Mayor Greg Parker called a regular meeting of the City of Salem’s Board of Aldermen to order 6 p.m. April 11. The board approved the agenda by a 4-0 vote, with the addition of reports from city officials. They also approved the consent agenda by a 4-0 vote.
Bill 12-2023 was read by City Clerk Tammy Koller, declaring the results of the April 4 municipal election. East Ward Alderman Shawn Bolerjack and West Ward Alderwoman Amanda Duncan were both reelected to the board as a result of the election. The resolution lists 157 votes for Duncan, and 205 for Bolerjack. The resolution was passed by a 4-0 vote.
Bolerjack and Duncan took the oath of office administered by Koller.
Mayor Parker then moved on to board and committee reorganizations. Bolerjack was recommended by East Ward Alderman Kala Sisco to serve as presiding alderman.
Parker then listed appointments for various city boards and committees.
For the Planning and Zoning commission, which may have up to 15 members, Parker listed Gary Brown as chairman, Keith Inman, Sherman Odom, Tabitha Utley, Dr. Wayne Bertz, Richard Labrash, Elizabeth Condray, Catherine Dent and alderman Kyle Williams.
For the Board of Adjustments, which may consist of five members, Parker listed Bob Parsons as Chairman, Ryan Whitaker, Harold Hamilton, Rob Benowitz, Martin Kulik, Nathan Kinsey, and Alderman Kyle Williams.
For the Parks and Recreation Board, which consists of nine members, Parker listed Stacey Jones, Crystal Pilkington, Angie Curley, Carlos Lopez, Caleb Shepherd, Kristy Bermudez, Tiffin Felkerson, as well as Alderwoman Kala Sisco and Alderman Kyle Williams.
For the Finance Committee, which has no set number of members, Parker listed Sisco as Chairwoman, along with Alderman Bolerjack, Sherry Lea, Mark Manjarrez, Deanna Nash, Bernie Sirois, David Weiss, and Nathan Kinsey.
For Utility Committee, which has no set number of members, Parker appointed Alderman Williams as Chairman, along with David Weiss, Rick Letchworth, Catherine Dent, John Hambacker, Harold Hamilton, and Nathan Kinsey.
For the Community Service Committee, which has no set number of members, Parker listed Alderwoman Sisco as Chairwoman, along with Alderwoman Duncan, Roma Jones, Bernice Brakefield, Trinity Lewis, Stephanie Skyles, Jay Gibbs, Crystal Parsons and Breanna Taylor.
For the Airport Board, which consists of six spots plus the City Administrator and one alderman, Parker listed Alderwoman Kala Sisco, City Administrator Sally Burbridge, Tyler Naramore as President, Jim Heavin as Vice President, John Mahalka as Secretary, John Maledy, Steve Spencer, and Rich Parks.
For Capital Improvements, which has no set number of members, Parker listed Alderman Bolerjack as Chairman, Jake Conway, Mark Manjarrez, Jay Gibbs, Annie Deatherage, Alderman Kyle Williams, and Bernie Sirois.
Parker said that anyone interested in serving on a board can reach out to city administration. He also said interested citizens could reach out to him directly at mayor@salemmo.com.
“We would really appreciate if we could get some more of our community involved in what our city does on these committees and boards,” he said.
The board appointments were accepted by a 4-0 vote.
• David Hancock with the Salem Running Club and Healthy Dent County addressed the board to request a street closure in downtown Salem for this year’s Run Salem event. He requested parts of Fourth Street to be closed on May 20 from 8 a.m. to noon. Hancock requested that Fourth Street to be closed from Washington to Highway 19, and from Highway 19 to Iron Street, as well as the eastbound lane of Fourth Street from Iron Street to Pershing. The board approved the closure with a 3-0 vote. Bolerjack, who is one of the organizers of the event, abstained from voting.
• The board then approved resolution 13-2023, a contract change order with 5J’s Landscaping regarding a property on Dillworth Lane that is part of the Welcome Home program. The board passed the resolution by a 3-0 vote. Sisco abstained.
• Public Works Director Mark Nash addressed the board regarding asphalt bids. Nash said the city solicited eight bids for hot-mix overlay, and only received two replies. He said around $80,000 was budgeted for street improvements in this year’s budget. According to Nash, asphalt will be applied to Water Street from Roosevelt to Margaret, Center Street to Second Street, and the “Water Street/Fifth Street loop”. Asphalt will also be applied to Iron Street from Fifth to Rolla Road.
Nash said the staff recommended bid was chosen with “milling” in mind. According to Nash and other officials at the meeting, as layers of asphalt get built up over the years, a ledge begins to form between upgraded streets and driveways, parking lots, and unimproved streets, leading to a bumpy ride and a harsh transition between roadways. Nash said the staff recommended bid included “milling”, the practice of smoothing out entrances and transitions to avoid large drops or bumps as vehicles navigate roadways.
“That’s why we went with the higher bid, is because the milling they will do will keep our guys from having to go back and do that,” said Nash.
Alderman Bolerjack said the bid would be within budget. After discussion, the board voted 4-0 to accept the $76,550 bid from Pierce Asphalt.
• The board then approved a bid to paint water tanks with protective and insulating paint. One tank to be painted, near the high school, contains a Salem school mascot mural. According to Nash, it would be difficult to replace the mural after painting.
“It’s a special type of paint that goes on that tank. The only way you’ll get a mural on there is you have to sand down that paint, that expensive paint that you just put on the tank. It affects the integrity of that paint, and it would cost $6,400 to put that mural back on it,” said Nash.
Nash said aside from the cost, to repaint the mural would defeat the purpose of painting the tanks, as it would mar the surface of the expensive paint. According to Nash, $60,000 was budgeted out of the Water Department. He asked the board to accept bids for Well #4, Well #2, and the cost of the insulation on the water supply lines to the tanks.
