City of Winchester Board met Oct. 4.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
The Winchester City Council held their monthly meeting October 4, 2023 at City Hall.
Mayor McIntire called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. with the following council in attendance: Jeff Pittman, Bill Jacquot, Terry Gregory, Ron Bell, Melinda Hembrough, Tina Brown and City Clerk Teri Little.
Also, in attendance were Wanda Cody, City Treasurer; John Simmons, John Paul Coonrod, City Attorney; Reg Benton, Benton & Associates; Carmen Ensinger, Scott County Times; Steve Doolin, City Police Chief; Bobbi Jo Smith, Stevie VanDeVelde, Civic Group Representative; Don Campbell; RJ Pasley, Civic Group Parks and Recreation.
Mayor McIntire led those attending the meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Wanda Cody, City Treasurer presented bills for approval.
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to pay the bills as presented. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Mayor McIntire asked for any corrections for the regular meeting minutes of September 6, 2023.
MOTION: Terry Gregory moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to approve and dispense with the reading of the minutes of the regular September 6, 2023 meeting. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Mayor Rex McIntire recommended Tina Brown fill the absent spot of Lawrence Coultas as Alderman Ward 1.
MOTION: Terry Gregory moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to approve Tina Brown taking over Lawrence Coultas seat as Alderman in Ward 1. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
City Clerk Teri Little swore in Tina Brown for Alderman Ward 1.
Reg Benton, Benton and Associates, advised that almost ready to put the water main project out for bid. Per Pat Whalen, if there is a government shutdown won't be able to assist. Wanting to get the bid released prior to 11/15/2023 in case of shut down.
Have had several contractors looking for work. Since looking for work hoping to have bids come in a little lighter.
Paperwork has been submitted with more to come. Plans and contract documents are inline to be able to go out when ready and may have to have a special council meeting to release for bids.
Library update; there are additional funds available and maybe able to run the cleaning and painting of the basement thru the current grant and also maybe some landscaping. Greg will plan a meeting with the library board to discuss the final process
Stevie VanDeVelde, Civic Group Rep, advised they are creating a monthly post on events happening around Winchester to keep people apprised of what is happening. Winchester will be participating in the Backroads Crawl again this year October 20th and 21st. Will allow vendors to set up as well. Have been talking to Levi Tucker on creating a 30 second video on promoting Winchester. Also, looking into a grant for a larger video. December will be Hometown Christmas on December 2nd. Santa will come to town that day. Looking into maybe having a Christmas scavenger hunt on December 16th.
Asking for a few favors to happen prior to decorating for hometown Christmas. Requesting that the park be raked prior to November 18th. Have the Santa house at the square prior to the 18th. The parade will be the evening of the 2nd at 6:30 or 7 and requesting all cars be moved from square for safety and the square blocked off.
RJ Pasley, Civic Group Parks and Rec, presented quotes on resurfacing the tennis courts to be able to allow 2 pickle ball courts to be added. The quote from Slo-Mo excavating for $2400.00. This would include repair and fill cracks and seal court. To do repairs, paint and stripe would be total of $4800.00. Was decided to wait till spring and get new estimate. Council thanked Pasley for all the work he is doing to improve the park area.
Ron Bell, Alderman, presented request from Fire Chief Fred Andrews to approve the hiring a grant writer to assist in filing for a major grant for $100,000.00 which is at 100%. Grant writer that was recommended was 1st Due Consulting, Dan Rogers.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to approve hiring 1st Due Consulting as grant writer for fire department for $1200.00. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Teri Little, City Clerk, requested to have the square blocked off for trunk or treat on Halloween night. It will be 5:30 to 7:30. Council agreed. Trick or treat for town will also be Halloween Night, October 31st from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Little asked how they wanted to proceed for the Christmas party for the city this year. It was agreed to have it at the Legion and have Hamilton's cater on Wed December 13th at 6:30. Will also have the gift grab again this year with $20.00 limit.
Steve Doolin, Police Chief, has received the quote for new generator from Bigelow Electric. It is for $10,441.97. It is 26KW, air cooled and should run entire building.
MOTION: Jeff Pittman moved and Ron Bell seconded to approve purchase of generator for Police Dept not to exceed $11,000.00. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Wants to discuss the next phase for cameras for the city. Wanting to purchase portable cameras instead of permeant ones on the square at this time. It is very important to be able to set up a camera in areas that are having issues. At this time there is an area that seems to be having things happen but need evidence if it is actually happening. By having portable cameras can catch issues in different areas. The cameras are solar charged (only need 2 hours a day to fully charge) and run on cellular. Cameras will last on a full charge for 4-5 days and will record even in low light. These are $500.00 a piece and $10.00 a month thru AT&T. Cameras are very beneficial in police work.
