City Administrator Mark Mathies spoke at length about aging equipment during which he revealed plans that will come with some cost savings. For example, the city street sweeper truck "is due to be scrapped" due to its age, bad engine and overall condition; a new replacement would run in the $400k range and after some discussion a better alternative would be to rent said vehicle for much less as the current unit is only used on an occasional basis.
Due to a rare occurrence, rain entered an exhaust stack at the Butler power plant resulting in $700,000+ repair bill for a Caterpillar diesel generator. Fortunately, it appears the insurance will cover the cost and further, work will be done to put a hinged cover on the stack to make sure it doesn't happen again. Keeping the power plant available and on line is a priority as the city has an ongoing opportunity to sell power back to the grid.
Councilwoman Doncella Liggins reported continuing progress with the Student Advisory Committee as it not only gives Butler students some insight to city government but other civic involvement in the community as well. For example, the students will be a part of several upcoming events through the end of the year including Huckster's Day, Thanksgiving and the Butler Christmas parade among others.
Following a recommendation by Mayor Henry the council opted to table discussion of bill 553, regarding the handling of the city budget, until a special committee meeting can be held later this month. Due to the nature of the subject, Henry wanted to insure all points were covered prior to making any decisions; more about this will be revealed soon.
The large shelter at the south end of the Butler city park is going to get some new concrete as it currently is in bad repair due to water damage. The cost will be $29,996 and will include preventative measures to insure such damage does not happen again.
Administrator Mathies presented the council a proposal from Chronicle Cemetery Management, a records management system that will completely digitize Oak Hill Cemetery records to include obituaries, family trees, maps, photos, headstones, scanning of old printed records and much more. Cost will be $58,679 for the first year and come from the cemetery operation fund; then there be an recurring yearly maintenance expense of $4,100. The council voted 7-1 to move ahead with the project with the only no vote coming from Doncella Liggins. Mid America Live will be reporting more once the cemetery project is officially underway.
Butler, with all other cities, has been tasked with documenting any lead water pipe that might still be a part of the infrastructure. Such documentation is part of a federal mandate and likely will result in forced removal of said pipes in the future which certainly could be a daunting task as some could be located under brick roads around the square, for example.
Administrator Mathies affirmed that the city beautification project will be ongoing. This includes repainting crosswalks, removal/trimming of trees and cleaning of sidewalks and curbing.
Remember, the Butler city council meets on the first and third Tuesdays, 7 pm at city hall. The public is highly encouraged to attend.
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