“What happens is a lot of times with those not being insulated, we’ll have to go over there at different times of the night and day to make sure that those pipes are not starting to freeze. This is a special type of insulation that water won’t affect it, sunlight won’t affect it, and we can take care of that issue that we’re having,” said Nash.
Nash said his recommendation would cost $68,379.00, which is $8,379.00 more than budgeted. Nash asked the board for a budget adjustment to pay for the added cost of the pipe insulation. He said he had spoken to Treasurer Stacey Houston, and that she said there was $290,000 left on last year’s water fund balance. Nash asked for the extra $8,379.00 would be taken from that balance.
The board discussed exploring options to replace the mural. Mayor Parker suggested a wrap for the tank. Nash replied that nothing would stick to the paint without sanding. Board members were reluctant to permanently remove the mural, and to go over budget on the project. Nash reiterated the urgent need to paint the tanks. Alderman Kyle Williams said that improving local water infrastructure was his main priority.
After discussion, the board passed a motion to accept the bid of $29,454 from Hogan Inc. for painting at Well #4, to accept the alternate bid of $31,475 to paint the retention tank at Well #2, to accept the bid of $7,400 from Hogan Inc. for the insulation of wells #6 and #8, and to reject the bid for mural painting at Well #4. The measure passed by a 4-0 vote.
• The board then discussed bids for climbing gear for the electric department. According to Nash, an electric department employee is enrolled in a 5-year MPUA Columbia apprentice lineman program, and is slated to start the program this fall. Nash said in order for the employee to be eligible for the program, the city must furnish OSHA-approved climbing gear.
“The belt that we have is old,” said Nash. “With the MPUA program, they won’t even allow you to come to the school unless you have a proper belt.”
Out of three bids, the board approved a bid from Far West Line Specialties for $2,036.26. The purchase came out of the electric department safety and training budget, containing a balance at the time of the meeting of $3,728.00, according to Nash. The measure passed by a 4-0 vote.
• During his report, Mayor Parker thanked the voters for their support of the 1% sales tax increase and the sewer bond issue that were passed in the April 4 municipal election.
“I’d like to let everybody know that we’re still not out of the woods yet,” said Parker. “We still have a lot of work to do, as a city we still have a long road ahead of us.”
Parker said he and other city staff would not stop looking for ways to cut expenditures. just because the tax and bond passed.
“A lot of times people used to point fingers at one another. It’s not about pointing fingers anymore. It’s about fixing our current problem, and dealing with the current economic problem that we have right now, that everybody deals with. Inflation at an all-time increase,” said Parker.
“I still want to keep thinking ahead instead of in the moment. We have a board, as well as myself, that was always listed as inexperienced. But as far as what I can see, we have proven that we are beyond that. You see our reserves coming up instead of going down. We have taken certain actions to help with our current budget crisis.”
Parker said that for the next budget, he wants to begin focusing on infrastructure repairs.
“That’s something that we’ve never done in the past, and as minor as it might seem, even if we were to replace three or four water lines, we are doing something instead of nothing. There’s a lot of stuff in our city that’s broken. And we’re trying to fix it; it will take a long time to do so.”
• During his report, Nash reported pothole repair was getting underway now that asphalt was available. He also reported that some poles and crossarms were being repaired. He commended several utility employees for their performance during the recent heavy rains.
“Josh is doing a really good job down at the wastewater plant,” said Nash. Nash said seven million gallons of water had gone through the plant during a recent rainstorm.
“He does a really good job. Grant with the street department, Josh with the electric department, Donny with the water department, they all do a great job. They’re trying to do all they can to save money. I appreciate what they do,” said Nash.
• Alderwoman Sisco asked Nash and Police Chief Joe Chase about cars being parked along MacArthur in front of Dewayne’s Tire.
“Is there anything that we can do about that? I’m having several people complain to me about almost getting hit because people are flying through there and are not able to see around the parked cars there,” said Sisco. “I don’t want to cause any kind of trouble with the local business, because we appreciate all of them being in town.”
Sisco said she had driven through the area herself and confirmed that there was no visibility around the parked cars.
Chase said he had spoken to the owner about the issue multiple times. He said the intersection in question had just recently been the site of “another” accident.
During discussion, Burbridge said the road was technically under MODOT’s jurisdiction. She said there had been a request submitted to MODOT by the “entity on the other side of the road” to be able to allow parking on that side too. Burbridge said she felt that MODOT granting that request would cause even more traffic complications, but that the permission was not the city’s to grant.
Chase said he had spoken to MODOT about the issue, and they had discussed making the entire section a no-parking zone. However, Chase said, the city currently has no enforceable parking ordinance outside handicap spaces and snow routes. He said in order to make MODOT’s no-parking zone enforceable, the city would need to draft a new ordinance.
Bolerjack asked city staff to begin drafting such an ordinance for review.
• Parks and Recreation Director Melissa DuBois reported that soccer was underway, and that there were 300 kids and five fields. She said late summer ball registration was open until April 18. She also reported that the pool would be open May 27.
Mayor Parker thanked DuBois for her hard work.
• Alderwoman Sisco thanked several city employees, and reported that citizens who would like yard waste removed may fill out a work order at the administrative office, and that yard waste may be taken to the municipal yard waste disposal site.
• Alderman Bolerjack thanked the public for voting, and for placing their trust in him as east ward alderman. He said he looked forward to serving with the board, mayor, and city staff, and that he would strive to improve the quality of life for the community they serve.
• Alderwoman Duncan also thanked the public for trusting her as west ward alderwoman, and said she looks forward to continuing to serve and “trying to get the city back in the shape that it needs to be in.”
The meeting went into closed session to discuss contracts by a 4-0 vote.
