The Cottonwood City Council held their November meeting Monday, Nov. 13 at the school board meeting room at the Auxiliary Gym.
Prior to the regular meeting a public hearing was held with Krista Baker of CEDA talking about submitting a $500,000 block grant request for the city water project to fix the well. This would be about two-thirds of the total projected cost with the city picking up the remainder.
During the public hearing Colleen Wilson asked if they plan to check the static levels before replacing well pumps. Mayor Keith Holcomb said they had checked the static level in well #2 when the pump was pulled and it was 100 feet higher than the previous time it was checked. They also plan to insert a tube in the new well that would allow them to check the statice level.
Later in the meeting the council voted to approve CEDA as the grant administrator for the water project. They also approved signing a letter to the state Department of Environmental Quality saying the city would cover the matching funds.
The council also voted to approved signing an application cover letter for the project and to approve signing certification for the project.
It was announced that they had received the paperwork from the school district to annex the portion of the track and football complex that is outside of the city limits.
Members of the Prairie Community Library board were in attendance with some questions and concerns. They asked about the lights. Would they be replaced? Who would be responsible for replacement? Holcomb said that everything pulled out during restoration would be replaced.
There was also concern about the ceiling replacement. Would acoustic type panels be used? There was also concern about some mold near the floor in the northwest corner. Could this be taken care of? Colleen Wilson asked about cleaning out the ductwork. Holcomb said they would check on it.
Emmett Wilson asked the city to please keep them informed on timeline of when they could move back in. It was quite a process apparently to move everything out. They had some youth groups last Wednesday helping them move all the books and shelving into a couple of storage containers and an inmate crew from NICI helped out on Friday with both the library and the rest of the hall’s lower level including the council chambers in removing items so that work could be done.
In the reports Terry Cochran reported they had a couple of lockdown drills at schools that went very well. There were 62 people attending the hazmat training at the high school cafeteria.
They had 89 lbs. of unused and expired medications returned.
He said the trunk or treat also went well with lots of children visiting.
Brett Miller asked if the police could keep an eye out for the fast drivers near the school.
Debby O’Neill reported they pumped 3,220,200 gallons of water last month and sold 2,699,070 for a loss of 14.8%. A couple of leaks were found and fixed that contributed to the loss.
A service line inventory is being worked on for the DEQ.
The bid documents for well #2’s pump replacement have been sent out and bids would be opened next week.
Miller reported that the sewer reuse permit was reviewed by the DEQ with 1 violation found. There will be a sewer line replacement project on East Street from Church St. to Foster St.
Kristine Holthaus reported the push button crosswalk signs have arrived and they will work with the highway department on installation. Holcomb commented they may need to do something ordinance wise about RV’s parked in the streets and people living in them to give the police more clarity in what they can do.
Linda Nida reported the sidewalk around the new park equipment is done. Cement may get poured before winter in the splash pad. The new playground equipment has been put together and mounted except for one large piece. They may look intohave professionals come in and assemble that one due to the difficulties they had getting a similar, smaller piece assembled and installed.
There was nothing new to report at the airport.
Nida reported the fire department had one call this past month where they assisted with a logging truck rollover. They also helped with the trunk or treat event.
Matt Jessup was in attendance as legal council for St. John Bosco regarding the request for water and sewer service. Jessup said they had no issues with the agreement generated by city attorney Joe Wright. However, they had a request to get a break on rates for 10 years to recoup the unexpected added costs to connect. Council members expressed concerns about reducing the rate for one out of town entity, wouldn’t others want the same.
The council eventually voted to approve the agreement as is with the normal out of town rates applying. Now the agreement goes back to St. John Bosco and the Angelus Center.
The unfinished business regarding the alley behind Lynn Guyer’s residence was deemed solved as they found out from the courthouse that the alley had not been vacated.
In other business the council voted to meet Monday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. for a bid opening on the pump for well #2. This meeting would be held at the temporary city clerk’s office on Main Street.
The meeting adjourned at 7:52 p.m. The next regular meeting will be held Monday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m.