City Council

CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting January 2, 2018 7:30 P.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: The Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag was given by all present. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Gottman called the regularly scheduled meeting of the Vandalia City Council to order at 7:30 P.M. ROLL CALL: Aldermen present were: Hubler, Lester, B. John Clark, Stunkel, Barker, Rebbe, Crawford & Hobler. MINUTES: A motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Hobler approving the minutes from the December 18, 2017 meeting as presented. Motion carried. REGULAR BILLS: A motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Hobler approving the regular bills as presented. Motion carried. SPECIAL BILLS: A motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Crawford approving the Special Bills as listed: Land of Lincoln Credit Union in the amount of $12,488.50 for loan on fire truck; Vandalia Asphalt in the amount of $2,040.48 for patch mix; Dennis Grubaugh in the amount of $82,400.00 for demolition of 121 & 123 S. Fifth Street Buildings; Bluff Equipment, Inc. in the amount of $1,820.74 for supplies; Brenntag Mid South, Inc.in the amount of $3,658.61 for chemicals; Centraz Industries, Inc. in the amount of $3,150.00 for sewer solvent; Hawkins, Inc. in the amount of 1  $3,660.80 for chemicals; John H. Crawford & Associates in the amount of $15,000.00 for additional work on the river intake structure; Cedarchem, LLC in the amount of $10,963.68 for Cedar clear bulk; Omnisite in the amount of $2,484.00 for the annual fee to monitor remote pumping stations & lift stations for the automated alarm monitoring equipment. Motion carried. TREASURER’S REPORT: A motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Barker approving the Treasurer’s Report as submitted. Motion carried. APPROVAL FOR BIDS ON A motion was made by Barker and VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVE FOR seconded by Crawford approving the RANDOLPH STREET BOOSTER repair of the Randolph Street Booster STATION: Station. The repair requires a 75HP ABB Variable Frequency Drive on the Peerless Booster Pump and an 8” Control Valve and replace it with a spool piece and all necessary gaskets and hardware. The cost for the repair is $9,775.00. Ameren will rebate the city 75% of the cost incurred by the city leaving the city to pay $2,443.75. Motion carried. MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Gottman publicly thanked the city crew for their work on several water main breaks that occurred since Christmas Eve during temperatures in the single digits and wind chills below zero. Mayor Gottman said, people don’t realize what the employees from all the departments do in this community to serve, protect and provide services to their homes in difficult times. Gottman said, I would say this kind of weather is difficult times. 2 Mayor Gottman also added that the lift station on West Main malfunctioned and that was taken care of as well. Marty Huskey also mentioned that the lake pumps went down a little after noon today. Mayor Gottman reported that one of the city’s squad cars was hit by another vehicle. The city did receive two bids from two different body shops. We will be getting that vehicle repaired soon and will work out the details with that individual. The investigation was done by the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department. Mayor Gottman reported that the Comprehensive Plan is still moving forward. Mayor Gottman said that he will be setting up some meetings with the department heads and the city council. Mayor Gottman reported that the new memory care facility will open soon. The Holiday Express is still moving forward with their renovations. Mayor Gottman said that the restaurant part of the Distillery on Gallatin Street plans to open Valentine’s Day. Mayor Gottman reported that things are going well at Anthony’s. B. John Clark reported that Country Folk has started their renovations on their business downtown. 3 Mayor Gottman said that the Thrill Hill bridge replacement project is well underway with the bridge deck poured. The asphalt cannot be completed until warmer weather. The Vandalia Chamber of Commerce is now the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce. A News Release on the unemployment record was submitted to all council members for review. A project status report for current projects under contract with Hurst- Rosche, Inc. was submitted to the council. John H. Crawford & Associates, P.C. engineering firm for the City of Vandalia submitted a report of projects under contract with them. Mayor Gottman directed city code enforcement official, Zac Kopp to work on the sale of the ladder truck. Zac Kopp told the council that a professional salesperson recommended lowering the price. The truck has been on the market since May of 2017. The council discussed lowering the sale price of the ladder truck from $90,000.00 to $75,000 in order to sell it sooner. A motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Crawford to move forward with lowering the price of the ladder truck to $75,000. Motion carried. Kopp will give a monthly report on the sale of the ladder truck. 4 STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS: Stunkel reported that he along with Mayor Gottman will be setting up some meetings with the union stewarts so we can get the union contracts taken care of. A meeting will also be held to discuss fee adjustments for the city. Mayor Gottman said that anyone interested in working the RV Show in St. Louis on February 1st through the 4th should contact LaTisha. COUNCIL CONCERNS: The Council asked where does the city stand with the former Wal-Mart building. Mayor Gottman said, that it is an eyesore. The building is one of the gateways to the city. I would like to see it sold, torn down or donated to the city. They have been given those options and that will be reiterated through our attorney. Mayor Gottman said to this point, there has been no response from the building’s owner, Stan Kroenke. Lester asked if there was anyone working on grants to help with different projects in the city. Mayor Gottman said that our engineering firm is working on that. Barker said that there are phase grants out there to obtain as well. ADJOURNMENT: There being nothing further to discuss a motion was made by Stunkel and seconded by Rebbe to adjourn. Motion carried. _________________ CITY CLERK 5 6 7 8 9 10