MOTION: Ron Bell moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to approve purchase of 4 cameras for police dept at $500.00 each and $10.00 per month thru AT&T. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
AJ McAdams is working as part time officer. Has a lead on a ne officer. Currently is serving in the Army and in Korea for 12 months. If he has a job to come back to can shorten to 6 months. Due to Army guidelines would not pay him for the first 6 months. Will have more info at a later date.
Bill Jacquot, Alderman, will present pool report at November meeting.
Cemetery Committee meeting was held to discuss the footstone issues. Don Campbell, Sam Ford, & Matt Barber attended the meeting. It was decided that military footstones are all that will be allowed going forward. These will have to be buried at grade level. All stones in the new 4th addition will be lowered to meet these specifications. Family members will be contacted prior to this being completed. City Hall must be contacted prior to any military stone installations. Also, it was approved to only allow 2 cremation burials per grave site.
Wanda Cody, City Treasurer, passed out all financial sheets for the month.
Since did not receive any questions or concerns on the Audit asking for council to approve.
MOTION: Terry Gregory moved and Bill Jacquot seconded to approve the Fiscal year 2023 audit. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
Farmers State Bank sent letter about old grant checking account being dormant.
Will need to set up a new account for water main grant money to be received. Will use Farmers State Bank for this account.
USDA truck grant will go into the old general account.
John Simmons, Supt of Public Works, Monthly report - Work orders - 18; Locate tickets - 13; Funerals & grave openings - 7; Gas leak reports - 1; Water leaks - 2; Pot holing water services; Brush pickup; Meter reading; Odorant Reading; Monthly sniff test; Ordinance violations; Zoning permits - 4; Jeff and Ryan done for season; Repaired concrete sidewalk and bricks by City Hall; Installed new gas service for Gary Waid to shop; Trimmed several trees; repaired drains at REA, had to clear out and replace section of walk; Abandoned old water service to North Alley apartments; CPR classes everyone certified.
Reported that the new water system is helping find leaks. The city assisted the SCNC with locating leaks. The new VAC machine came in handy to assist in the water leak repair since the power lines were buried close to the water lines. Instances like this shows that the machine will in time pay for itself. Makes repairs so much easier.
The meter system does have a few issues with meters reading backwards. This is being looked into.
The REA repairs were due to a floor drain not being connected. City took out the section of sidewalk and reconnected the drain. City paid for labor and REA paid for materials.
Rex McIntire, Mayor, read letter received from Class of 2025 requesting a donation to their post prom quarter auction fundraiser. This is to raise funds to have a post prom event later next year.
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Ron Bell seconded to approve $50.00 donation to Class of 2025 quarter auction. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
There has been an incident with a dog in town that has bitten a couple of children. Letter has been sent and will then determine what next steps will be.
Received request for TIF funds from First Baptist Church of Winchester to assist in the restoration of the stained-glass windows. They are in the TIF district but since a non for profit cannot assist with funds per the ordinance.
The new city truck that was ordered several months ago has arrived. The total for the truck is $71,000.00. Pat Whalen from USDA has stated we are entitled to the $30,000. Will need to borrow funds for remained of amount. Received quotes from all 3 banks Farmers State Bank at 5.9%, United Community Bank at 4.9% and First National Bank at 5.4%. It was decided to go with UCB at 4.9%
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Jeff Pittman seconded to approve Ordinance 966 to borrow money for city truck thru UCB bank. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
John Paul Coonrod, City Attorney, advised there were 2 municipal court cases that resulted in 2, $200.00 fines.
Ordinance 967 was passed out for review. This is an ordinance adopting Supplemental Regulations for preparation and maintenance of water and waste system. This is in preparation for the water main project.
MOTION: Bill Jacquot and Ron Bell seconded to approve Ordinance 967 Supplemental Regulations. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
City official compensation, per state statute, states that to increase has to be submitted 180 days prior to the next election. John Paul will bring a new ordinance next month. Will check into when next election is being held. Such as Lawerence Coultas and Sandy Long positions to see if an election is needed to fill the absence spots.
No Public Comments
MOTION: Bill Jacquot moved and Terry Gregory second to adjourn at 10:12 pm. Roll call resulted in all yeas. Motion carried.
https://winchesteril.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/October-4th-2023-Agenda-minutes.pdf
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