The City of Salem Board of Aldermen held a regular meeting May 23. The meeting was called to order at 6 p.m. by Mayor Greg Parker.
After the agenda and consent agenda were approved, each by a 4-0 vote, the meeting moved on to discuss the lease agreement for a 2022 Ford F600 Terex bucket truck. City Administrator Sally Burbridge said the truck was ordered in 2021. Alderwoman Kala Sisco asked if the cost of the truck had been implemented into the budget for the next five years, to which Burbridge replied that it had. The lease agreement was approved by a 4-0 vote.
The board moved on to discuss a series of items related to the Welcome Home program.
“You have two homes on tonight’s agenda, with bid approval and contract approval for each,” said Burbridge.
“Are we getting close to the quota we’re looking for (with) those?” asked Alderman Kyle Williams.
“No,” replied Burbridge. “I had a conversation last week with other representatives from Riverways (Federal Credit Union). With the two houses on the agenda tonight, assuming those are approved, we’re right at halfway. That’s 12 of the 25 houses under contract. We only have one that has completed construction so far. So, what we’re talking about at this point is applying for an extension for the program. It wouldn’t be additional funds, but it would be additional time to try to complete (the projects).”
Burbridge said another application for the Welcome Home program had come in that week, and once vetted, that would complete the current round.
“That leaves us two rounds, which means a total of nine homes. And I do not have anyone in the hopper for those homes. So that means we’re going to have two veterans, two very low income, two special needs and three low income. But understand they all have to be low income,” said Burbridge.
According to staff summary of one of the contracts, the program is a partial grant funded home rehabilitation program. The contracts are between the city, the homeowner and the contractor. Participating homeowners are responsible for 20% of the total cost of rehabilitation work done and administration costs, which will be paid to the city prior to work beginning. The remaining costs are covered by the grant funds, up to $20,000. This gives a total of $25,000 (with $2,000 or 12% going to the City of Salem for administration costs) per home, according to the summary.
A bid from R. Conway Construction was approved for a home on Glendale Street by a 3-0-1 vote with Sisco abstaining. The contract for the bid was also approved by a 3-0-1 vote with Sisco abstaining.
A bid and contract from Mid-Missouri Renovations for a house on Fourth Street was approved by a 3-0-1 vote each, with Sisco abstaining.
City Treasurer Stacey Houston then gave a financial report.
May revenues were reported as being up 10% from May of last year. Year to date, July through May saw an 8% increase in revenues as the same time period of last year. Houston said the general fund brought in around $1.4 million, Parks and Rec brought in around $522,000, and Capitol Improvement brought in around $696,000.
“We brought in more than we actually budgeted for the year, so that’s good,” said Houston.
She then gave an overall look at utility usage and revenues through April. She reported that electric revenue billed through April came in at just over $6 million.
“It looks like we will come in around $3,000 more than what we have budgeted,” she said.
$5.8 million of that revenue has been collected as of April’s numbers, according to Houston. She reported purchase of power at around $3.9 million.
Water revenues billed were reported at $779,000 compared to $691,000 last year. A total of $722,000 in revenue was collected through April. Sewer revenues billed were reported at $840,000, compared to $645,000 during the same time period last year. Sewer revenues collected were reported at $763,000 through April.
She explained her treasurer’s report slide, which included the balances of funds at the beginning of the fiscal year, revenues through April, which she said was a little over $12 million. It also included expenses, reported at a little over $10 million, as well as the fund balances as of April 30. The total of all funds was reported at around $7.5 million.
Also during the meeting:
• A bill was read pertaining to a contract for well tank painting. Tanks #2 and #4 are set to be repainted by Hogan’s Incorporated. The first reading of the bill was heard. No action was taken pending the second reading of the bill, which will occur at the next meeting.
• During reports, Parker reported that 137 tons of yard waste was collected during the citywide Spring Cleanup. Citizens who missed the pickup are encouraged to contact GFL or reach out to city to the city administration office to fill out a work order for yard waste pickup.
“Spring cleanup kind of exhausted your mayor,” laughed Parker, who is employed by GFL.
“Well, we appreciate it,” said Sisco.
“137 tons, it’s a lot of exercise. So, I told Shawn (Bolerjack), if you didn’t see me at the 5k, it’s because I did a 100k,” joked Parker.
• During his report, Public Works Director Mark Nash reported that crews had been working on fixing dig-outs, cleaning out ditches and culverts. He said the electric department received their new Digger Derick truck. He said it would be put into service once a technician from the dealer had a chance to do a final check.
Administrator Burbridge asked Nash about the tall grass that was growing along the road near the Salem Community Center @ The Armory and the City Park, saying that multiple complaints had been lodged. Nash said that it was extremely difficult to get equipment into the area due to the steep angles, and that the boom mower that was used was broken. Nash said he would reach out to the county to see if they could use their equipment on the spot while the city’s boom mower is out for repairs.
“We’re looking for it back anytime, but you know how that is,” said Nash.
Nash also said he was also working on preparing some old equipment to be auctioned and was working on a plan to mitigate a property owner’s issues with city stormwater drainage.
• Alderwoman Sisco reminded citizens that there is a city ordinance prohibiting extremely tall grass.
“It’s just beautifying your home, beautifying your neighbors, the city itself; it’s just taking pride in what you own,” said Sisco.
Sisco congratulated the High School Class of 2023, as well as Shawn Bolerjack and the organizers of the recent color run.
She reported that a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Committee had occurred the night before.
“They barely had a quorum though, so I do want to remind people that we are looking for committee members on almost every committee except for the Utility Committee,” she said.
• Alderman Bolerjack reported that the Capital Improvement Committee met the week prior, and thanked Burbridge and others for creating the Capital Improvement Plan for the committee to review. He said no action was taken at the committee meeting due to a lack of quorum, and another meeting would be scheduled to finalize the plan.
• Alderman Williams reported that a meeting of the Planning and Zoning Committee would be held June 25 to discuss short-term rentals, conditional use permits and re-zoning.
The meeting then moved into closed session by a 4-0 vote.
