The Jan. 25 agenda of the City of Salem Board of Aldermen was dense, due to two previous postponements; one because of poor weather, and one a lack of quorum.
The board discussed recent water damage to the old city hall, heard a presentation about a Smithsonian Institute exhibit that will be coming to the Ozark Natural and Cultural Resource Center (ONCRC), approved a service line bill protection program, board appointments, and several items relating to city projects. Present was Mayor Greg Parker, as well as Aldermen Shawn Bolerjack, Kyle Williams, and John Whelan. Alderwoman Kala Sisco was absent from the meeting.
The meeting was held in the rotary room at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory, rather than the city hall council chambers– the normal venue for the meeting. According to a report by City Administrator Sally Burbridge, recent water leaks had caused the old city hall council chambers to become unusable.
“We’ve actually had two water leaks there at the building, and unfortunately, they resulted in some flooding of the building. There’s been some damage to the facility,” said Burbridge. “We’ve done some of the big cleanup already. We’ve had our crews go in and kind of take care of removing stuff that’s damaged, and ceiling tiles that have fallen in, so the council chambers are in pretty bad shape right now.”
According to Burbridge, there were leaks on opposite corners of the building, resulting in the carpet needing to be removed. The damage prompted the city to begin the insurance claim process. Burbridge said the city is seeking quotes from SERVPRO to ensure no mold takes hold in the space. She also said that it would be a good idea to have a plumber come in to redo some of the plumbing in the bathrooms to ensure no more damage occurs. Until such time, the water to the building will remain shut off.
Smithsonian Institute exhibit
Liz Condray with the ONCRC addressed the board regarding a new exhibit that will be shown at the center starting March 23 and continuing for six weeks. The exhibit is a product of the Smithsonian Institute, and is titled “Crossroads: Change in Rural America”. According to Condray, Salem was one of just six communities in Missouri chosen by the Missouri Humanities Council to host the traveling exhibit, which focuses on small communities.
“It will be making its way through all 50 states,” said Condray. “It’s an opportunity [...] not to look at the big pieces, but to really focus in on these small communities, anywhere from 500 population up to 20,000.”
The exhibit will ask the question– What does it mean to be rural?
“Does it mean the same thing now that it meant 10 years ago? Certainly not 50 years ago,” said Condray. “Who are we? One of the big questions is, why are we still here? There are lots of little communities that have died out, and we wonder why they didn’t make it. They had various assets and so-forth… But we’re still here.”
The exhibit consists of seven large exhibit pieces that will be shipped to Salem from the Smithsonian, and will feature local components about Salem’s community– our identity and history. The exhibit will begin showing on March 23 and will continue for six weeks, during which time, according to Condray, the center will host speakers, panel discussions, and more. More information about the exhibit can be found in the meeting packet on the city’s website.
“Our intent is to make it as interactive with the community as we can. It’s a chance to say a lot of good things about who we are, why we’re still here, and why we’re as vibrant as we are,” said Condray.
Servline program
During new business, the board discussed a recommendation made by the utility committee to approve the adoption of a non-mandatory service line bill protection program through HomeServe, called Servline. According to the discussion, the program offers bill protection for customers who experience large bills associated with water service line leaks, though it does not cover the cost of repairing the leaks themselves.
“This is an opt-out. It would be added to all customer’s bills, and then if they didn’t want it, they could call our office and opt-out,” said Burbridge. “But, in the instance where [a customer is left with a large bill after a water leak], it will cover up to $2,500 over the course of two bills [...] of that water leak protection– The customer doesn’t have to pay that.”
According to Burbridge, the company would pay the city for the increased bill on behalf of the customer, up to a total of $2,500 across two bills, once per year. Once the city receives proof that the leak is fixed, the increased sewer charge on the bill will be dropped as well. Burbridge stated that bills received by customers who were the victim of a leak regularly total over $1,000.
If implemented, the program will result in a non-mandatory charge of around $2.35 per month for residential customers, $6.50 per month for single-occupant commercial customers, and $13.00 per month for multiple-occupant commercial properties. Customers who wish not to receive the charge or the coverage may inform the utility office that they wish to opt-out, if and when the contract is approved. Though the aldermen would, after discussion, approve the recommendation to adopt the service line protection program, it will not go into effect until a contract is written up and approved by the board at a later time. The board approved the recommendation by a 3-0 vote, with Williams making the motion, and Bolerjack offering a second.
