the city's investing of an additional $6,696.00 may have been a mistake. Kevin felt that a minimum bid should be included. Voice vote. Motion carried. A water bill was next on the agenda. Larry Sarff stated that Mr. Rand on Longwood Drive seems to think his bill is too high. Evidently a watermain break occurred there some time ago. The city has sent several person out to check the meter and talk with Mr. Rand. In looking at this history, Mr. Rand's bill is approximately $10.00 higher than normal. Larry stated he felt Mr. Rand is confused over his consumption and his bill. No action was taken by the Committee. Larry Sarff stated he would talk with Mr. Rand. Mayor Edwards addressed a request from Granite City. They are requesting the City of Canton to pass a resolution concerning changing the state law regarding annexation of property. Jim Elson stated that he has never known of a situation where you could not get the people to annex. Discussion followed concerning the way it is now and the proposed change to the law. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Kevin Meade recommending no action be taken on this request. Voice vote. Motion carried. A liquor license request from J. D. Streett and Company was discussed next. Jerry Bohler asked to be excused from voting due to a possible conflict of interest. A motion was made by Larry Sarff and seconded by Bob Molleck to excuse Jerry Bohler from voting on this matter. Voice vote. Notion carried. Bob Molleck stated that he has talked with approximately 30 people and the majority are against a gas station having a liquor license. Larry Sarff stated with a one time fee of $5-10,000, this would make it harder for the smaller guy to get into business. He stated that he feels it is a conflict when we preach the "don't drink and drive" attitude and allowing alcohol to be sold in the same place gas is sold. Mike 5 Elam stated that the city's liquor offense arrests are up. This would be a 24 hour operation of the gas station. Jim May stated that others have asked for a liquor license and been denied. If the city lets this one, they would have to let others. Larry Sarff recommended sending the requesting party a letter based on a poll of the aldermen, and recommend to the City Council no changes be made of the liquor ordinance. Seconded by Bob Molleck. Voice vote. Motion carried. At this time Gene Taylor and Carroll Offord addressed the Committee concerning the mausoleum. Gene Taylor stated that several towns have mausoleums. During the 50's, 60's and 70's the mausoleum had no directors and no money. In the early 80's, the charter was resurrected and aboard was established. At this time the board would like to give the mausoleum to Greenwood Cemetery along with the $3,000 in the bank for its upkeep. Larry Sarff stated that the city talked about this a couple of years ago and he feels there is a moral and/or financial obligation. Eventually he feels that the mausoleum will be the city's. Jerry Bohler asked about the yearly cost to maintain the structure. Mayor Edwards suggested that Bob Anderson, city engineer and cemetery board member, look at the structure and report back with an estimate of the maintenance. Kevin Meade concurred with obtaining the report and stated he leans toward taking it over. Most people think it is a part of the cemetery anyway. Jim May stated those people in the mausoleum made Canton what it is and the city should take care of it. A motion was made by Kevin Meade to have Bob Anderson look at the mausoleum, provide a report and cost estimate for the maintenance for committee's review. Seconded by Larry Sarff. Voice vote. Motion carried. No further business was discussed and the Legal and Ordinance Committee was adjourned. Kayma Duncan - Committee Secretary 6