$184,000 garbage truck purchased by city… Utilities nearing $500,000
Louisa city council meeting
As explained by Mayor Harold Slone…
Pledge and Prayer
Approved Minutes from March 14th and March 28th.
Levisa Drive – Still in Progress – No action taken
NEW BUSINESS
* Schooley Mitchell – The council heard a proposal from Schooley Mitchell, a telecom savings consultant firm in Louisa that has been monitoring and managing all of the cities communications for the past 3 years. The new proposal would be a flat monthly fee of $100.00 rather than the current fee based on savings structure that was enacted 3 years ago.
The mayor stated the communications bills are much simpler and under contract now, granted partially from the work they had done previously, but feels the city would have no problem monitoring its own bills in the future and save the $100.00 per month.
Council member David Mckenzie stated he felt the service was a good deal and was necessary to monitor the bills for mistakes and keep all savings possible in check. Mckenzie also wanted to reveal to the council that he was a client of Schooley Mitchell in private business matters.
Council Member Mitch Castle stated he felt that now that all the bills was in order and everything was running as cheaply as possible that the service may not be needed. Council asked the company to prepare a complete contract of their proposal and it would be considered at a later date.
* The mayor advised the council of a serious matter involving the city commercial garbage truck. “The truck has been on its last legs for a long time. However I was wanting to wait until next year when the other truck was paid off to purchase one but that isn’t gonna be possible”. He explained that the truck had safety issues of going into gear while compacting and a accident had occurred a few days ago. The accident was minor and involved no injuries. The mayor stated that a 3rd person had temporarily been added to the crew so that the driver is never out of the vehicle until a new one can be purchased. The city has looked far and wide for a truck that specs out like the one we need to replace and only one can be found that could be purchased immediately. Typically you have to order the chassis and compactor and have them built which can take up to 6 months. The city attorney and council all agreed an emergency exists and an emergency purchase could be made. Cost of the truck is $184,000 and will be financed alongside the other truck which is nearly paid for with minimal impact to monthly cash flow.
* Approved Ordinance 92-02-A , This was an amendment to the old ordinance that established meeting time . As a housekeeping matter the city has amended the ordinance to state the location of the regular meetings which is city hall. Passed Unanimously.
* Passed Resolution 2017-01- Resolution of filing LGEDF Fund HB 303 Coal Severance $10,000 for beatification. Unanimous.
* Passed Resolution 2017-02 – Resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with Govenor’s Office of Local Development , Community Development Block Grant Program. This allows the mayor to apply for a grant for fire station 1 renovations. If approved the grant could be up to $500,000 dollars at a 10% match. Approved Unanimous.
* The city also heard from a Perfection Group representative, a energy savings contracting firm. The city has been working with them for the last two years doing an audit of all city properties on ways to save energy and improve decades old infrastructure. The city’s energy cost are now nearing $500,000 dollars per year. The group has a prepared portfolio of the city and all the upgrades that would save the city. The idea of the project, which is approved by the legislature is to allow cities and counties to enter into contracts with ESO’s that would allow the savings to basically pay for the upgrades. This doesn’t go against the city’s bonding capacity as it is said to be budget neutral at best.
The largest part of the upgrades will be installing new water meters to the entire city system to replace meters that are anywhere from 15 to 35 years old. The new system will allow the meters to be read from the office eliminating the need for a man and a vehicle to physically drive to each meter every month. The new system would notify the city of potential leaks when excess amounts of water is used, allow for daily activity of water usage to allow customers to better monitor their bills and provide an even 30 day billing cycle. The new system upgrades will also allow for online payments, budget billing, auto withdrawal and email alerts for the customers.
The public utility board unanimously approved these upgrades at the last meeting and recommended council move forward. The council approved the upgrades unanimously with all agreeing this would be a great opportunity to upgrade failing infrastructure and pay for it with savings. Fire Station 2 was to receive heating and lighting upgrades, the sewer plant a new roof and heating upgrades, high efficiency blowers at the sewer plant, and heating and lighting upgrades at the Louisa senior center.
The program will also make the city eligible for some rebates through the energy companies which will all be returned to the city. Total cost for all upgrades are $1.8 million dollars with debt service to be paid by savings achieved and budget neutral. Any upgrades to city and fire station 1 will not be done at this time pending grants.
* At public utility boards request the council approved advertising for bids for mini excavator to repair leaks more efficiently.
* Approved offering for bids on surplus property a Ditch Witch which will be sold on Gov Deals and proceeds go toward excavator.
Audience Comments – city resident Pat Derefield expressed concerns about the loud noise of the dryer at the marathon station carwash on Madison St 24 hrs a day. The city attorney advised the audience and the council that the city had a nuisance ordinance and a noise ordinance about loud noises after 11pm. The council ask the mayor to speak to Mr. Brent Clark about the ongoing problem and if nothing could be resolved the city attorney contact him by mail concerning the ordinances.
Audience Comments –
City resident Don Hillman approached council about a parking problem on South Lock Ave. “this is a very narrow street and I can’t get into my driveway at times due to all the street parking.” The residence has several vehicles parked at all times, some in the grass on city property and several on the side street as well according to hillman . The mayor and police chief agreed they had just discussed this problem a couple days ago and both agree it is a problem.
Council voted unanimously to post no street parking on South Lock from Pike to Madison. It will be posted and enforced according to the mayor and chief.
Executive Session – Involved 3 matters one each of real estate, personnel, and potential litigation.
After returning council voted to allow the mayor to enter into a real estate transaction withe the Ky Transportation cabinet regarding property at the city garage they will be purchasing for the new intersection for the Wal Mart road.
Authorized the attorney and insurance carrier to process to mediation on a matter of litigation.
No action taken on personnel issue at this time.
The Lazer staff and management appreciate this report from our mayor in a pinch.
