City Council

Page 434 CITY OF CARUTHERSVILLE March 2, 2020 Be it remembered the Council of the City of Caruthersville met in regular session Monday, March 2, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. in the Council room of the Municipal Building at which time and place the following were present: Sue Grantham Mayor Takella Motton City Clerk Lawrence Dorroh City Counselor Tony Jones Sergeant at Arms Hood Councilperson Reeves Councilperson Rodgers Councilperson Duckworth (Absent) Councilperson Bullington Councilperson Lyons Councilperson Cheek Councilperson Grable Councilperson The number of members necessary to consider a quorum being present, the Mayor called the meeting to order and announced the meeting was in session for the transaction of business. The first order of business was the approval of the regular session minutes of February 18, 2020. Councilperson Grable motion for approval, second by Councilperson Hood with all in favor, Councilperson Lyons motion for approval of reports and bills, second by Councilperson Grable with all in favor. Under Presentation of Petitions, Letters, and other Communications; Proposals were presented for the City Clerk’s copier with comparable copiers as follows: Novatech Bizhub C360i Copier/Color $6,489.59 GFI Digitial Sharp MX-3571 $5,804.00 Finisher Color/Finisher Color Bizhub C300i slower speed $5,360.81 NA Bizhub 368e B/W $4,778.52 Digital Sharp MX-M3571 $4,769.00 Bizhub 308e B/W slower speed $4512.12 NA SBM00957 refurbished $3,000.00 NA The City Clerk recommended the Sharp MX-3571 along with the service agreement and the purchase option differing $649 less than the lease option. Councilperson Bullington motion for approval, second by Councilperson Hood, which resulted in the following vote: Hood Yes Reeves Yes Rodgers Yes Bullington Yes Lyons Yes Cheek Yes Page 435 Grable Yes Mayor Grantham reported that Mike Bernard has obtained funding for drainage issues enabling cleaning out the ditch that runs out of the east side of town, in addition to other ditches that run out of Caruthersville. Mr. Bernard also has obtained approval for District 3 to use a form of explosive to remove beaver dams; trappers have been working to remove beavers from the area. The cleaning of the ditches will occur in the next two months, which will allow the water to flow out faster. Police report; Chief Tony Jones reported that the release of the 75/25 grant for equipment is available to make application, the deadline being April 15, 2020. The fight that occurred on East 15th St. has been investigated with 5 arrests and 1 at large. The vehicle break ins are continued to be looked into; at this time the incidents have slacked up. Humane report; Intake for December was 24 animals, and 67 animals in January and February. There were 19 tickets issued, 12 dead animals were picked up, and 3 euthanized. The Shelter passed the surprised inspection from the Department of Agriculture; the only write up being dogs dragging blankets out of their dog house outside, which was replaced by cedar chips the same day. The overpass dog issue has been resolved after issuance of tickets. The emergency lights aren’t working, and they’re awaiting LED lights. The adopting out of cats with Pets Sense in Sikeston has been highly successful. The Shelter is working on setting up a vaccination clinic in the spring, and the 5k and open house is scheduled for April 25, 2020. Fire report; There have not been any fire calls Since February 14, 2020. The state wide tornado drill will be conducted Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. The outdoor tornado warning sirens will be sounded, and those who have a NOAA weather radio will hear the test also. There were 5 fire inspections during the past week. Public Works report; Paul Shaw reported that the department has been working on issues with the lift station on Westwood with the ground settling causing sewer problems; for now it’s holding its own. A very large sinkhole has occurred on 12th and Zaida, which was filled with dirt and gravel. The Vacuum truck is being finished, and once delivered training will occur. John Chittenden is reviewing the bids that were opened Thursday, February 27, 2020 for the Water Plant, Waste Water Plant and Well. The USDA grant for equipment will be awarded soon, and Mr. Shaw along with John Chittenden will begin the bidding process for street improvements soon. Code Enforcement; Barry Gilmore reported that the trailer on Madison is in the process of being broken down. One of the Cook brother’s trailers is supposedly being sold, and the other has problems with the axel. The W. 11th burnout had a title search done, but there seems to be issues. The City Cleanup will be scheduled for May this year instead of April. The Wards will be done by weeks; you can put things out Friday through Wednesday. Ward 1 will occur May 1, 2020 through May 6, 2020, Ward 2 will occur May 8, 2020 through May 13, 2020, Ward 4 will occur May 15, 2020 through May 20, 2020, and Ward 3 May 22, 2020 through May 27, 2020. Mr. Gilmore also sent out notices to abate. Park & Recreations; Lamonte Bell reported that he was getting a lot of feedback with the Recreation Center being clean, and a change in atmosphere. Heath Screening is coming up, customers  Page 436 from Dyersburg are requesting advertisement in Dyersburg so that potential patrons know what’s being offered. The pool is working great, and hopefully the sauna will get in operable condition. Library report; Teresa Tidwell reported that Tony Rehagen a freelance writer for the Boston Globe wrote a story about the new face of the public library. In the story Mr. Rehagen made mention how Teresa Tidwell has transformed the library into a lifeline for its patrons. The complete story can be read by googling Boston Globe or at Facebook. Tuesday, March 3, 2020 is Dr. Seuss Storytime at 6:00 p.m., Lindy Vaugh will be the guest reader. The Pemiscot County Historical Society will celebrate its 50 year anniversary along with the Library’s open house Saturday, April 18, 2020 between the hours of 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. There will be a joint meeting for the Finance and Insurance committees before the regular meeting on March 16, 2020. Economic Development; The BLP Downtown/Tourism Committee will meet Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at City Hall. The BLP Value Added Ag Committee meets Tuesday, March 10 at 9:00 a.m. at the Library. The BLP Clean-up Committee meets Tuesday, March 10 at 11:00 a.m. at the Bank of Missouri. There will be a Census workshop Tuesday, March 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Library. The Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the White Glove Gala Saturday, March 14 at the Armory. The Economic Development Action Team will meet Tuesday, March 24 at 5:00 p.m. at City Hall with special guest Canna Care. The Caruthersville Area Arts Council and City officials will be meeting with A2H the week of March 16, 2020. Councilperson Grable made a proposal for the Mayor to have membership to the Country Club to have a place to meet when organizations come in town and maybe have food prepared. Councilperson Bullington motion to table the request upon consideration, second by Councilperson Cheek, with all in favor. Business from the floor; Anne Jeffres inquired of the radio communication that had been talked about a while back concerning the lack of clear communication with the public safety officials. Hopefully the USDA grant will alleviate the problem. Bob Lazenby reminded everyone to run their clocks up an hour on Saturday night. Mayor Grantham entertained a motion to go into closed session for the purpose of personnel. Councilperson Lyons made motion second by Councilperson Bullington, which resulted in the following vote: Hood Yes Reeves Yes Rodgers Yes Bullington Yes Lyons Yes Cheek Yes Grable Yes Mayor Grantham asked the City Clerk to leave the Council room during closed session, and the City Counselor would take minutes. Page 437 Upon returning from closed session, and with no further business to come before the Council, motion was made to adjourn and seconded, which passed unanimously. ATTEST: _______________________________ Mayor ________________________________ City Clerk