Gallatin Public Works Director Mark Morey discussed an example water meter damage ordinance at the Gallatin Baord of Aldermen meeting September 12th.
He reported that, in the last two weeks, the city had four water meter sets destroyed. The water meter sets cost hundreds of dollars to replace, and he said the responsibility of the replacement should not be on the city since crews were not the ones who damaged the units.
The ordinance would allow for a mistake in damaging a meter set once per customer. After that, the cost of the replacement would be put on the property owner. The owner would have 15 days to pay for the damage. The cost will go on a utility bill if the damage has not been paid for after 15 days.
The staff would create an informational sheet with the policy and other policies already in place to hand out to residents.
The matter was tabled until the next meeting.
Morey reported crews would be chipping and sealing September 13th and 14th. The proposed streets were Fuller, Mulberry, Lake, Allen, East Richardson, East Grand, and Benton.
Morey said the cost for the oil increased by 15 cents per gallon to $3.70 per gallon since it was bid out. He asked the board if it would like to order another load of oil and chips to complete more streets since the Community Development Block Grant Street Grant will not be ready to bid until this winter.
The board approved purchasing an additional load of oil and chips to put down this fall. There was discussion about putting that material on Berry and Corrine to cover the base rock until it is covered in hot mix in the spring.
Morey reported the street crew finished patching the streets with hot mix asphalt in the areas where street work was done in the past. An example of what was patched is in front of Shay’s Place.
Morey reported a hydraulic motor on the 2003 bucket truck malfunctioned. The cost for replacement is $2,472.44 for a new hydraulic motor.
He said the electric department could manage around the problem for a while. He suggested the truck be repaired with funds from the 2023 budget. The board agreed with that.
The board discussed the Daviess County Public Water Supply District Number 2 water rate per thousand for 2022-2023. The matter was tabled until the next meeting.
No action was taken after discussion on an ordinance involving amending city code relating to utilities. The board requested City Administrator Lance Rains contact some landlords to get their input.
Mayor Barbara Ballew opened wastewater aeration remodel bids for the slicker unit. The city received three bids. Fluid Equipment’s bid was for $291,120, JCI’s for $296,640, and FTC’s for $193,525.
The bids were tabled until Morey found out more about the FTC proposed remodel. The board wants to make sure the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will approve an upgrade before entering into a contract.
Rains gave an update on the clarifier grant project and the need for a time extension to finish the project. The board approved a change order to extend the clarifier contract with Irvinbilt to November 1st.
Staff and Board Member Carl McBee met with subcontractors and engineers at he clarifier September 9th to look at the paint job on the metal. Rains said the meeting was productive, and everyone left in agreement on the course of action of repainting some areas.
Rains asked the board how long it would like Get Err Done Lawncare to continue mowing the park and cemeteries. The board would like mowing to continue for now until it tells the company to quit.
Rains presented a rough draft from the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office for police contracting. The board will review the draft and bring back questions or comments at the next meeting.
A discussion was held on the responsible party for parade security at Chautauqua. Police Chief Mark Richards and the organizers of Chautauqua had not spoken about any subjects. Rains told activity organizers to contact Sheriff Larry Adams. Adams has already organized covering the 5K run the morning of September 17th and has additional staff for the parade route the afternoon of September 17th.
Board Member Dan Lockridge asked Rains to contact the Missouri Department of Transportation about raising the speed limit on Highway 13 at the north end of town on the hill. Rains was to contact MoDOT on the matter.
The board entered into a closed session for employees.