Budget adjustment for Parks and Recreation
The board approved a budget adjustment and purchase of a work truck for the Parks and Recreation Department. The new truck was included in this year’s budget, as the old truck was no longer in useful condition. However, after searching for bids from government-approved dealerships, no suitable vehicles could be found. The vehicle chosen was a 2022 Ford F250 single-cab long bed with a prior salvage title and 6,900 miles on the odometer, from 44 Motorsports of St. James. According to Parks and Recreation Director Melissa DuBois, who cited Police Chief Joe Chase, said the vehicle had been verified safe, and in very good condition for the price. A budget adjustment increase of $7,689 was approved to meet the sale price of the truck. The adjustment was sourced from prior year’s fund balances for the Parks and Recreation Department. The purchase and adjustment was approved by a 3-0 vote, with Williams making the motion, and Bolerjack seconding.
Also during the meeting, the board unanimously approved:
• purchase of Advanced Metering Infrastructure equipment at a total cost of $8,266, to be split between the electric department maintenance budget and that of the water department. 12 “Gateway” modules were approved for purchase, which are collection points for data retrieved from utility meters. Some will be deployed immediately to replace failed units, and others will be stored until they are needed. The vote was 3-0 in favor.
• sale of several vehicles and pieces of equipment as surplus. The items that will be listed on the auction site purplewave.com include a 2003 Chevrolet S-10 pickup, a 2014 Ford F-450 Super Duty, a 2008 Ford F-150, a 2011 Ford F550 Super Duty, a Husqvarna riding mower, a boom mower, a 6’ brush hog, and a 5’ brush hog. Also included is a Kyocera copier with eight toner cartridges. According to the discussion, led by Public Works Director Mark Nash, the equipment was past its useful lifespan, or for other reasons was deemed no longer useful to the city. The vote was 3-0 in favor of approving the sales.
• board appointments for: Library Board, Sally Granowski; Community Involvement Committee, Roma Jones, Kristy Rushing, Alayna Sellers, Sierra Connell, Carlos Lopez, Patty McKeown, and Gary McKeown.
• a bid for fuel for the Salem Municipal Airport. Bids were solicited and only two responses were received. One bid, from Naegler Transport, was for 2500 gallons at a price of $4.159 per gallon for a total of $10,397.50. The only other respondent informed city staff that his supplier had no aircraft fuel at that time.
• Resolution 2-2024, which is a contract between the city and the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC). The purpose of the contract is to allow the MRPC to provide technical assistance when applying for a grant for an environmental review as part of the ongoing Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades. The cost of the contract was $5,500 and will be sourced from the Sewer Special Services account.
• signing of documents relating to a grant awarded to complete an EPA-mandated “initial inventory” of lead water service lines in the city. The city received a $150,000 grant and provided $30,000 in matching funds for the project.
• a policy relating to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA). The adoption of the policy comes as a requirement of the city’s collections agreement with Online Information Systems.
The board also heard the first readings of several bills:
• Bill 3581, which would amend the definition of the duties of the Utility Committee, removing a clause relating to “street construction, maintenance and repair”.
• Bill 3582, which would shift utility deposit amounts, which were set in 2009, to 1/12 of the past year’s utility bills for the new service address. According to a staff summary prepared by Burbridge, the old deposit policy set in 2009 no longer represents adequate amounts to cover last month’s utility bills, or recoup costs in the case of a customer walking out on the bill, which is according to Burbridge the purpose of the deposits.
• Bills 3583 and 3584, which would amend portions of the city codes relating to housing violations. According to Burbridge, the language will be amended to better reflect the city’s current administrative structure, citing many inconsistencies relating to the titles of staff that performed the tasks outlined in the code when it was adopted in 1977.
• Bill 3587, which would amend the annual budget for the city. According to the staff summary prepared by Finance Director Stacey Houston, the budget amendments for the FY 2023-2024 budget will increase total budgeted revenues by $889,076; total budgeted expenditures by $622,720; and budgeted intergovernmental transfers by $41,090.
In addition, the aldermen tabled Resolution 1-2024, which would authorize the mayor to enter into an agreement between the city and Online Information Services, Inc. of North Carolina, a collection services company. The motion was tabled on the advice of City Attorney James Weber, who stated that the contract as written is governed by the laws of the state of North Carolina, and advised against entering into a contract governed by laws other than those of the State of Missouri. The vote to table was 3-0 in favor.
