The Weekly Informer (4/16/16)
On Monday, April 11th, 2016, at 5:30pm, the following transpired:
Committees (Descriptions sometimes as they appear on facebook page.):
Finance (Members present: Marmie, Cost, Fraizer, Floyd, and Bubb):
Resolution No. 16-32: with a request to have a vote on the 18th, spending money.
$67,900 for the Division of Police: 9,500 for “Termination Sick”, 33,000 for “Termination Vacation”, and 25,400 for “Termination Comp”. Safety Director Spurgeon says that this is due to the city “losing a couple [folks]” and that we are getting a new Police Chief. Result: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Bubb, no further discussion, passed 5-0.
$67,480.96 for “Workers Comp” from the General Fund. Auditor Steven Johnson says that the city significantly underestimated how high this bill would be. Result: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Bubb, Floyd asks why we were way off the mark, to which Director Buskirk answers that “based on your experience towards the end of the year and the first part of this year we got hit pretty good”. Motion passes 4-1 with Marmie being the lone vote in opposition.
$6,484.25 for “Equipment/Supplies”. Director Spurgeon reports that the city sold some vehicles and a generator from station 2 and that this is a request to put the profit back into its respective account and that this be expedited so that they may quickly “outfit the new rescue”. Result: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Bubb, no further discussion, passes 5-0.
Resolution No. 16-33: spending money.
$2,582 for “Non-Health Ins”. Service Director Rhodes reports that an air conditioner was stolen from the city at the Civil Air Patrol Everett Park location. Result: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Bubb, Mr. Fraizer inquires about whether the city is going to take necessary precautions to prevent an addition theft in the future, to which Rhodes replied that they are going to try and “beef up” the security fence as much as they can. Passes 5-0.
Resolution No. 16-35: allowing Mayor Hall to apply “to the Ohio Department of Public Safety Office” for a set of “Ohio Traffic Safety grants…: Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) and the Impaired Driving Enforcement program (IDEP)”.
Grant Writer Barbara Gilkes reports that the two traffic grants here will help pay for the overtime that is expected to be needed for dealing with the city’s three state routes. Result: Motion by Bubb, seconded by Floyd, Floyd asks whether this is a new grant for us entirely and Gilkes responds that we’ve done it before and that it is based on our “fatalities rate”. Marmie mistakenly noted that this was a 50% reimbursement, but Gilkes corrected him and said that this has 100% reimbursement with 50% coming next. Passes 5-0.
Resolution No. 16-36: allowing Mayor Hall “to apply for funding from the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program”.
Gilkes notes that we fund 100% of this and get reimbursed for half. This is to help pay for bulletproof vests. Result: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Bubb. Marmie points out that this has been good for the city and thanks Mrs. Gilkes for her work. Passes 5-0.
Capital Improvements (Members present: Johnson, Hall, Rath, Fraizer, and Rolletta):
Resolution No. 16-34: spending money.
$7,200 for “Hardware/Software” from “Siemens Traffic Software”. Director Rhodes notes – with some inquiry from Fraizer, Johnson, and Cost – that this is an update to our traffic software and that it will permit the system to update itself with a monthly fee that should help avoid having to return every five years with a “$7,000-$8,000 software problem”. Result: Motion by Rath, seconded by Hall, no further discussion, passes 5-0.
Service: (Members present: Rath, Cost, Fraizer, Floyd, and Bubb)
Resolution No. 16-37: allowing Service Director Rhodes “to enter into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) in carrying out the LIC-Newark SRTS project”.
City Engineer Brian Moorehead notes that this involves “two projects…[one] on West Church Street, from 21st Street to Green Wave Drive there will be new sidewalks, pedestrian signals and we have also added curb and gutter storm sewer improvements and we gave them resurfacing which is being done at our expense” also that “[t]he other portion of the project is the construction of the pedestrian bridge over the Log Pond Run diversion channel also Evans Blvd which is next to Legend and Liberty schools just north of the driveway that goes into the schools”. He then stated that “[t]he original Safe Routes to School grant was for $500,000.00 and there is about $350,000.00 left on the grant. The city’s share…towards the project is $426,796.88.” Moreover, the emergency clause is due to ODOT wanting the city to return this legislation by April 29th. It was then mentioned, after Floyd asked, that this “intent” is to finish this by 2017. Result: Motion by Bubb, seconded by Fraizer, Fraizer asks about when we have to reapply, Morehead responds that another sidewalk project for the area near Heritage School won’t be available until 2018. Passes 5-0.
Safety:
No business.
Personnel:
No business. Result: *
Recreation:
No business. Result: *
Street:
No business.
Rules:
No business. Result: *
Economic Development:
No business.
Ways and Means:
No business. Result: *
Further thoughts:
My only additional thought is what happened with our previous Police Chief? I must have missed the news report about that.
See you all next week. Thanks for reading.