City of Tekoa
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
For December 16, 2019
I. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Troy Wilson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Council members present at the meeting were Wilson, John Giudice, Alyssa Heagy, John Jaeger, Mary LaSalle, Roy Schulz, Wendy Sienknecht, and Dave Tysz. Clerk/Treasurer Kynda Browning was also in attendance.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Wilson asked those present to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance.
III. PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION: Walt Dale was in attendance from Benthin and Associates to talk about the survey they did this summer. He showed the council a copy of the map showing the survey points. After discussion, it was decided he will get a flash drive to the city with the information.
Mike Bogenreif was in attendance and said we have a trapper in town and it is legal. Someone stole his trap, but it was found and given back.
Mike Bogenreif said he has had a lot of dog complaints. Two pit bulls that were running, killed a cat, and they will be leaving town tonight. He would like us to have a contract with SCRAPS. Browning will check to see if we can have a contract with them again.
There was discussion. Bill Harp talked about complaints that haven’t been dealt with.
IV. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: Bill Harp said our police force does a good job, and he thinks we need more money for the police force, so they have more time in the city. The mayor said Brett Meyers, Whitman County Sheriff, offered more time but said we will have to pay for it. He will contact the sheriff and let us know how much it would cost to have more hours. There was discussion. Bill Harp also talked about the house near the trail. The mayor talked to the owner of the property and asked the tenant of the property to leave. He said the council gave him 30 days to vacate the property. After 30 days, Mike Bogenreif will cite him on a daily basis. There was discussion about access to the property. The mayor will meet with the property owner.
V. CORRESPONDENCE: There was none.
VI. OLD BUSINESS:
Matt Morkert was in attendance to talk about the TIB Crosby and Park Street project. We opened bids in April, and they came in over the grant amount. He would like to put it out to bid again in January. They had a gravity retaining wall, and they changed it to another product that should be less. If bids come in high again, we can go to TIB and ask for more money. We can talk about paying the water and sewer portion at the next meeting. Alyssa Heagy made a motion to advertise the Crosby and Park Street TIB project. Roy Schulz seconded the motion; all council members voted yes.
He announced they met at the sewer plant with the Riverkeeper and DOE recently. They were happy with the progress the maintenance crew has been making keeping in compliance.
A. SEWER RATE INCREASES: Asher Davison was in attendance from the Tekoa Care Center to discuss sewer rates. The council is proposing a sewer rate increase and charging for each room. He wants to talk to the owners. There are 30 rooms, and the charge would be $27.50 per room. They will talk about it at the January meeting.
B. CITY OWNED BUILDINGS: We are waiting for information from Joni Hay Smith.
VII. NEW BUSINESS:
John Giudice presented a sheet showing the contracting authority is the city council. There was discussion concerning setting a spending limit for the mayor. John Giudice made a motion to set a policy or ordinance for spending authority. John Jaeger seconded the motion; all council members voted yes, except Alyssa Heagy and Roy Schulz voted no. John Giudice has examples.
A. 2019 BUDGET AMENDMENT HEARING: Mayor Wilson opened the public hearing. There was discussion about the budget amendment. Browning presented Ordinance No. 854, amending the 2019 budget. Alyssa Heagy made a motion to approve the 2019 budget amendment Ordinance No. 854 as presented. John Giudice seconded the motion; all council members voted yes.
B. UPDATED FEE RESOLUTION NO. 99-19.1: We are postponing this until the January meeting when a decision can be made about the sewer rate for the care center.
C. RESOLUTION FOR IMPOSITION OF LOCAL INCOME TAX NO. 19-07: A resolution was presented. John Jaeger made a motion approving Resolution No. 19-07 imposing a local income tax as presented. Dave Tysz seconded the motion; all council members voted yes, except Alyssa Heagy voted no.
VIII. REPORTS:
A. MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Wilson thanked John Giudice for his years of service.
B. CLERK/TREASURER REPORT: There was none.
C. COUNCIL REPORTS: Alyssa Heagy went to the elected officials training. Her biggest take away was that we need to have city emails for the elected officials. John Jaeger said we have forgotten projects and suggested each of the council members could each take on a project. We will look at doing it after BJ Sperber starts.
D. COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE: There were none.
IX. CONSENT AGENDA:
A. December 2, 2019, MEETING MINUTES: Roy Schulz made a motion to approve the minutes as presented. John Giudice seconded the motion; all council members voted yes.
B. APPROVE BILLS FOR PAYMENT: Roy Schulz made a motion to pay payroll EFT checks in the amount of $7,649.98 and check numbers 14461 through 14475 in the amount of $28,214.84 as presented. John Giudice seconded the motion; all council members voted yes.
X. ADJOURNMENT: Roy Schulz made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:32 p.m. John Giudice seconded the motion; all council members voted yes.
APPROVED:
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Troy Wilson – Mayor
ATTEST:
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Kynda Browning – Clerk/Treasurer
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