Adrian city administrator Ryan Wescote reported that cleanup continues for operations at city hall- he said that the city previously had some 40 bank accounts and he was glad to report that they have been consolidated down to two. One, an ARPA account as required by law and the other for all of city business. He also reported Adrian has been approved for a firefighter matching grant of $40,000 total; he was also pleased to announce the city’s web site is now set up to accept credit card payments as well as similar payments in the office. Next on his agenda is to meet with all department heads in upcoming days to fine tune the city budget and this will come with the option for the public to observe with a date to be announced soon. He said physical cleanup around city hall has been ongoing as well, as of late some 2,700 lbs of old, uneeded documents have been professionally shredded which feed up needed storage space.
Installation of new water meters is ongoing and nearly complete with some 150 yet to be put in place. The new meters will certainly solve inaccurate reading problems and will easily integrate with the city’s new accounting system. It was also noted that those having trouble paying their water bill, there is money available, up to $750 that can help. Contact city hall for more info.
Tom Williams addressed the council with important information about what lies ahead regarding lead and copper pipes in the water system. He said that the EPA (via Mo DNR) is wanting an ‘inventory’ (documentation) of all such piping in town and that will be easier to verify on the city side; however documenting such on the residential side will be a nightmare. For example, if the homeowner does not know what type of pipes are within the residence the EPA want city officials to come into the home for an inspection “And that’s where the ugly part is going to come in” he said. “While on the worksheets you’re allowed to put ‘unknown’, the problem is if you put too many of those on there it’ll throw red flags all over the place”. He went on to say that “We’re gonna get hit hard with this” and emphasized city is going to face a major headache getting it all done.
Wescote interjected with a little good news, the city has been awarded a $200,000 grant to help pay for this documentation and on the residential side, it must be done by an independent contractor which would take the burden off the city. While Williams concurred that is a good thing, he did say that doing just the city side will still be a major undertaking.
Williams went on to say that will be a great benefit, however just documenting the city side will be a major undertaking by iteself as the deadline is just a year or so away. He also noted this project is just documentation but most likely will turn into regulation that will require action soon down the road.
A bid of $14,000 for haying the pasture was accepted along with a bid of $4,000 for the hay field. Both are three year contracts.
Wescote gave an update on installation of new water meters and it this point the project is coming to close as only about 150 meters are yet to be installed. Accuracy of the new meters coupled with the city’s new accounting/billing software should streamline everything and with that, the city is set up to accept credit card payments on line as well as in person.
Madison Touchstone has accepted position of city attorney. As she lives closer (Raymore, Mo) it made sense to replace associate Sarah Oldridge who lives in North Kansas City. The council welcomed her on board.
A company has offered to purchase the city water system and as attractive as that might be financially, the council is of the opinion that the city would lose control of rates, among other things. Mark Williams advised the group that the city of Clinton, Mo did sell out and are not happy with the outcome. With that, Mayor Cunningham says Adrian will say thanks, but no thanks to it or any future offers.
A discussion branched into taxes and the April 4 ballot which prompted a response from alderman Bridges who recently attended a meeting regarding the Bates county ambulance tax. He says he doesn’t think this particular tax would be beneficial and more thought should have been devoted by the hospital before putting it on the ballot. His main concern is the money going into the general fund where it could be used for other things; why should we pay for something we are already getting; and Adrian generally has a minimum 15 minute response time, why should we pay more for that. He made it clear that the ambulance service is much needed but would advise everyone vote no until a better plan could be proposed.
The Adrian Board of Alderman meet on the second Monday of the month, 7 pm at city hall and the public is highly encouraged to attend. As a courtesy, Mid America Live will provide video coverage of the meetings and can be found on YouTube, search for the Mid America Live channel.
