Council hears watertower proposal
LAUREL — Laurel City Council members listened to a proposal for care of Laurel’s city water tower during their Nov. 12 meeting.
Jake Dugger of Maguire Iron gave a presentation which will be compared to information the council has received about other companies before a decision is made.
Proper care and maintenance of the water tower is crucial,Dugger told Council members.
“The water tower was expensive to build and is probably the most expensive piece of equipment the city owns,’’ Dugger said.
Dugger’s company does 500 inspections annually and is family owned.
Dugger said he would recommend a safety grating be installed inside the tower, a zinc epoxy be applied within one year for the interior and an overcoat put on in four years.
The advantage to a maintenance agreement would be the city’s opportunity to spread work out and keep costs down, he told the Council.
The maintenance agreement is a oneyear agreement that can be extended indefinitely, according to Dugger.
Payments can be set up quarterly or the annual cost is adjusted each year with inflation up to five percent.
The number one reason to adopt this plan is to shift the risk by spreading out the costs, according to Dugger.
A higher amount would be paid for the first five years then a lower annual fee after that.
Sandy Chace appeared at the council meeting to turn over the Tuesday Club funds to the city. The club is disbanding.
The savings account funds should be used for the Maun house and the checking account funds for landscaping needs, she said.
The city will possibly look for other groups that would like to complete projects for this.
Yvonne Hansen talked to the Council about city annexation. She owns two businesses and one home.
“A decision needs to be made,’’ Hansen said. “When my property was annexed in I already had city water. I was annexed in and didn’t get sewer or city snow removal. I have been paying city taxes since 1990.’’
Council members pointed out that comparable property owners in other areas much like Hansen’s, have been using septic systems. The developer/owner has to pay the cost to be connected to existing sewer infrastructure, she was told.
Cost to connect Hansen to the sewer line would be $280,000. The city will not pay the $280,000 expense, though, she was told.
“I feel we were annexed because of taxes,’’ Hansen said.
She asked about being unannexed from the city.
Mayor Mark Patefield said statute 17414 says she would have to petition the county and it would be her burden to show that she’s not being treated fairly.
“One of the down sides to how taxes work is they are not proportionate to the services received,’’ Patefield said.
Hillcrest’s pipe repair project was also on the Council agenda. The city approved a $50,000 fund for Hillcrest with the condition that the auditor approves it.
Hillcrest owes Associated Fire $6,985.38 for repairs and inspections in September and October. They need $7,464.40 for a down payment for pipe repair. The remaining balance would be paid in monthly payments of $1,159.61 over 36 months. A total of $14,449.70 is needed to begin pipe repair.
Hillcrest is inviting residents of Hillcrest Colonial Manor to Hillcrest Care Center for Thanksgiving Day dinner. Hillcrest is hosting a Christmas Coffee in December again this year. The residents’ annual Christmas Party is scheduled for Dec. 8 and all are welcome.
“Hillcrest staff is in the process of developing a long-term plan for the upkeep of the nursing home and assisted living property, furnishings and equipment. Staff will develop the plan with input and approval by the board of directors. Staff will also be applying for grants for various projects,’’ said Virginia Lundahl, administrator.
Police report details included one fix-it ticket, two citations, three warnings, one accident, four animal complaints, two motorist assists, two outside assists, 25 school traffic stops, three citizen complaints, four funeral traffic assists, one noise complaint, one alarm, two assaults, one ambulance assist, 170 building checks, one nuisance vehicle, two suspicious people, one arrest, two disturbances, two traffic complaints and 366 cruiser mileage.
City Administrator Mark McCoy reported four manholes have been ordered and are to be installed by Plumbing and Electric Service on the sewer main running along Clarmont Drive.
Tanner and Mathew Maxon have taken over managing the removal of metal items east of the recycling center. A camera system has been installed there.
A chip seal process was applied to Fourth Street this summer. John Holmes and his crew came back to do cold mix patching last week. They will be back next Spring to mill out a 30’ section between Wakefield and Alma Street to fill with hot mix. They will be chip sealing all the patches. This will be free of charge as per the agreement with Holmes. This repair has been turned into FEMA for possible financial assistance.
Casey Roofing has completed a five-10 year life roof repair to the auditorium. Insurance funds will pay for repairing wind damage on the building.
A site inspection for the flood damaged intersection at 3rd and Spruce Street was completed on Aug. 12. The intersection has been reopened. A site inspection for Logan Creek/870 Rd flood was completed on Aug.
12. The intersection has been reopened. Jeff Wagner of Mainelli Wagner & Associates Inc. will be conducting a site inspection of Logan Creek flood damage soon. No decisions have yet been made.
